Author's Note: The song sung by Edmund is "Song For The Mira". It was originally written by Allister MacGillivray, though has been filtered down into many versions, which includes one the choir I am in is singing. The song was written in 1973, I believe, so I apologize for the time gap. However, "Mira" is one of my all time favorite songs, and I thought the lyrics fit so well with Edmund I just couldn't resist writing this. Go to my homepage for a vid of the song.
Full Summary: It has been a month since the Pevensies left Narnia, but Edmund can't help missing it dearly. One evening, while walking the grounds of Professor Kirke's mansion, he reminisces. Little does he know that he is not alone.
Disclaimer: Though I love C. S. Lewis and the Narnia series dearly, do I really look like a dead man brought back to life to write this crummy piece of fiction I call a story?
Edmund sat on the window seat, his chin in his hands. His eyes danced in the evening light as he admired the vast emptiness of the fields before him. Though he had come to love the mansion he currently resided in dearly, as well as those who inhabited it, it didn't feel like home. After almost two decades of living in Narnia, nothing truly felt like home anymore. Even his siblings had seemed to change somewhat from the view he had had of them. They had seemed to adjust to their old world easily, or, as easily as one can expect them to. Edmund wished he knew how they did it so quickly. He was still letting his courtly vocabulary slip every now and again, though "let" probably wasn't the right word. The others had once again become their old selves with just a few minor modifications to their personalities and interests.
The boy's train of thought was shattered when his younger sister's voice bounded down the hallway and into the small room. He could hear her giggling with Peter's deep bass laughter eventually blending in with it. By the time the pair had reached Edmund's hide-a-way, Peter had completely overpowered his sister with his roaring tone. As they passed through the partially-open door, Edmund caught a glimpse of Lucy riding upon Peter's back. The two were out of sight in moments, leaving Edmund to once again ponder his past, if one could call it such.
Giving the grounds one final glance, the ten year old sighed lightly and stood up. He may not be in Narnia anymore but he could pretend he was, if only for a moment. Trying to convince himself he wasn't just being silly, he gathered his wits and made his way outside. As Edmund opened the front door, he gave the nearby coat rack a glance. It was too warm out for a coat, and not feeling like slipping on a pair of shoes, the boy simply walked out in his bare feet.
The stone steps chilled him to the bone, the sun's warmth long since out of their reach. But within moments he was stepping upon the soft grass and all traces of the cold were banished. Blades of the foliage stuck up between his toes, tickling his feet and making him smile ever so slightly. Dandelions, in their final throws of life, blew seeds upon his trousers when he stepped too closely. Flowers, nowhere near as exquisite as those in Narnia, decorated the landscape and added more color to the already-stunning sunset. Edmund sighed, rather pleased with the sun's display. Though it could never be as beautiful as the ones back home it was one of the better Earth sunsets he had seen in years. Dashing colors of purple, indigo, blue, pink, and orange lined the canvas above his head, throwing long shadows behind the boy.
Darkness was beginning to fall and Edmund knew Peter would begin to get worried if he wasn't inside soon. But while Peter could wait, Edmund's emotions could not. He needed to be home again, if only in his thoughts. And so, without giving the mansion a second glance, the Just King walked deeper into his makeshift kingdom.
The forested corner of Professor Kirke's property had an almost magnetic attraction to Edmund. The trees, however young they were, still had a comforting resemblance to the Western Wood that Edmund had so many a time gone hunting in. As he strolled through the wood, his Wood at the moment, dirt and freshly fallen leaves crunched beneath his feet. Puffs of forest floor curled up around the boy's toes, turning them a homely beige. Edmund smiled wistfully at the color, remembering how Narnian soil would create a slightly darker shade upon his pale skin. Not even knowing he had started, Edmund began to sing softly.
Can you imagine a piece of the universe,
More fit for princes and Kings?
I'll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge,
And the pleasure it brings.
Edmund paused in step and in lyric, deep in thought. His mother had sung that to him as a child and it had been one of his favorite lullabies. He had never guessed that it would one day hit so much closer to home than the simple tenderness it had started out to be. With a sigh the boy started the song from the beginning, thankful for once that he could sing rather well.
Out on the Mira on warm afternoons,
Old men go fishing with black line and spoons;
And if they catch nothing they never complain.
I wish I was with them again.
The boy smiled a bit when, as he reached the second line, he came upon a small stream weaving through the trees.
As boys in their boats call to girls on the shore,
Teasing the ones that they dearly adore;
And into the evening the courting begins,
I wish I was with them again.
Oh! how the song brought back memories. And not just memories of his first home and his mother, either. Edmund could remember each and every face of the women who had come to court his brother and himself. None of the Pevensies had ever chosen a suitor, but that had not made the flirting any less meaningful. And the girl that the young King could remember clearest of all was his first caller. She had been a sweet brunette with small hazel eyes and fine lips. She was not the most beautiful creature Edmund had seen or would ever see, but she had her own fine grace about her. The Just King had been young when she had arrived and neither were yet fully aware of how courting should be carried out, so they had picked fun at each other constantly. The memory was sweet, the single line in the song making it even sweeter.
Can you imagine a piece of the universe,
More fit for princes and Kings?
I'll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge,
And the pleasure it brings.
Edmund never did know what Marion Bridge was, but as far as he was concerned, right now it was Narnia. If only he had ten cities to offer to get his home and all of it's pleasures back. If only…
Out on the Mira on soft summer nights,
Bonfires blaze to the children's delight;
They dance 'round the flames singing songs with their friends,
I wish I was with them again.
Distant images of Fauns dancing around their fires during almost-nightly celebrations flickered just behind Edmund's eyes. Though the Pevensies always enjoyed the shows, Lucy found the most fun in it. She would dance along with the Fauns and, if Edmund asked her, could probably still perform their flowing weave.
And over the ashes the stories are told,
Of witches and werewolves and Oak Island gold;
Stars on the river-face sparkle and spin,
I wish I was with them again.
While Edmund sang the verses with increasing volume, he got the strange suspicion that it had been written for and about Narnia. Though his home did not have witches, werewulfs were terrifying predators. They had sided with the White Witch and many a dark story could be told about them, most of them true.
Can you imagine a piece of the universe,
More fit for princes and Kings?
I'll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge,
And the pleasure it brings.
Out on the Mira, the people are kind,
They'll treat you to homebrew, and help you unwind;
And if you come broken they'll see that you mend,
I wish I was with them again.
Indeed the people of Narnia were kind. Each one of the Pevensie children had spent at least one night in the home of a Narnian, all for different reasons. Peter had been wounded in a battle with a Fell Beast in the first year of their reign and had remained in the home of a Satyr until Lucy could arrive with her cordial. Susan had been on a diplomatic trip when a rainstorm had trapped her in the den of a badger. Lucy had enjoyed many a sleepover with the Faun Tumnus after the White Witch's end, the two growing to reach a bond almost as strong as though they were siblings. And Edmund, like his High King, had stayed the night with a Giant after ruining his leg in a battle until help could arrive.
Now I'll conclude with a wish you go well,
Sweet be your dreams, and your happiness swell;
I'll leave you here, for my journey begins,
I'm going to be with them again.
Edmund let loose a small sigh. The Professor had told the children he was sure they would return home, but only when they weren't looking for it. At the rate Edmund was coming to terms with his new-yet-old life that time was quite a ways off. But he had to go home one day, he simply had to. He missed being able to fight with a sword. He missed being able to throw a dagger with deadly precision, a skill he had learned from Lucy herself. He missed the beautiful Narnian air. But most of all, he missed the bonds he had created with so many a creature, and the bonds he had built with his siblings. He had to return one day, and he had to believe he would.
The boy jumped when a twig snapped behind him. His right hand instinctively flew to his waist, though he knew there would not be the hilt of a sword to grasp. Every defense technique the child had learned in Narnia came flooding back, and as his eyes scanned the woods fervently, he did as he remembered. He had barely pressed himself against a tree to protect his back when the tall frame of his brother came stumbling out of some brambles.
"What are you doing here?" Edmund practically shouted. His eyes widened at the sight of his brother, covered head to toe in burrs and stray wood debris.
"I was trying to find you." Peter said, not unkindly. A small, knowing smile graced his features, and Edmund immediately became terrified.
"How long have you been 'trying to find' me?" The ten year old asked, going pale. When Peter didn't answer right away, he knew the answer. Since he had begun singing. It was common knowledge that Edmund hated for people to hear him sing. The fact that his brother had not only heard him singing, but singing the song closest to his heart about the topic closest to his soul was downright cruel. His brother could have let on somehow that he was there, saving Edmund from the deep red heat that wafted across his face.
"I'm sorry, Ed," Peter said, not sounding truly sorry. "I've been worried about you, and when I couldn't find you after it got dark, I came out here to find you. I heard you singing and I just didn't have the heart to make you stop." Edmund looked up in shock. It was dark? When had that happened? "Come on, now. You still have a piece of 'Mira' back at the mansion." Peter smiled his honest smile and offered a hand to Edmund.
"But I want the rest of it, too." The younger of the brothers said sadly.
"We all do," The blonde-haired boy replied, his smile fading into something much softer, much more forlorn. "But you heard the Professor. We will go back there again. But until we do, we have to be enough for each other." Edmund looked up at his brother, his eyes shimmering with nearly-forgotten peace.
"Do you promise you won't forget?" He asked as he took Peter's hand.
"How about this," Edmund's face darkened with mock-fright as the High King's face drew into a mischievous smile. "We will talk about Narnia every day, just the four of us. And on days we aren't together, we will talk to ourselves if we have to. Does that sound good?"
"That sounds perfect." The Just King smiled contentedly as he let his brother, his King, lead him home.
Author's Note: I apologize for the awful ending. This didn't turn out at all like I had hoped, but it is the best I've got, so it will have to do for now. Reviews and constructive critiques are welcome and highly appreciated. Flames will be met with my rage in the form of being deleted and a renewed passion to write more.