Summary: A few months after taking the crown, Edmund uncovers an ancient Narnian tradition that all princes must go through as a rite of passage. This is the story of his journey to learn what it means to be a king.

A/N: This one's been tapping at the back of my brain for a little while, so I thought that I ought to get it out, despite having decided that I was done with Golden Age fics for a while and was moving on to the other books. I have a small outline for this story with some idea as to where it will go, but I'll continue it as long as people are enjoying and it's working out. So let me know what you think!


Chapter One: Edmund's Discovery

There was one room at the top of the East Tower that had not been explored, and it was one of the last rooms on Tumnus' list. He did not believe there was anything very important up there, so they had left it to the end, mainly because it was at the top of a long spiraling staircase and no one was particularly thrilled at the thought of climbing it. But the day had arrived for the task, and shortly after breakfast, Edmund and Susan made their way up the tower with Tumnus the Faun, Mrs. Beaver, and Fayina, a Talking Hare who had been assisting Susan with the plans for Cair Paravel. Fayina bounded on ahead as the others trudged up the steps. Edmund counted as they went up, and when they finally reached the heavy wooden door, he announced, "Fifty-seven!"

"No wonder it's covered in dirt!" exclaimed Mrs. Beaver. "Who would want to make that trip every day?" No one answered, for everyone was watching Tumnus and Edmund, who were straining against to door to push it open. Finally, with a loud creak, the door jerked on its hinges, nearly causing the two to fall into a heap. A large cloud of dust billowed out through the door, and after a fit of coughing, they entered the room.

It was much larger than they had expected, and at first very hard to see. But then Mrs. Beaver found the window, and with the sunlight, they were able to see. There was a huge wooden table that ran almost the length of the entire room, and it was piled almost three feet high with scrolls and papers. Along the walls were bookshelves almost to the ceiling, filled with more books and papers. A thick layer of dust covered all. "What a mess," said Mrs. Beaver. "Did you know that this was here?" she asked Tumnus.

The Faun shook his head. "I thought that this room was empty."

"Well, let's see what we have in here," said Edmund, and they started to sift through the piles on the table and look through the bookshelves. It was silent for a few minutes before Tumnus called out, "Look here!" They all crowded around him as he held up an ancient piece of parchment and read, "Loyal Narnian, Doubtless you have come into this tower to find the lost histories of Narnia. I have hidden them here for safekeeping, knowing that Jadis will not look for them here. The White Witch's powers are growing, and as our king assembles the armies for war, I must do my part. I do hope that since you are reading this now, the Witch has been defeated and peace has returned to our land. Yours in Aslan, Tornas, Chief Historian, Autumn, 899."

"Eight hundred ninety-nine?" exclaimed Susan. "This letter is over a hundred years old!"

Tumnus' eyes were wide. "This is amazing! Tornas is one of the most famous of us Fauns. He put together a complete history of Narnia, dating back to the day Aslan gave Speech to the Animals. It was thought that his work was lost when the White Witch seized control of Narnia and ransacked Cair Paravel—but here it was, at the top of this tower all the time!" They quickly got to work sorting through the piles, but by the end of the day, it still looked as if they had not started. They climbed back down the winding staircase and to the dining hall for dinner, where Susan and Edmund told Peter and Lucy about the discovery. Peter decided that preserving and cataloguing the Narnian histories should be one of their priorities, and appointed Tumnus to oversee the project. Edmund volunteered to help.

A week later, Edmund was beginning to regret the decision. They had spent hours upon hours sifting through the volumes of information, but it felt like they had not made any progress. It was difficult to tell what was folklore and what was true history—it seemed, in fact, that Tornas had simply opened the door of the room and tossed all of the materials inside, and they simply laid where they landed. Every evening, Edmund and Tumnus would emerge covered in dust, but would have brilliant stories to tell the others: Prince Col's journey into Archenland, Aslan's visit to Telmar, and the defeat of the Trolls of the Marsh.

One afternoon, Edmund was reading through a book that detailed the life of Marius, who seemed to be one of the most boring of all of Narnia's princes. Edmund sighed as he turned the pages, scanning for anything important in the text. This is nearly as awful as school, he thought, when suddenly, a passage caught his eye:

"The day after Prince Marius' thirteenth birthday, he sailed to the Lone Islands to start his term of service. Narnian princes always took part in this tradition, started by King Rulian. The king had retraced the steps of his grandfather, King Gale, who had defeated the dreaded dragon and was made Emperor. Marius became the attendant-in-waiting of the Lord Fargus, serving him for several months. During this time, Marius learned many of the things that he needed to become king."

Edmund was lost in thought until Tumnus said, "Your Highness? Is everything all right?"

Shaking himself, Edmund replied, "Yes, of course. I just found something interesting." He showed the book to Tumnus and asked, "Have you ever heard of this tradition?"

"Hmm," he replied. "I don't remember reading it before, but I'm sure we'll find more about it."

Later that day, Edmund found Peter writing in the small study attached to his bedroom. "There is so much to be done, Edmund," he sighed. "I feel as if I do not know where to begin." He put down his quill and smiled wearily. "How did things go today for you?"

"It's terribly boring," Edmund admitted. "But I did find something I wanted to speak to you about today." He told Peter about Prince Marius and the tradition of going to the Lone Islands. "Every Narnian prince must spend time in service to a lord of the Lone Islands. I guess it helps them become better rulers."

Peter looked at his brother quizzically. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with us?"

Edmund put his hands on his hips. "Don't you see? We're supposed to be restoring Narnia, bringing back the old ways, right? Don't you think we should be following some of the old traditions as well?"

"But Edmund," he replied, "we're already kings—it wouldn't make any sense for us to go and serve."

"I wasn't suggesting that you go," said Edmund in a huff. "I want to go. And don't try to argue! Narnia needs you, we both know it. And so do the girls."

"Narnia needs you too, Edmund—"

"But I don't know how to be king, Peter. If this will help me, then I want to do it." Peter opened his mouth to protest, but Edmund cut him off again. "You cannot change my mind. I'm going, whether you want me to or not. But I was hoping to have your permission for this. Besides, you were planning to visit the Lone Islands next week—it is perfect." Peter still was unsure, but Edmund talked of nothing else through dinner and the rest of the evening. Before going to bed, Peter stopped at Susan's bedroom. "Should I let him go?" heasked.

"What choice do you have?" she said. "You know Ed—once he has something in his mind, there's no letting go of it. Besides, he is a king, and a knight of Narnia. You should not stop him."

With all of that settled, the only thing left to do was to make the final preparations for Edmund's journey. He apologized to Tumnus for leaving him with so much work to do, but of course Tumnus wished him well and not to think on it. The day before they were scheduled to leave, Susan helped Edmund pack his clothes and some of his favorite books, while Lucy sat on his bed, watching sadly. "Must you really go, Edmund?" she said for the umpteenth time.

"It's for the best Lu," he replied. "I'm going to learn all sorts of fantastic things while I'm gone. I'll be able to really do what Aslan wants as king."

"Maybe I should go, too!" she said excitedly.

"It's only for princes," he told her, trying not to be cross. "And it's something that I need to do." Lucy folded her arms and said that she still did not understand what the big deal was, and that it was not fair for her to have to stay behind simply because she was a girl. Finally, they were finished, and Edmund pulled everything out into the hallway. They had a farewell dinner for Edmund, and their friends all came to say good-bye. There were many handshakes all around and Mrs. Beaver gave Edmund so many hugs that Mr. Beaver had to pull her away so he could go to bed. When everyone was gone, they went to their own rooms, but none of them were expecting to sleep much that night.

The next morning, the four children were sleepy-eyed and yawning over breakfast. The sun was not yet up, but the captain wanted to sail out as soon as the sun began to rise. Edmund felt his stomach turning over and over, a mixture of excitement and nervousness, and a little tiny piece of sadness. "Are you all right, Edmund? You look terrible," said Lucy.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, looking at Peter. He did not want to give his brother any excuse to refuse his going, but Peter said nothing.

"Are you sure you've packed everything you wanted?" asked Susan.

"Yes, I am sure," he replied.

"Did you say good-bye to everyone? Did you remember to—"

"Stop worrying, Susan," Peter said. "I'm sure Edmund has taken care of everything." Edmund smiled gratefully at his older brother, and they finished breakfast in silence. In fact, no one said anything further until they all rode together down to the harbor. The Narnian navy only consisted of one ship at the moment: the Swan of the Sea. The ship had been completed only one month before, and the kings and queens had taken it on its maiden voyage up and down the coast. This would be the furthest that the ship would have traveled, and the crew was busy making necessary preparations and last-minute checks. They waited for the captain, a short man named Parn, to give them the word to come aboard. Parn was an Archenlander that King Lune had sent to Narnia to assist with the plans and building of the navy, and he had proven to be an invaluable help to Peter. Susan fussed over Edmund and tried hard not to give him too many reminders while Peter spoke to the crew that were still ashore. Finally, Parn came down to greet them. "Good morning, Your Majesties," he said with a bow. "The Swan of the Sea is ready to receive you."

"Thank you, good Parn," said Peter. "My brother and I will do all that we can to assist you."

"All is taken care of, High King," he replied. "I will show you to your quarters whenever you are ready." Peter nodded and gave each of his sisters a kiss. "I will be back in a few weeks," he said. "Stay well." The girls said good-bye to him before turning to Edmund.

"Now, you needn't make a fuss," he said quickly to the queens. "I'll be returning before long myself." He looked at them warily for a moment, waiting for the onslaught of tears. But Susan simply gave him a long hug, saying "Take care, Edmund." Lucy's eyes were wide and sad, and she hesitated for a moment before crying, "Oh, Edmund! I will miss you so much!" and jumping into his arms. Edmund rolled his eyes, but hugged her back, secretly happy that she had, after all, made a fuss. At last, he was able to pry himself from Lucy's grip, and walked behind Peter to board the ship. One of the crew cried for the anchor to be raised, and they were off.

They had a strong tail wind the entire time, so the trip to the Lone Islands only took fifteen days. Peter had suffered some mild seasickness for the first day or two, so Edmund had stayed with him in their quarters to keep him company. But by the third day, Edmund was itching to be out and about, and since Peter was feeling so much better they walked around and met the rest of the crew. Edmund was able to try almost every job on the ship, from feeding the animals to raising the sails to steering the ship. He even climbed up to the lookout for an entire day, and pitched in to help the crew with the cleaning and mopping. In the evenings, he would talk to Peter about their plans for Narnia and would listen as the others reported to them on the customs of the Lone Islands. Edmund was too busy to feel nervous once the entire time—that is, until the afternoon of the fourteenth day, when the unmistakable cry came from the top of the lookout perch: "Land ho!"