You guys are awesome! Thanks for all of the lovely reviews! This is a special weekend, since I'm posting like... a chapter every day. Don't get used to this! For this chapter, I really hope you can visualize what's going on. Enjoy!

Katriana was still crying softly when Mrs. Beaver came in a short while later. Katriana whipped away her tears furiously in an effort to hide the fact that she was crying. It didn't work.

"Why, dearie! Whatever's the matter? Come now, let's wipe those tears away. We mustn't have any of that if you want to get better!" Mrs. Beaver came up beside the bed and climbed up onto the edge of it. She took her apron and wiped the remaining tears from Katriana's cheeks.

"I've… I've been such a nuisance!" Katriana choked out.

"Nonsense!" declared Mrs. Beaver, putting her hands on her hips. "Sickness is something we can't help, so we just have to put up with it when it comes. Now," she said as she waddled on the bed over to the pillows, "let's get you something to eat, hmm?" Mrs. Beaver plumped up the pillows behind Katriana; then patted the girl's cheek with her small paw. "We'll have you better in no time!"

Katriana watched as the amazing Mrs. Beaver scurried around the room tidying up and then brought in a tray with hot soup and fresh bread. Katriana realized for the first time how hungry she was. She ate everything on the tray while Mrs. Beaver looked on in satisfaction.

After she was finished, Alia came in. Smiling, she sat on the edge of Katriana's bed. "You gave us quite a scare last night! I'm so glad you're feeling better. Would you like to go sit outside for a bit?"

Katriana shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not?"

~*~

After Peter had gone back to his room, he crashed on his bed. It had been a long night, and he was exhausted. He slept for several hours till he felt something hit his arm. He allowed his eyes to open a tiny bit, and he saw his brother's face. He groaned.

"What?"

"It's time to get up, lazy!" said Ed as he sat on Peter's leg. Peter pushed him off.

"Not yet."

"Yes, yet!" Ed said as he walked over to the curtains to let in the broad daylight. "Kings are not sloths. We are fit men who are ready for anything!" Edmund demonstrated by flexing his right arm. Peter threw a pillow at his head.

"What is wrong with you today?" asked Edmund as he threw the pillow back.

"Nothing." Peter said, firmly planting his jaw. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Obviously something! You haven't acted this way since those faun children hid Rhindon from you. Maybe you need to do something to get whatever's in you out. How about we spar for a bit?"

"No thanks," replied Peter as he rolled over. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about. He didn't even really know what bothered him.

Edmund walked over and pulled up a chair next to Peter's bed so that he was right in his face. "Come on, you're starting to get fat."

Peter rolled his eyes and then closed them. He could feel Ed breathing on his face. He sighed loudly and wondered why his brother insisted on being so stubborn. He then jumped out of bed.

"Fine! You want to spar? So we'll spar. But you'll lose."

"Oh, I doubt it," said Ed confidently as he slowly rose from the chair, "I'm already gaining points on you." He smirked. This was going to be interesting.

~*~

,Katriana and Alia had been outside in one of the courtyards for a few hours now. Alia had not been able to stay the whole time, but she visited Katriana now and then to make sure she was still fine. It had been a beautiful morning, and Katriana felt much better since she had been out there. Her lungs didn't hurt nearly so much, and for that she was especially glad. She was still a bit on edge, however, because she did not want to meet King Peter anymore. She had decided that his kindness was wonderful, but not enough to make her tell him everything. Every time she heard footsteps, she would tense up, wondering if it was him. All morning she had done this, and Alia had teased her into believing that she wouldn't see him anymore today. But with the pair of footsteps now drawing nearer, she couldn't help but wonder if Alia was wrong.

The footsteps revealed that Katriana's doubts were correct. She watched as King Peter and King Edmund walked out under the castle archway towards the lawn she was sitting on. She turned back around quickly so as not to be caught staring. Her heartbeat quickened. She squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe she was just imagining things. But no; she heard their voices as they came closer.

"Well, hello! How are you feeling today, Miss?" asked King Edmund. She turned back towards the kings, quite surprised that he had addressed her. She swallowed before answering.

"Much better, thank you… your majesty." She kept her eyes on his face. She hoped that King Peter didn't think she was rude, but she really didn't want to talk to him just then. King Edmund smiled.

"It must have been the tea. See, Peter! I told you it was the tea!" King Edmund declared as he elbowed his brother in the ribs. King Peter pushed his brother's elbow away as he shook his head with a smile.

"If you say so, Ed. Come on, we came out here for a reason," said King Peter as he nodded towards Katriana. She saw him in her peripheral vision, so she gave a quick nod as well. King Edmund gave Katriana a quick bow before jogging off after his brother. She watched as they went a little ways off towards a cleared area in the gardens. The clearing was shaped as a circle, and the boys went to the center of it. They proceeded to unsheathe their swords. She wondered what on earth they were doing as they began to circle each other. Finally, Edmund made the first advance.

He expertly drove his sword laterally towards King Peter's stomach. Peter moved quickly to his right and swept his sword into a vertical position that allowed him to block Edmund's blow. He used his sword to push Edmund away from him as well. Edmund allowed this, and backed up, still circling Peter. Katriana watched in awe as they continued to do this. They would strike once, then back off. It was like a dance.

Finally, Edmund became bored of this, and went all out at Peter. Peter easily parried all of Edmund's strikes off, and responded with a few of his own. He began delivering them faster, and Ed began to sweat as he worked hard to keep up. Then, Edmund did something Peter wasn't prepared for. He bent down and charged at Peter full force with his sword out in front. Peter didn't have time to react to this, so he picked up his right leg and pivoted on his left one, kicking out at Edmund as hard as he could. Edmund caught this at the last moment, and ducked his head, losing sight of his target: Peter's leg. Peter ended up with a cut above his knee, but he was able to jump away from Edmund before Ed was able to make his predictable follow-through slash.

Edmund followed him though. He wasn't going to let Peter off that easily. The next few minutes held a blur of activity that Katriana found hard to follow. It seemed like every few moments it changed who had the upper hand. At last, it seemed like Peter was going to finish Ed off. Edmund gave a desperate slash at Peter, causing Peter to sidestep to the right. Ed pushed again, and Peter ducked to avoid the blow. Again, Peter kicked out, and he hooked Edmund behind Ed's right knee with his foot. This caused Edmund to stumble, giving Peter the right opportunity to swing his sword back towards Ed's face. Edmund bent over backwards, but the bottom of his chin still managed to get nicked by Peter's blade. Peter's foot then made contact with Edmund's chest, sending him to the ground. They were both breathing hard and sweating profusely. Peter held out his sword towards Edmund's throat. It looked like it was over. But Edmund didn't give up that easily.

In his fall, he had managed to keep a hold onto his sword. His mind had been working on a way out of this situation ever since he saw it coming. Edmund now tried to kick Peter, who was standing very close to him at this point. But this wasn't his full attack. This was just the diversion. But Peter fell for it. As Peter looked down briefly and moved his leg, Edmund took this opportunity to the sit up and slash out his sword at Peter's. Peter, not expecting this, lost hold of Rhindon, and it flew out of his hand. He now stood at Edmund's mercy with Edmund's sword at his throat. Ed looked at him with a smile that said more than words. Peter broke into a smile as well. It really didn't matter who won. They just enjoyed doing it. Katriana stared in awe. She had never seen anything like that before.

They started to walk back towards Katriana. Both boys' hair was plastered to their head with sweat, and they didn't look quite as… kingly at the moment. Katriana closed her mouth, and pretended to be very busy with the stitching Alia had given her. She could hear the boys' panting as they got closer. Ed was giving a little victory speech.

"You know, Peter, I had the edge on you before we even started."

"Is that so? And why would that be?"

"Yes, it is. Because you gained too much weight sitting in bed. You were moving much slower than last week."

"I happened to be in bed for a shorter amount of time than you. I just did it at a different hour. What makes that so bad?"

"It's the daylight. If you're in bed during daylight, it is like a curse. You gain weight immediately."

"Sure Ed, if you say so."

Katriana listened, but kept her hands busy. She could see them coming closer out of the corner of her eye. She hoped that they would just walk by without saying anything. Maybe, just maybe. They were almost past her when suddenly King Edmund stopped.

"What do you think, Miss? Did I win fair and square? The High King here says I took advantage of his poor state of health," he said with a smile towards Peter.

She looked up at them. What should she say? "Um, no, I'm sorry, but I really don't think so." This burst Edmund's bubble, and the smile that had been on his face was quickly replaced by shock.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, King Peter stayed up with me most of the night, and I'm sure he is still very tired," she said, looking back down. She couldn't stand the fact that Peter was looking right at her.

"Well! There you have it, Ed! Proof!" Peter said a little too happily. He began walking off. He had taken the hint that Katriana didn't want to talk anymore, and he was happy to just let her be for right now. Edmund, however, did not get the hint.

"But I won! His sword was on the ground!" Edmund protested. Peter gave him a look that said that now was not the time. Edmund reluctantly followed him back into the castle, protesting all the way.

Once they were in the castle, Peter turned to make sure Katriana couldn't hear them. Then he grabbed Edmund's shoulder and hissed at him, "What are you doing? She obviously didn't want to talk. Why do you insist on being so ignorant?"

Edmund retorted, "Well, she doesn't have any problems with me! I've only talked to her the one other time, so it's nothing that I did. If she's got a problem with you, it's not my fault."

"Oh, stop it! Both of us saw that she was feeling uncomfortable." Here Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, just let's not bother her for a while, ok?"

Edmund gave him a sideways glance. "Fine. But if she is upset with you, you had better take care of it pretty fast." Peter cast him a questioning look. "Oh, come on!" Edmund looked around before going on. "I doubt I'm the only one who's noticed that you like her." He had lowered his voice to a whisper.

Peter shoved him and said, "I do not! I mean, she's nice and all, but I've only known her for one day. I'm not as silly as all that. So shut up about it."

As Peter walked away, Edmund smiled a knowing smile. He knew his brother too well.