A/N: Characters based on the movie version of "Prince Caspian." Not sure how fitting the "genres" are that I've chosen in the story description, but we'll see how it goes. I foresee making a few changes as I go along. This will be a multi-chapter thing. Not sure about eventual slash... Let me know what you think on that matter.
Story takes place shortly after the brief encounter with the White Witch.
Peter shot up in bed.
His face was damp. It was already late morning, but his limbs ached as though he had barely slept.
Quickly getting dressed, he exited the bedroom and made his way to the main chamber of Aslan's How.
"Peter!" came a cheery greeting. Lucy threw her arms around her brother's midsection in a quick hug. "You're up quite late, you know."
"Yeah…" mumbled Peter, thoughtfully running a hand through his hair. "D'you know, I've just had the strangest dream. Where are the others?"
"I'm not sure about Ed and Sue, but Caspian is still slee – Caspian!" she exclaimed as the prince sleepily walked into the room. He was pleasantly startled as the youngest Pevensie gave him a greeting similar to Peter's.
Both men frowned at the sight of the other.
"Shouldn't you be freeing the Witch, or would you rather save that for evening?" shot Peter sarcastically.
"Shouldn't you be killing our people?" spit back Caspian, advancing a step toward Peter.
"Stop it!" exclaimed Susan, who had just come through the door. "You're both in the wrong, now learn to work together or we're all doomed."
The two men glared at each other with clenched fists but said nothing.
"Have you both only just gotten up?" inquired Susan, changing the subject.
"I had a dream," said Caspian, relaxing a bit in Susan's presence. "It was strange. It was difficult to wake from it, as if –"
"As if something were holding on to you, trying to trap you," cut in Peter, beginning to feel a little excited that he wasn't the only one to have had such an experience. He frowned once more, though, as Caspian shot him a furious look.
"How curious," said Lucy. "What do you suppose it means?"
"Nothing. It was just a dream," said Caspian dryly.
"But you both had it –" started Susan.
"A mere coincidence, clearly," shot Peter. He turned his back on them all and stalked out of the chamber, out of Caspian's infuriating presence.
Caspian was surrounded by darkness. It was thick. He moved forward with great difficulty, the fabric of the air around him fighting his every step. It was like walking underwater. He wanted to get out of this place but had no idea which direction to go. He was surrounded by nothingness; a cold, suffocating emptiness. He started to panic. He began to thrash around, wildly, in hopes that something would change about this horrifying place…
The prince's eyes flew open and he loudly gasped for air as if he had just been drowning. The first thing that registered was Susan's worried face near his.
"Caspian!" she cried, her lips trembling. She gingerly reached out a hand and brushed loose strands of hair away from his forehead. She then hastily withdrew it as her shyness got the better of her.
"What… what happened?" he breathed, wincing at the pain in his limbs as he slowly sat up.
"You've been asleep for ages," she said. "You and Peter both. It's nearly evening. We've been trying to wake you."
Caspian blinked. His brows furrowed.
"This is not making much sense."
"You're telling me! Come, let's go see the others. They're in Peter's room." Susan stood and pulled Caspian to his feet. "I'm not sure if he's awake yet…"
They quickly made their way down the hall and to Peter's room. There they found Lucy and Edmund sitting on the bed with their brother, who was sitting up with his head in his hands.
"Ugghh," he said in greeting as he heard the door open and footsteps rush in.
"Oh, Peter," Susan breathed, kneeling beside him.
"You too?" he said weakly, glancing up at Caspian.
"Yes," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "This… this feels like dark magic."
"I think you're right," said Edmund. "I can't think of any other explanation."
"But how? Or… who?" said Lucy.
Peter and Caspian glanced at each other as a terrible idea came to their heads.
"The White Witch," they voiced simultaneously.
"You think… you don't suppose…" Susan began.
"She tempted us, me and Caspian both. She got into our minds. What if she somehow still…" Peter paused, trying to put his thoughts in order.
"Still has a hold of us somehow, of our minds?" ventured Caspian. Everyone looked at him. "Perhaps she's trying to kill us. While we sleep." He swallowed, loudly.
"That's got to be it!" said Edmund.
"Right. Neither of you are going to sleep until we figure out how to get rid of this curse," ordered Susan.
Caspian sat down on the bed next to Peter, momentarily forgetting the quarrel he had with the man.
"Then we must start thinking fast," he said. "I don't exactly feel refreshed."
During the next few hours, Caspian and the four Pevensies paced the main Chamber, each deep in thought. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Many ideas had already been thrown around, none of them satisfactory. They even tried using a few drops from Lucy's vial, but the potion seemed to have no effect.
The two men had been unnaturally exhausted for a while now, and time was running out.
Susan sat down on a stool and sighed. Caspian, weary beyond anything he had ever felt, plopped down next to her. He gently leaned his head against her shoulder.
"We need Aslan," Lucy declared, breaking the silence. "It's the only option we have left."
"Aslan, Aslan," said Peter, wearily rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "Where is he? He's gone, Lu. He won't rescue us, not this time."
"Caspian?" Susan ventured, gently squeezing his shoulder. The man didn't respond. His head began to slip off of her, and Susan caught him just as he began to lifelessly tumble to the floor.
"Help me!" Susan pleaded as she tried her best to hold on to the limp form.
Edmund ran to her side and helped to gently lower the prince to the floor. A second later he heard Lucy scream. Peter had collapsed as well.
With a lot of effort, Edmund and Susan managed to carry both of the bodies, one by one, to the nearest bed chamber. Edmund holding the shoulders and Susan grasping the legs, they hoisted the men onto the same bed.
"I don't care how much they complain about this when they wake up," panted Edmund, wiping the sweat from his brow, "but it'll be easier to keep watch on them this way."
"Find Cornelius," Susan told him. "Maybe he'll know what to do."
Edmund ran off, leaving the two girls alone with the lifeless forms on the bed. Lucy laid her head against her brother's chest, and Susan ran her fingers through the prince's locks.
They waited.
Peter was trapped in darkness. He began to choke, gasping for air. He was convinced he was about to lose consciousness when suddenly he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was a hand. An arm. Shoulders. Long hair.
Instantly Peter was shocked into consciousness – for the first time, he realized he was dreaming during the dream itself. His heart caught in his throat as he recognized a shape trying to claw its way through the thick fabric of nothingness, not too far off from where he was standing.
"Caspian!!" he shouted.