Lena hurried the girls inside as the snow began to fall harder. They had gotten out of church just in time it seemed. She urged the girls to change out of their dresses and put on their nightgowns, so they could make the mince pies for Babbo Natale. Meanwhile, Edmund took all their coats and hung them up to dry. Then he went up to Lena and wrapped his arms around her waist; she leaned back into his embrace.

"You were lovely tonight," he said softly in her ear.

"Thanks. It feels nice to be able to sing again...without all the other stuff."

"Well, we can still do the other stuff, just you and..." Edmund was cut off by a thump and a wail.

"Nice thought, Little King. Maybe next year." Lena smiled and patted his chest as she stepped out of his arms; she knew they'd soon be occupied by another. A second later, Sara came wobbling around the corner, face red with her tears. She bypassed Lena all together and went straight for Edmund. He scooped her up immediately.

"What happened?" Lena asked Meri as she followed her sister around the corner.

"Nothing. She tapped her head on the door and this happened."

"Aw. Did that mean door attack my Little Princess?" Edmund cooed.

Sara nodded, tears still falling as she pushed her hair off her forehead. Lena could see no evidence of a bump at all, the skin wasn't even red, but Edmund kissed it all the same. As though by magic, Sara's tears stopped and she smiled at him.

"Better now?" he asked.

"Mmm-hmm." Sara nodded enthusiastically and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

"Now, what kind of pies do you think Babbo Natale would prefer: fruit or beef?"

"Fooot!" Sara exclaimed.

"Well I think he should have something with more sustenance. I say beef," Meri replied.

Lena and Edmund looked at one another, each waiting for the other to say no to one child. Neither spoke.

"Both it is then," Edmund said with a sigh.

"But only a few of each; we don't want him filling up on our pies alone. He has many other houses to visit," Lena added.

"A fine suggestion, Mi Amore." Edmund leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"May I try some of the sherry this year?" Meri asked.

"Out of the question," Lena replied.

"But Mamma, I'm twelve now."

"And that whine makes you sound like your two. The answer is no, Meri."

"Babbo...?"

"Uh-uh. Don't ask me. Your mother already answered and I am not going to negate it."

"This is so unfair. Louise Clifton gets to try the sherry."

"Well, Louise Clifton isn't our daughter."

It took them nearly an hour to get the pies ready and set out the corn and hay for the reindeer, especially since Meri didn't want to participate much without the prospect of getting to try the sherry. Sara and Edmund made a mess, as they usually did, and had to go change Sara's clothes again. Afterwich, they all settled in by the fire with their cups of hot chocolate and listened to Edmund as he read the Christmas story from the family Bible.

I'll be home for Christmas

If only in my dreams

There was a spattering of applause as Lena finished singing and left the "stage." She saw Little King standing nearby, smiling, with two cups and a bag of food in his hand. They had been traveling to London when a blizzard forced their plane to make an emergency landing. They were now stranded on Christmas Eve in a small airport in the Netherlands. Before Lena could reach Little King, however, an old woman stopped to talk to her. Lena couldn't understand what the woman was saying, but she caught the gist of it from her smile and hand movements.

"Grazie, Signora; grazie," Lena said in return. The woman smiled and nodded before moving on.

"I think you have a new fan," Little King said.

"A what?"

"A fan, an admirer, someone who enjoys your singing," he explained.

"Oh. That's a strange term for it. Why not just say admirer?"

"It's short for fanatic."

"I don't think I want any fanatics following me around."

Little King smiled. "Come on, let's find a place to sit; I've got us Christmas dinner."

They found a couple of chairs nearby, but they would have to use their laps as tables. Edmund set the drinks in an empty chair beside him before digging through the bag of food.

"Now, for our main course of Christmas turkey, we each have a turkey and cheese sandwich." He handed her an almost day-old sandwich sealed in plastic. "They didn't have any cranberry sauce so would you prefer the apple or the slightly browning banana?"

"The apple I guess, unless you want it."

"You can have it; I had my share of apples in Narnia. For dessert we have a cup of Christmas pudding. At least, I think it's Christmas pudding; that's what the label says, but it doesn't really look like it to me."

"I'm sure it will be fine."

"Well, if it's not we've got this to wash it down with." He picked up the cups with excitement.

"Airport wine?" Lena asked skeptically, and slightly hopeful.

"Even better. Hot chocolate."

"Hot chocolate? Why would someone want to drink liquid chocolate?" Lena wrinkled her nose.

"No, it's powdered chocolate mixed with water or milk—it's better with milk—and heated to a toasty temperature. Have you really never had hot chocolate before?"

Lena shook her head.

"Well, I have sorely neglected my duties as an ambassador to this world then. Everyone should have the experience of drinking hot chocolate on Christmas Eve; it's tradition. Here, try some, but be mindful to..." Little King cringed. Lena had taken the cup and taken a mighty gulp from it.

"I's hawt!" she exclaimed tenderly around her burnt tongue.

"Yes. Hence the name hot chocolate," he said, withholding a snicker.

Lena narrowed her eyes at him. "*Culo," she said; he laughed freely.

"In fairness, I did try to warn you."

"Here, drink this," she mimicked.

"I meant to try it with small sips, not drink half the cup in a single go."

"I noticed you have not had any of yours."

"That's because I'm letting mine cool off first." There was a pause. "I could see how that might be viewed as misleading to you. Fine." He picked up his cup. "Cheers," he said, then he took a hearty gulp. He coughed and sputtered over the too hot drink.

"There. See," Lena said.

"Yeah, I see. This is awful. Why didn't you tell me it was awful?"

"How was I to know?"

"Ugh! They definitely used water and not milk. I'm not even sure they used chocolate." His face was pinched in disgust. "I will have to make you a proper hot chocolate one day, to remedy this atrocity."

There was a long pause before Lena shyly asked, "*Prometti?"

Little King looked at her and smiled. "Promesso."

He took her cup of bad hot chocolate from her and set it on the chair beside him once again. Lena began to muddle her way through the dry bread and her sour apple. Surprisingly enough, their Christmas pudding was the best part of their meal. Outside, the storm raged on.

"I...I'm sorry you have to miss Christmas Eve with your family," Lena said.

Little King shrugged. "It's all right. I mean, they understand." He looked over at her and saw a rather guilty and sullen look on her face. "Are you thinking about Meri?"

"Sì. I was just wondering if she will like the dress I bought her. I don't even know if she likes dresses."

"When's the last time you spoke to her?"

"I write to her every week. You know I do."

"Yes, but, when's the last time you actually spoke to her? Heard her voice?"

Lena shrugged. "I...I don't remember." She turned her head to look out the window. It was dark out and she could barely see the snow falling; she hated the snow. "I haven't been a very good mother to her. Do you think she'll ever forgive me? I wouldn't blame her if she didn't." Lena confessed to him some time ago that Meri was actually her daughter, and not her sister as she had originally claimed.

"Of course she'll forgive you, Lena. You're her mother; you mean everything to her."

"How can you be so certain of that?"

"Because, I'm Edmund, King of Narnia, and I'm much more talented than my brother."

"That has no relevance to the matter at hand," Lena said, looking back at him.

"Sure it does."

Lena sighed and looked out the window once more.

"She will forgive you Lena, you just have to trust me on this."

"Well," Lena turned her face to his. "You have never given me a reason not to trust you...Edmund."

"I like it when you call me 'Edmund.'"

"Well, that is your name."

"Is it? Hmm, here I thought it was 'Little King.'"

"Perhaps we ought to change it to Principe Idiota."

"Hey, that's King Idiota."

Lena laughed.

"I...I uh..." Edmund coughed and cleared his throat before reaching into his bag. "I was going to wait, and give this to you tomorrow, but..." He shrugged and handed her a little wrapped box. "*Buon Natale."

"What's this?"

"What does it look like? It's a Christmas gift."

"Yes but, what is it?"

"Open it and find out."

"I...I didn't know we were exchanging gifts."

"We're not. I'm giving you a gift. You don't have to give me anything in exchange...except to accept it."

Lena looked at him curiously before taking the box from his hand. Though she had been in this world for nearly a decade, the idea of exchanging gifts on Christmas was still foreign to her. The Telmarines didn't celebrate Christmas. The Winter Feast was the closest they came, but as a cortesana, she certainly didn't receive any gifts.

Lena slid the ribbon off one corner of the box and slowly peeled away the wrappings. There was a small wooden box underneath, a little bigger than the palm of her hand. The lid opened with a soft click to reveal a bracelet woven in gold lying on a bed of silk. At its core sat a pearl unlike any she had ever seen, it's glow seemed to emanate from within.

"Edmund, I..."

"Please don't say you can't accept it, because here's why you should. Did you know that pearls are made when an irritant or a parasite gets inside the shell of a sea mollusc. The mollusc will then secrete materials that surround the irritant creating this hard gem in order to protect itself. That irritant then becomes something strong and beautiful, a precious gemstone.

"I see the pearl, and I think of you. I think of the horrors you've seen and the atrocities you've faced, and I see the beautiful gem you've become, the strong woman you are. You took an irritant, and you made something beautiful from it. So please, Lena, the only gift I would ask of you tonight is for you to accept this gift, to let it serve as a reminder of the great things you can and will achieve."

"Edmund, I..."

Lena didn't know what to think. How could she accept something so beautiful? She was a cortesana of Narnia, unworthy of such beauty. She didn't think she'd ever be worthy enough to accept it. Reluctantly, she handed the box back.

"I...I..." Lena had every intention of saying no, but when she looked into Little King's eyes something stopped her. "Would you put it on please?" The words surprised her, but the relief on Little King's face was evident, and Lena was glad she had said them.

Lena stood on a terrace overlooking a snow-dusted Narnia, a thick winter shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Winter in Narnia was something Lena never got to fully appreciate. With snow-covered grounds, travel was difficult and prey was sparse. Miraz usually preferred to stay indoors, which meant Lena stayed indoors. As she looked out at the falling snow of this Narnia, she couldn't help but to admire the simple beauty of it.

"I have a very...important doesn't seem monumental enough...vital perhaps? Paramount?" King Edmund broke Lena from her quiet reprieve as he joined her on the terrace.

"Exigent?" Lena offered with a smile.

"Exigent. Nice; I like it. I have an exigent question for you," he said, handing her what had become a nightly glass of wine. "The answer to which, if unsatisfactory, could very well end..." His voice trailed off as though he wasn't quite sure how to put it into words.

It had been several weeks since their first horseback riding lesson, of which they had continued to have, and her feelings for King Edmund were becoming more familiar. It was evident in the way he looked at her, that King Edmund was developing feelings for her too. This only served to complicate things for her. King Edmund wasn't yet Little King, and yet there were aspects of his personality, aspects that Lena had fallen in love with, that were identical to Little King's. It was becoming more and more difficult to separate the two in her mind; especially when he brought her her nightly glass, or said just what she was thinking.

"You feel it too, then?" Lena asked, before taking a sip of her wine.

"I...I'm not sure what it is I feel, but it's a bit..." Again he seemed at a loss of words, which in-itself was unusual for both King Edmund and Little King.

"Wondrous, yet frightening?" Lena offered.

"Frightening?"

"For I am a married woman, but you are not yet a married man."

King Edmund nodded, acknowledging the complication silently. They both, however, chose to overlook the complication as usual.

"You had a question for me, though?" Lena asked, looking back over the terrace.

"Oh! Yes. Do we drink hot chocolate on Christmas Eve?"

Lena had to laugh at the absurdity of the supposed exigent question. Of course King Edmund would be as obsessed about his hot chocolate as Little King had been.

"Mind you, this is a very serious question, Lady Ileana. Christmas Eve is only a few weeks away and Cook needs to know how many cocoa beans to prepare or there may not be enough hot chocolate to go around."

"Oh, yes, very serious then. I suppose you must tell her to have enough for three more then. It is, after all, a tradition."

"Oh, good..." Edmund let his shoulders sag with relief as he exhaled heavily. He leaned on the rail next to her, their arms barely touching, as his tone turned serious. "Because...I don't think I'm ready for this to end yet."

Lena's throat constricted and she bit back tears. His words hit a little too close to her heart. "It'll never end. You...You have to know that. What we have...what we will have...You are cuore mio, my heart, and that can never end."

"Ileana?" He looked at her, noticing the sudden and almost drastic desperation in her voice. "What's wrong?"

Before Lena could reply, and she didn't know what she would have said if she hadn't been interrupted, Sara and Lady Bea arrived.

"Sara? What are you doing out of bed?" Edmund asked. He reached down to pick her up, but she bypassed him and went straight for Lena.

"Something is wrong, Lady Ileana," Bea said. "She will not sleep, she runs hotter than usual, and her heart is beating faster."

Sara pulled on Lena's dress. Lena passed her glass to Edmund and picked her up. She could feel Sara's temperature before she even kissed her forehead. "Oh, Sara, *stai bruciando."

"What? What is it?" King Edmund asked.

"She has a fever," Lena explained. "A high one by the feel of it."

"What can I do?"

"We need to bring it down with a cold bath or a wet towel. Maybe your healer has something that will help too?"

"Great thinking; I'll go check with Willa. Lady Bea, see to it that Ileana has everything she needs to help with Sara's temperature." King Edmund leaned in and kissed Sara's head. "Don't worry, Little Princess. We'll make you feel better in no time."

"Yes, King Edmund. This way, Lady Ileana."

XXX

Sara was given a cold bath and Willa gave her a tincture made from the bark of a willow tree. She fell into a restless sleep not long after her fever subsided. Lena lay next to her and Bea was curled up on the bed at their feet. Meri came by to wish her well, Susan and Lucy too. Lucy had brought her healing cordial as well, but Lena said it wasn't necessary. Peter popped his head in briefly, but King Edmund was the last to visit.

"How...how is she?" he asked. His voice was barely above a whisper and laced with worry.

"She'll be all right," Lena said, her hand rubbing small circles on Sara's chest. "Her fever is down, but her breathing..."

Sara made a wheezing sound in her sleep.

"Her breathing is still labored."

"I don't understand, how can you be so calm right now? I feel anxious, restless, and ill-equipped to help her."

Lena looked up at him, her eyes sharp. "Look at me and tell me I do not feel as you do."

"I..." Edmund stared at her, but he couldn't finish his sentence. He could see the undeniable worry and fear in her eyes, even if her voice did not betray her.

"There. Now, you know. It is good that you are finally here. Take off your shoes, make yourself comfortable, and lay down with me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Just do it, Edmund. You will understand soon enough."

King Edmund did as instructed and lay on the other side of Sara. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands and he struggled to find a position. He eventually settled on propping his head up with one hand and taking one of Sara's in his other.

"It is never easy to see her like this," Lena said once he was settled.

"Is she sick often?"

"At least once a winter. She was sick on four different occasions when she was four; that was the second-worst winter."

"What was the first?"

"Her first winter. There was an incident in London that year; I don't understand how it happened, but the air was filled with pollutants. They called it smog. Many people got sick that year, including Sara. She was only a month old at the time, so new to life and I thought..." Lena couldn't finish her thought, and she had to wipe away her tears.

"I'm so sorry. I...I can't imagine what that must have been like."

"You were so much stronger than I was that winter. You never lost faith that she would pull through. We were fortunate; so many others were not. The doctors said her lungs are weaker because of it, and now, every winter, she gets sick again."

"How long does it usually last?"

Lena gave a half shrug. "It varies. A week at minimum."

"A week?"

"I'm sorry. I should have expected this. I don't know why I thought it would be any different here."

"Lena, it's..."

"Shh...listen," Lena cut him off.

"She's not wheezing anymore."

"She knows you are here." Lena paused. "Even if you are not quite you yet."

"Then here is where I will stay. That is, if it's alright with you?"

Lena smirked faintly. "Why else do you think I told you to get comfortable? We are in for a long night, Edmund. I hope you are ready."

"You called me 'Edmund' again."

"That is your name, isn't it?"

"Yes, but..."

"Is it a problem?"

"No...No, I think I like it when you call me Edmund."

Lena smiled softly. "I think I like it too." Then she stretched out her arm and lay her head down as she began to sing.