Heart In A Headlock
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything copyrighted by CS Lewis or the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I am not associated with the producers, actors and actresses, etc. I am merely a fan writing a fanfic.
Author's Note: I know I haven't written anything in a while, but this Edmund/Lucy idea has been stuck in my head since mid-July. Now, if you are not a fan of incest, don't read this story. It's as simple as that. I keep my incest natural - brother/sister, not sister/sister or brother/brother (no offense to homosexuality, I just can't write it well in stories). Anywho, the first chapter of this story is pre-Narnia, and it's not really incestuous. It's more focused on how Edmund and Lucy developed their siblingship. I'm not writing anything for the Narnia-era because the incestuous relationship begins after they return from home, and obviously I haven't killed any of them off. My Narnia fanfic is pretty much strictly movie-based since I haven't read the books since third grade. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter Two: The Way It Would Be
2:49. Fourteen year old Lucy Pevensie laid awake in her bedroom. The quiet bedroom that she no longer shared with her older sister Susan. Susan had gone off to the University as Peter had done, and though the two still stayed at home on weekends and holidays, Lucy could hardly call that 'still living at home'. Most of this was a good thing. There was no annoyance due to Susan's constant corrections and scolding, and less fighting in the house since Peter was not around to keep sixteen year old Edmund in line.
This was an entirely other subject. Lucy worried about Edmund. He had been getting into all sorts of trouble, and he did a good job of keeping their mother at bay. Lucy, however, could not be fooled. She had gotten Edmund to admit his actions, and she pieced together the story from there. Edmund had a friend at school that Lucy was sure had convinced Edmund to spend time with a crowd of older teenagers who definitely were not having study sessions all those nights Edmund stayed out with them.
It was in the middle of the heated summer, so Edmund had been managing to sneak out with his 'friend' without being detected by their mother. Lucy wanted to believe Edmund was strong enough to refuse this person influencing him to do improper things, but he was just a teenager and therefore under another influence - peer pressure. Or at least that was what the teachers at her school had been saying this previous year.
Lucy rolled over from her stomach onto her back. She wondered when he would get home. Where he was and what he was doing. She worried, mostly, would he come in again stumbling and reeking of ale? Drunk. Lucy had gotten angry at him that night. He had been groggy and morbid, and she did not like that Edmund. She also hadn't liked mopping up after him every time he got sick the following morning.
Sighing aloud in her dim room, Lucy flung back her sticky sheets from her hot body and went to make herself a glass of warm milk, despite the blistering heat. She then used the bathroom before heading back to bed and clearing the thoughts of Edmund from her head. Finally sleep started to drift over her.
Edmund limped through his damp, dark backyard to the kitchen door. He fumbled in the dirt behind his mother's flowers for the spare key and found it, unlocking the door as quietly as possible.
Nicholas was no longer a friend of his. Some friend he was to begin with, anyway, Edmund bitterly thought. First he had bullied him into smoking and drinking unauthorized beverages and breaking his curfew. Then it was trying to get him to steal firecrackers from a shop downtown. While refusing Nicholas had seemed like the right thing to do, Edmund was no longer so sure since he was sporting a large bruise, a cut lip, and a snapped arm.
He limped into the bathroom and looked at himself. His high cheek bone was bruising pretty badly, and the gash on his lower lip looked more painful than it actually was. His clothes were ripped and bloody, and he decided it would be best to just throw them out. Edmund tried to undress, however, and found that his arm (the injured one) was painfully immobile. It must be broken, he thought to himself. He cringed and whimpered. He needed someone to help him. But he was not about to wake his mother.
Lucy had almost slipped into a deep sleep when she was nudged awake. She lurched forward and stared to the side. It was just Edmund. She could breathe a little easier. He spoke to her, "Luc, I need your help."
She drowsily followed him into the bathroom, where he turned on the light, temporarily blinding her. Then she saw the state he was in. Her first reaction was to gasp and cover her mouth. "Edmund…what happened?"
Edmund's cheeks grew red and he avoided meeting her eyes as he explained, "Nicholas…I told him…well, I told him something he didn't want to hear. Let's just leave it at that." He gazed at his arm, "I think he broke my arm…"
Lucy reached for the doorknob behind her, "I have to go get Mum." She was panicking and quite unaware of it.
He hissed, "No! Are you barmy or just a total dolt? We can't let her know!" He added, "At least not yet." He would have to tell his mother eventually.
She narrowed her eyes and raised her voice a bit, "Don't call me stupid if you want my help! And you could be seriously injured, Ed! Mum knows better than I!"
Edmund shushed her, "Shut your fat mouth, you little…" He sighed at her indifference toward him. "Just help me out of these clothes."
Lucy stood rooted to her spot for a moment before taking a step toward her brother. She slowly undid the buttons on his shirt. The blood from the cuts on his face had seeped through his thin shirt and was caked on his skin. She gingerly helped him out of the shirt and ordered, "Here, sit on the edge of the bathtub." He did so as she wet a washcloth under warm water. She turned to him with washcloth in hand and gently scrubbed his face clean, being extra careful around the bruised area. She went back to the sink and rinsed the cloth out, running it under more warm water.
Edmund sat on the tub with his eyes closed. It was all he could do to keep from crying. he did not know if it was the pain from his arm, or the mixture of emotions he was feeling toward Lucy right now.
Lucy placed the soothingly warm cloth on his chest and wiped away the red, smeared blood. She scrubbed all the way down to his waistline and then repeated her rinsing process. She then turned Edmund at an angle where she could reach all of his back and washed his back, even though there was not a spot of blood on it.
"Wait here and I'll go get your pajamas." She came back with his blue pajamas and helped him into them. When she was finished cleaning the bloody mess she had created, she turned to Edmund, who was staring at her.
There was this light about Lucy. There had always been, but Edmund had decided at that exact moment that he had never taken notice of it before. He smiled faintly at her, but it looked like a funny face in contrast to his tears. Lucy wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back with his good arm. "Lucy…" he croaked.
"It's okay," she said. "I know you're sorry. It's okay." He kissed her forehead with a flooding sensation of relief, and he leaned on her for support the whole way to his bedroom. Once she had him in his bed, Lucy hovered a bit before leaning over to place a kiss on his cut-up lips. Automatically he reached up and held the back of her head and tried to return the kiss the best he could. She pulled away, leaving him with the tickle of her breath on his skin.
Lucy unmade Peter's bed and climbed in. She didn't want to leave Edmund alone. Because he wasn't. Edmund had Lucy. The way it should be. The way it had been. The way it would be.