The Redemption of the King. Eustace asks a question and Edmund answers, much to the surprise of those aboard the Dawn Treader.

Disclaimer: I am not C.S. Lewis. If I grow to possess a fraction of his literary genius, I will be the happiest author on Earth!

(1) Question

Eustace gazed into the galley fire, fascinated in spite of himself. The tongues of flame twisted and danced in an incomprehensible pattern, weaving and waving in myriad shades of red and gold. He'd never really liked fire before, had never seen the value of its roaring warmth, of sitting around it with one's friends and family, listening to cheerful chatter, laughter, and gossip. Fire. Friends. Family. Just a few of the things he was learning to appreciate in Narnia, especially after having been un-dragoned by Aslan. Becoming a huge, ugly, nuisance of a creature (and discovering that you had been behaving like one all along) did tend to put things in perspective. He really had been an ass.

You were only an ass, but I was a traitor. Eustace frowned. Edmund's statement had begun to bother him after they had left Dragon Island. A traitor? Edmund? It was so un-Edmund, it was absurd. Edmund's sense of right and wrong was strong, to say the least. Anyway, weren't Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy supposed to be the legendary Narnian monarchs of the "Golden Age"? Not that Eustace knew anything about Narnian history –he hadn't really cared about it until recently, but how could a traitor become a king?

"A tree for your thoughts?" Edmund's voice cut through his cousin's reverie.

Eustace blinked. "A what?"

"A tr –a penny. A penny for your thoughts."

"Aah." Eustace was going to have to get someone to teach him the names and values of Narnian currency. "Nothing, really."

"Oh, come on," Edmund's voice was light, encouraging. "There's something on your mind. Out with it, cousin, or I shall get Lu to tickle it out of you."

Eustace felt vaguely cornered by Edmund's wolf-grey eyes. "Must you talk like a king?"

"Must you avoid the question?" Edmund shot back.

"What's this about tickling Eustace?" Lucy asked. She looked over at them from where she was talking with Caspian and Reepicheep.

"He was about to bless us with his great and wise thoughts", said Edmund with a small smirk. Eustace glared in response.

"Let's hear them, then," said Caspian.

"I'd really rather not."

Reepicheep gave Eustace a hard look. "In case you haven't noticed, it isn't just family who has requested you to speak your mind. Your cousins are also your king and queen, and King Caspian has asked as well."

Eustace sighed. "I don't have any wise words. I was just wondering."

"Wondering what?"

Eustace looked at Edmund. "What did you mean, exactly, on Dragon Island when you said you were a traitor? I don't get it. You're a king. How does a traitor become a king?"

There was silence. He'd said something terrible, that was for certain, if Lucy's appalled face, Caspian's uncharacteristically unsure expression, and Reepicheep's astonished gaze was anything to go by (though how it was possible for a Mouse to look astonished, Eustace didn't know). Edmund, however, simply looked…thoughtful, as if his grey eyes gazed upon something only he could see. A gusty breath escaped his lips and moved his dark bangs. "That", said Edmund with an almost audible snap back to reality, "that is a long tale".

"A tale!" cried a voice from somewhere else in the galley. "A tale!"

"Aye!" More people joined in. "A tale from King Edmund!"

"Don't they know?" Lucy cried. "Edmund, tell a different one!"

Edmund shook his head. "It's my story. I'm not afraid of it. Have you ever heard of the Lion's Tetrarch Cycle, Caspian?"

Caspian's eyes lit up. "We found a copy, along with half a library's worth of books, in a vault while we were restoring the Cair. I've never heard any of the pieces preformed, though. There are so many..."

"Then you'll like this," said Edmund. He stood up on his chair, and the chatter in the galley died down a little. "Good my people!" he cried. "Monarchs, lords, knights, and valiant seafarers! A tale has been requested. A tale will be told. By our good cousin's request, it will be 'The Redemption of the King'!"