Week V- September 3rd, 1940- Edmund's Birthday
Peter: "In two days, it will be Edmund's twelfth birthday. Not his first time turning twelve. When we were crowned, his birthday was the first birthday amongst us that was celebrated. Mrs. Beaver prepared his favourite meal of broiled trout, boiled potatoes, bread, and of course her marmalade roll, which I think it's safe to say that has become the favourite meal for all of us. He said he had wanted to spend the day sparring, which maybe we can convince the professor to let us do that. He has a few swords. Edmund never used a sword outside of our first battle. After that, he started using two swords, and became one of the best swordsmen in the land. Why would you need a shield if you're slicing the enemy on both sides? He had even trained some Narnians to do so. I remember when he tried to convince Lord Peridan to use two swords, but Peridan had always insisted he would never get the hang of it. Peridan was better with a shield than most of us. Then of course, Edmund tried to convince Ivar to use two swords. But Ivar's weapon of choice is an axe. How do you go from an axe to two swords in one sparring lesson?"
Ivar: "At first, none of us liked to celebrate Edmund's birthday. But the first time we celebrated it after taking back Narnia, we were actually glad we did. Glad that Edmund was alive. Glad that he is no longer that prat that he was. Glad that he finally saw things our way (most of the time). It is a wonder how he became one of the three most cunning minds in the land. He became able to read people. I guess being an ex-prat, he knows what to look for. When it was time to judge someone, it was always left up to me, Edmund, and Kayla. No one could get past us, not even if they tried. My first birthday gift to Edmund was a new saddle for his horse Philip. He was overjoyed. I certainly miss the talking horses. Especially Dagvid. He was always so pessimistic, it's a wonder I kept him as my horse. But I guess since he was the first Narnian horse I ever rode, I only owed it to him to keep him, no matter if we never saw eye to eye."
Susan: "Edmund's birthday, except for the day he was born, was never really one of my favourite holidays. But now, it's it the list of my favourites. How did that happen? Narnia changes someone so much. Like what Edmund said about Rabadash, when he was discussing with us what to do about the evil prince. Edmund said, 'even a traitor may mend, I know one that did.' We all knew, well maybe not all of us knew, but at least five of us knew who he was talking about. But it wasn't common knowledge? Kayla would sometimes tell the children of Narnia the story of fighting against the White Witch, and I know she would tell every detail of it, including Edmund's betrayal and his return. Edmund was the traitor he knew that could mend, because he did mend, in a way we never thought possible. My baby brother is no longer a prat, thank goodness. Who knows what would have happened if he had stayed that way? I have to wonder if his old attitude is a side effect of not just the war in this world, but also because of our birth family being murdered."
Kayla: "My, my, my. Edmund will be twelve. For the second time. See, the fact that we have to hit the ages between ten and thirty again has me wishing we had not discovered the wardrobe again. If we had just stayed, how many Narnian years would go by before anyone noticed we were not in this world? And if anyone had noticed, what would they think? I like to think that if the professor noticed we were gone, he would certainly know where we were. I still can't believe that it was me that got Edmund started on using two swords. He saw me do it with the Silmaril Sword and a fire sword I conjured up, so he wanted to do the real thing. Not that I blame him. Being able to have two swords around someone's neck to get the upper hand is very exhilarating. I did that to Ivar in our first sparring session. Then Edmund did that to our enemies on the battlefield, just not to the giants. They all made sure Ivar and I were on the battlefield whenever we were up against giants. It honestly seems easier to kill a giant than it does anything else. We figured if David could do it, so can we."
Edmund: "My second time turning twelve is in two days. Seems normal, doesn't it? To have the same birthday twice? I guess when you lived in another world longer it does seem normal. If and when we go back, which I have no doubt that we will, we'll have to go through the aging thing again. And hopefully when we do go back, we don't come back here. There is nothing keeping us here, although we have chosen things to do with our lives if we do stay here. Aslan forbid we do stay here. How is anyone else in London to believe I've changed? Will they think I'm faking it? The only thing that hasn't changed is that I am still sarcastic. That, in my opinion is my greatest quality. And the fact that I am not a prat anymore. I'll still throw sarcastic comments at anyone who will call me a prat. I'll start out acting like a prat to the people I knew in London and then turn the tables. Playing mind games is fun. Both Kayla and Ivar can attest to that. The three of us would often play mind games on one other person. Most notably Rabadash. He had no idea what was happening. It made him angrier and angrier by the minute, making him reveal his true nature at the highest level."
Lucy: "At some point, none of us really thought Edmund would make it to his next birthday. We didn't even know if we would make it to our next birthdays. What if we were to go back tomorrow, before Edmund's birthday? Would it be his third time turning twelve? Would it be my second time turning ten, and then we come back and I would come upon my third time turning ten? Oh, the time difference is definitely driving us insane. But I guess there's a reason the time difference is so fast in Narnia, though we never really noticed until we came back here."