Disclaimer: Should I even bother at this point? I think it's pretty obvious that I didn't write the Lord of the Rings or the Chronicles of Narnia.

Author's Note: See this is what happens when you give me too much attention! ...Not that I want you to stop :)

Chapter 10 – Spare Parts

The first night in Orthanc was the worst. All slaves were freed from their tug-lines, but kept in manacles. That meant freedom to move around, but low maneuverability. Lucy immediately found her brother and folded herself to his side. Steady tears fell from her eyes, but no sound escaped her. He roped his bound arms around her shoulders and allowed himself to offer solace the only way he could. They sat down together. "Shh, it'll be alright, Lucy." He knew she needed comfort, which was usually Peter's forté. But in his absence Edmund had always been good at picking up the slack.

"How?" It was a whisper and very quickly lost in the midst of all the noise.

He didn't have an honest answer to give her. They shuffled their feet as five orcs herded the large group of humans into a steel cage with no roof. At least that meant they could still see the stars. If the smoke clears, Edmund's sardonic mind cut in. "Lucy, have I ever lied to you?" He didn't dare mention the dozen times before they arrived to Narnia. Instead he smirked the confident way he always did, and settled them as far back in a corner as he could. Esodhal had found his wife and youngest daughter and huddled close to his family next to them.

Lucy silently shook her head against her brother's chest.

"I promise I'll find a way out of here. But you have to trust me, Sister. Can you do that?" He kept his voice steady and allowed for some of the resolution to bleed out.

Lucy turned her wide, bloodshot eyes to his. "It's when you talk like that I get worried."

Next to them Esodhal's family couldn't help but overhear, but were gracious enough to pretend not to. Edmund flashed her one of his secret smirks. The ones he saved for solving complicated diplomatic situations and for sharing inside jokes with his siblings and friends. He pulled her sister as close as she could get without physically sitting on his lap.

"You'll do something stupid and get yourself killed." Lucy, bless her, saw right through him and knew him well enough to practically hear his thoughts.

"No I won't." Edmund answered quietly and placed his chin on her head.

"Yes you will! I've seen you do it time and time again." Lucy glanced around when she had accidentally yelled, but to her relief no one besides Esodhal and his family noticed.

"We'll if I've done it before there should be little need to worry, My Queen." He thought a second he had won the argument.

"Yes but all those times were in Narnia," Lucy took a dramatic pause, knowing she had found a hole in his speech and hoping to persuade him of her gravity. "Can you think of one thing I had with me all those times that I don't have now?"

Edmund's face fell, but he refused to let it show. "I won't need your cordial-"

"You always did before." She was sounding far too smug for his liking.

"I did not. Name one time."

"That time with Warfang on the North-Western Boarder,"

"Those were special circumstance. Peter was about to be killed. What was I supposed do to? Plus it was in the middle of battle. Wounds were to be expected."

"Or what about Beruna?"

"Same thing!"

"Or in Lantern Waste?"

"That was not my fault. That minotaur clearly had a personal vendetta against me."

"Or that time in Anvard?"

"Now that was an accident and I apologized profusely to the dwarf after you healed me."

Lucy knew he was trying to coerce a giggle from her, but didn't rise to the bait. "You scared the living daylights out of that little fellow. It wasn't even likely that kitten would've been hit with the wheels so far apart and honestly, I could have just given it a drop should it have happened."

"And I should've passed on a chance to rescue a loyal subject?" Edmund huffed incredulously. "You're getting sloppy on me, old girl."

That made Lucy giggle.

Edmund smiled into her soft hair. "I think we'll have stars tonight." His eyes traveled upwards, not really thinking it would be possible, but hoping for his sister's sake.

"It won't matter. We don't know any of the constellations."

"It'll be a chance to learn new ones. Who can say they know constellations from not one, but three worlds?"

"And besides there's too much smoke."

"It's just steam. That'll clear once the temperature drops."

Lucy sighed. She had not missed how her brother had diverted the conversation, but chose to leave it for now. She leaned against Edmund's ribs, careful not to crush him.

"Would you like to lie down?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, moving to uncurl her growing frame, but was stopped by Edmund. He gently leaned back onto the bars and pulled Lucy onto his lap. She smiled and once again wrapped herself around his lanky frame. "Where do you suppose Peter is?"

Edmund sighed. He had wondered that himself. "Someplace safe, I hope."

AN: And NOW I'm done! But only for today. Tomorrow you get another one :)