It had been three long months since the four Pevensie children had returned from Narnia after the second battle of Beruna and the coronation of Prince Caspian. Lucy and Peter's dreams were haunted by the memories of their time as kings and queens of Narnia's golden age, both longing to be back in Narnia with their friends. However, the second youngest Pevensie child Edmund's dreams were haunted by a certain black-haired once prince now crowned king Caspian. The pair's time together was short, neither accepting the mutual attraction for each other until after the coronation and soon they were ripped away from one another.
Their last night together (even though the couple didn't know it). Edmund and Caspian had spent the evening stuck to each other's side before they quickly snuck away to spend time alone. Edmund could remember everything that happened once the doors were closed. Edmund remembered the way Caspian pushed him down onto the bed, how Caspian pressed light kisses against every exposed area as he slowly removed Edmund's clothes.
Edmund's hips had hurt when he tried to move in the morning but he didn't have much time to dwell on that as Aslan had ordered Caspian to summon the telmarines whilst Aslan spoke with Peter and Susan alone. Edmund couldn't lie that his older siblings having a quiet conversation with Aslan had worried him and in the end, he was right to be worried. They were leaving Narnia again but this time, they or Peter and Susan had chosen it. Edmund didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Caspian before Peter had pulled him back into their world.
Susan had dismissed the existence of Narnia once they had returned and instantly settled back into her original life. Edmund theorised that it was her way of coping with the idea that she would never set foot in Narnia again if it didn't exist then the loss wouldn't hurt as much. Edmund had retreated into himself, he refused to speak with his siblings especially Peter who had made the decision to return. Sometimes he speaks with Lucy who just like him, hadn't wanted to leave, they would talk about what they would do if they ever returned to Narnia or about their golden age but whenever the conversation steered towards Caspian, Edmund would close himself off once more.
It was a constant reminder that he was stuck here and Caspian was there. Lucy soon worked out that Caspian was a sore topic for Edmund and stay clear of Caspian when they spoke which Edmund was grateful for. However, it didn't prevent Edmund from wondering, how long it had been since Edmund had last seen Caspian, had Caspian found someone else or was he still single waiting for Edmund to return. Was he still alive, it always pained Edmund to think that Caspian might not be alive anymore, a whole year for them had been over a hundred in Narnia, Edmund didn't want to think about how long it had been for Narnia this time.
His mother had noticed the difference in Edmund when she visited him and Peter at their boarding school, she had tried to get an answer from him but Edmund closed himself off even more. He couldn't tell her about Narnia or Caspian, it's not like she would believe him anyway.
Slowly Edmund was recovering and adapting to living in his world once more when everything was ripped out from underneath him when his school took a trip to a factory, it was during the weeks where the boarding school got the students to experience different jobs to see what they would want to do in the future. The man giving the tour had long brown hair which was tied back in a small ponytail, he had chocolate brown eyes and fair complexion, he looked nearly identical to Caspian. Nearly. When the man spoke, he sounded nothing like Caspian which snapped Edmund out of his trance. Another reminder that Edmund was trapped here whilst Caspian lived in Narnia.
Edmund ignored the shouts from his teachers and Peter as he ran out of the room, tears threatened to spill. He couldn't stay in that room with the constant reminder from Caspian's look-a-like. Edmund didn't know where he was running to but as long as he put as much distance between him and Caspian's look-a-like then he would be happy.
Edmund collapsed. His feet ached. His eyes stung as Edmund finally allowed the tears to fall. His head buried in his scruffy school trousers as he tried to block the whole world out.
"Edmund" Peter shouted as he ran over to Edmund, Edmund reluctantly lifted his head mentally preparing himself for the confrontation which was going to happen. But when Edmund looked at Peter he had been frozen.
"Son of Adam today is not a day to sulk, you were ripped away from your destiny too soon, Narnia is still in need of you" a familiar voice spoke beside Edmund, his head snapped in the direction of the voice, his eyes widen when he looked at Aslan.
"What do you mean?" Edmund questioned. A small smile appeared on Aslan's face as he gently breathed into Edmund's face.
"You will soon discover that young one, Narnia needs two kings and Caspian needs you. I hope you enjoy this special gift" Aslan chuckled at Edmund's confusion. Edmund's eyes started to blur as Aslan walked away, soon Edmund struggled to keep his eyes open any longer and surrendered to the darkness.