Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis does, you know the deal...

Notes: Message me before using any of my characters, yadity-ya-dee-yah, ya'know, the usual. Takes place after the Silver Chair. Kindly read and review!

.: More Than One Ridiculous :.

"Peter! Susan!" Wendy ran to hug her two oldest cousins. "Edmund and Lucy were just telling me stories!"

"More stories?" asked Peter. "They weren't about a particular place called... oh, I don't know, Narnia?" Lucy blushed and Edmund pretended to be interested by a painting hanging on the wall. He smiled to himself, wondering if this painting would bring them to the Western Wood, but his heart ached when he remembered how Aslan had said they would never return. Wendy broke him from the melancholy thoughts.

"The very same, Peter!"

"Ah, I've heard them all. Perhaps you like to hear a story told by me?"

Lucy allowed her mouth to gape slightly and Edmund's head whipped around, but not before he noticed Susan sneak out of the room. He nudged Lucy who frowned at her older sister's behavior.

Peter hardly ever told stories because he was almost always off helping the adults prepare dinner or pretending to be interested in Susan's latest male gossip, so Wendy jumped on the chance. "Yes, please, Peter! What are you going to tell me about?"

"Hm... I think we should all create a story!"

Edmund said, "Or we could tell her the story of Rabadash the Ridiculous!" Edmund loved this story, for of course, it was he who ended up humiliating the poor soul.

"Raba-who?" asked Wendy.

"Rabadash the Ridiculous," repeated Edmund.

Peter saw Wendy's confusion and said, "He a prince from Calormene - not Narnia - who fancied Susan."

"Hold on," said Wendy, "I thought you were making this up as you went!" She glanced from Edmund to Peter to Lucy and asked, "Have you all created stories together?"

"No," Peter and Edmund said in unison, a little too quickly to be telling the truth.

Lucy covered up her brothers' lie by thinking fast. "It was my favorite story to tell them - and apparently Edmund has grown quite fond of it." Edmund snorted and Peter suppressed a laugh.

"Edmund, aren't you too old for fairy tales?" Peter smirked as Edmund glared daggers at him. He motioned for Wendy to sit on his lap. "I guess it's set. We'll tell the story of Rabadash the Ridiculous, just for Edmund. Up you go then."

"It feels so strange, sitting on your lap. I've only ever sat on Lucy's," said Wendy, settling into a comfortable position.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to tell stories more often, then! We can't have Lucy stealing all the fame, now can we?"

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Edmund ran through the halls, searching for Susan. Attempting to lure her from her hiding place, Edmund said disgustedly, "Susan, you have another suitor." Suitors were a common occurrence, especially for Susan, but Edmund refused to think of her as anything other than his older sister, all the while knowing very well that she would find a man in time. Ladies came for Peter, too, but the High King would give no thought in his decision of turning away each and every one. Of course, Edmund and Lucy received requests, as any King or Queen would, however these were less frequent. This didn't seem to bother Lucy, for she enjoyed the company of Tumnus and other talking animals, nor did it deter Edmund, because he was more interested in his job of Narnian judge.

At last, Susan appeared from the courtyard, smelling of the flowers she had been picking. She shook the loose stems and petals off of her dress and followed Edmund throne room, where Lucy sat with a distant gaze, meaning she wished she was outside socializing, and Peter stood with his arms folded reproachfully and lips pressed into a straight line.

"It is my sister's hand in marriage that you fancy?" the High King asked.

Prince Rabadash stepped forward. "Yes." He turned to Susan. "My beautiful Queen, how would it be if you accompanied me back to Calormene for a time?"

Susan disliked the man from the moment she set eyes on him, though not wanting to let Peter down, she vowed to put up with him, for Narnia's ties with Calormene were weak. If Narnia had any hope of a peaceful alliance, Susan marrying the Prince was it. Thus, she said, "That would be lovely. Would my darling brothers and sister join us? I fear I would miss them so."

This threw Rabadash off guard, as he did not care for the Kings and other Queen. His intention from the start had been to leave them behind. Rabadash replied with a clever response; "They would not be able to stay forever, Your Majesty."

"Then I am afraid I will have to decline respectfully. Or, rather, if you shan't mind, may I have time to ponder this?"

"Of course," said Rabadash. "A Queen such as you is worth the wait." He kissed her hand lightly and was escorted to his guest chambers, leaving the siblings to discuss the proposal.

"Su, you don't have to marry him," said Peter.

"But brother-"

"I just want you to be happy."

"And I just want you to be happy," Susan said.

"I'm happy when the Narnians are happy-" Peter saw Susan open her mouth to speak and cut her off by saying, "And you are one of them."

"I, for one, don't like him," said Edmund. "He did not acknowledge Our Majesties, only Susan."

"Shall we send him back?" asked Lucy, absently toying with the lion's head stopper on her cordial, a quirk that had quickly become a bad habit.

"No, let him stay. He'll humiliate himself, in time." Peter stood up from his throne.

Edmund's eyes lingered on the passage by which Rabadash had recently entered. The venom in his voice was unmistakable when he said, "Whatever you choose, I'll support you. Just don't expect me to go to any gatherings at his house."

Peter glared at Edmund. "My fair brother, we shall at least give him a chance."

"Sorry," Edmund mumbled, and after Peter had turned his attention elsewhere, "But I'm not going to."

"I'm off to go visit the beavers. I haven't seen them in a while," Lucy said timidly, wanting to leave before Susan and Peter had at it again.

"And I'll come with," added Edmund.

Peter raised an eyebrow but dismissed them with a wave. He sunk back into his throne and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Dearest sister, you shan't always think of Narnia."

"That is our duty, is it not?" countered Susan.

"Your obligation to Narnia would be neglected if you married unhappily." Peter sighed. Why did Susan always have to be so forgiving? Couldn't she just once do something for herself? The last thing Peter wanted was to have Rabadash as a brother-in-law. Having Edmund around as a sibling was enough to handle.

"I shall think about it over supper," said Susan, "For now, let us be off to the-"

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"Dining room, now!" called Susan, snapping Peter out of his story and finishing his sentence (although, much snappier than the story would have went). "We could use an extra pair of hands!"

As Peter removed Wendy from his lap, she asked, "So, then, how is Rabadash ridiculous?"

"Prince Rabadash," Lucy corrected, insistent on giving Prince Rabadash his full title.

"Must you be so formal?" asked Peter, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, me, formal," laughed Lucy, "And what about you?"

"'But my fair brother' - since when am I fair?" Edmund said, smirking.

Wendy said, "Have you made up a language as well?"

"No," said Peter and Edmund, again in sync.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy said, "Well, there's more to the story, but Edmund will have to tell this part."

"Why?" Edmund glanced at Peter while Peter flat-out stared at Edmund.

"Stop talking at the same..." They both blinked. "ARGH!" Edmund gave Peter a kick in the shin to make his older brother shut up.

"Seriously, you two share a brain or something," Lucy said giggling, "One person should talk at a time!" Wendy gave a small cough, interrupting the siblings, and brought them back to her question. "Um, right. Well, you weren't there, for starters." Lucy instantly realized her mistake. As if she needed reminding, Edmund nudged her to say that Wendy did not know about Narnia - the true Narnia, the one that existed as a place and not in the form of a tall tale. Wendy noticed.

"But it's his story," said Wendy, as more of a question than a comment.

Edmund started stuttering, trying to make up a fathomable lie. "I, um, m-made it up first - Peter created a... what is the word?"

"Prequel," said Peter.

"Right, he, uh, made a prequel. You'll have to wait, though. Go on, Aunt Leanne and Cousin Susan need your help with dinner," Edmund said. He was eager to be alone with Lucy and Peter. The moments they had alone were rare, but spent in a wise way: discussing Narnia. Right now, one of those moments was desperately needed. After Wendy's braided pigtails disappeared into the kitchen, the three began whispering.

"Peter, did you ever hear what happened?" asked Lucy.

Peter said, "I only heard that Rabadash left, or was forced to leave, rather. Oh, and Corin gave me an earful when I came home, though I have to admit, I wasn't quite listening."

"Oh boy, I get to tell this one!" said Edmund. He clapped his hands together rapidly.

"You sound like a five year old," remarked Peter. "It's hard to believe at one time you were King Edmund the Just, the King speaks to no man when he does not wish to."

"Hey! That was never part of my title, and I did too talk to people," Edmund pouted. "You are going to hear the story, and you will see that I do talk to people!"

Peter, seeing Edmund's immaturity, held up a finger, which was his way of showing he had an idea. "Hold on, if you're telling the story, can I sit on your lap?"

"Now you sound like a five year old," said Edmund. "And no, you'd crush me!"

"Maybe not. You're forgetting the time Ed was 21 and you were 24," Lucy said. "I remember this story so clearly..."

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"Hush! Just grab his crown and get out," hissed Susan, placing a finger on her lips for emphasis. "Is it really that hard?"

"I don't see you going in!" Lucy whispered. The two sisters peered into the dark room. Lucy tip-toed a few steps before stopping and turning to Susan. "Who's that snoring?"

"Who do you think?" Susan put her hands on her hips. "Edmund, of course, it's his room!"

Lucy continued inside and felt her way to Edmund's bedpost. She reached for Edmund's silver crown, which was glinting in the pale moonlight. The light caught on a mess of blonde hair. "Hullo!" exclaimed Lucy, "Never mind the only one!"

"What is it?"

Lucy motioned for Susan to come over. "Peter's here, too." Lucy giggled. "And Edmund is lying on top of him!"

"Is that even possible?" Susan held the candle close to the bed. Sure enough, the warm glow it provided revealed Edmund peacefully curled in Peter's arms, with his cheek pressed tightly against his brother's. Edmund sniffled, causing Susan to nearly drop the candle and Lucy to lose her grip on the crown. "Let's get out of here before they wake up."

"Wait," said Lucy. "How is...?" Tentatively, she peeled the blankets back. Edmund was lying on his back, on Peter's stomach. "But, even though Edmund's small-" Edmund allowed a leg to droop off the bed, a leg that was over a foot shorter than Peter's. "-he's really heavy! Peter must be crushed!"

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"Are you calling me fat?" asked Edmund, interrupting the story.

"No. You forget that muscle weighs more than fat. And you had a lot of muscle back then."

Edmund flexed his arm muscles. "Still do."

Peter made a noise that sounded like pfaw and patted Edmund on the head. "Don't worry, my little shortcake, you're skinny now and you were skinny then. But, those ladies seem to love you!" He winked at his younger brother. Edmund scowled and held his hand out to Peter.

"Don't talk to me," he joked.

"So why were you two together? It seems ridiculous, that you would do that. Unless..." Lucy said, giving the two a curious stare. "Is there something I should... know about?"

"I was sick," said Edmund, "So lay off!"

"You love me, Eddiekinz." Peter pinched Edmund's cheek.

"Shut up, Peterpoops," Edmund mocked. "While we're asking questions, why were you and Susan stealing my crown?"

"Just mischief, you know..." Lucy said vaguely.

"Dinner! You lot, help me out and quit telling those fairy tales," said Susan, who had suddenly appeared in their circle.

After Susan had left and the three stood up to leave, Lucy added, "We used to have so much fun together."

"We did," said Peter, "But now she's all grown up, all worried about lipstick and nylons and invitations and such. That is ridiculous."

"Hmph," Edmund mused, letting out a small laugh, "Just like her almost-husband."

~END~