Brothers and Kings

They are older now.
Older and so in love.
But Narnia seems unwelcoming of it.

Wind whistled in sharply from the half open doors, prickling at his skin. It did little to faze him or remove him from the bed. He simply resigned that someone would do it for him, averting their eyes as they stole into the room, like always. Eyes down on the floor as if the stone floor posed more interest than any greeting the King would give them.

Perhaps he had grown bigheaded as he had come to expect other people to do his little tasks for him. But he governed, ruled their land for them. He rode high into battle, on his white unicorn, wearing colours and plumes that made him such a target. It gave the Narnians courage to see that their High King was at the front lines, risking his life and heart for them. He charged first at the head of his army, so that gave him leave to expect all his little chores to be done. His thoughts were leaning towards the side that if pushed further he would surely to be tyrannical to the Narnians. Edmund would probably hit him for it and threaten to push him off their balcony. He was Just but Peter was letting his Magnificence get to him.

Edmund had been staring blandly out at the sky beyond the room as Peter thought. He hadn't realised that Edmund hadn't uttered anything for some time now. The last thing he'd said had been to gasp out Peter's name in the grip of orgasm.

That was why they avoided their Kings' eyes. They were the Sons of Adam, brothers in arms, Kings of Narnia and not meant to be brothers in bed. Even now, so long after their secret had slipped, they still withdrew their eyes if the Kings were ever in the presence of each other. Peter and Edmund now decided to keep their actions and love to their room at Cair Paravel, or their tent whenever faced with battle and for the long rides they stole away for. Peter almost found himself living for the times he'd find Edmund preparing their horses.

It had been Susan who had drawn the blanket of security off them, so to speak. Peter had cornered his pray, a very hurried, mouthy and flustered Edmund in a dark corner in Cair Paravel's library. The Kings had become so wound up in themselves that they hadn't spared thought for Queen Susan entering with her ladies and their numerous followers. Nor had they heard them enter.

There had been a surprised murmur from Susan, who had dropped her book in shock when she took notice of the faces. The gossip of ladies was always the worst, Peter found. True to his thoughts the news of the two Kings found together in the library, attached at the mouth for no other reason than to draw pleasure, spread around his castle like wildfire and then around Narnia. Peter had honestly thought of saying that his brother had fainted and he was lucky to have happened across him to resuscitate the young King. Yet the moans emitting from both of them would have fast dispelled his attempt.

Susan no longer cared for her bothers' actions with each other as they were old enough to know what they wanted. She had said exactly that to them in a very awkward conversation in which she had pulled Peter out of a meeting for and Edmund off the back of his horse. Though the only warning she gave them was to be thankful this hadn't been discovered in England, or else Peter would be imprisoned for such indecent acts with his younger brother. To that Edmund had said it had never started in England, he'd never cared for Peter in England.

Lucy on the other hand was unnerved by the gossip and rumours the sighting had spread. She was nervous for their Kingdom as Narnians had always thought themselves so pure and untainted that they may not want two Kings who dallied in these acts.

It was not the fact they were both two men. That did not strike a chord with them in the least. It was that they were brothers. It bothered Peter too. He'd surely go to hell for their many acts of indecency, and since he enjoyed it, he was certain he'd be sent further into the red pit. He was certain it barely bothered Edmund who could possibly do anything without guilt or regret, but he wished that his brother was any other person other than his brother for the sake of the Narnians.

When Edmund moved against him, softly, and rested his head against Peter's chest again, Peter caught that look in Edmund's eyes as his brother titled his head up to look at him for a mere second.

'What are you thinking about?' he asked and then softly began to stroke the dark locks of Edmund's hair that tickled his chest and chin.

'Don't start,' Edmund said sharply, though unmoving. 'Don't ask me that question. You sound like a woman when you ask that of me.' Edmund often grew quiet after lovemaking but never had he been quiet for this long. He usually would give Peter some snide remark about the state of his quarters and then, there would always come the soft "I love you" that Peter always held out for.

'You looked in thought, that's all,' Peter murmured. 'You can tell me your thoughts, I want to hear them.'

'I was just thinking about the state of your rooms,' Edmund said inevitably. 'Do you like looking out over the backend of Narnia? Towards the White Palace.' As it had come to be known as, the remnants of it anyway.

'Narnia has no backend,' Peter said. 'Anyway, the views from your rooms are boring. You have nothing of the sea from your view.'

'I have the hills. They are beautiful. You shouldn't be jealous that I was swifter in choosing the best room than you.' Edmund was teasing and avoiding him. 'When the right light shines on those hills ... it is better than your view of the sea and the forest.'

'We've grown up, haven't we?' Peter asked suddenly. 'Listen to us, we talk like we've been Narnian nobles all our lives. We don't sound like home as we used to.'

'I am glad for it.'

'Why?'

'At home I hated you. Here I love you.'

Peter smiled; Edmund had spoken his ritual after their lovemaking. For some odd reason, only known to Edmund, he needed to berate Peter about something (usually his quarters) before he could mention his love for him. Now, he hoped Edmund could speak of what had been on his mind.

As Peter had thought, Edmund gave a short sigh and resettled himself in his brother's arms, sure to make sure that Peter's arms were tightly around him, lying across his bare stomach and chest, hands resting on his hips. 'Do you think it is as Lucy says it will be?' he asked eventually, once he had seen to his added comfort.

'She hasn't spoken to me of late,' Peter admitted. 'What has she said to you?'

As Lucy grew older, as they all grew older, she had proven she was quite the thinker, quite the philosopher. She had no head for battle like her brothers and sister, and strategy went over her head but she pondered everything else – the sun, moon, stars, and the existence of Narnia. As much as loved Narnia, she locked herself away for hours, trying to reason the basis for their being here. All she could ever come up with was magic, and she seemed to want more answers. She had grown to want to understand the basis behind the magic in Narnia. For which there was none. Narnia was just simply magical.

'She wonders if the Narnians will follow Kings' such as us into battle again,' Edmund murmured. 'I told her not to be absurd.'

'I suppose it is a good question. They don't understand,' Peter said. 'It is fine for anybody to lie together if both give consent but when they are of the same blood, it isn't.'

'It's disrespect to the ancestors of the bloodline,' added Edmund. 'It matters little. They will follow us into battle. Once they see you at the frontlines, fighting for all your worth, they will remember that we are still Kings.'

'And when you bellow and bark orders at them from the back lines but are still the first to take a blow, they'll remember that you would take an arrow for any of them. You've done it before; thankfully Lucy found you before your heart gave out. You've done it numerous times, if I remember correctly.'

'We are good Kings',' Edmund said. 'Our personal lives should not be seen as more important than how we rule and deal with our people.'

'Well spoken,' grinned Peter, knowing perfectly well where Edmund had borrowed his words from.

'Quote by High King Peter, the Magnificent,' finished Edmund with a coy smile across his face, 'in a speech that did little to help the Narnians' new thoughts of us.'

'At least I tried.'

'Perhaps it is too soon and they will learn in their own time that we haven't changed in the slightest. Those at Cair Paravel will. It hasn't changed us, it won't change us. It doesn't matter what they think of us anyway, they adore Lucy and Susan. If they begin to hate, it will be directed at me. You're the High King; I betrayed you and the others to the White Witch.'

'They haven't forgotten, but it was such a long time ago,' murmured Peter faintly. 'But they will love us; I doubt very much they have stopped loving us.'

'It doesn't matter,' Edmund said again, his arms slithering around Peter's waist, with cold hands. 'I love you,' he said sincerely.

His eyes closed when Peter kissed his head. 'I love you,' he whispered in return. 'And everyone knows it too.'

'The walls at Cair Paravel have ears,' Edmund warned when Peter began to say more.

'Hush. Only Susan's ladies have the mouths to spread what the walls hear.' Peter captured Edmund's smiling mouth in an open kiss, easily. 'And they aren't here, Ed.'

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