"Where are the four of you going?"

The boy sitting across from you on the train turned a stiff glare towards you and didn't bother to offer a reply. Although you thought him rather rude, the girl he was sitting beside was all too happy to reply, glad to make a friend in these dark times. It was from her that you learned they were going to live with Professor Kirke too- what a wonderful surprise! The boy who'd glared at you didn't seem as pleased as you were, though, so you offered another question about what he liked to do for fun. And then another one about the weather. Still, you weren't able to coax a smile out of him- it was only when you asked him about chess on a whim that he perked up.

"You like chess, too?"

"Of course I do! Who doesn't?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What a king you'll be, Ed."

Edmund beamed, sharing equally enthused smiles with his siblings, as he sat on his new throne in Cair Paravel. You smiled as you placed his crown on his head and Aslan announced he would be known as King Edmund the Just. After the ceremony was over, you stepped up to the Pevensies and gave a low, appreciative whistle.

"Well, would you look at the four of you now?"

To your surprise, Edmund threw his arms around you in a hug.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Y/N."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where do you four think you're going?"

Edmund winked at you with a wide smile and gestured toward the horse fields.

"On a deer hunt! We won't actually shoot the creature, of course, just chase it down for a bit of fun. Care to join us, darling?"

His infectious smile earned a grin from you in return as he offered to take your hand.

You never would have imagined that sixteen years after your first meeting you'd be not just friends, but wonderfully in love with the man that scowling boy on the train had become.