A/N Wow, if I had waited any longer to update this story, it probably would have been exactly 1 year since I was active on this website. The only thing I can say is "sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!" It's been an exciting year is all I can say, and I hope that I might be able to finish this story (and my other ones) before I finish college. Once again, I can't make any promises on updates, but I will try harder to focus on my writing over this summer :)

This chapter picks up right where chapter 7 left off, going back in time to when Nyra first joined the Kings and Queens of old.

Chapter 10

Initium II (Meetings and Greetings)

Spring 1005

Edmund awoke the next morning to a pitch black room and a soiled bed. He had successfully managed to avoid his siblings the night before, but there would be none of that today. The King was about to sit up and throw open the curtains to find the source of the horrid stench and wetness in his bed when he remembered that there was a wolf cub nestled up next to his chest. For a split second, a soft smile fell across his lips as he felt the pup's tiny chest rising and falling beside him. He could feel her rapid heartbeat against his numb arm. And then the disgusting smell attacked his senses again.

Edmund tried to push his face back into his pillow, but the smell was already stuck in his nose. After a few moments of trying to ignore it, he knew that he would have to move sooner or later.

"Sorry, Nyra." Edmund whispered, before pulling away from the furry bundle and crawling out of the sheets. As his feet hit the cool ground, a whimper could be heard from the middle of the bed and Edmund felt his heart pull. He couldn't help but say "sorry" again.

The King grimaced and pulled off his moist undershirt, throwing it on the ground and rubbing a hand over his chest. Perhaps sleeping with a wolf wasn't the best idea, especially when it wasn't toilet trained yet. Thank Aslan he didn't crush the poor thing while he slept. Edmund pushed himself off of the bed and walked over to the window where he had drawn the curtains. With a single hand, he pulled the sheet open so he could see out of a crack. The sun was just beginning to rise over the treetops. Edmund grimaced, his head pounding from the combination of bright light and the disgusting smell coming off of his bed. He seriously should have known better.

There was a light tap on his chamber door.

"King Edmund?" It was the voice of one of the servants. Edmund let the curtain fall back into place and called for the servant to enter. Even through the darkness of the room, he could see the disgusted look on the faun's face as he entered with a bucket of water.

"I wasn't the one who peed the bed." Edmund said with a smirk.

"Of course not, my lord." The faun responded, placing the bucket of water next to the tub in Edmund's washing room. "There has been talk of the wolf pup you brought back… I see it wasn't false." Edmund let out a light laugh and walked over to the bed to make sure Nyra was still there.

"News spreads fast here."

"Queen Lucy seemed eager to talk of the subject." The faun said, walking back to the door. "Shall I draw your bath in the guest room?"

"If you would." Edmund looked down at the squirming pup on the bed. She would need to be fed and cleaned soon- something he had little to no idea how to do.

"Aldani!" Edmund called after the faun before he had the chance to leave the room.

"Yes, sir?"

"Yesterday, when I returned from my ride, there was a nymph in the kitchens who helped me. If you could, I would appreciate it if she brought more milk for the pup." He felt horrible, not knowing who the nymph was. Edmund prided himself on personally knowing every soul in the castle, but so far, Lucy had him beat.

"Of course."

"Thank you." Edmund made his way over to the bucket of water Aldani had brought to his room and dipped the end of a rag into the warm water. He squeezed out the excess water and then went back over to sit on the bed next to Nyra.

Very gently, he slid his fingers under her tiny body, lifting her from the soiled mattress and placing her on the dry comforter. As he dabbed the cloth against her short, sticky fur, Edmund noted how small she was. The pup was no bigger than his shoe at only [what he guessed was] a week old. She was a dark grey color with tints of brown appearing on the top of her head between her hears. Her face was scrunched up and wrinkled, speckled with dots of white around her mouth. Edmund couldn't wait until she opened her eyes. He'd heard that all wolf pup eyes were blue until they grew older. He had always wanted a dog back home, but his mother would never have agreed to it.

'No,' Edmund scolded himself. 'Nyra is not your pet, Edmund.'

He was ashamed that he'd even thought of the small pup in that way. Had Nyra been a stupid animal he might be able to think of her as a pet, but Nyra was almost certainly a talking animal. What if she never talked though? What if spending too much time with her would cause her how to forget how to speak? Edmund read in a few books in the library that stupid animals came about from being treated like stupid animals. That caused Edmund to pull away from rubbing the cloth along Nyra's belly fur, and for the small wolf to whine in complaint.

"Sorry." Edmund apologized again, lowering the cloth her to her fur again. Maybe he was just over thinking the whole thing. Nyra would be fine as long as he was aware of what he was doing. Then again, how was he supposed to know what he was doing was the right thing?

With a sigh, Edmund decided that it would be best to think over these matters with a clear head. Still clutching the damp cloth in one hand, the King gently scooped up the wolf pup and held her against his bare chest. Even though the guest room was just down the hall, he didn't want to leave Nyra all alone- especially if his chambers smelled this bad. Using his foot to push open his door, Edmund silently made his way down the hallway, feeling much better now that he was breathing clear air again.

Already, the castle was full of activity. As he walked past the stairs, Edmund could hear the sound of the residents of Cair Paravel running around, completing their morning duties. Down the hall, a faun was carrying fresh towels into Susan's room, and another was beating a rug by an open window. More often than not, his older sister was up before first light, making sure that everyone had something to do for the day. There was no slacking when it came to Queen Susan.

Edmund turned down the hallway to his left as soon as he reached the rug beating faun, and stepped into the room that's door had been left slightly open. The scent of boiling water and pine needles- his favorite bath mixture- relieved his throbbing head almost instantly. However, as he looked at the large, wooden tub, Edmund couldn't help but wonder what he would do with Nyra while he bathed.

"My lord?"

The King turned, relieved to find the wood nymph from the day before standing by the door. In her right hand, she held a pouch full of what Edmund guessed could only be more milk for Nyra. He gave the girl a slight smile and stepped towards her, adjusting his hold on the pup in his arms.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." He said, gesturing for her to come in further. The nymph smiled back, and held up the pouch.

"It is my pleasure." She said. "I was wondering if you would need more milk for the pup anyways."

"Splendid." Edmund looked down at Nyra, who was beginning to squirm in his arms. "Listen, I know this might be a bit much to ask, but could you-

He didn't even finish his sentence before the nymph glided forward and gently took the pup from his arms. Nyra immediately went still in the peaceful creature's hold, snuggling up against her olive colored skin. Edmund was stuck somewhere between relief and resentment that the nymph as so quickly able to calm the pup.

"It's no problem, my King." The nymph said, moving to sit on the bed. "I can feed her while you bathe."

Edmund nodded, but didn't move from his spot. She meant for him to bathe while she was still in the room? The thought made him ever so uncomfortable, until he realized that what she was suggesting was merely the way of her kind. They thought nothing of each other's human forms, so why should Edmund be bothered that she might see his? Now that he thought about it, the nymphs probably saw him and Peter changing in the woods during the summer of their first year as kings. Besides, he felt much more comfortable knowing that Nyra would remain in the room with them.

With a small shrug, Edmund turned back to his bath and untied the strings of his trousers.

"I'm sorry, but I never got your name." The King said as he lowered himself into the hot water.

"It's Clytie." The nymph said, holding up the pouch so Nyra could feed on the substance within.

"Well, thank you for helping me, Clytie." Edmund said. "Has there been any word on females that could nurse Nyra?"

"Yes, there are several new mothers that have offered to nurse the pup." Clytie said, turning on the bed slightly so she could look at Edmund. "However, I would advise meeting with the tigress, Indira."

"Any particular reason?"

"Her only cub this spring was stillborn." Clytie said softly, turning to look back towards the door. "But she is a good mother. I believe one of her other cubs serves as a representative of Cair Paravel at the trading post between our country and Archenland."

Edmund nodded. "I shall take her into consideration." He said while scrubbing at his chest in an attempt to rid himself of the horrid stench that clung to his skin.

They fell into a comfortable silence; the only sounds in the room being Nyra's soft suckling and an occasional splash from Edmund as he bathed. Although Edmund trusted the nymph, there was still a part of him that feared she would drop the pup or accidentally hurt her in some way. He knew his thinking was irrational, and that he was merely being overprotective as any would over such a delicate creature, but Edmund couldn't shake the feeling that came over him whenever he thought about Nyra. It was strange- he'd never felt it before. The sense that he had to protect Nyra at all costs, that her life was far more valuable than his own. He had to make sure she was safe and fed and healthy at all times, or else he'd failed her. Edmund didn't know what it was then as he bathed in the guest room of Cair Paravel, and he wouldn't figure it out until many years later.

Edmund was drawn out of his thoughts as the sound of hoof steps and a light tap on the door echoed in the room.

"Sire, I've brought you a change of clothing." Aldani said, carefully placing the fabric on the end of the bed, next to Clytie. The faun gave the nymph a simple glance, his eyes lingering on the wolf pup she cradled in her arms. A smirk crossed over the young king's lips. It would never cease to amuse him at how curious the Narnians around the castle were of the small pup.

"Thank you, Aldani." Edmund smiled. "Have my siblings awoken yet?"

"They've been awake since first light, my lord."

Edmund closed his eyes and sighed, wanting nothing more than to submerge himself in the water and never come out. Of course the others were already awake. They'd probably eaten without him as well. After all, it wasn't the first time.

"Shall I bring your breakfast up?" Edmund shook his head.

"That's quite alright, I find I'm not very hungry this morning." To be honest, the lovely smell Edmund had woken up to had done wonders for his hunger pangs. "If you're not too busy, would you mind asking my siblings to meet me in the Royal Study?"

"Of course, will that be all?" Edmund nodded and thanked the faun, before starting to climb out of the cooling water.

Not ten minutes later, Edmund found himself dressed and smelling considerably better than he had that same morning. He couldn't, however, say the same thing about Nyra, who had soiled the bed the night before. Most of her fur was still matted and dried together near her rear, and the lovely smell from this morning had seemed to only get worse as time passed. The King contemplated on attempting to clean her with the wet rag again, but Clytie assured him that she would send Indira up to clean the pup when she got the chance. Nothing gets you cleaner faster than a tigress's tongue, after all.

So Edmund had settled for wrapping a dry towel around Nyra, who struggled against it, but eventually settled against his chest as he carried her down the hall. She was a rather trusting little thing, the King thought to himself as he walked. Even as a pup, he expected her to put up more of a fight than she had ever since she had been given to him in the woods. Given to him- something about that rubbed Edmund the wrong way, and he knew it always would. He had paid no money for her, but he still felt as though he was now a slave owner, no better than the traders who sailed along the Lone Islands. Of course, it would have been far different if he knew she wasn't a talking animal… wouldn't it?

"Oh, Edmund, the rumors are true!" Lucy's voice was the first one to reach his ears as he pushed open the door to the study with one hand. His younger sister jumped to her feet from where she'd been sitting on the couch to rush over to Edmund, who had barely made it over the threshold.

"Careful, Lucy!" Edmund warned quietly, turning his body so Lucy could see the wolf pup easier.

"What's her name?" The young Queen whispered, delicately lifting the end of the towel that covered the pup's head.

"Nyra," Edmund was afraid that Lucy's growing smile would split her face in half if she was any more delighted. The young girl leaned her head closer to Edmund's arm and ran her finger over the soft fur on Nyra's head.

"She's adorable."

"Let Edmund sit down, Lu." Susan said from where she was standing by the oak desk near the fireplace. The boy nodded gratefully to his sister, making his way over to the couch that Lucy was sitting at once again. Peter had yet to say anything from where he resided near his desk, but he offered no words to his younger brother as he stared at the lump of fur in Edmund's arms.

"Now, as exciting as this is," Susan said, shooting a pointed look at Lucy, who was all over the wolf pup once again. "There is going to be a lot of backlash about you mysteriously showing up with an orphaned wolf pup."

Lucy instantly sobered up and leaned back into the couch. "There's a rumor floating around that you stole her." The young queen said quietly. "But I don't believe it at all!"

Edmund groaned and closed his eyes. He should have seen that one coming. Of course people wouldn't believe that Nyra was given to him- after all, things like that didn't happen every day. Some might whisper about him being a slave owner, a tyrant- even working to bring her back. The very thought of someone bringing her up was enough to guilt Edmund into a panic attack.

"We've all heard bits and pieces, Ed." The boy King snapped his eyes open, realizing that he had missed parts of the conversation. "Why don't you tell us about what actually happened?" At first, Edmund thought that Susan was implying that he had been lying to everyone.

"What have you heard?" His voice was guarded as he pulled the squirming pup closer to his body.

"That you found her abandoned in the woods." Lucy piped up. Susan nodded in agreement, and Peter looked down at the paper in front of him, pretending to ignore his siblings for the moment.

"She wasn't abandoned." Edmund said. "And I didn't go looking for her, if that's what you were about to ask."

"We just want to know about what went down." Susan reassured Edmund, trying to make him understand that he wasn't under attack- at least by her and Lucy.

"Fine." Edmund stretched his legs out in front of him to rest Nyra on his thighs. "Phillip and I were out on our normal patrol of the sections, not too far from the southwest end of the castle. We were just minding our own business when a she wolf came out of the brush with this pup." Edmund ran his fingers over Nyra's fur as he pointed to her.

"I think it was her mother. She put Nyra in my hands and told me that she was a gift, and said something about her being worth so much more. Before I could even say anything she was gone- vanished into the forest without a trace. She was like a ghost… Even I am having trouble figuring out if she was real or not."

"She really didn't say anything else?" Lucy asked.

Edmund shook his head, looking back down at the pup in his lap. Now that he'd actually said the story out loud, he began to realize how fake it actually sounded. A gift? Really? If he didn't feel bad about accepting her before, he certainly did now. Edmund closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was making this more complicated than it had to be… but the reality was that politics was complicated.

"It does seem like a strange story." Susan said, making her way over to Edmund to closer inspect the wolf pup. "But now that we've heard it, I'm far more concerned of her future."

"You're not suggesting that we keep her?" Peter finally chimed in. All three of his siblings turned to him, obviously displeased at the minority opinion.

'Finally' thought the second son, he was beginning to think that Peter would remain neutral on this issue.

"She's a defenseless pup, what are we supposed to do-throw her out in the forest and hope for the best?" Lucy was obviously opposed to the idea. However, Peter was beginning to think that wasn't a half bad idea himself. After all, Nyra was sure to be adopted by someone not in their current position.

"Look, I don't want to be the bad guy here." Peter backtracked, hurt that his sister would think him so cruel. "I'm just acting as the voice of reason. We are just starting our reign; do we really want to have this scandal of us 'taking' a wolf pup hanging over our heads?"

"But I didn't take her." Edmund quipped. He didn't know if he was more upset with what Peter was saying or with the fact that he actually had a good point.

"I never said that you did, but do you really think that everyone is going to believe the truth?"

Was being an arrogant know-it-all a good enough reason to punch his brother? Susan must have seen the look in his eyes, because Edmund soon found a firm hand on his shoulder. Whether it was to remind him to keep his head or to keep him from going at his brother, the young king would never know.

"The obvious answer here is that we have to make sure that Nyra is well taken care of." The queen proclaimed.

"I already have a foster mother lined up." Edmund was slightly relieved that he'd done something right so far. "Indira, the tigress, has been recommended to me."

"Oh, she's quite lovely!" Lucy piped in. Was it really any surprise at all that the youngest sibling knew literally everyone in the castle? Walking down the halls with his was a nightmare, because she was always stopping to chat with everyone. The other day it had taken them just over an hour to travel from the library to the dining hall for lunch.

"Alright, that's a good place to start." Not to anyone's surprise, Susan was already busy organizing. However, this time it wasn't some extravagant party, it was this poor wolf's life. "We'll have to take this one day at a time, but I'm sure that everything will work out fine in the long run."

Edmund took in a deep breath and leaned back into the couch. Peter had once again conveniently fallen silent, and Susan had more or less taken his lack of oppositions as agreement. Edmund knew that look on his brother's face though- that look of pure disapproval. He most definitely wasn't in agreement with his siblings, but he didn't dare argue any more with them. Little did the high king know; his brother was having the same doubts just across the room.

Well, was it worth the 12 month wait? Were the initial reactions of the Pevensies' what you thought they would be? If you're finding it hard to understand exactly why the siblings are having such a tough time deciding on what they should do with Nyra, imagine you're out walking one day and some random lady gives you a newborn baby and tells you that it is a gift to you and your family. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you suddenly showing up with a baby that's not yours won't result in at least one person calling child services.

The next chapter will return to the current timeline!

Any questions, comments, or life threatening concerns don't hesitate to pm me!

Charlii