Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, C.S. Lewis does, you know the deal...

Notes: Message me before using any of my characters, yadity-ya-dee-yah, ya'know, the usual. Takes place during the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Narnia 1007. Kindly read and review!

.: Chapter One : Rude Awakening :.

"Lu, get off of me!" said Edmund in a voice too high-pitched for a teenage boy teetering on the edge manhood. Lucy reluctantly stopped bouncing on Edmund's bed and smiled sweetly. Edmund, however, wasn't done complaining. "You're getting bigger now! You can't just jump on me!"

"Oh come off of it, Ed! Come on, get up!" Lucy seized Edmund's arm and dragged him out of bed. He landed with a thump on the marble floor. Satisfied, Lucy walked out of the room leaving Edmund to lie on the floor, rubbing his head. He was about to stand up when the floor shook.

"Lucy!" Edmund hollered, "Quit jumping!" Somehow, despite the enormity of Cair Paravel, the marble floors would still shake if someone ran in the halls or jumped in certain spots. Edmund was having trouble resisting the urge to wring Lucy's neck when her voice carried back into his room.

"It's not me, Ed!" said Lucy, running to her room to get dressed. Edmund decided to put on some clothes and check out what was going on. Another quake hit the castle, sending Edmund flying into a wall as Peter ran past the door.

"Peter, by the Lion's mane, what is going on?" demanded Edmund. Never a morning person to begin with, this unorganized morning was not helping his mood. Peter had not heard Edmund, so the younger sibling followed his older brother to the western side of the castle, the side with the balcony. Peter, Susan, and Lucy were already there, mouths gaping. Edmund looked outside.

Rows of soldiers were lined up, coming closer to Cair Paravel every moment. The military general Athylt, a centaur, came to a stop at Edmund's side. He turned to Peter.

"Your orders, High King?"

"Send the fauns to the top of Point Paravel - that should be a good defensive archery spot." Peter paused, waiting for Athylt's approval. "Susan, Lucy, you go with them. Put the cats, dogs, horses, centaurs and remaining fauns to the frontlines. The giants can bring up the rear." Susan and Lucy left, leaving the two men and centaur. "Edmund and I will lead the troops. Will you send Tumnus to go ready Valiel and Philip?"

"How did this happen?" asked Edmund, after Athylt had saluted and trotted off to the stables.

Peter's jaw was slack and he seemed ill at ease, an attitude that Peter rarely had, except when he was extremely worried. "I'm not sure." Peter strode off, leaving Edmund leaning on the railing. Then, he realized: the Cair would be playing host to Archenland guests in a matter of days to celebrate the coronation of King Lune, and the mermen patrolling the harbor must have passed off the ships as harmless visitors, since of course they had no means to explore the ships for weaponry. And what about the guards stationed at Lion's Head Shore? They must have killed them. Edmund shook his head, silently cursing himself for not seeing the gaping hole in the security - and it wasn't as if this was the first time something like this had happened. Edmund did, however, know two things: one, he needed to get a move on, and two, as soon as this ordeal was finished, they would be holding a council to improve their military.

As Edmund jogged to the stables to meet Philip, he was feeling a bit more accusing than usual, and couldn't help but be jealous of Peter, who always got to ride his unicorn Valiel into battle, while Edmund was always stuck with Philip for "his own good," as Peter would say. Yet, Edmund told himself, Peter knew very well that he had become a very good rider and could handle one of the chargers. Maybe he was jealous? Edmund shook his head trying to clear bad thoughts from his brain, but envy had come over him like a thick fog, and he found himself despising Peter more and more every second.

"Good morning, my King," said Philip cheerfully as Edmund stormed into the stable. Edmund scowled at Philip, removed the saddle which appeared to have been laid carefully on Philip's back by Peter, not Tumnus, and hoisted himself onto the horse's back. "No saddle, Edmund? That isn't smart - your brother won't be very happy."

"Forget Peter, I'm tired of taking his orders," said Edmund. Philip turned his head to look Edmund in the eye.

"He is the High King, and your older brother - two reasons why you should do what he says."

"I don't care about his titles; he's also the most bossy, overprotective, and cocky man I know."

"Edmund, your brother is concerned for you."

"No, he isn't. He cares about himself." Edmund dug his heels into Philip's sides, as you would to a regular, non-talking horse. "Come on, quit wasting time." Philip snorted, clearly disagreeing with Edmund, yet obeyed nevertheless and broke into a canter.

Peter was sitting on Valiel at the front of the Narnian troops. "No saddle, Ed?" asked the High King as Edmund approached. Philip chuckled but Edmund didn't reply. He stayed face-forward, with his hand clenched around his sword's grip, though the action was more out of annoyance than it was a preparation for battle. Peter unsheathed Rhindon.

"I think I know how they invaded," started Edmund.

"Don't care," Peter said shortly.

Edmund blinked in surprise - Peter had been in a fine mood this morning, so what had changed? He shrugged it off as tenseness from the approaching army, and asked, "Who are they, anyway?"

"Humans." Something was definitely up.

"Pete, that's not helpful," Edmund tried.

"Doesn't matter, you won't really need to fight at all." Edmund's mouth gaped slightly in annoyance. Why in Aslan's name was Peter giving Edmund the cold shoulder?

"Pete, who?" demanded Edmund.

Athylt spoke from Peter's side, "The Lone Islanders, more specifically the Avrans. They took over Doorn and Felimath, then sailed over here to challenge the mainland Narnia forces. I'm not sure who their leader is - it's too risky to send the gryphons over to check because we have no way of knowing how accurate their archers are."

The look on Peter's face told Edmund that Peter had not known who they were, but that didn't mean that Peter needed to be so snappy about it - he could have merely said, "I don't know." Edmund frowned and spoke directly to Athylt.

"Well, at least we know they'll be tired from being awake all night - that is how they traveled, by night, correct? If they had been by day one of the swallows or squirrels might have noticed."

Peter turned to Edmund impatiently, intercepting the question meant for the general. "Look, Ed, just shut up."

"Fine." Edmund clenched his jaw, realizing that there was no time for discussion here and now. They had an army to lead and an army to defeat, and it was more urgent than ever because the invading army was the army of Fylder. Too bad he knows what he's doing, thought Edmund, I should have known that he would have found a way around house arrest.

Peter, oblivious to Edmund's unhappiness and wandering mind, pointed his sword forward. "For Narnia," said Peter, "and for Aslan!"

Valiel reared. Peter, the excellent rider he was, stayed in perfect balance and urged him into a flat-out run. The Avrans yelled some sort of mangled battle cry and began to run forward, too.

"Archers, to your ready!" shouted Susan from atop Point Paravel. "Now!" At the same moment, thousands of arrows flew forward. They seemed to linger in the sky for a moment until screams could be heard below as the arrows hit their targets.

The battle for Cair Paravel had begun.

Valiel galloped forward, his hooves pounding on the tall grass, sending clumps of dirt flying into Edmund's face. He shut his mouth and urged Phillip faster causing Peter to divert his eyes from the approaching troops to keep an eye on Edmund. Something was missing - and no, Peter wasn't just imagining it because he wished Edmund wasn't fighting.

"Ed!" screamed Peter, his voice just audible over the loud battle noises as he realized the vital equipment that Edmund had neglected. "Your chainmail!" Edmund looked down at his chest. With the rush of events, he had forgotten to wear a layer of chainmail under his shirt. "Go on, go back and get it!" yelled Peter, turning to make a slash of his sword at one of the yelling Avrans. "Now!"

Edmund shook his head in a gesture of refusal. If he stayed on Phillip, it would be nearly impossible for the Avrans to hurt him, or at least this was Edmund's reasoning. Peter opened his mouth to speak but changed his mind and pressed his lips into a thin line. Must Edmund always be this stubborn? Sure, the trait was one that had saved Narnia and Aslan's army from the Witch's clutches, though now Peter found it downright obnoxious and childlike. Peter swore that he most certainly would give Edmund a good verbal lashing later and he tore his mind from his younger brother to pay attention to the Avran army. The Narnian cats, who had sped ahead, made good use of their claws and had managed to wipe out a significant portion of the army. Peter knocked out one man with a swift swing of his word. His armor-clad elbow involuntarily crashed down on an archer to his left. Edmund guided Phillip to the right and Peter stayed left, separating the pair.