Romeo || Edmund Pevensie

Fascination

England was grey.

There was never a place as dull and as boring as England. The engines of airplanes that roared overhead were inconsiderate and loud, as the RAF training meant that there was never a moments silence. Everything had changed since the Pevensie's had been there permanently. In London, that was.

London was no better than England as a whole. Quite a lot of it was ruined by bombs, but the worst had surpassed, they were glad to say. But London was grey, and London was not Narnia.

     Edmund had taken it the hardest of the four siblings, getting used to living back home again, although Peter made quite a show of his emotions. He had been fourteen when he first went to Narnia, and fourteen when he came back. After fifteen years living there, it felt wrong to be a child again, and this time, aging felt slower.

     Now sixteen, having moved schools once again, Edmund didn't have a clue where he fit in. His life didn't really feel like it belonged to him anymore. Everything was stripped away, and he was left common.

     Friends were also scarce for him, probably due to the fact that he didn't fit in. They thought he was weird. But because he was strong, he had a little respect. It wasn't much, but enough.

     There was one boy, in his mandatory English classes, that he didn't mind as much as the others. His name was Thomas Wallace; and he was taller, stronger, and older than Edmund. Most importantly, he was nice. They sat on the same table, and sometimes shared the same copy of whichever book they were studying. It was interesting to see how engrossed someone who didn't look like they cared for school at all could be.

Around then was when they started to study Shakespeare. And God, Edmund never knew how much a book could touch someone until that moment.

Austen, Dickens, Tolstoy and the Brönte's all passed him by, but Shakespeare just stuck. His way with words was just... something else.

At first, it wasn't as great as he might have thought. The Tempest was weird, and he didn't understand the sprite, Ariel. In fact, he didn't understand any of it. The words were all different, and they didn't make any sense.

But then, they began Romeo and Juliet. The story of star crossed lovers, their fate having been written from the first page. The inevitability of death, despite the odds, and finding love in the process was something to be admired. Everything about it was intriguing.

     If ever he was asked, then Edmund would deny his enjoyment fully. However, he knew in his own mind that this was his favourite thing he had ever read.

     In some of the classes, their teacher, Ms Cole would make them read aloud some of the passages. If she was feeling particularly antagonistic, then she would make them act some scenes out. After all, it was a play, and it deserved to be brought to justice. Just, perhaps not by school children.

     For the first scene, Thomas had been called up to read for Benvolio, and Edmund forced into playing Romeo. It was one of those days where they had to act things out. His heart was racing. He had no idea if he was any good at acting, or if he had the confidence to stand up in front of his class and speak. But he had been a King, and though it was altogether different, he knew that if he had to he could.

The other parts had been cast for the scene later on, since they weren't as pivotal as Romeo, or Benvolio. Edmund didn't want to have to play the main part for too long. He couldn't deal with it at every opportunity, he would be ridiculed.

It was after Benvolio left Montague and Lady Montague that Romeo was needed. Edmund had pushed himself from his chair, and waddled over to the front of the classroom. He felt awkward. Like he wasn't himself.