NOVALIS

A/N: Warning! This fic includes attempts at humor! They just came to me while reading PariahCam's Scatterbrained. The pranks were… very creative.

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(In chronological order)

Story Alerters: AutumnRoseSummerLily (also an Author Alerter!), metaphoricheart, WillowDryad

Reviewers: Mintey (- it was a lot of feedback, but I thank you for it! It helped me make Chap. 1 that much better.)

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~Caity

TRIGGER WARNING: War injuries.

Label [1]

'Just' indeed! Edmund was acting the exact opposite of righteous! Really, he had no business doing anything in her room. Although those chipmunks had been rather adorable once she… but that was beside the point. He had gone too far this time, and she couldn't catch him because he had too much of a head start. However…

Peter turned the corner… and stopped short. Queen Susan 'the Gentle' was staring unseeingly at the tapestry, the expression on her face that of a calculating plotter. He slowly backed away around the corner. Poor Edmund. Peter had had his own experience with Susan's 'dark side'*, a most unfortunate incident concerning a porcupine and his underwear which he'd much rather not remember (though Peter believed the porcupine was as much of a victim as he was). He could say in complete confidence that Susan's revenge would be anything but benign.

Faith [2]
 "Peter!" He heard the voice behind him, breathy and weak. He whirled around. Behind Peter, nearby, laid Edmund.

"Edmund!" Peter ran to his brother's side, lifting the fourteen-year-old's head onto his lap, paying no attention to his own injured leg and myriad other small wounds. Edmund winced as he was moved, then gasped as his head touched Peter's lap.

"Why?"

As Peter spoke, he noticed the leg of his breeches where Edmund's head lay was becoming slightly damp. Peter's breath hitched. Well, that accounted for all the blood in Edmund's hair. Peter's voice sounded a bit choked when he spoke next.

"Why do you do this for me?"

Peter's question was empty, as he knew full well, but he continued anyway.

"You could die." Peter shifted Edmund so his little brother's head was leaning against his chest. Edmund's wince was instantaneous, though Peter could see he had tried to hold it in, for his brother's sake. It was always for Peter's sake, and it tore him apart. Of course the same could be said vice versa, but neither of them was in the state to voice such a fact.

Peter's voice broke. "You very well may die this time." A few stray tears slipped out of his eyes, and Edmund was acutely aware of them as they landed on his head.

Looking up at his brother, Edmund knew hazily that he would not stay conscious much longer. He said only a few words, knowing they would talk more when they returned to Cair Paravel. He would answer Peter properly, and probably end up saying more than he mean to. Edmund knew he wouldn't object.

"I know that Aslan watches over me… As do you."

"But how-? I mean we've always come back before, but-" Peter broke off, unable to say what he was really wondering- How his brother could be so sure.

Edmund's, however, seemed to understand, and his cloudy eyes were filled with emotion that balanced out the pain. "Knowledge is only one half, Peter." Edmund spoke to him quietly, and Peter could tell it took effort.

"Faith is the other."

Peter stared at his brother a moment, then suddenly became aware once again of his brother's injuries. Edmund looked bruised and bloody and Peter knew his brother must have a concussion, but what really worried him was when Edmund's eyes started to close.

"I won't die here, Pete…" He trailed off.

"Edmund!" Edmund's eyes slid shut and Peter grabbed his shoulder. "Edmund…" They wouldn't open! Couldn't open…? "Please…"

Staring at his brother and trying not to loose control, Peter gathered his brother into his arms and held him close, then heaved himself up. He started off with difficulty, making his way to the makeshift infirmary, carefully trying not to do anything that would hurt Edmund's gashed and concussed head or broken ribs, or any of his other various injuries. And as he walked, he thought of his younger brother's words and of Aslan, and he prayed. He prayed for Edmund, so pale in his arms, yet so young and full of faith.

Queen [3]
Lucy is a queen. You can tell by the way she carries herself and from her conduct and her will to live and love life. Lucy is a Queen of Narnia and a Golden Sovereign.

Susan is a queen. She has many connections, and great beauty, and she's welcoming and simply charming, they say. Susan is a queen of society, and she is The One That Turned Away.

Razzle-Dazzle [4]
When they first visited Narnia, they sent a barrage of entertainers and gifts that began a day before they arrived. They were looking to impress… and they did.

From the moment the Tisroc's son spoke, his words were honey-coated. They were meant to draw the siblings in… and Edmund saw right through them.

The Calormene government was not to be trusted.

Cowabunga
 Edmund usually snuck into the water so he could surprise (at least one of) his siblings. Today, however, he had decided to do something completely different, which he hoped would surprise them all.

The eleven-year-old peered over the edge of the cliff with slight trepidation (which he thought was somewhat absurd considering all that had happened rather recently). He took a breath, preparing to jump over the edge with a shout. (After all, it was only a few yards!)

Peter and Susan swam obliviously below him. But wait-where was-

A branch snapped behind Edmund, and as he fell he thought nothing of exclamations.

He did, however, look up from the water to see a broadly grinning Lucy.

.

Visual Effects [5]
 Narnia, a sullen Edmund mused when he first entered it, seemed almost unreal, as if it were done up by a visual effects team. He thought it to be a sad and dull place, and (though he would never admit it) a bit scary. Everything and everyone seemed leering and unwelcoming.

Everything and everyone, except…

Her.

He realized later that he had been lying to himself about it all, but at the time, all he knew was Her voice.

Compromising
"Peter... What are you doing with ribbons in your hair?"

"…I am never making a bet with Lucy again..."

[1] I'll leave exactly what happened in those pranks to your mind…
*We have fresh cookies!

[2] I know, I said the 2nd chapter would be better. It just came to me!
Also- a voucher for one story (whatever you request, as long as it's not too long) to anyone who recognizes the quote!

[3] This is Susan after she forgets, or rejects Narnia.
Queen:
1) A woman monarch in her own right.
2) A woman noted for her beauty or accomplishments.

[4] Yay! Another challenge word down… and in a few sentences, too!

[5] I know, movies like that weren't made then and visual effects teams didn't do things like that, but what else was I supposed to do?