Okay, just expect that it will take at least two weeks for an update, in fact the next one might not be up for three weeks. I'd like to be faster, but I just have too many other things going on. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I am merely borrowing C. S. Lewis' charming characters and world, and will eventually return them. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

Disclaimer 2: If this story in any way resembles any other fanfiction it is by complete accident, as I go out of my way to avoid reading fanfictions that resemble mine until mine are completed. My apologies to any other great minds.

Author's note: This story is set pre-, during- and post- The Last Battle. I am a first time fanfiction writer and any reviews are appreciated.

Chapter 15: Learning

Peter spent the first two days after Christmas showing Leona the places that he most loved around Finchley. They spent time on walks and had a colossal snowball fight involving all of the Pevensies, Jill and Leona, that lasted for hours and sent them all inside dripping wet and shivering, but happy. Leona turned out to have excellent aim with a snowball, and Peter cherished the memory of her hitting Edmund squarely in the face twice in succession, then several more times without Edmund even getting off a shot. Peter remembered with less delight the battle of boys against girls, which the girls won decisively. Even in bulky clothing the girls were still more agile than the boys and thus were better at dodging. They also had no qualms about singling out one boy to "kill" first. Peter still felt inclined to sulk at the fact that he had been the first victim to fall to their skillful shots. He had retaliated later by pushing Leona into a snowdrift, then running away before she could catch him. He ended up regretting it because she then refused to speak to him until she had completely dried, which had taken over an hour.

Today Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, Jill and Leona were going to the local gymnasium to practice sword fighting. At least, the boys were going to be fighting and the girls were planning on watching. Peter and Edmund were almost giddy with excitement at the thought of being able to try out their new practice swords. Eustace was excited as well, but had the distinct feeling that he was going to come home with bruises. He hadn't held a sword, practice or otherwise, since he had left Narnia over six years ago.

The six young people were getting ready to leave when Mrs. Pevensie came up to Leona.

"Leona, dear," Helen said. "I just made a fresh pot of tea. I was wondering if you would mind sharing it with me?"

Leona looked at Peter for help. "Um, I agreed to go with the others, could we chat some other time?"

"Oh, if you are just going off with them, they wouldn't mind if I stole you for a few hours," Helen said, blithely. She turned to Peter. "Would you, Peter?"

Peter caught the hunted look on Leona's face and her mouthed, "Help me!", but could only stammer while trying to think of something to say that would free Leona from his mother's clutches. "Um. . . We. . . planning. . . maybe tomorrow?"

"Ah, you are planning on going to the gymnasium tomorrow as well!" Helen said, misinterpreting Peter's incoherent murmurs. "It's settled then. Leona will go with you tomorrow." She turned and wrapped an arm around Leona's shoulders and made shooing gestures to Peter with the other.

"Go along now, Peter," she said. "I'll take good care of her until you get back." Seeing that Peter was still standing speechless in the hallway, Helen made another shooing gesture at her oldest son. "Go on, git." Then before Peter could do anything but stare, Helen had pulled Leona into the kitchen and closed the door behind them.

"Where's Leona?" Lucy asked as Peter joined them outside for the walk to the gym.

"Mum caught her," Peter said, still a little stunned at the ease with which Helen Pevensie had directed the conversation.

"Oh, dear," Lucy said then continued, bracingly, "It won't be too bad, and Mum has a right to get to know Leona more than any of us."

Edmund came up and threw an arm around his older brother's shoulders. "Leona is perfectly capable of handling Mum. Now, let's get going, I haven't had a chance to beat you in ages."

Peter cocked an eyebrow at Edmund. "You haven't beaten me in ages. As a matter of fact, except for a few rare occasions here in England, you haven't regularly beaten me since we first started learning from Oreius."

Edmund made a dismissive gesture. "All things change, and you're getting old!"

Peter snorted. "I'm not even twenty-five! Don't put me in my grave just yet!"

Edmund danced away out of his brother's reach with a grin. "I still think I'll win."

Peter shook his head and dropped back to walk with Lucy. "Is he usually this cocky these days?"

Lucy giggled. "No, I think he's simply trying to make Eustace nervous."

Peter looked over his shoulder at his cousin, who was walking with Jill. The younger boy did seem a little uncertain. "Poor Eustace. He knows that he's going to be put through the ringer over the next couple of days. I want to make sure he and Jill are as prepared as they can be for whatever is wrong in Narnia."

Once they reached the warmth of the gym, the five young people started taking off coats and pulling out equipment. The two girls settled on seats to the side of the large room and the boys started to stretch.

"Edmund and I will have a few practice bouts," Peter said. "Then we will go over the basics again with you, Eustace."

The youngest boy looked up indignantly. "The basics! I do know that much already."

Peter brandished his practice blade at his cousin as he walked to the center of the room to wait for Edmund. "You knew them in Narnia. I would like to make sure that you have the basics down no matter where you are. I remembered that it can take a day or so for you to recall your old skills once you are in Narnia, but that doesn't mean that a fight can't happen before you are ready."

Eustace rolled his eyes, but he could see Peter's point and didn't give any other argument.

Edmund picked up his sword and joined his brother in the center of the room. "You want to go slow at first until we get used to the new blades?"

Peter nodded. "Let's just do forms for a little bit, then we can spar."

Jill and Lucy sat together and watched while the two men crossed blades in careful, measured strokes. There was a bit of awkwardness at first until the combatants got used to the feel of a sword in their hands again. Then their natural gracefulness came out.

"They are both very good," Jill said quietly to Lucy.

Lucy nodded and gave a reminiscent sigh. "Edmund was the scourge of the tourney field. He was Narnia's champion for years when we ruled. Opponents didn't even consider the possibility of beating him when he was at the height of his talent. They would consider it the highest honor to take second place to him. He was considered the second greatest fighter in the world."

Jill cocked her head. "Second greatest? Let me guess, Peter was the greatest?"

Lucy nodded. "Peter was, and still is, a natural warrior. He took to the sword like he was born to it. He rarely competed in tournament, though. It wasn't out of arrogance, but he wanted to give others a chance to win, and he never really liked fighting in front of a large audience, for sport. Peter's true talent lay in battle. He wasn't made for the stilted, formal fights that a tourney demanded. He could do it, and still win, but he was best when he was leading his troops into battle, fighting for his life with any weapon that came to hand. He was the most feared and respected man in the world.

"Both of my brothers would practice every day together. After a couple of years, it took over ten seasoned soldiers attacking at once to bring them down when they would fight back to back." Lucy's eyes seemed to see someplace other than the modern gym around her.

"I think that Edmund was jealous for a while of Peter's natural ability. Ed had to work and practice for weeks to get moves that Peter would get in a few days, but once Edmund had a move down, he never forgot it. I think that was part of why Peter didn't like to compete in tourneys. It gave Edmund a place to shine. The only time Peter would ever lose to Edmund was if Ed used two blades, and Peter used his sword and shield." Lucy gave a small laugh. "The most incredible fight I have ever seen was Peter and Edmund with two swords each. Susan and I thought for sure that they would kill each other by accident, they were moving so fast. But they didn't. Of course, Susan told them that if they ever fought like that again she would hang them by their ankles from a tree. If they ever did fight with two blades again I never heard about it."

Peter and Edmund had gone past practicing forms and were full fledged dueling now. It took Jill's breath away to watch them. Peter got the first blow in, hitting Edmund sharply on the leg.

Peter backed away, laughing. "First blood to me, little brother!"

Edmund limped a little, but had lost none of his enthusiasm. "First blood doesn't count nearly as much as the last blood."

The room was filled with the sounds of wood hitting wood for a good five minutes before Peter swept Edmund's sword out of his hands, winning the fight.

Edmund bent over his knees, panting. "Good fight."

"Good fight," Peter responded, picking up Edmund's sword and heading towards the girls to get a drink.

"You're in better shape than you were during the summer," Edmund said.

It was true. Peter was barely breathing hard. "I've been trying to build up my strength again. I had it brought painfully home to me that I was getting soft."

"Gerard Conroy?" Edmund asked. Peter had wrote home telling his family about his killing Gerard Conroy in October, leaving out the more graphic parts of their fight for the sake of the girls and their mother.

Peter nodded.

"You can't have gotten that soft," Lucy said. "Even here in England you are a good fighter."

Peter swallowed a mouthful of water. "I'll put it this way, Lucy. The last fight I was in that involved that much sheer luck, was with Maugrim." Peter picked up his sword and went back to the middle of the room.

Lucy froze. "Maugrim, the wolf who was the White Witch's Chief of Police?"

Peter nodded serenely.

"Peter, Maugrim accidentally impaled himself on your blade!" Lucy said slowly.

Peter just nodded serenely again. Lucy looked a little green.

"Come on, Eustace," Peter called. "Let's see what you've got."

Eustace nervously stood and joined his oldest cousin in the center of the room and raised his blade to the ready.

"First, widen your stance," Peter told him. "Don't worry; I won't hurt you until I know how good you are."

Eustace looked less then relieved by this last statement, but obeyed.

Peter slowly put Eustace through his paces, instructing and correcting the younger boy's technique. After a bit, they started going through forms and then into freestyle fighting. Peter was going very easy on Eustace and Eustace knew it, but didn't complain. He would rather not head home covered in bruises from head to toe, though it might win him some sympathy from Jill if he was soundly thrashed. . . Once the younger boy was wavering on his feet from exhaustion Peter called a halt. Peter was finally starting to show fatigue, and sat down for a bit.

"You aren't bad, Eustace," Peter said. Eustace was feeling quite downhearted at his rather lackadaisical performance. "Particularly for not having fought in England before. Your body doesn't have the muscle memory that your body in Narnia has."

"Neither does yours," Eustace retorted. He felt bad enough without Peter coddling him in front of Jill.

"I have been building up my endurance for over two months now," Peter replied. "You haven't needed to."

That response did make Eustace feel a little better.

Once he was rested Peter rose to his feet. "All right, Edmund and Eustace will duel on that side of the room. Jill, you shall come with me."

Jill looked taken aback. "I don't know how to sword fight at all!"

Peter motioned her forward. "That's alright; I just want to make sure that you can handle the basics. You should be able to ward off an attacker long enough for help to come."

Peter was a very patient teacher and Jill was soon learning the various strokes and blocks. The sword was too long for her and too heavy, regardless of it being wooden instead of steel. Peter worried that she wouldn't be strong enough to wield a real sword if she needed to. Even though she was sixteen, Jill was small and slight, the only muscles she had were the ones she used to shoot a bow.

As soon as Jill started flagging, Peter sent her to sit down. "Did you want to fight, too, Lucy?" he asked his sister.

She shook her head. "Maybe tomorrow, I'd rather watch for now."

The group did a few more bouts then they decided to head home. Peter was rather worried about the state that Leona would be in when they got back to the house. He had the feeling that Leona would be annoyed with him for abandoning her, but Peter would rather have Leona angry with him then his mother. Helen Pevensie might seem a mild-mannered housewife to the outside world, but she could make any member of the household quail in fear with a single glance if she so chose.

Peter entered the kitchen to the sound of feminine laughter and his mother's voice.

"...I'm standing there, mad as a wet cat, in the remnants of my garden, when the little monster comes toddling up to me with his arms full of my prize flowers and hands them to me. I was ready to spit nails when he says, 'I picked them for you, mummy!' What could I possibly say to that?" Mrs. Pevensie was regaling Leona with some story, as Leona laughed merrily.

Peter cautiously walked up to the table and put his hands on Leona's shoulders. "You seem to be getting along well," he said. He had a sneaky suspicion that he had been the 'little monster' of the story.

Leona turned in her chair to smile at him. "Oh, yes! Your mother was just telling me about some of your earlier escapades. You were the cutest baby, Peter!"

Peter closed his eyes momentarily, his guts starting to churn. He turned betrayed eyes on Helen who smiled serenely at him. Without saying a word, and walking like a man condemned, Peter went to the open door to the living room. Sure enough, there were photo albums spread over the table.

"Mum, how could you?" Peter moaned. Leona started laughing. Edmund walked in and taking in the situation at a glance started chortling.

"You were a very cute baby, Peter," Leona said with a grin.

"I'm naked in some of those pictures!" Peter wailed. He could tell his face was beet red and he wanted to sink into the kitchen floor in embarrassment. Edmund started roaring with laughter and had to lean against the kitchen wall to keep himself upright.

Leona stood and came to stand next to Peter. "I didn't see anything objectionable, dear. You were absolutely adorable though, with those chubby cheeks and..."

"Leona!" Peter nearly shouted.

"... and that blond cowlick..."

Peter buried his face in his hands.

Leona spoke quietly, for Peter's ears only, not that anyone could hear anything with Edmund rolling on the floor in hysterics. "... that adorable, little bare bottom."

Peter looked up through his fingers at her. "My bottom was adorable as a baby?"

"I think it's adorable, but I'm biased," Leona whispered, with a saucy wink.

Peter let his hands down, partly mollified.

Leona raised her voice to be heard over Edmund howls of laughter. "Unfortunately, you didn't have the honor of the cutest picture; your brother won that prize." The laughter abruptly stopped. "There was a certain little boy in a sailor suit..."

Edmund pushed past Peter and Leona at a near run, franticly flipping through the photo albums in an attempt to find the incriminating photo. Peter and Leona were both laughing now.

"You needn't bother, Edmund," Leona said through her laughter. "Your mother's already taken it out. She said something about framing it!"

Edmund looked up at them with horrified eyes and looked ready to cry. Peter was already crying with laughter.

"MUM!!" Edmund cried as he tore out of the living room in search of his mother.

Peter turned to the girl in his arms. "So what did you and Mum talk about, other then my childhood indiscretions?"

"I'm not telling you," Leona replied. "It's women's business. You can ask your mother if you wish, but I doubt she will tell you either. Let's just say that she and I came to an understanding. She needed to know that I would take care of you, and I needed to know that she would let me."

"I can take care of myself you know," Peter replied with a smile.

Leona went on tiptoe and kissed him. "I know."

As they sat down in the living room with Lucy, Eustace and Jill, (Edmund was still chasing his mother around the house begging for the incriminating photo,) Leona thought back to the conversation she had with Helen Pevensie.

"I need to know how you feel about my son," Helen had said.

"I love him, I know that much," Leona said, looking at her hands. She had been afraid that Helen would ask her that. "I don't know what the future will bring, but I know that if I ever marry anyone it would be Peter. It frightens me to think of losing him but loving him this much scares me too. I can't stand to see him unhappy, and I would try my best to make him as happy as I can. I can't promise that I wouldn't hurt him, but I would never do it intentionally unless I had no other choice."

"How does your family feel about Peter?" Helen asked.

"My family is dead," Leona stated flatly. "I've been all alone until Peter came."

"Why do you love Peter?" was Helen's next query. Leona looked up in surprise.

"Pardon?" she asked.

"Do you love Peter for who he is, or because he loves you?" Helen clarified.

"I don't really know," Leona said. "I'm very sure that I would love him regardless of whether he loves me, but if he didn't love me, I wouldn't see most of the traits that I love. It frightens me sometimes, how much I care for him. All I know for sure is that I love him, and that he loves me. Why he does, I don't know. I don't know what I could have done to deserve someone so wonderful."

Leona had been looking at her hands wrapped around the tea cup. She started as another hand covered hers. She looked up into Helen Pevensie's smiling face.

"That's the amazing thing about love," Helen said. "It doesn't care about whether you deserve it, it simply loves."

Leona came back to herself as Peter put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side on the couch. It doesn't matter what happens tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that, she thought to herself firmly. All that matters is now, and she snuggled closer to Peter's side with a sigh of contentment.

TBC..

Author's note for chapter: I hope you guys like this chapter, even if it is a bit late. I made sure to give Amber a baby pictures' scene! I hope you like it! I would like to warn you that the next chapter might not be out for at least three weeks. Hopefully sooner, but I need to work out some plot holes and until I do I can't write the next chapter. I need to cuddle up to some plot bunnies and hope they feel in a good mood. :) Wish me luck and leave nice, long reviews, please. They help me think!