A/N: Sorry it was so long in coming! Merry Christmas!

Interlude

The battle scenery flashed by in slow-motion as he felt the icy blade plunge into his abdomen. A second wave of pain coursed through his body as the sword was pulled out. He heard his beloved brother yell his name, and then his knees gave way and he fell to the ground. He lay still, as still as death.

It was the most noble thing he had ever done, and here he lay dying for it. Well, it didn't matter anyway. It was the least he could do, for he was the cause of this whole affair anyway. Yes, it was every bit his fault. If only he hadn't been so selfish...if only he had thought of his sweet sisters, and the brother that loved him so dearly--oh! the brother that now rushed to avenge him, who was perhaps minutes from losing his own life.

He smelled blood everywhere; he felt it, too--indeed, he was lying in a pool of it, clutching the gaping hole in his stomach. The pain was so intense for such a young boy that he almost didn't feel it...and yet he did, as keen as he'd ever felt anything. He could feel unconsciousness tugging at his mind, but he refused to give in, refused to do anything but hold on, for his brother was coming for him.

But no! In one horrible moment, he too was down, at the hand of the self-same entity he had been betrayed to. All hope was lost for the young traitor, who gave himself up to the blackness that so quickly washed over him.

And still there was pain.

But then, after what seemed like a million forevers, something besides pain and nothingness touched his senses. He suddenly knew a flowery taste, as if beauty itself had been bottled up and touched upon his lips. His eyes opened of their own accord and he looked up into the beautiful face of his dear, sweet younger sister. He scarcely had time to wonder, for he was quickly caught up in the embrace of his brother, oh, his brother! who was alive yet, and clutching him as though time itself were ending. When they at last parted, came the smiling, choked voice of his brother: "When will you ever learn to do as you're told?"

He knew all was forgiven.

And yet, though enclosed in the arms of the three he loved dearest, his wound gone at the hand of his sister with not so much as a scar remaining, the memory of it would never fade.

And still he smelled blood.

"Ed?" Peter's voice broke the younger king's thoughts.

He looked up at his brother.

"This is the third time I've said your name. What's bothering you?"

Edmund shrugged. "I was just...thinking."

"Care to talk?"

Edmund sat down by the window. "I was thinking about our first battle. With the White Witch..."

Peter, knowing how painful the memory was to his brother, put a kind hand on Edmund's shoulder.

"We were so young--so young to have seen so much..."

"We did what we had to do, Ed."

"We had blood on our hands, Peter. I was eleven years old and I had the blood of thousands on my hands. And you...how many did you kill that day?"

"They were evil creatures, Edmund. We had no choice." Still the voice came ever-so-patiently.

"No...but we killed them nonetheless."

Peter sighed. He hated the guilt that hung over Edmund's head, hated that his kind, merciful brother had to carry so much weight. He knew the memory of that battle hung over the younger one's head every time they rode to battle. For Peter, battles were an adventure, a conquest. For Edmund, however, they were a reminder of the worst thing he ever did.

"Peter...we're training Jen to do the same thing."

Peter shook his head. "We can't think of it like that, Edmund. She's going to make a great and powerful warrior, you know that. The centaur said so. Remember...the stars don't lie, but men and beasts--and feelings--do."

"But I can't bear to see her--to see her lose her innocence like we did all those lifetimes ago. To expose her to all the blood, so much blood..." He looked down, and once again his troubled eyes filled with memories, memories of pain and guilt and blood, and his reverie went on uninterrupted for quite some time. Peter, ever patient, waited for his brother to speak again.

"No," Edmund finally said, looking up sadly. "We can't keep her prophesy from being fulfilled."

"Ed, she can handle herself." He gave his troubled brother a sympathetic smile. "Don't you worry about her."

Edmund smiled back, ever-so-slightly, in silent thanks to his supportive big brother, then they said goodnight.

A/N: Ok I know this doesn'treally do anything to further the plotline of thestory, it's just something that came out when I sat down to write. And I didn't have time to write anything else, cause of the busyness of Christmas and everything. Plus I've kind of got writer's block. Don't flame me for this chapter, cause I don't have time to add to it. I just wanted to further my interperetation ofEdmund's character a little, and cause I wanted to slip in an author's note. I'm not going to be updating for the next couple of weeks…good stuff happening. My youth group will be at a youthconference till Wednesday…that's gonna be a lot of fun. And then Thursday, my boyfriend, who lives across the country, will be coming down to stay with my family for about a week. SoI'm excited about that.Except that I'm not gonna be updating…oh well. I'm not complaining! Lol. So anyway, just wanted yall to know that I didn't give up on it, still love the great reviews I'm getting, and why I'll be MIA for the next couple of weeks. So anyway, sorry about the wait, and sorry this chapter was kind of lame. Better stuff coming, I promise!