Back From The Ice
By SugarHighNutcase
As you know, I stopped writing Narnia fics a while back since I started running out of ideas. But then I was re-reading Welcome to the Warmth, and I wanted to write more. Enjoy!
Peter wasn't sure when the feeling began. Nor was he wasn't sure when it became obvious.
It could've been the day Edmund was born. Looking at his newborn little brother, Peter felt something he hadn't felt for Susan. Perhaps it was because Susan was a girl, he'd thought, and so it was dismissed.
It could have been the day Edmund broke his arm. Edmund was only six, and Peter was nine. Peter had been with him when Edmund had fallen, and Peter'd been angry with himself for letting Ed get hurt. Afterward, Peter had gone everywhere he could with Ed, doing everything to help him. And even after the cast came off, Peter looked out for his brother for at least a month, just to be sure Edmund wouldn't hurt himself again.
And even when Edmund started turning into a brat, even when Peter and Edmund could never get along, the feeling did not leave Peter. It stayed with him, always.
Peter didn't know exactly when the feeling had started. All he knew, as he stared into the face of his sleeping brother, was that he felt he had to protect Ed, and always look after him. Especially after everything his brother had gone through.
Because who else but Peter could be to blame for Edmund turning to the Witch? Who else could be blamed for Edmund being tortured by the Witch in ways Peter would never know? Whose fault was it that Ed had nearly been killed by the Witch? Whose fault could it be but Peter's?
And it wasn't until now that Peter noticed his tears. He was cryiing, crying for how he'd let his brother down, for how he wasn't able to protect him. And that was when he realized- Peter didn't have to protect his baby brother; he needed to.
And as Edmund turned in his sleep, Peter knew that he had to take care of Edmund, always. Because Edmund meant everything to Peter, and Peter could not lose his everything.
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All around him are the sounds of death, the sight of blood. Warriors dying, bleeding, crying for help. Dying, dying, dying…
And there amongst the dead and dying, there lying in a pool of his own blood, there lying underneath a mockingly beautiful sky, there is Edmund.
Edmund. Bleeding, dying Edmund. His unseeing eyes are staring up at the blue sky and he is gasping for breath. His side is on fire, and he is in complete agony. And Edmund wants it to end, he wants it to stop. He wants to die. He thinks he deserves death.
And the pain stops, and vision comes back to him, and Edmund can breath again. And he is there, crying over Edmund's body, and the relief in his eyes is prominent as Edmund sits up and is taken into a hug. And although Edmund's body is tired and sore and bloody, Edmund does not care. Because Peter is showing his love for Edmund, and that's all Edmund needed. Because Peter is Edmund's everything, and Edmund just wanted love in return. He wanted to know Peter loved him, and now he does.
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Peter watched as Edmund smiled in his sleep, and Peter was reminded of how he almost lost his baby brother. And Peter knew he must take care of Edmund, because Edmund is Peter's everything. Peter cannot lose his everything.