“How could they ever accept Edmund as their king? He betrayed them all!” the Sparrow cried. “Even Aslan!”
“No, Sparrow,” the centaur said gently. “It was King Edmund’s folly that guaranteed Aslan’s triumph over the Witch. If Aslan had not died on the Stone Table, all of Narnia would have fallen again to the Witch’s power, and the spring of new hope would have withered into another long winter of despair. King Edmund was the traitor who saved Narnia, and ever after he ruled justly and fairly, and he was renowned for his wisdom, discernment, and compassion—for he remembered how he had erred and been judged harshly by those who had been quick to condemn his actions.”
The Sparrow twisted her head in thought and said after a moment, “I suppose he was very noble, then, to rule so justly over those who had judged him.”
“He was indeed,” said the centaur. “And all of Narnia felt keenly the loss of his wisdom and counsel when the Kings and Queens of Old disappeared.”
Narnia, the years after the Pevensies left
“No, Sparrow,” the centaur said gently. “It was King Edmund’s folly that guaranteed Aslan’s triumph over the Witch. If Aslan had not died on the Stone Table, all of Narnia would have fallen again to the Witch’s power, and the spring of new hope would have withered into another long winter of despair. King Edmund was the traitor who saved Narnia, and ever after he ruled justly and fairly, and he was renowned for his wisdom, discernment, and compassion—for he remembered how he had erred and been judged harshly by those who had been quick to condemn his actions.”
The Sparrow twisted her head in thought and said after a moment, “I suppose he was very noble, then, to rule so justly over those who had judged him.”
“He was indeed,” said the centaur. “And all of Narnia felt keenly the loss of his wisdom and counsel when the Kings and Queens of Old disappeared.”