Chapter 1

Sorry if my writing is a bit awkward at the beginning. It gets better, honest. Also, I have the first 5 chapters already written, so updates should be coming pretty soon.

Narnia and the Pevensies do not belong to me.

"Hey, Ed! Where're you going?" A familiar female voice rang out. Edmund turned in his saddle and looked into the distance towards the Cair where, as expected, a jogging Lucy was waving frantically. Edmund tugged on Phillip's reins lightly and turned to see what his little sister wanted. Philip looked at the youngest Pevensie with mild interest.

"Where are you going?" Lucy repeated, panting slightly. Edmund smiled slightly down at her.

"Just for a ride. I'll be back before nightfall," He replied. Lucy pouted, as though wanting to argue him going alone, but thought better on it; after all, Ed had had this argument numerous times with each of his siblings – Philip was more than enough protection, he felt. Peter thought that that was good enough, but still looked a bit bothered by it, Lucy wanted to come along just because she didn't want to be left out, and Susan altogether disagreed with the logic.

"Fine, fine. Just make sure you come back before dinner or Su will have your hide as the main course," Lucy said, smirking. Edmund rolled his eyes, but not without humor.

"I promise," Edmund said, reaching down and mussing Lucy's hair briefly. She scowled and swatted at his hand, but giggled nonetheless.

"Have fun!" She shouted as Phillip turned and began to trot away. "And be safe!" She added, her hands cupped to her mouth. Edmund waved his hand, telling her he heard and that he would. Phillip was nudged into a gallop, and he and his rider disappeared into the trees.

"So, are we really here to ride?" Phillip asked about ten minutes later, slowing down to a steady jog. Edmund sat back and nodded.

"Yeah. Just wanted to get some air," he said. Phillip shook his mane but said nothing.

"Just need time to relax, eh?" Phillip added, knowing his boy too well. Edmund sighed and nodded.

"Yeah. Been a bit overwhelmed recently." Phillip turned and shot him a questioning look but Edmund did not elaborate.

"Well we're not going to be out for long," Phillip noted. "The sun is already starting to set. If we don't get back in twenty minutes or so, your sister's gonna have both our hides." Edmund smiled down at his friend and gave him a kind pat on his neck. Phillip nickered and sped up to a trot.

They wandered until they reached one of Ed's favorite spots to simply cool down – a grassy clearing with a glittering pond next to it. Phillip liked it as well; the grass was sweet and the pond was clean and refreshing to him as well.

Edmund slid off of the Horse and strode a few feet into the clearing, breathing in the fresh air. He turned and addressed Phillip.

"Do you want me to remove your saddle?"

"Yeah, thanks," Phillip said, walking over to Edmund. "Definitely not the most comfortable thing you've made for me. Those slippers, though…" He laid the sarcasm on thick. Edmund himself never understood why Lucy had made those slippers for Phillip. What kind of Horse wears slippers?

Edmund chuckled and undid the saddle and placed it on the ground.

He gazed into the sunset, turning his head slowly to take in the breathtaking colors.

As he looked, however, something caught his eye – it was at the very edge of the forest, and it seemed as though it were staring at him.

Edmund immediately tensed, but did not reach for his sword; whatever it was, he certainly didn't want to threaten it into attacking him. The minute it stepped towards the clearing, Phillip's head shot up from the grass he was nibbling at and his ears shot forward. Both Edmund and Phillip stared ahead at the thing that was slowly gliding out of the trees.

When it emerged beneath the shining sunset, Edmund's eyes widened at what he saw.

"What do you think is taking Edmund so long, Peter?" Lucy asked, staring down at her empty plate. The sun had set twenty minutes ago, and the three Pevensies were beginning to worry over their younger brother.

"I don't know, but if he doesn't show up within the next five minutes, I'm taking Kino out and looking for him," Peter said, fidgeting with his fork. His eyes glittered with both worry and annoyance.

Susan was scowling. "There had better be a good reason for why he's not here. I really hope that he hasn't gotten into trouble…"

"Well I'm worried about him!" Lucy said passionately, slamming her hands down on the table. Peter and Susan both started, looking around at her. "Edmund wouldn't do something like this unless there was a reason!"

"I agree," Peter said, dropping the fork onto the table. "Which is why I'm going to go look for him."

"We'll come too!" Lucy said, standing so quickly that her chair shot out from behind her and it clattered to the ground. Susan rose - more gracefully than her sister – and nodded. Peter looked as though he wanted to argue, but then took it back, seeing no point.

"Okay, let's go. Inoura," Peter turned to a female faun standing by the doorway, "Will you take care of this please?" He nodded to the table covered in now cold food, looking apologetic. The faun smiled.

"Of course, sire."

The siblings walked at a brisk pace towards the stables, a lantern held in Peter's hand. Peter saddled his grey mare Kino so fast his hands were almost a blur; his eyes were wide and shone with worry. Peter slid the bridle into Kino's mouth and without a word walked out of the stable and onto the small field in front of Cair Paravel. Susan followed with her black mare, Gypsy, and Lucy's tan gelding, Flower ("Hey! I think he's got a lovely name!"). It wasn't until they mounted and were about to set their horses into a gallop that Peter held up his hand his face set in concentration on the distance.

"Wait a second," he said, squinting into the darkness. Lucy followed her brother's example and looked into the distance; Susan opened her mouth to ask what he was looking at. Both of their mouths opened in shock, and Peter's eyes widened when they realized it was indeed a horse and a rider coming towards Cair Paravel.

"Edmund!" Lucy shouted. Susan let out a little "oh!" and Peter, without a word, spurred Kino into a gallop so fast that she reared on her hind legs slightly before charging forward at breakneck speed. The horse, assumed to be Phillip, was walking in a sort of slanted fashion, which only made Peter even more worried. As he got closer, he held out the lantern with one hand and looked to make sure Edmund wasn't wounded. He was irritated to find that he couldn't tell. What he could tell, however, was that Phillip wasn't wearing a saddle.

"Ed!" Peter shouted, slowing Kino to a trot as he approached his brother. He heard his sisters galloping up behind him. Edmund slid off of his Horse sloppily and walked over to Peter's side. Peter slid off of his own horse and grabbed his brother by the shoulder.

"Are you hurt?" he said in a nervous tone. Edmund swallowed and shook his head.

"No, I'm not hurt." He glanced at Lucy, who was trotting closer, fingering with her cordial. "I'm fine," Edmund repeated, placing his hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter was nervous to note that he hand was shaking. He also looked rather pale.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked quietly, pulling his brother into a tight hug. Edmund nodded against Peter's shoulder and sighed, relaxing into the embrace. Peter was slightly surprised by this, considering Edmund didn't normally accept hugs of this nature unless he really needed it. Edmund simply gave into the embrace and shifted his forehead against the crook of his brother's shoulder.

"A bit startled, but fine," was the muffled reply.

"Why?" Susan asked quickly. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you when we get to the Cair. It's a bit of a long story," was all Edmund said, before he let go of Peter and walked back over to Phillip, who looked just as worn and troubled as his boy.

Peter glanced back at his sisters, who looked as though all they wanted was to pull their younger brother into a fierce embrace, but they stayed on their horses and followed their brothers up to the stables.

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Please review. They make me happy. Also let me know if I've made any mistakes in spelling and whatnot. I appreciate the input and advice =)