"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Edmund, Susan, and Peter turned around and stared at Lucy curiously.

"Do what?" Peter dropped the bag he was carrying and walked up to Lucy's maroon beach chair, where she was currently engrossed in a novel.

"Swim out to those islands. It's a bad idea." Lucy didn't remove her eyes from her book.

"How did you know we were planning to swim out there?"

"It's pretty obvious. You're all wearing swim suits, you have a bag of what seems to be supplies, and I heard you talking about going last night." Lucy closed her book and stared at her siblings. "Like I said, I wouldn't go over there if I were you."

"Why?" Edmund tilted his head in confusion. "It's perfectly safe."

"I've heard stories about a sea monster that haunts the island, attacking sailers that dare to come near. Normally, I wouldn't believe such legends, but most of the stories were recent."

Susan rolled her eyes at her sister. "Oh, Lucy, you're so gullible. Do you really think that those sailers were telling the truth? They probably just wanted to entertain a Queen."

"She's right, Lu. There's absolutely nothing dangerous lurking on or around those islands. I checked them for danger myself." Peter jogged back to the water and grabbed his bag. "Come on guys, let's get to the islands before our food gets cold." Susan nodded in agreement and started to walk into the water.

Peter strapped the bag to his back and followed Susan into the water. They only waded a few feet in before they realized that Edmund wasn't with them.

"Ed, what are you doing?" Susan groaned.

"You know what guys, I think that I'm going to stay here with Lucy. She looks like she's having a lot of fun. Besides, I'm almost done with a book that I'm reading, and I'm dying to see what happens." Edmund walked over to the siblings' shared beach bag and grabbed a book.

"Come on Ed, do you really believe in Lucy's silly fairy tales?"

"Guys, no offense, but we're in Narnia. Anything is possible here. Peter, you could have missed something during your first expedition. I, for one, am going to put my trust in Lucy. Have a nice trip." Edmund turned his back on his older siblings.

To his surprise (and delight), Lucy had already lain out a green and silver beach chair for him. Edmund was bursting with happiness.

"My Lady, is this seat taken?" Edmund swept into an exaggerated bow. Lucy giggled.

"No, my good Sir, it is not. You can sit here if you wish." Edmund smiled and plopped down into the seat.

Lucy reached into her maroon bag and handed Edmund a thermos of some sort. He opened his mouth to ask what it was, but Lucy had already answered his question.

"It's lemonade. I taught the chef how to make it." Lucy raised her own thermos. "Cheers to a great day!"

Edmund threw his head back and laughed. He clinked his thermos with Lucy's and took a sip. Then, he opened his novel and started to read.

Behind him, Peter was already swimming back to shore to try to convince Edmund to come with them, but Susan grabbed his arm.

"Come on Peter, it's not worth it. If Edmund and Lucy want to believe in made up fairy tales, then so be it. We'll have a great time without them. Let's go." She turned and started to swim.

Peter threw one last glance at his younger siblings, who seemed to be having a ton of fun. He sighed, shook his head, and swam towards the islands.

Time skip

"Checkmate," Lucy groaned and laid her head on the mahogany table.

"How can you possibly be this good at chess? You've only been playing for a few months!" Edmund smirked and started to rearrange the glass chess pieces.

"Want to play again, Dear Sister?" Lucy's eye twitched in irritation.

"Of course I want to play agai-"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT PETER!"

"OH REALLY, LITTLE MISS 'OH LOOK A MYSTERIOUS SHADOW IN THE WATER, LETS GO LOOK AT IT!'"

"I DON'T SOUND LIKE THAT!"

The door to the foyer opened, almost punching a hole in the wall in the process. Susan and Peter stalked into the room.

They were soaking wet. Sand and seaweed were caked in their torn clothes and hair. Fierce scowls adorned their faces.

"How was your picnic?" Peter and Susan glared at Edmund.

"Terrible. It turns out those sailers were right, there really was a sea monster lurking around those islands. We were enjoying a wonderful picnic by the beach when Susan saw a shadow in the water and decided to investigate. You can probably guess what happened next," Peter sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm going to get cleaned up. You should do the same, Susan. Dinner is in twenty minutes, see you guys later." Peter trudged off to his room, and after glaring at Edmund, Susan did the same.

"Looks like you were right again Lucy. Those two should really learn to trust you in situations like these," Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Ed. Leave them be, they're just trying to have a bit of fun. Everyone's a bit stressed out with this royalty thing. Besides, we have a chess match to finish, let's start!" Edmund chuckled at Lucy's enthusiasm, then leaned back in his chair to watch Lucy make her first move.

'It's a good thing I didn't go on that trip. Thanks Lu.'