Eva stared. She knew for a fact that Edmund had just been in front of her. Where had he gone? And then, suddenly, he reappeared again! He had been hiding his face behind his hands this whole time! That had to be the funniest thing she had ever seen!

Edmund laughed as Eva giggled. Playing with the baby had to be one of his favorite pastimes, that and practicing his sword fighting. Through the large open aired windows, Edmund could hear the commotion coming from those working on the well. He felt a little guilty about not being down there himself, but like he had said before, Peter had more than enough people.

Edmund turned as Susan entered the room. Now more than ever his sister reminded him of their mother, he wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was a young married woman now, or that she was a mother herself, but Susan had definitely changed. Susan took the chair next to him, and Eva waddled over to her. Susan lifted her daughter onto her lap, and turned to her brother. "What's going on, Ed?"

Knowing full well what she meant, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"The scene today. I thought you were all over those."

Edmund got to his feet and turned from her. Didn't she get it? Susan had gotten everything she ever wanted! Edmund was still stuck in paradise everyday with nothing to do! "You wouldn't understand." He said.

"Try me."

"Well, it just seems that Narnia has only changed for you."

Susan stared at him. She was taken aback, but was wondering when this subject would come up. Yes, things had worked out for her. She had married the prince, and she had a beautiful daughter, and everything was wonderful. But it wasn't like Narnia was the pits for everyone else. "What is it you want?"

"I… I want to get away. Not forever, just for a few days. I was going to ask Caspian if I could borrow the Dawn Treader."

Susan locked her eyes on Eva. She'd be happier having her siblings where she could keep her eye on them, but… "Then I think that's what you should do."

Edmund wasn't expecting this. He was awaiting a lecture about how foolish it would be for him to take the ship. "You think it's a good idea?"

"If that's what you want." She said.

Edmund watched as Eva got down from her mother's lap, and waddled over to the middle of the floor. She stopped, bent down and picked up her bottle from the floor. She grinned, and put it to Edmund's lips.

"Thank you, Eva." He said he pulled the bottle away from his mouth and watched the liquid wash over the sides like the open sea.

"That's full of my milk." Susan said.

Edmund turned green and dropped it in disgust. How could she have not told him that earlier?

"I'm kidding." She said with a smile. "It's just juice." She bent down and handed the bottle back to her daughter. She threw it to the floor and wandered over to a large stuffed lion that sat beside her crib.

Edmund stared at Susan for a moment. In that instant, she looked so much like their mother. "Don't you miss home at all?" He asked.

"Some days." She said, walking over to Eva. "Is this what this is about?"

"No… I don't know… I just want Narnia to feel the way it did for me before."

"Like a second home?" She asked. "Edmund, when we reigned, you didn't once complain about missing home."

"That's just it." He said. "When we reigned, I got respect."

"You still get respect." She said.

"Not like Caspian."

"Well, our time is over."

"Not for you."

"Edmund…" She said, bringing her hands to her head. She scrubbed her face, "What is it you want me to say? What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing." He said bitterly.

"Take the Dawn Treader. Clear your head, do whatever it is you want to do."

"Yeah." He said and got to his feet. He turned to the door.

"Edmund," She called back.

He turned to her.

"Things change." She said. "And we have to change with them."

Eva waved to him.

***_

Lucy's radiant smile could be seen from a thousand miles away. She laughed and chased after Trumpkin who had a fresh bushel of strawberries in his hand. They had picked them together, laughing and eating until their bellies were full of jam. Then he had picked a nice round one and had smashed it into her face, a crooked smile and glint in his eye as he grabbed the pail and took off running. It only took Lucy a moment to get to her feet, and she chased the little Narnian down the hill.

There was a loud cry from the bush to her right, and Lucy stopped in haste. The bush shuttered and Trumpkin emerged, followed by a sallow looking centaur. He towered over the two of them, and crossed his great arms before glaring down at Trumpkin. His tail twitched in agitation and he gave Trumpkin a hard push that sent him falling forward.

Lucy rounded on him "Hey, that wasn't nice!" She shouted. She had to tilt her head all the way back to look the centaur in the face. He was dark amber in color, with the body of a sleek wild thoroughbred. A shock of thick chestnut hair adorned his scalp and fell to a mane at his shoulders.

The centaur turned to Lucy, his dark brown eyes taking in every inch of the small queen, before giving a great bow. "My apologies, Queen of Old."

Trumpkin, already on his feet, grunted and rolled his sleeves up, his hands balling into fists.

"It's fine," Lucy said eying Trumpkin who rolled his eyes, "we're sorry to disturb you."

The centaur shook his head, "I was napping, my queen. Alas, the shade of this bush does naught to block out the heavens."

"Oh, I do enjoy watching the stars!" Lucy cried happily.

The centaur gave a low sigh. His eyes locked on the ground.

"Don't you?" Lucy asked curiously, "I'm sorry, Mister…?"

"They call me Lycaeus."

"Mr. Lycaeus," Lucy said with a smile.

"I used to. I would sit and watch them dance for nights on end. But the heavens have stopped smiling, my queen. They no longer tell a tale of peace in Narnia." He looked at her with piercing eyes, "Can't you feel it? The coolness in the air? The sour flavor on your tongue?"

"I think we've heard enough." Trumpkin interrupted.

Lucy stared back at Lycaeus with a frown. "Aslan would never let anything happen."

"So you do feel it." Lycaeus confirmed.

Lucy frowned again. No, she did not feel it. Narnia was beautiful. Narnia was home, and her brothers would learn to love it as much as she did. They were arguing because they were boys, and that's what boys did.

"I said that's enough," Trumpkin hissed, grabbing Lucy by the arm and pulling her forward.

"Heed my warning, my queen!" Lycaeus called to their retreating backs.

"Superstitious old goat," Trumpkin muttered. "Don't you listen to a word."

Lucy glanced over her shoulder to where Mr. Lycaeus had stood. It was a barren bush now. "Why did he say such things?"

"He's a centaur, what did you expect? The whole lot of them are superstitious."

Lucy shook her head. Her stomach growled loudly.

"Lunch time?" Trumpkin asked with a smirk.

"Lunch time," Lucy confirmed with a smile.

*********************************-

Edmund cut the last rope that held the mighty ship ashore. He waved happily as the Telmarine castle, his family, and the narnians bid him farewell. It was just he and the open sea now, with a handful of crew to help him man the boat. But the ocean was his. He could clear his head, and endless time stretched before him as wide as the sea.