Never Let Go...
Thoughts
-Dream-
Summary: What if Edmund really believed in Lucy when she stumbled out of the wardrobe? Would Edmund still go to the White Witch? Would it change the prophecy?
Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia, if I did, well I wouldn't be writing this story right now.
Listening to in order:
- On my mind (Cody Simpson)
- Knighting Peter (The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe)
- Up is down (Pirates of the Caribbean; At World's End)
Chapter 10: Peter's Knighting and Family time…
After the siblings and the Beavers got settled in and the humans got changed in Narnian clothing, Peter snuck away from Lucy and Susan and walked up a hill that overlooked Cair Paravel. His thoughts were all over the place while he was looking at the castle. But the one thought that he always came to him was Edmund. Edmund was all he could think about at the moment. Where was he? Was he being treated well? Was he even alive? He didn't even notice Aslan approaching him until the lion spoke.
Aslan followed Peter's gaze to Cair Paravel. "That is Cair Paravel, the castle of the four thrones," Aslan said and Peter ripped his gaze from the castle to look at Aslan. "In one of which you will sit, Peter, as High King," he finished and Peter's face turned doubtful as he remembered his mother's promise of making him High King. "You doubt the prophecy?" he asked Peter.
Peter griped the sword's handle tightly and bit his lip. "No," he said quickly. "That's just it," he added quietly. "Aslan, I'm not what you think I am," he said in a rush when Aslan interrupted him.
"Peter Pevensie, adopted member of the Pevensie family, brother to Edmund and son of the White Witch, formerly of Finchley," he said and Peter looked at him in shock. "Beaver also mentioned that you planned on turning him into a hat," Aslan added, making Peter chuckle.
Aslan grew serious and looked at Cair Paravel. "Peter, there is a Deep magic, more powerful than any on us, that rules over all of Narnia," he said to Peter and Peter looked confused. "It defines right from wrong, and governs all our destines. Yours and mine," he added and Peter bit his lip.
"But I couldn't even protect my own family," Peter admitted.
Aslan looked at him. "You brought them safely this far," he countered.
Peter closed his eyes, thinking once again about his brother. "Not all of them," he argued quietly.
Aslan sighed. "Peter, I will do what I can to help your brother, but I need you to consider what I ask of you," he said and Peter narrowed his eyes a bit. "I, too, want my family safe," he added and Peter nodded.
"Aslan," he said softly and Aslan turned to look at him. "Is the White Witch, really mine and Edmund's real biological mother?" he asked, almost dreading the answer.
Aslan nodded. "It is true, yes. But Peter you don't have to follow her in her footsteps," he said gently.
"Peter," Aslan began and Peter looked at the great lion. "I'm going to ask you, what I asked Edmund when he first arrived, and I want you to answer it honestly," he said and Peter nodded.
"Would you kill you and your brother's biological mother for all of the Narnian's?" he asked and Peter took a deep breath.
"Well, she dumped Edmund and I off at that orphanage and never came to check on us to see how we were doing," he started to say. "Plus she tried to turn me against my family, a mother would never do anything like that," he added. "I'll do it Aslan, for the sake of Narnia and my family," he said and Aslan nodded, satisfied with the answer.
Aslan then chuckled, which made Peter curious. "Edmund said almost the same thing when I asked him," he said and Peter smiled.
Meanwhile, Edmund was tied up to a tree, with a gag in his mouth. Ginarrbrik started to circle around him, taunting him.
"Is our little prince uncomfortable?" he mocked Edmund and Edmund growled at the stupid dwarf. "Does he want his pillow fluffed?" Ginarrbrik continued to mock and Edmund rolled his eyes. Seriously how annoying can this dwarf be? He asked himself. "Special treatment, for the special boy," Ginarrbrik added, making Edmund jump a little. "That is what your brother wanted as well," Ginarrbrik snarled, making Edmund's eyes widened and a tear slid down his face. What did Peter do the time he was here? He wished that this was all over.
Back at Aslan's Camp, Susan and Lucy were near a river, wanting to have a sister moment together.
Lucy smiled at Susan. "You look like Mum," she stated softly.
Susan smiled a bit. "Mum hasn't had a dress like this since before the war," she said, remembering.
Susan looked at Lucy, who had a big smile on her face. "We should bring her one back!" she suggested, excitedly. "A whole trunk full!" she exclaimed.
Susan chuckled softly before frowning. "If we ever get back," she said more to herself than to Lucy.
Lucy frowned and looked down. Susan saw this and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'm sorry I'm like that," she apologized and Lucy looked at her. "We used to have fun together, didn't we?" she asked and Lucy nodded.
"Yes," she started to say, before giggling. "Before you got boring," she teased.
Susan's raised her eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked and suddenly splashed Lucy, which resulted in a water fight. When the 'fight' was done, Lucy and Susan walked out of the river and to a blanket, where Maugrim suddenly snarled at them. Lucy and Susan shirked in shock.
"Please don't try to run," Maugrim said. "We're tired and we prefer to kill you quickly," he added. Susan looked around for anything that she could use, before her eyes landed on her horn. She blew it and she and Lucy tried to climb a tree, trying to get away from the wolves.
Peter suddenly appeared and unsheathed his sword. "Get back!" he yelled.
Susan looked at him, shock on her face. "Peter!" she said and shirked as a wolf tried to claw her.
Peter gripped the sword with both of his hands and pointed it at Maugrim.
Maugrim rolled his eyes. "Come on," he growled. "We've already been through this before," he mocked. "We both know that you haven't got it in you," he added.
"Peter," Susan shouted, making Peter look at her. "Watch out!" she warned.
The two wolves started to snarl and walked around him in circles when Aslan suddenly appeared and put his foot down on the other wolf, making him yelp.
Some Narnian warriors started to release their weapons when Aslan said, "No! Stay your weapons, this is Peter's battle," he ordered and Oreius nodded telling his troops to back off.
Peter turned his attention back to Maugrim. "You may think you're a king," he taunted slowly before crouching down on all fours, making Peter more alert. "But you are going to die, like a dog!" he snarled before pouncing in the air and onto Peter making Susan and Lucy yelled out in shock.
"Peter!" they both screamed and jumped down from the tree and ran over to Peter, who had Maugrim on top of him and wasn't moving.
They shoved Maugrim off Peter and Peter suddenly sat up, gasping for breath. He looked at Maugrim who was dead and then at his sisters. Lucy and Susan both gave him a hug, in which he returned.
The other wolf that Aslan was holding started to squirm and suddenly broke free and ran away.
"After him!" Aslan ordered, making Oreius look at him. "He'll lead you to Edmund," Aslan explained and Oreius nodded and he and his troops started to follow the wolf, leaving the siblings and Aslan alone.
"Peter," Aslan said, and Peter turned to him. "Clean your sword," he asked and Peter looked down and saw his sword covered in Maugrim's blood. He wiped it clean on the grass and walked over to Aslan.
"Kneel," Aslan said and Peter got down on one knee and held out the sword in front of him, downwards. Peter felt Aslan's paw on his shoulder for a second. "Rise, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, Knight of Narnia," he added making Peter gasp in shock and turned to his sisters. Lucy grinned, happy for Peter and Susan smiled gently. Peter smiled back and turned to look at Aslan before putting his sword back in its cover.
When night fell, Oreius and troops finally followed the wolf to the Witch's camp. The troops killed all of the Witches followers and untied Edmund from the tree and tied Ginarrbrik in his place instead. Edmund removed the gag from his mouth and tied it around Ginarrbrik's mouth before climbing on Oreius's back and they rode away.
"Thank you, Oreius," Edmund said, grateful for his friend.
Oreius smiled. "It was nothing Edmund," he replied, making Edmund smile. He started to fall asleep on Oreius's back. At least he was away from his mother.
The next morning, Edmund finally reached Aslan's camp and he slid off Oreius and saw Aslan on a hill, looking at him. Edmund took a deep breath before walking over to him. It was time for a talk.
When Peter woke up and got changed in a long grey sleeved top with brown pants and boots, Peter saw Oreius and looked at him. His throat felt dry when he saw Oreius's stern expression. Oreius shifted his gaze towards the hill and Peter followed his direction, and the sight made his heart stop for a second. It was Edmund. It was Edmund, home safe and sound, talking to Aslan.
Peter's eyes started to fill with tears and he fought the urge to run up to his brother and grab him in his arms and never let go. But the conversation between Edmund and Aslan made him stop.
When the tent opened again, he saw Susan and Lucy coming out, wearing the same dresses as yesterday. They both followed his gaze and Lucy gasped when she saw Edmund.
"Edmund!" she shouted excitedly, trying make a run to him, when Peter grabbed her and shook his head with a stern expression which made Lucy understand. They were having an important conversation.
Edmund turned his head when he heard Lucy scream out his name and looked at his siblings and he smiled. But his smile went away when he saw Peter. He looked at Aslan.
"You're going have to forgive him Edmund," he said and Edmund closed his eyes. "It's the only way to move on," he added making Edmund nod, slowly.
Edmund opened his eyes. "He's my brother," was all he said before he started to walk down the hill, with Aslan following him. When he reached the bottom of the hill, he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. He couldn't face Peter. Not yet.
"What's done is done," Aslan said. "You must learn to forgive each other, before being able to move on," he added, before walking away from the siblings, to give them some time alone.
Edmund took a glance at Peter and was shocked when he saw that Peter had tears in his eyes. But he could be just imagining it. "Hello," he finally said and Lucy ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Edmund smiled and wrapped his arms around her for a brief moment, before Susan came up to him and wrapped her own arms around his shoulders. Edmund returned the gesture.
Susan pulled back and asked, "Are you alright?"
Edmund shrugged, not wanting to tell his sisters what happened to him. "I'm a little tired," he lied. Well it really wasn't a total lie. He was pretty tired.
"Get some sleep," Peter suggested, gesturing towards the tents.
Edmund looked at him before walking off. Peter then turned around.
"And Edmund," he shouted. Edmund turned around, with a sort of hopeful expression on his face. Peter ran up to him and wrapped his arms around Edmund's shoulders tightly. Edmund wrapped his own arms around Peter and smiled in Peter's neck. "Don't ever scare me like that again," he said, making Edmund grin.
"I'll try," he whispered. Peter pulled back and smiled at his brother. Edmund grinned and walked towards the tents. Peter turned to look at his sisters who smiled and had tears rolling down their cheeks. When Edmund woke up in a hour, he got changed in his white top, brown tunic and pants, and brown boots. He opened the flap and saw that Peter was leaning on a boulder while Susan and Lucy were sitting opposite each other. Edmund sat down in the middle of them and started to fill his plate with food. Peter looked at the scene with a small smile playing on his lips.
Edmund was on his fifth slice of toast when Lucy giggled. "Narnia's not going to run out of toast Ed," she joked and Edmund smiled at her.
"I'm sure that they'll pack something up for the journey back," Peter said.
All three of them turned their heads towards Peter. "We're going home?" Susan asked.
Peter sighed. "You three are," he corrected her and Susan looked confused. "I promised Mum that I'd keep you three safe," Peter said as he sat down next to Susan. "But that does not mean that I can't stay behind and help," he added.
"But they need us," Lucy interrupted him, tears forming in her eyes, "All four of us."
Peter sighed, trying to control his frustration. "Lucy it's too dangerous," Peter said. "You almost drown and Edmund was almost killed."
"Which is why we have to stay," Edmund put it. "I've seen what our mother can do Peter," he said and Susan gasped. What was Edmund talking about? She thought. "Besides Lucy and I have been in Narnia before, and we stayed for five years. We know how to fight and defend ourselves, and we can't leave the rest of the Narnian's to suffer anymore," he said and Peter pursed his lips.
Susan looked at Edmund once before sighing. "I suppose that's it then," she said before standing and picking up her quiver of arrows and her bow.
Peter turned to look at her before raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Susan smiled at Peter. "To get in some practice," she answered before walking over towards the archery fields. Lucy grinned at Susan and ran to catch up to her, leaving Peter and Edmund alone. Edmund turned to Peter with mischief shining in his eyes.
"Peter how good are you at using a sword?" he asked him and Peter grinned.
Meanwhile at the archery field, Susan held her bow and arrow and was trying to aim for the bullseye, though when she fired, she missed. Susan sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought. Lucy grinned and threw her dagger towards the target, and it landed on the bullseye. Susan laughed in disbelief when two horses' whines broke through the quiet field and the girls turned around to see both Peter and Edmund riding towards them, with their swords out and started to practice.
Edmund rolled his eyes. "Peter swords point up like I showed you," he scolded playfully and Peter grinned. Just then Mr Beaver came running towards them.
"Peter, Edmund!" Mr Beaver yelled and Phillip reared.
"Whoa Phillip," Edmund said and Phillip calmed down.
Mr Beaver stopped in front of them and looked scared. "The Witch has demanded a meeting with Aslan!" he announced and both Peter and Edmund looked at each other in fright. "She's on her way here!" he added and Edmund sighed. How were they going to get through this, and what was worse, how is Susan going to handle the truth that the White Witch was his and Peter's biological mother. Only time can tell.
A/N: Well that's another chapter done and three more to go! How did you like the sibling fluff between Peter and Edmund? Different than in the book and movie? Did you like it? Hate it.
Please review!
Next Chapter: The Stone table and The Battle Begins…