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N E R I S S A
"Caspian." I call out as I spot him turning down the hallway, "May I have a word with you, please?"
"Of course." He replies, furrowing his brows. "Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all. It's just..." I drift off, "I wanted to talk to you about the plans for the raid."
"It's too dangerous, Nerissa. You of all people should know that."
"I'm aware of the risks, Caspian. Trust me, I do." I sigh, "And if we have any chance of succeeding, we're going to need your help. You know the grounds, Caspian. You can navigate it even better than I can."
Silence took over as Caspian stared at the ground in deep thought.
"Please, Caspian." I plead, "I trust Peter, but this won't work without you."
Caspian stays silent, his eyebrows knitted closely together, and his eyes dark and serious.
"We can get Cornelius out." I continue, "As long as we plan carefully and follow said plan to the tee, we'll be out before we know it. We have to at least try."
He exhales sharply, pressing his thumb and pointer finger on the bridge of his nose.
"You trust him?"
I nod, "I do."
"Fine," He finally gives in, "I'll help. But let me be clear, Nerissa. I'm doing this only because I trust you. Not him."
I shoot Caspian a pleading look. I knew Peter and him didn't get along, but I'm sure they both respected me enough to at least try for my sake.
"I know he's harsh, Caspian. If only you knew him like I do and I wish you will get the chance to." I clap a hand on his shoulder, "Peter and I are having dinner together with his siblings. Join us. We'll discuss the rest of this first thing tomorrow."
Caspian shakes head, "You go ahead."
"But we're celebrating!" I argue, "Come on."
He glances at me, confused, "What are you celebrating?"
I couldn't help the smile that dances across my lips before I held my left hand out for Caspian to see.
The glimmer of the diamond is unmissable, and the weight of the ring on my finger was still something to get used to. The fact that Peter actually properly asked was still surreal.
"No way. You're really marrying him?" Caspian says, but the smile that tugs on the corner of his lips tell me he's only teasing. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to his question.
"I am." I say, "I love him, Caspian. More than anything. Please try and get along. I know it takes both of you to make it work. Trust me, I'll speak to Peter, too."
"I don't have a problem with him." He shrugs.
I raise a brow at him that clearly said: really?
"I'm not an idiot, Caspian."
My brother sighs, his face contorting in mild disdain, "He's just a little pushy, isn't he?"
I let out a laugh at his description of Peter, "I'll let him know to tone it down a notch."
Caspian chuckles before stepping forward and enveloping me in a huge hug.
"I'm happy for you, sister." He says, "Dad would be proud."
I wrap my arms around him, hugging him back twice as hard.
"He'll be proud of you, too." I whisper, "We'll get justice for him, Caspian. I promise."
"I know we will." He replies, his voice cracking up slightly. Clearing his throat, Caspian pulls back from our hug. "I won't keep you for too long, we'll celebrate together another time, I promise." Leaning forward, he plants a brotherly kiss on my cheek.
"Are you sure I can't convince you otherwise, Caspian?" I smirk, "Susan will be there."
He shoots me a glare and simply proceeds to ignore what I've said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Nerissa."
I laugh as I watch as Caspian retreats to his room, before making my way down the hall to the dining area, where I find Peter waiting for me by the door.
He breaks into a wide grin as he sees me approaching, holding out his hand to me.
"You spoke to him?"
I nod, slipping my hand into his and intertwining our fingers as he leads us into the dining hall.
"Well?" Peter raises a brow at me expectantly.
"He's agreed to help." I tug at Peter's hand to bring him to a halt, "But you, Mister, are going to have to be willing to comprise as much as he does. This is a partnership. Neither one of you is superior to the other. You can't be bossing each other around."
Peter clutched his chest, gasping dramatically, "Me? Bossy? Never."
A chuckle slips pass my lips at his theatrics as I lightly slap his chest.
"I'm serious, Peter."
"I know you are." He replies, slipping his arm around my waist and pulling me into him before levelling me with a serious gaze, "I promise to do whatever it takes to make this work."
"Thank you."
Smiling down at me, he leans into me, running the tip of his nose along mine, "Anything for you."
"Anything?" I grin teasingly at him.
"Anything at all." He confirms before claiming my lips with his.
I sink into his warmth, standing on the tips of my toes to deepen our kiss. His lips were as soft as I'd remembered, maybe even slightly softer.
Even after all these years, the feeling of his lips on hers still made her heart flutter.
"I love you." He smiles against my lips.
His smile proves to be contagious as I find myself beaming back at him, before pushing my fingers through his hair and tugging him down for another kiss.
Peter obliges, crashing his lips down onto mine.
This kiss, however, was cut short as we hear someone clear their throat down the hall.
Peter jerked back, his hand instinctively reaching for his blade.
We spun around, only to see Edmund standing at the entrance to the room with his feet tapping against the floor and his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at us with what only can be described as complete and utter disgust.
"Relax, dimwit. It's only me."
"Could you at least knock next time?" Peter replied, annoyance lacing his tone.
"Knock? On what door?" He gestures to the large archway which served as the only entrance to the dining room, "The dining hall is opened to everyone, is it not? I'm free to come in as I please." The younger boy argued, "Maybe next time, you guys could do all that in a more private space. I know you haven't seen each other in a while but please, have some restraint."
"It was private until you came," Peter grumbles and I elbow him in the ribs.
"Boys, please."
"Nerissa!" Lucy's voice called as she dashed into the room, wrapping her hands around to hug me.
Her hands fell slightly above my waist, she was slightly taller as compared to when we first met but was significantly shorter than the last time I had seen her.
"Oh, I've missed you." She says.
"You've just seen her." Peter retorts.
I roll my eyes. Sometimes they act as if it would physically kill them if they didn't make constant jabs at each over.
"You're one to talk." Susan shoots back, following closely behind Lucy.
"My thoughts exactly," Edmund snorts, Seriously, Nerissa. You should've seen him. 'Oh, when will we ever go back. Oh, when will I see her again. I can't take it anymore, I miss her so much. Oh, Nerissa, Nerissa, Nerissa.'" Edmund impersonated and I find myself having to press my lips together to stifle a laugh.
"Okay, okay. That's enough." Peter warns, his lips quirking up at the corners as he winks at me, "Can blame me for missing my fiancée?" He says, leaning down to kiss my cheek.
Edmund gags at the display of affection, "Disgusting."
"So are you," Peter argues.
"Peter!" I chide, "That's enough, let's go. Dinner's waiting."
"As you wish," Peter says, ignoring Edmund as he leans down to press a kiss to my cheek again before leading me further into the dining hall.