Okay, heads up! This isn't really that big of a chapter. More of a bridge between last and the next. So, don't expect much!
--
The ride back seemed considerably shorter than going out. However, by the time they arrived back in the pastures, the sun was sliding over the horizon, setting a stunning watercolour mix of vibrant shades of pink, blue, orange, and red to the sky. Despite the beauty of the sight, this worried Edmund; more than likely, there was a worried Peter up at the castle, who would leap down his throat the moment he poked his head in the door about how he had been so late. He groaned inwardly; that was always something to look forward to. Oh yes; an hour long lecture. Great joy.
Lila slid from the Horse's back as soon as he had stopped midway to the stables, moving to caress the soft muzzle in her dainty hands. "Thank you for the lovely ride, Phillip," she said, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
Phillip shook his mane, smiling. "It was a pleasure, miss," he said, obliged.
Edmund swung from Phillip, giving a soft pat on the withers. "Remember not to eat so fast after running," he scolded. The Horse snorted indignantly, watching as Lila slowly began her way back to the castle, half-halting for Edmund to follow. He was about to, until Phillip snickered quietly. "I didn't think you liked girls."
The boy felt heat rush to his cheeks for the umpteenth time that evening. "I don't," he said, attempting to sound defiant. He must have failed miserably, for the Horse gave him a knowing look. And then, much to Edmund's horror, Phillip continued on to say,
"Well; you seemed to like the kiss she gave you. You even kissed her back."
All the color of embarrassment drained from his face, along with any other color as well. Oh God. The Talking Horse had seen that. Biting his lip to regain his composure, he retreated to the 'I-am-ignorant-and-know-nothing' method. "What?" he asked, his plan going on half-heartedly. The word came out more like a plea.
The Horse flicked his tail at an annoying fly. "Edmund, don't try that," he snorted. But he relented, softening a bit. "I won't say anything," he promised. His boy exhaled, breathing again with relief.
"Thank you."
Phillip lowered his muzzle, smiling slightly. "She seems nice, anyways." Edmund shooed him away, feeling embarrassment begin to creep up on him again, before turning round to catch up to Lila.
They walked in awkward silence. Neither one of them knew what quite to say after earlier in the wood. As the Cair neared, both tried to say something that would clear up the slight tension, both nothing came to mind. After all, Lila was shamed by kissing him; he was shamed by his lack of composure that had caused it.
"Sorry." He blinked, raising his eyes from the ground in front of him to look at Lila, who had finally spoken up. She seemed uneasy. "About...earlier."
"Oh." 'Smoooooth, Pevensie.' Shaking his head slightly, he tried to find something suitable to say. "It's fine; really." He offered a small smile, inwardly sighing relief when she returned it. "I was acting idiotic." She laughed quietly. He really did like the sound.
"You weren't," she assured gently. He shrugged. They walked on.
They were both thinking the same thing, but both shied from the idea.
So, instead they settled on what everyone was used to seeing; they held hands.
---
"So...Why are we sneaking through the castle again?"
"Shhhh!" hissed Edmund, who was hard at work at peering through a crack at the Dining Hall door. "We're being evasive."
Lila raised an eyebrow. "From what?"
"Mr. Worrisome High King." Aha. She had been right; King Peter was a worrier.
"If we can just slip in here, then maybe we can act like...we were here all day."
"Well, then, go in already!"
"What if he's already in there?"
She placed her hands on her hips. "What's he going to do? Pommel you?"
"Yes."
She sighed, throwing her arms around his neck. He didn't seem to mind. "Oh, go on, Mr. King. You can face the baddie big brother."
"No I can't." He shook his head. "Have you seen him?"
Rolling her eyes, she released him, throwing open the door.
In that instant, there was something like a triumphant yell, followed closely by a howl from Edmund as Peter tackled his little brother to the ground, laughing crazily. Oops.
"And you thought you could sneak past me!" cried Peter, tousling his protesting brother's dark hair into a mess. His favorite torture.
"Maybe!" managed Edmund, struggling valiantly to relieve himself of the High King, but to no avail.
Peter continued to pin his brother to the ground, his tone going down slightly more serious. "Where have you been? You said you would be here!"
"I never said anything!" Edmund shot back, getting slightly angry now. "Great Aslan, Peter; if Phillip is gone, you know I'm with him!" He tried aiming a kick at his 'attacker', which was deftly caught and avoided. "Gerroff of me!"
Peter rolled his eyes but obeyed, struggling to his feet, Edmund following after him, slightly out of breath. Lila grinned sheepishly; Edmund was not appreciated. "Told you," he said, his eyes narrowed.
Peter sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Just tell me before you leave next time, alright?"
"Alright!" snapped Edmund, exasperated. Then added sarcastically as an afterthought, "Just as long as I don't get beat to the ground."
His older brother grinned. "Deal."
"So you found Ed?" The High Queen poked her head out from the door, clearly resisting laughter. "Good; maybe now we might get to eat without Peter's fretting."
"Indeed!" called Lucy from her chair. "Come on you two, my food's getting cold."
Edmund rolled his eyes, but obeyed, making his way to his seat. Lila followed him, trying hard not to stare as she sat close beside him. Both were immediately met with a withering glare from Maible...But both were too lost in a similar daze of earlier that day to care. Of course, neither one of them spoke of it all through the meal. In fact, they hardly spoke at all; even Edmund seemed to have gone quiet, only half-heartedly beating his brother with comebacks. It confused the three siblings, but not enough to worry them. After all, the two had been out all day...They were bound to be tired, right? But they didn't seem exactly tired...
However, Edmund seemed to be especially glad when he was released from dinner. He was gone quickly, and only moments later, Lila excused herself, leaving the three Monarchs and their unwanted guest alone.
Peter blinked, sending quizzical looks to his sisters. They returned them, clearly just as confused as him. He was about to leave, too, when Susan stood. "I think I'm going to retire for the night as well," she said quietly, her eyes letting Peter know that her words were not really truthful. She left abruptly, and Peter and Lucy stood, leaving the room together without an explanation.
Maible sat for a moment, drumming her fingers on the marble table in thought. "Why am I always the last one to leave this room?" she muttered to herself before standing, giving her hair a toss before leaving to disappear into her room."
---
"Edmund?"
Susan walked through the marble hallway, quietly in pursuit of her little brother. Something was up, and she intended to find out exactly what it was. Each step was taken silently as she listened with intent, straining for any breath of Edmund. Perhaps Lila had something to do with it? They had been holding hands earlier. Surely a sign of something. But...her little brother would never dream of love. Never.
"Edmund?" She tried his door. "Are you in there?"
There was silence, though she waited a moment or two. It appeared, though, that he was not in there, and she began to leave. She hesitated a moment, just in case, but it remained silent. But she was not to be fooled. Gingerly, she placed her hand on the knob, turning it and pushing it open. Sure enough, Edmund was curled up on his bed, eyes shut tight. The High Queen could not resist a smile at how small he looked there; it was well in her knowledge that he was only inches away from being eye level with her.
Gently, she sat on the edge of the enormous bed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. At the touch, his warm, brown eyes slowly fluttered open, glancing at Susan, his head never leaving the pillow. "Hey, Su," he greeted quietly with tiredness. Her small smile drifted slightly wider.
"Hey, Ed," she returned, slightly teasingly. He closed his eyes again. Brushing his long bangs from them, she said, "You need to have your hair cut." He grunted. She knew to take that as a pathetic 'no'. She giggled quietly. "Maybe Tumnus will do it," she continued, stroking his dark hair. "Maybe; and while he is, he'll give you etiquette lessons on how to keep your hair well-groomed."
"Mmm...Yeah, right," he mumbled, inwardly trembling at the idea of more lessons, before sighing softly and going quiet once more.
Susan sighed, knowing that he was drifting off into sleep. She wondered if she should still trouble him with his earlier quietness; if there was a reason to. She knew Lucy wouldn't...She wasn't sure about Peter.
"Ed?"
He shifted beneath her hand. "Mm?"
Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Is everything alright? Is there something...you want to talk about?"
He was silent for a moment, tensing ever so slightly. 'Yes. What exactly is my stomach flipping over continuously for ever since Lila Duer kissed me? And I kissed her?' "No..."
A small frown drifted across the Queen's face. There was something in his tone of voice that betrayed his words, and she knew it. Desperately, her sensible mind was screaming at her to press the matter and figure out what he was hiding. But her sisterly heart blossomed for him, and she quieted, resuming to stroke his hair with the love of a sibling, and she felt him relax.
The slow rise and fall of his chest soon told her that he had fallen asleep, but she stayed a moment longer...just to be sure. This would bother the other three Pevensie siblings for awhile, even as small as the matter was. And that sinking feeling in her gut told her that Peter would be the one to worry most. Ever since their early arrival to Narnia, she knew he would remain that way for some time, if not the rest of his life. Between Lucy nearly lost in their trek across the icy Great River, and Susan nearly caught in the jaws of Maugrim...She looked sadly down at her little brother.
And then there was little Edmund, captured by the Witch. Peter thought he had personally sent his little brother off to means of no return, as though he had killed him himself; and he had endured pure hell because of it. But when they had all sat near a fatally wounded Edmund, Susan had known that the four times of nearly losing his siblings would damage Peter forever.
But for now, he was safe before her, sleeping innocently as though the day had been normal. She smiled again, brushing away his lengthened hair to drop a small kiss on his forehead. "'Night, Eddy," she whispered quietly, before rising and leaving his room, closing the door quietly behind her.
---
"Did he say anything?"
"No..."
"You didn't press it?"
"Peter, he was tired and he fell asleep." Susan crossed her arms over her chest, looking a little sad. Peter seemed equally hurt.
"I just want to make sure he's alright..."
The Queen sensed the strain in her older brother's voice and expression, and softened. She smiled, a bit of her sadness in it. "I know you can't help but worry about him," she said softly; "but you have to let him go at times...Let him extend a bit."
Peter ran his fingers through his hair, downcasting his eyes. "I know...I know." He quieted a minute. "I just want to make sure I right whatever is wrong before it hurts him... like before."
Susan bit her lip. "Peter... that's not going to happen." 'Not again.'
He nodded quickly, crossing his arms behind his back. "You're right, Su..." He nodded again, before sucking in a short breath. "I...I'm just going to go to bed now, I guess."
She pursed her lips together, a forced smile appearing on her face. "That's my big brother," she smiled. He returned it weakly, laughing quietly. He was tired now, too. "Goodnight, Peter."
"'Night, Su."
---
Peter couldn't sleep again.
This time, he didn't wait until later that night. He didn't think he could. Throwing the sheets back, he crawled from his bed, slipping from the room quietly and into his brother's. Though, this time he glanced at the bed before entering all the way. Edmund was still curled up, nodding into sleep. It was all Peter could do not to exhale relief, a small smile drifting across his face.
Quietly as he could without jarring the bed, he slid under the covers beside his brother, taking Edmund's small frame in his arms as he hugged his brother close. "Edmund...you scare me too much," he murmured. His only reply was a bit of incoherent mumbling as the sleeping boy shifted, nestling closer to his older brother. Peter smiled softly. Silly boy.
He sighed, fatigue washing over him with abrupt suddenness. How was it that being in here always eased his worries? "I swear...your bed is better than...mine..." he whispered between yawns, letting his eyes close, sleep finally whisking him away.
---
Edmund woke to a warm, easy breath cascading down on his neck. At first, he barely registered it, but then his senses came round, and he started, blinking in surprise. What...? Then he caught sight of his brother, still asleep, lying beside him. His alarm died away with ease, and he relaxed, falling back against the pillow. If it was morning, then why wasn't Peter awake yet? His brother always made it a point to wake up early, usually before most of the castle. His eyes fell to the window. Ah. It was morning; perhaps three in the morning.
But he couldn't sleep.
Truthfully, he didn't really want to. After a moment of resting, he slipped from Peter's embrace, landing lightly on the floor. He glanced back. He was still asleep. Quietly, he snatched a cloak and tip-toed to the door, pausing a moment in fear as a mumble came from the bed. He whirled around, scanning over the bed. Peter was still asleep. Pulling his cloak tight around him, he fumbled with the door handle until it gave, pushing open slightly. He slipped from the room into the dark hall, pausing a moment to make sure he was well alone. He was. At a bit more ease, he started off down the hall, not really quite sure where his feet were leading him.
This was going to be a rather long walk.
---
This wasn't really a biggie chapter. More of a bridge to the next to put some space between the last chapter and all it's drama. But still...Review please? -puppy dog eyes-
I really wanted some Susan in there, because I almost never write as her, because I feel so out of character with her. I hope this is better, I really do. I just don't want the story to be clichey with all the brother fluff and then romance, and then Susan and Lucy be just 'there', you know? Just in case you haven't guessed, this is going to be a family-type thing in the end. Susan and Lucy are part of the family. So...I need to get my skills down with them. FAST. XD
Also! Electrum, bud, I'm gonna reply to your review here just cause my computer is being stupid and won't let me reply for some reason- Ha, yah...About that...I was going to PM you if I could put in YOUR name (yes, it's electrum's, NOT MINE) as Flisk's- I mean, Peter's unicorn- because it just...fits, you know? After reading all of your WONDERFUL stories, it was all I could think of. -sheepish grin- I hope that's alright...