A/N: After seeing the Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie twice in theaters (once with my fellow Narniacs and once with my English class on a field trip) I must admit (and no offense meant to those who disagree)...I wasn't very happy with it at all. They changed so much (most of which didn't need to be changed, in my opinion), and the actors themselves (except perhaps Will Poulter; he was a fantastic Eustace!) seemed very out of their element. Could just be me, but...*shrugs* I think they did so much better with the first two, particularly LWW.
However, there were some interesting scenes that I felt the need to expand, and the basis for the fic is one of them. The scene is the one just after Lucy is tempted and she goes to see Edmund, while at that same moment he is also facing his own demons (and Caspian, too, for that matter). When both boys are awake and Lucy admits that she can't sleep, it made me wonder what happened afterward and how they dealt with their individual temptations.
On that note, there is one major change I admit to making: Lucy's temptation I found to be completely unrealistic and OOC (along with how she came to realize how wrong she was! Lucy would never steal, especially not from Coriakin! Actually, I found her to be rather OOC throughout the whole movie...which sucks because she's my favorite...XC), and thus I changed it. If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, PM me and I'll explain.
As I obviously prefer Bookverse, I mixed it with the Movieverse: using the characters from the book, I put them in the scene discussed above.
Falling Inside the Black
"…Edmund…"
When the Temptation first comes upon him, Edmund's Mist takes the form of his worst fear, of his greatest enemy, the one who just won't leave him, no matter how many lives he's lived or died.
"Edmund…"
He sees Jadis, and his heart seizes as it always does, freezes and threatens to break as the King inside him screams for release and the tiny, insolent child he used to be cowers.
"Edmund…!"
He has beaten her once before, more so if counting the innumerable battles he's fought within his own mind and heart over twenty seven years, and he can't face the fact that she might be back for him yet.
"Edmund!"
He draws his sword, stands before her as he did on that Beruna battlefield exactly seventeen years ago, and—
"Edmund!"
Unlike the other, this voice is real, is tangible and belongs to someone he loves dearly, and he is pulled from his nightmare fully.
Gasping loudly, he whips around and breathes anew when he sees it is his beloved sister. "Lucy…!" Wiping the thick sheen of sweat from his brow, he sheathes his weapon.
Caspian, sleeping feather-lightly even before the commotion, turns over to look their way. Normally it would be a comforting gesture somehow, knowing the young King to be as unable to sleep as they, if not for the fact that these nightmares were of their darkest crevices and not something easily fought off.
Both boys turn their attention to their female guest, growing concerned when they see that, even without candlelight, her eyes are glowing brightly with inner turmoil.
"I-I can't sleep," Lucy stutters, though it seems a silly thing to say now that the others are confronted with the same problem. Never mind that it is nearly pitch-black in their cabin, the Just King can see it well when her cheeks color and eyes plead.
The blond Kings' eyes meet, and a silent agreement is made. Caspian settles down once more, while Edmund devotes himself entirely to comforting Lucy.
Scooting over in the tiny hammock, he pulls back his blankets. "Come here, Lu," he coaxes, his adoration showing through his not-altogether-convincing smile. "There's enough room for us both."
Smiling (though the small sunbeam offered is admittedly a fraction of the usual ray of sunshine), the Valiant Queen crawls in beside him, relishing in his warmth as he enfolds her in the covers. Wrapping his arms around her, she burrows into his chest and grins. At least for a moment, they can take comfort in each other.
But after a while, the silence in the cabin becomes deafening, and both wish for something—anything—to break it, if only for the sake of keeping the Mist and the nightmares away.
"I-I—" Lucy begins, quiet and voice shaky, "—I was Tempted, too, Edmund."
Her brother tightens his grip on her. He'd suspected, but to know that horrid Temptation had touched his innocent sister…!
"What happened, Lu?" he questions softly, and her voice croaks a few times before she can answer properly.
"W-well, there was a vision…of us…" she manages, her voice becoming tearier as the seconds pass by. "The four of us were Kings and Queens again. We were s-so happy, just like we used t-to be…" She laughs lightly; this has been the siblings' most cherished dream since that long-ago day during the White Stag Hunt. "A-and then…" she sniffles, "…it vanished. A voice whispered it could all be made real if I abandoned all we'd come to know since our time ruling Narnia…" her voice breaks, "…and I was so close to taking it…!"
Her shoulders shudder with suppressed sobs, and Edmund holds her tighter while rubbing her back.
"It's all right, Lucy," he soothes, tears clouding his own eyes. "It's okay."
She sobs into his chest for a good few minutes before pulling back and wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
"Sorry," she apologizes.
But Edmund, for his part, merely tucks a stray blond lock behind her ear and smiles encouragingly.
"What happened next?"
The Valiant Queen does not feel worthy of her title in this next moment. Looking away, she bites her lip.
"Aslan came," she reveals, and the boy's eyes widen.
"Really? What did He say?" he prompts, though he is sorry for it when his sister's face takes on a contortion of pain.
"H-He said though there was nothing wrong with wishing to be back when everything was beautiful," a minuscule, momentary smile flits across both faces; truly, their reign was the most glorious part of their lives, "He asked if, by doing so, I doubted Him or His Father's plans for us." Her voice softens in finding difficulty. "I was shocked, of course. I mean…" she speaks more to herself this time, "…who wouldn't be...?" Her brother very gently touches her hand, which reminds her to continue. "I told Him I didn't, and He believed me, but He also said that we must trust Him in all things if our destinies are to play out the way they are meant. Then He was gone, quickly as He came."
She breathes deeply and clutches his hand. Silent for a few moments before fixing the twelve-year-old with a hesitant, almost (more-than-likely) knowing stare, she whispers, "What was yours?"
Her brother's eyes darken and face pales, and he is so reminiscent of his old pre-Narnian self that Lucy wordlessly lunges forward to wrap him in a tight hug.
"She came again," he admits softly, tracing well-loved symbols of their reign on her back to distract himself from delving into his memories completely. "Looked and Tempted me the same as She did back then." He sighs in relief and kisses her temple in relieved thanks. "It was just when you came that she disappeared."
Lucy nods, understanding on a very deep level just what horrors she's saved her brother from.
"Ed," she starts tentatively, shifting a bit so that they are more on their backs and she is leaning against her brother's chest, "do you think Peter and Su are doing all right? I mean…does this Evil affect every subject or monarch of Narnia, whether or not they're here with us? Are—are they suffering, too?"
Edmund gulps, unsure of how to answer his sister. He's never thought about this new threat from that perspective before.
"I'm not sure, Lu," he replies. "But I think—I think we'd feel it, like we did whenever something happened during our reign."
His words were true; if some catastrophe ever befell any of the Golden Four, the secure siblings would instantly feel ill as their hearts clenched painfully. Despite the discomfort it caused, it had saved one or more lives many times over.
"Does that mean we're worrying them?" she asks, becoming upset as sudden thoughts enter her mind. "Oh, but Peter needs to concentrate on his exams, and Susan's got that party with that naval officer!"
Edmund reinforces his hold on his sister's waist and strokes her hair soothingly. "Don't think on it, Lu. They know us; we can handle ourselves." He smirks. "Besides, nothing about Aunt Alberta and Uncle Harold's house is even remotely threatening. 'Less you count those bugs Eustace has or our aunt and uncle's determination to pretend we don't exist."
Lucy giggles slightly, but quickly sobers and rubs circles on the back of her brother's hand. "These nightmares are horrible, Edmund," she whispers, voice distracted as she tries not to think of the things she and her brother and probably their friend have seen this night. "I just hope we can put a stop to this Evil Coriakin told us about," she quirks a wry smile, "at least so we can sleep without fear again."
"F-forgive me, your Majesties," a new, tentative voice interjects, and the siblings turn to see a bashful King of Narnia ducking his blond head in embarrassment, "but I-I couldn't help overhearing…"
Lucy and Edmund lock eyes, conducting a silent conversation, and small smiles come onto their faces. Shifting positions so that they are facing him fully, Lucy rests her chin on Edmund's shoulder.
"Nonsense, Caspian," Edmund returns, slipping into his Old Tongue easy as ever with the young man's soothing, bright presence. "What say you on behalf of our current dilemma?"
The boy-King goes quiet suddenly, sighing heavily before reaching up to rub his tired eyes.
"I fear tonight may not be ours for obtaining the rest we require," he confesses wearily, laughing without mirth. As he wipes his eyes and forehead with his shirt sleeve, he indirectly lets on to the extent to which his own night terrors have shaken him.
As for Edmund, seeing his friend like this springs an unrealized memory to the forefront of his mind: during his Temptation, a youthful male voice kept infiltrating in the background…calling out for his Father…
In unison, Lucy and Edmund hum evenly. The poor boy has never known his Father, idolizes him, paints pictures of him by way of what he's been told and what he's read and family or individual portraits he's spent hours studying… He misses him, loves him, and prays he's doing the right thing as the rightful King Caspian of Narnia, Tenth of that name.
All at once, the siblings' hammock sways as Lucy sits up and plants her feet firmly on the floor before standing.
"Lu?" Edmund questions curiously, but the girl merely shakes her head and moves to Caspian's side in a few graceful, direct strides.
Taking the older boy's larger, stronger hand, she beams reassuringly and reaches out to caress his cheek. "You're a wonderful King of Narnia, Caspian," she encourages, nodding twice in succession (her and Susan's consent) and laughing lightly as she turns to Edmund to have him do the same (his and Peter's). "There is no one better to rule our beloved country. If all of our successors might be as glorious as you have been and will continue to be, neither we Kings and Queens of Old nor your Father," she leans forward to kiss his forehead, "could ask for more."
The blond monarch, tears in his eyes, kisses her hand four times. "Thank you, my friends," he whispers, voice choked. "Your praises are well-received, indeed." He chuckles faintly, more happy tears leaking from his eyes.
Shining smiles are seen all around, and all preoccupation with Mist and Temptation seems to have deserted.
Abruptly, Lucy yawns and rushes to cover her mouth with her hand as her cheeks turn scarlet. "Excuse me," she mends, and her boys grin.
"We should try to get some sleep, shouldn't we?" Edmund acknowledges, and his two companions nod tiredly.
"But—" the ten-year-old begins, biting her lip nervously when the boys glance her way, "—it's just..."
Laying a hand on her shoulder, Edmunds enquires, worried, "What is it, Lu?"
"I-I'm too afraid to sleep on my own," she admits quietly. Seeing their odd looks, she rushes to add, "I know Gael's there, too, and we're getting along famously," she grins at the thought of the child who looks up to her so; Rhince and his wife are raising her well, "but…in light of what's happened tonight with us all…"
The hand belonging to her brother squeezes soothingly, as does the one belonging to Caspian, and Lucy's smile grows in the glow of two of the boys she loves.
"I agree, Lu," Edmund concurs, catching both her and Caspian's eyes. Suddenly, a mischievous grin crosses his features. "Lucy, remember when we used to have nightmares in our time? What we used to do?"
Her face breaks into a beam, and she claps her hands. "Of course I do, Ed! That's perfect!"
As for poor Caspian, the sixteen-year-old was thrown for a loop. "Pardon your Majesties both, but…whatever do you mean?"
The Just King and Valiant Queen share a twinkling glance, and Caspian suddenly feels uneasy, as though he's just signed himself off to something he'll regret.
Edmund rises from his hammock and spreads his blanket between the two hammocks, Lucy doing the same with hers afterward, and then proceed to conjure three makeshift pillows from extra shirts.
Turning to Caspian, they hold out their hands as Lucy says, "Sleeping in numbers helps."
The corners of Edmund's mouth tremble for a fraction of a second as he grins and adds for good measure, "Believe us."
And the young boy-King cannot say he doesn't. Taking their hands, they pull him up and lay themselves down—Edmund on the far right, Lucy in the middle, and Caspian on the far left—covering themselves with Caspian's blanket.
Wrapping his arms around his sister's waist, Edmund pulls her close to him. Holding out a hand for Caspian to take, the boy eyes it carefully.
"Is it—I mean—Lucy—" he stutters, never quite finishing as Lucy reaches forward, takes his wrist for herself, and drags him toward her.
Wrapping him in a tight hug, the Valiant Queen kisses his forehead once more. "No fear, my King. Nightmares are few and far between when united." She beams. "We learned this early on in our reign, and it's always helped us when we feel we can't go on without another." She squeezes his hand tenderly. "Sleep, King of Narnia. All will be well soon enough."
The blond trusts her with all of his heart, her brother and those siblings not present, too, and it is for this reason that he settles down almost instantly and closes his eyes. He falls into a deep, much-needed sleep less than a second later.
Following his example, Edmund bids his sister goodnight with a kiss on the cheek and a strong hug. It can't be more than an instant before the Just King is off as well.
Lucy, the last to fall asleep, finds herself wishing for nothing more than what she has now. She's in Narnia again, with Edmund and Caspian at her side, and even though Eustace is more than a little troublesome and she admits to missing her elder siblings terribly…she's happier than she's been in over a year, since the last time she and her siblings came to Narnia.
Resting her head against Edmund's chest with her brother's arms around her waist and her friend's hand in hers, she lets herself fall into sleep.
No more Mist or Temptation tonight.
No more nightmares.
A/N: Thanks for reading, as always! (Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia. C.S. Lewis (genius of all that he is), 21st Century Fox Productions, and Walden Media do.)