Well, hello there. It's been awhile. Essentially, I have decided to pick up this story and finish it by new years. My current outline is for eleven chapters total, but that could change. For now, here is chapter seven.

The next day, Edmund and Lucy had a private breakfast and Edmund told her about everything that had happened the previous night.

"Peter seemed so happy and so did Caspian. It was great." Edmund yawned, clearly three hours rest hadn't been enough.

"That's wonderful!" Lucy could hardly contain her excitement, her tiny frame bouncing up and down in its chair. Edmund laughed and steadied her porridge so she wouldn't tip it over. He might have been quicker to mock her had he not reacted the exact same way the night before.

The two of them talked for over an hour exhausting every topic from Peter and Caspian to how long they would be allowed to stay in Narnia for this time around.

"I love it here! I hope we get to stay for a long time! Maybe as long as the time before last! Oh Ed, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Quietly cracking into a soft-boiled egg, Edmund speculated about the time they would have in Narnia. In ways he hoped it would never end. Wars in their world were far worse in a lot of ways, at least from Edmund's perspective. They were full of bombs, terror and genocide. He couldn't stop the bombs from falling, quell the terror of his loved ones, or prevent genocide. Edmund the child couldn't do much to help the war efforts in England. Edmund, King of Narnia, Duke of Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March and Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, however, had ruled Narnia for fifteen years, acted as a judge for his people, and helped command the troops during the Battle of Beruna. Edmund King of Narnia was able to help people in ways that Edmund the child could never hope to.

Narnia was a wonderful place, but he knew he loved his home as well. In the last term, he had made many friends and hated the thought of leaving all of them behind. When time had stopped just for them it had been easier, but now everyone was growing up and moving on. Who knew how long he and Lucy would stay in Narnia this time? By the time they went back, all of their friends could have grown up and moved on. Come to think of it, what were they going to tell people when they got home? What if they stayed away for years and had to explain their lack of physical changes?

"Hey Lu? What will we tell people when we get back?"

"We could say we went on holiday I guess. We should probably just stick to whatever story Peter and Susan have come up with already."

Sitting back in his chair, Edmund breathed a sigh of relief. Peter had to have invented some story to explain their absence, which thankfully meant he wouldn't have to.

After breakfast the two children made their way to the main conference hall to meet up with Caspian. The trials weren't until the following day, but there was still other planning to take care of. Caspian was already in the hall, a grin on his face, the circles under his eyes the only indication of his sleepless night. The three children tried their best to focus on the Telmarine rebels, but for every suggestion on how to deal with the rebels they seemed to voice three on how to make it so Caspian could touch the pen.

That afternoon they tried everything they could think of from dwarf-crafted gloves to coating the pen in a special thermal resistant substance found only on the very peak of Mt. Pire, the tallest mountain in Harfang. The pen burned a hole straight through the leather and melted the coating right off. Disheartened by their lack of success, the three monarchs headed back into the castle where they found a lovely dinner waiting for them. At the beginning of the meal, the children tried their best to discuss Narnian politics, but over the course of the meal talk turned to the books once again.

"Why do they want to be kept so secret? What sort of magic is it?" Lucy inquired.

"In my fifteen years here, I've never seen anything like it. It doesn't strike me as Narnian magic when I think about it. It is almost too crude."

"How do you mean, friend Edmund?"

" Well when I think of Narnian magic I think of something more beautiful and less..." Edmud gestured in the air, almost as if he hoped to grab the right words out of thin air, "... less concrete and exact."

"Like when Aslan came back to life at the Stone Table!" Lucy offered as an example.

"Exactly! Like the Stone Table." Edmund had to repress the chills that came over him whenever he looked back on his role leading up to the cataclysmic event. A favourite pastime of all Narnians, Lucy and Caspian continued to recount all the known cases of magic in Narnian history. As he listened contentedly to his sister and his friend ramble on, Edmund's mind drifted to potentially related matters.

The book. Magic. Peter and Caspian. He felt as if they were meant to find the books specifically for the purpose of allowing Peter and Caspian to communicate. If this were the case, he couldn't see the books as the end. Sure, for now they were wonderful because they were more than either party had ever dreamed of, but in time, it wouldn't be enough.

Edmund may have looked young, but he was far from naïve and he knew that written words couldn't provide the necessary physical aspects of a relationship. As gross as the thought of his brother in an intimate relationship was, he knew it had been the case and would need to be in the future. No matter how much Peter and Caspian loved each other, the harsh reality held true.

If Peter and Caspian were to be forever denied these relations, each would, eventually, feel compelled to move on. Either that, or wallow in their misery for their entire lives. Both of these outcomes were very conceivable eventualities and neither seemed very appealing in Edmund's mind. This limited communication would only end up harming all parties involved in the end. The pain would only be worse for Caspian and Peter, dwelling on this hopeless relationship of the past, unwilling to break the fragile tie the books provided. Assuming he had figured correctly, and they had been meant to use the books as a means of communication, then this couldn't have been the end Aslan had in mind.

Standing up, Edmund excused himself to his rooms. It could just be wishful thinking on his part, but he was convinced that there had to be some way for Caspian and his brother to be together. All that he had to do was to figure out how.

Eyes closed, Edmund could feel sleep beginning to envelope him when light flooded his room as the door to his chamber was opened. In the doorway stood Caspian, clutching the book to him.

"You have not forgotten our designated hour for the sending and receiving of missives, have you King Edmund?"

Obviously he had, but he just shook his head and lit the lamp by his bedside, retrieving the pen from his nightstand as well. The hour wore on and judging by the messages the two were sending, they did not yet share in his trepidation. This time, the joy of acting as a scribe was mingled with a sense of apprehension and discomfort. By the time the hour had drawn to a close and Caspian slipped out of his room, Edmund's heart was uneasy, but his determination to solve the puzzle was greater than ever and with that thought, he drifted quietly to sleep.

The next morning was utter chaos. Edmund awoke to the sound of a horn being blown in short rapid bursts. Drawing his robe tightly around his body and tying it over his sleep tunic, he hurried outside. Finding Lucy in similar shape, the two scanned the crowd for Caspian. He didn't appear to be there, and when Edmund lowered his gaze from looking above the heads of the Narnia dwarves in front of him, he found Lucy had disappeared.

"Brilliant" he muttered to himself. When it became clear Caspian wasn't going to appear to speak to the crowd anytime soon, Edmund made his way to the podium, wishing he'd taken the time to get dressed properly. He tried yelling to make himself heard over both the people, and the horn, but the noise drowned out his voice. Deciding his only chance was to stand there and hope the crowd quieted as they noticed him. Luckily, a hush fell over the crowd as people nudged their friends into silence, turning their attention to Edmund. The horn was still going, but by yelling, Edmund was able to drown it out.

"People, people please. Fear nothing yet. I know not what is going on at the moment, but Queen Lucy has gone to find information as to why we have been called here at such an ungodly hour. In the meantime, can I get about fifteen volunteers to collect clothing from the general supply shed. I do not want people going back to their rooms, in case there is a reason we were called out of them." Twenty men stepped forward, and Edmund dismissed them with thanks.

"Now," Edmund continued " will anyone missing any family or friends please raise a hand in the air?" about thirty hands shot up. Edmund pointed to the first person he saw, and she told him she couldn't find her grown son, Atticus.

"Would Atticus please come forward if you are present?" A strong, burly man of about seventeen emerged from the crowd and made to join his mother. Things ran in a similar fashion until the men returned with clothing for everyone, and only one girl still stood with her hand in the air.

"Yes miss?"

"I can't find my brother."

"What is his name?"

"Herdley, your highness, but I doubt he'll reply if you call his name, seeing as he's only two and all." Fear coursed through Edmund's body as he wondered how he was going to find a missing two-year-old in a crowd of nearly three hundred people. He told the girl, only about ten-years-old by the looks of it, to stand forward, and dismissed everyone to find clothes in the proper size. After the crowd had diverted its attention, he focused his gaze on the girl.

"Where is the last place you saw your brother?"

"In my room, highness. I was out getting us some milk for breakfast. We like the crème, so I have to get there early." The girl kept talking and Edmund learned that she had been walking the corridor when the alarm had been sounded, and ushered outside despite her protestations. Edmund wanted to go back up to the room to look for the baby, but he couldn't leave the crowd to fend for itself. Similarly, he couldn't let the child go back to her room alone and risk her getting hurt if the danger proved serious.

'See, this is why there were four of us' Edmund thought, and, just like that, Lucy appeared at his side. "How did you do that, and where did you scarper off to?" He asked.

"Do what? and I went to go find out who was blowing the horn and why."

Stopping to listen, Edmund realized the noise had ceased. "And?"

"The rebels are advancing on the castle. Any sign of Caspian?" Edmund shook his head wordlessly. The Narnian castle was under attack, and its current king was nowhere to be found. Taking one deep breath to gather his thoughts, he exhaled and used that breath to begin taking

control.

"Luce, I need you to go with this girl and help her find her brother. When you've found him, report back to me." Lucy nodded, took the girl's hand, and started off towards the nearest door. As soon as they had left, Edmund resumed his position on the podium. Attention once again fell to him, and he couldn't help but note on the fact that now everyone was dressed but him. Pushing that thought aside, Edmund addressed the crowd.

"The castle is under attack." Brilliant first words. The crowd erupted into shouted questions and worried exclamations. Edmund quieted them with a raise of his hand before continuing.

"It is well within our power to defend ourselves, but we have to move quickly. I need all children and mothers of children to make their way to the large safe-room down below the kitchens. Does anyone know where the entrance is? Good, Ma'am would you be so kind as to lead the others. Stay together now."

It took about five minutes to ensure that all children were out of harms way. Edmund then addressed the remaining crowd members, assigning everyone a job that best befit their abilities and the needs of the people. Once everyone had set to work, Edmund climbed down from the podium to begin his search for Caspian. Fear coursed through him as he methodically searched the castle, but to no avail. Out of breath and empty-handed, Edmund returned to the courtyard, where the castle was preparing the defenses. The prospect of protecting a fortified castle from a group of disorganized rebels did little to unsettle a seasoned King of Narnia; the fact that the current Narnian Sovreign had gone missing at the same time did.

Well, it's a bit rusty but I feel good about being back with the story. The next chapter will be up tomorrow (barring any tornados, floods, pandemic flus, etc...). In the meantime, reviews are lovely! And if there's anyone out there from when I started publishing this story, let me know you're still around because that would pretty much make my day.