Chapter 4

Peter usually was not one to take much notice into what his brother wore. His sisters, yes, because it was always a good idea to take notice and compliment the gowns and ribbons of the two queens. Usually, though, Edmund could wear one of Susan's bodices and Peter would not notice at all (In his defense, he had had a concussion at the time).

Now, though, circumstances were different and Peter was noticing everything about his brother, every movement and gesture, every rustle of clothing. Likely this was because Peter, Susan, and Lucy had just spent the last year not knowing if Edmund was alive or not, with 'or not' being the more likely scenario and the opinion of most of the rest of Narnia. It was only two months previously that Peter and his scouting party had been saved by an army of blue-painted, humanoid Woads. Two months since he had found that those self-same Woads had also saved Edmund from the Fell Creatures that had captured him, and were training him in their ways. Two months since he had brought Edmund home, thinner but alive.

Having one's little brother back, after a year of thinking he could be dead, tended to leave an older brother hyper-sensitive to anything concerning said little brother. Which was why Peter noticed that Edmund now wore more blue than ever before. He wore blue for his normal, everyday clothes, and refused to wear any other color when meeting with important dignitaries. Edmund was even contemplating changing the tincture of his coat of arms to azure instead of vert. Peter, of course, easily and nervously connected this upswing in wearing blue to the importance that the Woads had placed on the color, to the faint blue that still stained Edmund's skin.

It bothered Peter. He was unbelievably thankful to the Woads for saving Edmund from his captors. He was thankful that they had saved his own life and that of his soldiers and the civilians they were protecting. However, Peter found it very hard to forgive the Woads for keeping Edmund, and refusing to let him contact his family to at least let them know he was alive. Oh, he understood that it was a cultural objection, that they had to integrate Edmund into their society before trusting him. Peter just did not like it. He did not like that they had taken to his brother, or that they had adopted him into their clan. And he especially did not like that Edmund was still maintaining his connection with that adoption, that he willingly called his Woad mentor 'chorl-father' and called the children of the village his 'chorl-brothers and sisters'. So Peter was none too happy with Edmund wearing the blue of his adopted clan.

Of course, Peter would never tell Edmund any of this, as Peter tended to keep his upset tight against his chest. Not to mention he knew that Edmund was almost deliriously happy to be home and Peter did not want to do or say anything to change that.

Peter should have known, however, that he was not the only sibling keeping an eye on the younger king. Therefore, he should not have been surprised when, at dinner, Susan commented on the fact that Edmund was going to need more clothes soon if he kept wearing the same ones all the time. Edmund, of course, did not know what she was talking about. Lucy rolled her eyes. "She means you are wearing the same outfits all the time and they're starting to fray. Why do you mostly wear your blue clothes now, Ed?"

The question, so innocently posed, caused Peter's back to tense almost imperceptibly. Edmund did not seem to notice, thankfully, despite usually being able to read Peter's every movement. "Well, I guess it is because being with the Woads reminded me why blue is my favorite color. To the Woads, blue, especially indigo, is the color of healyf."

"Healyf?" asked Lucy, her eyes squinting in confusion.

Edmund smiled, leaning back slightly in his chair. "Healyf is loyalty, the kind of faithful love that makes you willing and eager to risk death to protect. Those without it, who have forgotten how to love, are considered little more than walking dead until they find it again. Wearing blue is a reminder to always have healyf."

Peter kept his face the picture of calm. "Loyalty and love for your clan."

Edmund dark, smiling gaze stared at his brother. "For my kin," he insisted softly, making sure to note each of his siblings with his eyes, assuring Peter that, not only did he not have to worry about Edmund's connection with the Woads, but that Edmund could still read his older brother's heart.

Lucy grinned as she saw Peter relax for the first time in over a year. She had been worried that he had taken Edmund's adoption into the Woad clan too hard; Peter had a tendency to jealously guard his siblings' affection, Edmund's more so than the girls'. Of course, she should have remembered that Edmund knew their brother just as well, and knew just the right words to say to help Peter.

Still better was that Edmund meant every word he said. Even before the Woads, Edmund had been renowned for his loyalty, for his devotion to his siblings. The year he was missing had shown them how much they depended on his love and support to guide them through each day. Lucy, wise as she was, understood very clearly that the blue that had stained Edmund's skin and now dyed his clothes was just the outward declaration of the very nature of her brother's loyal and loving heart. After all, as he had said, blue had always been his favorite color.

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