These are what I call sentence fics or prompt ficlets, the idea being to use one sentence, though sometimes punctuation is tortured. The prompt list in the first chapter comes from the LiveJournal community 1sentenceorder, specifically the Epsilon theme set. All are either explicitly in my Darkness universe (DU), or in canon bookverse, or in AU bookverse (i.e. anything involving Adethrel).

Ailena is perpetually sixteen and only ages during GA and AR, during which she ages one year for every two and after which she gradually returns to sixteen. She has no romantic attachments and is subordinate to Peter like the rest.

Era(s) are stated in parentheses. An explanation of era abbreviations can be found on my LJ, post number 28645.

An asterisk indicates there is a footnote with more information about that ficlet.


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1. Motion (GA)

Lucy stood atop the highest tower in Cair Paravel, looking down at the trees that spread across the land, and she twirled and laughed as the same wind that rippled through the vivid orange-red-yellow forest below tossed her hair and dress wildly about.

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2. Cool (GA)

The Prince was calm and courteous at Cair Paravel, but fiery and dangerous in his homeland—see the bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions, Susan thought as she leaned on the rail and watched Tashbaan grow smaller in the distance, the Splendor Hyaline rolling gently beneath her feet.

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3. Young (TFC)

"Sixteen, thirteen, twelve, ten, eight—the Five were so young when they were crowned," Eleanor said in surprise and awe after she did the math.

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4. Last (WWR)

Each year Father Christmas labored as hard as he had before the endless winter, for he knew the Witch's reign would not last forever, and then he would bring a hundred missed Christmases all wrapped up in one that was gloriously triumphant.

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**5. Wrong (GA)

"Don't worry, Peter," Ailena said calmly to the panicking young man in front of her, "no one's going to force you to marry Susan—Narnia is no different than England in that respect; incest is still most definitely wrong."

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6. Gentle (GA)

Susan sometimes wondered why she was called the Gentle, for she was certainly not always the gentlest of them.

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7. One (Queen Lucy, High Queen Ailena; GA)

"Queen Lucy Clara Pevensie, you have exactly one minute to get out here or I am going to come in and stuff you into your riding dress myself!"

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8. Thousand (Adethrel; MN through LWW)

For a millennium she hoped and prayed that it would not come to pass, yet all the while she knew it was in vain, for the words of the Lion never proved false.

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9. King (King Frank; MN)

He swallowed hard as the crown was set on his head; light as it was, it carried a different weight he still wasn't sure he'd be able to bear, but then his eyes met Aslan's and he remembered the Lion's words—and a wave of security and peace swept through him, and he rose to his feet, every inch a true King of Narnia.

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*10. Learn (GA)

"Learn from her," Peter whispered to Lucy, as together they watched Susan gracefully broker peace with the Duke of Klis.

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11. Blur (Caspian the Tenth; DY or TP)

He'd been less than a year old when his father had died, and his memories were faint...but if Caspian tried very hard, he could make out light brown hair and bright blue eyes through the blurriness.

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*12. Wait (Peter, Edmund; ENG)

"Waid, I nod weddy yed!" Peter heard a little voice shout from somewhere behind him, and he giggled.

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*13. Change (ENG)

Evelyn supposed that nine months in the country would have some impact on everyone, but she could never have predicted the difference she saw in her children.

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14. Command (TFC)

"I don't care what you say about their chances of recovery, you will not take my wife and daughter off of life support until I say you can," Evan snarled at the emotionless doctor, fists clenched and eyes blazing, "you will not."

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15. Hold (ENG)

"I hold babby?" Susan asked hopefully, stretching her arms upward, and when her mother smiled and said "Come sit in my lap and we'll hold him together," the little girl's face lit up as she scrambled happily onto the couch.

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16. Need (GA)

"Susan," Peter said tiredly, "right now I need about four cups of mead and a whole loaf of bread with plenty of butter—the treaty with Terebinthia can wait."

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17. Vision (Lewis, Ailena; AL)

He had never quite been able to completely believe the dream-girl when she told him it was all real, until she appeared once more years later to show him one last vision—and brought the Lion with her.

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18. Attention (High King Peter, King Edmund; GA)

Peter knew it was wrong of him, but he couldn't help being a little jealous of how easily Edmund could capture and hold a crowd's attention.

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19. Soul (TP)

"Caspian," Ailena said quietly, "Aslan has told me that your son is not yet in his country, and therefore I must believe that he is still alive—perhaps injured or imprisoned somewhere, but alive."

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20. Picture (early DY)

Ailena traced the four other figures in her small royal portrait with one finger and murmured, "You are greatly missed."

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21. Fool (GA)

"No," Susan said icily, "I would be a fool if I did marry you."

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22. Mad (Peter, Ailena; GA)

"Peter, aren't you a bit old to be throwing a temper tantrum?"

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23. Child (ENG)

Under the expectant gaze of the older members of his family, one-and-a-half-year-old Edmund cautiously touched the sleeping baby's golden head with one finger and carefully pronounced "Loo-shee"—and thus the littlest Pevensie was named.

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24. Now (HHB)

"Fire!" Lucy shouted, and fifty arrows flew toward the Calormene forces.

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25. Shadow (Digory; LWW)

He knew he had been forgiven long ago, he really did know it, and after the children explained why four coats were missing he knew that Jadis would never trouble Narnia again (after all, the Lion never did things by halves), but he also knew that the shadow of his mistake would never fully leave his mind.

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26. Goodbye (TFC)

Losing Savannah was so hard, Evan thought, his heart clenching as his daughter's hand disappeared into the Lion's mane, but letting Ellie go—even with him—is so much harder.

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27. Hide (GA)

"You'll never be able to get away from me, Edmund," Lucy said cheerfully, undisturbed by the dark glower her brother was sending her way as she pulled him along, "because, you see, I know all your hiding places."

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28. Fortune (ENG)

When she was dusting under her bed, something round and hard rolled out from underneath it, and when Polly picked it up she realized it was a diamond from the Witch's crown that must have fallen into her pocket—then she smiled, because the Witch wouldn't need it anymore, and when Polly was older she would be able to sell it for a fortune and buy a lovely house far out in the green country, and keep animals and plant trees, and have a little piece of Narnia right there in England.

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29. Safe (ENG, a year before LWW)

"They're going to the country so they'll be safe from the bombs, Lu—at some point we'll likely go too," Peter had to explain when Lucy came to him in tears, wailing that her next-door friends were going away.

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30. Ghost (Trumpkin, Pevensies; PC)

He had always doubted everything that the Telmarines said, especially their tales about the woods, but to his surprise and chagrin he found he had to ask the four children if they were sure they weren't ghosts.

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31. Book (Ailena, Lewis; AL)

"Listen to the story I tell you," she whispered to the man as he slumbered, "and the books you set it down in will always be beloved."

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32. Eye (Peter; GA)

"Lion's Mane, the next time some love letter compares my eyes to polished mahogany or fine chocolate, I am going to scream!"

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33. Never (Lucy Reeves; TFC)

These people will never know it, Lucy thought as she brought the microphone up to her mouth and looked out at the auditorium full of proud families, but the Pevensies are the kings and queens, because Eleanor believed.

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*34. Sing (FP)

"The song you heard at sunrise this morning is called the Lay of the Lion, my princess, and it is called so with good reason, for it is said—" and here the master's voice became hushed and reverent "—it is said that sometimes there can be heard in it an echo of the First Song, and that those who hear that most glorious music are greatly blessed."

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35. Sudden (very beginning of AR)

The abrupt disappearance of four of their monarchs caused an instant uproar among the Narnians, and it took several days for the Council and remaining queen to allay their fears.

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36. Stop (Susan, Peter; GA)

"Oh no...no no noaahhSusan stop tickling me!"

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*37. Time (post-LB)

"It's odd," Lucy said thoughtfully not long after Chapter One had begun, "but I just realized I spent nearly half my life in Narnia—fifteen years as a Queen and something like five-and-a-half months on the Dawn Treader makes almost fifteen-and-a-half years, and I only lived seventeen in England."

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*38. Wash (GA)

"What in Aslan's name possessed you to have a mud fight?—and after you'd just bathed, too!" Susan shouted, her hands on her hips, as the other two queens giggled helplessly.

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39. Torn (Eleanor, Evan; post-LB)

And with that shaken "Daddy?", what had been torn asunder was made whole as the girl flew sobbing into her father's arms.

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40. History (very beginning of GA)

As he looked through the history books to learn about the former rulers of Narnia, Peter noted with interest that in each reign there was at least one mention of a young, fair-haired courtier who seemed to never age—maybe Ailena wasn't joking when she told us she'd been here from the beginning? Peter wondered, and then pushed the idea to the back of his mind; he had other things to take care of.

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41. Power (DY)

Power was not making his mother cry as a boy; power was not shattering a girl's heart as a young man; power was not even murdering his elder brother in such a way that it was undetectable; no, the day Miraz son of Caspian the Eighth finally knew true power was the day they crowned him king, for it was then that he knew he could do whatever he wished—there was no longer anyone to tell him "No."

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42. Bother (GA)

"You are such a bother of a brother," Peter said affectionately as he rumpled Edmund's hair, laughing when Edmund growled and tried to slap Peter's hands away.

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43. God (TFC)

After the accident, Eleanor had several times questioned if God was really there, but that was before a Lion appeared in her hospital room.

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44. Wall (GA)

Stained glass walls would be very pretty, Lucy decided, but not very practical at all.

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45. Naked (Peter or Edmund; ENG)

He had worn a crown nearly every day for the last fifteen years—now he had none, and his head felt bare without that familiar weight.

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*46. Drive (Evelyn, Peter; ENG)

"Peter Daniel Pevensie, I don't care who will be supervising or how far you go—you may not drive Michael's automobile, and that is that."

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47. Harm (HHB)

When he and Thornbut began the fight, there was no way Corin could have predicted that the dwarf would sprain his ankle, but the prince still found himself soundly scolded by King Edmund for causing an injury that would put a good warrior out of the battle.

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48. Precious (GA)

"Our crowns are very beautiful, with the gold and silver and precious stones," Peter admitted to Mr. Tumnus, "but they're far too elaborate for anything but very formal occasions—we're going to have less ornate ones made for everyday wear."

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49. Hunger (Gwendolen; PC)

She had always had a hunger for knowledge, but she wished her parents had sent her to a better school, one where telling the truth (there really was a lion outside!) did not merit bad order-marks—but she forgot all that a moment later, when she joined the joyous romp and was helped off with her stuffy and uncomfortable uniform.

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50. Believe

"There is always a way," Aslan said quietly, "as long as you believe."

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5: A longer version of this can be read in Azure Expanse.

10: Klis is what I've decided to call one of the five Seven Isles that we don't know the names of. They have never been under Narnian control and thus presumably have their own system of government. I imagine Peter and Lucy watching Susan and the Duke from a secret passage that looks in on the throne room.

12: They're meant to be playing hide-and-seek, and so Edmund's just given his hiding spot away.

13: As the Pevensie parents' names are never given, I've chosen to call them Evelyn and Justin. I made a guess at how long the children were in the country.

34: The "First Song" is my name for Aslan's creation song of Narnia in The Magician's Nephew. I imagine it sounding somewhat like Adiemus.

37: Their time on board was somewhere between 129 days and 177 days, according to my math (Lewis is often surprisingly specific in VDT). 165 splits it nicely.

38: They might be kings and queens, but they're children too.

46: Michael would be a random friend of Peter's. Wikipedia says Ford Britain was founded in 1911, and this is set in the mid-1940s.

EDITS

5-5-16: massive formatting cleanup, minor edits, deletion of redundant individual chapters

7-1-19: more cleanup and minor edits