I don't own Narnia.

Or Edmund.

Or Lucy.

Or anyone else who appears in this.

In fact, I don't even own most of the dialogue… it's taken directly from Lewis' Prince Caspian.

I just had a stab at writing the part where Lucy saw Aslan and no-one believed her from Edmund's perspective, but the ending's all from my (wayward) imagination.

Because I love him dearly. Lucy too.

Anyway, enjoy.

"Look! Look! Look!" Edmund turned on his heel to see Lucy with a look of utter excitement. It was funny to see her like that; her face practically lit up. "What? Where?"

"The Lion," she cried, her eyes sparkling, "Aslan himself. Didn't you see?" Edmund stepped towards her. If Aslan was here… Peter said, "Do you really mean-?" He sounded as hopeful as Edmund felt. Of course, it was Susan who dragged everyone back to reality. "Where do you think you saw him?"

"Don't talk like a grown-up," Lucy snapped with a stamp of her foot, giving Susan a reprimand that Edmund agreed that she deserved, "I didn't think I saw him. I saw him." Trying to pacify her, Peter asked, "Where, Lu?" She pointed, and Edmund followed the line of sight to stare intently at the spot. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "Right up there between those mountain ashes. No, this side of the gorge. And up, not down. Just the opposite of the way you want to go. And he wanted to go where he was – up there."

"How do you know that was what he wanted?" he asked.

"He- I- I just know. By his face." Edmund smiled despite himself. Typical Lucy. Peter, Susan and Trumpkin looked at eachother in bewilderment. "Her Majesty may well have seen a lion," put in the dwarf, "There are lions in these woods, I've been told. But it needn't have been a friendly and talking lion any more than the bear was a friendly and talking bear."

"Oh, don't be stupid," Lucy sounded like she was trying to keep her temper in check – very unusual for her. "Do you think I don't know Aslan when I see him?"

"He'd be a pretty elderly lion by now," Trumpkin said, "if he's the one you knew when you were here before!" Edmund had to bite back a snarl. What had become of Aslan's law in Narnia? He remembered the reverence in the voices of the beavers when they spoke the Lion's name – how could the Narnians have fallen so far? Oblivious, the dwarf continued, "And if it could be the same one, what's to prevent him having gone wild and witless like so many others?" Edmund was seconds from drawing his sword. Lucy looked as if she was about to attack, but Peter laid a hand on her arm. Edmund was aware of a stern look from Susan. Pipe down, she warned him silently. "The D.L.F. doesn't understand. How could he?" Peter, ever the diplomat, continued, "You must take it, Trumpkin, that we do really know about Aslan; a little bit about him, I mean. And you mustn't talk about him like that again. It isn't lucky for one thing: and it's all nonsense for another. The only question is whether Aslan was really there." Edmund stared at his brother. They were talking about the same Lucy Pevensie, weren't they? "But I know he was," Lucy said. Her eyes were shiny with tears. "Yes, Lu," Peter said patiently, "but we don't, you see." Diplomacy time again, thought Edmund, and he said, "There's nothing for it but a vote." The others nodded, and after a moment, Lucy consented as well. "All right," Peter took charge, "You're the eldest, D.L.F. What do you vote for? Up or down?"

"Down," said the dwarf, and Lucy hung her head. "I know nothing about Aslan. But I do know that if we turn left and follow the gorge, it might lead us all day before we found a place where we could cross it. Whereas if we turn right and go down, we're bound to reach the Great River in about a couple of hours. And if there are any real lions about, we want to go away from them, not towards them."

"What do you say, Susan?"

"Don't be angry, Lu." Lucy didn't look angry. She just looked sad. "But I do think we should go down. I'm dead tired. Do let's get out of this wretched wood and into the open as quick as we can. And none of us except you saw anything." Edmund couldn't believe his ears. This was Lucy they were talking about. Lucy who found Narnia in the first place. Lucy, the most faithful of them all. What was wrong with them? Peter turned to him, "Edmund?"

"Well, there's just this," he turned to the despondant Lucy, "When we first discovered Narnia a year ago – or a thousand years ago, whichever it is – it was Lucy who discovered it first and none of us believed her." He sighed, "I was the worst of the lot, I know. Yet she was right after all. Wouldn't it be fair to believe her this time? I vote for going up." Lucy's face lit up all over again and she dashed over and seized his arm in excitement. "Oh, Ed!"

"And now it's your turn, Peter," Susan said in what Edmund thought of as her best mother/big-sister-knows-best voice – one that he'd learned to be wary of, "and I do hope-"

"Oh, shut up, shut up and let a chap think," he snapped, cutting her off. Edmund gave him a look, like, Come on, she's your favourite little sister, remember? What happened to 'Of all the poisonous little beasts…'? Put your faith in Aslan and trust her! "I'd much rather not have to vote," he muttered. "You're the High King," said Trumpkin sternly. Still Peter hesitated. Come on! Edmund urged silently. "Down," he said finally, and Edmund heard Lucy give a tiny cry of disappointment. "I know Lucy may be right after all, but I can't help it. We must do one or the other." There was nothing else to be done. They turned right and set off down the gorge. An air of despondancy hung over the group, and over none more so than Lucy. She hung back a few yards away from the rest of them, dragging her feet. She kept looking back over her shoulder, even though the spot where she'd seen Aslan had long since vanished into the trees. He could hear her crying quietly. He dropped back to match her pace. "Hey, Lu." She looked up, and he sighed heavily when he saw her tear-stained face. "I'm sorry – I did try. I don't know what's got into them."

"So- so you really do believe me, then?"

"No," he said sarcastically, "I just voted up to annoy Susan. What do you think? Honestly, Lucy." She managed a small smile. "Th- thank you."

"See?" He said, "nothing to cry about."

"I just… I've never disobeyed Aslan before. I can't bear the thought that… what if something awful happens and it's all my fault because I couldn't convince the others?" Edmund looked ahead at the others; they were out of earshot, and seemed absorbed in their own thoughts. They two youngest Pevensies wouldn't be missed for a while. An idea began to take root in his mind. He grabbed her arm to stop her and looked her in the eye. "Listen, Lucy. Did you really see Aslan?"

"I thought you said-"

"Answer me." She nodded.

"Yes. I did."

"And you want to follow him?"

"Yes," she said.

"Then do so." She looked at him like he'd spoken in another language.

"What? Ed… what are you talking about? The others said-"

"I don't care what the others said. I care what you said. We used to go off alone all the time in the old days; we worked well together, didn't we?" She nodded reluctantly. "Exactly. You want to go to Aslan? You do that. I can fight if we meet any Telmarines, and, as I recall, you're no slouch with that little dagger of yours. We'll find him – you'll see. We can come back for the others once we know what we're doing." For a heartbeat, she looked tempted. But then she sighed.

"Edmund, I- What'll happen to the others? Something perfectly dreadful might happen to them. We can't just leave them. And anyway, how will we ever find each other again?" She didn't look happy, though.

"Oh, well. May Aslan witness that I tried." He tried for a smile. "Anyhow, you've got a point. Everybody knows that that the High King of Narnia can't look after himself. Nor Susan. Naturally their two younger siblings need to babysit them. Every minute of every day. The Lion only knows what sort of bother they'd get into if left to their own devices…"

"Hey!" Lucy jabbed an elbow into his ribs and laughed, making him wince and push her away. "What do you mean, Peter and Susan? It's Peter and you that can't be trusted. Every time we let you two out, disaster strikes!" He feigned indignation.

"Not fair. Not every time, just most of the time. Get your facts straight." He'd got her smiling, at least. That counted for something. He glanced up; the others were nearly out of sight. "Speaking of wayward siblings," he gestured ahead, "unless we want to get left behind, we'd better hurry."

So, yeah. I love Edmund and Lucy.

"Every time we let you two out, disaster strikes!" – Go and read pretty much any Golden Age siblingfic out there.

I might extend this to the part where they actually meet Aslan, or I might not.

Reviews would help decide that… **hint hint**

… but be warned that I've just started Sixth Form and therefore have no time at all.

Sad.

ANYHOW.

Any reviews are AMAZING.

Feel free to point out mistakes… I'm here to improve, after all.

I hope you enjoyed this.

**shameless advertising time.**

If you enjoyed this, you might like Bravery and Philosophy, a fic along similar lines (Ed and Lu again) set at the coronation.