Yay another chapter which truthfully I had to cut it down by pages. I'm going to keep proofing it and posting the next chapter so there will be another one up as soon as I can read through it. As always please let me know what you guys think and thanks to those who reviewed last chapter.

Chapter 14

Emma

The three of us stood there crying holding each other until we couldn't see them anymore. The soldiers behind them finally vanished from view. We tried to pull ourselves together but we couldn't for almost an hour. We finally just had to muddle our way to the sitting room drink a few cups of tea and push our tears away. The only one of us that was remotely calm was Bran. He just waved to Edmund and yelled bye bye Edda and went back to chewing on his toy. We just sat there drinking our tea talking a little back and forth. I sat there playing with my necklace imaging peter with his life size ones fighting off people. I couldn't help but think about Peter getting hurt. Seeing him swinging his sword and one false step and he gets hurt. Lucy asked Eliza to stay for dinner so hours later we took dinner in the sitting room. We didn't feel like doing much until we knew they got to the outpost. It would take them about two days to reach the northern woods were the outpost lays near the lanterns waste. A few days ago Peter pulled out a map and showed me there route that they were going to take and were the outpost was. It looked so far away but Peter assured me that he and Edmund knew there country like the back of their hand and no maps were needed.

When dinner rolled around we barley ate I made Lucy eat more than I did with my promise to look after her still fresh in my mind. Emma left first to go put Bran down for the night while we still sat there together. We both read for a few hours trying to keep our minds off the people we cared about. We both gave up early that night and just went to our rooms and to bed early. I walked Lucy to her room she hugged me before going into her room. The poor girl had tears in her eyes still. Every so often I would see her wipe away a tear sniffle and pull herself together again.

I went to my room stopping at the door I looked over at Peter's door wishing he would open it and give me one of my favorite smiles of his. I took my hand off the door knob and went to Peter's room opening the door I took a look around. His bed was made the dark red and gold comforter straight over the mattress. The room held his sent and it brought tears to my eyes. "Oh Aslan please keep them safe." I crossed over to Peters dresser and pulled out a shirt I knew he wouldn't mind if I took one. I pulled the shirt to me taking into sent of Peter the metal and leather that always hung around him. Taking one last look around I left the room shutting the door promising myself not to go back in there while he was away. While going into my room I ran my hand over the shirt while walking to my bed. I changed pulling on Peters shirt and crawling into bed. I spent hours tossing and turning in the bed trying to sleep but with no luck.

There was a small knock at the door I knew it was Lucy who else would be knocking on my door at this hour. "Come on in Lucy." She poked her head in, "are you sure you don't mind."

"Come on in Lucy its ok." She crossed the distance from the door to my bed and lept on the mattress next to me. "You cant sleep to." She shook her head at me, "I usually go to Susan but." Lucy stopped talking but I didn't need her to finish the sentence. "Its ok Lucy you can stay as long as you need too." She smiled at me and crawled under the covers with me, "do you think there to Aslan's table yet."

"I don't know I have never been there before." I had heard them talk about it and some very important parts of the war when they first got here. Hopefully at some point I would be able to see all the wonderful places of Narnia.

"Would it be ok if I slept in here with you? I don't think I could stand staying in my room alone." It was dark but I could see the pale face of Lucy she was scared not only for herself but her siblings how could I deny her some comfort. "Sure it's fine I think I need someone too." I put my arm around Lucy's shoulders and hugged her. "Let's try to sleep." She nodded at me and snuggled down into the blankets a few feet away from me. I laid down with her and put my head on the pillow amazingly we both finally feel asleep either for each other or exhaustion.

That morning Mr. Tummus knocked on my door first thing in the morning I opened the door to his worried face. He was wringing his hands and shifting on his hooves, "My Lady I can't find Lucy I'm worried she ran off last night to join them but her horse is still in the stable but her bed is not slept in. I'm worried about her what.." "Mr. Tumms", I interrupted him, "she's fine," I pushed the door open to show a sleeping Lucy in my bed. "She came to me last night when she couldn't sleep."

"Oh thank Aslan for that I thought I was going to have to rally soldiers to bring her home. She would be dreadfully angry if I did that." It made me smile that he looked after her so much. That there friendship was strong though all that has happened the past few years. "Would you like me to wake her." He shook his head "let her sleep I will have a change of clothes brought here for her. I will let you go back to bed and rest a bit longer." He bowed to me; "I'll let Lucy know you were looking for her and thank you Mr. Tummus." He walked off and I shut the door walked back to bed and tried to get a few more hours of sleep.

Peter

We were riding all afternoon when we stopped just before nightfall. We made camp cooked a dinner and rested before going to bed. Ed and I hardly spoke all afternoon we just issued orders answered questions and tried to keep our minds on our task at hand. I was stretched out on the grass near a fire my hands behind my head watching the stars thinking of Emma. I held her hankie in my hand for a while then just rested it on my chest.

Edmund came and joined me and we both just laid there together for a while, "we can't be love sick kings tomorrow Pete we need to pull it together."

I sighed he was right we were going to arrive at the outpost our men needed us, "I know Ed we can give into it tonight. But tomorrow," it hurt to say it, "we need to put the girls aside."

"I just keep telling myself there safe in the castle that nothing is going to happen to them but I have this nagging in the back of my head. I just hope I'm wrong. Ed leaned back to lie on the grass his black hat pushed into his eyes he pushed it straight then laid back down. I will admit Ed looked funny with that hat on but he cared to much about Eliza to break his promise to take it off.

"Ed do you think the girls are doing fine tonight with us gone and all." I could just image Emma and Lucy crying themselves to sleep tonight. In their beds alone tears streaming down there cheeks.

"I'm sure is making sure they sleep, eat and that they don't run off and join us." I knew Ed was right I just needed some reassurance. Susan came over to us two bowls in her hand steaming, "up both of you stop pineing for them," we sat up taking the bowls she handed us before she dumped them in our laps. "I understand you miss them now get over it so we can take care of this and get back to Cair."

"We're taking care of it Su just give us tonight tomorrow we will be fine." No I wouldn't be fine I would just put on the face of a king instead of a love sick twenty one year old man.

"Fine just make sure you both eat all that otherwise I'll put it on your head." Susan pursed her lips then suppressed a smile. She was trying to cheer us up at our expense but it was working. We both smiled at her and then made sure we shoveled a huge mouth full of the soup into our mouths. I barley tasted the soup I shoveled it down knowing I needed it but not wanting it. Ed and I stared at the sky for a while before going to bed earlier than usual we had a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Lucy

It had been three weeks since my brothers and sister left me here in the castle with Emma. We received a letter when they reached the outpost they had no trouble traveling. Every few days we received an update from them. In the beginning things we fine they were winning and pushing the small rebels back with hardly any resistance. But as the weeks went on things took a turn they had recruited a few giants and the battle evened out. I sent more food and water along with more soldiers just in case. I also sent a small vial of my cordial to be used if need be. If I couldn't be there to give it to the soldiers at least I could was send it to be used in my absence. Eliza, Emma and I sent letters to them on a regular basis I didn't know what there's said but mine were full of be carful's and thanks.

When they had been gone for almost a month I received a letter carried by a griffin. They had pushed back the rebels won and were coming home. They were riding fast and hard being low on supplies and soldiers in various states of injury. Even with my vial of cordial I sent they were refusing only giving it to the most injured. As soon as I got the letter and quickly talked to the griffin I ran forgetting my manners and the loos of the talking animals and people around me to the hall Emma's room was on. I didn't bother to knock I threw open the door ran to Emma she was sitting on the couch staring into the fire. "Emma, Emma look," I waved the letter at her, "Peter wrote to me there coming home."

"What," she jumped up out of the couch and took the letter from me quickly reading it. "When did they leave?" She was smiling from ear to ear just like me.

"The griffin that brought it said they left at first light they should be home late tomorrow afternoon." I took Emma's hand, "oh we need to do something for them I missed them so and I know you have. Oh Eliza we need to tell her," I pulled Emma towards the door, "let's go find her she'll be so happy too."

Emma nodded at me, "I think it's her day off too she should be down stairs." I wrapped my arm around Emma's as we skipped down the hall and down the stairs. We had grown closer the past few weeks and I enjoyed that. We when finally reached Eliza's door we were so happy that we could hardly contain our excitement and joy. We knocked on her door trying to be quite if Bran was asleep thankfully he wasn't. Eliza answered the door opened it looked at me then Emma her eyes fell to my hand and the letter the smile on our faces she put it all together before we had to say a word. "They're coming home," we nodded our smiles getting bigger. We watched as she smiled and tears of joy came to her eyes. The three of us hugged each other like we did the day they left but this time we were smiling with joyful tears in our eyes. Eliza broke away from us scooped Bran up off the floor and hugged him to her, "Bran Edmund's coming back tomorrow." Brans face lit up and he screamed Edda. We were all so happy we went around telling everyone they were coming back. We convinced Eliza to join us for dinner with Bran and the four of us spent the whole meal trying to contain the excitement we felt.

Eliza

Emma and Lucy and I spent hours last night talking it was late that night that I went home with a sleeping Bran on my shoulder. I went back to Emma's room the next day after lunch to see something Emma wanted to show me. I knocked on her door and came in when she yelled for me too there stood Lucy and Emma they both had odd looks on their faces that I had never seen. "We have a surprise for you," Emma was standing there next to Lucy who had an equally odd look.

"What surprise?" I didn't know if I like this or what was going on. They both stepped back from the bed to show me a dress lying on Emma's bed. The dress was black with sliver embroidery around the sleeves which were long and flared out from the elbow down. The square neck held a swirling pattern that was also on a belt that tied around the waist. "This is for you for today we thought you might want to surprise Edmund when he got back today."

"I can't I have to finish work today." They both were shaking their heads.

Lucy smiled at me; "We got someone to cover the second half of your shift your free for the whole rest of the day. Eliza really just one night to have fun with us." I couldn't deny this to them when they went through so much. "Where did you get this?"

"Susan won't have us just throwing away cloths we put all the dresses Susan and I out grew aside just in case they were needed. When Emma came here we had dresses that fit her this one," Lucy pointed to the dress, "is one that we had put aside I kind of took one of your dresses and held it up to them until I found one that I thought would fit. If you don't like it we can find another there's plenty of them to choose from."

"No, it's beautiful it's just I haven't had a dress like this to wear before." That wasn't completely true before Bran I wore dresses like this. It just has been almost two years since I have even stepped foot in a dress this lovely.

"Well try it on," Lucy was jumping on the balls of her feet, "we know you'll look beautiful in it."

"Alright." Emma handed me the dress and I went behind the curtain to change and in fact I loved how it looked. The neck line went down a little farther than usual but I loved it. I came out from the curtain and Lucy handed me some new shoes then a shawl like the one Emma wore the night of the ball. "See you look wonderful Edmund's going to be so surprised," Lucy always the happy one. "Now I'm not as good as Susan but I want to try to put your hair up."

Sure not sure how though." Lucy pulled me into Emma's chair and started pulling it up and brushing it. When she was done Lucy had just pulled half of my hair back with a comb it was simple but beautiful. I couldn't recognize the girl in the mirror she was someone new.

'Now that we have you all done," Lucy went to Emma's bathroom and opened the door motioning for someone to walk into the bed room. In walked one of the other maids June a badger that cleaned up on this floor she held Bran in her arms. They had changed him into new cloths he wore a small red tunic with black plants and small brown boots that went to his little knees. "We wanted to show you think he looks cute." Emma was biting her lip unsure what to do.

"He looks like a little Edmund," I took him from June and took a good look at him. "You too have done too much for us."

"The two of you are part of our family now," Lucy came and took my free hand, "I'm glad you're part of our family."

"Thank you Lucy," I hugged her thankful for her kindness.

"Why don't we go to the sitting room and wait on them. Hopefully it won't be too much longer." We agreed with her and went to the sitting room and tried to not look out the window every few minutes. After hours of waiting the sun was setting and we were going to give up the horns rang out announcing there arrival.