Disclaimer: I own nothing in this marvelous universe; all of it belongs to C.S. Lewis.

A/N: Wow :blushes: I never expected my Narnia fic to be so well received, thank you! And since all of you were insisting I write another, here it is :grins:. In this one they are at Cair Paravel and have been for several years. It takes place some years before The Horse and His Boy and I really hope you enjoy this as much as my first one! Please R&R to let me know if you did!

One-Shot. Non-Slash.

.:Midnight Vigil:.

By Sentimental Star

(Two O' Clock in the Morning, Cair Paravel)

The ancient door cracked open with a faint groan and a single, flickering candle spilled its light into the darkened room.

Soundlessly, the figure made his way towards the room's only other occupant where the younger teen lay asleep on the bed.

It was late at night and everyone was supposed to be abed. But the figure, having awoken from a series of deeply unsettling nightmares, had been unable and unwilling to go back to sleep.

As such, he had spent the last hour sitting in his two sisters' rooms. Now he entered his brother's room.

Settling the candle and its holder carefully on the bedside table with the faintest of clacks, he slowly eased himself down on the edge of the bed. Quietly, he gazed down at the fourteen-year-old, watching him as he slept.

Had the other teenaged monarch known what he was doing, he'd likely never hear the end of it.

Four years had passed since he and his three siblings had become kings and queens of Narnia. They had been little more than children then—they were warriors and monarchs now.

Yet, it was easy to forget they still were children, in spite of the responsibilities they had willingly taken on. And children, as well as adults, still had nightmares.

Unfortunately, his came in the form of twisted memories.

Gently carding his fingers through the other young man's dark hair, he leaned down and lightly kissed the side of his brother's head. "Love you, Ed," he whispered, straightening up.

For at least another forty-five minutes he sat there, continuing to watch his younger brother sleep and occasionally brushing a hand through his hair.

The two youngest ones had always been special to him—not that his oldest sister was not, but she was only a year younger than him, and more of a companion than a younger sibling.

Lucy and Edmund, though, had always managed to touch something in his heart that Susan could not. He often felt he had to protect them with all he was—not that he didn't want to protect Susan, but he knew she would not as readily accept that protection and comfort as the two youngest ones did.

Even if all three of them were fully capable of protecting themselves.

With a quiet sigh, he stood to his feet and scooped up his candle one-handed. He could breathe a little easier now, knowing that all three of his siblings were safe.

He knew how those memories really ended, of course, but caught in a nightmare, he had not been able to remember. So it took a great deal of weight off his chest to check on them and sit in their rooms a while.

Lightly squeezing Edmund's shoulder, he murmured, " 'Night, Ed," before making his way quietly out the door.

He did not see his younger brother carefully prop himself up on his elbows as he left, gazing after him in concern and slight confusion.

oOoOoOoOoOo

For the better part of a month, things continued in this manner.

Not that he had woken up from nightmares every night. But he usually received them at least once or twice a week.

As before, he found himself frequently sitting up for at least two hours in his siblings' individual bedrooms, trying to chase away the nighttime demons.

He never returned to his own room on these nights, choosing instead to remain on one of the balconies facing the seacoast until first light.

But his body could only take so much.

Once he had fallen asleep in Edmund's room, and narrowly escaped an interrogation the next morning when Mr. Tumnus came on a surprise calling for Lucy's twelfth birthday.

Another night he had fallen asleep in Lucy's room, but was luckily awoken by a surprised Susan who had wanted to go riding.

His sister had asked him what he was doing there later that evening, in Lucy's and Edmund's hearing. But he had shrugged it off. His siblings knew him well enough to not continue pressing for answers, although thereafter, Lucy occasionally shot him a curious look while he caught Edmund from time to time worriedly glancing at his face.

Neither said anything, however.

He had nearly fallen asleep in Edmund's bedroom again tonight. Feeling himself begin to drowse, he had more or less stumbled to his feet, and taking his candle, left the room after giving his younger brother's shoulder a final squeeze good-night.

He was out on the balcony now, leaning his crossed arms on the stone railing and allowing the balmy late evening breeze to ruffle his sandy blond hair. Closing his eyes, he felt it dance over his face, cooling the tears that tracked down his cheeks as his thoughts veered to his dreams.

They had been particularly bad tonight, although he could not have said why. He had been up for at least three hours by this point and did not dare go back to sleep.

Out here, alone, he did not have to be the High King. He could just be Peter Pevensie, formerly of…what had Aslan called it? Oh, yes, formerly of Finchly. Wherever Finchly was. That other place—England.

Out here, he could cry and did not have to worry about appearances.

"Peter?"

The question was quiet and caused him to tense slightly.

Quickly, he straightened up. Making sure to keep his back to the balcony's entrance, he swiftly dried the tears with the heel of his hand and tried to clear his throat. "What…What are you doing out here, Ed?" he asked softly, voice thick and trying in vain to hide it.

A sigh, and he sensed his younger brother leave the doorway to come stand beside him at the balcony rail. "You don't have to act like the High King with me, Peter," the younger teen informed him quietly. "Not right now at least."

When the seventeen-year-old did not answer, Edmund decided to continue, "You've been doing this every night, haven't you?"

"What?" the other young man inquired after a short pause, clearing his throat again. His voice was still thick and his eyes were riveted on the sea.

It sparkled in the moonlight, but Peter did not really notice.

"You know bloody well 'what,'" Edmund retorted calmly, tone dry. He leaned his elbows on the railing beside his brother's.

"It's nothing, Ed," Peter replied, attempting to keep his response light.

The fourteen-year-old roughly grabbed his arm, forcing Peter to face him. Scowling, he demanded, "Will you stop it! I know for a fact that at least once a week you've been up to all hours of the night. You're exhausted, Peter! Did you think we wouldn't notice?"

Peter dropped his eyes. "I rather hoped you wouldn't."

Edmund slapped him gently upside the head, his scowl softening. "You're a bloody mule, Peter," he grumbled, "you know that?"

The older boy glanced up at him a moment, before giving a slightly thick and garbled laugh, then dropping his head as more tears wended their way down his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he choked, ineffectually scrubbing at the salty droplets. "I'm sorry. This is ridiculous. It was just a dream."

The younger teenager shook his head. "A nightmare, you mean." Reaching up, smiling slightly, he brushed away a few of the tears that were still falling. "It's all right. Everyone gets them." He smiled a bit more. "I take it that's why you've been in and out of our rooms all night?"

Peter cleared his throat, giving a small chuckle. "How'd you know?"

"How do you think I knew you were out here?" Edmund countered with a warm grin, slipping his arm around Peter's shoulders. "I've seen you in my room during the night once before, and I saw you again tonight. You also were in my room a couple of weeks ago when I woke up in the morning."

The seventeen-year-old scrubbed away some more tears. "I should have known it wouldn't get past you," he laughed thickly.

Edmund shrugged. "Of course not." Gently, he propelled his older brother back towards the interior of the castle. "Come on, you need to sleep."

Peter shook his head. "I don't want to, Ed."

The younger boy gave him a rakish grin as they reentered Cair Paravel. "Well, you're going to. And I am going to make sure that you do."

The older teen shot him an amused look. "And just how, exactly, are you planning to do that?"

"Easy," the fourteen-year-old answered pleasantly, lightly pushing Peter through his bedroom door and into his own room, "I'll stay here tonight. And if you get up, I'll tie you to the bed."

His response surprised a bark of laughter out of his older brother. "You wouldn't dare."

Edmund gently shoved him onto his bed. "Perhaps not, but do you really want to risk it?" He shot his brother a potentially dangerous grin. "Now, under."

Peter laughed again, softly, as he acquiesced. "All right, Ed," he conceded, "all right."

Edmund stayed standing beside the bed long enough to ensure that the other teenager did so, before turning and dragging over a nearby armchair. Situating it close to the bed, he curled up within its confines and reaching out, placed a hand on his older brother's forehead.

Peter, laying down under the covers with his head on a pillow, made a quiet sound of surprise. "Ed?"

"Go to sleep, Peter," he ordered softly.

The other teenager shook his head slightly. "You need sleep, too, Ed."

"Not as much as you do." He smiled affectionately at the older boy. "Go to sleep. I'm right here."

Peter grumbled, but found it difficult to continue doing so for very long as Edmund gently began to stroke his hair in an odd reversal of their positions from several weeks ago. "At least take the…the blanket," he insisted sleepily, gesturing vaguely at a warmly knitted throw on the end of his bed.

The fourteen-year-old smiled again, and leaning over, easily snagged the throw with his free hand. He arranged it over his legs one-handed, and when Peter reached out, trying to adjust it, Edmund caught that hand with his own. "Stop being a prat and sleep," the younger teen chided quietly, placing his brother's hand back on the bed and continuing to smooth his hair.

"Yes, mum," Peter muttered. Within minutes, the older teenager was asleep.

Even so, Edmund did not remove his hand.

It must have been around a half an hour later when a soft noise shook Edmund out of his half-drowsing state. Quickly, he glanced up at the door to Peter's room.

When he saw who stood there, he relaxed and smiled. "Lu, what are you doing up?" he whispered as his younger sister swiftly and silently made her way towards him across the floor.

Lucy was smiling when she reached him. "The same thing you are. Making sure Peter's staying asleep."

"You know, too, then?" he asked, lifting up part of the throw and inviting her to sit next to him in the armchair.

At twelve, she was still the youngest and the smallest of the four of them, and so, could easily fit beside him in the chair.

Taking the invitation offered, she sat down and snuggled up next to him in the seat. As he tucked the throw over her, too, and wrapped his free arm around her, Lucy replied quietly, still smiling, "I figured it out when he came into my room again tonight."

Edmund shook his head, laughing softly. "That's Peter for you."

Lucy grinned. "Yes, Big Brother of the Year."

The older boy laughed again, giving her a tight squeeze. "We should make it some sort of award."

"And give it to him for Christmas!" the girl added brightly.

This time, they both started laughing, making sure to keep it quiet. Peter certainly did not need to be woken up again. Edmund didn't think he could get him back to sleep if he did.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Edmund and Lucy fell asleep that night in their older brother's bedroom. They (along with Peter) were woken the next morning by Susan's rather surprised exclamation, "Oh! Here you all are!"

Peter started awake, trying to get his bearings, as the two younger ones stirred and blinked owlishly in the bright morning.

All three turned and looked up rather sleepily at Susan who stood just inside of the door. She grinned, and put her hands on her hips, mock-scolding, "And to think, the Archenland envoy is expected any minute now."

That certainly caught their attention. "What?" Edmund demanded, now wide awake.

Susan laughed. "They're about three leagues from here." Still grinning, she motioned to her siblings before turning and sweeping out the door, "Come on! I heard the queen has a new baby."

Lucy threw off the throw and quickly scampered out of the room to get dressed. Peter stared after her in surprise as Edmund hurriedly tried to disentangle himself from the same blanket.

When his younger brother went to leave, however, Peter hastily reached out and grabbed the cuff of his night tunic. "Edmund!" he exclaimed.

Startled, Edmund pulled up short and turned to face him. "Peter?" he asked.

The older boy smiled softly at him, reaching up to affectionately ruffle his hair. "Thanks."

Edmund grinned. "Just returning the favor, Peter." A wave and then he left for his own room, intent on getting dressed before the Archenland envoy arrived.

The End!