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"PASS ME ANOTHER."
Quietly, Lucy picks up a book and places it in my hand, watching intently as I balance it on Edmund's sleeping figure. We hold our breath, waiting for a reaction from him, but his eyes stay closed and the book rises and falls with his breathing. I have to stifle my laughter with my hands, muffling it before it grows too loud.
Edmund is nearly buried beneath the array of items Lucy and I have found belowdecks, from stray shoes and hats to an old spoon and a broomstick. I glance at my accomplice, who's doubled over in silent laughter, and hold out my hand for another item. She grins, handing over a box of playing cards. I put it beside the plates balanced along his arm.
"Here." She gives me Rithar's sandal next, and, running out of surfaces, I slide it on Edmund's foot.
Lucy giggles at this, continuing to supply me with odds and ends to decorate her sleeping brother with. At first, she seemed unsure about this game when I'd proposed it over breakfast, but now, delicately placing dice in Edmund's hair, she looks ecstatic.
Next, she slides an empty cup into my hand. I chew my lip, looking for a good place for it. A short stack of towels lay folded on his stomach, so I settle the cup on top where it won't roll off and take the next object from Lucy. As I'm carefully placing the torch, Edmund's breathing changes and I notice him stiffen a little. I freeze, torch hovering in the air.
A deep sigh rumbles through him and then he tries to shift in his hammock, causing the drove of items on his body to fall over each other in terrible cacophony and instantly wake him.
Confused panic sweeps over him and Edmund freaks out, hands grabbing the sides of the hammock as his accusatory eyes land on us, howling with laughter.
"You heathens," he growls, scrambling out of the hanging bed.
Lucy's laughter morphs into a scream and we both race for the hatch.
Edmund's barreling footsteps echo behind us. "You're going to pay!"
"Go, run!" I urge Lucy up the stairs, watching her practically dive onto the deck before climbing after her. I can hear Reepicheep demand an explanation from her but all I'm focused on is leaping out of Edmund's reach before he can grab me. There's barely a second between my feet hitting the deck and Ed careening up after us. Lucy shrieks and dodges a very confused Tavros, running aft while I go in the opposite direction.
I can hardly breathe past my heaving laughter and the adrenaline rushing through me, which is why I'm not at all surprised when Edmund overtakes me before I make it onto the forecastle.
His arms lock around my waist and pull me off the staircase. "Care for a swim?" He asks.
