DISCLAIMER: All canon characters and the Narnia-verse belongs to C. S. Lewis. The rest belongs to me.

WARNINGS: Weird analogies and ... well, it's just strange, I guess.

A/N: I was hit by one of those bolts of inspiration last night. I just thought, 'I WANNA WRITE. I WANNA WRITE ABOUT NARNIA. I WANNA WRITE ABOUT LUCY AND EDMUND. I WANNA WRITE' and Bang! this was born. It's very short and kinda weird, but I like the result. Hope you guys enjoy too :)

OF SMILES AND HEAVENLY BODIES

It began when Peter compared her smile to the sun.

Lucy could not have said when or how their conversation during dinner that particular night had turned to what was, in her opinion, quite a funny and far-fetched topic, but the High King's words were met with much agreement and approving laughter from her other siblings.

'True,' said Susan, smiling. 'For none other can light up a room or bring joy to everyone in the vicinity with a smile the way Lucy does.'

The youngest Pevensie could not help but giggle into her hand at that. 'Likening my smile to the sun? Oh, but that is too much.'

'Quit fishing for compliments, Lu,' said Edmund, rolling his eyes good-humouredly at her. 'You know they speak the truth.'

'I was and am most certainly not fishing for compliments,' exclaimed Lucy, eliciting a round of amused laughter from her siblings. 'Why, if my smile is like the sun, then – then, in that case, Susan's is like the moon!'

Susan looked at her, appearing rather taken aback.

'Because like the moonlight, it is gentle, befitting her title, and beautiful and radiant, enchanting anyone that gazes upon it,' Lucy declared, smiling at Susan.

Her elder sister's cheeks coloured and she lowered her gaze to her plate. 'Lucy!' she half-laughed, embarrassed and flattered simultaneously.

'Why, Lu, it appears that the bards are rubbing off on you,' remarked Peter jokingly. 'Have you considered taking up poetry in your leisure?'

'And you, Peter,' Lucy continued, turning to the eldest brother. 'Your smile is like the stars.'

'The stars? How so?'

'They appear small to the eye and they are far away. But the truth is, though they seem so tiny, they are larger than we realise. And despite the distance, they are always there, protecting and watching over us. So when we look at them, they give us comfort and hope.'

Lucy rather enjoyed the pivotal moment when her brother was utterly rendered speechless, because for as long as she – or any of her siblings – could remember, there had never been a circumstance when Peter Pevensie had been lost for words. He gaped at Lucy with wide eyes, and just like Susan, found himself blushing. Clearing his throat, he sought for a lifeline to divert the attention away from him and promptly found the perfect bait in his younger brother.

'And what about Ed?' he said hastily, struggling and failing most masterfully to hide his discomfiture.

Edmund raised an eyebrow. 'Is there anything left in the heavens that you could possibly compare me to?' he asked dryly, sipping at his water goblet. 'You lot have already staked your claims on the sun, moon and stars.'

This was invitation enough for Peter to tease Edmund that his smile would just have to make do with a black hole while Susan vehemently assured her younger brother that there was any number of wonderful celestial bodies that would suit him. Lucy, however, remained silent.

She gazed at her brother with bright, contemplative eyes, her mouth twisted into the slightest of frowns. The truth was, at that moment, there was not a single thing she could imagine that would accurately describe Edmund's smile. Because his was the different one, the rare one, and most importantly, the one from among all her siblings' that Lucy had given most of her attention to ever since they had been crowned Kings and Queens of Narnia.

Edmund's smiles were few and far in between, especially during the first several months of his reign. That was not to say he had not smiled; he had and he did. He had been and was happy, happier than he had ever been before finding his place in Narnia. However, Lucy had noticed from the very beginning that compared to Peter and Susan, Edmund's daily smiles used to seem more distant. There had been an awkwardness about them that had saddened and confused her, and whenever he had received praise or encouragement from his subjects, his answering smile had always seemed tainted with an inexplicable uncertainty and hesitance.

Lucy had later on come to realise the reasons behind them: during his early months, Edmund had still been in the process of learning to forgive himself. Earning the pardon and absolute approval of his siblings, Narnians and even Aslan were not enough to entirely wipe away the horror of what he had done by betraying them in the first place. It had taken time to heal that scar, to repent, to be at ease and accept himself as he was. Only after that could he ever smile with his whole heart.

When Lucy had come to understand that – or at least a little bit of that, for surely no one who had never been in his shoes could wholly appreciate what he had gone through – she had been grasped with an inexplicable fear; the fear that Edmund might lose himself to his guilt ... the fear of losing him, because they almost had lost him before, more than once...

They were irrational fears, Lucy had to admit. He was strong, mentally and physically. Over time, he had come to terms with himself and grown confident and assured in his role. He had changed for the better and was no longer the spiteful boy who took his anger out on her or the traitor that had so rashly betrayed them. Now he was King Edmund the Just, he was her brother; he was Ed. And if there was one thing that could reassure Lucy of this, it was his smile.

Over the years, with each day that he had learnt to forgive himself, Edmund's usual smile had gradually lost the uncertainty, insecurity and timidity that used to haunt it. It had grown noticeably stronger, more content and peaceful. However, it still differed from Edmund's true smile, which Lucy had come to call it, and that smile appeared less frequently and only on random occasions.

It was the smile that seemed to reveal his whole heart, the one that was not merely content and serene, but burst with pure happiness and energy. It contained a kaleidoscope of sentiments laid bare before the world, thus marking the extraordinary moments during which Edmund Pevensie – who was usually reserved and controlled when it came to emotions – wholly exposed every one of his feelings.

That smile was one of the few treasures that Lucy always awaited to see. It could appear at any second at any place, such as at the end of a victorious battle or after a vigorous spar with Peter which Edmund always enjoyed. He had smiled like that even during a ball, when Lucy had pulled him with her to the dance floor and proceeded to whirl around with him, making everyone laugh at her bounciness while effectively curing her brother of his boredom.

When it came to Edmund, that smile could comfort Lucy like nothing else could. Mainly that was because the old Edmund, the one from before Narnia, had never in his life given her such a look. His true smile was a proof and a reassurance, that he was Edmund, that he was there and that she – they – had not lost him again. And to Lucy, it was a promise, rare though it was, that he would always be there, as a brother, as a King, as Edmund, and that she would never lose him.

Lucy was snapped out of her thoughts by Peter, who had reached over and was gently shaking her arm. 'Lu? Hullo?'

She blinked, startled. 'What? Oh...'

'Are you all right, Lucy?' asked Susan concernedly. 'What on earth were you thinking so deeply about?'

'She probably tried to think of something to match Ed's smile, but couldn't because there's nothing left,' said Peter laughingly. 'I still say you should go with the black hole, Ed.'

Edmund looked quite put off at having been made the butt-end of a joke. 'Oh, just shut it and finish your dinner, will you,' he groused.

'Don't you think a black hole suits him, Lu?' cajoled Peter, still looking teasingly at his little brother.

Lucy looked at Edmund, who had opened his mouth to retaliate, and in that moment, she knew the answer.

'A shooting star.'

Silence fell over the table. All three Pevensies turned to stare at Lucy.

'What?' asked Edmund, blinking.

'A shooting star,' repeated Lucy, gazing intently at her brother. 'Your smile is like a shooting star.'

Before she could continue, Peter interrupted. 'Are you saying that out of sympathy, Lu? How on earth could someone's smile be like a shooting star?'

'Edmund's is,' the youngest Pevensie said sincerely, not taking her eyes off Ed. 'You can't always see it, but when you do, it's the most beautiful thing in the sky. Only a few people can see it at a time, and it makes those people feel privileged and warms their hearts. And it can only be seen for a few seconds, which makes those moments special, so people keep hoping for another moment like that. They cherish the shooting star, because it's rare and such a treasured thing.'

No one said anything for several seconds after Lucy was done. Edmund was staring at her, his eyes wide yet unreadable.

Finally, Susan murmured, 'That was quite a strange analogy ... but I think I understand what Lucy meant. She's right; Edmund's smile is rather like a shooting star.'

'I suppose ...' Peter's expression was an odd combination of awe and scepticism. 'But I still maintain a black hole is more befitting of Edmund.'

This time, Edmund did not bother to acknowledge his brother's teasing. He continued to gaze at his little sister before, finally, his lips curved up into a wide smile. His eyes twinkled and he looked at her with acceptance, gratitude, pleasure, a hint of surprise, quite a lot of embarrassment, but mostly, with plain thankful love.

'Thanks, Lu...'

And Lucy felt her heart soar. Because it was the shooting star she always longed to see, and this time, it was just for her.

END

A/N: So, whatcha think? Too strange? Hard to follow? OK? Feedback is most welcome and will be greatly appreciated. =)