JUST AND MAGNIFICENT
Volume 3: The Price We Pay For Love
3.10: Gentle Vs. the Just
Part 3
Most of Volume 3 of Just and Magnificent takes place in the 3-6 years after the events of the movie. It is the last of three volumes. It is AU and if you haven't figured out, contains slash and incest. Hopefully you find it handled in a way that is as pure as possible.
Summary: Susan is forced to confront her anger towards Edmund. She defends Narnia from the Eastern invasion, only to learn the truth behind Likatrik's attempts to manipulate her. Peter and Edmund prepare for their own battle. A gentle queen falls.
Warnings: Slash, Incest, Love, Romance, Adventure, Mystery, Action.
Disclaimer: Only characters that are mine are the Pretty Eyes People from Shian! And since they're all dead except Orrin, well I only own him now! Well actually, he's dead now so now I own no one! sniff All the rest belong to that master of awesomeness, C.S. Lewis.
JUST AND MAGNIFICENT 3.10 – GENTLE VS. THE JUST, Part 3
A PARTING OF WAYS
The Hall of Justice came alive with activity at the news that invasion loomed. All had expected it, but perhaps not for a few days at least. Thankfully, much of the preparation had already been made. Susan, still shaken with tears and dazed from her public confrontation with her brothers, took the moment to try and quietly slip away with General Lero and Captain Capies. Her attempt to leave was not unnoticed by both her brothers, but it was Peter who spoke first.
"Susan!" Peter yelled after her, breaking through the crowd to reach her, "Did you not just hear?"
"I did, Peter." said Susan as she wiped her face stood as staunchly as she could, "If you do not intend to charge me or strip me of my title, then I would seek permission to take leave and perform my duties as already set out. My armies await, Peter. What would you have me do?"
"Susan, come with me."
Before Susan could respond, Peter pulled her into one of the adjoining rooms while signaling for Edmund to follow. He closed the door behind them, which allowed for some privacy and very awkward tension. Sighing as he ran his hands through his hair, Peter cast his eyes between both Susan and Edmund.
"This could very well be the last time the three of us stand in the same room together." said a heavy hearted Peter, "From here we go to war. Susan to the east and Edmund and I to the north."
"Perhaps one of us should go with Su." Edmund said casting sad eyes in her direction, "I know we've discussed it already, but …"
"You're right, we have discussed this." Susan said without meeting his eyes, "Need I remind both of you that I succeeded in my campaign? Do you think I need you to hold my hand? Or that I want you to? Don't you dare imply that I'm not capable of leading this eastern campaign on my own. If you truly feel I need the presence of a man to guide me, then be grateful my ever loyal General Lero will be at my side. Need I remind you both again that you are needed to fight his army, to fight him? That is far more important than helping a queen who asks for nothing. Narnia needs you both more than I do. Are we quite finished here?"
"No, we are not." sighed Peter.
Peter stepped forward to Susan with somber eyes, gingerly placing her hands on either side of her neck. He forced their eyes to meet and offered a conciliatory and apologetic smile. Before she could say a word he kissed her temple and then her cheek, lingering for a time over the place where he had slapped her. Two more times he kissed that spot before pulling back so their eyes could meet again.
"Susan, I apologize." said a sincere Peter, "I am so very sorry and I promise you that I will never hit you again. Do you forgive me?"
"You hit me once. I hit you twice. And as you can so clearly tell …" Susan said with tears as she looked at her armor clad form, "I am not so fragile. I'm sorry I said those things, Peter. I … no, I will make no excuses. I have none to give. I can only say that I will always bow to you."
She broke away from Peter and turned her eyes to Edmund. This could indeed be the last time they stood in the same room together. Her unresolved issues with her brother and her lingering bitterness and grief, prevented her from making any conciliatory remarks of her own toward him. Her silence was conciliatory enough.
There was indeed a glance shared between them of anticipation for what was to come. The final stages of this war that consumed the world were about to begin. To Peter she nodded goodbye, biting her lip and holding back bitter tears.
For a time they stared at one another, Edmund anxious and Susan staunch. Finally, she stepped toward him and looked him in the eye without flinching. She nodded with a tight lip. It was neither a concession nor a condemnation, but it was acknowledgment. She walked toward the door, turning back one last time to her brothers who remained as speechless as she did. Though she wanted to say good luck to them all, she feared what saying one word could do to her self control. Instead she merely nodded again, and perhaps for the last time, the eldest queen stood in the same room as the two kings. With neither peace made nor war declared between herself and Edmund, Susan left the room and perhaps far more.
The moment she left Edmund's frail self control broke and he burst into an anguished sob. He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands, crying out for the peace he never received from his sister and the fear that perhaps he would never see her again to achieve it. Peter was instantly down on the ground beside him, holding him in arms that did not budge or waver.
Edmund said no words and none needed to be spoken. Peter understood and simply held his husband. This last moment together between the three oldest monarchs was just another stark reminder that fate had not finished spinning its web of misfortune upon them. Neither Peter nor Edmund would entertain the notion that they would not see their sister again. When this war was over, they would restore the bond between the four. Even though logic would suggest perhaps they would not see each other again, neither would let themselves fall to it.
Peter held a hope, and as high king he willed it to his husband. He willed it to all who followed him. He willed it to his Narnia. He willed it to his allies. Hope was not always logical even against such odds. Even when the might of many assailed them in their own lands. Even when they found themselves divided in more ways than one. Even when Narnia, and in turn the world stood on precipice of desolation. Even then, hope remained.
The largest battles were yet to come. The final battles were yet to come. Battles would come and more would die, both innocent and corrupt. Battles that would decide the fate of the faithful and virtuous, the valiant and gentle, the just and magnificent.
A PAUSE TO WAIT
While Susan the Gentle prepared for battle just south of Cair Paravel, both Peter and Edmund marched north to Beruna with the greater armies of Narnia. It seemed fitting that perhaps the final battle in this war would be fought at the same battleground that caused this fate to begin with. Had Edmund not died at Beruna all those years ago, this fate would not have been allowed to take place. The prophecy of the four would not have been broken and evil would not have been afforded the chance to loose itself upon the world in such an awesome fashion. Though their battle was still some time away, anxiety was well in hand. Though they had what many believed was the greater of the two battles before them, all thoughts were on Queen Susan and her Southern Alliance of Narnia, Calormen and Archenland.
Peter's armies stopped marching for none could quell the anxiety within them. Until the outcome of Susan's battle was known, they would wait for news. Peter and Edmund particularly found themselves inside their tent, hands clasped firmly on one another.
"I should be there." Edmund said with closed eyes, filled with tears, "I should be with her."
"You cannot be in two places at once. Remember, Susan has fought and won in many great battles before."
"You know this is different."
"I know." said Peter as he kissed Edmund's hand, "All we can do is wait and hope that her victory will inspire our own. Have faith in our sister, she is a fearsome woman. You should know this more than anyone."
"Oh, I do." Edmund said, surprising himself with a laugh before his somber face returned, "Peter, I will never forgive myself if something happens to her with no peace between us."
"She does not hate you. She just needs time. When this war is over, we will fix it all. She is a broken angel, and she needs time to mend her wings. We must have faith, Ed. We must not fear for her. We must hope for her. We must hope … and wait."
LAST DEFENSE OF THE EAST
On the cliff tops of Bastian Point, south of Cair Paravel, the Southern Alliance stood between the Lone Islanders and invasion. Calormen, Archenland, and Susan the Gentle's Southern Army formed the largest alliance between the three nations ever formed. It was a miracle that the three nations allied themselves at all. Yet all had come together against a common threat.
On the sea before them the navy of Calormen prepared to engage the Lone Islanders. Susan had opted to remain land bound to lead the infantry and cavalry defense. She knew the Lone Islanders would breach their sea defenses, and when they did, she intended to unleash hell on them for threatening her Narnia. And threaten they did.
She stood at the tip of Bastian Point, looking down at the beaches below, feeling a swell of anxiety as she studied her armies, the Calormen cavalry and the Archenland infantry. Such a varied group, and one that would not succeed unless unity was maintained.
Already the battle on sea was well underway with the Lone Islanders edging ever closer to shore. The sea was littered with ships from both sides, including the remnants of a shattered Narnian, Terebinthian and Galman navy along with the Calormen. Even with their sea unity, they were outnumbered by the Lone Islanders. Though her own gryphon wings were doing as good a job as possible to let loose Their fire bombardiers were smashing through Susan's sea defenses. Smoke filled the air and the sight of sinking ships filled the horizon. The Lone Islanders advance group were tearing through, providing room for their transports to let their infantry free on Narnian soil.
The inevitable had come. War would finally reach Narnia. With a nervous but steadfast cry, Susan raised her sword as she sat rose up on her steed;
"For freedom!"
ANXIOUS MOMENTS
"They will be fighting now." said an anxious Edmund, clasping his hands together, "By Aslan, let her succeed."
"Our sister will show them the meaning of being gentle. You'll see."
Peter, just as nervous, kissed his husband's forehead and smiled as reassuring as he could muster. He did so to comfort both himself and Edmund. He said nothing, but simply held his husband as they sat inside their tent. He held him in his arms wishing he could also be in two places at once. He knew his coming battle was pivotal, perhaps even the decider in this war that ravaged the world, but that did nothing to make him wish that he could still be fighting beside his sister. Yet all he could do, all they could do, was wait. Wait, and hope.
TURN THE TIDE IN FREEDOM'S FAVOR
"Hold the line! Hold the line!" yelled Susan, "General Lero, lead the eastern flanks. Don't let the enemy take the shore!"
On the beach below Bastian Point, the Lone Islanders marched ashore en masse. Susan had successfully managed to pincer their disembarking between the inlets that would lead them up into the mainland. This forced the Lone Island infantry to narrow their lines enough for Susan's forward infantry to overwhelm them.
Susan herself had spent the last few hours hacking her way through wave after wave of enemy swordsmen. Her face was a mess of blood and dirt, laced with tears from seeing her Narnian and allies fall to their enemies. She had the unenviable task of trying to direct the overall battle while fighting in the frontlines.
The sand was stained red from the blood of the dead and the wounded. The air was filled with smoke from burning ships and the stench of death and battle. Yet Narnia fought on. Susan's Southern Alliance held strong. Even when her commanders from Calormen and Archenland would argue as expected, she kept them in line with harsh words and gentle reminders of what was at stake. Were it not for her efforts, the Southern Alliance would surely fall apart.
"Hold the line I say!"
Her cries were inspiration to her loyal Narnian. She did not ask anything of them that she was not prepared to do herself. Even as the Lone Islanders unleashed their hired ettin, she did not waver. Even when the warrior Kiras emerged onto the beach, cutting down faun after satyr, Calormene soldier after Archenland knight, Susan did not waver. She knew tales of this warrior's fearsome ability and found them to be wholly accurate. Sensing that the tide could turn against them if their lines were broken, Susan took the initiative. It was an initiative Susan was beaten to however, when General Lero galloped toward the warrior.
As Kiras had already killed many of his captains, targeting many who held rank, Lero sought to finish the warrior himself. When he reached the warrior however, it was the last thing he ever did.
"Lero!" cried Susan, "No!"
Yet her cries were in vain, for the mighty centaur was cut down from the legs. The centaur cried out as he collapsed to the bloody sand. Tears in Susan's eyes, she ran for her loyal general, hampered by soldiers who blocked her path. Crying out, she bore witness as Kiras removed Lero's head his body.
With a battle cry fiercer than she had ever let loose this day, she switched to her bow and let loose an arrow. Much to her surprise the warrior smashed the arrow away before it hit him. Unable to get another clear shot due to the Narnian who found themselves in between, she switched to her two long swords. This had been the first battle she had fully adopted the fighting style of her husband. So far it was proving to be a potent offense. A fact made evident when she matched swords with Kiras.
"I have come for you, Queen." he snickered, "Be a good woman and kneel as you should before your master."
Susan could only raise her eyebrow in annoyance and thinly veiled anger. She responded to his statement by parrying each of his attacks and pushing him backwards along the blood tinged sand. As battle raged around her she fought the warrior, dodging stray arrows and cutting aside the odd soldier who felt themselves foolish enough to cross her. Her eyes never once left Kiras and the pair found themselves hard against the cliff face in a duel that had gained the attention of those around them.
"You fight like a Shian!" snarled the warrior as they pushed against one another with their swords locked.
"That's the best thing I've heard all day." spat Susan, knocking the warrior back with a mighty head butt, "What was that you said about kneeling?"
In a flash he came at her, but she stepped inside his advance and sliced through his legs. Standing on his stumps in the sand he looked up at her in surprised horror. It was in much the same fashion as General Lero had been before he died. Standing bitterly over Kiras, Susan glared down at him with bitter tears. It was the last thing she did before she removed his head from his body with a cross slice.
"He was my friend." said a battle weary Susan, bitter and angry tears streaming down her face.
Yet even with Kiras's death, the battle was far from over. Lero's death was just another stark reminder to Susan of how dreadful a thing battle was. It also gave her even more inspiration to help end it as soon as she possibly could. Turning toward the shore, Susan scowled, almost growled as she marched back into the fray. She disappeared amongst the sea of soldiers, satyrs, giants, ettins, fauns, cheetahs, and all manner of creature, from all sides.
"Narnia holds! Narnia holds!" cried a faun soldier, "Queen Susan leads us to victory!"
Susan heard the cry, echoed by more of her own as they continued to stave the Lone Islanders away from a full scale land invasion. Indeed the tide of battle seemed to slowly turn in their favor. As long as she drew breath, she would let nothing but victory be the outcome.
AND STILL THEY WAIT
"I think waiting is worse than fighting." gasped Edmund.
He and Peter had busied themselves with strategy plans for their own coming battle against Lejious, but always their thoughts returned to Susan. They knew that if they lost their own battle, then Narnia would fall. Yet even if they won and Susan lost, Cair Paravel would certainly fall, and perhaps then even Narnia as well. For this reason since Susan's battlefront was so close to it, Cair Paravel had been evacuated save for those whose presence was deemed absolutely necessary. Now back in their tent, Peter and Edmund found themselves again clasping each other's hands with thoughts of their sister.
"I can only hope that wherever Lucy is, she is far from here." said Peter, "Any of your fallen abilities coming in handy now, Doubt-bucket?"
"If you're asking me whether I know how she fares, the answer is no. I'm afraid that mainly works with you for obvious reasons. But … some of my fallen skills remain, though weakened. I … I think I could feel it … if …"
"Then I am grateful you do not feel it." Peter interrupted, kissing Edmund's hands, "I hope you never feel it. Come on, Su. Come on."
FALL OF A GENTLE QUEEN
Though the Southern Alliance had done a remarkable task of holding the Lone Islanders invasion back, they had still been forced inland with much of the battle now spread from the shore to the cliff tops above. The current state of the battle allowed Susan to take a pause to reassess the strategy with the commanders from Archenland and Calormen at the top of Bastian Point.
"The battle goes well, Mr. Beaver." said Susan, taking a brief respite and a deep breath.
"I dare say it, I smell victory!"
Susan smiled at the beaver, letting his hope seep into her. She could only hope that he was right. The tide was well in their favor and they still had the high ground. She sensed that victory was indeed at hand. It was a victory that was not anticipated by all. And when she found herself with a silent moment alone to regain her senses and let her aches free, she was approached by someone who indeed did not hope for a Narnian victory.
"Majesty." Likatrik said with a smarmy smile and bow as he approached her, "Might I speak with you a moment?"
"What is it, Dwarf? Today is not a good to approach. I might very well run you through and blame it on the weariness of battle." Susan said without raising her eyes to him.
She let her hands rub the aches in her shoulders from constant swordplay. She closed her eyes as the pain from gashes flooded over her. Yet still she could not help but feel the increasingly aggravating presence of the dwarf standing before her. She raised her eyebrow at him, looking either side of herself and realized she was alone.
"You know, I was very much hoping that you would have seen fit to take your rightful place at the head of Narnia. High Queen Susan the Gentle has a certain ring to it, don't you think?"
"I think Likatrik the Dead has a nicer ring to it." smirked Susan, rising to her feet and turning her attention to the battle below, "I'm not sorry to disappoint you, but my rightful place is where I am right now."
"Then you have made peace with the kings? After all they have done to you? You could rule far greater than either of them."
"Mind your words, Dwarf. What you say is treasonous."
"Indeed they are, but I would gladly pledge myself to you should you see fit to move against the kings. It's not too late to save yourself."
"Save myself?" said an amused Susan, "Have you gone mad, Dwarf?"
"You cannot win this battle, Queen Susan. He will not allow it. I tried to help you. I tried to help you move against them without you even realizing, but you resisted my tactics. Now I have no choice … but to offer you your last chance for victory of any kind."
Susan cast her eyes upon the dwarf in confusion. In his hands he held a small piece of parchment. He held it out to her and she took it, deciding to entertain the dwarf's gesture as she contemplated his fate. When she read the writing, she found herself even more confused.
'Lejious.'
"Lejious?" asked Susan, "What's a Lejious? What is this, Dwarf?"
"Not what …" snicked the dwarf, "But who. It is him. It is his name."
Susan's eyes went wide with terror, realizing just what the dwarf had done. Her mind swam as she suddenly realized the depth of the dwarf's betrayal. He served him. Not only did Likatrik serve the one who is many, but he had given her his name. The name which must never be spoken, because to speak his name is to summon him.
"You … you tricked me?" gasped Susan.
No sooner had she spoken those words that the sky above her cracked with thunder. Black clouds rolled overhead, sending the landscape into near darkness. For a time the battle slowed, but soon returned to its fervor. Susan stood in fear, fear that soon turned to anger as she drew her swords and readied to strike the dwarf dead. Lightning shot down from the sky in front of her, sending Susan and the dwarf flying apart. When Susan pulled herself to her feet, he stood before her. Lejious had come.
Susan felt fear in that moment almost unlike at any other time in her life. She was struck by both awe and fear. Fear that soon changed to anger, for she realized that it was this being who had killed her husband. Yet before she could move, he spoke in a voice that stayed her movements;
"You have summoned me and there is no recourse. Join me, Daughter of Eve. Your brothers will not live, nor do they deserve to. You, unlike them, have the fire to lead. When I face them in battle, I will destroy them. Their love is false and impure. I will purge this world of their influence. You can be my chosen one to usurp that righteous hypocrite brother of yours from his throne. You can make the Rogue Warrior suffer for what he did to your husband. Let your vengeance reign, Daughter of Eve. Aslan does not love you. He has forsaken you now as he will forsake you in the future. He cares nothing for you, Child." Lejious said extending his gloved hand to Susan, "Let me be your father. Let me be your salvation. Follow someone who will reward your loyalty … with love, and not despair. I will give you what you seek. I will return your husband to you. It is in my power to do so. All you need do is join me. I offer you so much. What does your lion offer you?"
She met his words with tears. Tears for a fallen husband. Tears for a shattered relationship with her brothers. Tears for the loneliness and isolation that she longed to be free of. Could Lejious really give her everything he promised?
For a time, Susan contemplated his offer. For a time, she entertained his words in her mind. For a time, she believed that perhaps it was too great a temptation to ignore. That time, was less than an instant. After that, her mind was made.
"Even if you could truly give me what you offer, my husband would not love me for accepting an offer from someone who destroyed his people. From someone who has plunged this world into war and taken the lives of thousands. Though peace with my brothers I do not have, I could never betray them to you. They fight for freedom, and as I breathe, so too will I. No! I will never join you!"
"Then your fate is sealed."
Instantly Susan kicked off her feet with her two swords aimed squarely at Lejious. Before she could, he shifted into his five forms and surrounded her.
Susan could barely react before she felt the cold steel of Likatrik's dagger stabbing into her back. She cried out in agony, drawing her swords around her to cut the dwarf in half. Before she was able to connect, another bolt of lightning shot down from the sky. Just barely able to move aside, she was still sent flying with the force of the resulting explosion. Her hands and body still reverberating from the crash, she struggled to her feet. Her face was charred from the heat of the bolt and her back spilled blood freely.
Susan the Gentle did not waver or dwell in her physical anguish. She stumbled back toward her enemy with swords hanging limply at her side. She could sense her fate upon her. Sense for the first time in today's battle that perhaps this would be the last moment she would have to draw breath. Yet even with those thoughts in mind she staggered forward.
Likatrik's strike from behind had been well aimed and hindered Susan's movements greatly. This made her an easy prey for Lejious. Particularly when he shifted into his five forms. She swung her swords with as much precision as she could, cutting down two of his deceptions. Before she could do any more damage, he smashed her swords from her hands and ripped the bow from her back.
"Suffer and die, Daughter of Eve."
Lejious smashed Susan across the face, before kicking her backwards into one of his echoes. His duplicate did much the same, punching the queen before kicking her away. So the torture and assault continued. Bone cracked and flesh opened. The gentle queen was tossed about until all that remained of her was a bloody mess of broken heaves.
The dark lord threw her to the ground and still Susan struggled to crawl away. She could barely cry out her pain, her chest feeling crushed and lacking for breath. The dwarf sauntered beside her, piercing her with yet another dagger strike before cackling maniacally.
"So sorry, My queen." he snickered, "You could've been one of us. And do you know that even in death, you will never see your husband again?"
Choking on her own blood, Susan caught his words and turned her face up toward the dwarf. His words stabbed at what remained of her fragmented soul. Yet when he raised his dagger to finish her, Lejious stopped him with an outstretched hand.
"I have mercy within me, Daughter of Eve." Lejious said as he grabbed her by the neck and raised her high into the air, "Do you wish to die in the same fashion the Shian did?"
Susan could not respond, she could only release a drawn out cry of pain as he dug his free hand into the wounds on her back. She shook with the agony of it as the dwarf watched on and cackled at her.
"I give you one more chance, Daughter of Eve. Renounce your oath to the lion and serve me. Renounce your oath to your brother and serve me. Betray him as he betrayed you. It is not too late. I can give you all that your heart desires. Renounce him and I will give you everything."
Tears fell from Susan's eyes as her broken body tried to resist, tried to struggle, tried to breathe. She could nothing but accept her fate. She could do nothing but heed his words. Nothing but heed his words and realize now what she could not do so before. Yet as she faced her fate, she was grateful that she had at least given her brother peace. A peace she would not see him receive.
"Renounce them all, Daughter of Eve!"
"No …" Susan cried out in barely a whisper, shaking her head as though she knew it would be the last decision she would ever make, "No …"
High above the battleground shores, on the cliff top of Bastian Point, Susan the Gentle was held aloft by the one who is many. To all who could see, their jaws fall slack with the sight of it all. Held by the neck, she hung loosely as he crushed his hands around it.
She could only stare down at him as the life faded from her body. She slowly gasped for breath, but her gasps became ever weaker. His eyes flashed at her, as if even now he felt nothing but rage at the fact that she continued to defy him. Her body could not resist him, but her soul could and it had. Goodbye, Peter. Goodbye, Edmund. Goodbye, Lucy. In her mind she said goodbye to them all as the last vestiges of breath escaped her.
Mad with rage, Lejious threw Susan with all his unnatural might into the air and far over the cliff edge. Her limp body drifted like a feather as though in slow motion for all who bore witness. As the gentle queen fell from the cliff tops and out over the seas, so too did the spirits of those who followed her. She hit the water with a horrifying realization that echoed throughout her army, just as Lejious wanted. Queen Susan the Gentle had fallen. His statement made, he stood at the top of Bastian Point like a menacing figure taunting those who fought against him. The dark skies served only to make his presence that much more ominous. He stood looking over the battleground and the very sight of him alone seemed to change the tide of battle.
With Susan the Gentle gone, the Southern Alliance fell apart. With Susan the Gentle gone, the spirits of her army fell and they lost their way as did the barely held unity between Calormen and Archenland. With Susan the Gentle gone, the defense of Narnia failed and the Lone Islanders overran Bastian Point and marched on Cair Paravel.
TO THOSE I LEAVE BEHIND, I GIVE YOU PEACE
"King Edmund! A messenger comes for you!" called the centaur guard who stood outside Peter and Edmund's tent.
"It is too soon to have news from the battlefront, isn't it? It could not have arrived that quickly." asked a surprised Edmund as he stood up and headed outside the tent.
"From Queen Susan." spoke Brask the fox, "She sent it before she left Cair Paravel and wished for you to have it when you were away from there."
"She did? Thank you."
Edmund took the message from the fox's pouch before entering the tent. He sat down next to Peter and studied Susan's seal, almost afraid to open it lest she have more cutting words for him. In his heart, he did not wish to entertain the notion that her battle had been lost. Though his bond with her was somewhat different to the one he shared with Peter, it was still so strong that he could feel echoes of her, just as he could with Lucy. It was nothing of the level he could sense as a fallen, but he hoped it was still enough to sense how her battle fared. Yet when tears filled his eyes with a dull ache in his heart, he wondered whether it was because of the note or perhaps … something else.
"What is it?" asked Peter, taking Edmund's hand and lacing their fingers, "Not another attack on your character?"
Edmund could do nothing but shudder with hollow tears as he presented the message to Peter. The message though brief said so much more than one that could have been pages longer. He leaned his head on Peter's shoulder as he studied the note. A note that retracted Susan's painful remarks in their public confrontation with her. Edmund could only hope that perhaps finally, this tension that pitted the gentle vs. the just was now over.
'My brother did die at Beruna. But he came back.
Forgive me.
--Susan'
- To Be Continued -
3.11 - Stand Against the Darkness
Cair Paravel is overrun and Narnia is invaded before Peter and Edmund's battle even begins. Hope comes from an unexpected source as Peter refuses to let Narnia be taken. Rage rises from the seas and rains holy hell on the Lone Islanders. Lines are drawn in the sand as Peter declares this far and no farther. Victory or defeat, the Just and Magnificent make their stand against the darkness.
A/N:In the Gentle Vs. the Just, I would say Edmund wins! Susan got her ass handed to her by Lejious. The bastard dwarf revealed his treachery and set her up. General Lero bit the dust. Susan fell. Peace was finally made between her and Edmund.Anyway. I think the summary for the next chapter says it all. Time for Peter and Edmund to mount up. It's time to kick his ass.
