Set just after the second section, first chapter, of my May Chronicals. It shows the characters' thoughts of the choice Edmund made to free Anmih. It started as a school project but turned into a story with my teacher's permission.

Hopefully I will have the next chapter of June's Embers out soon. I think I'll leave the other prompts uncompleted, but I have one in the works, and I acedently skipped, so you should be getting two more chapters.

To God Be The Glory!!!

Edmund stared out at the sea, squinting against the sunlight reflected on the water. Leaning against the balcony's railing, he sighed lightly. He was thinking over the Calormen's sentence, seeking the Lion's will on what to do. After talking to Animh and seeing his acceptance of Aslan, there was no way he could execute the young Calormen. Especially as Animh had allowed himself to be captured, putting his trust in people he didn't know, to be able to honistly follow his orders to kill High King Peter. As he stared out over the sea, he caught his breath. A faint form of a lion was standing on the water, looking up at him with bright eyes. Edmund lowered his head to Aslan, looking up after a moment to find the Lion. Standing straight, he felt peace wash over him; he now knew what he needed to do. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned and saw his siblings. Smiling nervously, he stepped towards them. He now just needed to tell the others.

Peter stared at his brother in shock. What his younger brother was suggesting was crazy enough to make him wonder if he had lost his senses. Throughout the five years that Edmund had been judging, starting with the little things and getting more complicated, he had never made a mistake, but there is always a first for everything. It couldn't be smart to set the very person who had been sent to kill him, Peter the Magnificent, free. It just couldn't.

Bighting his lip, he watched as Edmund moved into the castle, making his way to the prison to tell the gaurds to prepare the Calormen.

Susan watched her siblings as they filed into the throne room, their ceremonial clothes rustling as they moved. Her own dress, the skirt brushing the ground, rustled as she moved. She walked slowly, staying behind her siblings. Peter's back was straight, stiff, and proper—something he only did when he was upset about something. Edmund was walking just ahead of the High King, back straight as well, but in the assured way that he always had when he was judging. And Lucy, Lucy was walking with a slight bounce to her step, her dress swaying. She always had complete faith in Edmund's judgments, never worrying even if the judgment seemed wrong.

Susan sighed slightly as she reached her throne, turning to sit gracefully on the chair. She did not know what to think of Edmund's decision to free Animh, but she would stay silent, waiting and watching.

Lucy wiggled slightly on her throne, her smile braking over her face, as she grinned at General Oreius, who was bringing in the young Calorman. Her smile faded slightly as she saw how young the Calorman was; she couldn't imagine what it would be like to spend as much time in prison as the young Calorman had. She looked hard at the Calroman, seeing the way he kept his dark head lowered as he kneeled on the hard stone floor.

Leaning forward, Lucy looked across her two oldest siblings to meet the gaze of Edmund. Her brother smiled gently at her and nodded once before the horn sounded to begin the proceedings.

General Oreius stood beside the young prisoner as the Calorman's charges were read out. As the list was read, the old general's heart ached as he felt the young boy tremble. He knew what Edmund had planned—freeing the young prisoner—but the Calorman did not know. He would be expecting to be executed most likely, and if not, to be put to work in harsh conditions as the Calormen's laws dictated. The general smiled gently as he saw the prisoner still, his back straightening as he took in a deep breath and stilling as he breathed out.

Animh kneeled on the hard stone floor, head bowed, as he waited for the Just King to pronounce his judgment. He breathed in deeply, the peace that had washed over him calming his thoughts. He would trust in the Lion. If his punishment was death or imprisonment for life with backbreaking work, he would accept it. It would be hard, but he knew that the Lion would always be with him, no matter what. He closed his eyes, envisioning the Lion's strength and power. He had never seen Alsan, but from all that the just king had said about him, he was beyond imagining. But even the name of the Lion filled Animh with a love that pierced him to the core.

The young Calorman heard footsteps, and he stiffened as a hand landed on his shoulder. King Edmund's voice was powerful and firm as he spoke.

"In the power that Aslan, the High King of the kings, Lord of the Woods, The Great Lion, and the Son of the Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea had bestowed upon me, King Edmund the Just, Duke of Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March, and Knight of the Noble Order of the Table, I pardon you of all your crimes against Narnia and her Royal Family." King Edmund kept his hand on Animh's shoulder, and the young Calorman felt the strength in the king's hand.

"I have judged that you were working out of worry for your father, and you had no desire to follow through with your orders. You allowed yourself to be found out before you had the chance to do the deed you were sent here to do, showing great courage as you revealed all that you were ordered to do. I hereby declare you free of all crimes and give you the freedom to live here in Narnia if you so choose. This gathering is dismissed."

Animh felt the king step back, and he drew in a deep breath—the first deep breath he had taken as a truly free man. He lifted his head at King Edmund's command, and he met the eyes of the Just king. With a sudden rustle, Animh's side was hit by Queen Lucy as she hugged him tight. Animh widened his eyes as he looked over at King Edmund, whose own eyes sparkled with laughter. The older queen, Queen Susan, gracefully stood from her throne and walked down the steps as her skirt rustled. Tapping Queen Lucy on the shoulder as she passed her younger sister, the Gentle Queen nodded politely at Animh. The Calorman breathed deep as he stood in the middle of the throne room, watching the narnians slowly trickle out. He didn't know what he would do next, but he relished the freedom to choose. King Edmund clapped him on the shoulder, and he looked up as the king spoke.

"Come, my friend. I have a proposition for you."