After hours of little talking since their last discussion, the storm had died down quite a bit. Their clothes were now dry, and Peter looked slightly better to Edmund, but fear still hung around Edmund's throat like a noose. Peter was now at a reasonable temperature and no longer was shivering constantly.

The two of them were discussing what they should do now that the storm had reduced, and they were not on agreeing sides.

"We all need water, Edmund," Caspian insisted.

"Yes, but for you to go back to where you might have dropped the canteens during the fighting is not the best idea," Edmund protested. "What if other soldiers are around? You would be all by yourself to fight them. We cannot risk that. You are the future King."

"It is not like both of us could go," Caspian pointed out. "We need to have water. Can you imagine if Peter survives all this, but what kills him is lack of water?"

That stopped all of Edmund's protests. He could not disagree with any of that logic.

He crossed his arms, reluctantly replying, "Fine." Caspian stood up about to head out when Edmund requested, "Just be careful, Caspian."

Darkness was the first thing Peter noticed when he was started to regain consciousness. The darkness and the warmth. He was comfortable there. He did not want to wake. The distant voices he heard sounded more like a dream than they did an actual voice. Just merely echoing around the rim of his hearing, just enough to make Peter aware of them.

He wanted to stay in the warmth; he did not want to move an inch. Ice touched his lips all of sudden. He wanted to fight it. That distant voice came back to his hearing, but he could not make out the words.

Without a warning, water filled his mouth, just like before. Panic gripped him like iron. He choked on the water, spitting it out, fighting to get away from the water as something held onto him. No, someone.

"It's all right, Pete," Edmund's voice broke through his daze. Peter continued coughing, breathing heavily after he did. "You are alright." Edmund was rubbing his back, gently holding him with his other hand.

After his vision swirled, Peter finally regained his ability to somewhat see again. A few seconds passed of just blinking before he was able to make out the cave they were in. It was mostly dark and empty, other than the three of them. Caspian was knelt in front of the fire and had clearly come over to help when Peter started choking.

If Caspian looked at Peter like he was water after a long drought, then Edmund looked at Peter like he was a gift from Father Christmas. The two of them glowed at him, seeming relieved and pleased to see him awake.

They were just staring at him as he tried to get some sense of control over his breathing. It did not work well. Edmund just held onto him, and Peter felt a bit steadier for it.

His head hurt considerably, and he could not focus on either of them for too long without that pain intensifying.

"What happened?" Peter asked. His voice rattled with weakness and fatigue, even to himself. He hated how it sounded.

Before either of them could answer though, Peter swayed a bit, nearly tumbling over. If Caspian had not raced to his side, he would have. With much more ease than Peter would have liked, the two of them shifted him to lean against the wall, to prevent him from tipping over.

Peter felt a blush overtake his face at the helplessness of his state. He felt an embarrassment rise in his chest from it. But as his heart pounded against his ears and his head along with it, he did not think he had much of a choice to care. He was in no condition to help himself. Caspian took a step back before sitting down while Edmund stayed right next to him.

"You need to drink this," Edmund said instead of answer. Peter started to repeat his prior question, only for Edmund to insist, "Drink first. Then we will tell you everything."

Edmund knelt beside him, raising the canteen to Peter's lips before the water came in. Peter wanted to take the canteen from Edmund's grasp, but could not. Peter's arms felt heavy; every inch of him held a terrible weight. He was awfully tired, exhausted as if he had just fought in a long battle.

After a few swallows of water, Edmund finally let him have a respite from drinking.

"Thanks, Ed," Peter said, noticing the slight slur to his words. Even drinking water seemed to be a hassle, he noted. It made him feel utterly weak, and he did not know why it was. He could not even figure out why they were here or where they were prior.

As Peter worked on his breathing, it was Caspian who asked, "How are you feeling, Peter?"

Peter shook his head before saying, "I am not sure. My head really hurts." He leaned back against the wall, making sure to steady himself. "Why does everything hurt?"

He did not like the look the two of them exchanged nor did he like the fearful gleam behind Edmund's eye when he spoke, "We were attacked—and you were pushed off the cliff." His face twisted to a darkened expression. It seemed like too much to bear.

It was Caspian who finished explaining, "You nearly drowned."

There was a heavy weight to his words. Peter knew how devastating his words were, but the realization did not truly hit him. It would later, but right now, he just accepted his near death experience as the source to the pain and discomfort he felt.

"How did I survive?" Peter asked slowly, unsteadily getting the words out. The true weight to what he was asking was lost to him in those moments. He could not properly think straight nor could he face the gravity of nearly dying at that time.

The two of them both started to speak at the same time to explain his survival, only to both say the other's name:

"Caspian—"

"Edmund—"

The two of them paused and looked at the other in bewilderment. Peter just waited as they seemed to have a competition of wills on to who was going to speak first with no words spoken at all between them. Edmund scowled at Caspian with conviction, and Caspian, not being immune to those looks yet, conceded.

Edmund's face turned grave though when his attention went back to Peter as he said, "Caspian is the one who saved you. You had stopped breathing—" Edmund's voice hitched. Sluggishly, Peter took a hold of Edmund's hand instinctively, trying to make him feel better. It worked as Edmund took a breath before continuing, "Caspian was amazing. He got you breathing again." Edmund sheepishly smiled to Caspian.

Peter sat up straighter, trying to resemble anything of a force of dignity, as he was getting ready to thank Caspian. But he did not get the chance.

Caspian offered Edmund a smile, as he made sure to note, "I must say though, if it were not for Edmund jumping in after you, none of my efforts would have matter. If anything, it was truly Edmund who helped the most."

Edmund opened his mouth to protest, but Peter found himself lightly chuckling, which caught them both off guard by the way they froze.

"I owe both of you thanks then," Peter concluded. He looked to Caspian, feeling touched and honored at Caspian's act. How difficult it must have been to save him? It would have taken a great deal.

"Thank you, Caspian," Peter said with the most sincerity he could conjure in his voice, despite the weakness that lingered there. "You are a great friend, and today only proved that further." Caspian beamed at him as if he told him he would give him all the treasure in the world. "I owe you my life."

"You owe me nothing," Caspian declined. "We are friends. You have and would do the same for me."

"That I would," Peter agreed.

Peter looked at Edmund who casted his eyes away for a moment too long. Something was wrong, but by the way Edmund fidgeted nervously, Peter did not think it was something he needed to address right then. Besides, he was not sure he could have, not with his head still hurting far too much to even be trying to have anything that resembled a long conversation.

All the same, he said with a smile, "Thank you, Edmund."

Edmund blushed slightly before saying, "Always, Pete, always."

Despite Peter's protests against more to drink, Edmund coaxed him into it with a few soft words, much to Caspian's amazement. When Caspian had ventured out to retrieve the canteens, he had also found some berries along the way. Once Edmund and he determined it would not kill any of them to eat the berries, the three of them ate them. Well, Caspian and Edmund were able to. The berries kept slipping out of Peter's wobbly fingers. Frustrated, he had given up on eating them when the last one fell from his grasp.

Edmund took a handful and came to Peter's side, plucking one from the small pile and holding it out in front of Peter's face.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked, evidently confused.

"You need to eat something, Peter," Edmund said carefully. "Now, open your mouth, and don't bite me."

Peter blushed at the notion before saying, "You are not going to feed me, Edmund."

"It is nothing to be embarrassed about," Edmund said. "Come on, you used to feed me and Lucy plenty of times."

"That was different," Peter declared.

Edmund's back was turned to Caspian, blocking his expression. However, based on how Peter's face kept slightly altering, the two were having a silent conversation, and if Caspian's earlier standoff with Edmund was any reflection of what Peter was facing now, then Peter was in for one difficult battle.

After a few moments of no winner being determined in their silent battle, Caspian said, "Edmund's right, Peter. You need to eat. Get your strength up. We do not know how long it will be before we can return back to the castle." Caspian's speaking had startled the two of them out of their silent exchange.

With one last glare from Edmund, Peter reluctantly conceded. Peter gave Caspian a soft nod of acknowledgment as if to accept that Caspian had been right.

Caspian would be lying if he did not admit that it made his heart fill with a bit of delight. A small smile twitched at his mouth. Caspian could not explain how it felt for Peter to finally trust and respect him. They had gotten off on the wrong foot, but now, they were friends and about to become fellow Kings. Caspian was more than a little happy to see that respect come out in such minor instances.

A great deal of reluctance surrounded Peter as he opened his mouth and let Edmund feed him a few berries at a time. His face still held a tint of blush of embarrassment, but it soon faded the more Edmund fed him. After a couple of handfuls of berries, Peter had eaten his fill. He said a thanks to Edmund while Caspian took one of the canteens over to Peter, unsure if Peter would need him to help him drink it or not.

He held the canteen to Peter. Peter had tried to reach up for it, but when his shaking hands were too much, he gave up in an annoyed huff.

"It's all right, Peter," Caspian tried to reassure, much to Peter's surprise. "It will just take a while for you to be feeling better. Once you do, you will be back to the way you were."

This actually seemed to ease some of the frustration that was lingering on his face, and his reluctance faded ever so slightly. With an approving nod, Caspian held the canteen to Peter's lips, letting him drink until he was content.

When Caspian closed the cap on the canteen, Peter smiled gratefully, saying, "Thank you, Caspian." Once Caspian took a few steps back and sat down where he was prior, Peter relaxed a bit, taking deeper and deeper breaths. Caspian shared a look with Edmund, but Edmund did not seem all that concerned.

Instead, all he asked was, "Are you feeling tired, Pete?"

"Yeah," Peter replied. His eyes nearly closed now.

"Should we let him sleep?" Caspian whispered to Edmund, despite knowing that Peter would certainly be able to hear them.

"I don't know," Edmund admitted.

Before Edmund could continue on, Peter said, "I'll be fine." There was very little conviction in his voice now though. "Ed, why don't you tell Caspian about one of our adventures when we had reigned?"

Caspian completely perked up to that idea. He had read all about Peter and Edmund's stories, but to hear a real one, Caspian thought he might burst with excitement. Edmund just smirked at Peter as Peter got more comfortable against the wall, completely closing his eyes now.

"Which story should I tell?" Edmund asked. "Should I tell him of how we met the Court of Owls?" Amusement flooded his voice, and Peter's eyes snapped back open with a smirk soon finding its place on his face. Caspian could tell that story was one that held Peter at expense.

"That story is no fun. Just a day I had completely made a fool of myself."

"That is why it was enjoyable," Edmund teased. He looked at Caspian before explaining, "Peter had thought the Court of Owls could convene during the day to meet with us. That day we had sleeping owls all over Cair Paravel."

"The worst part was that they did not want to leave once they had fallen asleep everywhere either," Peter explained tiredly even with the grin still on his face. "We just had hundreds of owls sleeping and could not move them until they all rested for hours." Those words seemed to take a lot of energy for Peter to say. His smile faltered, and his breathing deepened.

He was taking deeper breaths as Edmund said, "It was a hilarious day."

"Was not funny," Peter said softly, but even Caspian could tell that Peter found the memory at least amusing. Peter then closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall comfortably. Caspian thought he was surely about to fall asleep until he suggested, "Tell him about the first day we held court as rulers." Edmund nearly snorted at the memory. Peter smiled slightly at Edmund's laugh.

Edmund laughed a bit more before smiling at Caspian, "If during your reign you ever doubt your ability as King, I want you to remember the story I am about to tell you." Edmund's amusement still hung around his voice. "Our first day we held court was positively awful. The worst it had ever been. Truly something terrible. I wanted to quit right then and there, and Lucy was nearly in tears…"

And Edmund continued on as he retold the worst day in court for the four of them. It was certainly an amusing tale where the four of them had stumbled and misshaped. But it also made Caspian feel tremendously better about becoming King. Edmund's story showed him how relatable these fabled Kings and Queens were. How human they were.

Peter had fallen asleep no more than two minutes into Edmund's story, and they allowed him to do so for hours as Edmund recounted more and more stories to Caspian about their reign. Caspian loved every moment.