Oh, hot sand on toes, cold sand in sleeping bags
I've come to know that memories were the best things you ever had
The summer shorn beat down on bony backs
So far from home where the ocean stood
Down dust and pinecone tracks

~"Old Pine" by Ben Howard

Nearly ten days had passed since Edmund had left. Peter and Lucy had grown worried and were prepared to send out a small battalion to find him. Susan, who seemed to be the only one who seemed to understand Edmund infatuation with Ira, remained unbothered by her younger brother's absence. Edmund may be hot headed, but he wasn't stupid. He had proven by rescuing her from the Telmarines thieves in the desert that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. She knew he needed to go on this search for Ira, even if he returned without her.

Susan and Lucy had been lounging in one of the great sitting rooms when Ardas came bounding through the doors.

"Your Majesties," he said, panting. "King Edmund has returned."

The two sisters beamed at one another before racing to the palace's main entrance. Edmund was dismounting his horse, looking weary and unwashed. His sisters embraced him regardless and he held them close.

"Did you find her?" Lucy asked.

Edmund shook his head sadly. "If I hadn't found some of her medicine jars in the desert, I would have started asking myself if she had even been real or just a figment of our imaginations."

Susan gave a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Ed. I know she meant a great deal to you."

He nodded, his shoulders slumping. "I loved her."

Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder. "I do have a feeling she'll be back someday."

"She will be," Edmund said, suddenly standing up straight. "Aslan told me so."

Both Susan and Lucy gasped. "You saw Aslan?" Susan said. "Where?"

"In the desert," Edmund replied. "I woke up one night to see him sitting beside the fire I built. He told me to be patient, that Ira wasn't ready for what I, we, could offer her. But she will be back some day, she just needs time."

"Did he say when?" Lucy asked. "I feel like we were just beginning to get to know her."

He shrugged. "He didn't say. But I'm prepared to wait. I didn't realize it until I saw her, but I feel like I've been waiting for Ira my whole life."

He suddenly perked up, looking around. "Say, where's Peter?"

"With Evelyn," Susan said. "They've been almost inseparable since your departure. Would you like me to find him?"

"No," Edmund said, waving the offer away. "Let him be. Not all of us can be so lucky."

Lucy put her arm in his and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Ed, it will be alright."

"I know," he replied softly. "But that doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt." He slipped his arm from Lucy and walked away, humming softly to himself. Susan recognized the tune as the same one he had played on the recorder the first time they had seen Ira dance.

"Do you think he'll really be alright?" Lucy asked as they watched him go into the palace.

"I think so," Susan said. "Edmund's strong, far stronger than the rest of us. But Ira truly had a hold on him."

"And I suspect he had the same hold on her," Lucy said. "Why else would she have left so abruptly? I don't know of a single woman at court that would turn down the opportunity to be courted by Peter or Edmund."

Edmund could hear them talking about him as he entered the palace, but he didn't care. He had found peace with Aslan on his journey, even if it meant leaving Ira behind for a while. But he knew in his heart that Ira would always be with him, no matter how long it took for her to come back.

He could only pray that he was in her heart as well.

A short chapter, I know, but honestly one of my favorites in this story so far!

Don't forget to R&R!