DISCLAIMER: I don't own the original Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters; I just own the plot and my characters.

Edmund leaned over the railing at the bow of the ship and breathed in the fresh sea air. Everything was peaceful in Narnia now and had been for the past three years that King Caspian X had been ruling it.

He smiled as he turned around to admire the rest of the ship. Ever since Aslan allowed him and his sister, Lucy to return to Narnia with their cousin, Eustace, he'd been aboard the Dawn Treader. The Dawn Treader was leading a mission for Narnia to the distant islands near Aslan's Country and the two rulers and their unfortunate cousin were needed to help.

For the first time in the last year, he'd finally felt some peace. That is, he had been, until he was told the reason he, his sister, and Eustace were even in Narnia.

When the four Pevensie children had first travelled to Narnia 1300 years earlier, he, like any other man, had fallen in love. But no, he couldn't have fallen in love with someone practical; he had to fall in love with the one woman who was different from all others, Lilkailani. Lilakai, (or Kai as he also liked to call her) was Aslan's trusted right-hand and adoptive daughter.

While Aslan had been born of the Emperor of the Sea in an event of joy, Lilkailani had been created to defend the Sea in a time of war. She had been nameless until she led the Sea to victory at age seven. Then she was given the name Lilkailani, translating to the "Warrior of the Sea and Sky."

When Lilakai was seventeen, the White Witch conquered Narnia, and Aslan whisked Lilkailani away to Ramandu's Island at the end of the world. He chose this spot because he would be able to keep a close eye on her if she was near his realm, so that she would remain safe. While she lived there, Aslan took time to explain to her how to control the powers she had been gifted with at birth. He also made her virtually immortal, so that she could remain preserved and strong. This meant that she would not grow old, but if she was poisoned or slain in battle, she would be sick or die like any other human. She stayed in hiding and practiced her powers over water until the Pevensies first came to Narnia.

When Aslan came back and helped the Pevensies defeat the White Witch, Lilakai had been by his side. The Narnians often rightly called her "Narnia's Protector." She was the one who had alerted Mr. Beaver when all four Pevensies had first appeared in Narnia; she had been the one who saved Edmund; she was the one Aslan had given the task to protect the Pevensies; and she was the one whom Edmund had fallen in love with and married when he was 21.

When Lilkailani said "I do," she tied her fate with Edmund's. She gave up her immortal age of 17 and started to age at the same rate as Edmund. Her age was then tied to his and she would forever appear three years younger than he. Lilakai and Edmund truly loved each other and their small family was a happy one.

On Edmund's 28th birthday, his siblings convinced him to go with them to try to capture the White Stag. He had agreed, thinking that this would be a great opportunity to tell them about Lilakai's pregnancy, before returning home to take care of her later that evening. But fate had a different plan when the Kings and Queens of the Golden Age were sent back to England.

One year after their return to England, the Pevensies were told they had to go back to school. Imagine their surprise when, instead of school, the train took the Pevensies to Narnia. At first, Edmund was overjoyed at the thought of going home to Treva and his Lilakai, but that mood quickly evaporated when they found the ruins of Cair Paravel and a dwarf by the name of Trumpkin told them that 1300 years had passed since their last Golden Age. They all were devastated to find out that none of their old friends were still alive.

Despite their sadness, they decided to help Prince Caspian beat his uncle Miraz and take his proper place as king of Narnia. To say that they were surprised to find Kai helping Caspian lead the Narnian army would be an understatement.

After Caspian's coronation, Edmund and Lilakai were devastated to be told that they would be separated again. After a small kiss goodbye, Edmund led his siblings through the tree gateway back into England.

After boarding school, Peter had gone off to study with the Professor and Susan had gone off to America with their parents, leaving Edmund and Lucy to stay with their aunt, uncle, and cousin Eustace.

A week or so into their visit, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace found another way into Narnia through a painting of a ship, on which they were reunited with their friend Caspian.

After their happy reunion, Caspian had taken Edmund and Lucy into his cabin to fill them in on what they had missed. Apparently, about six months after the Pevensies left, Lilkailani disappeared overnight. Caspian had originally thought that Aslan must have taken her back to his country, before the Great Lion told him in a dream that foul play was involved. Several search parties had been sent out and bribes and rewards had been offered, but no one had found the missing queen.

Soon after Kai's disappearance, the water in Narnia had become poisonous to drink and fresh water was hard to come by. Caspian had swiftly ordered the creation of the Dawn Treader, hoping that in the mission to save the clean water, they may save the lost queen. Professor Cornelius was able to inform him that the poison was only enough to weaken, not kill, one's enemies. It was an old underhanded trick. The night before enemies would battle; they would try to make their rival weak by slipping them a light poison. The Professor had also told Caspian of his sneaking suspicion that the poison was coming from near the end of the world, at the last island. Ramandu's Island was the Dawn Treader's destination.

Edmund sighed as he turned around to lean his back up against the railing to think. He smiled to himself as the sun glinted off of his wedding band. It was pure gold and had a red ruby the size you would find on a graduation class ring. The band wrapped around his finger and had the lion emblem of Narnia engraved on either side of the gem. It was the one thing Aslan had allowed any of them to keep from Narnia when they had returned to England.

All of a sudden, the ship started rocking like crazy, as if the waters were at war with themselves. Water was ripping and tearing at the Dawn Treader. The sudden movement caught Edmund off balance and flipped him backwards over the railing and into the ocean below. When he finally submerged, he was able to see his crew either attempting to tie down the sails, or abandoning ship.

I was now deeply confused. The sea had been so calm and sky had been so clear, but now both raged as if they were trying to tear the ship to bits. I saw an island we had been headed towards and motioned for the others to try to swim there with me. I started to follow them, but saw something fall off the ship. It was Peter's sword. I knew that I had to save it and dove to retrieve it. I knew that I was crazy and was about to die, but the thought of letting my brother's sword sink would lead me to a fate worse than death if Pete ever found out. As I propelled myself to where I had last seen the sword, the thought of Lilakai came into my head.

She certainly would have the power to cause this kind of storm and if our children are still alive, there certainly is the chance that she could be as well. I dove beneath the surface, having reached the spot where I had last seen Peter's sword.

And that's when the current caught me. I'd been so determined to save Peter's stupid sword from Santa that I hadn't worried at all about the dark terror waiting. It felt like the waves were fighting for possession over me, jerking me back and forth between them as if determined to only share me by pulling me apart. My knowledge about the right way to avoid a riptide did me little good now when I was in the middle of the ocean and couldn't even tell which way the distant shore was.

I couldn't even tell which way the surface was.

The angry water was black in every direction; there was no brightness to direct me upwards. Gravity was all-powerful when it competed with air, but it had nothing on the waves—I couldn't even feel a downward pull, a sinking in any direction. Just the battering of the current that flung me round and round like a piece of tumbleweed in the prairie.

I fought to keep my breath in, to keep my lips locked around my last store of oxygen.

It didn't surprise me when I saw Lilakai's image beside me. Aslan owed me that much, considering that I was dying. I was surprised by how certain that knowledge was. I was going to drown. I was drowning.

"Keep swimming!" Lil begged urgently in my head.

Where? There was nothing but the darkness. There was no place to swim to but her.

"Stop that!" she ordered. "Don't you dare even think about giving up on me!"

The cold of the water was numbing my arms and legs. I didn't feel the buffeting as much as before. It was more of dizziness now, a lazy, helpless spinning in the water.

But I listened to her. I forced my arms to continue clawing, my legs to flail more, though every second I was facing a new direction. It couldn't be doing any good. What was the point?

"Fight!" she yelled at me. "Damn it, Ed, keep fighting."

But I didn't want to fight anymore. And it wasn't the lightheadedness, or the cold, or the failure of my limbs that made me content to stay where I was. I was almost happy that it was over. This was an easier death than the others of suffering I'd already faced. It was oddly peaceful.

I thought briefly of the clichés, about how you were supposed to see your life flash before your eyes. This was so much better.

I saw her, and I had no will to fight. It was clear, so much more defined than any memory. My mind had stored Lilkailani away in flawless detail, saving her for this final moment. I could see her perfect face as if she were really there; the exact shade of her lightly-tanned, white skin. I could see in all clarity the exact shape of her lips, the perfect shape of her face, the tiny gold flecks that were glinting in her piercing green blue eyes. I could see her long, beautiful hair flowing around her just like her flowing white top that reached right below her hips. The long wavy rings of her hair were a lovely shade of light brown and pale blonde and bright blue streaks complemented them beautifully. The streams of highlights were not only natural, but helped her stand out even more as the Queen of the Sea.

Her normal leggings hugged her strong legs up until about mid-calf. Her matching wedding band was the only thing adorning her left hand and her right hand only wore her deep blue saphire ring, one of the many gifts she received from Ramandu. It was actually the main way she could harness her powers. Her signature leather cord and pendant was around her neck. It was tied off as a tight choker, but the leather cord continued down for about another inch. The pendant was for her, like my crown is for me. It is what signified us as royals of Narnia. It was a small silver fish (to represent her ties to the ocean) with Aslan's symbol engraved on the side that faced her heart (to represent her ties to Narnia and to remind her always keep Aslan close to her heart). She was truly, incomparably beautiful.

"No! Edmund, no!"

My ears were clogged with the freezing water, but her voice was clearer than ever. I ignored her words and concentrated on the sound of her voice. Why would I fight when I was so happy where I was? Even as my lungs burned for more air and my legs cramped in the icy cold, I was content. I'd forgotten until now what real happiness felt like.

Happiness. I thought it made the whole dying thing pretty bearable.

The current won at that moment, shoving me abruptly against something hard. Was it a rock invisible in the gloom? Or was it possibly the bottom of the ship? It hit me solidly across the chest, slamming into me like a metal bar, (possibly Peter's sword or a piece of the ship?) and the breath broke out of my lungs, escaping in the form of a few tiny bubbles. Water surged into my throat, choking and burning. The metal bar seemed to be dragging me, pulling me away from Lilakai, deeper into the dark, to the ocean floor.

Goodbye, I love you, was my last thought before I let the darkness overcome me.

Oh no! Edmund!

Well this wasn't how I originally planned on ending this, but I thought it turned out well!

Please review if you want me to write more. I have more planned, but if I don't get 5 reviews, (with at least 1 telling me to continue) I will leave it here. (I'm not sure I want to do that, so please REVIEW!)

Sorry I'm reposting this, but I realized that I hadn't explained all that I intended to that you need to know before "The King and the Sea" can come out…