Disclaimer: Alas, C.S. Lewis owns the Chronicles of Narnia, not I!
Rated: T for intensity... eventually, that is!
Pevensie Ages: Edmund 17, Peter 20, Susan 19, Lucy 15.
All other Author's Notes at the end of the Prologue!
***
"What is that?"
Edmund pulled away from his brother's welcome home embrace and glanced down at the little creature snuggled in his arms. He laughed. "It's a baby Gryphon, Peter."
His elder brother looked rather foolish as he stretched his fingers out to touch the sleeping infant. "It is?"
Edmund knew that in the King's mind, the image of a swift, golden, winged feline was darting about, tracing ecstatic curlicues against the backdrop of a topaz sky while screeching battle cries from its curved beak. But in the younger brother's embrace, an awkward, pudgy little lump of dark brown velvet with stubby wings and a blunt beak lay on its back, paws flopping limply over a round belly. It mewled in its sleep. Rather a shocking contrast.
Ed grinned. "Yup. I'd never seen one before either. But Willow Wing assures me they all start out like this."
"It's Willow Wing's?"
"No." Edmund took his time arranging the baby more comfortably. A little noise, a cross between a growl and a purr, rumbled against his chest. The young King's heart thudded. It was his turn to look foolish as he glanced up at his brother and hazarded a smile. "Actually, it's mine."
Peter's whole face seemed to convulse, as if he wasn't sure whether to be amused or horrified. "What?"
"Shhhh! Quit yelling..." Edmund stroked his fingers against the warm beak, not wanting the Gryphon's nap to be disturbed.
Peter folded his arms across his chest and frowned. "Edmund, clearly that creature is not actually, um… well, yours yours… if you know what I mean…"
Edmund felt his face go quite red, but he couldn't help snickering.
"And since we don't exactly have pets here in Narnia, I'm at a loss as to what you mean by this thing being yours." The High King raised a stern eyebrow.
Edmund decided it might be wise to get inside. There was a strong wind coming up, and the little Gryphon was beginning to shiver. He pulled the edge of his cloak up over his arm as he walked, tucking the infant under it. "First of all, this is a baby, not a thing. And secondly, she's a girl, so you can stop referring to her as it. Unfortunately, I can give you no other name to call her by just now…" Edmund grinned as they crossed the Great Hall. "Since I haven't decided on one yet."
Peter froze halfway up the staircase. "You're naming it?"
"Her!"
"Alright, her!" Peter tossed his hands up in the air. "Forgive me, Edmund, if the idea of my seventeen-year-old brother parenting a baby Gryphon – a baby of any race, in fact – seems just a little bit ludicrous."
Silently, Edmund agreed. What have I gotten myself into, he wondered. He shifted his grip on the Gryphon infant as he pushed open the door to the four sovereigns' private sitting room.
A protesting squeak issued from the half-asleep little creature, and she went stiff.
Ed looked down, hurriedly returning his arm to its former posture. "Sorry, Baby," he murmured.
Slowly, he felt the small, warm body relax against him. The dull tan beak opened wide, exposing a bright pink tongue. She yawned.
Oh Aslan! Edmund thought giddily, hardly daring to breathe. I'm in love!
"Ed…"
He sighed at his brother's exasperated tone. "Peter, I assure you that I will explain everything to you and the girls. After I've made her a nest and something to eat."
Peter actually grinned. "So you're nesting now?"
Edmund turned scarlet. "I suppose," he muttered.
His brother just laughed.
Sighing, Edmund rang a small bell. A moment later, the door opened. A Cherry Dryad fluttered into the room and bowed to him. "Welcome home, Your-" She stopped short, eyes widening at the sight of the little bundle in His Highness's arms.
Edmund blushed pinker than the Dryad.
Hurriedly, the maiden bowed before him. "Your Majesty. How may I… er, be of service?"
Edmund tried to scrape up as much kingly dignity as he could. No easy task, considering that the creature in his arms had awakened and begun to drool on his sleeve. "I shall need you to fetch a basket, Silkwind. Large enough for this infant to sleep in. And several soft blankets, if you please."
The Dryad appeared to be trying to squelch a smile. "Yes, Sire. A-anything else?"
The Gryphon – whom Edmund had been attempting to dissuade from chewing on his tunic - chose that moment to open her beak and let out a loud, unhappy squawk.
Peter choked back a laugh.
"Some warm milk and honey," Ed gulped. "And some clean rags. She's hungry… I think…"
Bowing and trying desperately not to grin, the Dryad turned and fluttered out of the room.
Edmund flopped down on the sofa and poked at the Gryphon's nibbling beak. "Stop that."
She hissed, then returned to mouthing sloppily on his arm.
Edmund sighed. His tunic was an old one anyway.
"Looks like a feisty little girl," Peter commented. He sat down as well, slinging an arm around his brother. "Sure you're ready to be a dad?"
"Is he what?"
Both Kings jumped, startled. The parlor door had swung open again as Susan and Lucy, dressed in riding cloaks and bearing archery sets, entered.
Lucy gave a little cry and ran straight for Edmund, her long auburn hair swinging in his face as she bent to shower him with kisses. "Oh Edmund!"
"Hi Lu," Edmund chuckled, hugging her as best he could with the burden in his arms.
Her blue eyes were wide with delight. "When did you get back?"
Susan came forward to get her share of kisses. "We didn't expect you until tomorrow… what is that?"
Edmund followed his sister's shocked expression down to the infant and sighed. "She is a baby Gryphon."
"Edmund's adopting it," Peter said flatly.
"Her."
"Yes, yes, her."
"Adopting?" Susan repeated.
"What fun!" Lu cried. "May I hold her? What's her name?"
"Carefully," Edmund admonished, allowing Lucy to scoop the little creature out of his arms and into her lap. "She's kind of heavy. And she doesn't have a name yet. I was hoping you'd help me with that."
"You are going to name it? I mean, her?" Susan hastily added, seeing the annoyed flash of Ed's dark eyes.
He nodded, shaking his arms out to get feeling back into them. "Yes. By the Mane, that had to be the longest ride home in Narnia's history. She weighs a ton!"
Lucy looked up, one of the Gryphon's paws clasped in her slim fingers. "You held her the entire journey?"
Edmund nodded. "A full day on horseback with a baby Gryphon in my arms. Not exactly relaxing."
His little sister giggled and dropped a kiss on the baby's smooth beak. "I thought Philip looked amused when we came into the stables!"
"He was," Edmund said dryly.
"Well I'm not," Susan cut in. She frowned, brushing her hair back from her forehead. "Edmund, you can't be serious about actually adopting a baby…"
"Certainly not!" Peter added. "You have enough responsibilities as it is. You're a King, Ed."
"And as a King I have the responsibility to defend the welfare of my subjects!" Edmund retorted. "Do I not?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"There you have it, then."
Susan sighed. "Oh, Edmund. You're twisting things around. The Gryphons can take care of their own."
"Not this one," Edmund responded quietly.
"Pray tell, why not?"
In response, Edmund gingerly lifted the Gryphon out of Lucy's lap. With ease that had come of practice, he tucked his arm around the downy wings that would soon be sleek with dark golden-brown flight feathers. The velveted paws that would eventually possess fearsome talons stretched toward him trustingly. He pulled the Gryphon close to him, and the blunt beak that would one day gain the curved sharpness of a predator nuzzled into his chest. She made a contented noise and raised her wide black eyes to his.
Edmund forgot to breathe.
A knock at the door jerked Edmund away from the staring match he had got into with her. "Enter!"
Silkwind appeared with a basket, blankets, rags, and a bowl of milk and honey. Her face and voice were suspiciously solemn as she handed the wooden bowl to Edmund. "My Liege." She bowed and made as if to go.
Edmund sighed. "Silkwind."
She turned back. "Highness?"
"It's alright." He grinned awkwardly. "Rather amusing, I guess."
For one instant the Dryad looked shocked. Then she caught Lucy's eye. Lu smiled and nodded. Giggling, the Dryad made a bow and hurried out of the parlor.
"I suppose this shall be all over the castle before nightfall," Edmund grumbled.
"The castle? The whole kingdom, Ed," Peter retorted.
"Hmph," Edmund mumbled, sticking his fingers into the bowl. Good. Not too hot. "Considering the fact that little birds actually do carry tales in Narnia, I would agree with your assessment." He dipped one of the rags into the bowl and soaked up some of the sweet-smelling concoction, then offered it, dripping, to the Gryphon.
She made a snuffling noise. Then her head jerked toward his hand and she grabbed the rag between her paws, mouthing at it greedily, her rasping tongue wringing the liquid from the cloth. Soft warbling mixed with her hungry grunts.
Edmund sighed and patted her wings with one hand, the other holding firmly to the rag so she wouldn't swallow it. "Good girl."
Susan stared wide-eyed. "You're really serious about this!"
"Of course." Edmund tugged the now drained rag out of the baby's grip. She screeched in protest, and he hastily dipped another. "Why would you think anything else?" He tapped the rag against the Gryphon's beak. She grabbed it and continued with her dinner.
"Well, but… it – she – it's… Edmund!" Susan sputtered. At a loss for words, the Queen flung her hands up and flopped down on the sofa. "Peter, tell him!"
"This is ridiculous!" Peter fussed. "You can't just bring home an infant and expect it – her – to take care of herself! This is a major responsibility for you! Why did you take her from the Gryphons in the first place?"
"Because I couldn't very well stay with them, could I?"
"Edmund…"
"Aslan told me to!" Edmund snapped.
Well... that shut them up.
He glanced up at his siblings, taking a moment to look into three sets of blue eyes, so different and yet so alike. "I notice no one asked me how my trip went."
Lucy was the first to recover. "How was it?"
"It wasn't what we thought," Edmund replied, offering a fresh rag to the baby. She gnawed at it, eagerly at first, then apparently with waning interest. The young King withdrew the rag, and the Griffin made no protest. Instead, she yawned (that pink tongue again!), and her dark eyes began to flutter. Edmund stroked the top of her head. "But we found the problem and took care of it." His voice, even to his own ears, sounded so very tired.
Lucy stared at him, then jumped up and rang the bell. "I'll have Silkwind serve our dinner in here," she announced. "That will give you plenty of time to tell, Edmund."
"Tell what?"
Lu pulled a footstool up in front of her brother's feet and sat on it, grinning. "The story. Surely you don't bring home a baby Gryphon without there being a story attached!"
Edmund opened his mouth to protest, but then he saw Peter and Susan exchange a look. He looked down at the Gryphon. She was quite definitely asleep, her belly full of milk and honey. The King smiled grimly when he realized that his tunic was now also coated in sweet stickiness.
"Ed!" Lucy swatted at his knee. "Tell!"
"Alright!" he groused. "Just don't expect it to be entirely coherent. She's been keeping me up nights…"
To Be Continued
***
This multi-chapter plot-bunny was no longer content to hang around in my laptop... it wanted to be unleashed! Obviously this will be an Edmund-centered fic, my first attempt at adventure/quest style writing. Philip will also feature heavily in this fic (Yay!!! I've been trying to get him into my fics for a while now!),as well as various OC creatures!
I've already learned quite a lot about the lore of Gryphons, but if you have any knowledge to share, please feel free to PM me! I will, of course, embellish such legends as I see fit, and will be creating original lore to satisfy the needs of the story*grins*
Thank you for reading! Any and all reviews are much appreciated!