A/N: The title comes from the saying "All that glitters is not gold." Credit for the idea goes to Promise777, who asked for a missing scene from Voyage of the Dawn Treader with Edmund and Caspian post-Goldwater. Happy early birthday!
All that Glitters
There's something about this cave that makes Edmund lose control. Feelings of inferiority overtake the calmness he has spent years perfecting. Edmund knows that the power struggle- the one that he was vaguely aware of- has finally come to blows.
This is the most horrible moment of all: Edmund briefly imagines pushing Caspian into the water, watching flesh transform into gold, before turning and reclaiming his kingdom. He sees the same desires reflected in Caspian's eyes. Edmund doesn't know whether this makes it better or worse.
Fortunately, Lucy intervenes before Narnia is left without a king. Later, she pulls him aside. "Edmund, how could you be such an idiot?"
"I don't know," he says. Trust his little sister to make him feel guiltier. "I think the island's cursed." No gold in the world is worth the awkward stretch of silence between him and Caspian. He couldn't bridge the newfound gulf between them, and Edmund desperately misses the steady companionship of before.
He does not have time to dwell. Shortly after, they discover that Eustace has vanished, and the search distracts Edmund from his brooding.
Later, Edmund and Caspian trudge throughout the dry and dusty island, searching for the wayward Eustace. Focused on the task, Edmund pretends not to notice the awkwardness between them. A day earlier, they'd have been much more comfortable with each other. Edmund tries to find something offhand to say to break the tension between them, but Caspian beats him to it.
"The only damned water on this island's in that pool," mutters Caspian as they pass another dry stream. Edmund laughs unexpectedly, the sound ringing for a moment through the still air.
Caspian catches his eye, and Edmund thinks that this is the closest to an apology that he would get. Kings rarely apologize first, even to other kings. However, Caspian catches him off guard. "I would like to apologize," he says, the words stiff and too formal. It's like he's sounding out words in a new language.
"I would also like to apologize," starts Edmund, but Caspian won't let him finish.
"I've never really had any equals," says Caspian, looking slightly lost. "I hope that you can forgive me. I'd hate to lose a true friend." Understanding hits Edmund. He'd had Peter, Susan, and Lucy with him as king. Even though Peter was High King, all four siblings regarded each other as equals, having come from a world in which they were perfectly ordinary. Caspian grew up alone with the threat of kingship looming. Edmund realizes that he is Caspian's equal in a way that his siblings could not be. Peter was the magnificent High King; Su and Lucy, as girls, were treated differently despite their protests.
Edmund smiles. "I would also hate to lose a true friend over greed." He pauses, and then adds, "You're a brilliant king, Caspian." He hopes that Caspian understands the difficulties in returning to a kingdom that was once your own and finding it someone else's. Edmund knows that he cannot return to the so-called Golden Age, but he also knows that Caspian is currently the best possible king that Narnia could have.
They'd have continued their conversation, but it's then that they discover heaps of gold, Lord Octesian's skeleton, and Eustace's clothes.
"This island is cursed," says Caspian, glancing at his surroundings. "I'll be glad to leave it behind."
After that, Edmund can't stand the sight of gold.