King Edmund (though these days he was known to many as "Ed") sat in his office in Caspian's castle. While it was true the King of Narnia had ordered the re-building of Cair Paravel, and the former palace during the Golden Age was nearly complete, they were still staying in the castle that Caspian X had grown up in.

He and his younger sister, Lucy, as well as their cousin Eustace, had been pulled back into Narnia almost immediately after they had left. It seemed to Lucy that their feet didn't even set on English soil before they were back on the deck of the Dawn Treader.

After completing Caspian's task, the ship, without the noble Reepicheep, had returned to Narnia. Edmund and Caspian had both noted Lucy's sad expression when they passed Cair and, in a quiet meeting that same night, Caspian had informed the older Pevensie that he would commission the restoration of his ancient home.

While the funds were looking a little low on the project, and in the country as a whole, Edmund's mind was much further away. His eyes read the words on the scroll in front of him for the fifth time in the last two minutes, or so it seemed, but he still could not believe the words in front of him.

The Narnians, quite upset that Caspian had not returned with even the prospect of a wife, had started rallying for a match between King Edmund and the daughter of a Doornian. Edmund would rather stab himself with a sword or drink copious amounts of poison than suffer the fate of being husband to Lady Bertha or whatever her name was.

He quickly shook himself free of such damning thoughts when the door opened with a slow creak and King Caspian walked into the room.

"Ahh, there you are, Edmund," he said with a smooth smile. "Trumpkin told me that you would like to meet with me."

"Yes, your Majesty," Edmund said as he stood and bowed quickly before sitting back down. "Thank you for your time."

Caspian quickly understood that this was a matter of business and not pleasure. Upon his arrival back to Narnia with King Edmund and Queen Lucy, Caspian had made the quick decision to make them both diplomats and emissaries. King Edmund was very well versed in the old policies, and the new ones he quickly learned, and Queen Lucy was excellent at delivering the will of the King of Narnia to all countries. It seemed as she was just as loved today as she was when she was queen.

"What can I do for you?" he asked in a somewhat pensive voice. Most of the time, even with matters of state, Edmund wouldn't be quite as formal as he was being right now. "Has something happened?"

"Yes and no, your Majesty," Edmund replied with a sigh. "It's about Lucy."

Caspian quickly straightened in his seat. Lucy was currently on a diplomatic visit to Doorn. He hadn't wanted to send her, as this was where she was held as a slave when they were on the Dawn Treader four years ago, but she had informed him, in her own Lucy way, that she was perfectly capable. Besides, she had reasoned, Drinian will be with me the whole time. For some reason that didn't make him feel any better.

But he had let her go, though he was sure he could not have stopped her with anything less than a royal decree, and she had been gone for about five months. The last they heard, everything was going well. But the last messenger had been two weeks ago and, as Caspian knew quite well, a lot could happen in two weeks.

"What about her?" he asked with an unfamiliar edge of panic in his tone. "What's happened?"

"Lord Bern has sent a petition on behalf of his nephew, Count Percy, for the hand of the most valiant and noble queen this world has seen in many ages," Edmund read, his nose curling at the last part.

Caspian stared at him for a moment. "Her hand? He wants that idiot Percy to marry Lucy?"

"More so that he wants to force Narnia into an arranged marriage. He has played upon the fact that he saved you four years ago and that he wouldn't want to see the relationship between the Lone Islands and her mother country of Narnia diminished because of distance and lost love. Apparently this Percy prat has taken quite a fancy to Lu." Edmund paused for a moment and took a deep breath. He knew this part would be hard, though slightly easier than telling his sister. He squeezed his eyes shut before saying in a strong voice, "I think we should consider the union."

"Edmund!" Caspian cried as he shot out of his seat. "You can't be serious. She's your sister!"

"And Narnia is your country. You can't handle losing the Lone Islands and you know as well as I do that Bern can lead a rebel army against Narnia with no problem. He's well loved there. He could get all of the Islands against us, Caspian. You think I like this idea any better than you do?"

Before Caspian could respond, however, the two kings heard shouting in the corridor before the door swung open to reveal a rather harried Lucy and some dorky, abnormally tall twelve-year-old.

"Lu! I didn't know you were sailing in today. We thought you would be another week at the least," Edmund said, eyes wide, as he took in the state of his sister. He had never seen her truly angry before. He had to stifle the urge to back away slowly or hide behind the king.

"Seems as if I have a wedding to plan, Edmund, and Lord Bern feels that every woman should have the privilege of planning her wedding at home," Lucy replied, her hands going to her hips. "Funny thing though," she continued, "is that I had no idea that I was getting married. To Percival!" she exclaimed the last, an accusing finger pointing to the twelve-year-old beside her.

"He can't be Count Percy," Caspian said dismissively. "He's too young."

"I am, in fact, Count Percival, Son of Duke Arrington, Ambassador to Doorn and Knight of the Golden Pendant," the child said. "And I am nearly nineteen."

Edmund had to stop himself from laughing. He sure was stringy for a nineteen-year-old.

Percival continued without pause. "My uncle, Lord Bern, has granted me permission to marry Queen Lucy at the earliest convenience of your Majesty," he said to Caspian. "I wish to remain here to help my bride plan the festivities. I have already bid one of your two-legged goats to lead me to my chambers. I will see you in the morning, darling," the arrogant count said to Lucy before kissing her on the cheek and withdrawing from the room. Lucy didn't even have the chance to tell him that a Faun would be assisting him.

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the two men before her. She was usually a gentle woman, not in the same way as Susan, but quite kind and understanding. But Edmund knew that she had a lot of him inside her – they were always closest – and he could see the anger shining through.

"Lu …" Ed began.

"How much?" she whispered and Caspian could not tell if it was sadness or ferocity in her voice.

"How much what?" the king asked in what he hoped to be a soothing voice.

"How much are they paying?" she asked, her knuckles turning white as she gripped her forearms. "How much are they giving you for me?"

"Lucy …" Edmund tried again.

"Just answer the question, Edmund. You must have gotten a letter from them. And by the horrified look on your face I know that you are giving the deal tremendous thought. I've been followed around by that simpering idiot since my ship docked at Narrowhaven. I know I'm known as being patient and kind but there were at least one hundred and fifty three occasions where I had to stop myself from boxing him in the ears! Now tell me, brother, how much they are offering for me. We must make sure Narnia is well compensated for the loss of their former queen," Lucy bit out.

She was closer to tears than she let on. Yes, she was angry, but she was also scared. The Edmund she knew would never have sold her to anyone without good reason. And that's what gave her pause. "Are we really that bad off?" she asked gently in a soft, sad voice.

"We're teetering on the edge of debt," Edmund replied honestly. "And Lord Bern has informed Narnia that he does not want or need a dowry but a woman to help his nephew to become a great ruler for the Lone Islands." Ed looked down to the paper on his desk before glancing at Caspian and then his sister again. "He's offering two hundred thousand crescents. And then fifty thousand more if the first heir is a girl, one hundred thousand more if it is a boy."

Lucy took several deep breaths, eyes squeezed shut in an attempt to keep her hot tears at bay. She wished she hadn't asked. She wished she didn't know. She also wished she hadn't known how bad off Narnia was. She imagined a lot of it was her fault; they were rebuilding Cair Paravel for her. She knew, in that moment, what she had to do.

"Okay," she whispered. "I can have the wedding planned for the end of the month. It won't be a large affair but then it doesn't have to be. I should … I should go start working on the plans …"

She turned to go so they wouldn't see her tears but stopped when she felt Caspian grip her wrist. She turned into him, burying her face in his tunic, as she allowed hot tears to flow down her cheeks and be absorbed by the soft fabric. She hadn't cried like this in ages. She felt like a child again and she wasn't sure whether she liked the idea or not.

She had never thought much about love or marriage. Sure, Peter had been close to marriage during the Golden Ages, as had Susan. Rumor had it that her sister was with child as well, but Susan never spoke of it. On the contrary, she had never spent any time worrying about boys or love. She'd rather romp in the stream or go hunting with Edmund; she'd rather have a game of hide and seek with the young Centaurs or practice her archery.

But she had always put duty to Narnia above all else, aside from her love of and faith in Aslan. And she knew that was what she had to do in this instance.

Just by looking at Edmund anyone could see that he didn't want this to happen. He didn't want to marry his sister off. It was clear that he would have married himself off instead.

"Maybe there is a Duchess or something from Avra that I can marry instead," Edmund said as he watched his friend cradle his baby sister. "Maybe they'll take me over you if I offer it."

"No," Lucy said strongly from her place in Caspian's arms. "They want me. They told me before I left that I was what they wanted. Please, Edmund, don't throw away your life for something that won't happen anyway. It's … I'll be okay. I think I can be brave enough."

She had said it a thousand times – Father Christmas had once told him that she'd said it to him when he handed her the dagger and cordial – but this time it broke his heart. Yes, Narnia needed the money. No, Narnia wasn't ready to endure another war, let alone one with its territories. But by Aslan, Edmund would not allow his sister to be married to someone who didn't love her. Well, maybe that goofy ponce did love her but she certainly didn't love him.

"No," Edmund replied. He moved over and wrapped his arms around his sister, forcing Caspian to let go. "No, they can't have you," he whispered. "I'll protect you, Lu. I won't … they can't have you. We'll give them Eustace or something."

Lucy chuckled wetly as she rubbed her nose against her brother's tunic. It was an action reminiscent of their younger days and he was happy to see that she was still there, deep inside herself. Since they had gotten back to Narnia, Lucy had been acting more like Queen Lucy the Valiant than Lucy Pevensie. He was hoping she was coming back to herself – the playful tomboy from down the road.

"Caspian …"

"On my honor," the king said solemnly, "we will fight to keep Queen Lucy from the clutches of Lord Bern and Count Percy."

Lucy gave a silly giggle and turned away from Edmund and wrapped her arms around Caspian. She tugged him down to her level, which meant he was stooping a good foot, and pressed a brief kiss to his cheek. "My hero," she murmured before releasing him and walking out of the room, now in much better spirits because she knew Edmund and Caspian would not force her into the proposed union.

Edmund, who had watched the interaction with mirth, suddenly froze at the look on Caspian's face. No, no, no, he thought to himself. Please, Aslan, not him. I beg you. I don't have the patience to deal with my friend falling for my baby sister.

Edmund could swear he could hear the purring laugh of Aslan as Caspian dazedly shuffled from the room without as much as a goodbye.

"Aslan save us all," he muttered before sitting down to attempt to pen a response to Bern.