Romeo || Edmund Pevensie

Everything's Alright

Beauty was a subjective thing. In the same way that Juliet was the light of Romeo's life, she never would have been attractive to Benvolio. It was the same as Mark Antony and Julius Caesar both adoring Cleopatra, but by causing political conflicts, they could never be together. It was that intense love which could never have been that fuelled beauty.

Aramis never saw the world in the same way as other people, because he was simply different. His viewpoint was far from clear, but it did offer something new. Beauty to him was not an external force, but something deep inside, content enough to stay hidden.

It was the beauty he found in Edmund, who was often so quiet, and solemn. It was the beauty he found at nighttime when he looked to his family left in the sky. It was the beauty he hoped that others found in him.

Oddly enough, it was also the beauty he found in Ramandu's Island. It was a desolate place, overrun with weeds and cracks within its structure. There were ruins everywhere as each thing that they looked at was broken. It was an interesting place, with character more than any person that Aramis had ever met.

However, because it was so desolate, they had to be even more careful. There was very little light, which was why Edmund lead the search. He had the torch from his visit three years ago. His steps were not shaky, but there was some trepidation. Even with a sword in his hand, he could never feel safe in a place like this, especially at night. Aramis didn't carry the weapon he was supposed to; he still couldn't bring himself to.

     They stepped across a bridge with gargoyle heads for decorations, their eyes seemingly moving to follow them. It felt like the only path they could take was to the edge of this bridge, and towards the room at the end. Another stone structure, boring and grey from the outside. It held none of the whimsy that the rest of the Island did, until they went inside.

     Everything in there was made of stone too, from the table to the ceiling. That was, everything except the food. It was an eery sight. It was impossible to tell how long it had been there for, and if it had been touched since. Aramis wouldn't dare go near it. Not when it was impossible to know what would happen.

     Tavros hummed to himself, seeing the sheer amount of food. "Mmh, food."

  Drinian raised a hand. "Wait."

  "Huh?"

     It was wrong to see so much that they could eat, despite it being a welcome surprise. This wasn't the sort of thing that happened without consequence; they all knew that.

     Edmund stepped forwards to the edge of the table, his sister, lover, and friend following close after. His torch brushed over the sight in front of them, and that was where they saw it. The men, all of them trapped in the roots of trees. They were dead, and frozen.

     He flinched, jolting backwards finally. Swiftly, they drew their swords in defence, though it would do nothing. There weren't any ghosts circling they could murder. Just those who were already gone, trapped in their bodies. However, when they moved forwards, they noticed something a little more than unusual.

     They weren't dead.

     Shallow breaths were leaving their lips. So little air that their bodies hardly moved. It was almost like they weren't living at all. A state of purgatory, stopping them from choosing one side. Life and death didn't have a chance.