Warning!: Torture detail
Sequel to "Give him space"
17: You're home
"Peter."
Peter nearly let out a sob at the sound of Edmund's voice, quiet and raspy as it was, but he was finally speaking, and this meant more to Peter than anyone would probably ever know. "Ed." He choked, pulling his brother even closer and feeling immense relief when, instead of shying away, Edmund himself even tried to get closer, clinging to Peter like driftwood in a storm. "Oh Ed."
Edmund swallowed hard and buried his face against Peter's neck, taking deep breaths. "I - I'm sorry." He choked, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Peter sighed, reaching up and running one of his hands through Edmund's hair, knowing exactly why he was apologising. "There's no need to be sorry Ed." He murmered, forcing back anymore tears for his brothers sake. "You went through a lot and dealt with it in your own way, you don't need to apologise."
Edmund shook his head slightly. "I - I made you feel awful, I saw the look on your face everytime I flinched away from you." He whispered. "I - I just- I don't know, I just couldn't stand being touched, not after what they did to me."
Peter hesitated, before taking a deep breath. "What did they do?" He whispered.
Edmund froze.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Peter said hastily. "It's just - It might help you to talk about it."
Edmund thought about this for a moment, digging his fingers into Peter's tunic as he took a deep breath, leaning back a little and instead resting his head on Peter's shoulder, his arm tightening around his waist as he blinked back tears. "Maybe." He murmered.
Peter gave him a gentle smile. "I won't force you." He murmered. "But if you do wanna talk, I won't rush you either, you can talk in your own time."
Edmund gave him a grateful smile before swallowing hard. "I was terrified when they kidnapped me." He whispered. "They kept talking about everything that was gonna happen to me, and it scared me.. terrified me actually, and they knew that, knew they were scaring me, so they continued. By the time we reached where we were going I swear I was having a panick attack, but they didn't seem to care at all, they actually enjoyed my worry."
Peter swallowed hard, anger and sympathy and worry filling him as he tightened his grip around his brothers shoulders, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead and silently telling him he could continue when he was ready.
It took him a short while, but eventually Edmund took a deep breath. "They dragged me into the mansion and down flights and flights of stairs, into one of what looked like many dark, damp rooms, with nothing but a bed. No window or anything. They said that's where I'd be sleeping, when I wasn't working."
"What were you doing?" Peter questioned, trying to keep his voice steady.
"That was the only good thing about it all, I was working in the stables." Edmund murmered. "It had It's difficulties trust me, but I'd rather be there than anywhere else."
Peter nodded. "I know you would." He whispered, burying his face against Edmund's hair and waiting silently and patiently for him to carry on.
"The only thing was, if you made the simplest mistake, they would punish you." Edmund choked, cringing as all the memories came flooding back to him.
"Simplist mistakes?" Peter wondered, almost dreading the answer.
"For example," Edmund said, taking a deep breath. "I - I once dropped one of the apples I was supposed to feed the horses, it bruised on one side, much to their anger. That alone earned me ten lashes."
Peter's breathing stopped.
"Pete?" Edmund choked, worry in his voice.
Peter didnt say or do anything for rather a long time, before he eventually took a deep breath. "I'm okay." He whispered, seeing Edmund's worried look and giving him a reassuring nod.
"You sure?" Edmund murmered, eyes filling with tears at the look on his brothers face.
Peter took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah." He whispered. "Just carry on, I'm fine."
Edmund knew he wasn't, but knew - seeming as he did want to talk about it - Peter wouldn't let him stop, so he took a deep breath and opened his mouth again. "I worked from six in the morning, till ten at night, with no more than three breaks, maybe less, depending on how generous they were feeling."
Peter snorted at the word generous, knowing that these people had been anything but that, but he let Edmund continue without saying anything.
"The weather made it worse though, the sun was scorching most days." Edmund sighed. "I fainted of heatstroke more than once."
Peter took a deep breath. "No normal heat should just make you pass out multiple times." He muttered. "How hard were they working you?!"
Edmund sighed. "Hard." He mumbled, but carried on anyway. "The punishment for anything you did wrong could range from a painful beating, to having a burning hot Bar pressed against your back. One time, in perhaps the second week, I forgot to lock the stable door because of how tired I was, they broke my arm for it, it was in a sling for 6 weeks, leading me to make mistake after mistake because I only had one hand."
Peter saw red, they had broken his arm? He immediately found himself wishing that he'd made those mens deaths a lot more painful than he had.
"One time, at perhaps the beginning of the second month, I was trying to saddle a horse. My arm was still in a sling, and it would only be in it for one more day which makes all this a whole lot more stupid." Edmund sighed. "It didn't go well, I dropped the saddle and it broke, and after that punishment, I started shying away from every touch."
"What - What punishment?" Peter was almost afraid to ask, unsure of what could've made his brother the way he was when he found him.
"They locked me in a pitch black room for 2 days." Edmund replied, noticeably cringing. "2 whole days I was in there, no food, no water, no light, nothing except a person with a whip every few hours."
Peter took a deep, shuddering breath. "How - How many lashes?" He whispered, voice so choked he could hardly even get the words out.
"Ten a time." Edmund murmered. "I was in agony for two days, I didn't sleep, eat or drink for two days. My throat was practically ripped apart by the end because of how much screaming I'd done, and because I couldn't have a drink. The dark kept playing tricks on my mind, I kept hearing things, and - and you know I've never liked being locked up, not after what happened with the witch, so that just added to my fear. It - it was horrible, to put it lightly."
Peter nearly choked on the tears he was trying to hold back, and quickly buried his face against Edmund's shoulder to muffle the noise he made, but Edmund felt his shirt go wet with tears, and took a deep breath. "I can stop if you want?" He whispered, sounding a little unsure.
Peter sighed. "No, if you want to talk about it you can." He said. "I'm not going to stop you, I know you've never liked talking about your feeling or stuff like that, so this whole thing must of been bad for you to actually tell me about it and ask for comfort, so you can carry on, I'm fine... trust me."
Edmund blinked at him, and didn't say anything for a long while, before he took a deep breath. "When they eventually let me out of the room, I found myself afraid of pretty much everything and everyone, even the horses made me feel uneasy." Edmund whispered. "I didnt want anyone coming anywhere near me, not even the others working there when they tried to help me, the dark room had traumatized me, and if I'm honest, they all knew it."
"Is that why you haven't liked me blowing out the candles at night since you returned?" Peter asked, referring to everytime Edmund had given him an almost petrified look when he'd gone to blow out the last candle.
"Exactly why." Edmund sighed, before slowly moving on. "Though I didnt like touch at all, no one seemed to care, I was still shoved around, still watched 24/7, still punished when I did nothing wrong or made a silly mistake, some of them actually figured I didnt like anyone near me so just did it to laugh at my reaction."
Peter took a deep breath, and quietly soothed his brother when a small sob escaped Edmund. "The - the next month was horrible." He whispered, taking a deep breath so he could actually talk. "Because of how jumpy and weak I was, it was easy to keep making mistakes, which meant it was easy for them to come up with a reason to punish me, so they did. One time, it was only a week before you rescued me I think, I stood up for a young girl who was being shouted at. It was the scariest thing I think I'd ever done, what with the state I was in, but I did it anyway, the girl couldn't of been any older than Lucy, and she looked terrified at being shouted at, so I had to do something, so I shouted back at the guy, and that did not end well."
"Do I even wanna ask?" Peter choked, two tears rolling down his cheeks as he fought to stay calm, although he did feel proud of his brother at the fact that he'd stood up for someone even if he was afraid of everyone.
Edmund took a deep breath. "Let's just say, after an hour, I couldn't feel the pain." He whispered. "They carried on though, for two hours maybe, and by Aslan did I feel the pain later on. I came down with a fever too, a bad one at, but of course I still had to work, no matter how ill I felt and no matter how much pain I was in. I kinda got used to working like that after a couple days, which is probably why I was okay on the horse back to Cair, either that or I'd just tricked myself into ignoring the pain."
"Probably the second one." Peter sighed. "Because you definitely didn't look okay."
Edmund nodded slowly. "The last days I was there were definitely the worst, the day you rescued me, I was held against a wall by my neck for spilling a bucket of water and soaking some of the hay that was for the horses." He choked. "I actually thought he wasn't going to let go, I actually thought he was going to kill me, but he dropped me just in time. I passed out though, and then woke up on the forest floor with you sat beside me."
Peter nodded slowly. "You woke up three days after I rescued you." He murmered, before sighing. "I take it you didn't manage to get through three months without having a nightmare?"
Edmund nearly snorted. "Not a chance." He muttered.
"What - What did you dream about?" Peter asked hesitantly.
"Sometimes it was about what was happening." Edmund told him. "Other times it was about the witch, or about you and the girls, sometimes it was just me screaming."
Peter tightened his grip around his brother when he shuddered, and placed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. "It - It's over now." He murmered against his dark hair. "You're safe, I promise you are, it's done, its over."
Edmund swallowed hard and nodded, burying his face back against Peter's neck. "I know." He choked. "I'm so, so glad. But I'm just sorry it's taken me three weeks to calm down."
Peter sighed sadly. "After hearing what happened to you," He murmered gently. "I'm surprised it didn't take you any longer."
Edmund gave a small smile against Peter's neck, before swallowing hard. "I missed you." He whispered, voice choked with tears. "I missed you so, so much."
"I - I missed you too Ed." Peter murmered in his ear. "More than you'll ever know."
The two looked up when the bedroom door opened, and Edmund took a deep breath when Susan stepped in, looking as though she were about to say something but stopping dead when she spotted Peter's arms wrapped around his little brother. "Ed." She murmered, sounding both shocked and pleased at the same time.
Edmund swallowed hard, and he had no idea why but his heart was beginning to pound, just like it did when someone came near him.
Smiling softly she walked across the room, taking a careful seat on the edge of the bed and reaching forward to place her hand on Edmund's shoulder.
But at the last minute, Edmund flinched away, taking a deep breath and at once feeling guilty and burying his face against Peter's chest.
Susan sat there, her hand hovering above Edmund's arm as she glanced up at Peter, who frowned at her before swallowing hard. "Slowly." He mouthed at her, giving her a small nod.
Susan nodded back and extremely slowly and gently placed her hand on Edmund's arm, hoping that she wouldn't scare him.
Edmund didn't do anything for a while, but when Susan gently moved her hand up to run through his hair, he began sobbing.
He pulled away from Susan and Peter and crawled to the end of the bed, huddling against one of the posts and trembling so hard it broke his siblings' hearts.
Peter swallowed hard and shuffled over to sit in front of him. "Too much?" He sighed, not going too near him yet.
Edmund hesitantly nodded. "It - It's not Susan." He whispered, crying quietly. "I just - can't - not two - not yet."
Peter nodded, understanding completely, and luckily Susan did too, and gave her brother a gentle smile. "I'll give you space until you're ready Ed." She told him. "I promise."
Edmund gave her a greatful half smile before shuffling slightly more towards Peter, reaching out and hesitantly placing one hand to his arm for a moment, looking slightly scared and unsure.
Peter let him slide his hand down his arm and to his hand before he sighed and gave him a reassuring nod. "It's okay." He murmered gently. "I won't hurt you."
Edmund swallowed hard before taking hold of his hand, and then, feeling safe enough, moved further forward and curled into his brothers lap, burying his face against his neck as he took a deep, shaky breath.
"I've got you." Peter whispered, wrapping his arms slowly and gently around his brothers shoulder and placing a kiss to the top of his head. "I promise I won't let anything else happen to you."
There was silence for a while before Susan spoke up. "I'm going to find you both some lunch." She said gently, knowing she should leave the two alone until Edmund felt safe enough to be around more than one person. "I won't be long."
Peter nodded and watched as she left the room before he took a deep breath. "Ed?" He asked quietly. The last thing he wanted was to make his brother jump.
"Hmm?" Edmund responded, his face remaining buried against Peter's neck.
"I - I am so, so sorry it took three months to find you." Peter choked. "I just couldn't for the life of me figure out where you were. There were no clues, nothing... but it still took me three months, and I feel terrible. I feel terrible you had to go through that, had to work like that, had to go through all that pain, had to miss your birthday, all of it. I'll never forgive myself."
"You bloody well will." Edmund suddenly snapped, and Peter thought he might've even scared himself, for he swallowed hard and took a deep breath before continuing. "It wasn't in anyway your fault Peter, and it's definitely not your fault that it took you three months to find me, that mansion wasn't exactly out in the open, and it was in Calormen Peter, that's days away from Narnia, so you can't of done anything else."
"But three months!" Peter choked, a tear slipping down his cheek. "If I had just ignored all the stuff with Archenland-"
"No." Edmund snapped. "You know that allegiance was important to Narnia. You're the High King Peter, you couldn't of just dropped everything to search for me."
"I damn well could've." Peter snapped, and instantly regretted his tone when Edmund fliched and pulled against his grip. "No, No Ed I'm sorry, please. I promise I didn't mean it, I'm not going to hurt you, I swear it. shhh."
He managed to calm Edmund down again, before taking a deep breath and tightening his grip gently around his little brothers shoulders. "All I'm trying to say is I'm sorry." He whispered, deciding that now really wasn't the best time to properly have this conversation.
"I - I know you are." Edmund sighed. "But I don't blame you, I promise."
Peter smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He whispered, sighing when Edmund yawned. "Why don't you get some sleep?"
Edmund hesitated. "I might have something to eat first." He mumbled. "I - If that's alright?"
Peter frowned a little. "Of course it is Ed." He murmered. "You don't have to ask."
Edmund swallowed hard. "Sorry." He whispered.
Peter frowned deeper but didn't say anything, and the two waited in silence until Susan stepped into the room.
She stopped just inside the door though, giving Edmund a small nod before glancing at Peter.
Peter, getting what she meant, hesitantly let Edmund go before walking over to Susan and taking the plate she had from her hands. "How is he?" Susan asked.
Peter gave her a reassuring smile. "He's alright." He whispered.
Susan smiled back. "Alright." She breathed. "I'll stop by again at dinner?"
"Thanks." Peter smiled, watching as she left before turning back and walking over to Edmund again, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Edmund swallowed hard and shuffled back over to lean against the headboard, giving Peter a small smile as he handed him the plate. He took it, but it slipped from his fingers, ending up upside down on the floor.
Peter sighed sadly, but frowned when Edmund froze completely, beginning to tremble as he stared down at the plate. "Ed?" Peter asked, sounding confused.
"I - I'm so sorry." Edmund choked, shaking hard now as a look of fear appeared on his face. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."
"Hey, Hey Ed, it's okay." Peter said quickly, alarmed by the tears that had filled his brothers eyes. "It was an accident, you're not in trouble I promise."
Edmund swallowed hard, eyes still wide. "I-"
"Ed." Peter cut him off gently. "It was an accident. It wasn't your fault. You are not going to get - get punished okay? you're safe I promise, I would never hurt you for dropping something."
Edmund took a deep, shaky breath. "They did though." He whispered.
Peter sighed, and very carefully sat properly on the bed and pulled Edmund into his arms. His brother flinched at first, but eventually settled against his brother, resting his head on his chest. "Listen to me Ed." He murmered firmly but still gently. "You aren't with them anymore, they're dead. You're home Ed, you're safe. None of us are ever going to hurt you, and that's a promise. A promise I will not break, you have my word. It's all over Edmund, over."
Edmund stared at him for a moment before smiling gently. "I love you Peter." He whispered.
Peter nearly let out a quiet sob, but forced back his tears as he placed a kiss to the top of his brothers head. "I love you too Ed." He whispered. "And you're home and you're safe, I promise."
I know I wrote "give him space" a while ago, but I know a few people wanted either a prequel or a sequel to it so I finally wrote this, a sequel talking about what happened :) Hope you liked it xox
