Author's Note: These puppets are not mine, I've only set them up for a little game of pretend. All Narnian characters, ships, etc. belong to C.S. Lewis, Warner Brothers, etc.

~Chapter 6~

Edmund

After hours of battling the relentless tempest, the crew finally got a chance to rest. The rain had lightened to a downpour and the wind no longer threatened to completely upend the Dawn Treader. Exhausted and wearing the driest clothing that could be found, the two kings and most of the crew slumped down into their hammocks. The ship creaked and moaned from the onslaught of the elements but it was sturdy and had held fast.

Edmund ached to the bone and felt as though he could sleep for weeks. He had no idea if it was day or night, nor was he the slightest bit curious. All around him was clear evidence that the rest of the men felt the same way. Reepicheep, who had perched in the forecastle right inside dragon's mouth as a lookout, had collapsed into his tiny hammock and immediately began emitting high, whistling snores. Rhince had gone with Edmund to look in on the girls before stumbling into his own swinging bed and was half under his blanket with a worried frown creasing his forehead.

Lucy and Gael had labored non-stop to mend a consistent stream of various broken and torn pieces of the Dawn Treader. They were frequently seen dashing out onto the deck to deliver a newly repaired object, only to receive something else that was in need of their attentions. Initially, Lucy (and therefore Gael too) had wanted to be on deck, but in the end they had been shouted down by Edmund and Rhince. They had proved, though, to be just as useful off deck as any of the men had been on it.

In fact, the only person who had not done anything of consequence was Eustace. At that point no one on board really knew or cared what the boy was doing so long as he stayed out of the way. Edmund recalled his earlier conversation with Lucy and thought, rather dryly, that if Eustace had been brought to Narnia to do any sort of growing up then they were likely to be there for a good while yet.

This line of thought brought back all the worries that had been forgotten while they struggled to keep the Dawn Treader safe. Despite the trials and tribulations they were now facing, Edmund dreaded more and more the time when he would be pulled back to his own world.

The night before landing on Coriakin's Island, the two Kings had been on the verge of… something. Edmund touched his cheek, remembering the feeling of drowning in the depths of Caspian's coffee colored eyes and how the warm, calloused hand had felt against his skin. All worlds had fallen away from him in that blissful moment. If they had not been interrupted… Edmund deliberated in his mind. Did he, as Lucy had hinted at, want to do the same as Susan – would he have kissed Caspian? In England, or even before in Narnia, he would never in his wildest dreams imagined such an intimacy with another man, yet he felt inexplicably drawn to Caspian.

He tilted his head slightly and was fairly unsurprised to see Caspian's gaze was already upon him, as if the King had read his mind. There was so much he wanted to say to Caspian, but here, surrounded by others, he could not. To his relief, the Telmarine jerked his head in the direction of Reepicheep and Eustace, whose combined snores had reached a level of volume to contend with that of the storm, and quirked an eyebrow at his friend. Edmund grinned and chuckled softly.

"D' you reckon the worst of it is over?" he asked quietly.

"Of the snoring?" Caspian teased, before his face settled into a more somber expression. "I don't know. I'd like to think so, but it's like Drinian said – these are strange seas. Who knows how long this will last."

"It's almost unnatural," Edmund ventured, "As if there's something trying to stop us from going on."

"If there is, it nearly succeeded. Yet on we go," Caspian whispered, "Thanks to you Ed."

Being too tired to continue, and for fear of waking the others, they lay silently, once more looking at one another in the flickering lantern light. Presently they succumbed to the weariness that enveloped them and fell into troubled sleep. Edmund tossed in his blankets as half-formed figures crept into his dreams, whispering and calling to him.

Peter stood before him, tall and noble, looking down at him regally. The Magnificent Kings seemed to grow larger until he towered over Edmund. His shining sword shone so bright that Edmund was forced to shield his eyes from the light. When he uncovered his eyes he saw Caspian standing before him. The shining mane of silky hair framed his handsome face, but it was somehow different from the familiar face that Edmund had grown to know so well. It was darker, more defined, and the eyes were cold and hard. They held no trace of the sparkling warmth that was normally there. This terrible Caspian raised his finger and pointed down at Edmund, a commanding gesture.

"Edmund…"

The boy's eyes flew open and he stifled a shout. He knew that voice, that horrible, evil voice. It had seemed so real, so close – as if she were kneeling beside him and whispering in his ear. He glanced over at Caspian, who was muttering in his sleep and tossing his head in agitation. Edmund peered nervously around in the darkness as he tried to shake off the dream.

"Edmund…" the voice came again, and to his horror he saw a figure forming in the air above Caspian's sleeping form. "Edmund…" the White Witch called to him, "Come with me… join me."

In a flash of lightning Edmund saw her terrifying, beautiful face illuminated and his hand automatically reached for his sword and he wrenched himself upright, unsheathing the blade before he could even begin to form a conscious thought.

"Edmund!" Lucy whispered urgently.

He jolted around to see his sister's pale, frightened face peering anxiously at him. Edmund whipped back the other direction, his eyes searching wildly in the empty space above Caspian.

"Oh, Lucy…" he breathed and let his sword drop to his lap.

Behind him, Caspian sat bolt upright with a noise of fright.

"I can't sleep," Lucy told her brother, reminding him vividly of the little girl who had come running into his and Peter's room when they were younger.

"Let me guess," Edmund looked at Caspian as the older boy collapsed back onto his pillow breathing heavily, "Bad dreams."

There was no reply from either Lucy or Caspian, but he took their silence as an affirmation. Evidently, his sleep was not the only one that had been infiltrated.

"So either we're all going mad," he lay back and swallowed hard, "Or something's playing with our minds."

"This is what Drinian meant," Caspian spoke up, "About the sea playing tricks on the mind."

"Somehow, I don't think it's the sea." Lucy looked between the two of them. "Something else is at work here – something evil. It's the spell. It's trying to stop us."

Edmund wondered vaguely what evil, horrible dreams could cause his valiant sister to come so undone; she seemed almost ashamed of herself.

"It won't. It can't," Caspian told her firmly. "We will get through this, Lucy. We must have faith."

Lucy gave him a small smile and squeezed her brother's arm before turning to go.

Edmund shifted his eyes to Caspian, who nodded at him. He must have had lingering traces of the dream on his face, for Caspian looked searchingly at him. His stomach gave a guilty lurch at the memory of his dream. Caspian's eyes, which in the dream had been so dark and terrible, were their usual, warm brown and Edmund found himself reassured as they moved over his face. He lifted the corner of his mouth at the older boy and nodded back.

Edmund fell back to sleep slowly. No dreams fully formed, but ghostly images hovered on the edge of his consciousness and taunted him. Halfway through the night, Edmund awoke for a barely a few seconds and found his hand stretched out toward Caspian. Caspian's eyes opened for a heartbeat and locked with Edmund's, and then both fell at once into an undisturbed slumber until they were awakened several hours later by the captain.