It took the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening and she had to enlist the help of Susan, but in the end, Lena found what she was looking for. Bondmate was indeed a Narnian term, a very Narnian term, and it involved so much more than Lena could have imagined. She found she wasn't as frightened of the concept as she once would have been, however. In fact, much like the Narnian celebration for the Princesses, Lena found she was more intrigued than frightened.

Lena found Edmund later that evening sitting at the little writing desk in the alcove of their bedroom. The mound of paperwork that had sat before him in the library now sat on the writing desk. It at least appeared to be smaller than before. He briefly looked up at her when she entered, though it was unnecessary as Nalsa would have told him of her arrival. The pupils of his eyes were dark and narrow. His hair was disarrayed, and Lena knew he'd been running his hands through it since that morning; he always did when he was stressed. The tension in his back and shoulders was visible.

"Do you have a moment?" she asked.

He sighed and set down his quill. He pushed his chair back from the desk and motioned for Nalsa to wait in the hall. Then, without speaking a word to her, he directed his attention back to Lena.

Lena took a small step into the room. "Little King or King Edmund the Just, it doesn't matter to me, because you are Edmund. Il mio amore, la mia vita, il mio cuore. My love, my life, my heart." With each phrase she took a step closer until she was standing beside him. He turned in his chair so that he was facing her.

"You are everything to me, Edmund. And I am sorry if I made you feel like you were anything less."

He sighed and Lena could see some of the tension leave his shoulders. "You are everything to me, as well."

He opened his arms and she sat on his lap. Her hands slid to his neck and shoulders as she began to massage out the rest of the tension. He closed his eyes and let his arms go limp at his sides. He moaned softly.

"Does this mean you have changed your mind?"

"No."

When he opened his eyes again they still appeared sad.

"Our anniversary is... complicated. Though it is the day we were married, it is not the day I fell in love with you. It is not even a day that I knew I loved you."

"Then when did you fall in love with me?"

"I fell in love with you little by little while we worked together for the S.I.S. Like a Dwarf with his axe, you slowly picked away at my exterior. But I did not know I had fallen in love with you until well after Sara was born, until that first winter we had her."

"Then why did you marry me?"

"Because you asked me. Because I was scared to be without you. Because I liked having sex with you."

He laughed. "Perhaps when it comes to talking to Meri about marriage you allow me to do the talking."

Lena smiled. "Let us hope that is still a long time to come."

"Agreed." his hand found its way up the skirt of her dress and rested on her knee.

"The concept of love, Edmund, was so foreign to me. I was a Telmarine cortesana. I was made to please men, not to love them."

He laid his forehead on her shoulder. "Merda, Ileana. I..."

"Shh." She tilted his head back and kissed him. "I didn't know what love was until you showed me. And since I cannot pinpoint the day I realized I loved you, I do not wish to celebrate it."

He nodded slowly. "Alright. I won't push the matter anymore."

"Good. And besides, I have something else in mind that we can do."

Edmund grinned. "Oh? So do I." His hand began to slide further up her leg.

"It's not something we can do tonight, however."

"Oh." His hand stopped abruptly and he looked disappointed.

"Well, there is something we can do tonight but later, when you're finished here." She pointed to the mound of papers still on the desk.

"I can be finished anytime." His hand began progressing up her leg again.

"Great! But first..." She jumped off his lap and he frowned. "Edmund Henry Pevensie, of the Royal House of Narnia..."

Edmund furrowed his brows.

"Will you undergo The Bonding with me and become my Bondmate?"

Edmund nearly fell out of the chair. "What?"

"The Bonding, it's an old Narnian custom where..."

"Yes. I'm sorry, yes, I'm familiar with what The Bonding is; Peter and Susan underwent it in Our second year." He stood up and took her hands. "But are you familiar with it?"

Lena nodded. "Susan and Ba'ja explained it to me. It is a series of tasks known as trials for a new king or queen, or their spouse, to show their commitment to the Narnians by becoming one of them, living, building, and hunting as they do."

"You must fully immerse yourself in the Narnian lifestyle. You...you would become..."

"A Narnian. Yes. I know. I... I have been running from Narnia my whole life."

"No. You have been running from the Telmarines."

Lena nodded. "They were the same to me. I ran from it. I tried to hide, tried to squash it, but still I let the worst of me win at times. I'm tired of running. I'm tired of letting the Telmarine win. I want to squash it for good, and I can't think of anyone more suited for helping me do that. So, Edmund Henry Pevensie..."

"Yes!"

"You didn't let me finish."

"You've already asked; there's no need to ask again." He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "Yes. I will undergo The Bonding with you; I will be your Bondmate. Now," he kissed her again, "and forever."

Their next kiss was interrupted by Nalsa. The She-Wolf came running through the door, tail wagging and grinning widely. "The Bonding, Lady Ileana? Will you really undergo The Bonding?"

Lena laughed. "Yes, Nalsa. I think I will. But I will need your help and the help of the Pack."

Lena didn't think it was possible, but the Wolf's grin grew even bigger. "You will hunt with the Wolves!"

"We'd settle for nothing else. The Cats had their time with Peter and Susan," Edmund replied.

"The Pack will love this news! All of Narnia will love this news!"

"Nalsa," Edmund began as he wrapped his arms around Lena's waist and pulled her close. His eyes were full of love and desire. "On your way to inform the Pack, will you inform my sister that there will be a celebration after all, but of a different sort?"

"Yes, my King," Nalsa replied but she did not move. Her tail was still wagging as she looked between Lena and Edmund.

"Nalsa?"

"Yes, my King?" Nalsa turned her attention to him alone.

"Now, please."

"You wish to mate with Lady Ileana now, don't you?"

"I do. Very much so."

"Dio mio," Lena muttered.

"Very well then. The Pack will welcome you, Lady Ileana; I know they will. We look forward to the hunt." Nalsa nuzzled her nose into Lena's hand before leaving.

"Now... where were we?" Edmund turned his attention back to Lena. She bit her lip and pulled him in by the collar of his shirt. "Right."

The hunt with the Pack had to occur on a new moon, so Lena and Edmund had to wait a few weeks before they could accomplish it. There were other tasks they completed in the meantime.

They built nests out of mud and sticks with the Birds and Gryphons.

"You... you have something on your face," Edmund said.

"Where?"

"Right...Wait, turn that way." He pointed and Lena turned her head in that direction. "It's right... Here!" he said as he smeared mud on her cheek.

Lena gasped. "You... culo!"

Edmund laughed hysterically. "You're just mad because you didn't think to do it first."

"Maybe not. But I do it better." She threw a whole clump of mud at him.

By the time they finished, their nest looked less like a nest and more like a mud pit, but it passed the Birds requirements. Building the nest, however, was only part of the trial. They also had to spend the night in it. Lena had never had so much mud on her person, between her toes, under her nails, and caked in her hair. To show their approval and acceptance, the Birds and Gryphons each gave them a feather to add to their nest.

Lena and Edmund left the Avian Trial and made their way to the Great River. They were joined by a long procession of Narnians who all wanted to see and encourage The Bonding. Lena was glad the Naiad Trial followed the Avian one; it provided the perfect opportunity to wash off the mud as they were to strip and swim with the Naiads and the River God.

The water was chilled and served to numb the aches she felt from sleeping on a bed of twigs all night. Lena and Edmund waded out as far as they could before diving under the surface. They were met by the River God himself. They swam for much longer than they thought possible. The River God pulled air from the water to feed them, and when their muscles became too tired to support them, the Naiads carried them.

When they arrived back on the river bank hours later, there were Narnians waiting with warm furs to surround them. Edmund and Lena huddled together by a fire, blue lips trembling and limbs shaking with exhaustion while they fed each other fresh picked berries to regain their strength. The Narnians with them recanted the story of the creation of Narnia. When the story was complete, the Naiads all came forth and gave Lena and Edmund a stone smoothed by the river's flow.

After a couple day's rest at Cair Paravel, Lena and Edmund were met by a band of Red Dwarves at the palace gates. They were escorted back to the mountains where they spent nearly a week helping them forge jewelry. It took them a week to make a simple ring because the Dwarves, and Lena and Edmund, spent much of the time drinking and singing brawdy songs. They held drinking contests in which Lena was able to last as long as some of the Dwarves; the Chief Dwarf's son, however, outlasted them all.

Nalsa and the Pack met Lena and Edmund at the mines to begin the hunt. Nalsa and Edmund were both twitchy with excitement. Apparently, in all his years, Edmund had never been allowed to join the hunt; he and Nalsa had hunted together, but never with the Pack.

They traveled deep into the woods where they bathed in a river to wash off the stench of the forge and clothed themselves in mud and furs. The Wolves all slept in a tight bundle with Lena and Edmund amongst the center. Once they were immersed in the scent of the pack, the hunt could begin in earnest.

The lead Pack Wolf, Serigo, caught the scent of a large elk on their second night of hunting. They tracked it west. They were closing in but it managed to cross the western border before they could catch it.

"The Hunt must occur within the Narnian borders," Edmund explained as he roasted a small rabbit for him and Lena.

"And we have until the end of the New Moon to make the kill," Nalsa added.

"And what if we don't make the kill? Will that affect the Bonding?" Lena asked.

"The hunt is not about the kill, Lady Ileana. The hunt is about the hunting."

"But a kill is preferred," Sergio said as he tore into his rabbit.

They spent the night in the mouth of a cave, sleeping once more in a tight bundle. Lena and Edmund ate a small meal of berries, nuts, and dried meat before they set off again at dusk.

Nalsa found them a nice stag this time and they tracked it all the way to the Glasswater creek. The Pack split off to block it in, and Nalsa and Edmund brought it down together. Lena and Edmund were welcomed back at Cair Paravel by a party of Narnians waiting to celebrate; they cheered as they saw the stag's body come into view. Lena and Edmund each took a piece of the antlers to commemorate a successful Hunt.

They rested for a day before heading north towards the Stone Table. Edmund was clearly anxious about being in such close proximity to it, and all Lena could do for him was hold his hand. She was worried it wouldn't be enough, but he gave her hand a squeeze and smiled.

They met Orieus and the Centaurs there. They drank herbal supplements provided by the Centaurs that were designed to produce a meditative state. Then they had to lay awake and study the stars. It wasn't until the early morning hours, during the hazy dawn, that Lena saw anything besides the stars. Whether it was from the herbs taking effect or from the sleep deprivation, Lena saw images of her daughters living a long and full life with husbands and children of their own. Lena and Edmund were each given a braided lock of hair containing a single strand of hair from each of the Centaurs.

On the summer solstice, Lena and Edmund joined the Fauns, Satyrs, and woodland Beasts for the Great Summer Dance. They had a surprise visit from Bacchus, Silenus, and the Maenads. The wine was abundant and sweeter and more potent than any Lena had ever tasted. They danced and drank until the early morning hours when the sun made its first appearance of the day, and then Lena and Edmund collapsed under the branches of an Oak wrapped in each other's arms. When they woke, they were blanketed in the leaves of the Dryads.

Lena and Edmund finished off the trials with a handfasting ceremony. They gathered outside Cair Paravel on a cliff overlooking the Eastern Sea. An altar had been erected, and it held their gifts from the Narians obtained during the trials. All of Narnia gathered around to witness the bonding of their Just King to his Bondmate.

"Blessed be this union with the gifts of the East," Lucy said, wrapping a blue cord around Lena and Edmund's entwined hands. "The deep commitments of the lake, the swift excitement of the river, the refreshing cleansing of the rain, and the all encompassing passion of the sea." Lucy hugged their necks and kissed their cheeks.

"Blessed be this union with the gifts of the West," Nalsa said as Lucy wrapped a green cord around their wrists. "The warmth of hearth and home, the heat of the heart's passion, and the light created by both to illuminate the darkest of times."

Susan stepped up next and wrapped a golden cord around them. "Blessed be this union with the gifts of the South. The communication of the heart, mind, and body, the fresh beginnings with the rising of each sun, and the knowledge of the growth found in the sharing of silences."

Peter followed Susan. "Blessed be this union with the gifts of the North. The firm foundation on which to build, the fertility of the fields to enrich your lives, and a stable home to which you may always return." He wrapped a red cord around them.

"Now you are bound one to the other with a tie not easy to break. Take the time of binding, before the final vows are made, to learn what you need to know, to grow in wisdom and love. That your bond will be strong. That your love will last in this life and beyond."

"In this life...

"... and beyond," Lena and Edmund repeated.

"What Aslan has brought together, no Man or Beast can separate."