Disclaimer: In the Name of the Lion, and with Aslan as my judge, I, AJ, do hereby swear that all properties recognized as from the Chronicles of Narnia do not belong to me, rather are to be attributed to C. S. Lewis.

Note: This story is part of The Real Sovereigns Series, and is better understood if the first part "The Real Sovereigns" is read first. The updates may not be timely because I am focused on keeping to my set schedule for a different story (Raising a Nin-Wizard).

Caspian stared at Edmund, floundering to put words to his whirling thoughts. There were so many questions, so many mysteries…

"Why did you call yourself the 'Redeemed King'?" he finally asked. "I learned that you were the 'Redeemer King' known for your incredible mercy and justice when dealing with the Fell creatures."

Edmund gave a wry chuckle. "Well, you aren't wrong that I primarily dealt with the Fell and Redeemed Narnians1 myself, but it was because I had also been Redeemed."

Caspian's brow furrowed as he thought. "Because you were rescued from the Witch?" he asked. It was the only time he could think of that would make sense. All the stories about the Just King applauded him for his justice, mercy, knowledge of the law, and his upright character. A man without flaws who acted as the perfect judge for Narnia.

"Because I was bought back from her," Edmund corrected gently. "Before I was a king, I was a traitor who sold my family and Aslan to their worst enemy. I was in the thrall of the White Witch, and Aslan, in His infinite mercy, chose to offer His own life in exchange for mine, paying the penalty of death in my stead."

"B-but you are, I mean, I thought... the Just?"

"That is who I became, by the grace of Aslan."

"Aslan! You said He... He died!?" Caspian's world felt like it was shattering. That their greatest hope, the Lion Himself, was dead and gone...

Edmund placed a comforting hand on the prince's arm. His face was a awash with peace. "Yes, and He rose again. Because He had committed no treachery, and freely offered Himself to be killed in the place of a traitor, the Stone Table cracked - as you can still see - and Aslan came back to life; as such the punishment for treason was lifted from any and all who turn to Him."2

Caspian could hardly grasp the concept. "The punishment was lifted? For anyone?" He could not picture his uncle offering such lenience to even one of his officers, much less a servant or commoner. Treason was a grave offence and traitors were executed without exception for a reason - they could not be trusted to live.

Edmund nodded. "And because I was shown the mercy and justice of the Lion, I strove to show the same to any who stood before me in court; and any who repented and called upon the Name of Aslan were given another chance at life. Yes, there were some who abused that second chance, and were taken to task under the full weight of the Law. However, most took the chance to become something so much more than what they had been."

"I... I think I might understand now why you dealt with the Fell personally instead of letting one of the others."

Edmund snorted. "You seem to think I was the only one who interacted with the Fell outside of battle. While I did so with the most regularity, I wasn't the only one, or even the first: that honor goes to Susan."

"The Gentle?"

"Indeed. And the most outrageous, to the point of foolhardy, has to go to Peter… though Lucy is a close second."

"The High King? Foolhardy!?"

"You would be surprised what sort of shenanigans Peter would get up to if left to his own devices long enough. Of course he would say the same about me, but that's what it means to be a brother."

"Can… can you tell me?" the prince asked. "I mean, how did Queen Susan come to be the first to treat with a Fell Narnian? What makes High King Peter's and Queen Lucy's interactions so 'outrageous'?"

Edmund laughed. "Well, settle in, Caspian. It's time you learned your history."

Ending Notes:

The word Redeem means "to buy back" or "to restore [something] to its rightful place at a cost", and a Redeemer is the own who pays the price.

1: The blanket term for the "bad guys" in Chronicles of Narnia is "Fell". The word implies two things, a) that they had not always been bad because they had to "fall" from somewhere, and b) they could "get back up" again. So I developed the idea of the Redeemed: those who had once been Fell but chose to mend their ways and serve Aslan.

2: I'm sorry if this comes off as preachy. I consider the Chronicles of Narnia to be an allegory/parallel of various elements of Christianity, and LWW is clearly about salvation and redemption with Aslan mirroring Jesus. It is something so integral to the plot, characters, and theme that I couldn't exclude it, and I honestly didn't want to even try. The Gospel is not something to shy away from.