A/N: I'll be doing a Narnia series about the whole "once a king or queen, always a king or queen." This is the first one, about Edmund, my favorite character. I was attacked by a plot bunny while watching LWW last night. I think this one kind of sucks, but there you go. It has some good parts, though.
Enjoy,
Smiley
He was sure that it was real.
It wasn't so much that he remembered the smell, the look, the appearance of Narnia as he remembered the sense of it. He remembered the feelings of battle, of celebrations and festivals, and the irrevocable sense that he belonged. So, no matter how Susan protested, he was sure.
Edmund knew that the sense of belonging came with the sense of being totally and indisputably loved. He knew that that sense came once in a lifetime, and that he was one slip of the tongue closer to losing that love. When the wardrobe was closed for the last time, he dreaded it. Edmund feared the love and belonging would leave him, not just from his siblings, but from everyone in his life.
It didn't.
He felt that love stronger than ever, and he, for the first time, responded to it. He laughed with his brother, kissed his mother, comforted his sisters, and shook his father's hand when he returned from the war. It was easier, he decided, to love and be loved, than to be loved and resent it.
Edmund was a changed man, and no one could deny it. Quieter, shyer, but oh so polite and kind, they all said. Mothers who had warned their daughters to stay away from "that younger Pevensie boy" now urged them to have him for tea. He was called out to in the corridors at school; he was sought out for help.
Edmund knew he was no longer a true king, but he was indeed a king in his own right. For a king is someone who loves and is loved, and he finally knew he was both.
-Fin-