I shouldn't be here

[Cecily Rambolt]

It was late and the sun had set long ago. Cecily stood within the Forbidden Forest, holding her cloak tightly about her body as the cold wind whistled through the trees. Although her wand was at the ready, her mind whirled with so many conflicting thoughts and emotions she felt frankly broomsick from it. Why was she here? Her patroling was done and the night was hers to do with as she would. She should be neck deep in a wicked hot bubble bath with a copy of Witch Weekly. Instead she was shivering in the cold and condemning herself for her stupidity.

 

[Edward Stanton]

Edward strode through the forest at a quick pace. He hadn't seen Cecily since, well, since he'd made such a fool of himself. And ruined their friendship. She wanted to be with the King fellow he could accept. He didn't like the fact or the man himself. Hated him in fact. His fists clenched when he thought of the last time they'd met. He would cheerfully punch that smug face if he knew Cecily wouldn't get word of it afterward. His boot landed on a fallen branch, the resulting snap as it cracked ricocheted through the trees like a muggle gunshot.

She stood mere meters in front of him. "Cissy." Her name came out rough the one word conveying the pain he'd unintentionally put himself through.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily whirled around, her cloak flying about her body in a wide arc, her wand pointed at the noise. Her green eyes widened then narrowed. Her wand lowered before rising again. "Ned," she said with a saccharine smile, purposefully using his hated nickname.

 

[Edward Stanton]

His eyes narrowed at her greeting, then a rueful grin crossed his features. "Suppose I deserve that, d'you?" His gaze flicked over her face and took it in like a man stranded in the desert would gulp at water. "I didn't think you'd meet me tonight. King let you out of the castle alone?"

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"Let me?" her voice was deceptively soft. Gone were the days when she would have flown off the handle and shrieked at him. "He's not my keeper, Edward." She let that sink in for a moment before asking, "What do you want?"

 

[Edward Stanton]

He ran impatient fingers through his brown hair. "I'm handling this badly. I came here-damnit Cissy I came here because I miss you. Because I'm sorry for the way I acted. I had no right."

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

"You're right. You didn't." She wasn't going to make this easy on him. No Edward had had many chances to accept her relationship with Nicolas and to act the way a friend, a true friend, would act. That he'd told her he was in love with her was no excuse. "I can forgive what you did but I'm not sure I trust you anymore."

 

[Edward Stanton]

All the years they had grown up together and no words had hurt him more than that one simple sentence. She doesn't trust me. He hung his head before it shot up. Determination shone from his eyes. "Then have dinner with me. Let me make it up to you. Prove to you that you can." He was very near her now and dared to set his hands on her shoulders.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

She flinched from the contact. It reminded her too much of the last time when he'd kissed her. "I don't think so, Edward," she said quietly, turning to go. She didn't know why she'd come here in the first place. Liar. She missed him. She missed the best she'd had since they were little kids.

 

[Edward Stanton]

"Please." It was the only thing he could say through the hopelessness that gripped him. He cursed himself a million times for his foolishness. They had made a pact as children to always protect each other and he could count the three times he had broken his vow. She'd forgiven him those times too. This time--this time he feared he'd gone too far in trying to turn her from King's arms to his.

 

[Cecily Rambolt]

Cecily's hands tensed at her sides, one forming a painful grip on her wand. She slid it into the sheathe on her wrist inside her cloak and turned to him. She couldn't ignore the anguish in his eyes nor in his plea. Edward never pleaded. "Alright," she said slowly, disbelieving the words that came from her mouth. She turned and walked away before she could face the enormity of what she'd done. The cold night air stung like a slap against her cheeks and as she put more and more distance between them, one thought clawed its way through all the others.

What would Nicolas say when she told him what she'd agreed to?

 

[Edward Stanton]

Triumph flared dark and bright within him. His lips twisted in a smile. He disapparated from the forest, his laughter ringing through the air, disturbing the creatures slumbering nearby.