A/N: My favorite one, becasue i spent a lot of time as a little girl playing in the leaves. Enjoy! Shadow
Still Young
Chapter Three: Playing
The Just King was bored. Edmund had never had "nothing" to do before. And it wasn't that he didn't have things to be doing now. He just didn't want to do them. Peter was playing paper shuffler, reviewing documents that authorized the trade of lumber down the river instead of over land. Edmund wondered why they had never thought of that beforeāit was so much easier than carrying them over land. But now there was the paper process that preceded the change in policy. Edmund sighed and looked down at his own stack of documents for review and signing. The kings in stories and fairy tales never had this much work to do. A flash of sunlight caught his eye and he looked up at the window, where the ledge was covered in fallen leaves. Winter was coming.
He stood up suddenly and threw a light cloak over his shoulders. His brother looked up from his work, and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Outside."
"Why?"
"Because I think if I sign my name one more time I'll go mad." Peter smiled at that, and stood up as well. They walked down the hall and Peter paused at the door to the tapestry room. He stuck his head inside and Edmund heard him call to Susan that it was time for a break. She emerged a moment later with a grateful look on her face. Edmund called down into the kitchens for Lucy to come up, and she did so, with a basket of pastries on her arm.
They went outside and spread out under a tree, eating the pastries and talking. A few more leaves sifted down around them, and Edmund gathered some of them into a small pile. Silence fell as the others watched him. He glanced up and there was a mischievous grin on his face. Peter caught on and stood the gather more leaves into the growing pile. Lucy laughed and helped. Susan sighed in exasperation and asked one of the passing gardeners for his rake.
Edmund was the first to jump into the massive mound of leaves. As he landed, the red and orange and yellow leaves flew up into the air and settled back down, almost shimmering in the sun. The others took their turn, and they gathered the pile back together, and did it again and again, having the time of their lives.
The gardeners were shaking their heads at the antics of their kings and queens. But they said nothing, because everyone has a playful edge in autumn. Anyone can jump into leaf piles, even kings and queens. So Edmund was justified in his afternoon of fun.
After all, they were only children.
