Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.

This idea came to me, and I now realize that it is stupid, so please forgive me for taking up your time.

"When the World Comes Down"

Chapter: 1

A figure dressed in black snuck silently through the castle halls. So intent on her work she didn't even notice the flickering fire, or the figure next to it.

"I wouldn't even think about it." The gruff voice startled the girl, and she dropped her cloak back onto the peg.

"Oh! Ed! You scared me." The girl giggled, and grabbed her cloak once more.

"That wasn't the point. The point was you aren't going out with the weather the way it is, and certainly not at this time of night." The boy grabbed his sister's cloak and returned it to the peg.

"But- but Edmund, Morgan was sick this afternoon. I, I just want to see if he's feeling better." Lucy wheedled.

"Lucy! It is two in the morning. The wind is blowing, and it is snowing! It is a blizzard out there, and you want to go out to the nice, warm barn, possibly waking everyone up, just to check on a cold? Oh yeah, that's a good idea! You'll go out, become ill, Susan will throw a fit, Peter will come home, and I'll have to spend my time between making sure you're okay, calming Susan down, convincing Peter to relax, and doing my courtly duties. No, I don't think it's a good idea. Check on him tomorrow. He'll appreciate it more." Edmund had started his rant sarcastically, but had finished up with a gentleness that still surprised Lucy every now and then.

"Oh, bother! Fine then. Speaking of the late hour, what are you doing up?" Lucy moved to sit on the couch.

"I was cold." Edmund stated simply, moving closer to the fire.

Lucy pondered this simple statement quietly, before throwing her arms around her brother. She didn't need to question any further. She knew this was about her. Edmund always seemed to be a few degrees cooler than his siblings. When it was very warm in the summer, Edmund was fine with it; but in the biting cold of the winter, it could be unpleasant.

"Lu, what are you doing? Ger-off me!" Edmund wasn't one for hugs that was Peter. He wasn't in to that 'touchy-feely' stuff.

"Sit still, and let me hug you!" Lucy demanded. Edmund quit struggling, and patted Lucy awkwardly on the back.

After a few seconds it was over. "I will be so happy when Peter comes home." Edmund muttered. That earned him a whack in the gut. "Oof. What was that for? Ow!" Edmund grumbled in pain.

Lucy fixed him with an icy stare.

"Shouldn't you be going back to bed now?"

"Shouldn't you?" She returned.

"What's the difference between staying awake up there and staying awake down here? I still can't sleep." Edmund shrugged, grabbing a book off of an end table. "If it makes you feel better though, I'll go upstairs."

"It would make me feel better if I knew how Morgan was," Lucy mumbled under her breath.

"Oh, alright. I will go outside and check on him, but when he decides to kick me in the face for waking him up, you can explain it Su." Edmund grumbled, pulling his boots on and grabbing his cloak.

"Thank you, Ed!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Putting his head down, Edmund shuffled through the snow. He almost wished he had allowed Lucy to go out. Aslan but it was cold. And he didn't feel at all well either.

"Psst. Psst, Morgan. Morgan." Edmund whispered through the barn. Even though he was a talking horse, Morgan lived in Cair Paravel's stable along with his brothers, Philip, Sean, and Paddy, who was with Peter.

"Your Majesty?" The horse immediately pricked his ears in alertness. "What can I do? Is something wrong?"

"No. No, nothing like that. My sister was worried about you; she said you were ill this afternoon. She couldn't rest until she knew how you were."

"Oh, bless my soul! I am quite well, your Majesty. I am sorry for causing concern." The Horse sighed in relief, but there was a slight edge of sleepy annoyance, and Edmund couldn't blame him.

"No. No, I'm sorry for waking you. I promised her I'd check on you. Is there anything I can do?"

"No, thank you, sir. I will just be going back to sleep."

"Sleep well, friend. Lucy will be out to check on you in the morning."

He hadn't finished shaking the snow from his hair by the time Lucy had descended upon him.

"How was he? Did he look ill?"

"He looked fine, maybe a little sleepy; but you know, it is almost three. Now, I think it is time you got yourself to bed."

"G'Night, Ed." Lucy told him, kissing him sleepily on the cheek. Edmund followed her up the stairs and turned into his room. The seventeen year old knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he flopped on his bed and tried anyway.

******

"Pass the butter, would you Lu? Where is Ed? It's almost nine o'clock. I know he thinks that he can get away with sleeping in without Peter here, but really. It's your birthday tomorrow, and arrangements need to be made. The governors from the Lone Islands are coming to report today, and King Lune is supposed to be coming today as well. I can't sit in on it because I have the archers to worry about, and you have to go to the meeting with those men from Calormen." Queen Susan managed to say the whole spiel without waiting for an answer.

"I know about everything that needs to be done, Su, I'll go get him. He didn't sleep well last night though. He was cold. I heard him last night." Lucy said all this with a smile to her sister. "Come on, Ed. Time to wakey-wakey! Up and at 'em! You know that sort of thing." She opened the curtains to let the sun in. He responded with a groan.

"Go 'way, Lu. I don't feel at all well. Tell Susan that the archers can wait. And King Lune will understand. Oh!" Edmund squirmed and groaned. Lucy noticed his flushed face.

"Susan!" Her voice brought the gentle queen running.

"What's wrong? Oh! Edmund, you do look sick. What's wrong?"

"My stomach hurts, and I feel, I feel hot one moment, and cold the next. Ugh." Edmund threw the covers from him, ran to the wash basin, and was promptly sick.

"Lucy, run and get the doctor. Edmund, get back in bed." Susan took control of the situation and propelled her younger brother toward the bed.

*******

"Hmm. Hmm." The doctor hemmed and hawed. "Breathe in once more. And out. Hmm. Haw. Lie down. Does it hurt when I press there? How about there?"

"Yes. Ow! Ow!" Edmund gasped in pain as the doctor pressed down on his side.

Lucy stood quickly, and instinctively reached for her dagger. Susan, looking shocked, grabbed the weapon from her hand. When her brother gave another startled yelp of pain though, she too, looked slightly threatening.

"Just as I thought," The doctor concluded.

"What?" Edmund asked, wheezing.

"It looks as if though you have appendicitis. We'll watch it for a little while, just to be sure though."

"What if he does?" Susan asked.

"Then he'll have to have surgery. I'm going to go grab a few things and I'll be back in a few hours. Keep him off of his feet, make sure he stays cool. I'll be back shortly." With these parting words, the doctor was gone.

"Oh no. Oh no. This is my entire fault." Lucy moaned, clutching her hair in her hands.

"Don't be stupid, Lu." Edmund warned from his bed.

"If I hadn't made you go check on Morgan last-"

"Sorry to disappoint, but going out into the wind and cold doesn't give you appendicitis."

"It's no use blaming yourself, Lu, these things happen," Susan consoled. "Now, you watch him to make sure he doesn't get out of his bed. I'm going to talk to Mr. Tumnus, he'll have to talk to the Calormenes, and I'll talk to the Governors, it'll have to be quick. King Lune will be here shortly, we'll just have to explain what is going on to him, he'll understand. The archers will have to wait." Susan was off and running even before she had finished explaining what she was planning on doing.

"Well, at least she has a plan," Edmund offered jokingly. Lucy rolled her eyes and continued fretting over him.

*******

It was two hours later when the doctor had returned. Mr. Tumnus had talked to the Calormenes, and after they had found out that the young King was ill, they had been quite compliant, and Mr. Tumnus thought they were secretly hoping Edmund would die. Lucy privately (and tearfully) agreed. Susan had a rushed conference with the Governors, and they were quickly rushed into the care of the Beavers, who announced that they would take good care of them. King Lune arrived, and he, of course, understood perfectly. He even offered to send one of his messengers to Peter. Susan assured him that, that would be unnecessary, and that she didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.

"Does this hurt?" The doctor pressed down on the boy king's stomach firmly.

Edmund, who had finally, began to fitfully doze, cried out in pain.

"I'll take that as a yes. Yes, it is just as I thought. It is most definitely the appendix. You will need surgery immediately."

"Oh. Surgery you say? I don't think so. No. You know, I think I'm feeling much better. I do hope the Calormenes haven't left yet. I'd like to have a talk with them," Edmund swung his feet to the floor in an effort to leave the room full of worried people.

"Your Majesty," began Mr. Tumnus, but he was interrupted by Lucy who shouted, "Edmund you stupid prat, knock it off!"

Edmund, slightly cowed by his younger sister, allowed himself to be pushed back into his bed. "But-" he wheedled, and then he grabbed his stomach in pain once more.

"Edmund!" Lucy began plumping his pillows. The doctor began making preparations for the surgery.

The servants were excused from the chamber, soon the whole castle was buzzing with nervous energy over the predicament. A lone squirrel, who was gathering nuts in the courtyard, carried the story from the castle to a rabbit. The rabbit told one of the warthogs at the watering hole, who told a dog, and everyone knows dogs can't keep secrets, and soon the whole kingdom was abuzz with the news.

Soon, concerned subjects were camping out at the castle. They wouldn't leave their beloved king. Mr. Tumnus didn't have the heart to send them away, and Susan and Lucy were so touched that they were soon having rooms and places prepared for everyone to sleep. Edmund alone had a room to himself, though it was filled with enough people checking on him that you wouldn't realize it. Lucy and Susan doubled up in Susan's room. King Lune generously offered to share a room with his son. Mr. Tumnus shared his room with a fellow faun. All the guest rooms were boarded with creatures and people of all shapes and sizes, and no one minded the cramped spaces because all were so deeply worried about Edmund. Even Peter's room was given to a family of dogs! Susan had been loath to do it, but she knew Peter wouldn't mind, and would have done it himself.

Edmund came out of the surgery with flying colors. He was still under the effects of the drugs that were used, and he was quite out of it. The doctor cautioned against leaving his bed, and there were many people willing to watch his every move.

"Call me if he develops a fever, but he should be fine. It was very straight forward."

"Thank you, Doctor. We really appreciate this." Susan said following the doctor to the door.

"It was my pleasure, feel better Your Majesty." With these parting words, he left.

"Same to you Doc. Same to you!" Edmund yelled after the doctor. He was still drugged up.

"Edmund, quiet down. Would you like anything to eat? Would you like anything?" Susan smoothed his hair over his forehead.

"I'm fine. I'm quite fine. But you know what? I wanna go out with Corin. He and I are going to go pheasant hunting. (Not talking pheasant of course). Lucy, get my bow and arrow."

"Edmund, you can't go pheasant hunting! You just had major surgery," Lucy said, horrified.

"Surgery, Murgery! I want to speak to Peter. HE'D let me go Huntin'! Yeah. I'm gonna go get Peta'" Edmund announced sleepily, before he dropped off to sleep.

"Oh dear. We will have to have someone stay and watch him. We could do it in shifts." Lucy decided.

"Oh, please ma'am! Please, your majesty, may I be of service?" A black lab named Rogerston begged. "Please! Please!"

"We'll, I suppose you could have the first watch if you-" Lucy began.

"No your majesty, it would be an honor to watch him all night. I can do it! Please ma'am."

"Well, all right. But if you get sleepy, do call for someone. We'll come."

"I will, oh I will. Thank you your Highness, thank you."

**********

While these arrangements were being made at Cair Paravel, two figures riding on horses were headed towards Cair Paravel. One of the figures was, of course, High King Peter. He was riding 'his' horse Paddy. Paddy and he had ridden together in many battles, and Paddy was just as anxious to get home as Peter was. Peter wanted to be home in time for Lucy's birthday, and Paddy was desperate to see his girlfriend; he had heard she was thinking about taking up with one of the other talking horses. The other figure was Lady Rea from the Northern Mountains land, Capeenland. It was her country that the Narnians were defending. She had met Peter, and he had asked her to come with him to Narnia. She agreed, and Sampson, the horse, had agreed to give her a ride to Narnia as he was anxious to get home as well. The rest of the Narnian army would be in Narnia within the next two days. They were on the homeward march when Peter had been struck with the want to go home.

"You'll like it at Cair Paravel. My siblings will be so pleased to meet you. Lucy, is the youngest, she's turning fifteen tomorrow. Edmund is seventeen, he was supposed to be with us in battle, but the day we were to leave Lucy and Susan were called away suddenly, and he had to stay and keep watch over the Cair. Susan is nineteen. She is quite efficient. I know you'll have a wonderful time." Peter was quite smitten with the young lady, though others would have called her haughty.

"I'm sure it vill be vonderful." Rea agreed primly. Paddy and Sampson snorted at her tone, and rolled their eyes, it was so dark that neither human saw this action.

By the time the quartet reached Cair Paravel's stables, all were so tired that no one noticed the extra creatures hanging around.

Peter led Rea through the castle tiredly; he didn't notice the fire in the den, or the dwarves snoring by the fire. Nor did he notice the fauns sleeping in the throne room.

"You can sleep in my chamber. I would offer you another room but I have no idea which rooms Susan has put King Lune or his son. I will be just down the hall, with Edmund."

"Thank You, Peter. Your kindness is so cherished." Rea complimented, batting her eyes at him.

"It is nothing," Peter said, "this is where you'll sleep. I hope you will be comfortable. Good night."

Rea smiled and walked into Peter's room. Peter sauntered down the hall to Edmund's room.

"Ed? Hey Ed, I'm going to sleep in here, okay? I'll explain in the morn- What is going on here?" Peter was in the process of removing his shirt, and jumping in Edmund's bed when he heard a low growl.

"Stay back." The voice warned Peter.

"What is going on here?" Peter repeated, grabbing for his sword, and searching for the voice.

"Who are you and why are you bothering the king?" The voice growled out again. Peter could now see the shape of a dog lying at the foot of Edmund's bed, but it was getting up and pacing between the bed and Peter, keeping Peter away from getting on the bed and disturbing Edmund.

"I, am the high king, and- Rogerston, is that you? I say, what is going on-?" Peter began but he was cut off by a scream coming from his room.

"Iees this your idea of a joke, Peter? Sending me to a bed full of dogs? What-?" Rea screamed as Peter came running from Edmund's chambers, followed closely by Rogerston. Lucy and Susan rushed into the hall pulling at their robes, while Lucy reached for her dagger.

"Peter?"

"Lucy?"

"Susan?"

"Rogerston?"

"What-?"

"Where is your shirt, Peter?"

"Ow! My foot!"

"Oops, sorry."

"What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?"

"SILENCE!" The mild voiced faun, Tumnus, shouted to the confused royals, and their guests. "You will wake everyone else," he continued in a milder tone.

"Peter? What are you doing here? Hello, have we met?" Lucy held out her hand to a livid Rea.

"I live here, Lu, and no you haven't. This is Rea, she is my guest. What's this about dogs?" Peter asked.

"Oh! Randsam, Olivia, and their pups were staying in there. We didn't think you'd be back for a few more days." Lucy explained.

"Oh." Peter nodded. "I knew King Lune was going to be here, so I didn't want to send her into one the rooms that he was staying in. I was going to stay with Edmund."

"Edmund!" With this shout, Rogerston, Lucy, and Susan turned and ran to the younger King's room.

b Well, that is chapter one….I know, It is stupid. This is my first attempt at a CoN story, in my defense. Thank you for reading, please r/r thank you

~Yiva /b