4. The Carpenters - Aurora
(first verse)
Edmund stretched, yawning. He would have slept well, except for the nightmare. He shivered; no matter how he knew the White Witch was dead in the daylight, at night it sometimes felt like she was alive, ready to catch hold of him again. Is it always going to be like this, he wondered. Once again he wished he had never become the beast he was when they first entered Narnia. Even at the coronation, a tiny tendril of this thought lurked beneath his happiness.
A quiet sound from across the room caught his ear and he glanced over. His older brother sat in the window seat, napping upright. "Oh, Peter," said Edmund softly, and he swung his legs out of bed to go sit next to the older boy.
Peter's eyes cracked open when Edmund perched himself by his side. "Morning," he greeted Edmund.
There was a small awkward silence for a few seconds, before Edmund spoke. "You don't have to watch me sleep, you know," Edmund said quietly.
"I know," replied Peter.
Edmund had to blink quickly so Peter wouldn't see the tears that had suddenly appeared in the corners of his eyes. He turned and gave Peter a quick hug, pulling back rapidly as if he would be burned. Peter simply grinned and tousled Edmund's hair. "What say you we go find something to eat?"
Edmund grinned back. "I like that idea."
Peter slung an arm around his brother's shoulder as they headed out of the room and down the hall. And for the first time in a very long time, Edmund felt nothing but happiness in his heart.