Chapter 24


Edmund kept his expression impassive as General Glozelle introduced him to Miraz and the Telmarine lords. As expected, Glenstorm and Wimbleweather were forced to wait outside the tent, leaving Edmund wholly alone to face the enemy.

Just as he liked it.

"My lords, the Narnian ambassador."

Miraz's face was smug as Glozelle let Edmund past. "So," the usurper began, "the Narnians send a stableboy as their envoy?"

Edmund tried not to roll his eyes. Really, he couldn't find a better, more subtle insult? After all, Edmund knew full well that General Glozelle would have related the entirety of their mid-duel conversation to Miraz. The Telmarine was just insulting both their intelligences by pretending otherwise. "I am King Edmund the Just of Narnia…"

"Ah, yes," came Miraz's too-quick interruption. "The one who claims to be 'Prince Darksilver', the fairy-tale Giant who could kill ten men with one swing of his sword and," Miraz scoffed, "who breathed poison from his mouth." The usurper laughed, as did most of the lords. Obviously, Miraz meant to ridicule the Narnians through their ambassador, make Edmund flustered and decrease his authority as a Narnian king.

Edmund, though, just smiled pleasantly. "The rumors of my height are greatly exaggerated," was his simple response.

The laughter turned slightly nervous as the Telmarines processed what he was not saying. Several of the lords began glancing at each other, seeking assurance that they were truly hearing the implications of Edmund's words: after all, he had not denied any of the jeering charges save the height of a Giant. Edmund suppressed a laugh as one of the lords shifted his chair away from the Narnian. Poisonous breath, indeed!

Miraz cleared his throat to take back control of the audience. "What is it you want?"

"I am here on behalf of my brother, High King Peter of Narnia, who sends a message to the Lord Protector." There was no way he was going to address Miraz as king, but it was hardly politic to address someone as 'Usurper'. Just calling him by his former title would be insult enough.

Miraz's mouth tightened at the slight, but he just lifted his hand. "Please, read the message. We are interested to hear what this…High King has to say."

Unrolling the scroll, Edmund read out the challenge. Of course, that was more for show, as he could have recited it off the top of his head with ease. It was the standard challenge he had composed years ago, with only slight alterations. Still, one had to go through the motions.

When he finished – the fight shall be to the death, the reward shall be total surrender – Edmund calmly rolled up the scroll, as if it were a formality and he fully expected Miraz to simply accept without questions.

Not that he actually expected this to happen, and he was right. "Tell me, Prince Edmund…"

"King," he corrected sharply, only glancing up for a moment before going back to rolling the scroll. Blasted thing took forever.

"Pardon?" asked Miraz, annoyed at the interruption.

Edmund finally finished with the scroll and focused on his opponent. "It's King Edmund." He smiled as he added, "Or Prince Darksilver, if you prefer."

There was fury in Miraz's eyes at the mocking correction of his slip of the tongue. Edmund noted with approval, however, that Miraz didn't lash out, though his voice was soft and tight as he held his anger back. "Why," he continued, "would we risk such a proposal when our army could wipe you out by nightfall?"

It was a valid point, which was why Peter had insisted Edmund be the ambassador. Time to put The Plan into motion. "Haven't you already underestimated our numbers? Not too long ago, Narnians were either extinct or a fairy tale." Breed doubt of our abilities, check. Mock Miraz by bringing up fairy tales again, check.

"And so you will be again," threatened Miraz. Edmund was quite certain that the Telmarine wanted to start with him, and at that very moment. Too bad.

"Then you should have little to fear." Edmund was proud of the slight rush in his response. It was always useful to follow up mocking with a hint of uncertainty. A good negotiator knew when to give a little to his opponent.

And Miraz took the bait, laughing as Edmund seemed to make an amateur mistake. "This is not a question of bravery."

Right into my hands. "So you're bravely refusing to fight a swordsman half your age?"

The look on Miraz's face was priceless. Edmund had just managed to impugn his honor, abilities, and courage in front of his lords, meaning Miraz now had to backtrack to save face. "I didn't say I refused."

That was when the discussion got interesting. Edmund had come in fully prepared to pull an acceptance from Miraz without any help (and he was almost disappointed that he didn't even have to use his best weapons). He had half-expected Lord Sopespian to do something – the man was nothing if not conniving and ambitious – but this was better than he had hoped. The Telmarine lords were harrying their king on all sides, and Edmund just watched in amusement as Miraz quickly lost control of his choice in the matter.

The big surprise, though, was that the final words that solidified the usurper's doom belonged to Glozelle. Edmund could not keep himself from looking back at the Telmarine general in confusion. What had happened that Miraz's loyal second would throw his lot in with the likes of Sopespian? The grim look in Glozelle's eyes spoke volumes, but not specifics.

"You!" Edmund turned back to Miraz, whose face was red with anger as he pointed his sword at the Narnian king. "You should hope your brother's sword is sharper than his pen."

Edmund just grinned.

~*~

General Glozelle escorted the Narnians to the edge of the camp. It amused Edmund to see how the Telmarine soldiers shied away from them. He even thought he heard some of them whispering 'Prince Darksilver'; apparently rumors traveled fast. And if it made the Telmarines hesitate in engaging the Narnians in battle, all the better.

They reached the perimeter of the camp and stopped. From here, Glozelle would take his leave and return to Miraz. Not, however, before Edmund could corner him with a question.

"Tell me, General, why do you wish your lord dead?"

The Telmarine's eyes widened. "I do not know what you mean. I have…full confidence that King Miraz with be victorious in this duel."

Edmund smiled. The man was used to following orders, it seemed, not involving himself in the intricacies of political intrigue. "I would not be so confident, General. However, I wasn't talking about Miraz." That got Edmund an even better reaction. "For the entire time I was…employed at the castle, you were in charge of Caspian's safety. And you were committed to that. I could tell you cared about him, and were not just following your duty to protect your king." Glozelle would not meet Edmund's eyes and visibly flinched at the reminder that Caspian, by rights, should have been king since his father's death. "And yet, Caspian told me that you came into his bedroom to kill him as he slept, without hesitation. So I'll ask again: why do you wish your lord dead?"

Glozelle struggled to keep his face impassive. "I followed Lord Miraz's orders. My loyalty is to him."

"It was then. Is it now?" Glozelle's determined stance deflated and Edmund saw how obeying the will of Miraz had sucked life from the general over the years, until now he was shell of the man he was once. Sympathy was in Edmund's words as he continued. "General, there is no honor in allegiance to an unjust lord. Nor in changing loyalties to one who serves only himself."

Glozelle's eyes narrowed at the veiled reference to Lord Sopespian. "My loyalty is no concern to you. Miraz will win the duel and I will fight under his banner."

Edmund ignored this, plowing ahead without stopping. "Are you so afraid of Caspian?"

"What?" Glozelle hissed, eyes burning with anger at the insinuation of cowardice. He had long forgotten that he should not be engaging in such a conversation with the enemy, something Edmund was using to his advantage.

"You kept your loyalty to Miraz until it was too much for you to continue. But instead of changing your loyalty to Caspian…" Edmund trailed off, knowing Glozelle could easily finish the sentence himself.

Glozelle looked positively ashamed. "I…after all I have done, I cannot expect Caspian to accept my allegiance." The Telmarine grimaced. "You Narnians are too noble for that."

"General." The tone in Edmund's voice forced Glozelle to look up. The Telmarine was startled by the intensity in the boy's dark eyes as he spoke. "General, you seem to be under the impression that treason is unforgiveable, no matter how repentant a person may be."

The Telmarine general nodded. "That is true."

"And yet, here I stand before you: a king of Narnia and loyal servant of the King I betrayed. "

Glozelle's eyes widened in shock. Apparently that story had not survived in the fairy tales. "What?"

Edmund's look silenced the man. "You know what the right thing to do is. I pray Aslan give you the strength to follow through." With that, he turned to Glenstorm and Wimbleweather who were patiently 'not listening' while the conversation progressed. "It's time to go. Peter will be starting to worry." Edmund turned back to the speechless Glozelle. "Lion be with you, General."

And the Narnians left, successful in their mission, leaving a thunderstruck Telmarine general behind them.