A/N: Hello, my dear readers. This a particularly dark story, so… I promise we'll get to the romance and angst sooner or later. I am usually a writer for the fandom The Little White Horse, but when I saw the movie Prince Caspian, I fell in love with Narnia all over again! I had watched the other two movies, but I really didn't care about them…
A quick suggestion for my fellow readers: Lucy and Edmund: Killing me Softly-By Alijandra. That is for you if you like dark stuff and most of all, PEVENCEST! If you don't like pevencest, I recommend The Horse that Stole the Boy by Rose and Psyche.
Also, this is a new book, and I really want it to be popular amongst the fanfictioners… Please give me good reviews! They are the stuff that keeps me going. And feel free to send my PM's to tell me what you like or what you think I could improve upon. In my last story Breathe Me, I asked my reviewers and they told me what I needed to make the story a lot better, and I gave it, and they loved it!
Also, I will give kudos to my first reviewer in the second chapter! I do that a lot… and I might start something that if people don't review I won't post… so if you like my book please, PLEASE review it and make me happy and (feeling in the mood to post!).
So, this is a super long Author's note… but I am sure you want me to stop talking. Well, writing, I suppose. Lol! Enjoy the very first, annual, super spectacular, chivalrous, and most awesome first chapter of The Darkest Cravings.
..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*..*
She didn't understand why Edmund disappeared for three days in a row. She didn't understand why he'd go away and leave his family. Peter had sent out troops to look for the lost (or runaway) Just King. "Peter, let me come with you," The small girl begged him. But her older brother always had the same answer for her—"No, Lucy. You're too young."
She was tired of being treated like a mere child. Lucy was a sweet young lady at the ripe age of fourteen. Peter mounted his horse, Chesapeake, and rode off into the opaque and dark face of the forest. Lucy bit her lip. "Susan, what's happening?" She asked her sister.
The older girl pulled her close instead of replying. "It'll be okay," She murmured into the shorter girl's ear. She upturned her face to look into Susan's gentle blue eyes. "But what have we done to make Edmund run away?" Lucy sniveled.
"We mustn't worry about it at an hour like this," The great grandfather clock struck twelve o' clock midnight. "I'll tuck you into bed."
Lucy followed Susan up the staircase and into the torch lit hallway. Susan grabbed a torch and motioned the younger girl to follow her down the dark corridor until they reached her chamber. "I miss Edmund!" Lucy half whispered, half cried.
"Peter shall find him." Susan simply replied, helping Lucy into her bed. She pulled the quilts up to her chin and placed a chaste kiss on her freckled cheek.
"Good night, Lu." Susan murmured in her ear. "And no more nightmares, either. I'm getting tired of getting up." Lucy gave Susan her first smile since Edmund went missing. "Love you, Sue."
…
Lucy sat up in her bed as she heard footsteps outside of her door. Her heart began to race faster and faster. "No such luck, Sue." She heard Peter's soft voice echo. Lucy frowned and tried not to do something she'd regret. "Lucy's going crazy," Susan said. "She's never been so upset over something."
"That idiot," Peter mumbled. "He doesn't realize how much pain he's causing all of us. Having to look endlessly for him in that dark forest, Lucy crying all of the time…when he comes back, if he ever does, he'll receive a fist from his good old brother." Lucy smiled to herself. "Peter!" Susan scolded him. The older boy chuckled. "But back to reality, Sue. We've scaled the entire forest with no trace of him at all." Lucy's small smile turned to another frown. "Well, that's a matter we can worry about when the morning comes. Now off to bed, Mr. Magnificent."
When Lucy heard no stirring outside of the hall, she crept out of bed carefully. She cursed her squeaky bed frames. Lucy picked up her navy blue robe from the floor and wrapped it around herself. Carefully, she twisted the knob on her door and padded down the hallway.
Lucy was going to find her brother—no matter what the cost. She grabbed a torch nearest to her while she prepared to exit the castle. Never had the poor girl been so scared in her life to enter the forest at night. But she had the most dangerous element of nature in her hands—fire. Fire can ward off many evil creatures, she thought to herself.
Across the grass, down the hill and a small jump over the creek brought her to her kismet. Gathering the courage she had (which was very little) she stepped into the forest's bounties and moved forth at a rapid pace. "Ed!" She screamed out into the misty blackness. "Ed!"
Lucy made her way deeper into the depths of the forest, trying not to think of the beasts lurking in the night for their meal. "Ed!" She called out again, her voice booming out loudly. She could hear other animals competing with her to be the loudest in the forest. Owls hooted, and cicadas screamed. And there was something else that she didn't recognize. Maybe a loon? Yes, Lucy thought. It is a loon—a lunatic.
"Edmund Pevensie! Edmund the Just!" And just nothing. Lucy thought she might go back. The sounds of the forest commenced to raise a few octaves. The eerie sounds prowled about in her head, clogging all airways labeled calm and peaceful. She thought as if she might burst if she didn't find soon.
Lucy was scared out of her mind, and right now her mind was only focused on one thing. That one thing being finding Edmund. She snapped out of her trance once she heard a twig snap behind her. She held her torch up towards the sound and waved it around threateningly. "I'm warning you," She growled.
But the footsteps advanced towards her, until she saw a cloaked figure emerge from the shadows. "In the name of Aslan, I demand you to tell me who you are." She held the torch up so she could see the figure's face. Muddy brown eyes looked at her from under his hooded cloak. His thin pink lips pursed as he took a step closer.
It was then that she realized who he was. It was, "Edmund!" She cried, dropping the torch. She ran to envelope him in her warm embrace, but a firm hand forced her back. "Wha-what are you doing?"
But still, her evil looking brother did not say anything back to her. "Edmund, please! Come back home. We miss you so much, and I've cried for hours upon your departure, and…"
She expected him to console her when she broke down, but he didn't. Her brother had changed. "What's wrong with you?" She sobbed. "Speak! Say something! You're going down with one hand, and I can't hold on!"
Still nothing. The girl was debating on whether or not her brother was even alive. She reached out to touch him, but he wouldn't let her. His expression was blank as he constricted her wrist. "Edmund, it hurts." His sharp fingertips pressed into her wrist like a blade piercing her skin. "Edmund, please!" She pleaded more urgently this time. But still he refused to stop. "ED, STOP!" She screamed.
The older boy's grip on her was loosened, so she had some room to squirm and thrash violently. "You…have to…come with me, Lu. I…you just have to…"
The younger girl looked up at him with confusion, and stopped struggling. "Why? What's wrong, Edmund? You're confusing me!" He tensed up when she touched his cheek with a warm finger. "Please, you can tell me anything. I'm your sister, and I love you."
Edmund's strong grip returned and pushed her through the forest. "Tell me where we're going? What's happening?"
King Edmund the Just didn't mean to torture his sweet sister like this, but she didn't know anything. She was clueless. She had no idea what he was doing to benefit her. Really, he was doing the right thing. Right?
OOH, CLIFFY!