Chapter 7: Once a Queen of Narnia

Reepicheep refused Eustace's chess game, saying it would be discourteous to idle the time away while the Queen was upstairs. So Eustace resumed his rotation of the chairs and Reepicheep took up his pacing again. Drinian had not moved from the windows.

Edmund and Caspian looked at each other for a long while. Caspian looked so full of hope and faith that Edmund was rather forcibly reminded of the look in Lucy's eyes when she believed something everyone else doubted. Edmund, meanwhile, was still trying to process what had just transpired, and was wishing mightily for Peter still. He would at least like to talk the whole situation over with someone, and he doubted Eustace was up to the task. He was still too astonished.

Even though his brain churned for a good while, there were still many minutes afterwards when they were waiting for Lucy, and it began to feel like Caspian had asked for her hand days before. Edmund could feel his heart beating against his chest, and he could almost swear he heard Caspian's. The clock struck noon, then one. Maybe Lucy was now under an enchantment. Maybe she had been tempted by some promise—no, that seemed unlikely. Maybe she had simply been silenced, by death or by petrification. Maybe she was prisoner.

The ideas that occurred to him kept getting worse and worse. He felt like he was going to be sick. The blasted creatures had come bouncing in for a noonday meal agreeing in loud voices about how powerful the magician was. The Narnians did not eat. Edmund noticed that when the talk began of Lucy and what her fate might be, Caspian's fists clenched at his sides.

After they ate, the faceless people disappeared with great thumping, and the sitting room was silent again except for the bees buzzing in the rosebush outside. As the clock struck two, Reepicheep began unsheathing his rapier in quick flashes as he walked, as if preparing for a duel.

"When do we go after her?" Caspian whispered to Edmund.

"Not yet. I'll know when—if—something bad's happened."

"How?"

"Call it a sick sixth sense."

Caspian sighed heavily, and even he started to pace around the stairs. Only Edmund now remained, staring up the polished steps with their woven carpet runner as if he could will Lucy down them safely.

The clock struck three.

Edmund began to think that he couldn't wait any longer, that Lucy was probably in danger and he had to go save her. He was just laying his hand on his sword-hilt and nodding to Caspian, who was now close to the stairs again, when he looked up suddenly. They all heard the sound they had been hoping for: Lucy's light quick step running down the stairs. Relief tripped its way through his whole body. Edmund actually took a step up to greet her, but she wasn't looking where she was going and slammed right into him. He wanted very badly to hug her or smile and make some joke to show how happy he was to see her, but he seemed unable to move, or speak.

She took one look at their anxious faces, and though she had run down looking very flushed and happy, her mouth contracted with a little guilt.

"It's all right!" she called to them. "Everything's all right. The Magician's a brick—and I've seen him—Aslan."

Then she flew past them onto the lawn, but she left behind her a feeling of relief that was like a breeze. Eustace was already on her heels. Edmund and Caspian followed and watched with silent laughter as she tried to convince the Duffers—who were quite amusing themselves, with their single legs and giant feet—that they looked very nice that way. They agreed with their leader, who mourned their uglification, then they agreed with Lucy, who admired their present state. This went on until the Duffers, though confused, were at least no longer calling themselves uglified. Then they were distracted by the idea of boats.

For the rest of his life, if Edmund was feeling particularly silly he would call water "powerful wet stuff," for the look on the Chief Monopod's face as he chewed his lip in doubt was enough to set him off in peals of laughter. The sight of the Monopods paddling around the Dawn Treader, racing and tipping over had the entire crew in hysterics. For him, though, his favorite part was Eustace running back and forth on the shore trying to properly organize the Monopods as if they were in a gym class at school. And of course they didn't listen to him, "because you can't put things like our Chief," as they said, and Eustace grew more and more red-faced, like a flustered teacher does.

While he was gasping for breath, Edmund looked over at Caspian and Lucy. They were standing together applauding the winner of the latest race, who bounced forward so they could both shake his hand. Lucy had tears of laughter trickling down her cheeks, and when she exchanged a smile with Caspian, he was sure there was nothing in her face but girlish laughter. He saw no shades of romance in her clear blue eyes, and he had to admit that made him breathe a little easier. Because what if she did love him? And what if all our hopes aren't fulfilled and we had to go home? Or what if we didn't—how would I see her through? Edmund couldn't decide which was worse.

He had a few moments that evening where he forgot about watching for romance entirely. Lucy showed them up to the second floor, and Edmund was sorry that he was not chosen to go upstairs for the second time that day. Only this time it was not out of protection, but envy. He longed to explore all the long corridor with its strange looking symbols and glasses. After Lucy's story, he very much wanted to see the magician's book. The study itself was a marvel, full of instruments he had known and tried to use at Cair Paravel, and the magician a calm and learned man. As they ate, Edmund wished he could stay in Narnia just to come back to this island and spend some time under the tutelage of Coriakin. He watched with undisguised fascination as Coriakin traced the whole of their journey based on Drinian's account. He wanted to examine the map forever, especially once he saw the perfect pictures of the islands through the magnifying glass, but Caspian pulled him away. Caspian was far more interested in continuing the adventure and finding the last four lords than he was in spending hours locked up in a study.

They put out the next day with the stern of the ship magically repaired and the sails flapping gaily and all the Monopods shouting farewell from the harbor mouth. Edmund watched the island disappear with a sigh, but as the land of the Monopods dropped astern, Caspian rubbed his hands together and said "Now for the rest of the adventure."

For the next several days it was all sea and sky, with mostly fair weather and a steady, pleasant wind. Those were good days to be at sea, and Edmund clambered about the ship with ease, scanning the horizon from the fighting top or discussing the voyage's progress with Drinian or reminiscing with Lucy.

Whenever he went looking for her he feared he would find her in Caspian's company, and the closeness that he had been noticing before Caspian had spoken to him would be blooming already into some romance. More often than not, though, she was found playing chess with Reepicheep, and this calmed his nerves. After awhile, he began to wonder if the whole conversation had not been a dream, because Caspian himself seemed so excited about the voyage once again and seemed to have no time for thoughts of queens.

In the evenings the company of the Dawn Treader sat together on the deck and told stories under the stars. Edmund loved these hours best of all. He could look round the circle and see all their faces in the winking light of the lanterns: Lucy's glowing eyes and Eustace's newly laughing mouth and the noble tilt of Reepicheep's head and Caspian's glittering eyes. He could hear their laughter and their voices, a stirring melody which blended with the chatter of the sailors and the ceaseless sound of waves. The scent of the sea was in the air and the taste of salt was on his lips. One morning during a rainstorm before they landed on Coriakin's Island he had been in an ill humor and declared he wished they could have gone to America with Susan. Lucy knew he didn't mean it, but as he sat under the vast velvet expanse of sky he regretted he had ever even thought it. Now he wanted to hold the ship back, freeze themselves in time so this moment could go on forever. He felt they were heading towards some conclusion, and though it may be a happy one, the journey was so good that he didn't want it to end.

He sang again, and often. There were so many things that Narnia had forgotten, heroes and battles and great deeds which he had been sure would never be erased when he saw them done. Lucy was patient and reminded him that Narnia was awakening again after a long sleep, but he couldn't be patient. He wanted to pour the old memories into them, make them remember. He felt that he and Narnia were both lucky to have Caspian, who seemed ready to be filled with the old history of his nation. Even still, Edmund grew a little sad to think that the glorious years of his reign were dim shadows of an ancient past to everyone else.

Then one night, one of the sailors struck up a tune on the pipes that made Edmund leap from his seat while Eustace was still in mid-sentence. Lucy did exactly the same, and they stared at each other with shining eyes and open mouths.

Drinian frowned at them. "King Edmund, why do you look so astonished by an old lullaby?"

"This is no lullaby," Edmund declared. "It is the dance for the Midwinter Festival. Just play it a little faster—like so, and you have the song that Lucy and Susan and Peter and I used to dance to every year to open the celebrations." He held out his hand to Lucy. She stepped outside of the circle and took it. Within seconds they were skipping round the circle in the dance the fauns had created just for them. Lucy was always a good dancer and a lively partner, and she remembered all the steps. Soon the sailors were clapping in time, and Edmund had but to close his eyes to feel like his was whirling with his sister on the marble floors of the great hall. The smallest stretch of the imagination led him to hear the trumpets and strings accompanying the pipes. He grinned at Lucy, who gasped, "It's like we're back again: really back. Edmund, do you think it would be like this if we go back to Narnia?"

Edmund never got to answer her question, because now Caspian was on his feet. "This is a merry dance!" he cried. "Show me the steps." So Lucy and Edmund obligingly slowed down to teach Caspian the dance. Since there was no other lady aboard, Caspian called on Eustace to fill in, with much laughter from the whole company—except Eustace, who muttered under his breath about sheer madness again. Finally Caspian had the steps and the two couples started again at full speed. There came a moment in the dance when, back when it was the four monarchs, the boys would switch partners and Edmund would take Susan while Peter danced with Lucy. They reached the exchange, and Caspian caught Lucy with ease. Edmund was so busy watching he hadn't realized Eustace has stopped in front of him.

"Have I really got to dance with you?" Eustace whispered awkwardly.

"No," Edmund answered with a little laugh. "Let's take a seat and watch how Caspian does."

He was impressed. Caspian was a fast learner, and he could keep up with Lucy, who was perhaps the most energetic dancer in Narnia. They matched each other step for step, and their movements were so harmonious that at last Edmund understood what Susan meant when she had said that a dance is the best way to find a match. Undoubtedly Caspian and Lucy were born partners. Edmund examined his sister's face closely, and his heart sank and swelled simultaneously when he saw the look in her eyes. It was a look similar to the one she usually reserved for Peter, full of admiration and affection, but added to that was a flush in her cheeks and a glint in her eyes that made Edmund wonder.

Later that night, nearly everyone but the night watch was in bed. Caspian was swinging peacefully in his hammock, snoring lightly. Reepicheep was with Eustace in the stern cabin, playing one last game of chess before bed, and Edmund chuckled as he heard Reepicheep say "I assure you, you have lost no honour in dancing with a king. I would have done it myself if my stature had permitted it." He knocked on Lucy's door.

"Come in!" she called, and Edmund stepped inside to find her sitting on the bed with her knees tucked up against her chest, staring out the window at the moonlit water.

"You get a much better view on deck," he commented.

"Oh, Edmund!" she said, and he wondered that she sounded surprised to see him. "Yes. I suppose you do."

"Shall we go up, then? It looks like Eustace is about to start losing to Reepicheep, and you know he doesn't do that quietly."

Lucy smiled. "All right. But if Eustace is playing chess and you're here, where's Caspian?"

"Sleeping," Edmund answered quickly. He opened the door for her.

They went on the deck and stood under the stars. Lucy found the Hammer and the Ship, but there were so many stars, and it seemed so many new ones, that she needed Edmund's help to find the Leopard. He pointed it out to her.

"I wish we could have gone on in Narnia forever," she said suddenly.

"Really?"

"Well, maybe not. If we had lived to the end of our lives, we wouldn't be here now. But I think about going home, Edmund, and it always seems so pale and dull compared to here."

Edmund snorted. "All tiresome Latin declensions and boring routine."

"All the girls thinking hair ribbons and movie stars are the most important things ever." She sighed. "I don't mean to complain, but I really don't want this to end."

"I don't either, Lu," he admitted.

"Do you think that there's room for us in Narnia if we go back?"

"What do you mean, room?"

Lucy dropped her gaze to the water. "Well, they've already got a king. I mean, that was why we were here last time, to help Caspian get to the throne. But if we go back to Cair Paravel, that's our castle too."

Edmund laughed. "Lu, you're talking as if this is British History. Yes, I'm sure if it were today and King Arthur showed up, King George wouldn't be too keen on sharing the throne. But this is Caspian." Here his voice got a little more serious as he said, "Do you really think he wouldn't find a place for us in Cair Paravel?"

Lucy turned to him, and in the reflections from the water he could see her eyes very clearly. "You're right. I think that Caspian would be very happy indeed if we stayed. I do hope that Aslan lets us."

Edmund didn't have an answer to this, because he didn't really know what he wanted just then. He didn't want to worry Lucy, but she brought up an important point. What if he ever found himself at odds with Caspian? Was he king alongside him? Could he question Caspian as he questioned Peter or the girls? Surely he didn't have to listen to Caspian's edicts…the encounter on Deathwater was hazy in the minds of all but himself. He had seen the willful streak in Caspian, and he feared it might cause trouble.

He was pulled from these thoughts by Lucy talking about the dance. "…all those Midwinter Festivals," she was saying. "I was surprised how quickly it all came back to me. And do you remember how all the men stared at Susan? It seemed that Peter was closeted up with another of her suitors every week."

"That's true. And so many of them were so worthless. They thought because we were so young and because we were four, Peter would want all the power to himself. They imagined they could buy Susan for a song. That is, some of them. Others were just stupid, and then some didn't love Susan, they wanted her. That's quite different."

"Yes," Lucy agreed thoughtfully with a look much older than her years. "It's very different. Susan never liked those men, though."

"She liked Rabadash, and that's all he wanted."

"Are girls ever smart, then?" Lucy asked playfully. "What about my suitors? Did I ever make a foolish choice?"

"As you never had a suitor you took seriously, I'm forced to admit you didn't," Edmund grinned.

Lucy gave him a wry look, an unusual expression for her. "I'm glad you approve," she said in a voice to match her look. Then she grew softer and more pensive. "They were all much more earnest than Susan's suitor's, and some of them were very nice. But I didn't feel like I loved any of them, not really, and certainly none of them near enough to go away from all of you. I always imagined that when I met the man I was meant to be with, I would know deep inside me. I wouldn't have to think about it. I realized that the moment I needed to ask your advice, or anyone's, he wasn't right for me. If he was right, I would know without question." Lucy tapped her lower lip thoughtfully as she spoke.

Edmund shook his head. "Sometimes I don't know if you're thirteen or thirty," he said.

Lucy glanced at him, then turned her gaze back to the water. "Sometimes I don't know either."


A/N: So in the notebook where I planned this, the whole story wasn't going to be more than 9 chapters. Ha ha ha. The next chapter wasn't originally planned. I was going to go back to Caspian's point of view, but after writing The Way to Narnia, I can't resist tapping into Edmund's thoughts on the Dark Island. Sadly, I'm going away to the Poconos where there will be no internet for me; hopefully, though, I'll come back Wednesday with a ton of chapters to post. Hurrah for winter break!

Keep the reviews coming; you know I love to get them, and your kind words and critcisms mean a lot to me. It was a very exciting moment indeed when The Way to Narnia actually garnered 100 reviews. Aside from your thoughts on this fic, I'm also curious. Some people have suggested, and I myself have had the temptation, to dabble in an AU fic after this where Lucy and Edmund and Eustace actually stay in Narnia. I'm usually so canonical I have some reservations, but at the same time, writing the goodbye is going to be so hard I might need the balm of an AU for healing. I'm very curious to hear all your opinions, though.