I blinked awake, bemused to find everything different. Then I remembered where I was and bolted upright with a gasp. I pulled apart the curtains on the bed, expecting to see the full sun of midmorning and an impossible predicament of waking in the King's bed when the rest of the palace was fully awake, having missed training with Peter, everyone knowing. But the room was suffused with the blue light of early morning, just before dawn. I pulled the curtains apart a bit farther to watch the sun rise over the hazy blue of the sea.

Beside me, Edmund snored lightly, and that was all the reminder I needed. I looked over my shoulder at him. His hair was standing up on end, his arm flung over his head. I watched his chest expand as he breathed in his sleep.

He must have felt me staring, for he yawned, then stretched. He blinked up at me. 'What time is it?' He asked in a fuzzy voice. He expected me to be there.

'Just before dawn,' I answered.

He groaned and buried his face in the pillows. 'If it's so early, why are you awake?'

'I woke up,' I explained.

He reached out an arm without lifting his head, and he flailed it for a moment before making contact with my body. He pulled me to him. 'Well that's just stupid, waking before dawn. Come back here.' And he ran his hands over my body and kissed my throat.

'Only if you promise to do that to me again,' I teased.

'Oh that,' he said against my skin. 'I'll do that every night. See what coming to my bed gets you.'

I laughed. This was who I wanted to be. If I pretended the world outside the bedroom didn't exist, being this happy was effortless. The joy bubbled up in me just like it had on Felimath. Edmund slid down my body, caressing me with kisses, and I let the rest of the world melt away.

Afterwards we lay in each other's arms. 'We could watch the sun rise,' I suggested.

Edmund nodded to the window and I turned so that we could both watch as the orange sun slid above the horizon, burnishing the water to molten gold and the sky to pink and copper. I sighed with the beauty of it and pulled Edmund's arms tighter around me. I wanted him to hug me so hard he would squeeze the breath out of me.

'Alright, don't pull my arms off,' he grumbled cheerfully. I smiled and tugged again. He kissed my cheek and gave me a squeeze before he sat up. He rested an arm on his knee and laid his other hand on my chest. 'Today we are going to see Orran.'

I lifted my brows.

'I have many questions, and still more concerns,' he said.

'Will you free him?'

'I cannot promise until I've heard everything,' he said. 'But I cannot imagine what he could say which would convince me that there has been a serious miscarriage of justice.' The solemnity in his voice made me shiver.

Despite our most serious intentions, we could not get to Avra until the evening. Edmund had business to attend to and I spent most of the day with Peter, training for the championship bout the next day. It wasn't until after dinner that we walked down to the Avra docks together, picking our way down the steep hillside. I led since I knew the terrain better, and I kept looking back. Edmund was always there, a few feet behind me. We climbed into the small ferry boat together and sat side by side, our thighs touching. We engaged horses on the other side and rode in silence until we reached Orran's estate.

We set the house scrambling when we arrived, but Edmund cut through all the fussing by saying we needed nothing but to see Orran. They showed us to his parlour jail.

Only one lamp burned low in the room. Orran was asleep in his armchair by the window, his head thrown back. I lit the other lamps before kneeling by his chair. His skin was lined with deep grooves and some papery skin that belied early wrinkles. He looked old, though he wasn't yet fifty. He should have still been vital.

Edmund laid a hand on my shoulder and I half turned to him. 'I want to bring him back to Narnia. He can come live at my house.'

Edmund nodded for me to wake him. I shook Orran's shoulder gently. 'Orran, wake. It's me, Peridan.'

When he saw me, he smiled sadly. 'Ever loyal,' he said. I saw past his frailty and realised that his beard and hair had been trimmed and his clothes were clean.

'I told you I would come back,' I answered.

Orran shook his head. 'You shouldn't have.'

'There I must beg to differ,' Edmund interposed.

Orran looked past me and jumped to his feet when he saw Edmund. 'Your Majesty!' He gasped. He bowed deeply. 'It is my great honour to meet you.'

'There is no need of that here and now. Besides, I should say the honour is mine. You are so important to our Peridan,' Edmund said.

Orran laughed a bit as he rubbed his beard. 'Our Peridan,' he repeated. He went to pour us all drinks, the sweet lemon liqueur that his estate was known for, mixed with sparkling water. A traditional celebration. He passed us each a cup. 'We should drink to our Peridan, and his success in the tournament.'

'He'd better bloody win after we named him King's Champion,' Edmund declared with a wink.

Orran laughed. 'Don't say you've gone and done that. You know how seriously he takes that sort of thing.'

'Oh indeed. You should have seen him at his accolade.' And here Edmund squared his shoulders and lifted in his chin in a frustratingly good imitation of me. Orran laughed even harder.

'I am here you know,' I said with mock peevishness.

'You're only annoyed by my accurate portrayal of your solemnity,' Edmund said, preening a bit. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist and murmured, 'But I love you for it.' He gave me a seductive look, then leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose.

'I could scarcely believe when you told me,' said Orran. 'But it's true. You are happy.'

'Moderately,' I teased, running my hand through Edmund's hair. Orran watched with a blessing in his eyes, and that alone filled me with lightness. I had been so heavy.

'I ought to ask whether he has always been this impertinent,' Edmund said, 'Because he's showing quite a streak of it lately and I had come to rely on him having manners so flawless it made him inscrutable.'

'What can I say—you inspire me,' I retorted.

'I dare say that's true,' said Orran with a little laugh. 'I've not seen him so unguarded. It suits you,' he added to me. 'I've always wanted to see you be your own man.'

'That's what I keep trying to say!' Edmund cried. 'You should have introduced me to Orran long ago. He could have cleared up so much.'

'Indeed,' Orran said. 'And I daresay you would provide more details of his feats than the sparse news he gives in his letters. I hope you will indulge me, Sire, by telling the story of how he won his knighthood.'

Edmund sat down to begin the tale, but I couldn't sit still to hear it. I got up and started to pace, walking back and forth in front of the window, looking out at the low black hills under the starry sky. I listened to Edmund tell my story with humour and warmth and even admiration.

'Ah,' said Orran, 'He left out more than half of the best details.' I turned and saw Orran beaming with pride.

'I shall have to take over the reporting,' Edmund said.

'You will not need any correspondence if you come to Narnia,' I said.

'Peridan, lad,' Orran said, 'Don't start that foolishness now. It is enough to see you happy.'

'It isn't foolishness!' I protested. I looked to Edmund.

'Indeed, no,' Edmund agreed, and he set his glass down. Peridan tells me they have shut you up in here based on a lie.'

Orran's eyes shuttled between us. 'Yes, but…'

'No protests,' I said. 'Simar lied. He said you forced yourself on him and that was a lie.'

Orran pressed the heel of his hand Into his eye socket. 'Yes, he lied. But they were looking for an excuse anyway.'

'Why?' Said Edmund, narrowing his eyes.

Orran tried to read Edmund. I could tell that Edmund was trying to get Orran to say it out loud. He was borrowing Lucy's trick of feigned innocence. Orran didn't know where the line was, so he proceeded in a slow voice. 'Because…I make love to men. Because I had a noble man for a lover and almost tore apart two noble and ancient houses.'

'Where does it say that this is a crime?' Edmund said.

Orran opened his mouth, but he had no answer. Edmund stood and started to pace. 'And answer me this, Lord Orran—did they give you a trial before they imprisoned you?'

'They did not,' Orran replied. His hands curled round the arms of his chair, his expression wary.

'Is that sufficient?' I said to Edmund.

'More than sufficient. We shall see to your release at once. Orran, Lord of Beruna, you have been wrongfully imprisoned due to a gross miscarriage of justice,' Edmund said. A moment ago he had been laughing; now he was Edmund the Just.

Orran stared at the floor for a moment. When he looked up, his eyes were bright. 'Your Majesty, no. I cannot let you do this.'

Edmund blinked, and his brows came together. 'I am afraid the carrying out of justice falls under my purview, not yours, my Lord.' He paused and added. 'Don't you want to breathe the free air?'

'You don't have to stay here,' I added. 'You can come to Narnia, like I said. I have a whole estate which lies empty.'

'It isn't that,' Orran said. 'Of course I long to be free. But my freedom comes at a great cost to you. To both of you.' He looked at me. 'I promised your father I would watch out for you.'

I knelt by his chair. 'But what does one thing have to do with another?'

'Peridan raises a valid point,' said Edmund slowly. 'It seems to me that, being free, you could be more help to him. Leaving aside the fact that this is a question of justice.'

Orran shook his head. 'You are becoming more Narnian in your ideals, my boy. Think about it as an Islander. A pardon for me would smack of your influence.'

'That is not the case,' said Edmund.

'But that's what they will see,' said Orran. 'Your Majesty, you must have realised by now that the Lone Islands are in a precarious position. The exiled Lords have not returned because they are comfortable. They are also afraid of Narnia. To them, it is a wild country. They fear that.'

'That doesn't make any sense,' I said. 'What about "Next year in Narnia" and "May we meet on the shores of Narnia"? What about the Christmas parade and the New Year parties? Everyone here is falling over themselves to garner favour.'

'Peridan, think on it. The only person who truly believed all that was your father. Everyone else is in love with who they are here. The Island culture. The last bastion of the free world, in exile. They have their wealth, their business, their ways of running the world. They do not want to see that end.' I opened my mouth to protest, but he laid his hand on my arm. 'You were not supposed to become a success. They rejoiced when you left because you took everything troublesome about you—not just your preference for men, but your name. Lionshaim is the most powerful house in Narnia after the royal family, but in the Islands they have been repressing that power for a century. The irony being, of course, that Lionshaim is the only house which actually has Island roots.

'But instead of slinking away and your house falling into ignominy, you have come back with your name restored, covered in glory. And they hate it.'

'I don't care. Let them. They won't have support from the people, and I'm sick of their rules. I'm sick of them,' I said, clenching my jaw.

'Then the most important thing you can do is win the tournament. Show them who you are,' Orran said. I searched his face, and he cupped my cheek. 'They've not seen the half of it. Win the tournament, and win honour.'

'And just leave you here imprisoned?' I pleaded, my voice catching. Edmund stepped forward and laid his hands on my shoulders.

'Show them who you are,' Orran said. 'They can't erase you, no matter how hard they try.'

I embraced Orran. He held me tight for a moment, then pushed me gently to Edmund. 'The best thing you can do for me is be happy with each other,' he said. 'And supply me with better news.' He gave me a thin smile.

We had said it all. There was nothing to do but take our leave.

We rode in silence back to the docks. I could not stop myself from crying. The more I tried, the more I sniffed and snivelled. 'It isn't fair,' I said through my tears as we waited for them to ready the ferry.

Edmund touched my hand. 'This does not sit well with me. I cannot simply let injustice rest.' He pulled his crown off and ran his hand through his hair.

'This is so…big,' I said, my voice empty. 'And yet, why should it be?'

Edmund did not have an answer. He gripped the back of my neck and rested his forehead against mine.

'I long to be free,' I said. 'I'm only just realising how much I want that.'

'Everyone deserves that,' he said. 'And more—when you are free, that is when you show how special you are.'

I blushed. 'I'm not special.'

'If only you knew,' said Edmund. 'There's not a man like you in all the world. And you should be free to show it.'

We climbed into the ferry boat. As we rowed across the channel, a seed of an idea planted itself in my brain. I set my jaw once more. Edmund looked at me inquiringly, but I said nothing until we climbed out of the boat. Then I turned to him. 'I will win that tournament. I will show them all who I am—Orran included. They will see what it means to take on Peridan, Lord of Lionshaim and Knight of the Order of the Table.'

Edmund pursed his lips, his dark eyes alight. 'Do I get to see that too?'

I leaned forward and pulled him into a passionate kiss. 'Will that do?' I felt the fire inside me. I wanted him, and I wanted the freedom to want him.

He hissed. 'Come on, you,' he whispered. 'I want you in my bed tonight.' And so together we climbed the hill to the governor's palace, slipped through the silent halls to his room.