Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't...

Summary: Is this reality or dream? Or is it all just a dream within a dream?

A/N: Drabble. This is set in my A Light in the Darkness universe, but this oneshot can be read as a standalone.

Reality or Dream?

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"All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream"

Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream Within A Dream

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I deliver another devastating blow to the faceless enemy surrounding me. Everywhere I turn, there are more of them. Or perhaps it is but one enemy who moves about so quickly as to seem there are dozens. Nevertheless, I fight on to protect the people I loved most. There is a breach in the wall. That must be the source of these faceless foes. Must fill the breach...with my own body if necessary.

I force my way through the crowd, hacking at the faceless enemy with every step I take toward that looming breach. I cannot remember how the breach came into being. Catapults? Fell Giants? A battering ram? Perhaps it is something else I cannot think of as I fight against this faceless enemy who never seems to decrease in numbers. Aslan! How many have broken through? We need more soldiers. We need to get the civilians out of harm's way. Children, the old, the sick and wounded, all of them must be given the time to reach safety through one of the tunnels that lead away from the Cair.

Hours. I have been fighting for hours and it seems only soldiers clad in red fall to the ground never to move again. No. Not this, not here, never here. My muscles burn from the endless fight. My sword is dull with blood, but still I must fight. I stand in the breach next to only two others. We are so few that the saying "Number do not win a battle" seems a poor joke as the enemy forms an endless sea. But, I stand firm and raise my sword once more. I cannot let this faceless enemy pass. They cannot be allowed to harm the innocent.

Screams. I whirl around and gasp in horror. No! The enemy has slipped past us, past me, and they've taken hostages. Before and behind, surrounded by the enemy I cannot move as the other two are shot in the throat and I see their blood join the rest mingling on the ground. No. I hear the screams of women and children, and then a half-forgotten voice calls my name. Mother! I leap forward only to have the enemy press me back as my mother is cut down. No. The enemy surges forward and ruthlessly cuts down their hostages. My heart clenches as I hear another voice call my name and I see her reach out toward me, silently begging for help. No. I cut viciously into the enemy but soon they drag me to the ground. The enemy pins me and then I see their weapons bearing down on me...

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I wake with a gasp, but still instantly when a small, slender hand touches my arm then my face. The moon is shining bright into my bedroom, allowing me to easily see her concern as she whispers, "Are you all right, love?"

I manage to nod, "Just a bad dream."

She leans a little closer and I can see her eyes fill with a mix of curiosity and concern as I sigh. "What's wrong?"

I smile slightly as I reach out to touch the soft curls swinging forward to frame her face and ask, "Am I still dreaming?"

She smiles and her eyes soften with love, "Well, if you are, I dare say it's a good dream." I chuckle and cradle her face in my hands as she leans in completely. Our lips touch and I shift my hands to her shoulders, wanting, no, needing her closer...

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My eyes open to a dark tent. I hear soldiers moving about outside. For a moment, I stay still, trying to decide whether I am really awake this time. The wind howls and a cold blast of air slips into the tent. It reassures me that I am finally free of the dream and the dream within the dream. I rise and pull on my armor. Today is a day for battle. I can explore the meaning behind my dream...dreams...later. Exiting the tent, I immediately walk toward the table where our battle plans are laid out. Focusing on the battle lines being drawn, I resolutely leave the dream and the dream within the dream behind in the tent...they have no place on the day's battlefield.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, so this is...well, it's the result of a weird little plot bunny that combined with Edgar Allan Poe to produce what you just read. So, leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.