Chapter Six: Could or Would?

Midnight came and went with Edmund in Aslan's loving embrace. Freshly healed, Edmund said not a word after the trauma was dealt with, he just returned to Aslan's protective hold. The Lion breathed a word and my brother nodded off in a deep sleep, the thing he needed the most right now. Lying on my bedroom floor, Edmund cradled in his paws, Aslan looked to my sisters.

"You should sleep, daughters," he said softly as Lucy tried to hide a wide yawn. They stepped over and hugged him long and hard. I kissed them both and off they went to their own rooms.

"Peter."

I turned and faced Aslan.

"You need to sleep as well."

"Can I stay here with you?" I asked, indicating the floor. I didn't care how hard it was.

"Always," he promised, his eyes gentle.

I pulled a light blanket off Edmund's bed to cover him, grabbed another for myself, and blew out the lamps and candles illuminating the room. I was so relieved at the Lion's presence that all my woes seemed to melt away and I was utterly exhausted by the last week. I curled up against his side, my head not far from Edmund's and pillowed on Aslan's front leg. I could hear his great heart beating, hear his rhythmic breaths in and out like the ocean waves. I was so content that I could have been sleeping on a bed of thorns for all I cared.

"Aslan?" I whispered, my voice slurred and heavy with sleep.

"Yes, Peter?" he whispered back, sounding amused at my attempts to stay awake.

"I'm s'glad you're here."

"I heard your prayers. I came as soon as I was able. I was delayed by a disobediant subject of mine, and he has been duly punished."

I could only wish misery and never-ending bordom on this nameless subject. I really didn't care about anyone but Edmund right now. "Did the wand we kept do this?"

"No. Not entirely. The wand's power was broken when your brother destroyed it."

"Oh. Is there a way to fix this?"

"I believe there is."

"S'good," I mumbled. If he answered, I never heard.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I awoke the next morning in my own bed feeling better rested than I had in ages. Of Aslan there was no sign, but a note rested on the table beside my bed.

Peter,

When you finally drag your carcass out of bed, join us in the small council room downstairs. Aslan says we have a lot to discuss. Martil will bring you breakfast.

Ed

Carcass? The brat. It was just Edmund's way of telling me he felt better.

Martil brought me scones and fruit and tea and I ate as I got ready. The last thing I did before stepping out of the room was place my crown on my head. The valets were fussy about such things, as if our subjects wouldn't recognize me without it. Besides, it was so comfortable to wear that I barely noticed it.

As I hurried down the broad stairs to the main level of the palace I was relieved to see Aslan waiting below. He was talking to something, but I couldn't see what until I got much closer. It was a Humming Bird, probably one of the ones Susan used as messengers within Cair Paravel. Now that I was closer it looked like a jewel hovering in the air before the Lion. The tiny bird saw me, zoomed first around Aslan's head then mine and shot off down the hall. I smiled as I ducked out of his way. Though Cair Paravel had clearly been built for humans, it had been expanded and modified to accommodate all the varieties of Animal and Creatures that were our subjects. All the stairs were long and shallow for the bigger inhabitants like Elephants and Centaurs and Bulls. There were cubby holes and perches everywhere, wide ledges overlooking the stairs and halls, smaller scale rooms, larger scale rooms, rooms that opened into the gardens, and caves and bowers and tunnels and dens throughout the surrounding landscape. Most of the Talking Animals preferred to stay in whatever their habitat in the wild would have been with a few exceptions who enjoyed the novelty of staying in a palace. Sometimes it was like living in a very neat, orderly zoo with carpets and we had all learned how not to be surprised at the size and shape and appearance of some of our subjects.

"Aslan!" I greeted him with a bow and then a hug. He purred and rubbed his head against me, almost knocking me over with his sheer strength.

"Peter." There was a smile in his voice as he spoke my name. "I have just sent word that we will join the others soon. There are things we must discuss first."

Slowly we walked together down the corridor, then out onto the balcony overlooking the Eastern Sea. This was one of the loveliest spots in all of Cair Paravel. Flowers bloomed all along the rails and the view of the ocean and beach was unparalleled, better even than the view from the throne room a floor below. Aslan closed his eyes for a moment, stretching his head towards the morning sun and testing the warm breeze off the ocean.

He sat on his haunches. "I spoke with Mallo. The wand cannot be removed or destroyed yet."

That I did not expect. "I thought you said it wasn't the cause of Edmund's curse."

"Not the cause, but the catalyst." He shook his head, knowing what I was thinking. "Bringing it to Cair Paravel made no difference in the curse, my son. It would have happened regardless, for that is the nature of such things. They cannot help but work. Do not blame yourself, Peter. None of this is your fault. At least the location of the wand is secure and out of the reach of those that might try to use it for mischief until I can safely remove it to a distant land. It will be well guarded."

It was hard not to obey, though a niggling hint of guilt remained.

"As we will discuss in council, there is a means to break this enchantment and nullify Jadis's power, destroying her ability to harass Narnia and your brother ever again."

"Did you know this would happen?" I asked quietly, not sure of what answer I was seeking.

His golden eyes were soft and his deep voice was gentle as he answered, "I knew it could happen, Peter, not that it would. The White Witch laid the foundation for this the first moment she met your brother. The chance was always there. She cast a spell upon him few would have been capable of resisting, and when he ate and drank what she offered he was hers as surely as the Spear Head points to the north."

I nodded my understanding and we resumed walking slowly towards the council room. "Why wait so long to strike back at us?"

"She would have wanted you to be content and secure before disrupting your peace. She would have wanted Edmund to think he was free of her."

"It worked," I muttered. "Aslan, he can't go on like this. He's not sleeping, he's barely eating."

"Peter, what would you do to save your brother?"

"Anything," I swore.

"Would you leave Narnia?"

For a moment I hesitated, startled at the question. Leave Narnia? Was he returning me to England? Was I to be banished? It would be worth it to save Edmund. I swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I would."

He must have sensed or guessed at my dread, because he gave a deep, thrumming purr and brushed closer to me. "Do not fear, Peter, I am not sending you from this world. You are Narnia's High King for now and for always and she needs you as much as she needs King Edmund the Just to be well and whole. But the means to banish this spell lie far outside Narnia and it falls to you to fetch that means. Are you willing, my son?"

"Yes, Aslan. Tell me what to do."

"I will, but in the council. I have a choice for you, and you must choose according to your heart and instinct." He paused and I stopped to face him. "Your choice now will decide my actions in this event. I can accompany you on this quest, for it is long and perilous and hard, or I can stay here in Cair Paravel and see to it that Edmund is not consumed by Jadis's wickedness."

"If you go with me can we get there and back before Edmund is consumed?"

His eyes glowed with amusement. He knew I knew what he'd say. We'd had this discussion in the past and I was fairly certain we'd be repeating it in the future. "I cannot tell you what could be, Peter."

It was worth a try. I think my next question surprised him. "Aslan, do you love me?"

His rounded ears perked up. He smiled, placing a huge paw on my shoulder. "With all my heart, dear child."

I covered the velvety paw with my hand. "Then you'll be with me the whole time, too." Even to my own ears my answer sounded trite and a bit cliched, but in fact it was nothing more than the absolute truth and Aslan knew it. It would have been wonderful to have him along, but what would be the point if there was nothing left of Edmund to save? It was better this way. "Stay here. Keep Edmund safe. Don't let him brood too much and don't let Su fuss over him too badly. He can't stand it and gets cranky."

He leaned close to me, and I was shocked to see tears welling in his eyes. Why would he be crying? Then he spoke, and the emotion in his voice gave me pause. "You are far more worthy of your title and your throne than you will ever know, Peter Pevensie, and Narnia is blessed by your grace. If ever you come to despair on your journey, remember this moment, remember me, and that I love you."

He drew me near to him and I threw my arms around his neck, pressing my face close to his. He held me tenderly against his chest with his paw. "Aslan, I'm frightened."

"You are wise to be so, Peter. Just remember that without fear, there would be no bravery, and you are far greater than your fears."

"I don't feel very brave." Fourteen years old, faced by the impossible, and very anxious was what I felt.

"But you are, and everything you have done since setting foot in Narnia has proven it." He pulled back and touched my forehead with his tongue, a Lion's kiss. "Come. Your brother and sisters are waiting. The sooner you start, the sooner Jadis's power will be broken forever."

I nodded and followed him. While it was impossible to feel dread in your heart in the presence of anyone so loving and powerful as Aslan, that morning I came very close.