Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Authoresses Note: Ok, so I managed to fit a short synopsis of the first three into this one. I won't say how, but you'll see. *grins* please review!
The End Of The Line
Third Person POV
Edmund yawned before entering the dining room, trying to hide the effects of having no sleep the night before. "Good morning, King Edmund." Caspian said.
"Caspian..."
"Edmund then."
"Good morning to you too."
Erin snorted from his place at the table and Lacey was trying to refrain from laughing. "You do that every morning." Erin said.
"It's called tradition. But tradition aside, Happy Birthday." Edmund smiled walking over to hug them. Erin wormed his way out of the hug but Edmund managed to kiss him on top of the head.
"Ack! I'm dying!" Erin joked.
Lacey giggled when his chair fell backwards.
Edmund smothered a laugh and bent down. "Are you alright, son?" he asked.
"Yep!" Erin replied cheerily.
When he saw that Erin was alright, Edmund chuckled and helped sit his chair upright. He then took his own seat.
"Where's mum?" Lacey asked.
"Still in bed. She had trouble sleeping last night." Edmund replied.
"Looks like you had trouble sleeping as well." Erin said.
Edmund only gave a faint nod.
"Sorry I'm late." Alex said, walking into the dining room "Someone didn't wake me up." she added, shooting a glance in Edmunds direction.
He grinned and went back to eating.
"Good morning Qu... Alex." Caspian stopped when he saw the narrowing of Alexs eyes.
"Good choice, and good morning." she said taking her seat beside Edmund.
Caspian gave them each a knowing glance before jamming his fork into his eggs.
"A bit hostile today, are we, Uncle Caspian?" Erin teased.
Caspian smiled. "No."
"Where's Star?" Alex asked.
"In the garden." Caspian replied.
"As usual." Alex smiled.
"Daddy, are you sure you're alright?" Lacey asked.
He looked up from his plate and smiled. "Yes, love, I'm alright. Now go ahead and finish eating. We're going to go for a ride later."
"Really?" she asked excitedly, her blue eyes sparkling.
He smiled and nodded. "Just don't choke. You don't have to eat that fast. And it's not very ladylike."
"I'll slow down for the sake of slowing down. But when have I ever cared about being ladylike around the people I know well?" Lacey replied when she had swallowed.
"She has a point. She wrestles with me all the time." Erin said.
"She is definitely my daughter." Alex smiled.
"Well I'd hope so." Erin said.
"Oh and Erin, I'm taking you out too." Alex said.
"Where are we going?" Erin asked just as excitedly as his sister had.
"It's a surprise. You'll see." she smiled.
The rest of the meal went rather quietly. As soon as everyone had finished eating, Lacey drug Edmund to the stables.
"Lacey, calm down. You look ready to carry me all the way to the stables if I stopped." he laughed. She glanced over her shoulder at him, grinning. "You drank hot chocolate this morning, didn't you?" he asked.
She nodded happily.
He chuckled and shook his head. "You know you should only drink that at night. And preferably at winter." he said.
"Around the fire wrapped in a blanket between you, Erin, and mum." she added.
"Exactly." he smiled kissing her nose.
She laughed, wrinkling her nose. "That tickles." she said, adding a childish tone to her voice for the sake of joking.
"If that tickles wait until I do this." he smiled, catching her up in her arms, tickling her. By now she was laughing hysterically. He laughed. "Alright, we're never going to get to the stables at this rate. Hop on." he said pulling her up on his back.
She was still laughing and only nodded.
"Where are you going to take me, mum?" Erin asked, noticing the lunch Alex had in a saddle bag.
"You'll see." she said again.
When they reached the stables, they saw that Edmund and Laceys horses were already gone. Their tack was still there as well.
"They must have went bareback." Alex said.
"That's Laceys favorite way to ride." Erin said.
Alex smiled. "It's mine too. But we have a lunch to carry today, therefor we need a saddle."
"What's in the other bag?" Erin asked.
"You'll see." Alex said.
"I hate when you smile like that. It makes me nervous." he said.
"What smile, love?" she asked, grinning innocently.
"The one that means you're up to something." he said.
"Honestly. You are just like your father." she said.
"So we're cautious."
She laughed and began tacking her horse. "Just hurry up, over there. It takes a while to get where we're going. And if we're going to be back by supper for your brithday we will have to hurry." she said.
"Alright." he replied.
"It looks like it's going to rain later." Lacey said, looking up at the sky. "Well then, that will just make the picnic even more fun." Edmund smiled. "You mean even if it rains we can still have the picnic on the beach?" Lacey asked. "As long as it doesn't have thunder and lightening in it. Which those don't look like storm clouds." he replied. She smiled and looked ahead up the trail. Edmund took a deep breath before he spoke next. "You've always wondered the turn out of things. How your mother and I are so young if we ruled for 15 years along with the others. And you've always thought my siblings were dead. That's not true. And it's time you know the truth." "What truth?" Lacey asked nervously "You and mum are our parents, right?" "Oh yes, that is true. But I might as well start from the beginning. When I first met your mother, it was in the witchs prison chamber duing the Golden Age. She was trying to make a comeback and gain the crown by killing my siblings and I. It didn't work. We were there for a week when Alex arrived. She just showed up out of nowhere. There was something different about her, yet familiar. It was the defensive look in her eyes that Lucy held. The sign of a woman who will fight for herself. I see that in you as well. We became closer throughout that week. We all became closer, to be honest, but I guess I looked at her differently. We escaped, except for one. And that one was your mother. When we got back, I wasn't quite myself, I suppose. Everyone at Cair was extatic, but I just couldn't be. We vowed to go back and find her. The next day we went back to the witchs castle. Actually Susan didn't go, but that's besides the point. Long story short, I fought the witch and by luck I won and Alex was freed along with us. I figured she'd have to go home, but Aslan never came and she never left. So I did the one thing I wanted to do, I proposed. And she said yes. Despite what we wanted, a small wedding, it was quite a big wedding. We tried for the longest time to have children, but nothing. Then Tumnus came to us saying that the White Stag had been seen. And there was nothing more the Narnians wanted than a little Prince. An heir for the Narnian throne. Though many said 'the son of a traitor would be no good for a Narnian King'. We didn't really care if it was a boy or girl, we just wanted a baby. The day we went hunting, Alex said that she had left me a note in the desk and that I should read it. I already knew my wish, and it had nothing to do with what happened next. We went back to England. And before you go asking what England is it's Spareoom, where we came from. But we lived in different times, so we were split up. And I was left without knowing what the note said. It was quite funny really, and I would have laughed had I not had the urge to cry as well. She had kissed me and the Proffessor, the man who had taken my siblings and I in during a war in world, was quite confused. The look he had on his face was priceless. Imagine it though, a 12 year old boy who hasn't even hit puberty being kissed by a 15 year old girl." at this Lacey laughed "But we were still ourselves. A year later I was on the verge of going mad. Literally. I missed her like nothing else. I think the only thing that kept me in the land of sanity was Lucy and the fights I ended up backing up Peter in. I didn't want to fight, but they brought me back to reality. They were the things that kept me from thinking Alex was dead. Then we came back. Everything was different. The castle was a ruin. But all of our old stuff were there. I went to the room Alex and I had shared, and the only thing left in that room was the desk. I opened one drawer and it fell apart. But the next drawer was still perfect. And in it was a note, the one your mother had told me about. And in it... it said she was pregnant. I thought for sure I had missed the birth, or that going back to England had killed you. But then we made it to Caspian and I found her. She was still pregnant. It had only been a week for her. She was still 2 years older than me, which was quite strange. Luckily my siblings and I grow a bit faster in Narnia than we do in England. It may be the air, or not. But either way, your mother was going through terrible pains. And she went through it all for you and your brother. She was captured but the Telmarines. That was the only reason I agreed to go on the raid on the Telmarine castle. She was rescued rather easily, but things went wrong and quick. But we got out, safe. I wish I could say the same for the Narnians. Half of the army were killed that night." he paused a moment to regain his composure, clearing his throat he continued "When we returned there were a few hours of peace, but then the witch reared her ugly head again. Though she was easily defeated, compared to other things. A few more hours of peace followed, but even that couldn't last. The Telmarines found the How. That's when the real planning began. Lucy and Susan were to go looking for Aslan. Peter was to fight Miraz. Caspian followed the girls in secret, by my request. I thought for sure I was going to lose my brother that day, during that dual. But he came out on top. Miraz was slain by his own men, and they called us traitors, more specifically Susan, because the man used her arrow. And that's when the battle began. It certainly wasn't in our favor, I'll tell you that. The trees showed up soon after the Hows entrance was cut off. The victory was ours. It ended at the river, and by Aslan Himself. It was He who led us to victory. For it was He who sent the trees. And despite what you thought, my siblings survived. Alexs brother Eric showed up somewhere along the line, so he came back to the castle with us. A few days later, we had to return to England, Peter and Susan never to return. And that's when Susan went wrong. For she is no longer a friend of Narnia. At least she wasn't the last time I saw her. But then Lucy and I returned. Alex was once more still pregnant, and she had you and your brother on board the Treader. You know this part, for we've told you. Except Lucy was there too. She and Eric were told they would never return, once we reached the end of the world. And I should point out that Lucy and Eric were quite smitten for each other. In fact, they were courting when they left. I wouldn't be surprised if they were married and had children of their own by now. Alex and I were sent on board the Dawn Treader once more. Aslan gave us the decision. Whe nthe time came to leave, Alex could come with me, or I could go with Alex. The decision was quite clear she would come with me. Eric was already going with Lucy. And also along with that Peter and Susan were in my time. We have already made our decision, now you and Erin have a desicion." he finished. "What is it?" she asked a tad nervously. "You may either stay here and stay where you were born, or you may come with your mother and I." he replied. "You mean, if we don't come with you... we'll never see you again?" He shook his head. She looked straight ahead. "Then I know my answer." she stated simply. "And that answer is..." "You'll have to wait and see." she grinned. "Oh you are too much like your mother." he laughed, noticing the teasing gleam in her eyes. She laughed and urged her horse into a gallop. "Hey! That's cheating!" he called after her, urging his horse after her. "Is not!" she laughed. And so the chase was on.
"The Great River!" Erin exclaimed running towards the river. Alex caught the back of his tunic before he could go too far. He continued to run in place. "Why aren't I going anywhere?" he joked. She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Before you dive in, we have to talk." she said. He gave her a concerned look. "What is it?" he asked. "There are things you need and deserve to know. So sit down and we'll eat while I tell you." she replied. He nodded and the two set out the lunch, getting comfortable before Alex began. "Well, I suppose it all truly started when I first came to Narnia..."