Visions in the Night

It was the second year of the Pevensie's reign at Cair Paravel. The night air blew through the corridors, causing the long white and gold linens that hung from the ceiling to sway back and forth. All around the castle, the sweet songs of the dryads and wood nymphs could be heard, as they chanted the oldest of Narnian tunes. Indeed, it was a tranquil night for the kingdom that Aslan had given the Pevensies.

However, 13 year old King Edmund the Just felt far from peaceful as he presently woke up from his slumber drenched in a cold sweat, heart pounding.

He thrust the covers off of himself and sat up with a start. Gasping, he tried to make sense of where he was.

The young king's glance traveled around his room. Had it only been a dream? Then why had it felt so…real?

His eyelids drooped in exhaustion as he tried to forget about the images he had just seen in the nightmare. But he couldn't seem to do that, no matter how hard he attempted to.

Edmund studied the four walls of his room. Everything was as it should be. He was still in Narnia, not in that other cold and distant place that he had seen. He shuddered at the mere thought of the place. Tall, concrete buildings and roads had overrun the country, and a heavy rain poured. There were no trees in sight. Just a city as far as the eye could see. There had been a tangible loneliness there, that Edmund wanted to erase from his memory.

But that was only the beginning of it…Deep down Edmund cringed and forced himself not to think about the rest.

Knowing that he would not be able to fall back asleep after such a vivd nightmare, and not wanting to be alone, Edmund decided to go to Peter's room.

He wouldn't wake him. He would just dose on his couch for the rest of the night. Edmund slipped on his silver robe and headed out the door. The handle made such a loud noise when he turned it that Edmund feared it would wake up the entire castle. Of course, this was not true, and in actuality the sound would have barley been noticed, had it been daytime. But in his present state of mind, (as one usually has after a nightmare) every sound seemed amplified a hundred times louder than reality.

Regardless, Edmund decided to follow his present course, for the idea of being alone seemed far worse than a creaking door knob.

As he skulked along down the long hallway, Edmund tried his hardest not to make any more sound. He attempted to not to imagine the worse possibilities, such as tripping and falling and waking everyone. Then they would ask what he was doing up. The girls would come out of their rooms, bewildered. Edmund shuddered at the thought of having to explain. He certainly did not need the entire Cair knowing about his night terrors, least of all his sisters. He was a king. Not some small child that needed pitying. Or at least, thats what he told himself. In this present state, he felt quite a bit more like the latter of the two.

Edmund didn't have much trouble finding his way to Peter's room in the dark. As a matter of fact, this wasn't the first time he had to. On multiple occasions Edmund would sneak in there and sleep if he had a bad dream. But he would always make it a point to leave before dawn, not wanting to be embarrassed by his fear. He wanted to be strong, like his brother. He wanted to prove himself to be brave and fearless.

Edmund's hand felt the handle of Peter's double doors, and as he turned it, he swore to himself that he would not make a sound. He slipped inside, sliding one foot in front of the other instead of lifting them, which he knew would make more noise.

The council of the Golden Hall was tomorrow, and Peter had to attend. Edmund knew that because of this, Peter would need his sleep, or he was bound to be cranky at the meeting in the morning. He put another slippered foot on the mosaic floor, and was almost to the couch, when Peter stirred.

"Ed? That you?" His muffled voice said, as he turned.

Edmund swore under his breath. Just his luck. "Yes."

"What are you doing, stalking around in the middle of the night?"

The raven haired king looked down, feeling angry and somewhat ashamed for being frightened by something as small as a dream. And waking Peter because of it. He decided just to play it cool.

"I, uh, was going to get a glass of water." He said dumbly.

"Oh, well, water is the other way,"

Edmund turned his head to the door. "Right. I must have taken a wrong turn. Sorry Pete." As he turned to leave, Peter stopped him.

"Ed?"

He stopped in his tracks.

"What?"

"Were you…crying?"

"No." He wiped his nose. Peter was not convinced.

"Sit down, Ed." He patted the bed beside him.

"Peter, no. You need your rest, and you have the Golden Hall meeting tomorrow, and-"

"Golden Hall meeting can wait. My baby brother is more important."

Edmund didn't know whether to be endeared or annoyed by his older brother's protectiveness over him. At the moment though, he knew that Peter wouldn't let him leave until he had found out what was wrong. He cursed his luck again in his mind, but finally decided to just give in.

"I…I had a nightmare."

Peter nodded slowly. He patted the bed beside him again. "C'mon." As soon as Edmund situated himself on the mattress, Peter slid into an upright position, rubbing his tired eyes.

"What was it about?"

Edmund shook his head, feeling more than vulnerable right now, which was a feeling he actively tried to avoid.

"Oh Peter, I don't want to think about it, it was so awful." He protested. But the high king persisted.

"Ed, I know it'll help if you tell me. Please. Was it the White Witch again?" He asked, knowing that that had been a common theme for his brother as of late.

"No. Not this time," He replied, folding the edge of the blanket, distractedly. Edmund hoped Peter didnt notice the worry and fear written all over his face, but being the perceptive person that he was, Edmund guessed he already had.

"Edmund."

Edmund snapped his head up. "What?"

"Tell me."

Finally, Edmund decided to give in. What harm could it do? He would have to face it sooner or later after all. "It was..it was…" Edmund buried his head in his hands. Peter laid his hand on Edmunds shoulder as he continued through muffled sobs.

"I was in this place. A cold, distant, icy place, but not like the witch's camp. This was different. Concrete walls and buildings were everywhere. And somehow, it felt so real, so familiar. Like I had been there before. I don't know."

Peter looked understandingly at him, as if he could sympathize with Edmund's feelings about the place.

"I was walking inside of a house. If you could call it that. It was not like Narnian structures at all. I believe it was supposed to be our home. But when I got inside…" His voice broke.

"Go on," Peter coaxed,squeezing Edmund's shoulder for support.

Edmund wiped his face. "I saw you and Lucy. You were there, but Susan…wasn't at first. I asked you what had happened and where she had gone, but you said that you didn't know. That she was no longer a friend of Narnia, and she didn't believe anymore." He swallowed thickly as the rest of the dream came flooding back to his memory. "Suddenly I saw before us a great chasm, and you, Lucy and I were standing on one side that overlooked the great mountains of Narnia. But Susan stayed on the other side. She didn't even look like the Susan we know, Peter. She looked like a cheap replica of herself. I hardly recognized her. And then I heard a loud roar, and suddenly we vanished, but Susan remained, for a second longer before she fell into the black abyss." He choked on his words. Peter's hand felt tense on his arm. "It was as though she didn't even know us at the end, and she didn't even hear the roar, Peter. She didn't even know…that it was Aslan…or that there was more than the place she was in…and I…couldn't…save her.." A fresh round of sobs started up again as Edmund turned away. "I tried…I reached out to grab her hand when she fell…but she didn't take it as she faded into the black…"

Edmund noticed Peter had tears in his eyes as he finished explaining the dream.

"Shh…come here Ed," Peter said as he pulled his weeping brother into his arms.

"It was only a dream, Edmund. Only a dream…" Edmund rested his head on Peter's chest as he tried to stop his crying. Peter's night shirt was wet with tears as he held Edmund close.

The boy latched onto him tightly, not wanting to let go, as Peter stroked his dark hair. "H…how do you know Peter? It f..felt s..so real," He rasped out through tears.

Peter continued to hold him. "Don't worry now, Ed. I'm here. Nothing's going to happen to our queen Susan. I promise." He tried to reassure him.

Edmund drew in several long breaths, attempting to calm down. After a long while, Peter heard him breathing in a steady rhythmic pattern, and knew he had fallen asleep in his arms. Lifting his head gently, Peter brushed away his brother's tears from his face. He propped up some pillows beside him and laid Edmund down on them. Tucking the covers over his small body, Peter planted a kiss on the top of his brother's head. "Goodnight, Eddy. I promise, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Peter situated himself beside Edmund, and wrapped his arm around him protectively. As he did so, Peter closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "Aslan, watch over my family. Take care of them, even when I cant…"