Disclaimer: Narnia and everything related to it is the property of C.S. Lewis and Walden Media- I'm just taking a step through the wardrobe at the moment, and everything will be put back in it's place when I'm done... mostly. ;)

Special thanks to the lovely chichiris chica for giving me a helping hand, and a hearing ear betaing this chapter! :D

A Costly Mistake

Chapter One: Wrong Turns

The Griffin's wings beat with resounding noise, causing Edmund's heart to thump in his chest as he surveyed the damage below. As a knight of Narnia, and one of its kings he'd seen war. This, though, wasn't so much war as it was a form of genocide. Miraz's hatred for Narnians was so strong, that it almost overpowered the love he had for his own people, evidenced by the bodies of a dozen or so soldiers that littered the cold ground, several feet below him.

With a sick feeling in his stomach, Edmund could no longer look at the destruction below him- instead keeping his eyes trained toward the gate ahead. His siblings were there already, Peter had made it through the gate just as it was closing. Susan, he assumed, was ahead of them both.

The night pressed in around, and the cloud cover rolling in was making it difficult to see into the shadows cast by the large watchtowers that dotted the wall, and that may have been where things spiraled downward.

A sudden whizzing noise filled the air, and then Edmund felt himself plummeting before he even registered something was wrong. The griffin he was riding let loose a pained scream. And then the ground was rushing upwards to meet them, and they were falling through the night. They landed on the ground with a pained thump, if they'd been any higher up the young King knew he would have broken something.

'I'm going to be feeling that one in the morning though…'

"King Edmund- I beg you to take your leave now." The Griffin gasped slightly, struggling to gain a breath, a difficult task when there was an arrow embedded in one's chest. Even as the Narnian spoke the words Edmund could hear the clomping of soldier boots against the cold stone, the sound growing more ominous with every passing second.

Then, there was a sharp pain towards the back of his skull, leaving Edmund almost seeing stars, before everything faded into darkness, and Edmund sent the last thought reeling through the night. "Peter!"

- x -

To say they had been defeated would have been a horrible understatement, and it was with every moment that Peter realized the gravity of his pride, and what it had cost the Narnians.

"Peter!"

At the sound of the familiar voice the young king's head shot up, and from his position on Jas- the horse he'd ridden into battle, he scanned the treetops for his brother and the griffin.

But apart from the wind rustling occasionally through the trees, there was no telltale wing beats, and the griffin carrying his brother did not emerge from the foliage, nor did he hear his brother's footsteps nearby.

Something is wrong.

It wasn't so much a thought as it was a feeling, deep in the pit of his stomach that he'd lost far more than a battle that night. Quickly he thanked Jas for his services and dismounted, proceeding to search for his family on foot.

He found Susan first. She was walking towards the rear of the troupes besides Caspian. Neither was willing to say anything and they were walking in silence together. Caspian's right hand fiddled nervously with the pommel of his sword as he kept pace beside her.

"Susan! Have you seen Edmund?"

She shook her head, her tired eyes filled with puzzlement and something else- worry. "No. He was behind me when we were leaving..."

No, that wasn't true. Susan had been able to leave first- with Caspian, Peter almost hadn't made it out. That though, would have meant...

He felt like he'd been punched in the gut, the growing tension he'd been feeling since the failed attack growing and rising- ready to snap at any given moment.

"He wasn't behind you."

Susan's eyes widened. Realization must have hit her too, because she whirled on Peter, the tiredness gone from her eyes. "You left him! We have to turn around, Peter."

The words stung, but he didn't let her see that. "I didn't know Susan!" Every part of him desperately wanted to turn the party back around- storm the castle all over again to find his brother. He couldn't, so many were hurt, he didn't know if Trumpkin would make it back to the How in his condition.

Taking small steps forward he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder holding her tighter as her body began to shake. "I'll get him back." He whispered. "I promise."

To Be Continued...