Of Cafés and Kings

A Oneshot

Author's Note: I saw Prince Caspian. I loved it, every bit of it, except for ONE: SUSAN AND CASPIAN!? It's supposed to be LUCY and Caspian! NOT SUSAN, DAMN IT! In both books Caspian is there, LUCY/Caspian is implied. NOT SUSAN and Caspian! That's just so GROSS!! (clears throat) Besides that it was absolutely amazing. I especially loved the scene where Edmund smashed the witch… the look he gave Peter was worth the money alone! And now, I'm finally writing another Narnia FanFic, albeit a short one. Still… it's something.

-X-

Edmund Pevensie was different from anyone else I knew. He was usually by himself, but once in a while I'd see a younger girl, who I assumed to be his sister, with him. Aside from her, he kept to himself.

Edmund and I went to the same college. I'd seen him around, but I'd never spoken to him.

If I did, chances were, it'd end up sounding like pointless babbling. I've never been too confident in front of boys. Especially not attractive boys, of which Edmund Pevensie was a fine example.

Which is why, as I fingered my cross and cursed my awful luck in the café, I sat next to him. Why did cafés have to be so crowded after Church on Sundays?

"Do I know you?" he asked.

It wasn't meant to be rude, I knew that. But… as I've said, I'm usually too nervous around boys like him to form coherent words, let alone sentences.

"I'm… er… Victoria… uhm… Victoria Carpenter."

"I'm Edmund Pevensie. It's nice to meet you."

He extended his hand, and I shook it. Why was I so nervous? It wasn't like he was a mass-murderer or anything! He's just a boy… an extremely attractive boy…

"Nice to meet you," I managed to mumble. I took a sip of my tea. "Why d'you reckon this place is so crowded? It's never been this crowded."

"Dunno," Edmund said quietly. "Maybe because my sister, Susan, and my brother, Peter, managed to visit Lucy and I on the same Sunday? Lucy's my other sister," he added, "And Peter tries to visit often… but he usually can't. Susan lives right in London… I don't understand her anymore."

"Why would everyone from ages thirteen to twenty be here, though?"

He pointed to an older boy of about twenty-one surrounded by girls, talking to the girl I recognized as their sister, Lucy. "That's Peter." I had to admit, Peter was fairly handsome… but he had absolutely nothing on Edmund.

I didn't allow myself to voice that thought, though, so I said, "And all of the boys?"

He pointed to a girl of nineteen or twenty. She was absolutely gorgeous… wouldn't you know, she was surrounded by boys and girls. "That's Susan."

"It's a fairly sad reason for everyone to come here, though. Especially on a Sunday," I said, before I could stop myself.

To my surprise, Edmund smiled. "Yeah, pretty lustful. They're not bad people though… Peter's really noble, extremely protective of Lucy… I think he'd like to keep every boy away from her… he and I gave up on Susan a while ago. Susan… she used to be the nicest person, but, as I've said, I barely know her anymore."

"Surely your brother couldn't keep every boy away from Lucy?"

"No…" he said quietly, and appeared to be deep in thought, "he can't. He knows it now, more than ever. That's not to say I'm not protective of her… but I know that there are going to be boys that like her… and I'm going to give them a fair shot… Peter would like to fend them off with a sword, I'll bet."

I smiled… I could picture that. Edmund and his brother looked as if they could be knights.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked.

I looked down at my tea, and played with my cross (it was a nervous habit). "I always come here after Church."

"Oh…"

"Why are you always by yourself?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Sorry…" I mumbled as an afterthought, "just curious…"

"It's all right."

I looked up at him. His brown eyes were laughing. I couldn't believe I'd never noticed how beautiful his eyes were… then again, I'd never dared look him in the eyes for fear that I'd turn bright red.

"To answer your question, most of the time, I prefer the solitude, it gives me more time to think… and read," he added as an afterthought.

"What do you read?" This I could relate to.

He grinned sheepishly and pulled a book out of his schoolbag. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring. "I like fantasy… and history, too… especially about the old royalty, usually before the fifteenth century, though. Then there's the Bible, obviously," –I noted the cross hanging from a chain around his neck– "What do you read?"

"Fantasy, mostly, and the Bible, again, obviously, and… the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales." I said the last quickly, but he caught it.

"Stories of knights, kings, and maidens?"

I nodded somewhat meekly.

He thought for a moment. "I've got a story of a king… a boy who became a king," he corrected himself.

I nodded, indicating that I was listening.

"Well… There was a boy, Alexander, who was always the odd one out, with the children in school… even his family. I –I mean he, stumbled into a land where it was always winter… there was no Christmas, nothing good… just snow and ice… anyway, he met a beautiful woman in the woods, who promised to make him a prince, and later, a king. Alexander liked that idea. The woman who called herself the Queen told him that if he brought her his brother… William… and his two sisters… Rosalie and… and Anna, she'd make them serve him… he'd be better than his brother, finally. Alexander, fool that he was, believed her. He figured out how to get back, and brought his siblings with him. They met a nice couple before Alexander could get to the evil Queen, and Pe –William, Rosalie, and Anna listened to the stories the couple told about Asla –the real King, and how he'd come back… especially since Alexander and his siblings were there. Alexander snuck off… he went to the fake Queen and told her that his siblings were there, but the Be –couple had them. The Queen imprisoned him. I don't know the details of what happened with William, Rosalie and Lu –Anna, so I'll tell you all I know. The Queen dragged Alexander and her most loyal servant to her sledge, so the Queen could find Alexander's siblings and kill them. Alexander realized that he was probably going to be killed. This was the start of his huge change. The Long Winter ended, because the real King came back… William, Rosalie, and Anna went to his camp… as awful as Alexander treated them, they missed him. They were worried for him, and wanted him back."

He paused for a bit. It seemed like this was too much for him to handle. He drank some of his tea, and continued.

"I –he was tortured, Alexander, and… the real King's loyal people found him and freed him. The King wanted to talk with him, and that talk changed Alexander. His siblings were happy to have him back… but the Wi –Queen wasn't giving up without a fight. She said that Alexander belonged to her, because he was a traitor. The King said to kill him instead. The woman did that. But there was magic… a Deep Magic, that saved the King… it brought him back to life. There was a battle… Alexander and William were going to fight. Rosalie and Anna went with the King, to save those the Queen had imprisoned. During the battle… I –I mean Alexander had the idea to smash the Queen's… I should tell you that the Queen wasn't human. She was a witch, and she'd imprison and kill with her magic. Alexander wanted to smash the witch-Queen's wand. He… he did it… but, though her magic was gone, she could still hurt him… she stabbed him. Alexander had no idea what was going on outside of the pain… and the satisfaction that he'd destroyed the witch's wand. A little later, Anna, who had a healing cordial, healed him. He was knighted. Then, later, he and his siblings became Kings and Queens under the real King. William was High King, second to the real King… Alexander was just a King, and was happy to be even that. There were a few problems that needed to be sorted out… but fifteen years later, they all disappeared. They went back to their home, but they remembered everything. Alexander had changed, anyone could see that… because he wasn't a rotten schoolboy anymore, deep down he was a king."

Edmund had finished. I was in absolute awe. It sounded so realistic that I wondered…

"Edmund Alexander Pevensie! You haven't even said hello to me!" Peter said, coming over.

Of course.

"Hello," Peter said politely, "I'm Peter, Ed's elder brother."

"I'm Victoria," I said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he smiled, kissing my hand.

I could picture Edmund and Peter as kings… they'd fit the role perfectly.

"Peter! Come here!" Susan called.

Peter sighed, and left. "I hope to see you again," he said, with a glance at his brother. Then he left to talk to Susan.

"She annoys him anymore…" Edmund said quietly. "Victoria… would you like to go on a date with me sometime?"

My heart stopped. "I'd love to… Alexander."

I gathered my things and left, leaving Edmund Pevensie absolutely dumbstruck.

-X-

Author's Note: There have been an abundance of Susan/Caspian stories lately… mostly people who haven't read the books! (sigh). This is my first Narnia fic in over a year (I think), so CC is appreciated. Reviews, as usual, are greatly appreciated and will most likely be replied to. If review and you have fics posted, I'll probably check them out, too. . . . . –Helena.