I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies.
Lucy drew back further into the tunnel to avoid being seen, but not so far that she couldn't see what was going on in the cell block. From her hiding spot, she saw one of the guards unlock one of the cells and shove Peter inside – she could make out that her eldest brother was the upright one, though he was clearly in pain. A second later, the other guard had thrown in Edmund, who seemed to be unconscious, and the door was locked. With much clanking of footsteps, the guards left the room.
In the darkness, Lucy saw Peter roll Edmund onto his back, his hands shaking anxiously, though he tried to hide it. He was muttering something to himself or to his brother; Lucy had to strain her ears to catch any of it.
"I told you to keep your damn mouth shut," Peter murmured despairingly, ripping off the bottom corner of his shirt to wipe across Edmund's bloodied brow. He looked up a moment, as if searching for some strength he wasn't sure he had, then finally shook his head before returning to the task at hand.
Just as Lucy began to move forward out of the darkness, she heard Edmund reply, his voice very hoarse and weak, as if he'd been shouting.
"Yeah, I know, I know," he rasped, grimacing in pain. "I never do as I'm told."
Peter gave a weak chuckle and shook his head again. Lucy couldn't make out what injuries Ed had as she moved towards them. Just then, Peter caught sight of her.
"Who's there?" he demanded instantly, his voice ringing out into the block.
"Shhh, it's me," Lucy whispered, hurrying forward.
"Lucy?" asked Edmund from the ground. He tried to move his head to look at her but Peter's hand shot down to keep him from moving. The younger king groaned.
"Lu! How did you get in here?" Peter whispered. He glanced back to where the guards had come from, checking to see if they would come back.
"I don't have much time to explain, I have a friend who's distracted the guard," she whispered back. "Is Ed all right?"
"No, he's not," said Peter, just as Edmund said, "Yeah, I'll live." Both glared at each other.
Knowing that Peter was more likely to be right, Lucy reached for her cordial.
"It'll raise suspicion," Edmund objected weakly, hearing the squeak of the cap as Lucy unscrewed it.
"By the time they find out, Lu will be long gone," Peter told him, and took the cordial gratefully from Lucy to tip a drop to Edmund's unwilling lips. To her surprise, he also took a drink himself, and let out a deep sigh as it worked its magic. Lucy watched the younger of her brothers, whose face was slowly clearing of cuts and bruises; there was a sudden pop and his left leg seemed to snap back into place. She swallowed her nausea.
"What happened?" she asked softly, but Peter only shook his head as he handed the bottle back to his sister.
"That's not important. What do you know, Lu? What do we have to do? How can we help you?"
She bit her lip.
"That's a big question," she said uncertainly. But as quickly as she could, she told them all Susan had told her – that Valin planned to invade Narnia, that Susan was his proof of the existence of another world, that the end of their wedding was to be the beginning of a war.
"And what do they know?" she asked them when she was finished. She knew she had only minutes left.
"That I am High King of Narnia," Peter said gravely. Edmund cast his eyes away, and Lucy thought he might look ashamed. But Peter's hand came to rest gently on his brother's shoulder and the younger king relaxed slightly. Looking up at Lucy, Peter gave a bit of a regretful but nonetheless fond smile. "Ed was rather vocal in his defense of me."
Lucy remembered Ed's injuries and cringed for him.
"And what about you, Ed?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said from the ground, shaking his head. "I think they think I'm Peter's swordsma – "
Footsteps. Lucy stifled a gasp and quickly slipped away. She was halfway in the tunnel when the guard entered, and she froze to avoid attracting attention to herself. The guard marched up to her brothers' cell, casting a suspicious look into it, then put one hand on the bars and shoved his face up against them.
"Cut the chat," he snarled. "I keep a quiet watch."
Peter stared evenly back at him and said nothing. Between the guard's feet, Lucy saw Edmund flick his eyes to her, then to the guard's belt, and she saw the keys dangling off it. Obviously, the guard assumed the brothers were too injured to attempt to take them away from him, but Lucy was not in the same boat. Cautiously, she stepped forward out of the darkness. As she did so, she heard Ed begin to speak.
"When are we going to get some food in here?" he demanded. Peter gawked at him a moment, as did the guard. Undaunted, the young king continued. "I mean, haven't eaten in nearly eight hours now. Isn't it about dinner time by now? When are we go…"
Lucy saw the guard's foot pull back, but so did Edmund, and he pushed Peter aside quickly and rolled out of the way. Meanwhile, Lucy continued to move up silently behind the guard as Edmund distracted him. When the warden's shin struck the bars instead of a prisoner, the he swore loudly and glowered down at both of the kings.
"Think you're funny?" he growled. Lucy decided he was just not a happy person. Her hand stretched out, so near his key ring…
"Yeah, sometimes I can be," Edmund shrugged casually, sitting up against the back wall of the cell, a safe distance from the bars. Lucy wished Peter would stop staring at her; it was rather telling. She had one hand hooked in the key ring now, and she was lifting it as stealthily as she could, trying to remove it from the guard's belt. Fortunately, he probably couldn't feel it through his mail shirt…
She almost had the keys off, when suddenly the guard dropped his hand to his side, a movement that sent his elbow crashing straight into Lucy's face.
She tried not to scream but it wouldn't have mattered – his neck whipped around and he looked straight at her, and in that instant, several things happened. Edmund and Peter both launched themselves towards the cell bars, ready to do whatever they could to protect their sister. The guard let out a bark of surprise and anger and reached for his sword. And Lucy ducked down swiftly, one hand fumbling into her stocking to withdraw her dagger. Unfortunately, in the time it took to free it from the sheath, the guard had already swung his sword, and she had to drop completely to the ground to avoid having an arm amputated.
She took a swipe at his ankles while she was down, but from that angle, she had no power, and the blow glanced harmlessly off the metal covers of his boots. The guard raised his blade again, snarling above her, and Lucy realized that she was trapped between his feet and the side of the cell, with nowhere to go. Squeezing her eyes shut, she braced herself and twisted so that the blow might strike her shoulder, not her stomach...
"Don't!" she heard Edmund cry out, and near her head on the floor, she heard his feet move quickly. The guard snarled, and she heard a smacking noise and Ed gasping in pain.
Suddenly, more footsteps sounded around them and another voice rang out.
"What's going on in here?" it demanded. Lucy opened her eyes to see two other guards hurrying towards them, their swords out. Peter had pulled Edmund away from the bars; the younger king was cradling his face in his hands and Lucy could see that his lip was bleeding profusely.
"I caught another one," the first guard growled, giving Lucy a kick. She gave a soft cry, but kept most of it in. Swiftly, Peter crouched beside her, his hand stretching out of the cell to rest on her shoulder as reassuringly as he could manage.
The second guard looked over in confusion.
"But that's just a little girl," he said, peering through the darkness.
"Let them keep thinking that, Lu," Peter whispered in her ear. "Don't give yourself away."
She nodded, biting her lip as the first guard pulled her roughly upright.
Some rescue party we turned out to be…