Peter carried his wine filled goblet through Cair Paravel and down to the healing rooms. There was a reason that Umed told him not to drink it and Peter was sure that it was more than him just not wanting the king to enjoy his meal; it was entirely possible for there to be poison inside the drink.

If Judas had arranged for Peter to be poisoned, then that would destroy their treaty and most likely cause a war. A war was the last thing Peter wanted, but if his life was in danger, he had to find out.

"Good evening, Your Majesty. How may I be of service, today." The lead healer approached Peter and have a small greeting bow.

"Good evening, Iason." Peter nodded at his head to the faun healer, who was also a good friend of his - though he must admit that Edmund knew him better, "I was wondering if you could run some tests on this wine for me. I have my suspicions that it may be poisoned."

"Poisoned, My King? That would be very bold."

"Nonetheless, I must know if there was an attempt on my life. Oh, and let's keep this between us. I would hate to start a kingdom-wide panic over something that needs to be dealt with subtly."

Iason took the goblet and nodded his head, "Anything you like, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Iason, you're a good friend."

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Lucy sat straight in her bed. She hadn't left her room since she parted with Susan that evening. After waking from her dream, Lucy decided to occupy herself in trying to decipher what exactly Aslan meant.

Aslan had said after they reached the top, everything would be worth the climb. Well, Lucy couldn't imagine how anything could be worth the loss of a brother. All she could wish for was to have things be the way they were just a few months ago; she didn't want anything more. She was happy then, and couldn't possibly ask for anything more, but now, everything was different. Lucy supposed she would just have to have faith in Aslan; he's never failed her before.

"Lucy?" Came the voice of Lucy's big sister, from the door.

"Hello, Susan."

Susan opened the door a little wider, "May I come in?"

"Of course, Susan. You're always welcome."

Susan entered and closed the door behind her before walking across the room and joining Lucy on her bed, "You look like you have something on your mind."

"Who was that man who came up to us today - the Calormene?"

Susan didn't say anything for a moment, as if she was trying to think of what to say, "He was... Judas's nephew."

"Judas's nephew? How could you bear to talk with him?"

Susan shrugged, slightly, "He wasn't anything like Judas, in fact, he seemed nice and even acknowledged that Judas is an evil man and plans to change things when he is king."

"But he's a Calormene, Susan. It's in their nature to do evil." Lucy argued, though she knew that it wasn't what she really believed.

"Lucy! I'm surprised at you. You know as well as I do how untrue that is. Calormenes are their own individuals and they don't have to follow our stereotype of them. It's unfair." Susan scolded.

Lucy downcast her eyes and pulled her knees up to her and hugged them, "I'm sorry, Susan. You're right, I acted rashly."

"It's okay, Lucy." Susan rested as hand on Lucy's arm, "I have a feeling that's not all that's on your mind."

Lucy shook her head, slowly, "I had a dream, today."

"Is that all?"

"Aslan was in my dream; not like part of my dream, if you know what I mean. He was really there."

"You saw Aslan?" Susan now looked suddenly very interested in what she had to say, "What did he tell you?"

"I ask him every day to tell me why Edmund is gone; finally I got to ask him in person."

"And what did he say?"

"He told me that it's all for the better good. He says that once it's all over, everything will be better than it was before." Lucy explained.

"How can that be possible? Everything was perfect before."

Lucy shook her head, "I don't know, but we must have faith. Aslan told me to have faith."

"It's hard to have faith in times like this. I can always find ways to reassure you or Peter of an existing hope, but I can't reassure myself. How can Aslan ask us to have faith when everything is so hopeless? He's given us no reason to have faith."

"That's not what faith is, Susan." Lucy inched her way closer to her big sister, "Faith is believing, even when you've been given no reason to. Aslan has made a promise to us, and he's never failed to fulfill a promise."

Susan smiled, "I wish I had the same faith you do, Lu."

"You can, if you try."

"And I think I would like to try."

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Peter woke that morning to knocking on his door. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and yawned, before sitting up in his bed, "What is it?"

"It's Nephtali, Your Majesty. The master healer, Iason, requests your presence. He's says it's urgent."

"Thank you, Nephtali; I will head down immediately." He heard Nephtali's receding footsteps, then threw the covers off his body and slung his legs over the side of the bed. Once Peter dressed himself, he set immediately out of his room, on a mission. He maneuvered himself through the many extravagant halls and down the shiny marble stairs. It wasn't long before he found his destination.

"Iason." Peter greeted once he noticed the healer walking toward him. Iason had a troubled look on his face.

"Good morning, High King Peter. So sorry to wake you this early."

"No worries, Iason, I would have been up before too long. Now," Peter cleared his throat, "what have you found on the wine I gave you?"

"Yes, Sire. I ran some tests on it and found something very disturbing." Peter only cocked an eyebrow as indication for Iason to continue, "I found that it is, in fact, poison."

Peter couldn't say he was particularly shocked, "What kind of poison?"

"That's what disturbs me. I've never seen any kind of poison like this. It's... different."

"Was it to kill?"

"In the quantity you were given, yes, it was. I believe, though, in smaller quantities it would not kill, but rather cause great discomfort or a dreadful sickness." Iason explained.

"And how fast would it have set in?"

Iason hesitated before giving an answer, "I... am not sure. With your consent, I would like to continue my testing on it."

"You have my consent, as long as you report your findings to me."

The master healer nodded, "Thank you, My King. If I may ask, how did you know that the wine was poisoned?"

Peter thought about what he should respond. He didn't want Umed to be discovered; the lad saved his life. He knew Iason could be trusted, but he couldn't risk the possibility of news getting out, "Let's just say I have somebody to thank for my being here today."

"Well, Sire, I would like to suggest you do thank them. You would not be here now if you drank that wine."

Peter nodded and smiled, "I think I might just listen to your suggestion."