A/N: See! I can update regularly!
No excuses this time! Just R&R!
See disclaimer in previous chapters.
Chapter 6
Lucy Pevensie was writing furiously in a journal when Eustace knocked on her open door. She called for him to enter and he sat beside her, looking at her journal curiously.
"What are you doing, cousin?" he asked.
"Writing of Edmund." She said shortly, having never stopped writing, even when Eustace entered.
Eustace required no further explanation.
After Edmund had been sent to Narnia, people had started to lose their memories of him. First were her Aunt and Uncle Scrubb, as they didn't even seem to notice that Edmund was missing. Eustace and Lucy had first put that down to their inattentiveness, but then later they had brought Edmund up in conversation, and Eustace's parents had no recollection of him at all.
Understandably, the two were quite shocked and quickly excused themselves to discuss this anomaly. But little did they know, this was only the beginning. Slowly, the mentions of Edmund in Peter and Susan's letters diminished, until they stopped altogether. Lucy could not bring herself to mention Edmund in her letters to her siblings. She was not entirely sure she could handle it if they claimed not to remember him.
Eustace, however, needed to know the truth. He always had been one that needed to seek out facts and knowledge, so he sent a letter asking if they remembered someone named Edmund. His heart broke when Peter and Susan said no. How can you forget your own sibling, your own flesh and blood, as if they had never existed? He could not bring himself to tell Lucy, although he was sure that she somehow knew.
The letters that were supposed to come from their school informing them that Edmund was no longer attending classes never came. His report card from the previous year never came, either. The day that Edmund's belongings started disappearing from his room was the day that Lucy and Eustace finally understood what was going on.
Aslan was erasing all traces of Edmund from their world, so that his disappearance would not be noticed and would not bring up all sorts of uncomfortable questions. Lucy had mourned anew when she came to this conclusion. This confirmed what she had feared: Edmund was not coming back. Her only hope was that one day, she would reunite with her brother in Aslan's country. Lucy felt a sharp stab of envy for her cousin, as Aslan had stated that he would return to Narnia one day.
Ever since then, Lucy had been living in constant fear that her memories, too, would fade. She had recently had the inspiration to write a journal of everything she could remember of her beloved brother.
Eustace was worried as well. He too was holding onto his memories of Edmund with his whole being. He did not want to forget his cousin and friend.
"Do you think I could read some of it when you are finished?" he asked softly.
That caused Lucy to stop her constant writing. She looked up at Eustace with pity and understanding and rested her head against his shoulder.
"Of course." She said, her voice equally soft.
Eustace cleared his throat and rose from his seat. "I will leave you to it, then. Don't… don't forget anything, Lu."
"I won't." she said with a determined look upon her face.
He walked out of her room, and shut the door to the sound of her pen scratching upon the paper.
xXx
Dark.
That was all his entire world had been for what felt like forever. And up until now, he had been completely fine with it.
Not today. Today, something inside of him was pushing. Pushing him to fight, to fight against the dark that consumed him.
There was a hint of brightness, a hint of something amazing waiting for him on the other side. And that, more than anything else, inspired him to fight all the harder.
But, oh, was the dark hard to break through. If you could break a sweat from working in your head too hard, he would certainly be.
Just… one… last… push… and…
There! He had broken through the barrier. But for some reason, everything was still dark. Oh. He had his eyes closed. After berating himself for such stupidity, he finally opened his eyes.
Owww.
All right, maybe that wasn't the smartest idea, he thought as he closed his eyes with a groan. Well how was he supposed to know that some idiot had left the window open and bright sunlight would be streaming straight into his face?
His groan, however, caused someone to gasp. He startled at the sound, cracking his eyes open once again. Only this time he did so facing away from the dratted window.
"Edmund?" the man next to him gasped.
"Hello." He rasped out.
Who this man was, he had no idea. He felt a foggy recollection tugging at his mind, as if he should know who this was.
Suddenly, realization hit. This was Caspian's tutor! The one that Caspian had risked the whole battle in the Telmarine's castle to rescue.
But if this was Caspian's tutor, that means… He felt a warm feeling rush through him. He was in Narnia. He never thought he would see this place again. He felt tears prick at his eyes, but he blinked them away and cleared his throat to get rid of the lump that had developed there.
His throat felt strange, as if he had not spoken in several days. And now that he thought about it, that must be correct. The darkness was becoming a vague memory now, but he did recall it seeming to last a long time.
The old man seemed to come to his senses at the sight of Edmund looking around, and raced to the door, and addressed the guard standing outside of it.
"Find King Caspian. Now!"
xXx
All Caspian could hear was that frantic voice ringing in his head, repeating the same words over and over.
He is awake. He is awake. He is awake.
He made his legs move faster as he sprinted towards his chambers, fear in every line of his body. Fear that Edmund would be gone before that he got there. Fear that Edmund won't remember him. Fear that he won't want to be here and abandon his siblings. And most of all, fear that Edmund doesn't like him in that way.
Finally he reached his chambers, and he threw open the door and stopped abruptly to take in the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
Edmund was sitting up in his bed, all deliciously sleepy and mussed, looking at him with the biggest smile he had ever seen.
"Caspian!" he greeted joyfully.
Before Caspian even realized what he was doing, his legs were moving, and he was at the bed with his arms around Edmund in a fierce hug.