II

EDMUND

When Edmund awoke that morning, he had assumed it would be an ordinary day. Now, as he sat in the dining hall with his half-eaten breakfast, he arrived at the conclusion that it would be anything but.

He was a prepared person; every plot came with a thousand strings of 'what ifs' and he planned for each and every one. But of all the mishaps and mischief his sister could have gotten herself into, this was the last that Edmund would have seen coming.

"Essentially," He summarised after Lucy had finished her story, "You've brought home a stray?"

Lucy looked affronted, "She's not a stray. Grace is my friend."

"Friends? In the 12 hours you've known her?" Edmund raised his eyebrows, "You're too trusting Lu."

"Ed," Peter glared warningly.

Edmund ignored him, "You find her floating in the middle of the ocean; She's confused, tired and just happens to need somewhere to stay? Doesn't this seem suspicious to you, at all?"

"Strol confirmed that there was no land in the immediate vicinity, nor any ships that could have dropped her there. Her explanation is the only one that suits."

Edmund dropped his fork noisily onto his plate, "That her sheets turned to water?"

Susan eyed him warningly from across the table.

"I could see it in her eyes, she was just as shocked to be on the ship as we were to board her. There was no lie in her reaction," Lucy huffed.

Edmund rounded on his elder sister for sense, "Su, what do you think of all this?"

Susan shifted in her seat, chin held high in their sisters defence, "I would agree with Lucy."

Before Edmund could protest, Peter cut him off, "Please explain."

"Well… when I met her at the docks, she had the oddest look on her face. None of her manners or addresses have been entirely appropriate, either. It's as if she's never been in the presence of royalty in her life."

"How did she address you?" Peter asked, skewering a sausage on his fork.

"She used my first name and then proceeded to perform a curtsy in the oddest fashion. It was like she was receiving praise at the end of a performance, rather than bowing out of respect for station."

"The use of your first name may be partially my fault," Lucy admitted, "I was trying to put her at ease so I told her about you before we arrived."

Edmund groaned and ran a hand over his tired face, "How much did you tell her, Lucy?"

"Nothing that couldn't be read in a history book, Edmund," Lucy stuck her tongue out at him.

Susan cut between them, "From the way she spoke, it seems like she doesn't intend to stay. She's already asked how to return to her home," She shrugged delicately, "I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth."

Peter hummed and gave Lucy a meaningful look, "Someone will have to tell her."

"This doesn't solve the issue of her staying at Cair Paravel," Edmund reminded them, "With the ambassador from Calormen arriving tomorrow, it will be too difficult to maintain them both under the same roof."

"I don't think it would be proper for us to immediately kick her out of the palace after telling her we can't help her," Susan chided.

Peter nodded still eyeing their youngest sister reproachfully, "Not to mention that if we did, she could escape the country with whatever information she now has."

"I suppose then we have our answer," Lucy smiled cheekily at her brothers' glares, "Grace stays with us, as I promised her."

The utter cheek of it, Edmund thought, half torn between frustration and fondness. Trust that Lucy would mastermind a situation like this. She always managed to get them into fiddles of the most peculiar kind but he couldn't give her all the credit; sometimes it seemed like trouble dogged her every footstep.

Now Lucy had dragged them into it again by taking a strange woman aboard her ship and bringing her home. Promising shelter and safety in Cair Paravel, no less. It was noble and Edmund regarded her well for the thought, but she did not think of the repercussions if this person turned out to be less than savory.

He sighed, every possible solution to this problem was barred because of the information Lucy had told her friend. Now, it seemed, the Daughter of Eve would be forced to bear the consequences.

"She can't stay here freely," Edmund grunted as he buttered his toast with more force than necessary, "There will be conditions."

Lucy, who had been so busy with her muffin that she had not noticed her brothers brooding, visibly slumped. Susan watched the exchange with mirthful eyes over her cup of tea.

Peter simply smiled in that serene manner and asked, "What will it take to make you comfortable with this, brother?"

There was a pause while Edmund thought. Constant surveillance was a given, as were daily reports on any activity. Her access to the palace and ability to send correspondence would need to be limited until she could be trusted. Edmund looked up from his plate and voiced his ideas assuredly.

"Don't you think that's a little excessive?" Lucy gaped.

Peter rumbled a laugh through his half-eaten sausage, "It may seem it, Lu, but considering your friends situation, it is well thought out."

Edmund nodded, turning to grin at his sister in triumph, but when he saw her – her big blue eyes downcast and small shoulders slumped in dejection – he softened slightly, "It's not meant as a personal offence, Lu. I trust your judgement but must also listen to my own. I don't want to see you get hurt."

When Lucy did not accept the olive branch, Edmund returned to Peter, "Do you agree with the sanctions?"

Peters eyes flickered between the two, clearly torn on the ruling. Lucy had looked up at their eldest brother, her big eyes entreating him from across the table. Edmund almost resigned to loss – He knew the power of Lucy's pleading eyes as he himself had been at the mercy of them many a time.

Peter sighed, stabbing his silver fork into his plate and lifting a sausage sized trophy into the air, "Daytime watch with weekly reports," He pointed his fork in Edmunds direction, "Of which you will oversee."

Oh, the pleasure of small victories! He grinned at his brother, pleased at least that he had won the battle. Granted, the war was still to be fought but it was a victory none the less.

Edmund was not entirely happy with the reduced outcome, but he knew it was a far better plan than letting a stranger run rampant. At this thought, he realised that two of his requests had gone unanswered, "And what of access to Cair Paravel and correspondence?"

Peter had lifted his fork to his mouth and was poised to take a bite, but the question had stopped him. He sighed and he dropped his hand, eyeing the uneaten sausage forlornly.

"Any of the guards should know where the woman should and should not be," He answered, "As for the other, we will cross that bridge if we reach it."

Edmund nodded; it was an acceptable result considering that the order of the Cair's Guards lied with him.

"Good," Peter smiled and pointed the sausage fork in Lucy's direction, "You will tell Grace the circumstances."

Lucy scowled at the cold meat, "It was Edmunds idea to add sanctions to her stay, let him do it."

Edmund rolled his eyes, "I hardly think she wants to hear that she's stuck here from a stranger."

"I hardly think she wants to hear that she's stuck here at all," Susan added lowly.

"Enough," Peter sighed, "You'll both go. Edmund, you best be there to explain the sanctions properly and Lucy, you will be there to provide comfort."

Edmund and Lucy nodded but neither seemed pleased at the overall outcome. Such is the nature of negotiation.

Edmund returned to his breakfast, barely noticing the fast pace which Lucy ate hers. He had barely shovelled two spoonful's into his mouth before his younger sister was at his side and tugging his sleeve.

"Let's go," She ordered forlornly, "The sooner this nasty business is dealt with, the better."

"I'm still eating," Edmund protested.

Lucy looked at him, her blue eyes watery and pleading. Whether she knew what she was doing or was simply sad, Edmund didn't know. Either way, he caved immediately.

"Can you take this to my study please," Edmund asked as he held his plate out to an awaiting faun.

The Faun took it with a small bow and alighted from the room. Behind them, Lucy lead Edmund through the doorway. Both walking as if condemned.

At the table, Peter sighed as he mournfully eyed the cold food on his plate, "I just wanted to eat my sausages."