The Pevensie children had returned home to England just one day ago, but the memory of Edmund's betrayal had still burned fresh in his mind.

His siblings had noticed that he had been wandering aimlessly, almost zombie like for the entire day. His behavior had disturbed Susan, worried Lucy terribly, but Peter was the only one who was going to get to the bottom of this. It was now time for the children to get ready for bed, and Lucy had walked in on Peter as he finished brushing his teeth.

"Pete, I-I'm scared." Lucy stuttered as she held tightly onto her brother's night clothes.

Peter chuckled. "Lucy, what do you have to be scared about? We're home. Sure, it's boring – nothing like Narnia – but it's safe and you don't have to worry about anyone trying to kill you ever again."

"It's not me I'm worried about." Replied the youngest with a sniffle, as though she had been crying. "I'm worried about Edmund."

The oldest Pevensie child smiled fondly down at his little sister and ruffled the top of her head. "Lucy, I won't pretend that I don't know what you are talking about. I've noticed his behavior, too, and I can't say that I am a fan of his new attitude. Don't worry, I'll go talk to him right now."

"Spank him for making me cry." Lucy whined, wiping her eyes with her pajama sleeve.

A twinkle appeared in her brother's eyes. "You know, I might do just that. He needs to realize that we love him no matter what, even if it means his behind gets a little swatting."

Lucy giggled at this, her mood brightening instantly. "Okay, do it for me, but don't hurt him too much! He may not like to show his emotions too much, but he's a sensitive soul. I – I hear him crying in his sleep some nights, and when I do – I like to sneak into his room and kiss him on the forehead."

Peter hugged his younger sister so tightly that Lucy felt like she would explode. "You're too good for this world, Lucy." He placed a kiss on both of her cheeks before sending her off to bed. "Good night. I'll see you in the morning to tell you about it."

Peter made his way back down the hall towards the room that he shared with his younger brother, who had already been tucked away in bed, perhaps with unbrushed teeth and a face that went unwashed. Edmund never was a child for personal hygiene before bedtime, he mentioned once that he never saw the point to it if you are just going to bed, anyways.

"Edmund, wake up. We need to talk." The older brother demanded. HE stood only feet away from his brother, with his arms folded and determined to speak what had been on his mind. "It's been almost two days since we've been back to England, and you've been acting strangely. We've all noticed your new zombie like personality, and neither of us are a fan of it. Especially myself and poor Lucy that you have been worrying half to death.

"If everyone has been so worried about me, why don't they come and talk to me themselves? Or do you think you're still the High King Peter, who gets to speak for everyone in this family?"

"That's enough!" Shouted the eldest. "I won't have you moping around like this and talking back anymore, and you won't treat Lucy or Susan like they don't exist, either. I didn't want to do this, but since I am the closest thing that this family has to a father figure, I am going to have to punish you." Peter found a small chair across the room and sat down on it and patted his lap. "Come here, Ed."

"Who do you think –"

The blond shook his head, refusing to have any more of his younger brother's attitude. "Edmund Pevensie, if I have to call you over here one more time, I promise you are going to like the consequences even less than you already do now." He stared at Edmund square in the eyes and refused to break contact. He had to show dominance in the situation no matter how much it hurt Peter to do so inside his heart.

Suddenly dropping his defenses, Edmund knew that Peter meant business. He held his head low, unable to meet his older brother in the eyes and stumbled over his own to feet as he made his way towards the chair that Peter ordered him to come to.

Peter patted his lap one more time to signal for his younger brother to crawl on, and, for once, Edmund did as he was told.

Peter laid his hand onto Edmund's bottom gently before landing the first swat.

The younger flinched and clenched his cheeks together, but he refused to gasp or show any more signs that the slap had hurt him.

Peter landed a few more swats onto his behind and asked "Why am I doing this, Ed?"

The other boy shook his head. "Because you get off on this power trip, you jerk! You don't care about me, and you're just doing this to show our sisters how much control you have over me, like it's all some kind of sick game to you!"

This time, however, Peter grabbed hold onto the waste band of Edmund's pajama bottoms and pulled them down hard to reveal his brother's milky, pale skin. Sure, his behind was a little red from the first few smacks, but it was going to be redder than a tomato in a few minutes.

"Wait! Wha -"

'I can't go back now.' Peter thought to himself. 'I can't stop until he learns, no matter how much it kills me to see him like this. My strong, little brother, a broken mess and crying on my lap.'

Peter got his wish a couple minutes later as he swore he heard Ed stifle a small cry. This was good, he was starting to get to him.

After receiving ten more swats to his bare bum, Edmund began to shake.

Peter removed his hand from his younger brother, and watched as Edmund's back heaved up and down, his once stifled cries now crystal clear.

Edmund was broken. His face now wet and sticky from the tears that stained his red, puffy face. "I'm sorry! I don't want to hurt you, and I never want to hurt Lucy! I'll be better, I promise." He whined sincerely with his red eyes as wide as a puppy's and his lips quivering.

Peter's features melted into a smile and he lifted his brother off of his lap and held him close, rocking him back and forth. "It's alright now. You handled your punishment wonderfully. Hussshhhh, shhhh, everything is okay. I love you, Edmund. Please tell me, why were you acting this way?"

Edmund wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. "B-because I felt terrible. I betrayed you, and the rest of my family… all for a handful of sweets and false promises that some witch could make me a king. I never cared about being a king. I wanted to be your equal… I wanted you to love me."

The blond held on to his younger brother one more time, refusing to let go. "That was years ago, Eddy. Well, technically it was. We have all forgiven you. Every last one of us. Now, how about you try forgiving yourself, hmm?" Peter smiled as he caught a few of Edmund's stray tears in between his fingers.

Even Edmund allowed himself to smile. He nodded. "I- I think I can try."

Peter gave him a kiss on the forehead. "That's good. Now, get some sleep. Things are going to be different now, and we'll talk about things more in the morning."

The black - haired boy nodded, his head still low. He looked back at Peter who had been crawling under the covers. Instead of returning to his own bed, he awkwardly walked on over to his brother's bed and snuck underneath the covers to be close to him.

"Good night, Ed."

"Good night, Pete."

The next day, the four siblings met for tea and breakfast in the garden.

Peter met his little sister Lucy with a wink.

Lucy winked back and hid a chuckle, knowing full well that Peter kept his promise from the night before.

Now strolled in poor little Edmund with a sore bottom. His head still low but walked over to join the rest of his siblings. "G-good morning… Lucy." He greeted with wide eyes and pouting lips.

"Good morning, Eddy!" She cheered and wrapped her arms tightly around her brother's neck. "I'm so glad you're back to yourself."

Susan simply rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. She was truly surrounded by a bunch of illogical idiots.