"Peeeter!"

Peter turned to see Lucy darting towards him, tripping over her skirts and falling into his arms. "What is it, Lucy-Lu?"

Lucy patted his arm in thanks before positioning herself on his lap and holding out a piece of paper with a surprisingly detailed drawing for a five year old. "Look what I maded."

"Made," Susan cut in sharply, sticking her tongue out the corner of her mouth to concentrate as she thread a needle.

Lucy poked her tongue out when she was sure Susan wasn't looking, thumping Peter's chest with both hands when he grabbed it.

"Don't be rude to your sister," He smirked, poking his own tongue out at Lucy. "What's the drawing of Luce?"

"It's of that boy I keep having dreams about," Lucy announced happily as soon as Peter released her tongue, wiping his hands on his tunic in mock disgust.

"It's a good drawing, Lucy."

Lucy beamed at her brother, giggling happily at the praise.

"Very," Susan agreed, studying the drawing over Peter's shoulder.

"Thank you," Lucy smiled modestly.

"Did you have one of your dreams last night, Lu?"

Lucy nodded. "It wasn't as bad as they are sometimes."

"What happened?" Peter asked, shredding a blade of grass with his fingers before leaning back on the picnic blanket the three were sat on earning an irritated glare from both Susan, who had had to shuffle out of his way, and Lucy who had been unceremoniously dumped off of his lap.

"Edmund and I-"

Susan smile at Lucy's grammar.

"Were playing checkers, it was fun, but he froze and began to panic. A really tall woman with awfully pale skin burst in and knocked our table over, scattering the game pieces everywhere. She pulled me by the hair and threw me to the ground. What she did to Edmund was worse." She stated sadly.

"What did she do to Edmund," Susan, who had unconsciously moved closer to her sister, asked pulling Lucy into a hug.

"She started hitting him and lashed him." Lucy pushed back one of her sleeves to show two bright red marks stretching from her wrist to her elbow.

*x*

"Hello." Edmund looked up at his siblings uncertainly, tightly clasping Lucy's hand for reassurance.

Susan laughed incredulously. "Hello, Edmund."

Lucy squeezed his hand comfortingly, encouraging Edmund to approach the elder two Pevensies.

Susan let out a strangled laugh-cry before rushing to hug Edmund, apologizing the entire time for never having tried to find him.

"It's alright."

Peter took a tentative step forward, catching a glimpse of Lucy who was looking jubilant yet nervous chewing on her bottom lip (Susan hadn't noticed to chastise her).

He stuck his uninjured hand out. "Hello Edmund. I'm Peter, your brother."

Edmund extracted himself from Susan's grasp long enough to shake Peter's hand firmly, once.

Coriakin nodded at the scene, pleased as punch with the outcome. "I shall leave you children alone. After all, you have a lot of catching up to do, don't you?"

Peter glared at Coriakin's retreating back. "I'm not a child." It was true enough; he was going to be king of an entire country within two years.

About an hour later, after Susan had changed her dress and tidied up her hair, the four children were sat around a table that held all number of delicacies. Edmund however, was avoiding all the rich, sweeter foods Peter and Lucy seemed to be enjoying exclusively in favour for some toast.

He had been shovelling in mouthfuls for a few minutes before Lucy choked on a boiled sweet as she caught sight of Edmund desperately fighting against the mound of bread in his mouth to chew with his mouth closed. "Narnia's not going to run out of toast, Ed."

Edmund smiled ruefully, glancing at the piece was holding an inch from his mouth before putting it down, embarrassed.

Susan sat up, gently placing her knife and fork on her plate and wiping her mouth with her napkin, eradicating the non-existent crumbs on her upper lip. "Say, Edmund, forgive me for asking but, would you tell us a bit about your life before you came he-home?"

Edmund nodded sluggishly, discreetly tugging down the sleeves of the tunic, one of Peter's -long since outgrown by the older boy, in order to disguise his scars. The action went unnoticed by all but Lucy who had to stifle a gasp as she recognized the carbon copies of her own fainting marks.

Edmund dutifully recited the boring details of his life from Charn to Narnia and the parts in between, blushing as the girls winced and Peter tensed at the mention of his numerous beatings.

"About a week ago, my moth- the witch had me tied to a tree, I had been questioning some aspects of my life. I was losing consciousness and my head had begun to bleed again from the gash in my head when I heard a great racket, everyone was darting about, escaping the camp I suppose. Not one of them stopped to help me, not even Maugrim. I saw what I guess must have been a centaur and then I collapsed. When I woke up again I was on a boat with a faun watching my every move, Tumnus I think his name was. He gave me some concoction that tasted of syrup, next thing I knew I had woken up and Lucy was on the other side of the door."

Peter stared at the ground, frustration radiating from him. "I asked to come with the rescue party."

Edmund looked at him awkwardly.

"Our uncle refused to grant me permission."

Edmund nodded, turning to look at Lucy who was watching Peter with a serious expression. "Why wouldn't he let you?" she demanded suddenly.

"The bloated old sod never gave me a reason."

"Peter!" Susan gasped her hand flying to her heart, scandalized despite Lucy and Edmund's erratic giggling.

"It's true," Peter muttered defensively, folding his arms against his chest.

Susan picked up her tea, sipping it delicately before sighing. "Why do you think he never asked after us? He must have cared about his sister?"

"Maybe he saw us, particularly Peter, as a threat. After all, our mother started her life as a serving girl. He only ever sat his puffy bottom on that throne because she married the king."

All eyes turned on Lucy surprised the eleven year old had so much knowledge, shockingly more than even Susan, regarding their parents. Strangely Susan had never set her mind to finding out about her parents. The idea of having a mother and father felt so foreign to her. The idea of them being King and Queen of Narnia felt, to put it mildly, wildly preposterous.

"That hideous old coot sees me as a threat?" Peter managed incredulously. "That's ridiculous."

Edmund shook his head. "If you think about it logically, it's not at all. The man has been in control of the kingdom for eleven years, unchallenged. By the time you're of age it will have been thirteen years. Would you really want to give up your throne after all that time?"

Peter numbly moved his head from side to side. Since when had eleven year olds become so intelligent and intuitive?

"Pete, that's not the worst of it."

"Oh really? Our uncle, our only remaining link to our mother, hates me."

Susan sighed heavily. "Peter, as acting king, he has to agree to the marriage of a nobleman, as you are."

"What are you implying, Susan?"

"Do you really think he'll let you marry Lilliandil?"

Pete blushed furiously. "I never said-"

"You didn't have to, everyone and their grandmother knows how you feel about her."

"Why wouldn't he let me marry her anyway? Lilliandil is no threat to him."

"No, she's not but you are."

"We've established this." Peter glanced towards Lucy and Edmund who were play fighting with sticks.

"He would marry you off to someone he chooses to show he has some power over you."

XXX

A/N This chapter presented me with a bit of a struggle. I hope it doesn't read as being really forced because I did feel it came across that way to a certain degree. I warn you now it may be a while before I upload again; I have my AS levels coming up so I need to revise… I'll keep writing anyway, enjoy.

**UPDATE** Thank you to QueenyLeAcHfor pointing out the mistake I made regarding the time Harold has spent on the throne. I owe you…