Edmund's grip on the silver handle was so tight his knuckles whitened. He knew what it meant to her, knew the purpose it served. A tangible connection between Adeline and the vow she had made to the Deep Magic. Silver dipped in blood. Before his siblings could react, he pressed the blade into his palm. I promise to return this to its rightful hand, in life or death.

"Edmund!" Susan was outraged. However, when she grabbed his hand, the wound was already sealed, leaving behind a thin, barely noticeable, silvery scar. "What did you do that for?" She was not ignorant as to who the blade had belonged to, nor was she blind to what it could mean. But for the life of her, she could not see how it would help Edmund to cause himself harm.

Lucy was intrigued. "It's magical, isn't it?" Adeline's dagger had always fascinated her. Made entirely out of silver, always cool to touch even after it had been held for several minutes. She had known better to believe that she would get an answer if she asked the Commander what kind of magic it was capable of. Adeline was never very forthcoming with personal secrets. Lucy had suspected that Edmund knew though. He had grown close with Adeline, so close that he dared call her his best friend.

"She made a promise to the Deep Magic, long ago," Edmund admitted, weighing the perfectly balanced blade in his hand as it seemed to settle there, his until his promise was fulfilled. "This is her reinforcement, a payment in blood."

Shaken by the discovery of Adeline's dagger, they stuck together for the rest of their exploration. With the knowledge that they were in what had once been Cair Paravel, they tried to find clues as to what had happened in their absence. Edmund was bothered by the large chunks of what had been walls and columns. Before they ever took the throne, Cair Paravel had stood untouched for hundreds of years, peacefully awaiting its kings and queens. It could not have just fallen apart by itself. He knelt beside a piece of a column, frowning. He had his suspicions, but who would do such a thing? Narnia was a peaceful land. With the exception of the Calormene Empire, they had good relations with their neighbouring countries. Yet, he could have sworn… "Catapults."

"What?" Peter shared a glance with Susan. If Edmund was right, who knew what kind of conditions they would walk into. For all they knew, Narnia was at war again.

Explaining his theories to his siblings, Edmund tried to recall how things had been in Narnia prior to their departure. They had been without conflict, had given no one reason to attack. Adeline had once said that Cair Paravel held a hidden chamber, meant for the greatest treasures of Narnia in case of war. She had shown them once, instructed them to hide that which Narnia protected. He looked up at Peter. The look in his brother's eye told him that they were on the same page. If he remembered correctly, they were a mere stone's throw away.

Befuddled, Lucy and Susan watched their brothers push on the few remaining walls. To which end, neither sister knew. Until one of them budged, sliding aside to reveal a door. The wood was rotten, making it easy for Peter to simply slip his hand in a crack between the boards and pull the handle away. It opened, revealing a winding staircase, covered in darkness and dust.

At the bottom, they found something they had not laid eyes on since their last visit to the chamber. Treasure. Their treasure. Not just gold and silver, but memories. In the chests, old clothes. Susan's bow and arrows, Lucy's cordial and knife. Peter's sword. All at once, Edmund remembered everything. He remembered the exact path from the Dancing Lawn to Beaver's Dam, knew the best way to get to Tumnus' cave from Mount Pire. At least, he remembered how to get everywhere hundreds of years ago. It had to have been centuries since they left. The ruins had been worn down, smooth after years of wind and rain. The dust had gathered in layers so thick they could barely be swept away.

"I was so tall."

"Well, you were older then."

Helmet on his head, Edmund grinned at his sisters. "As opposed to hundreds of years later… when you're younger."

Lucy smoothed her hands over the softest of fabrics, marvelling at the clothes she had once been able and allowed to wear. They were as beautiful in that moment as they had been when she had last seen them, somehow preserved even after such a long time. Searching through her dresses for something more appropriate to wear, she found herself wishing she was older again, so she could fit into the stunning garments. Beside her, Susan seemed troubled. "What is it?"

"My horn." Susan looked back into the chest, scanning everything once again just to be sure. "I must've left it on the saddle the day we went back." Lucy gave her a sad smile. That horn had saved their lives time and time again. The first time it had been used, Peter had wound up knighted. Susan knew, logically, that it stood to reason that it might have gone missing over time. Still, she was sad to know that she would not see it again.

Peter opened his own chest, barely even noticing the glances from his siblings. His gaze found it immediately, among the piles of leather and metal. Picking it up, he was pleased to find that Rhindon looked the same as the day he received it. The sound it made as he pulled it out of its sheath was so very soothing, reminding him of days spent sparring under Adeline's critical scrutiny. The inscriptions on the blade had not faded in the slightest. "When Aslan bares his teeth, winter meets its death."

A horrified gasp slipped past Lucy's lips. "When he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again." Until then, she had not really grasped what it meant that so many centuries had passed. A part of her had always believed that when she returned, all would be as they had left it. That a few days of travel would take them to Tumnus for tea, where he could catch them up on everything that had happened. "Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers," she breathed tearfully, "Adeline and Garion and Oreius…"

"They're all gone, aren't they?" Susan looked down at the bow in her hands, suddenly immensely grateful that she had something familiar to hold on to. "Everyone we knew…"

"No." Edmund dropped the shield he was holding, letting it fall to the floor with a loud clang. "It's impossible, they can't be gone." He refused to believe it. Even though evidence supporting his sisters' claim rested against his hip, Edmund would not succumb to the belief that their friends were gone. His sisters called after him as he stormed out of the chamber but he ignored them.

Peter found his brother staring out over the ocean. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. In the handful of times they had seen Adeline after their coronation, they had all noticed that Edmund seemed calmer around the Commander. Around others, sometimes even his siblings, it was as though he was terrified of making a mistake that would have dire consequences. And at that moment, Peter hated that he did not know how to comfort his brother.

"She came from there, you know," Edmund stated, nodding towards the horizon, "the Land Beyond the Sea."

"Ed…"

"She can't be gone, Peter," he insisted, hands clenching into fists. "She lived for centuries before we ever met her, why would she be gone now?"

Giving a rueful smile, Peter handed Edmund the clothes he had found that should fit. "I think it's about time we figured out what's happened here."

In the south, in the mountains near the border between Narnia and Archenland, a figure emerged. Shrouded by mist, they began their journey to heed the call of Queen Susan's horn.

"Can't we stop to rest for a minute?" Granted they had only walked the long stretch of beach for a few hours, but that was enough for poor Susan after a year of taking the train wherever she needed to go. Even back in their Narnia, she had often travelled by ship or horse. "Honestly, we need to—" She was cut off as Peter raised a hand and hunched down. Following his gaze, she spotted a boat in the water. Two soldiers were talking lowly amongst themselves, glancing around every so often. "Since when were there humans in Narnia?"

"Maybe they're visiting from Archenland," Lucy hissed back, "Though they don't look very friendly." She held back a gasp by clasping her hands over her mouth. The men were standing up, holding a wriggling bundle between them. A dwarf. Susan was on her feet immediately.

"Drop him!" She fired off a warning shot, aiming another at one of the soldiers. When he did not comply with her demand, she let the arrow fly. The soldier fell, as did the dwarf. Peter was quick, diving into the water to save the dwarf while the other stranger jumped after his comrade. "Ed, get the boat!"

Edmund rushed to do as his sister said before the currents could take the perfectly convenient means of travel away. He found the water around him to be strangely soothing, cooling down his shaky temperament. Submerged, he could hear only his thoughts. No Susan complaining, no Peter ordering them about. It was just him. Inevitably, as he swam out to the boat, his thoughts went to their lost friends. How was he supposed to traverse Narnia carrying the knowledge that he would never see the people he had come to love so dearly?

Lucy grew worried, seeing as Edmund had not yet resurfaced by the time Peter was once again visible in the water. He was a strong swimmer, always had been. So where was he?

Breaking the surface, Peter pulled the still resisting dwarf up onto the shore. He could hear splashes behind him that had to be Edmund with the boat and let out a sigh of relief. No one was any worse for wear. A vast improvement from their first arrival. No one had become an unwitting traitor, there were no sisters lost in ice-covered rivers. Speaking of sisters, Lucy sunk to her knees, knife at the ready. She quickly cut the ropes binding the dwarf's hands and feet, sitting back to allow him space to spit out water and breathe properly. Peter helped her up, patting her shoulder.

"Drop him," the dwarf exclaimed. "That's the best you could come up with?"

Offended, Susan glared at him. "A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

There was something very amusing about it all, Edmund mused as he watched the interactions between his siblings and the dwarf. It seemed that their rescued Narnian was not particularly glad to have been saved, which set off Peter and Susan, who had put in the effort to do so. Edmund suspected that the dwarf was merely embarrassed that he had been unable to save himself. Dwarves were finicky that way, he recalled.

"They were doing just fine drowning me without your help," the red-bearded Narnian spat angrily.

Rolling his eyes exasperatedly, Peter set his jaw. "Maybe we should've let them."

"Why were they trying to kill you, anyway?" Lucy looked curiously at the dwarf. She thought he looked to be one of those who were really rather sweet once you got to know them a bit better. Hopefully, Susan and Peter's behaviour would not deter him from becoming their friend. The way his shoulders slumped in defeat at her question worried her. Did he know what had happened to their friends?

"They're Telmarines," he replied darkly, "that's what they do."

That piqued Edmund's interest. "Telmarines," he interjected, "in Narnia?" Telmar had always been a colony under the Calormene Empire, which of course garnered some caution in Narnia, what with the unstable relationship between the two governing bodies. But Narnia had always fended off attempted invasions well and no Narnian with enough wits about them would ever allow any part of the Calormene Empire cross the boarded without good cause. Individuals, of course, and they would always help refugees. But for an entire people to be allowed entrance… it was unheard of.

"Where have you been for the last few hundred years?"

Lucy snickered. "It's kind of a long story."

That was when the dwarf noticed the weapons his rescuers were carrying. The taller of the girls had a quiver on her back, full of arrows with red steering-feathers. Only one person had ever been allowed those arrows. And the light-haired boy, his sword was remarkably similar to that of High King Peter. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he groused, uncertain if he ought to be awed of disappointed, "You're it?" They shared a confused glance. "You're the Kings and Queens of Old?

"High King Peter, the Magnificent," Peter greeted, holding his hand out for the dwarf to shake. He immediately regretted it, as Lucy started giggling and Edmund let out a bark of laughter. Even Susan, the one of them who was most uptight about etiquette, rolled her eyes.

"You probably could've left off the last bit."

The dwarf laughed too. "Probably."

Not one to let someone else have the last laugh, Peter drew his sword. "You might be surprised."

Suddenly wary again, the dwarf glared up at the supposed king with distrust. "You don't want to do that, boy." It was a warning, one few humans ever took to heart. If the children before him were who they said they were, surely they would know not to count him out merely because he was half their size?

Peter had to fight to keep the smirk off of his face. "Not me," he corrected, turning to look at Edmund. "Him."

Again, the dwarf found himself contemplating them. If they truly were who they claimed, then the younger boy had to be King Edmund, the Just. Stories were still told about his skills with a blade. It was said that he trained with some of the greatest masters of war to ever have lived. The centaur Oreius, who had led the forces against the Witch under High King Peter's command, was supposed to have been one of those masters. The boy looked positively gleeful. If he chose to accept the challenge, the dwarf knew he had to proceed with caution. And, well, there really was no question of whether or not he would, was there? He was not about to pass up an opportunity to put some insolent kids in their place.

Edmund was ready. He needed an outlet and it was likely to be a quick fight. Peter's broadsword was bound to be both too heavy and too long for the dwarf. Normally, he would have resented the unfair circumstances. But the short man was far too impertinent and Edmund, while not quite as caring about the matter as Peter, knew that he needed to establish his place as a king. It had never worked with Adeline, who was his predecessor and had seniority and only chose to treat him like the king he was when it suited her.

He was broken out of his musings by a sudden attack from the dwarf. It seemed he would not have to worry about the concept of 'fair' as his opponent had apparently decided to play dirty. The move took him by surprise, allowing the dwarf to hit the handle of the sword in his face. It was a tap compared to other blows he had received over the years, but it still hurt and disoriented him for a moment. Edmund was quick to recover, tuning out everything as he focused on his breathing. Breathing helps you focus and when you focus you think clearly, even in the middle of a battle. Oreius' words. He moved quickly to the side as the dwarf lashed out again, tapping the flat side of his sword against his backside. Leaning back as Peter's sword sliced the air right in front of his nose, Edmund swept his blade right over the dwarf's head. He jumped over an attack to his feet, blades crossing as the dwarf parried his next blow.

Peter was utterly entranced. He had forgotten Edmund's proficiency with a blade. In a quick series of blows that the dwarf could barely parry, his brother had disarmed him. A proud smirk played on his lips as the defeated Narnian sat back, staring up at Edmund in awe.

"Beards and bedsteads," he breathed. "Maybe that horn worked after all."

"What horn?" Eager for information, Susan sat down in the sand beside the dwarf. Then she remembered her manners. "You must forgive our less than stellar introductions," she said. "I'm Susan, and this is Edmund and Lucy."

"You needn't worry, there's not a Narnian alive who doesn't know your names," the dwarf retorted. "The name's Trumpkin, I'm a red dwarf from the Shuddering Woods."

The rest of the Pevensies joined them in the sand as well. "I'm sure you understand that we have a lot of questions for you," Peter stated. "We've been gone for a long time and would like to know what happened here." Trumpkin nodded, launching into an explanation.

When the Pevensies disappeared, leaving Narnia without rulers, the kingdom went into what had become known as the Dark Age. Though the Narnians never gave up searching for their Kings and Queens of Old, others sought and were given the throne. None lasted, nor did they ever even try to bring Narnia back to the days of happiness and prosperity. Eventually, while the land was wrought with anarchy and divided loyalties as belief in the Old Narnia waned, the Telmarines started conquering Narnian lands until the kingdom was within their power.

The siblings could scarcely believe what they were hearing. "Adeline never would've let that happen," Lucy protested. "She protected Narnia for centuries."

"Adeline?" Trumpkin frowned. "You mean that warrior from the fairytales?"

Edmund's heart stopped. "She was real," he insisted. "She taught us everything we know, she was our friend!" But he saw Susan's tearful gaze and Peter's pained expression. Lucy's hand came to rest on his shoulder, a fruitless attempt to comfort him. Adeline would never abandon Narnia. Not ever, not by her own free will. The dagger in his belt felt heavier than ever before.

"If there ever was an Adeline, she died with the rest of them back in the Dark Ages," Trumpkin deadpanned. "There's been no great warrior protecting Narnia for a very long time, otherwise the Telmarines wouldn't have won."

But the Pevensies were no longer listening. Lucy had moved over to sit with Peter, his arms wrapped tightly around her as she sobbed into his shoulder. Susan hugged her knees to her chest, still trying to keep the tears at bay. All while Edmund's flowed silently down his cheeks, vengeance and grief grappling inside of him as he stared into nothing.