50 chapters! I never expected to go this far. I can't even believe it myself. To be honest, I didn't really know where I was going with this story when I first started writing it. It's been quite the rollercoaster.
So, where are all of you at? I only got one review last chapter, and I had hoped to get some more answers to those questions. Please get back to me? I want to get as many opinions as possible.
Next, on a scale of 1-10 how have you enjoyed this story? Comparing to other fics, that is. Not comparing to real books. I'm no C.S. Lewis. ;)
"He's really doing it. I mean... he's really doing it?" Peter couldn't straighten the look of shock out of his features. Never in all of his years in Narnia had he ever considered the possibility as even remote.
Lucy smiled her big, cheery smile - the one that could make the cruelest of people feel a shimmer of compassion - as she stood on her two giddy feet. "I knew this all had to be for something. Aslan had a plan all along. Oh, now I feel foolish for ever doubting Him."
"Don't, Lu." Edmund assured, sobering the whole room with the look of deep concentration that fell over his face. "I'm not sure I would have even taken the chance to listen to Him if I thought that one of you had been lost. I don't know how you managed it."
"Well," Peter looked over the faces of his three younger siblings. "You were always a bit of a pain."
Lucy gasped in and opened her mouth wide in shock at Peter's response.
"Peter!" Susan scolded, shoving him back a step with her, not-so-delicate hands.
"Shut up!" Edmund elbowed him hard in his ribcage, but a smile crept onto his face, denying his actions.
"I'm kidding!" Peter defended, throwing his arm around his little brother's shoulders and ruffling his dark hair. Edmund tried to throw him off, but all efforts were fruitless. "We missed you, little brother. I'm not sure we'd have lasted much longer if you hadn't returned."
"Now that's the kind of response I expected to get." Edmund grumbled, finally succeeding in removing himself from Peter's affectionate hold.
"So," Peter began. "When should I expect a visit from his majesty?"
Susan reopened the scroll, not bothering to look up as she answered the question. "Well, it might take him months to get anywhere if he succeeds at all. It's a matter of 'if and when' I suppose."
Peter bit his lip, gently. "Unfortunately, I suspect the Calormene people will not be so complying with their new king's decision. He'll have to be careful of how he goes about it, if he wants to remain on their good side."
"That's just it," Edmund interrupted. "Bloody Calormenes can't even put their own clothes on by themselves. They'll think they're worthless without their slaves. Of course, that wouldn't be far from the truth."
"Perhaps one of us should intervene." Lucy said, her voice barely above a whisper. Peter never ceased to find himself in awe of his little sister. She could suggest the boldest of ideas without so much as batting an eyelid.
"And how would we do that?" Susan asked.
"Well," the youngest Pevensie began. "We all know that Agatone is not experienced in this whole 'ruling a kingdom' thing. He might not even know what he's proposing."
"So one of us needs to go." The older sister said, beforebefore Lucy could finish her proposal.
A slight moment of silence passed between the four rulers, each sibling unsure of how to go about the whole situation, but all of them knowing that Lucy was right.
"I'll go." Edmund said, at last. "I'm the one who's supposed to handle negotiations and problems like this. I need to step up."
"Ed," Peter admired his brother's bravery - how could he not? - but... well, there was no denying what each of them knew. Edmund was in no mental shape to return to the place that had given him his scars. As hard as Edmund's exterior was, Peter could still see straight through it. Inside, his little brother was still just a scared boy - the same as he had been after escaping the cruelties of the White Witch. Though none of them knew what he had been through during that time, they all knew that it was bad, and it changed their brother into an entirely different person than he was before. Peter was tired of letting Edmund be hurt. He couldn't stand to let him walk into Calormen, knowing what it would do to his mind. No. Edmund had been through enough torture, already. "I'm not letting you go there."
Edmund scoffed. "And why not? We both know that I'm most capable."
"This isn't about what we can and cannot do. This is the safest way about it all."
"Safest? What is that supposed to mean? I can take care of myself just fine." Edmund argued, but Peter knew that he couldn't possibly want to go.
"It's not a matter of if you can take care of yourself. I just... I can't let you go! I can't let you do it."
"I'm not weak, Pete." Edmund defended. His voice held no sense of bitterness, but Peter could tell that his brother felt attacked. "It's just a place. It can't hurt me."
"Ed." Peter ground out from between his teeth. Susan's careful hand on his arm eased some of the frustration from his limbs. "Ed. You don't have to prove yourself to us. You know that." Edmund just cast his eyes to the floor. "Everything I've seen you do over the past weeks has shown me that my little brother is the strongest person on earth." When Edmund continued his reign of silence, Peter continued. "I know that a place can't hurt you. I know that you could hold it all in and act alright. But I'm not worried about the place. I'm worried about the memories that come with it. And, Ed," Edmund's eyes finally rose to meet Peter's. "Memories can cut deeper than knives, and they leave the most painful scars."
Edmund nodded slowly, then have a small half smile. "How did I ever keep sane without your stupid smart mouth?"
Lucy laughed while Susan and Peter chuckled.
"We're still debating whether you were truly ever sane, Ed." Peter joked.
"I'll save you time by giving you the answer," Edmund elbowed him in the ribs, once more. "No."