A/N: OK, so this is my first published fanfiction story (note the emphasis on published!), so I'm more than a little nervous. Thanks to my two friends who shall henceforth (always wanted to say that!) be known as EMC (her initials) and DLF (Dear Little Friend) for helping me with makeing this better. I, as much as I wish I could, and did, and someday will, can't honestly say that I own Narnia, or any of the characters in the story (unless you don't recognize them from the books and/or movies, then they're mine!). OK, I'm just prolonging you, nervous of your reaction to this story... However, before you go on and skip this, I need to warn you: Though there won't be anything, you know, wrong with this (cursing, explicit scenes, extensive gore, etc.) there may- and probably will- be times when people are injured and/or threatened, and things will (must likely) get tense. Anyway, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! heeheehee, I've always wanted to say that, too! :)

Lucy's POV

I stared out at the full moon, glowing in the night, feeling a cold breeze enter through my open window. The purple curtain shivered, dancing with the wind. I buried deeper into the blankets, searching for the warmth hidden deep in the covers, when I heard a shout from the room right next to mine, at the end of the hall, and I knew it was happening again.

Within seconds I barged into my older brother's room. For a brief moment I wondered why Peter wasn't just ahead of me, and Susan right behind, but the I remembered: they had left this morning to visit the Southern part of our kingdom, where they had heard of some riots and fights among our people.

That must be why…

I knelt at the side of Edmund's bed, pushing the midnight black curls out of his pale, sweating face. He moaned, pulling his face away from my hand, still not awake. Now I was getting really worried; he's usually out of this state by now. What does Peter do to wake him up? I wondered.

Suddenly, he screamed; a loud, terrible yell of pure panic. Grabbing his shoulders and gently shaking him, I looked for any kind of response. He turned so that he faced me again, then, suddenly, his eyes popped open. His hand quickly drawn his sword, and pushed me to the ground, the wicked sharp point right below my chin. I gulped, waiting for his glazed eyes to refocus. He blinked a couple of times, then shook his head, confused. "Lucy?"

"It's alright, Ed." I slowly nudged the sword away from my throat, watching his face for tell-tail signs, anything to give me a hint about his dream. I wanted some kind of idea what to expect, though I knew that he would explain everything when he was ready. "It's alright." I repeated.

Ed's eyes had cleared, and he scrunched them tight, falling heavily onto his bed as he remembered the nightmare as he sheathed his blade. He put his face in his hands and a great shudder past through his body, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. I got up and sat next to him on the bed.

Sweat glistened all over his pale face, and I wished that Peter and Susan were here. "Edmund…" I began, but couldn't continue, forgetting exactly what I had meant to say. Instead, I threw my arms around him and wrapped him in a bear hug. He let out a strangled noise, between a sob and a giggle.

"Lucy, it was terrible." he began, struggling to speak. My brave older brother was trying to compose himself for my sake, when what he really needed was to let it all out. I rubbed his back.

"Shh." I whispered. "Ed, I think you need to know something." I waited before continuing, causing Edmund to look curiously at me through tear-filled eyes. I gathered my jumbled thoughts into some kind of organized fashion, though I doubt it was actually organized in any sort of way. "The White Witch, yes, she was horrible, and yes, some of the things you did weren't exactly great, but, in the end, you did the right thing. Don't you ever forget how you risked your life for Peter, for all of us. We forgave you for the things you did, and we still love you. We'll always have your back, and we know you'll do anything for us."

Edmund took a deep breath, and something told me there was more to the story than I knew. I was just beginning to wonder if I would ever know the whole story- if I was able to handle the story. Would it all come out someday? Edmund closed his eyes and turned away again, his head in his hands. I didn't want to cause more pain by asking what was wrong, and once again I reminded myself that everything would come out when he was ready.

"Lucy, I never told you everything that happened while I was with the White Witch, and I don't know if I ever will be able to tell anyone the whole thing. It's just that…" Edmund took another deep breath. "Way too much happened during the time I was with her, more than I can comprehend myself. And every time I have a night like this, it all comes back to me, every single second. As soon as I calm down from the last one and life seems to be even just a little bit close to normal again, I have one of these stupid nightmares..." he punched his pillow, his voice fading out.

"Oh, Edmund!" I cried, not knowing what else there was to say. "You're one of the strongest people I know. I mean, there is absolutely no way that I could deal with this stuff. Gosh, I can barely deal with seeing you deal with it! I'm so proud of you, and I love you, and if Peter and Susan were here, they would say the same thing."

Edmund sighed, looking at me. I saw that some color had returned to his face, and he took my hand. "Lucy, I don't know what I would do if you weren't here."

"I think," I said slowly, nodding with a new understanding that was soon followed by a grand idea. "That we could both use a little ride in the woods." I raised an eyebrow at my brother, who grinned back down at me.

"You bet."

So, what did you think? Please, review! I'll try to put up the next chapter in the next week, though schools raging like crazy right now, as everyone just got back from Christmas break, and I still have yet to go to bed before midnight this week! Enough self-pity, it's all worth it, just please, review!