A Costly Mistake

-Chapter II: In which there are many regrets-

-Disclaimer: These wonderful characters are the property of Disney and C.S. Lewis. I'm just playing with somebody else's toys.

II

Peter hardly comprehended when the remaining troupes arrived at Aslan's How after their long trek through the woods, and he didn't notice until the giant stone pillars were almost upon them.

Lucy had come out almost as soon as their lookout had announced that he could see them off in the distance, and when her brother came in, bedraggled and sore, she instantly wrapped both arms around him in a fierce hug, which he returned automatically, they stood there for a moment before Lucy released him. Her dark eyes scanning the crowds for her other siblings.

He should have known Lucy would pick up on how wrong things were. She found Susan, trailing some distance behind Peter, talking in a low voice with Caspian. Another look-around showed her that Edmund was nowhere in sight.

The youngest queen was not given much time to reflect on this, as a small makeshift stretcher was brought out, and Lucy immediately knelt next to the small form of the dwarf, Trumpkin.

Fumbling for a moment, she quickly withdrew the diamond bottle containing the healing cordial. Within moments, the liquid worked it's magic, healing the shattered bones, and closing bleeding wounds, and the dwarf's eyes opened. Peter missed what the dwarf said to his sister after that- he hadn't been paying that much attention in the first place, beyond making sure their "dear little friend" was all right.

Finally Lucy turned her attention back to her two siblings, "what happened?" She intoned, daring to hope that Edmund could just be trailing behind.

"The raid... ended badly." Susan said, a sigh in her voice, and leaving her harsh 'I told you so' unspoken in the air around them, though she couldn't resist shooting a dark glare in the king's direction.

Lucy watch as the bonds holding her brother's temper almost visibly snap as he whirled on Susan and Caspian.

"It would have worked if you" he pointed at Caspian. "Had just stuck to the plan, instead of swanning off. My brother would still be here."

If Caspian wasn't seething before, he surely was now. "If you'd followed the advice of the Narnian's earlier- your brother would still be here now!"

With that statement, Peter whirled around, facing the king now, his fists clenched and shaking at his sides. "It's your fault you know, not mine. I wasn't the one who's family decided to invade Narnia. You, your father, your uncle. You're all the same! It's your fault!"

Had they not been in the presence of other Narnians- Caspian would have lunged at Peter, however, between Susan's scolding look, and the fact Peter was already retreating into the How, he left it alone.

"Well... I handled that one nicely, didn't I?" The older queen murmured, gazing down at her younger sister.

"It... could have been better." She answered, rather diplomatically diffusing any anger Susan may have had left. "Let's let Peter be for a bit. Then we'll go see if he's all right. And tell me what happened..."

- x -

Peter sat, slumped against the stone table, the cool stone comforting against his back. his legs drawn up to his chest and his forehead resting against his knees. Mindlessly he rubbed his hand over Rhindon's smooth pommel, grateful he'd managed to clear the blade from the blood that had been splattered over it.

Everything was wrong. Ever since they'd found the ruins, things had been wrong. Caspian was right, he should have listened to the advice of the older soldiers. This wasn't the Narnia he'd come to love as High King. It was a far more frightening place.

He pulled his forehead back up, gazing at the stone carving at Aslan, noting, with a mild sense of surprise, that even the statue was frowning at him. Great... even statues seem to hate me now. Where -is- Aslan when you need him? He was always there for us before.

He didn't realize he was crying until he felt a couple of wet droplets splattering against his arms, rubbing his eyes furiously with the heel of his hand, he felt rather foolish and had anyone else been in the tomb he would have made more of an attempt to hold himself together.

Peter's mind wandered back to the row he'd had with Caspian and Susan earlier, and he realized that he'd already lost it before. So it wouldn't really matter if anyone actually saw him. The only people, he recollected vaguely- he could remember seeing him cry (outside of his family of course) was Oreius.

It had been that time when he was still training them in unarmed combat, and in a rather good move , Edmund had flipped Peter, however- he'd been caught off guard and landed poorly, and he'd broken his arm in the process. Since he'd never broken a bone before the pain had startled him, he'd put up a great fuss when the healers had tried to set it. Though he had apologized frequently afterward, Edmund still teased Peter about that, even back in Finchly.

The memory brought a fresh wave of emotion forward. Sorrow, the sorrow that had been there from the moment he'd realized his brother was still in Miraz's castle. Along with anger. Anger at himself for his inability to lead, anger at Caspian, and though he'd never admit it out loud. Anger at Aslan for allowing his brother to be taken again.

A noise from behind him caused the king to jump, and his hand tightened around Rhindon's hilt, only to relax for a moment when he realized that, it was only Nikabrik.

"Your majesty." The gesture was meant to be a polite one, though coming from the sneering little dwarf, it seemed more of a mockery than something polite.

Peter responded to the dwarf with a curt nod, and for a moment there was a pregnant, awkward pause until Nikabrik spoke again.

"Doesn't seem to me like you lot are doing us much good."

He would have glowered, or made some attempt to defend himself; but the dwarf didn't give him much of a chance to speak. "I don't mean just you. All of you. Caspian included. High Kings? Bunch of kids are more like it. You couldn't even manage the army for one simple raid."

Peter bristled, but said nothing. He was right, in a way. They were kids. Or grown-ups in the bodies of children.

"But, what if I knew of a way you could get rid of Miraz… easily. A great power, that even Aslan had a hard time stopping?"

Peter's mind was a whirlwind. A power that even Aslan had trouble stopping? Such a thing was almost unheard of… unless… he couldn't think straight, and had he been able to, he would have seen the dark shadows moving slowly in the tomb's dark corner.

- To Be Continued -

Author's Notes:

Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews on the previous chapter; and I hope you enjoy this one as well.

For those of you worried that I'll either neglect the other characters or stick too close to the movie's plotline, don't worry. I wouldn't do that to you. From this point on, the story takes a rather different turn.

Enjoy, read, and review!