Sending her children off to the country was one of the hardest things Helen Pevensie had ever done…or so she thought. It turned out, getting them back was even harder. Now, it wasn't the actual bringing them home that was hard. No, it seemed as if her children had had personality transplants over the summer. They had, effectively, grown up. Helen did not know her own children anymore.

They hadn't changed in a bad way; they were just different. Peter had become a man; anybody could see that. But the way he acted around his siblings was different. He treated his sisters with the utmost respect, and he wasn't spiteful towards Edmund anymore. He was…regal almost. He still had a fun side, but it was kept more in check. His temper still needed working on though.

Of the four, Edmund had changed the most. He had gone from being unpleasant and swarthy, to compassionate and controlled. He kept Peter in check a lot of times, and his sense of humor was limitless. He constantly was playing harmless pranks on his family members. Edmund was also very fair. He wouldn't hesitate to step in if someone was being bullied, and then deal with the situation himself by talking it out between the two parties.

Susan it seemed, hadn't changed all too much. She had matured of course, and had grown physically, but her sweet and sometimes sarcastic Susan was still present. She had become more formal though, and was less shy. She had no problem handling herself around any adult, even important ones. She played the role of hostess impeccably, mingling and greeting people to perfection. She had this air about her that just welcomed people.

Lucy though, was not her Lucy anymore. Her dear, almost-ten year old baby had grown up. She wasn't naïve anymore. She could argue her way out of a situation like Edmund; she dealt with people like Susan; her temper even rivaled Peter's on occasion. Little Lucy was the mash-up of her three siblings, and they didn't seem to see anything wrong with it! Helen Pevensie's little girl had been lost to her.

It had been than three days since Helen Pevensie got her children back, and everything was mundane. She had babied them relentlessly for as long as she could, but that only lasted two days. Still though, she clung onto the hope that her darling Lucy would let her hold on just a bit more. This sadly, was not to be.

Helen arrived home late one afternoon after running a few errands. She left Edmund and Lucy home alone for a couple of hours; they were twelve and almost-ten after all. They could handle themselves for a while. When Helen walked in the front door, the house was dark and there wasn't any noise. After calling for the two of them, Helen walked slightly into the woods that were behind the tidy house. What she saw there, was not something she wished to ever see again.

Her two youngest children were in the woods dueling. With real knives. They seemed to have found those old souvenirs that her darling John had picked up when he went to Australia for a year. Except now, the knives weren't mottled and rusty. They gleamed and glistened, flashing in the waning light of the afternoon. Each child had two knives, and both were wielding them…expertly. It was astonishing to say the least. Helen just froze as she watched her babies twist back and forth, jumping and ducking, parrying the blows. It was beautiful in an odd sort of way.

Then, Helen snapped out of her trance.

"Edmund! Lucy! What on earth are you doing?" Helen normally had a very beautiful voice, but at that moment, it had risen three octaves and was very shrill.

Edmund felt it was better to cut to the chase. "Dueling, Mother. It's quite a bit of fun. Ow!" Lucy had elbowed him in the ribs.

"You're making it worse." She hissed. "Just please be quiet."

"Just trying to be honest." Edmund shot back under his breath.

"You both should know better than to play with knives! And how on earth did you learn to do that!" Helen was slowly reaching the point of hysteria.

"We learned it in the country Mum, that's all." Lucy explained.

"The two or you are forbidden to play with knives again, do you hear me!" Helen had turned stern.

"But Mother!" Edmund pleaded. "I am quite assured that be both know an extensive amount of safety procedures and precautions when it comes to these types of situations."

"No exceptions either of you. You are too young to be playing with knives. You are just children!"

That is what made Helen's youngest daughter snap. Unbeknownst to her mother, Lucy had been grieving for Narnia ever since she had left it, and Lucy couldn't help but feel that it was her fault that they left in the first place. If wasn't for her insistence of searching behind the Lamppost… She had been stripped of her titles, her body, her home, and sent back to England were she was a nine-year old child again. Her opinions didn't count anymore, she was overshadowed and disregarded. She was Queen Lucy the Valiant of Narnia. She had fought in too many battles to count. Straightening her shoulders, and raising her chin, Lucy slipped on the mask of regal indifference that all of her siblings had perfected thus far.

"I am no child." With that, the Valiant and Wild Queen strode into her house and up to her bedroom.

To say Helen was shocked would be a vast understatement, but what her youngest son said next her rocked to the core.

"She isn't a child, you know. None of us are anymore. Surely you've noticed that?"

Leaving his mother alone in the woods behind their house, the Just King walked upstairs to comfort his sister, where they cried over the loss of Narnia together.

A/N: Ok, so it's a bit different than the others. I felt that something was needed from the viewpoint of a parent though, which is why I wrote this one. I have a few more ideas for ficlets like this, so expect them to pop up occasionally. Oh, and a universal disclaimer for all of my stories is on my profile. Thank you to all of my reviewers! You all have made me a very happy author.