Disclaimer : I do not own Narnia in any shape or form, so don't sue, I'm saving up to buy the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe game.

Replies to Reviews :

Red Ranger Chick – Thanks, I hope you find this chapter to your liking.

Elouise82 – We aim to please, hope that you enjoy this chapter.

Erin MB – Waiting over, I really enjoyed Black Fire and as I said in my review please don't leave us in the dark for too long. Please! Please! Please! P.S if begging doesn't work, will you respond to threats… say you update and I don't kill Peter. Grins Evilly

Seronothenin – Flattery will get you everywhere and everything. (Including new chapters.) good writing or punctuation not included

Shannon – Sorry no promises about returning Peter and Edmund to the shelf unharmed, I borrow things, I break things. Trust me, and if not me then the box of beheaded Barbies in the garage. I was a strange child. And as Kya would say, I still am. Thank you for the congrats.

Chapter 8

Three figures proceeded down a dimly lit corridor, two of them were dragging the unconscious and oblivious body of the third. The flickering torchlight barely illuminated their faces as they traversed the winding maze which made up Miraz's dungeons. When they arrived at their destination the two guards unceremoniously flung the motionless body of their charge into the open cell door and slammed it shut.

Edmund almost jumped off of the bench and straight at his brother's prone form. He grabbed at the older boy's wrist in a frenzy, then feeling the reassuring throb of a pulse calmed himself and checked over the still fresh and bleeding wounds that marred his brother. He gingerly peeled away the sodden, red remains of Peter's shirt from his brother's raw back and tore a strip from his own shirt to wipe away some of the blood. Then, his task finished, he just sat on the floor cradling the High King's head, thinking nothing. But the longer he thought nothing, the sooner he thought everything, all of the arguments they had had, the fights, all the nasty comments and the general beastly way they had treated each other. After those memories came the happier ones, the triumph over the White Witch, the coronation, their rule, the bullies Peter had chased away for him at school even the time they had detention together, scrubbing the dishes in the kitchen, the massive water fight and mopping up that followed.

He sighed, nobody deserved this, least of all Peter the boy who would help anyone and everyone. Before it had been this quality that made Edmund want to puke, his goody goody brother, his enemy. Now it was this quality that Edmund admired, respected, his kind and noble brother, his friend. The person who was so ready to forgive, to believe in him, to protect him, was lying in his arms bleeding, maybe dying, and it made Edmund's own blood boil. He wanted to kill Miraz with his bare hands, just watch as his enemy suffered, like he was watching Peter. They stayed like that for hours, Edmund holding Peter in his arms, fierce, hot tears threatening to fall and slide down his cheeks. His own welts still stung but even they didn't hurt as much as the sight of his brother. Unable to control himself any longer Edmund allowed the tears to fall.

Unknown to the two boys the Sun was rising and with it came new hope. Caspian, Susan, Lucy and the army were hidden in the tree line only yards away from the castle. They were awaiting their scouts, who had been sent into the castle to find out what was going on and were due back any moment. Lucy was waiting patiently, perched on a tree stump, Susan was pacing, something she had picked up from Edmund, and Caspian was going over their plan with Glenstorm and Doctor Cornelius. He had quite quickly assumed the role of commander in the absence of the two Kings and had insisted on ironing out every single detail of the plan, making sure everything was perfect, or at least as perfect as possible.

He was about to go over the positions again when a leafy rustling heralded the scouts' return. The leader stepped forward and bowed to the young Prince, who acknowledged the man with a brief nod, Lucy stood up and Susan stopped her pacing. Unaware or unfazed by the attention the man gave the scouts' report. It detailed the defenses of the castle, an estimate to the number of guards and most importantly of all the fact that Peter and Edmund were to be executed at noon in two days time. Lucy and Susan both paled but Caspian, determined to fail his troops or his friends, was altering their plan to fit accordingly and then he relayed it to the others. Once everyone knew their respective places and jobs there was nothing to do but wait.

After a while the tears stopped and Edmund was content with just clinging to his brother's still form. Aslan's words rang clear in his mind 'I warn you now, Son of Adam. Your brother the High King, will not always be around, so it will fall to you to assume his duties if the occasion calls for it.' Edmund felt both warm and cold at the words, he felt warm as Aslan's voice washed through him, but the words he bore chilled the King to his bone. Edmund was brought sharply back to reality as he felt his brother squirm in his arms. Peter tried to twist away from his clutches, but this only made Edmund hold him tighter as he watched his brother impatiently.

As Peter drifted back into consciousness he was overwhelmed by the pain. Every fibre of his being hurt but it wasn't the sharp throbbing it had been, now it had simmered down to become a dull ache. He writhed as he felt arms around him, restricting his movement, he felt their grip tighten and tried to recoil away from his captor but he couldn't. Peter's mind was now up to speed and it was processing his current situation. Knowing that he had to open his eyes sooner or later he decided it would be better if he knew who held him sooner, for the best means of defense and escape. He slowly blinked and then found himself peering up at the worried but friendly face of his brother. It took him awhile to process that he was save, or as close to save as possible under the circumstances. After a few moments of comfortable silence Peter managed to a weak grin.

"How do we get ourselves into these messes?" He whispered to his brother who smiled back at him.

"I don't know, but I think what we should be discussing is how do we get ourselves out of this mess?" Peter's smile widened.

"I thought you Mothers knew everything." This playful banter continued on until Peter drifted off to sleep, Edmund was just content to watch his brother until he too closed his eyes and dreamed. Neither one being aware that at that moment elsewhere in the castle one man was sharpening his axe and two others were constructing a scaffold.

A/N Hope you found that chapter satisfactory, I'll try and post the next chapter ASAP but GCSEs are murder at the moment. Please review as always.