Hello, my dear readers! This idea just came to me, and I had to write it out or the evil plot bunnies threatened to take over my brain. Life is crazy and hectic that way! Anyway, for this story, I did some research on dehydration (if that's a hint for anything that will happen later on, :D ) and so unless my sources are extremely wrong (both the website and the time I, personally, remember being mildly dehydrated) the symptoms shouldn't be too far off from the real thing. I cannot, however, claim to be a doctor (that's my grandfather, not me) so I apologize if anything here is clinically wrong.
Also, I realize if you were to look at a map of Narnia, there isn't a desert anywhere near Cair Paravel, and that you'd have to cross mountains to get to the desert to the south. The thing is, my whole life I've pictured Narnia upside down (I, uh, put the Eastern Sea to the west and the Western Woods to the east, and, no, I didn't know/realize my mistake until today- but the movies didn't help any!) so the picture in my head is slightly different than the ones you've all seen. Please excuse my mistakes for the geography of Narnia and don't pin me to a wall for them- I'm sure there will be some in this story… Read and Review!
Disclaimer: Sorry, I didn't hear you through my totally undeaf ears, could you please not repeat that? No, you cannot have any turkish delight, you should know better! What do you think happened to the last person who had turkish delight? And in case you're wondering, I pretty much own *quickly checks* Nothing. Nada. Zero. Absolutely zilch.
Peter starred at the sand cloud swirling in the distance from his position on his horse. He found it ironic that something so destructive could be so beautiful at the same time. Though, now that he thought of it, sandstorms weren't the only things that Peter enjoyed despite the damage and ruin they caused, thunderstorms for one. The pounding of rain on Cair, the bright lightning, the loud roll of thunder in the distance…
Edmund, sitting on Philip next to his older brother, followed his brother's gaze. He smiled softly, then turned back to Peter. "Fascinating, isn't it?"
Peter snorted, thinking his brother was teasing him. "Don't be sarcastic with me, Edmund."
Edmund shook his head vigorously. "No, Pete, I mean it! Something about the way the sand swirls around and around, almost like it's trying to paint a picture in the air or something. It captivates you, and you just can't look away."
After deciding his brother wasn't mocking him, Peter nodded slowly. "I agree with you on that. Something about sandstorms just soothes me. I guess knowing the fact that something out there is more chaotic than my own life calms me down or something."
Edmund frowned, deep in thought, when Philip stumbled on something hidden in the sand. "Barley and sugar cubes," Philip groaned, shaking his foot and taking another step before quickly lifting his hoof off the ground. "Lion's Mane, that hurts!"
"Are you alright, Philip?" Edmund asked, sliding off the Horse. "Let me see that. You might have gotten a stone lodged in your hoof."
Philip allowed his boy to take a look at his horseshoe, waiting patiently until Edmund could come up with a verdict. Edmund shook his head and whistled. "Mighty large pebble you got there, Philip! I don't have the right tools to get it out. Can you manage to walk back to the Cair or should we send a message back for someone to send a pick so that I can get it out?"
"I can make it back, but you're going to have to walk the rest of the way home." Philip sighed, upset that he had injured himself.
"Nonsense, I can just ride on Azure." Edmund said, slipping onto the bareback horse and settling down.
Philip nickered between his teeth. "I won't have my Boy riding on any other horse; Azure could easily be spooked and throw you of his back!"
"I wish you'd have more confidence in my riding skills, Philip." Edmund said, truly sounding put out. "I wouldn't let Azure throw me that easily!"
"It's not you I'm worried about," Philip returned. "It's the-"
A long, loud roar was followed by a sharp whinny and Azure bolted, trying to escape the sandstorm that had crept up on the two Sons of Adam, Horse, and horses. Unfortunately blinded by the sand, Azure galloped straight into the swirling mass of sand and rocks, Edmund still on her back and trying to calm her down. The second they entered the sandstorm, however, Edmund was met with a face full of grit and unable to see, speak, hear, or even breathe.
Peter and Philip were unable to move, trying to protect themselves from the battering sand. Several minutes later, when the storm finally moved on and continued it's journey south Edmund and Azure were nowhere to be found. The two began to frantically call for Edmund and his horse, and did not get any kind of response.
"Edmund!" Peter yelled into the desert, but couldn't see his little brother anywhere.
The entire desert looked different, now that the sandstorm had passed, moving large piles of sand from one place to another, and unless Edmund was still in the storm, he had to be buried somewhere in the sand. Peter quickly dismounted his own horse, Lamal, and began to search for Edmund.
Philip tried to follow Peter in his search but found his hoof was too injured to take so much weight. "I'll stay with Lamal, you go find your brother," he ordered Peter.
"So help me, when I find that boy, I'm going to-"
"No, you're not." Philip interrupted. "I am. Now go."
Peter gave Philip a look, partly tired, partly upset, and partly mad, before turning his back to the Horse and starting out further into the dunes, mumbling to himself as he went, "I'll find that boy if it's the last thing I do."
"And if you don't," Philip called back, "I'll help make sure it is the last thing you do!"
Peter shook his head without turning back to Philip and continued to walk, eyes peeled for any sign of his younger brother or Azure.
Peter walked for what seemed like hours, though the sun told him it couldn't have been more than one hour. His voice was hoarse and his throat was dry- it had been for the majority of his search- and Peter began to worry that he wouldn't find his brother. Peter turned around, hoping to see Philip, but he had traveled too far away. Sand constantly moved around him, pelting his legs and feet as it twirled close to the ground and covering up his tracks.
"Edmund! Edmund Pevensie, where are you! Come on, talk to me! Say something, anything! Edmund!" Peter called into the vast, empty space in front of him, but knew that if Edmund wasn't too close he wouldn't have heard Peter's cries.
If Edmund was able to hear at all…
Shut up! Peter told himself furiously. Just shut up! You'll find him!
In fact, it wasn't much longer that he found a dark plant poking out of the ground. Not paying the plant any mind, Peter continued to walk for several minutes...
...and froze.
That couldn't have been a plant! Peter thought, whirling around and running back the way he had come.
Edmund! Peter fell to his knees and started digging at the sand, dumping it as far away as he could in order to uncover his brother. As soon as he was able to, Peter felt for his brother's pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when he found it, and frowning at the unusually fast pace.
Edmund's face was a bright red, and Peter knew he would have quite a sunburn later. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was ragged and short. Peter suddenly got a terrible image of when Edmund had been stabbed by the White Witch and was laying on the field, dying. Shaking his head to rid it of the image, Peter checked his brother for any broken bones, then tried to wake Edmund up.
The younger boy blinked rapidly, not comprehending anything his eyes were seeing; that or they weren't focusing on anything at all.
"Edmund can you hear me?" Peter exclaimed.
Edmund groaned in response, moving a weak hand up to his head. "P-peter?"
"I'm here, Edmund. Stay with me now, let's get you back to Cair. Easy now. Up we go!"
Peter helped his brother to his feet and took most of his weight, leading Edmund back in the general direction of where he had left Philip and Lamal. Edmund kept stumbling on the loose sand, but they managed to make it back to the others within a couple of hours.
"Edmund!" Philip whinnied, enthusiastic to have his Boy back. When Edmund didn't respond, Philip took a tentative step closer to the two boys. "Edmund?"
"He's really dehydrated." Peter informed his friend. "We need to get him back home."
"If I didn't have this stupid rock in my hoof, I'd get him there in an hour." Philip groaned.
Peter settled his brother on Lamal's back and sat behind him to keep him on the horse. "You think you can walk there, Philip?"
"I'll do it, for Edmund's sake." Philip promised, glancing warily at his Boy. "Is he going to make it the rest of the way home?"
"He better." Peter growled, though the worried look on his face defeated his angry tone. "I have some thing's I'd like to say to the little king."
One hour before midnight, Peter came galloping into Cair on a pure black horse with a large, unmoving figure in his arms and calling for help. Several subjects ran out to find out what was going on, then quickly spread the news. Peter carried his unconscious brother up to his rooms. Halfway up a flight of stairs, Edmund woke up and pushed weakly at Peter's chest. "What are you doing, Peter? I have two legs just like everyone else, you know!"
"Stop talking, Edmund." Peter ordered, turning down the hallway leading to his room. "Save your strength. Lion knows, you're going to need it."
Edmund gave a scowl, but Peter wasn't fazed. Susan and Lucy ran down the hall, took one look at Peter holding Edmund in his arms, and opened the nearest door for Peter to lower Edmund onto a bed. Lucy put a cup in both boys hands and ordered them to drink, or else. Peter waited to drink, frowning at his brother as Edmund took the drink without arguing or protesting.
Edmund silently looked into the smooth water, eyes following the gentle ripples created as he held it in his slightly unsteady hands. Under Peter's glare, Edmund slowly took a small sip, instantly curling in on himself and coughing it up over the side of the bed. Peter began to rub soothing circles on his brother's back, trying to calm the younger boy down. By the time Edmund had caught his breath once more, he was half asleep in Peter's arms.
"Is he going to be OK?" Lucy asked her oldest siblings in a soft voice so as not to disturb Edmund.
Peter's eyes never left his brother's face. "I think so, Lucy, he just needs some rest."
Susan looked back and forth between the two boys, unsure of who needed her attention more. "What happened, Peter?"
"We were riding out in the desert, the one on the southern border, and a sandstorm just appeared out of no where. Winds whipped all around, and we didn't have any time to escape it. Philip had just gotten a rock stuck in his hoof, so Edmund was riding Azure; of course, Azure gets spooked easily, and she suddenly bolted, unfortunately running straight into the storm."
"I suppose Edmund got thrown off her back somehow, though I'm not sure exactly what happened. Philip stayed with Lamal while I started to search. I can't say I know how long I looked, but eventually I found him sprawled under a bit of sand. He had probably been laying there for an hour or two before I was able to find him."
"Thank Aslan you did find him." Susan sighed, giving her sleeping brother a small peck in his raven hair.
"Be glad he wasn't awake when you did that, Susan," Lucy giggled. Susan smiled in response, knowing full well what would have happened if Edmund had known she had kissed him.
"We should let you both get some rest," Susan said, giving her older brother a pointed look. "So rest,for Aslan's sake, and don't stay up all night watching Edmund sleep!"
Peter had the decency to blush under Susan's gaze. "I'll try, Susan, but that's all I can promise."
Susan shook her head, knowing Peter really would try, but probably wouldn't be able to sleep. "Come on, Lucy," Susan said, giving her older brother a reassuring hug and leading her sister out to their own rooms.
Peter looked down at the sleeping form in his arms, and kept his promise to his sister. He really did try, though it wasn't until late that night he was finally able to follow his brother into his own dreams.
So… how was it? This is my first one-shot story, and I have to say I'm not entirely sure whether or not I'm pleased with it, especially that ending, but I wanted to know what you all think. Ah well, such is life. Again, I know the geography is off, so don't flame me for that. And as for the whole health issues, if you find something lacking, and want me to change something, I'll think about your review, but I won't make any promises on changing things! Review! :D