Romeo || Edmund Pevensie

(You Will) Set The World On Fire

God was an interesting concept to Edmund Pevensie, as he had never truly been brought up with the whole Christian ideals his classmates were exposed to. The idea of a God, somewhere, was something that enticed him- but as a boy who was almost a man, he could not bring himself to believe the same way others did. Edmund could barely remember the last time he stayed awake throughout an entire service. It was certainly not in recent years.

Because God was not a staple in his life, church definitely wasn't either. The buildings themselves were beautiful, and of course he could appreciate the structural elements which captured his attention on occasion, but it wasn't special to him. He sometimes wished that he did care more; it might have been nice for him to have something else to believe in. Clearly, his love for Narnia was getting him nowhere.

The churches and cathedrals in Cambridge were also stunning- but were rarely used for their purpose now. The traditional mass continued on a Sunday, however, all other sessions were cancelled in favour of boosting the war effort.

More than half of the time, it was used as a hub for conscription. The other half, it was uninhabited. It was safer that way. Large buildings were more likely to be bombed by the Germans, even if there weren't nightly raids anymore.

Edmund often thought of how many lives might have been saved if they had kept away from those structures straight away. There might have been so many who were willing to love, and live, and held the war effort in the way the government were pressing for. But if the war had taught him one thing, it was that he didn't care about the mass propaganda they were attempting to sell him. It wouldn't work. He had other, more pressing, matters to attend to.

     Despite this, he had been drawn to the church on many occasions, though never once dared to enter it. Lucy kept far too much of an eye on him for him to even consider the fact that he might want to be apart of the war. It wasn't as if he didn't have enough experience with violence.

     More often than not, Edmund found himself increasingly ignorant to the bustle of a war-filled life. The rattling of plane engines was little more than a lullaby to him now. For years it rang inside of the back of his mind, and even when he stepped through busy streets, he could feel it buzzing through the pavement.

     Though, it was the people he had far more interest in. Everywhere he went, Finchley, Cambridge, or elsewhere, there were posters, and leaflets lining the roads. There were many women, who had pledged themselves to the war effort, that stood by the street corners and handed out leaflets to boys they thought weren't doing their duty.

     Edmund was often mistaken for one of them. He wanted to help, he really did, but his age restricted everything he was able to do. It was his duty too. It was his duty to protect those he loved.

     There was barely any time when he and Lucy weren't together now. It was their attempt to break free of the Scrubb household, and more importantly their obnoxious cousin. Although, in the short space of time when he and Lucy were separated during their shopping trip, he became distracted.

     It felt like there were a thousand messages surrounding him, telling him what he had to do. It was suffocating.

     The idea of it made him feel sick to his stomach- but Aramis couldn't blame him for taking care of his duty. It was the one thing he couldn't deny himself of, even if it might have hurt the person he loved most. He needed that idea of stability. The kind that came with the army: and he understood he wouldn't be able to command, but he still needed it.