Author's Note: Here we come to the end of this collection of stories. I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing; I did not expect this to be so liked.

This is my final post until September (go to my profile for an explanation); I will a lot of catching up to do… I hope you all have a wonderful summer. :)

Accord

Edmund's eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open as he gazed about the dazzling hall outside the throne room of Cair Paravel. He swallowed nervously. This was now his home, where he would live as King of Narnia with Peter, Susan, and Lucy. The grandness of the palace was nearly overwhelming; he had never seen anything like it before. He wondered how long it would take him to get used to living here.

Unconsciously, Edmund fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve for the tenth time. With a mixture of awe and uncertainty he looked over his clothes of ice blue and silver. When he glanced up, Peter caught his eye and gave him an assuring smile.

Dressed in dark blue and gold, Peter was the picture of calmness: no problems with nerves or itching clothes. He seemed different somehow: taller, older, wiser, kingly? Edmund couldn't put his finger on it. But it caused him to feel a new sense of awed respect for Peter.

The younger boy slowly returned his brother's smile and took a deep breath. He willed the butterflies in his stomach to relax.

"Oh, Lucy!"

Susan's voice drew Peter and Edmund's attention. They turned to see Susan shaking her head as she walked slowly and gracefully towards them, dressed in a light blue gown, with patterns woven in silver thread, and a dark blue cape. Lucy, however, was not trying to act like a to-be-crowned queen. A good distance ahead of her older sister, she skipped to her brothers while smiling widely.

Ed blinked several times at his sister. Her short hair was in waves that bounced with each skip she took. (He could not recall having ever seen her hair like that before.) And her shiny white dress and red and gold cape billowed around her. She looked very nice, he thought with some surprise. He smiled when she drew to a stop before him and Peter and twirled around, giggles bubbling from her.

"You look lovely," Peter voiced Edmund's thoughts. "Both of you," he added, his gaze drifting between his two sisters.

"Thank you, Peter!" Lucy grasped his hand and squeezed it tightly. Then she noticed Edmund, and her face lit up. "Oh, Ed!" she exclaimed and stepped toward him, opening her arms.

Edmund, knowing instantly what was about to happen, took half a step back.

"Lucy, you'll get your dress all wrinkled," Susan cautioned, reaching her siblings' sides.

Lucy looked at her sister with the beginning of a pout on her face before returning her gaze to Edmund. She must have seen the flicker in his dark eyes of something akin to disappointment, for she took a moment to smile brightly at Susan, then promptly threw her arms around Edmund.

Peter laughed while Susan shook her head, though a tiny smile was playing over her lips. Edmund did nothing to hide his smile as he returned Lucy's embrace. When Lucy lifted her head from his chest, he tapped her on the nose.

"Edmund," she laughed. "You look wonderful," she praised with a nod.

The boy blushed and then murmured softly, "Thanks. You do, too."

One moment it was just the four of them in the hall; the next the light in the room brightened as Aslan appeared only two feet away from the siblings. They looked at the Lion with surprise, but it quickly vanished when he proclaimed with a shake of his great golden mane, "It is time." He turned and strode to the closed large double doors of the throne room.

The laughter and smiles instantly vanished from Peter and Susan's faces as they followed Aslan. Peter stood on the Lion's left, Susan on his right. Edmund and Lucy trailed a little behind. She squeezed his hand and gave an encouraging smile before pulling away to go to Susan's side.

As Edmund took his place beside Peter, he let out a silent breath and squared his shoulders. The butterflies were back with a new energy; yet as the great doors opened and the five marched into the room, they subsided as the boy thought about his sister's hug and smile.