Thanks for the reviews, yet again! I'm so glad you guys enjoy the story! I hope you like this chapter, cause I know I had fun writing it! Susan/Peter moment coming up...sorta. Anyway, read and review! Enjoy!

Chapter Four

"Susan, wait up!"

Susan stopped and lingered, allowing her younger sister to catch up. She smiled as Lucy took her hand and the two Pevensies continued on their way. Together, they strolled around the castle, talking about this and that as they waited for breakfast to be served. As they passed the High King's chambers, their conversation turned to the subject of their older brother.

"Did you hear all that ruckus last night?" asked Lucy. "I think Peter finally came home last night; but I wonder what's going on. There has been so much activity going on around the castle and so many people have been going in and out of his room since dawn."

Susan glanced back at Peter's room and stopped, releasing Lucy's hand in the process. She didn't know why, but she needed to see him. "Go on without me, Lucy. I want to check up on Peter."

The younger girl gave her a questioning look but shrugged it off and nodded her head. "All right then, I suppose I can get Edmund to walk with me the rest of the way. See you at breakfast!" With a wave, Lucy turned and walked away, now in search of her older brother.

Susan waved and walked back in the direction of Peter's room, where she met Orion as he slipped out of the room. The faun gave a surprised gasp as he saw Susan standing there and he stuttered out a nervous, "Good morning, Queen Susan."

The queen smiled in amusement and returned the greeting. "Good morning, Orion. Now…are you going to let me in this time or do I need to get my bow?"

Orion gave a tense laugh and shook his head. "No, my lady," he said. "There will be no need for your weapons this time. You may enter if you so please."

"Thank you," she said, pushing the door open. Peter, nor the attendant helping him dress, noticed as the young queen entered. Standing at the door, she watched the two, eyes landing on the bindings wrapped tightly about his waist. For a moment, she felt her heart stop, remembering how afraid she had been when Peter first came home. It had been a terrifying moment, as she observed from her balcony the guard crying out for a medic. For a split second, she had thought he was dead, but when he once again started to move, she had been so happy.

She dreaded to think of what would have happened if he had died. She doubted that she'd be able to survive without him. She hated to admit it, but she needed Peter in her life. No matter how stubborn or infuriating to her he could be, she knew that without him, her life would be meaningless. She loved him, plain and simple. 'But only as a brother,' Susan quickly told herself, though in her heart, she wasn't too sure of that.

"Susan!" cried Peter in surprise, finally noticing her at his door. "What are you doing in he—oww!" He grimaced in pain as his arm was pulled through the tunic's sleeve, and while his dislocated shoulder had been taken care of, it was still a bit sore and difficult to move.

"Thank you for helping my brother, but I will take it from here," she said, dismissing the faun. The servant bowed and left and Susan walked over to Peter's side, tugging at his shirt until it was smooth and even. Looking down, she eyed his bandaged waist, gently reaching down to touch it. Peter inhaled sharply, the wound still tender. He did not say anything though, choosing instead to savor the feeling of her being so close. His heart thumped loudly against his chest as her fingers traced the spot over his injury, and he swore that it was beating louder than a drum.

Slowly, she began buttoning his shirt, and when she was done, she softly ran her hands over his shoulders and chest, smoothing out any remaining creases. As her hand landed above his heart, Peter's hand slid up and over hers, holding it there. Susan felt the rapid beating of Peter's heart, and she could feel her own speeding up, beating in time with his. Glancing at their clasped hands, she slowly looked up at Peter, their eyes locking.

Peter stared down at her, fighting his desire to kiss her. 'This is wrong!' he told himself. 'Don't think like this! She's your sister!' But the more he stared at her, the quicker he felt himself lose control. Gently, he lowered his head as his lips slowly descended upon hers.

'He's going to kiss me!' she thought, as her breathe caught in her throat. She was going to kiss him! To her surprise, she found herself leaning up, her eyes closing as she brought her lips up to his. Their faces inched closer and closer until…

"Peter, open the door!"

Eyes widening in shock, the two instantly sprang apart just as Edmund came bursting in through the door, Lucy in tow.

"Where have you been?" asked the younger king, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "We were worried sick about you yesterday! Poor Susan nearly had a heart attack when you didn't show up for dinner!"

Peter glanced at Susan, who swiftly looked away, her face a bright red. He could feel the heat in his own cheeks and knew that he was just as red as she was. Taking a deep breathe, he answered, "All will be explained later. For now, I want you three to eat your breakfast. Your duties for today have been cancelled, so you may do whatever you want, so long as you stay inside the castle walls. That goes especially for you Edmund; no hunting in the woods today, understand? You will all be called into the conference room later today."

"What!?" yelled Edmund. "I have no duties today, but I'm not allowed to go out into the woods? That's not fair!"

"Does that mean I can't go visit Mr. Tumnus?" asked Lucy. "But it's been so long since I've seen him!"

As the two younger siblings stated their complaints, Susan was lost in deep thought, shocked at what had almost happened. Peter had almost kissed her; she had almost kissed her brother! Not only that, she had almost let him! And what was worse, she almost kissed him back! It was so wrong, and in so many ways! But at that time, it had felt…right? 'No! He's your brother, Susan!' she told herself.

"Then what about you, Peter?" asked Lucy. "What will you do?"

"I have much to do today, Lucy. In fact, I should be leaving right now," he said, grabbing his sword and shield. He winced lightly as he strapped the shield to his back, the belt applying unwanted pressure against his wound. This action did not go unnoticed by the youngest tow, who gave their brother inquiring looks. Susan didn't say anything, still too lost in thought to notice.

"Where are you going?" asked Edmund.

"I must ride out and check the harvest's progress. I cannot let those farmers think that their king has abandoned them."

At hearing this, Susan snapped out of her self-induced stupor, leveling the High King with a glare. "You can't possibly be thinking of riding out with your injuries, Peter!"

"You're hurt?" exclaimed Edmund.

"It's nothing," said Peter, gritting his teeth as he returned Susan's glare.

"Oh, and I suppose that fact that you could have bled to death last night is also nothing," she retorted.

"What!?" cried Edmund. "Peter, what is she talking about?" He looked down as Lucy pushed past him, already uncorking the cordial that was constantly by her side.

"Open your mouth, Peter. I'll heal you," she said, offering him the cordial.

Peter shook his head and gently pushed it away. "Thanks Lucy, but no thanks. My injuries have been taken care of; now it is only a matter of time until I'm fully recovered. Besides, we'll need to save it for those who really need it."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Peter, but it's only a drop," she insisted.

"No. Every drop counts, Lu. For every drop of that cordial is one more of my men's lives saved," he said, earning him confused stares. "Now, I must go, as should you three. I suppose your breakfast is getting cold."

"Let me come with you, Peter," said Edmund. He didn't want his brother riding out injured and unaccompanied.

"No, Edmund."

"Why not? You're not the only king of Narnia, y'know!"

"I know that, Edmund, but right now, it's not safe outside and I don't want you getting hurt."

Edmund opened his mouth to retort, but Susan beat him to it. "But it's okay if you do?" she asked, angrily. "And y'know what? You haven't even told us why it's so unsafe in the first place!"

"Susan, please! Just drop it, okay?"

"No! If we can't leave the castle, why should you be able to?" She didn't mean to be so difficult, but she didn't want him to go missing again, and then to find out the next morning that he was not injured this time, but killed.

"I don't have time for this!" he cried, throwing up his hands up in exasperation. "I'm leaving and you three will stay in the castle. End of discussion!" Marching towards the door, he gave them an irritated "goodbye" before stepping out of the room.

A few seconds later, Susan let out a loud, frustrated cry and shouted, "That idiot! He…he makes me so angry sometimes!"

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"What do you mean the White Witch's army is back?" asked Edmund, unable to believe his brother's words. "She's dead, Peter! There's no way she's still alive! Aslan killed her!"

"I never said that she was back, Edmund, only that her army was. I spotted a group of them yesterday morning and followed them throughout the day. They plan on taking back Narnia and resurrecting her using our blood. They've been gathering her followers and building up their army these past four years. Their forces aren't as large as they once were, but their numbers are still impressive."

"What will we do, your Highness?" asked General Oreius.

"Our men are strong and our numbers great, but they still have a major advantage over us. They've had the past four years to prepare and no doubt they have several battle strategies thought up. Now, what I think we should do is fortify the country; a fort on all sides, one to the north, the south, the east and the west. We'll have patrols around the countryside, and Cair Paravel will be our headquarters."

"Does this mean I should contact the royal architect, King Peter?" asked Orion.

"Yes, send a message to Cain; I want him here by noon tomorrow. Also, get in touch with the armory. We'll need as much armor and weapons as we can get."

"Yes, you're Majesty. Anything else?"

"No, that is all. You are dismissed, as are the rest of you," said Peter, turning to Oreius and his siblings. "Oreius, gather the heads of each division. I'll meet with you and them after my meeting with the architect tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord." Bowing, he and Orion left, leaving the four sibling alone.

"I guess you had a good reason to not wanting us to leave the castle," spoke Edmund a minute or two later. "So…you were attacked by the group you were following?"

"Yeah…they found me out just as the sun was going down and from there on it was on and off battling. Every time I ran away, they caught up and I was forced to fend them off. Unfortunately for me, I had only thought to bring my sword, and as a consequence, was unable to protect myself as my sword was preoccupied."

"How many were there?" asked Lucy.

"Ten, maybe fifteen…it was hard to tell," he replied.

"You poor thing!" gasped Lucy, horrified at the thought of her brother fighting so many of them all by himself.

It was quiet once more until the silence was broken yet again, this time by Susan. "I'm sorry, Peter," she said. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you earlier. I was just—"

"Worried?" suggested Peter, and she nodded. Smiling, he answered, "It's okay. I shouldn't have gotten angry either. I'm just glad that you care enough to worry about me."

Reaching over from her seat beside him, Susan returned the smile and clasped his hand in hers. "I'll always care, Peter."