A/N: Don't expect every chapter to come this quickly, but seriously, you guys left such sweet reviews that this just kinda...popped out. lol. I'm glad you all enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one, too!

Chapter notes: I keep learning new things as I have to research more and more with each chapter, lol. Such as, did you know that British kids only get 6 weeks over the summer? I did not know this before writing this chapter. Be that as it may, I have no idea if it was the same in the 1940's, so you can see their summer break as however long you want it to be, lol. This is also still only about 2500 words of setting the stage. I promise we get into more stuff next chapter, lol, but honestly this story is intended to be more of a slow burn type plot.

Story timeline: So, a guest (All4Aslan) asked about this, so I will answer here, both for the benefit of all, but also because I can't reply, lol. I do basically take the 'established' timeline for the series, but I definitely agree with you that it has a lot of problems. C.S. Lewis was good at building his world book-by-book, but not for the series as a whole, lol. That being said, here is the info for their ages you were wanting: Lucy (as stated last chapter) is 14, and I place her birthday in April. Edmund is 15, but his birthday is the end of August. Susan is 18, and her birthday is in May. Peter is 19, and his birthday is in February. (There is a logic to this, but that's more of something for a tumblr post than an author's note, lol.)

Correction to last chapter: If anyone noticed, no one said anything, but I feel I must give credit where credit is due. Last chapter I mistakenly named an all-boy's school as Hartbee's. This is, in fact, not mine. You know how sometimes you can read so much fanfiction or a fanfic that just so impacts you that you start to see things as canon when they are not? Yeah, that happened. Hartbee's is the name of the school the boys go to in Tonzura123's fic, P.E. It's a brilliant work, but not mine, so therefore, the aforementioned school name does not belong to me. That being said, Edmund was still attending the actual canon school of Hendon House, and is thus said in this chapter, but there could still be a Hartbee's that is an all-boys school, so I am going to leave last chapter as is. ;)

To my guest reviewers: I love you guys to bits, and I wish I could better reply and talk to you! Therefore, I have added some additional info to my profile, and if any of you have tumblr or the chat app Line, feel free to hit me up and talk there! (This goes for anyone, not just guests, but especially to them!)

Chapter Two

The sound of crickets filled the afternoon air as Edmund pulled his line from the water. The summer skies had been overcast the past three days, and with the constant threat of rain, the two brothers had been forced to put off their fishing. Finally the skies had cleared, and they had been out of the door before most of Finchley had even begun to stir. Of all the things they did together, fishing was one of Edmund's favorites.

"How many did we get, Pete?"

Peter looked up from the bucket. "Enough for dinner with some to spare. We didn't do too badly."

They gathered their gear and headed for the road. The lake where they often fished was a bit of a distance from their home but not so far that it bothered either of them to make the trip several times in a summer. The long walk gave them that much more time to talk.

"I can't believe the holidays are half over already," Peter sighed. "It always goes much too quickly."

Edmund had been able to relax and put all his worries out of his mind while they fished, but now, with his brother's simple statement, everything came flooding back. He groaned. "Oh, please, don't talk about school, Peter."

Peter frowned. "Well, I didn't intend to take it any further than that, but now that I think about it… You still haven't made up your mind, have you? You're cutting it a bit close."

"I know." Edmund stared straight ahead. He knew well enough without his brother reminding him that he had only three days to make a decision. After that, it would be too late to make arrangements to travel to America, and he would be stuck going back to Hendon whether he wanted to or not.

"Maybe we should talk about it tonight, then," Peter offered slowly. "We've all wanted to give you time to decide on your own, but…"

Edmund sighed. "Maybe."

The pair lapsed into silence for several minutes as they continued down the road.

"I wonder if they play rugby."

Edmund abruptly turned his head to look at his brother, causing him to almost trip over his own feet in surprise as he was pulled from his own thoughts. "Sorry?"

Peter smiled. "I wonder if they play rugby at those American schools. You know, since you love it so much. Or maybe cricket at least? Do you suppose they play cricket at all?"

Edmund chuckled. "I honestly hadn't thought much about it. I hope they do, though."

"Well, you should find out, because that should be a deal-breaker," Peter joked. "Can't go if they don't play rugby or cricket!"

"I've told you a dozen times now: I'm not interested." Susan picked up the paper bag of groceries from the store counter and turned to leave, wishing not for the first time that she had somehow convinced Lucy to come along with her.

"You're going to end up an old maid with an attitude like that, you know, when you can't give a chap a chance."

She stopped in her tracks and, without turning to face the man again, she answered, "Better an old maid than married to someone who can't take a hint." She pushed open the shop door before he could think of a comeback and stepped out into the street. With any luck, he wouldn't bother to follow her and thus she could get home in good time still; the boys had returned with some beautiful fish, and she was quite eager to get cooking.

By the time she arrived home, the boys and their father had finished cleaning the fish, and the fillets were laid out on plates on the counter, waiting to be prepared.

Peter smiled as he finished drying his hands. "And you thought you'd be back before we were done."

"I got held up," she sighed. "I knew I should have taken Lucy with me."

Lucy shrugged. "Someone had to make bread since Mum's visiting her sister this week. Would you really trust one of them to do it?"

Susan shook her head. "No, but it still would have been nice to have had the company."

"Held up by someone trying to call on you, I'm guessing?" Edmund asked.

"Yes. That ignorant Robert Thatcher. I wish he'd learn to give up already." She turned to Lucy. "If you're done with the bread, cut these up, please?" she asked, holding out a bag of potatoes.

"Of course," Lucy replied, taking the bag.

"Wait," Peter spoke, sitting at the kitchen table. "Robert Thatcher. I know that name for some reason…"

Edmund's jaw clenched briefly. "Yeah, you punched his lights out for bullying me five years ago."

Peter frowned. "Ah, yes. I remember now. The one who thought it was a good idea to literally kick you around. What a lovely fellow."

"He's not really any better now, either, if only more subtle in his force," Susan stated, finishing putting away everything she had purchased. "Though he apparently enlisted, so maybe the army will straighten him out."

"Well, if it doesn't," Peter continued with a smirk, "and he keeps bothering you, I'd more than gladly put him in his place again, considering he obviously hasn't learned his lesson about messing with my siblings."

"Peter," Susan began to admonish, but their father's laughter cut her off.

"Oh, you needn't worry, Peter," James stated, much to everyone's surprise. "If he actually dares to come calling, he'll get more than he bargained for from me alone."

Susan turned towards her father, slightly aghast. "Father, you aren't really setting a good example right now!"

He shrugged. "No matter how old you get, you'll still always be my little girl, and a father has to protect his daughters, does he not?"

Susan rolled her eyes, turning back to the fish, recognizing a moment too late that the joke was on her. Peter, she had no doubt, would actually still punch the man in the face. Her father, on the other hand, would not. Oh, no; he wasn't a college language and literature professor for nothing. He would tear the poor boy down with words that would be far more scarring than a broken nose ever would be.

"You know, all of you are going to have to get used to boys coming to call on me," she stated, coating the fish in breading. "Especially now that I've finished my schooling."

"We know," James stated benignly as her brothers tried not to laugh in the background, "but they will still have to be met with approval. Otherwise…" He trailed off, waving one hand vaguely.

Susan couldn't help but smile. She had to admit she was glad for a family that cared so much about her future happiness. Speaking of the future, she thought. "Ed, have you decided what you're going to do yet?" she asked, changing the subject.

The sudden silence in the room was palpable. When she turned her head to look at her younger brother, the dark shadows on his face didn't escape her. Her hands stopped their work. "Edmund?" she asked gently. He continued to scowl at the floor, and from his obvious lack of enthusiasm, she could already guess the answer to her question.

Peter breathed out noisily through his nose. "No," he answered in place of his brother, "he hasn't."

"And don't even remind me of how little time I have," Edmund snapped, finding his voice. "I'm well aware."

Peter stood from his chair. "We were going to wait until tonight to talk about this, but maybe it had better be done now." He jerked his chin towards the door. With only a small huff in response, Edmund obeyed and left the kitchen with Peter right behind him.

The two girls exchanged a look with their father. It was unusual for Edmund to snap at any of them like that anymore.

"What was that all about?" Lucy asked.

No one had an answer.

Peter closed the door to their bedroom behind him as Edmund flopped down on his bed.

"Alright, Ed. Tell what this is really about," Peter instructed gently but firmly as he sat down beside his brother.

Edmund opted to stare out the window rather than meet his brother's gaze. "I don't know why this is so difficult, alright?" he snapped. "I just don't."

"If you knew, we wouldn't be having this conversation. So talk to me, Ed. Whenever you think about it, what consumes your thoughts?"

Edmund sighed, still refusing to meet his brother's gaze. "Well, in the first place, it is a wonderful opportunity. From what the headmaster told me, my studies would be far more challenging there. They have a bit of a different system for teaching, and there is a little more freedom in what you're allowed to study. I can take more classes that actually interest me, so I won't be so bored anymore. And, because I'd be going to another country, I'd get to experience another part of the world. I can't imagine the culture is terribly different, but all the same, it would be exciting to see where it does differ."

"Okay," Peter spoke after a moment of silence. "That all sounds like reasons you do want to go. So then tell me why you don't want to go."

Edmund stared out the window in silence so long, Peter was almost afraid he wasn't going to answer. But then he took a deep breath and quietly continued. "It's just… Everything I know is here. You, our sisters, my friends… I know everything here; it's familiar and comfortable, and I guess I just keep wondering if it's worth it to leave everything I know behind to go to a place I know nothing about. I mean… the thought of going somewhere new is thrilling, but... " He trailed off, but after only a moment finished his thoughts. "It has taken me so long to make actual friends at Hendon…"

Peter folded his arms, resting his elbows on his knees. When it was clear his brother had said all he was going to say, he responded. "You know, it would seem to me that the only thing holding you back is… fear."

Edmund scrunched up his brow. "Fear?"

"Fear," Peter repeated. "And, honestly, I can't blame you. You'd be going to a place you don't know and where you don't know anyone. You'll be alone there. Everything is an unknown. So it's a reasonable emotion to feel. But tell me, if you set aside the fear of the unknown, what would you choose to do?"

"I'd go. In a heartbeat."

"Then why are you letting fear hold you back?"

Edmund sighed. "I wish it was that simple."

Peter was silent for a moment. "Ed, do you remember the first campaign you went out on alone in Narnia? You were barely sixteen then. I was in the North, and Susan was so busy running things in my absence that she didn't have the time to go. Lucy would have - bless her - but she was too young still and knew she'd be in serious trouble if she went against my wishes. That left you, and only you. Lucy told me when I returned that you had been terrified to go alone, but you still went anyway."

"What's your point, Pete?"

Peter smiled fondly. "You came back in victory, and that experience changed you into a better king. You were so much more confident after that. You had to leave everything that was familiar and comfortable in order to become a better leader. Maybe this, too, is meant to make you a better person - to help you grow in a way you wouldn't otherwise be able to."

"That may be true, but it doesn't make it any less terrifying."

"No, but quite often terror comes right before doing something insanely brave."

Edmund finally turned his gaze from the window to meet his brother's. "You're trying to say I should go, aren't you?"

"If fear is the only thing keeping you here, then, yes, I do think you should go. Back then, you had to leave us behind to learn your own capabilities. Perhaps this is the same. Some things you can't know until you leave everything else behind." He paused and shrugged. "Besides, if you end up hating it, you don't have to go back the next year, you know."

Edmund sat up with a sigh, averting his eyes again. "We really should have talked sooner, shouldn't we have?"

"Probably," Peter replied lightly, "but at least it's sorted now. That's what matters."

Edmund swung his feet to the floor, stood, and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

"Well, if we're done here, I'm going to go apologize to Su for snapping at her. And then I'm going to tell everyone the good news."

1 August 1946

To Headmaster Charles A. Davis

Greetings!

It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you that one Edmund J. Pevensie has accepted your offer to study at your fair school of St. John's beginning this coming term on the third day of September 1946, and has received all required documents to do so. Mr. Pevensie will be arriving by boat to the port in Boston, Massachusetts, on the thirty-first day of August. From Boston, he will come by train, expecting to arrive in the afternoon of the same day.

I cannot thank you enough on his behalf. As saddened as I am to lose such a brilliant young mind, I know he will excel under the fine tutelage of your professors.

I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Albert E. Wilson, Headmaster of Hendon House, London, England