Hi all! New chapter is out, what could Edmund's dream possibly mean?
Edmund sighed as he put on his day clothes and headed forward towards the stables. There would be no more sleeping tonight. "I just need to get my mind off this," he thought.
The last time he had a nightmare of this sort, no magic involved, was right before Camus had taken him and Lucy. But that didn't necessarily mean something bad would happen. He tried to assure himself that it was just a dream, nightmare possibly, and the best way to get his mind off it was a ride. Yes, a ride…at three in the morning.
Edmund had alway struggled with nightmares. Nightmares were the biggest part of his trust issues. Edmund had a hard time trusting people ever since he trusted the witch. Though he had gotten better with it, especially with his family being so open, he hadn't told them everything. There are some things he has planned to keep to himself forever, it was just safer that way.
His trust issues even did some good. He didn't trust Camus, and with that, he was able to save Peter's life back in the Golden Age. It also allowed for Camus to later capture him and Lucy out of revenge, but no one needs to think of that part.
The ride was oddly calming. He spent many hours taking in the fresh Narnian air and overseeing the sunrise. "I should do this more often," Edmund thought to himself before realizing that if Peter found out he would be killed. "Maybe not." Though the ride was beautiful the words still hissed in his head:
"Lies.
Lies.
Betrayal.
Lies.
Siblings.
Traitor.
Fake.
Lies."
It wouldn't stop. Edmund had assumed it was a nightmare of his betrayal, but the constant repeating words made him think it could be something more. "But what?" He thought to himself, "What could it mean besides a reminder of my worst mistake?"
He brought his horse back to the stables. It would be breakfast time soon and he had needed to clean off all the dried mud on his clothes. He didn't need anyone suspicious of his morning ride. Once showered and changed into clean clothes, he heard a slight knock on the door. He knew who it was once the door was opened without him saying 'come in.'
Peter.
Edmund quickly grabbed his dirty clothes and threw them into the darkest corner of the room, he had failed to get those stains out.
"Hey Ed, Breakfast is downstairs." Edmund knew he looked suspicious and that Peter could sense it. Peter furrowed his eyebrows, "Are you alright? You seem a little tense."
"Lies.
Lies.
Betrayal–"
Edmund shook the thoughts out of his head, "Everything is great actually."
And before Peter could follow up, he scurried out the door straight down to breakfast.
Edmund spent the rest of the day daydreaming, well, more of revisiting his nightmare. He started losing concentration during breakfast, the meetings, and in normal conversations. Everyone, even the servants, asked him if everything was alright, to which he replied, "Yes, everything is great actually," and then would hurry off. He decided it was best to just go off on another ride and pray to Aslan for the nightmare to stop haunting his days.
Meanwhile, Lucy and Susan sat with the florists in the seating hall to talk about the different kinds of flowers that they would require for decorations and the actual wedding. Lucy had various ideas about which ones they would need for the ceremony and Susan gave her inputs because Peter was a little allergic to pollen.
Right then, Peter walked in with a confused expression on his face. "Ah, speak of the brother," Lucy teased as he slumped on the sofa next to her.
"Peter," Susan spoke. "Are you okay? You seem lost in thoughts."
"Uh yeah." He shook his head. "Did you notice something strange about Edmund this morning?"
Susan exchanged a look with Lucy, "Not particularly, why?"
"I don't know, he is acting….well, not like himself. He seems lost in thoughts really."
"He is probably tired from the wedding planning." Susan suggested, though now she was starting to remember Edmund's weird behavior herself. "He must be getting bored by it and is trying to avoid our little sister's wedding conversations."
"Wha….hey!" Lucy pointed to herself. "I'm right here!"
Peter laughed as he hugged her with one arm. "We know, Lu. We know."
As the three continued to discuss the plans, Caspian had woken up early that morning to get some practice in sparring. He was hoping for Trumpkin to be around but found that he had been called by Glenstorm to the Dancing Lawn for an urgent meeting.
But nonetheless, he saw Edmund walking quite quickly through the corridor and called to him. "Edmund!" He waved him over. "Would you like to spar?"
Edmund looked at the sword offered by Caspian and then at him. He was heading to the stables to take another ride, but it didn't work the first time. After what had happened with the nightmare, he would love to blow off some steam. He needed a distraction, maybe this would work better than the ride, it needs more concentration after all. "I'd love to actually," put on his best smile, taking the sword from him.
The two stood face to face with each other. "Are you okay?" Caspian asked, seeing Edmund's dark circles under his eyes.
"I'm fine," Edmund said, anticipating Caspian's first move. "People need to stop asking me that," he took a step forward and the training began.
Once they had gotten their share of distraction, they sat down side by side and drank some water to catch their breath. "Come on. Talk," Caspian said.
Edmund sighed. They were family now and though he didn't want his siblings to worry about him, he did want to tell someone about what had happened. "I had a nightmare. It's nothing to worry about really but….I haven't been able to think straight since then."
"It really got to you, didn't it? You didn't use your signature move today."
He smiled faintly. "It did. I can't imagine what I would do if anything happened to all of you. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I don't want you to feel that you can't trust me or that I'm a…." Traitor. That was the word that was echoing in his ears, it was certainly what the dream was about…it had to be.
"Hey." Caspian clamped a hand on his shoulder. "You cannot blame yourself for things that have nothing to do with you. Don't let the nightmare get the better of you. As someone who has had his share, I can only tell you that you cannot let them win."
Edmund nodded. "Thank you, Caspian." Edmund, thinking of a way to change the topic from him, immediately started, "And what are you worried about?"
Caspian's eyebrows shot up, "Don't try to steer the conversation at me."
Edmund laughed, "I'm doing no such thing!"
He squinted his eyes but decided to answer the question anyway. "I'm worried that….I won't be able to meet everyone's expectations. I'm worried that Susan will wake up one day and realise that this was a mistake and–"
"Hey, don't say that," they looked at each other. "I know her well enough to know that she would never feel that way. She loves you and you love her, nothing could go wrong."
Caspian sighed, "Thank you, Edmund."
"What's family for?" He shrugged.
In the main hall, Lucy handed Peter a set of parchments that he had to give to the florists. And so, Peter made his way into town, accompanied by the Kingsguard. He made sure that the flower's scent did not give him any allergic reactions, and also added in his own suggestion of flowers before he placed the official order.
Flowers? Check.
On his way back, the Kingsguard went ahead to make sure that it was safe for Peter to continue. Peter then turned at a sharp corner and found himself at a crowded bazaar. He was about to turn around when something caught the Magnificent king's ear, something suspicious.
What did Peter hear? Find out next week! See you soon!
-23LucyGrace
