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: From night to day...waiting had to be the hardest part. Response to nochance's prompt challenge.

A/N: The challenge fic using night and day in Peter's POV as prompted by nochance. Hope you enjoy it. This is part of my A Light in the Darkness universe, but this two-shot can be read as a standalone.

From Night to Day

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"Come and have a bite to eat, dears. It will do you good."

I snapped out of my wandering thoughts at the voice and glanced down to see Mrs. Beaver walking along side Lucy, ushering her toward a low table laden with food that would have been appealing at any other time. I tried to keep my worry from showing as I joined the girls, luckily Lucy was beginning to wear out and Susan...well, she seemed as distracted as I was. Mrs. Beaver continued to chatter and fuss over us throughout the meal, but I couldn't make myself pay close attention.

Near the end of the meal, Mrs. Beaver patted Lucy on the hand, "Don't you worry, dears, why if the General and his soldiers can't get your brother from the White Witch, I don't know who could. And, I don't think Aslan would have sent them if He didn't think they would succeed."

Something Mrs. Beaver said caught my attention and I finally focused completely on here and now instead of worr- thinking about what was happening to Edmund. "General?"

Mrs. Beaver nodded, "Oh yes, dears, the Centaur who was in front of Aslan's tent when we arrived. It turns out that Aslan appointed him General of the army and Beaver says he has been one of the leaders of the resistance against Her for decades. That should give you hope, dears. Aslan sent some of His best after your brother. Why, I wouldn't shake my whiskers at the thought that your brother could be here in camp before noon tomorrow. And, just think of all the things you've to tell each other, your journey, your knighthood, Sir Peter Wolfsbane, and...well, you'll have lots to talk about I suspect. If you need anything, you need merely ask and someone will help you."

Mrs. Beaver waddled off with those parting words and I couldn't help smiling a little. She really was cute. My smile faded as I looked at the girls again. We were dependent on the good will of soldiers and the General was the same Centaur who had so vehemently declared Edmund a traitor to them all. But, surely, Aslan wouldn't have sent him if He didn't think he would bring Edmund back no matter his personal feelings toward my little brother. Not that he had any right to judge my little brother. He didn't know him or what he had been through...what we had all been through...

Lucy's sleepy voice cut through my thoughts. "Peter?"

I quickly smiled at her, "Yes, Lu?"

She was leaning heavily against Susan and I could tell that she was just about ready to nod off completely. She yawned before murmuring, "They're going to find Edmund, aren't they?"

I didn't let my doubts show. It would just upset Lucy and she didn't need that on top of everything else she had been through today. "Of course, they are, Lu. Don't worry about it."

She gave me a sleepy smile and I forced another smile, hoping I seemed more confident than I actually felt. It must have worked because a few minutes later Lucy was sound asleep. I glanced at Susan, and then I moved around the little table to pick Lucy up. She was completely limp. Susan also stood and she followed me into their tent as I moved Lucy to a bed that looked far more comfortable than even our beds at home. I smiled a little as I pulled the soft covers over Lu. I bet she wouldn't complain about these sheets feeling scratchy. I stepped back and nearly laughed as Lucy rolled over, still fast asleep, and hugged the pillow close.

I was a little reluctant to leave the girls in their tent by themselves but then I reassured myself with the thought that we were in Aslan's camp and surrounded by soldiers. My tent was also right across from them, so I should be able to reach them easily. And, judging by the way the one Wolf ran off, I doubted...well, hoped none of the other servants of the White Witch would attempt to infiltrate the camp. I honestly didn't believe that the Wolf expected Aslan to be there, so maybe that meant word of Aslan's presence would also keep the rest of the Witch's creatures at bay. And, the way the Beavers told it, there was no place safer in the country than here in Aslan's camp.

I turned in a full circle as I looked around my tent. It wasn't as nicely set up as the girls' I suppose since there were two hammocks instead of beds and then two stands, one of which currently held my sword, while I was pretty sure the girls had something a little more elaborate. The trunk of clothing that the enthusiastic Fauns, whose names, I'm embarrassed to admit, had slipped in one ear and out the other, had raided on my behalf had been moved elsewhere leaving behind only a washstand to occupy the rest of the tent. The sparseness was fine by me since it gave me plenty of room to pace around as I tried to organize my thoughts.

Edmund, the girls, their safety, Mum, Dad, home, even Aslan all whirled through my thoughts faster than I would have believed possible. I stopped in the middle of the tent and looked at the hammock where one of the Fauns had set out fresh clothing and boots for Edmund when he arrived. I nodded my head as I resolved to trust Aslan and what He had told me on the hill. They would find Edmund and bring him back. They had to...I just knew it.

Unable to even attempt to go to sleep, I ducked out of the tent. Susan was sitting out there already, just a little ways from her and Lucy's tent, looking up at the stars. I glanced up and had to appreciate their beauty…the stars and everything else in Narnia was simply...more...than they were at home. I walked over and sat down next to Susan, who seemed preoccupied even for Susan. I smiled a tiny bit and asked, "What's got you so distracted?"

"Oh, you know I think it might rain tomorrow."

She smoothly avoided letting out her worries with that little inane statement about the weather. I didn't confront her. I knew she was just trying to keep it all together. Instead, I turned to look her in the eyes as I reassured her, "They'll bring him back."

Susan ducked her head and stared at the grass as she quietly replied, "I hope so Peter, I hope so."

I could hear the tiny frisson of fear, of worry, in her voice. But, I wasn't certain how to comfort her. We sat together in silence. I stared at the grass as I finally spoke again, not certain about how Su would react to what I had decided to tell her. "You know, Aslan and I had a talk." I stared a little harder at the grass as I barely kept from adding that it had been right before she and Lucy had nearly been killed by Wolves.

Susan quietly prompted me, "About what, Peter?"

I took a breath. In for a penny, in for a pound, after all. "Well, he said something to me, he said that there is a deep magic, Su, and that this magic it controls all of our fates...even his." I watched her carefully as I set out my theory, "And well, if that's so then it probably means that the prophecy Beaver told us our first night here, is probably true right? So that means that Edmund is destined to rule too." And, if Edmund is destined to rule, then he had to be all right.

Susan turned and looked me directly in the eyes as she gently pointed out in that blasted logical way of hers, "Peter how do we really know what's true and what's not yet?"

I wondered if she had by some strange happenstance not heard everything I said, but I wasn't prepared to let go of the hope, in any case, as I began to repeat myself. "But Aslan said-"

Susan shook her head and cut me off before I could get any further. "Aslan said that everything that could be done would be. I think that he means us to accept whatever happens now as a part of that plan, that deep magic that he talked with you about."

I looked at her in silence before I protested again. "You don't really think that-"

Susan cut me off before I could finish the horrible question that I knew neither one of us was prepared to think about, much less discuss. "I don't know what I think right now."

She shifted in order to stand up, but I quickly wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I didn't want her to think I was upset with her. Because I wasn't. I knew Susan was scrambling to approach our situation logically so she would have some method of measuring the best way to react to a situation. That's just how she handled things...she was a lot like Edmund in that regard. They both wanted to have a sensible, logical reason for the way things were going. Lucy and I were both much more impulsive and willing to rush in or accept the unexplainable as simply something we can learn more about later.

Unfortunately, I hadn't been very understanding toward Susan during the last few days. Still, I felt I had to once again try to reassure her. "It's going to be okay, I know it." I couldn't explain where the sudden swell of confidence came from, but I knew with every fiber of my being that what I was saying was true.

She looked at me and silently nodded. I tightened my hold around her shoulders and prayed the logical alternative wasn't the answer at the same time I hoped Susan knew I wasn't angry with her for being her logical self. I also hoped she would have more faith even though it always made her uncomfortable to leave her protective logic. We sat there for a while looking up at the huge, radiant stars in silence.

Susan lightly touched me on the arm before she finally stood and went back to the tent she was sharing with Lucy. I stayed out there a little longer. Looking at the stars, I couldn't help thinking that the night seemed almost too peaceful given everything that was happening. I remembered one time Dad had taken Edmund, Susan, and I (Lucy had been too little) to go stargazing and he had let me stay up even after both Ed and Su had fallen asleep. He had pointed out the North Star... I wondered if Dad was somewhere in Africa looking at the stars maybe thinking about Mum and the four of us. I rather doubted he would ever picture our current situation and...I doubted he would be pleased with the fact I had allowed us to be separated in the worst way possible in addition to being in this situation in the first place.

I finally returned to my tent and pulled off the leather jerkin before I lay down on the hammock. But, I just couldn't sleep…not knowing Edmund was out there with the Witch doing who knew what to him while I was here in a comfortable bed with good food in my belly... I sat up with an irritated groan and was immediately dumped out of the hammock to land hard on the ground. I almost expected to hear Edmund having a laugh at my expense, but the tent was silent.

Edmund... I clenched my hands for a moment as I wished fiercely I had been able to go with the soldiers who went after Edmund even though I knew it hadn't been possible. I unclenched my fists with a sigh as I thought about what I had said to Susan...I had to have hope. I had been so certain, actually I was still certain that they would bring Edmund back...I just didn't know how things would be between the two of us. "You think you're Dad, but you're not!" I ran my hand through my hair as I remembered everything I had already messed up between my brother and myself. I wanted him back so badly, I truly did, and then I would take care of the family just like I had promised Mum and Dad I would do by sending them back through the wardrobe, but I...I wanted to stay and help these Narnians fight for their freedom. It was the right thing to do, but I wouldn't risk the others.

Finally feeling like I was close to doing the right thing by everyone, I got to my feet and ruefully rubbed my left hip, which had taken the brunt of my landing, before I gingerly clambered back into the hammock. I stared up at the roof of the tent, hoping, praying for Edmund's safe return...

I opened my eyes without remembering closing them. I could hear faint voices coming from somewhere outside and I tried to scramble out of bed, only to once again be unceremoniously dumped to the ground. Hammocks...ugh, maybe it was a good thing Ed hadn't seen me fall, for the second time no less. Edmund. I scrambled to my feet and failed to keep the feeling of despair from welling up when I noticed Edmund's hammock was still empty and the clothes laid out for him were still untouched. Did...did they not find him in time? The last bit of certainty from the night before fled and I walked out of my tent into the light of a new day, dreading what news would come with it.

I came to an immediate standstill when I saw the Centaur General walking by, if he was back… Edmund! Did he bring Edmund back? Where was my brother? Was he all right? Was he still angry? Those questions and more ran through my mind as the Centaur drew even with me and looked me right in the eyes, but I couldn't speak a single one. He seemed to understand anyway as he met my gaze then deliberately looked over his shoulder. I followed his gaze and I swear my heart stopped for a moment when I spotted my little brother talking to Aslan on a ledge not all that far away from the camp. He was alive, thank God!

I barely registered the Centaur continuing on his way so intent was I on trying to determine just how bad Edmund had been hurt from a distance. He and Aslan were deep in conversation, which was the only reason I didn't rush over to see for myself. I couldn't take my eyes off him though...I was a little afraid if I did, he would vanish on me again. "Edmund!" I caught Lucy before she could run past me, but her shout had successfully caught Edmund and Aslan's attention.

They walked toward us, but I couldn't take my eyes off Edmund as he drew closer and I could see his split lip and the various bruises and scratches covering his face and his legs. My blood boiled at the thought of the Witch and her people harming him. Aslan looked at each of the three of us and His eyes once again seemed to penetrate my very soul as He spoke, "What's done is done. There is no need to speak to Edmund about what is past."

I understood. As I watched him interact with girls, I could see that he was somehow different from the contentious, horrid little beast of a boy who had shoved all of us away when we tried to draw him back into the core of our family after Dad left. Yet, to be perfectly honest, I didn't know whether I wanted to hug him for being alive or strangle him for scaring me like he did. As it was when Edmund looked at me, I finally spoke and jerked my chin in the direction of our tent. "Get some sleep." My voice came out harder than I had meant and Edmund's face fell as he slowly walked by me toward the tent. I couldn't let him go like that, I wasn't angry with him. I turned and called to him in a kinder tone, "And, Edmund?" He turned to look at me and I smiled slightly as I continued, "Try not to wander off." He smiled back at me and suddenly I wasn't so worried about our relationship. It was a new day, after all.

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A/N: Please read and review! Well, thanks to nochance for offering the initial prompt and also to Dreaminsapphire for not only helping me figure out which night and day to do but also allowing me to lift part of one of her chapters from Only the Beginning for the scene between Susan and Peter, I doubt this oneshot (that is now a two-shot) ever would have made it off the ground without her help. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.