Edmund felt as though his head had barely hit the pillow when he felt someone's warm breath on his cheek. He groaned, figuring it was just some squirrel that was trying to fix his pillow, and pulled his covers up to his eyes. He had almost fallen back asleep when he felt a small finger reach into his blanket and poke him in the nose.
"Argh! Lucy!" He mumbled sleepily.
"Who's Lucy?" A voice that definitely did not sound like Lucy's asked.
"Very funny, Lu. You're very good at disguising your voice. Now go back to bed and let me sleep." There was a small silence before Edmund felt a weight on his bed. Now he was irritated. Lucy hadn't tried to crawl into bed with him since she was 3! "Lucy! What are you doing?" Edmund sat up to look at his sister. She wasn't there. Sitting on his bed, with a startled look on his face, was a small boy of around 6. His blond hair was tousled and the look in his bright blue eyes told Edmund that he was torn between being alarmed and thinking that Edmund was crazy. Edmund didn't know what to say. "Er…Hello…"
"Hello." The boy replied.
"How did you get in here?" Edmund asked slowly.
"I don't know." The boy answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Do you have any pancakes?"
"I – What?" The request was so spontaneous that Edmund had to stop and think for a minute. It was too early for strange little boys to be asking for things...especially things like pancakes.
"Do – you – have – any – pancakes?" The boys repeated slowly, seeming to have decided that Edmund was something short of intelligent.
"And why – do – you – want – pancakes?" Edmund asked him just as slowly.
"Because I'm hungry! I want pancakes!" The boy exclaimed.
"Well, I'm sorry, but guess what? You don't live here!" Edmund told him. The boy thought about this for a moment.
"Do you live here?" He asked.
"You're sitting in my bed. What do you think?" Edmund asked sourly.
"This bed is really big."
"Yes I know, now-"
"How old are you?"
"I'm almost fourteen-"
"Wow! You're really old! I'm only 6."
"Wow! You're really annoying! Now please-"
"But Mum says I'm really tall for my age."
"I'm sure she does-"
"Hey, I'm really hungry. Do you have any pancakes?"
Edmund blinked. "You already asked me for pancakes."
"Oh. Why didn't you get me any?"
"Because you don't live here and-"
"Do you live here?" Edmund couldn't believe this kid. Maybe he had a nervous disorder. Or maybe he had just had consumed too much sugar. But how much sugar could he possibly have had at 5 in the morning? Whatever his problem was, Edmund was sick of dealing with him.
"You know what? Let's go see my older brother. I bet he has a lot of pancakes." Edmund said with a falsely chipper voice. He figured that Peter, being the eldest sibling of 4 and High King of Narnia, would have no trouble putting up with this newfound pain-in-the-neck.
"Really? Okay! Guess what? I have a brother too!"
"That's fantastic." Edmund murmured sleepily.
"Yeah. He's only one. He cries a lot. Sometimes I can't sleep all night."
"Imagine that."
"Yeah. Sometimes Mum can't get him to go to sleep. So I tell-"
"PETER!" Edmund banged on his brother's door, unable to tolerate the child's endless chatter any longer.
"What?" The boy asked.
"Not you." Edmund said shortly. "PETER! WAKE UP!" He yelled.
"I'm already awake." The boy said.
"I told you…I'm not talking to-" Suddenly, something clicked and Edmund froze mid-sentence. Slowly, he looked in horror and disbelief down at the little boy.
"I don't think your brother can hear you." He told Edmund. Edmund couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare at the child in shock. A grin split the child's face. "Hey! You look like a bug just crawled into your pajamas!"
"Not a bug." He muttered shakily. "SUSAN!" He hollered as loud as he could. "SUSAN!"
"Hey! I have a sister named Susan! She can be really boring. I thought that it would be fun to have a little sister, but all she does is ask my to teach her math, and I hate math!"
"Edmund! What is going on?" Susan hissed as she poked her head outside her door. "You're going to wake up the entire castle." Mini-Peter gasped.
"Are we in a castle? Are you a Prince? Can I be a Prince too? Do I get a crown? Do I get to-"
"Shut up!" Edmund roughly clamped a hand over Peter's mouth.
"What – Ed…Who is that? How did he get in here?" Susan asked, pulling on her long, silvery robe.
"This squirming bundle of unnatural and, quite frankly, irritating energy," Edmund struggled to hold onto the boy, "is none other than our dear brother and High King, Peter." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. Peter immediately stopped wriggling and stood with his mouth agape and eyes wide open.
"Am I a King?" He asked.
"Peter? Edmund that's impossible. He's only a child! Peter is seventeen years old!"
"I know! But…Peter's not in his room!"
"Did you look in there?"
"Well, no…but…he didn't answer the door!"
"Edmund, Peter slept through the first bombing. Do you really think that a little yelling would wake him up?"
"But…this kid…he says his name is Peter…and well, just look at him!" Edmund grabbed Peter by the shoulders and thrust him at Susan.
"He does look like Peter…" She said slowly. For the first time, Edmund noticed that the boy was wearing Peter's nightshirt, but it was so large on him that he fit him as a nightdress. Edmund didn't have to guess that Peter's pajama pants were far too large for the boy to wear and that he had probably left them in his King sized bed. "But that doesn't mean-"
"Then you try knocking on the door! See if he answers!"
Susan sighed. She rapped softly on the door. "Peter?" She called. "Peter? Open up and tell Edmund that you're still in there!" No answer. "Peter? If you're awake, then I'm coming in. If you're still asleep…well, I'm coming in anyway." She opened the door slowly and peeked in. "Peter?" She whispered. No answer. She tiptoed to his bed. The first rays of dawn were beginning to streak through the window. Edmund and Mini-Peter followed her.
"Hey! This is where I woke up! And I didn't know where to go. Actually, I really needed to go to the bathroom so I walked across the hall where the bathroom is at my house, only I noticed that this didn't really look like my house so I walked into the room and there was a really big bed and there was someone in the bed and I think it was you, only I can't really remember." Mini-Peter pointed up at Edmund.
"Su, this kid is…not normal." Edmund told Susan.
"He's only a child Edmund." Susan said as she lifted up Peter's abandoned blankets. "Well, he's not here." She said.
"Oh really?" Edmund asked lightly, though no one missed the sarcasm. "Where could he be?"
"Who are we looking for again?" Mini-Peter asked, scratching his head.
"We're looking for you." Edmund told him.
"Oh." Peter thought about it for a moment. "Here I am!" He raised his hands high; a huge smile was plastered on his face. Edmund rubbed his forehead.
"I think I need some tea." He mumbled.
"Tea? Tea is so gross! I don't know why my mum likes it. I think it tastes like water with dirt in it! My sister Susan likes it too. What were your names again?" Peter asked.
"Really strong tea…" Edmund moaned.
"My name is Susan." Susan said patiently.
"Wow! My sister's name is Susan!"
"Yes, you told us." Edmund mumbled.
"And this is Edmund." Susan said.
"Wow! My brother's name is Edmund!"
"Was he really like this when he was 6?" Edmund asked.
"Well, I do remember him jumping off the couch in the living room with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, convinced that he could fly." Susan said.
"Hey! That's a really good idea! Can I have that blanket?" Peter asked.
"No!" Edmund cried.
"Why not? I'm the High King!"
"How come you can remember that and not that you asked me for pancakes about 5 times?" Edmund asked.
"Pancakes? You have pancakes? Can I have some?" Peter asked. Edmund gave up.
"Yes! Alright! You can have some pancakes! Are you happy?"
"Yeah! Can they be blueberry? Or strawberry is good too. But I've always liked regular ones-"
"Well you know what? You can have every kind of pancake you like." Edmund said.
"Really?"
"Yeah! Just shut up!"
"What's going on?" Lucy had appeared in the doorway rubbing her eyes.
"Lucy…we have a little problem." Susan said.
"Oh no…he's not a little problem. He's the biggest headache I've ever experienced in my life." Edmund said.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked. Edmund gave an exaggerated point.
"Presenting His Royal Highness, Peter the Magnificent, High King of Narnia." He said dryly. Lucy's eyes went wide.
"Peter!" She gasped. "What happened!"
"We have no idea." Susan shrugged. "We just woke up and he was like this."
"Correction. I woke up with him poking me in the face! You woke up because I was yelling at you."
"I'm really hungry. Can I have some toast?" Peter asked.
"But you said you wanted pancakes!" Edmund cried, exasperated.
"I did?" Peter looked thoughtful.
"Susan…Lucy…I don't care what you do to him, just get him out of my sight." Edmund said.
"We're not doing anything to him. We're going to find out why he was transformed into a child and how to change him back." Susan said.
"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard. Because so many things here happen for known reasons." Edmund's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Ed…not now." Susan said. Now let's think. Something must have happened to Peter that didn't happen to the rest of us."
"Yeah. He got turned into a little-"
"Edmund…" Susan warned. "Did he come in contact with anything strange or mysterious yesterday while you were looking for his sword?"
"I don't think so…of course I wasn't really paying attention to what he was touching."
"Could it be because he lost his sword?" Lucy asked.
"Good idea, but I don't think so." Susan said. "Maybe someone cast a spell on him."
"But who? We know everyone here and no one would want to turn Peter into a child." Lucy said.
"Unless they're invisible." Susan said seriously.
Lucy gasped. "But that means one of us could be next!"
"Someone's trying to take over the castle." Susan whispered. The two Queens looked at each other fearfully. Edmund rolled his eyes.
"This is just getting silly. No one is trying to take over the castle. If they were, they could have come up with a much better and much less irritating way of doing so than turning Peter into a 6-year-old."
"Edmund does have a point. If someone were trying to take over the castle, they could have just poisoned us." Lucy said. Susan thought for a moment, then he looked up. "What?" Lucy asked.
"Poison?" She asked.
"Yeah. That would be a much more efficient way of taking over a castle."
"No…but, what if…he was poisoned? Not poisoned," She said, seeing the looks on her siblings' faces, "but what if it was something he ate?" Edmund's eyes went wide.
"Or drank!" He said. He looked at Peter, who, upon being noticed, gave a wide, toothy smile. "Last night, when those drinks were delivered to us…they were from Typris."
"So?" Susan asked.
"Typris is a genius when it comes to magical brews and potions."
"But why would Typris want to turn Peter into a child?" Susan looked as though Edmund's theory was completely absurd. Edmund looked at his feet guiltily.
"I was…kinda…sorta…complaining to him about Peter." He said.
"Edmund! Why?" Susan looked shocked.
"I was just so tired of Peter always scolding me and blaming me for everything and he has no idea what it's like to be in someone else's shadow…I didn't ask him for this!" He defended himself, seeing the looks his sisters were giving him. "I just needed to vent to someone. Believe me, I wouldn't ask for this!" He pointed at Peter, who was currently entertaining himself by jumping around in circles and humming. He bounced right into the bed, hit his head on the large wooden post, fell onto the floor, and rubbed his head.
"Ow." Edmund shook his head hopelessly.
"But Edmund, even if it was Typris, how would he know which one Peter would drink?" Lucy asked. Edmund thought for a moment before his eyes went wide.
"The goblets." He said. "Don't you remember? Ours were all silver with sapphires, but Peter's was bigger and gold with emeralds. I remember thinking that he always got better stuff than we did."
"And he started feeling sick after he drank it!" Lucy gasped.
"Who are you?" Peter asked Lucy, as though he had just realized there was a fourth person in the room.
"I'm your sister, Lucy." She told him gently, though couldn't help but smile. It was exciting to have someone younger than her for a change. Peter looked as though he were deep in thought, trying to remember something.
"I don't have a sister named Lucy." He said finally.
"Of course he wouldn't remember." Susan said. "You didn't come around until he was almost 9." There was a small silence.
"I think you're all crazy." Peter finally concluded.
"Ha! We're crazy? Who's the nutter little kid who asked me for pancakes three times? Edmund asked.
"Who?" Peter asked.
"By Aslan!" Edmund looked exasperatedly up at the ceiling. "My goldfish retains more information than you do!"
"You have a goldfish? Can I see it? Is it really really big?"
"No! It's just a normal goldfish and no you can't see it!"
"Why not?"
"Because it's not here!"
"Where is it?"
"It's back in…my other house."
"You have another house? Wow!"
"Yeah, it's amazing." Edmund said dryly.
"Is it a castle too? Is it as big as this one? Do you get whatever you want? Because I'm a King and I want to get whatever I want. Isn't that-"
"All in favor of tossing him off the South Tower…" Edmund raised his hand and looked at his sisters, who, to his horror, were both giggling. Edmund gasped, "You traitors!"
"We're sorry Ed." Susan tried to calm her giggles.
"It's just so funny to see you get so worked up!" Lucy laughed.
"Oh yes…hee hee hee…watching Edmund suffer is just so entertaining." He said sarcastically.
"Hey! My little brother's name is Edmund!" Peter said happily. Edmund looked ready to strangle him.
"Yes, you told us." Susan said gently.
"Ed I think your eye is twitching." Lucy giggled, thoroughly amused. Edmund glared daggers in her direction. He was in no mood to be made fun of.
"Lucy…Not now…" He hissed through gritted teeth.
"Oh come on, Ed…he's so cute." Lucy said in a singsong voice.
"Yes I'm adorable." Peter pulled an angelic I-never-do-anything-wrong pose.
"Deplorable." Edmund muttered.
"Edmund." Susan warned.
"Hmm?" Edmund asked innocently.
"Stop that."
"Little Petey." Lucy continued. Peter scrunched up his nose.
"Don't call me Petey."
"Oh right…sorry." Lucy was still giggling at her new little brother.
"Alright…I know it's a little early, but I don't think anyone is getting back to sleep after a morning like this. I'm going to get the chef started on breakfast."
"And pancakes?" Peter asked.
"Yes, and pancakes." Susan said as she turned to leave. "Come on Lu."
"Wait a minute." Edmund said. His sisters turned. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He nodded his head fervently in Peter's direction.
"No. You'll be looking after Peter." Susan replied.
"WHAT!"
"You went to Typris…you get to babysit."
"I did not GO to Typris! I just complained to him!" But his sisters had already shut the door behind them. "ARGH!" He cried.
"I think you need a nap." Peter told him.
"I think I need your sword." Edmund said bluntly.
"I have a sword? Can I play with it? Will you play with me? I can be the brave King and you can be a dragon and I can kill you! That'll be fun!"
"Not if I kill you first." Edmund growled under his breath.
It was going to be a long, painful day.
Hey! Hope you guys enjoyed it! I probably won't get around to updating until after May 19 – Graduation! Hooray! Also, Scarborough Faire is in town so all weekends will be spent there with my best friend. Once summer gets here, hopefully I will have plenty of time to write, so please review if you feel inclined to do so. If not, I hope you enjoyed the story!
Love, peace, all that good stuff – Midnight Paradise
