Note: The reunion went well, so thank you for being patient. =D

Chapter 10


Four days later and Lucy was no longer trying to comfort Peter (not that, in the light of day, he felt he needed comfort, of course). She was too busy being hurt and frustrated that no one had believed she had seen Aslan at the gorge of the River Rush. In fact, Peter had to begrudgingly respect that Lucy had not said a single "I told you so" when her chosen path turned out to be their best option. Despite this, though, Peter was not sure Lucy had really seen Aslan – Peter had not seen him, after all – and he knew Lucy could tell that he did not believe her.

So now Susan still was not talking to him and Lucy was giving him sad, disappointed looks. Trumpkin was keeping his silence and staying near Lucy, who was even yet less testy than the elder two children. Peter, as he settled to sleep that night, noted to himself in frustration that they were falling apart. It reminded him all too much of their journey to Aslan's camp when first they had come to Narnia, while Edmund had been in the clutches of the White Witch. It was not a comforting thought, and it took some time for Peter to settle his uneasiness and fall asleep.

He still didn't sleep well so, when morning came and Peter heard slight movement near camp, he woke almost immediately. Glancing around, he saw a glimpse of Lucy's red dress vanishing into the woods as he blinked back the sleep from his eyes. Scrambling to his feet, he hurriedly fixed his belt around his waist, letting Rhindon settle comfortably against his leg. Peter shook Susan and Trumpkin awake before setting off after his wayward sister.

As he followed Lucy's path, Peter tried to clamp down on his worry. First Edmund had disappeared, now Lucy was gone as well. Before he could panic, however, he saw Lucy just ahead of him. She was walking straight towards…Peter lunged forward, grabbing his sister and covering her mouth to muffle her startled scream. With a warning glance, Peter drew Rhindon and slowly stalked towards the Minotaur that marched, armed, through the wood. His mind occupied with going over how to disarm and question the Minotaur, Peter did not notice the figure coming against him until almost too late.

Luckily, Peter was able to get his sword up in time to block his attacker. In a moment he noticed that the figure was human, and wearing clothes and armor that were decidedly Telmarine. His anger boiled to the surface and he did not think as he attacked the soldier with all his strength, which had only increased the longer they were in Narnia. The Telmarine fought back well, even when Peter disarmed him. Before he knew it, Rhindon was stuck in a tree from where Peter had attempted to remove the Telmarine's head from his neck. Falling back on his training, Peter lifted a rock, poised to bash his enemy's head in.

Lucy's frantic shout stopped him mid-strike, and he noticed that the Telmarine, having just freed Rhindon, had stopped in shock as well. Peter, sensing that they were surrounded, turned his head away from Lucy's wide-eyes stare. Emerging from the woods was not only the Minotaur, but Fauns, Wolves, Dwarfs, and Centaurs. Narnians. With a jolt, Peter realized that the Narnians were not attacking this Telmarine, which could only really mean one thing.

Peter turned back to the Telmarine, who still held Rhindon warily. "Prince Caspian?" Peter could not keep the tone of disbelief and antipathy from entering his voice.

Prince Caspian frowned at him. "I am rightfully King Caspian. And who exactly are you?"

"Peter!" came Susan's shout as she and Trumpkin rushed to the scene, unintentionally answering Caspian's question.

Caspian looked down at the sword in his hand, with a slight intake of breath as he recognized it, likely from the stories his tutor had told him. The Telmarine looked up at Peter, his face a picture of confusion. "High King Peter?" he asked, as if he did not really believe it.

Peter gave him a look of superiority, as if to remind Caspian of his place. "I believe you called."

There was a pause as Caspian's eyes flashed in anger at Peter's tone, but he composed his features quickly. To Peter's amazement, the Telmarine turned Rhindon's hilt towards the High King and bowed as he presented it. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, for attacking you. I sought only to protect my soldiers."

This threw Peter off balance; he was not expecting any sort of conciliatory gesture from this upstart who had the nerve to call himself King. "Well," said Peter, trying to maintain a royal air as he accepted his sword, "that's understandable."

Caspian nodded and picked up his own sword, sheathing it. He turned to face Susan and Lucy, bowing to them smartly. "Your Majesties, it is an honor to meet you both as well."

Susan was about to answer when the sound of a horn echoed through the woods. Caspian's eyes widened and he quickly turned to the Narnians. "Trufflehunter, lead South Company and take the arms back to the How." A Badger hurried to obey as Caspian turned to a Centaur. "Glenstorm, North Company, with me." The groups parted in precision, with Caspian and his company racing off without another word. Peter, disgruntled over being ignored, ran after Caspian, the girls and Trumpkin at his heels.

Increasing his speed, Peter caught up so that he was running on the other side of Caspian from Glenstorm. Though concentrating on not falling over tree roots, and just breathing, Peter managed to overhear some of Caspian's slightly out-of-breath conversation with the Centaur. "Simple sabotage mission, he said. Don't worry, he said. We won't be caught, he said. By the heavens, why does he always insist on such dangerous missions!"

As Caspian silenced his rant, on account of needing to breath, Glenstorm just simply noted, "Would you expect him to do anything less?"

Peter took Caspian's silence to mean that he either agreed, or that he had a stitch in his side and could not answer. However, Peter had no time to contemplate what exactly the two were talking about as the Narnians charged into a clearing where a small battle raged. A company of Telmarines were attacking what appeared to be a group consisting of two Lynxes, three Black Foxes, a company of Mice…and another Telmarine. Peter had only enough time to associate the renegade Telmarine with Caspian's stableboy half-brother before he was on the enemy. Only once in the melee did he catch sight of Caspian and his brother fighting side by side.

The rush of Narnians quickly overwhelmed the Telmarines, and the battle was soon over. Caspian issued an order for retreat back to this How he had mentioned before, and the Narnians left swiftly. Peter's eyes roamed the company until he spotted his sisters, well and unharmed, and breathed out a sigh of relief. The group was soon far enough away from the battle site, and the Telmarines, that they could slow down and take stock of any injuries.

As they were doing so, Peter searched for Caspian. He found the Telmarine walking close to his half-brother, checking him for injuries and scolding him lightly. "When I said you could sabotage the bridge, you weren't supposed to bring the Telmarine soldiers with you!"

The brother shook his head, shoulder-length dark hair hitting his face as he did so. "The mission was successful; we just ran into small problem on the way back."

"Small problem!" exclaimed Caspian incredulously, but Peter was not paying attention to him. His mind was too busy trying to reconcile the voice he had just heard with what was before his eyes and the assumptions he had made. He did not even notice that he had stopped so suddenly that Glenstorm had only barely missed running into him. The shocking realization that this stableboy, this Telmarine who was supposedly Caspian's half-brother, this near stranger was, in fact, his own brother had Peter completely frozen.

This did not hold true for Lucy. "Edmund!" she cried as she recognized her missing brother, and launched herself at him with all the energy of a steam locomotive.

Edmund's eyes lit up, first with surprise then delight as he caught Lucy and held her tightly. "Lucy! What…ow, too tight, Lu, need to breathe."

Lucy squeezed him before only slightly loosening her hold. "Oh Edmund, we were so worried! You weren't on the beach with us and then we found Trumpkin and learned that there were Telmarines in Narnia and we didn't know where you were, but now we've found you and you better not go disappearing on us again, understood?"

With a laugh, Edmund hugged his little sister again. "Understood. And I've missed you too. I didn't know where or when you would show up."

"Lucy!" stated Susan in mock exacerbation. Lucy giggled and let go of Edmund so Susan could hug him, though she stayed close by his side. Susan embraced her little brother tightly, her eyes watering in relief as her worry from the past few days met with comfort. As if sensing her distress, Edmund hugged her back just as tightly, not letting go until she did. Stepping back, Susan smiled brightly, her hand pulling on Edmund's too-long hair. "What's this then? Your hair's always grown fast, but this is ridiculous."

Edmund smirked. "Four months living among people who mostly believe in yearly haircuts will do that." He glared playfully at Caspian who just laughed.

Peter didn't laugh, though. Worry – he spent four months living among Telmarines – warred with jealousy – why did Edmund get four months in Narnia when I've only had a week. Peter battled to keep his emotions in check. So when his three siblings turned to him, and Edmund stepped towards him with a smile on his face, Peter only asked, gruffly, "Are you alright?"

Edmund's smile faltered. "I…yes, I'm fine, Peter."

The High King nodded sharply, "Good," and began walking again in the same direction they had been headed before. The Narnians took that as the signal to keep moving and followed Peter. He did not turn back to see the looks that stared after him: not the anger in Susan's face, nor the hurt in Lucy's, or the confusion in Caspian's. Or the look of weary dejection that haunted Edmund's dark eyes; dejection that would seem familiar to Peter if he had spared a glance at his brother at all in the previous year.

~*~

As always, Edmund shoved his disappointment deep inside himself, turning his focus to how glad he was to see his siblings safe and whole. Neither of the girls seemed to want to go very far from his side and, frankly, Edmund felt much the same way. So as they traveled to Aslan's How, Edmund, the girls, and Caspian walked in a cluster, Peter walking a few feet ahead next to Glenstorm.

Lucy could barely contain her excitement, wanting to hear about Edmund's every move since they were separated. Edmund obliged, with Caspian filling in his side of the story, as well as details that Edmund would rather have glossed over (Edmund nearly walking into a Telmarine village while escaping, any instance in the past month when Edmund was nearly killed in the skirmishes against the Telmarines). After letting Susan fret and scold Edmund, and Caspian, for putting themselves in danger, Lucy regaled them with their own journey. Edmund grinned proudly when Susan interjected and told them how Lucy had beaten Trumpkin in the duel, and he blinked back tears when Lucy told him of their ruined home and handed him his golden chessman.

Soon enough, they were at the How. As they neared the entrance, as group of centaurs lined the walkway, swords drawn. Despite Edmund's questioning look, Caspian motioned for the Four Kings and Queens of Old to precede him, and the Pevensies, looking every bit the royalty they were, descended into the How beneath their people's salute.

Once inside Caspian took the lead in giving the others a tour of their base, Edmund only speaking up when he thought Caspian had overlooked something important. Susan, though, then noticed the paintings. The excitement over showing off the encampment faded to solemnity as the four Pevensies and Caspian walked slowly through the picture tunnel. "What is this place?" asked Lucy finally.

Edmund shook his head. "It's…easier just to show you." He led them quietly into the darkened Table Room. As Glenstorm had for him, Edmund lit the fire-trail, revealing the Stone Table. Even after nearly a month living at the How, just seeing the broken table brought a lump to Edmund's throat.

He watched as Lucy approached the table, resting a hand on its rough stone and staring up at the engraving of Aslan. She turned to Susan. "He must know what he's doing," she stated softly, as if quoting words said long ago.

Edmund's heart warmed at Lucy's determined faith, only to freeze at Peter's stiff reply. "I think it's up to us now."

The Just King stared at his brother. Surely he had heard wrong, taken Peter's words the wrong way. Surely the High King of Narnia had not just implied that they could not trust Aslan. Unfortunately, the hurt look on Lucy's face, the resigned agreement on Susan's, told Edmund that he had not been mistaken at all.

Before he could say anything, however, Peter stalked out of the room, a morose Susan following. Edmund turned to Caspian. The young king looked confused, and no wonder. For the past month Edmund had been guiding and teaching Caspian on what it meant to be a king, and every lesson began with the exhortation to trust Aslan in all things. Yet here was the High King himself proclaiming that they were going to free Narnia without any help from the Great Lion. Edmund sighed. "I'm sorry, Caspian. Peter's just…I told you he didn't take well to leaving Narnia. He'll come around." I hope.

Caspian did not look so sure either, but he still heeded Edmund's silent plea and went after the elder Pevensies, leaving the younger two alone. Once he was gone, Edmund went over to Lucy who threw her arms around her brother. He had been sensing her upset for awhile, and by now he had guessed what, or rather who, was responsible. "Has he been this way the whole time?" Lucy nodded into his chest, and Edmund sighed again. Back in England, he and Lucy had often talked about the changes in their siblings, and their hope that Peter and Susan would return to normal once they got back to Narnia. Obviously that had not happened. "I'm sorry, Lu. I should have been there, if just to help you bear the brunt of it."

Lucy pulled back and the two siblings sat on the ground, leaning their backs against the comfort of the Stone Table. With her own sigh Lucy leaned her head on Edmund's shoulder. "I don't know if you being there would have made much of a difference. Peter hasn't been listening to anyone, and he and Susan would have found something else to fight about, rather than your disappearance."

Edmund knew she spoke truly – how many times had Peter actually listened to him in the past year? He could count the number on one hand, and still be able to snap his fingers. Still, it hurt to know that he was a cause of conflict between the older siblings. Edmund shook his head. "I was worried for you three, you know," he admitted. "Wandering around in a changed Narnia, with Telmarines roaming about. And I couldn't do anything to help you."

Lucy let out a rather harsh laugh. "You were worried? At least we were together; for all we knew, you were alone, unarmed, and could run into Telmarines at any time. Susan was positively frantic with worry. I wasn't much better, though I tried to trust Aslan to protect you. And Peter…he didn't say much. But I know he had terrible nightmares. Not that he would admit it." She did not have to elaborate. Edmund was pretty sure he could guess their content.

Still. "The nightmares must not've been that bad," Edmund muttered dejectedly. Peter's reaction at their meeting still stung.

Even Lucy could not defend Peter's actions. "He's so lost, Ed. Both of them are. I…I saw Aslan."

Edmund's head spun around and down to look at her in surprise and a little awe. "You did? When? What did he say? Why didn't you tell us before?"

Lucy would not look him in the eye. "It was at the River Rush. I saw him and I knew he wanted us to cross there. But none of the other saw him and…and they didn't think I had either! They thought I was seeing things!"

His heart went out to his little sister. It was so much like before Narnia, the first time, when none of them had believed that she had found a land in the wardrobe. Worse, because Peter and Susan at least should know to trust Lucy and, since Aslan is not a tame lion, they should realize that he might change the way he appeared to them. "Oh, Lu…"

"I don't think they trust Aslan anymore." And, oh how that thought hurt. "Susan won't believe what she doesn't see with her own eyes. And Peter is just so focused on being High King again and fixing everything himself, and he'll walk over anyone in his way. You should have seen how he acted towards the DLF – that's Trumpkin – and then how he was glaring at poor Caspian, as if he didn't deserve to clean his boots, let alone lead Narnians into battle."

Edmund had noticed that Peter was acting unreasonably cold to Caspian, but to hear Lucy describe it was too much. "Well, Peter better shape up," he growled, startling Lucy. "Caspian's a good kid, and has the potential to be a great king if Peter's attitude doesn't completely destroy everything I've been trying to teach him." To Edmund's surprise, Lucy giggled at his words. "What?" he asked, slightly annoyed.

Lucy had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry. It's just, you're acting so protective of Caspian and it reminded me of what Trumpkin said."

"Do I want to know?" asked Edmund, warily.

The young queen smiled. "Well, when he saw you in the forest he didn't know who you were, and since Cornelius only told him that you were a royal stableboy, Trumpkin came to the conclusion, because you looked a bit like Caspian, that you were Caspian's illegitimate half-brother."

Edmund opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then opened it again. In all, he looked rather like a startled fish. Finally, he just shook his head and smiled. "He's as bad as some of the Telmarine stableboys. Though," he added thoughtfully, "he is partly correct."

"What?" exclaimed Lucy, somewhat alarmed.

Now it was Edmund's turn to look sheepish. "Well, Caspian was being somewhat forlorn over not having a family. So I sort of told him he could be a part of ours."

Lucy grinned, and most of the rest of the dark mood hanging over them dissipated. "Oh, that's lovely! Of course he can be our honorary brother. Peter will get over it eventually, and I'm sure Susan will welcome him with open arms."

Edmund frowned. He had seen the slightly flirtatious looks Susan had been giving the young king, as well as Caspian's own starry-eyed gaze when he glanced at Susan. "That reminds me, Caspian and I need to have a little talk about something."

Er, Peter's character got a little of a beating in this chapter; mostly because I was in a really bad mood when I wrote it. I hope it's not too OOC.