AN: Wow, sorry it's taken me so long to update. I procrastinated, and the result is that this chapter isn't as good as it should be, but I'm too impatient to rework it anymore. Also, I feel like a complete ditz, because last time I a) totally forgot to put in a disclaimer, and, more importantly, b) not only didn't send out review replies like I used to on my old account, but completely forgot to thank all my lovely reviewers. So, now, thank you. Reviews are like gold to me. Also, a huge thank you to mari4212 for betaing this and putting up with all my whinyness.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is the property of the wonderful C. S. Lewis. Anything you don't recognize, well, in all honesty that's probably not mine either.

Chapter 3:

In Which Decisions are Made

The shocked silence following Peter's statement somewhat lost its gravity when the eldest Pevensie, disoriented and frightened as he seemed, promptly fell asleep. Edmund liked to think that Peter felt reassured enough by the sight of his siblings to be able to rest, but Ed suspected that it had more to do with the exhaustion of the battle that had surely set in, not to mention the strain from being . . . de-aged for lack of a better term.

Ed continued to stare at the now sleeping Peter. If his older brother thought it was 1939, then that put Peter around twelve years old, only a little older than Susan had been when they first came to Narnia. Susan, he realized with a jolt, was now the eldest sibling. Peter, having lost the staggering amount of growth he had gained within the last year, was as small as she was. He might still grow younger, too, if the curse continued, and then it would all be Edmund's fault if Peter. . .

Enough. Edmund pushed the thoughts out of his head, locking the guilt deep in his chest. He would deal with that when Peter was better.

Drawing himself out of his reverie, Ed looked around. Susan was hounding Oreius about the semantics of curses, her words fast and high pitched. Meanwhile, Lucy was making wild gestures, and from Ed gathered, she was attempting to explain the English time line to a Faun captain. It dawned upon him that the Narnians, used to a totally different system than the Pevensies, wouldn't understand the horrible significance of Peter's statement. The rest of the crowd was shifting uneasily, murmuring as to what exactly was wrong with the High King while said King continued to snore, blissfully unaware of the chaos around him.

Ed shook his head and cleared his throat. "Susan, Lucy, General Oreius, I think that. . ." Edmund trailed off, realizing no one could hear him over the din. He tried again, louder this time. "Susan, Lucy, Oreius. . ." The soldiers bearing Peter's litter had stopped and turned towards him, but that was all. He sighed and drew in a deep breath. "HEY!"

Well, he certainly had everyone's attention now. The sudden silence was punctuated by Peter's snores. "Now, as I was saying, Su, we should move him inside, don't you think?"

Susan agreed that yes, that would be the most sensible thing to do for now, and so, after settling the sleeping King in his chambers along with Lucy in case he should wake up, the remaining monarchs and their advisors called an impromptu council to "settle an emergency matter of state," which was really just a nice way to say no one had any idea what exactly was going on.

"'Shrinking bones?' Well, I think we can assume to know what that means."

Susan nodded as if to reassure herself, even though no one was disagreeing with her. Edmund, guilt firmly locked away and now solely focused on his brother, had started the meeting by telling what had happened to Peter and the little bit of the Hag's curse that the younger King had heard. There hadn't been much deliberation over the spell; as Susan had said, the curse, while not being overly specific, was fairly obvious in meaning.

"Yes, but what now?" Edmund tried not to look to eager as he spoke, but everyone else seemed to be ignoring the fact that Peter had grown a year younger.

Nairo, – or at least Edmund thought his name was Nairo; six months was hardly enough time to learn the name of every single advisor in the court – one of the old and sage Owls that lived in a roost near the Cair and constantly advised the Monarchs, whether invited or not, spoke up. "Well, Majesty, we must find a way to break the curse. The High King cannot rule Narnia with no knowledge of Narnia."

Edmund opened his mouth to protest, because he knew that Peter could rule anything, from Narnia to Atlantis to Edmund's sock drawer; Peter was just that type of guy. Besides, Peter – and Susan and Lucy and certainly Edmund himself – had began their rule with little knowledge of Narnia, and no one had complained then, now had they? But before he could say anything, Susan spoke.

"How would we break the curse, Nairo?"

"Well, Good Queen," the Owl's feathers rustled, "I. . ."

"Nairo?"

"I'm not sure, your Highness."

The entire room seemed to sigh. Retsi, a sleek black Panther with a mind as sharp as her claws, commented "We would have to know more about the curse, your Highness. There are multiple variables that would affect the cure. The curse may have been stopped by the fire-flower, or it may have only been temporarily quelled. The curse may – "

"Wait." Even Edmund could hear the tint of fear in his voice. "You're saying that the curse could continue?" He knew that the curse would have to be broken for Peter to gain the last year back, but for Peter to continue getting younger. . .

"Yes, your Highness, I'm afraid so. Queen Lucy's cordial will stop the immediate effects of the spell, but it's possible that the Hag made the spell where, if given enough time, it could, ah, regroup, you might say, and attack the High King again."

Edmund wanted to yell – Stop, please, that's enough! Lalalala, I can't hear you! – but Retsi continued unperturbed. "There's also the possibility that the curse will become. . . immune to the cordial's effects. In fact, considering this is one of the Witch's Hags we're talking about – we suspect she strengthened them with magic, because they were unusually strong for Hags – I would almost bet on it. But the curse will probably only attack in stages, and not all at once, so that should give us a bit more time."

"So. . ." Susan began quietly, "We need to break the curse to make sure Peter isn't hurt anymore, but we can't go about breaking the curse until it hurts Peter again?"

Nairo nodded wordlessly.

Ed watched Susan carefully as she paled a bit. He wanted nothing more than to go and comfort her, and to be comforted by her. He stood up, preparing to adjourn the meeting. "Ladies, Gentlemen, I thank you for your most welcome advice in this matter. Now if you don't mind – "

Meard, a grouchy old Satyr, stood up as well. "I beg your pardon, King Edmund, but before we leave I would like to address another matter. With the High King. . . disabled, as he is, he is no longer fit to rule Narnia for the time being. Someone must be placed in his stead."

Edmund sighed into his palm. "Narnia has three sovereigns besides my brother, Meard, I think she will manage."

"Even so, my Lord, Narnia should have one figurehead to be the deciding voice on key matters."

Ed looked at the Satyr incredulously. Peter was sick, didn't he understand that? And really, what "key matters" could develop during the time it would take them to break the curse? The Satyr's eyes were squinting at the youngest King, a sure sign that he was ready to battle over the issue. "Fine," Ed retorted a little more harshly than he intended, "Susan is the next oldest; until Peter is well again she should have the final say. Su, you don't have a problem with that, do you?" Ed looked at his sister guiltily. He had spoken in haste, forgetting how frail she had seemed moments before, but really, Meard had been so obnoxious. . .

He needn't have worried. The pale Su had been replaced by Queen Susan, strait-backed and regal. She had a look on her face that was familiar; a look that said it didn't matter what she wanted, what mattered was what was best for Narnia. A look that said she would do whatever it took to protect her country.

"Of course, Ed." When Susan spoke, only Ed could hear the faint trace of fear beneath the confidence and reassurance her voice oozed.

He realized that the look on Susan's face was the same one that could often be found on Peter's.

Nearly an hour later, the meeting was finally finished. Susan and Edmund, both extremely weary, requested that dinner be sent up to the High King's chambers for the Monarchs.

They both then proceeded to head to Peter's room, Susan's arm draped lightly over Edmund's. "That," she said, "was ridiculously complicated. And really, can you believe that fussy old Satyr? 'Narnia needs one figurehead to decide on key matters.' Psshaw!"

As Susan continued to seethe, Ed spoke quietly, "You'll do great, Su."

Susan seemed to deflate, and her voice sounded weary. "You think so?"

"Of course I do! Peter's great at taking care of the country, and who's better at taking care of Peter than you? You're the natural choice. Besides," and here Edmund's voice began to sound weary as well, "It should only be for a few days."

"Oh Ed, I hope so. I couldn't bear it if Peter has to suffer long. Really, it seems nonsense to me, saying that they can't cure the curse until it acts up again –"

"Well," Edmund paused at the end ot the stairs, "I think they'll be getting their chance to find out."

For indeed, there was a great commotion down the hall where the Kings' chambers were, and they could clearly hear Lucy's dear voice calling loudly for her cordial.

Next chapter: Peter continues to grow younger, Ed has a heart-to-heart with his very confused brother, Susan gets caught up in court responsibilities, and Lucy is just generally cute and helpful.