A/N WARNING this chapter deals with the theme of death heavily (mostly murder). If you are uncomfortable reading about these things PLEASE skip this chapter and I will write a short summary of it in the next chapter I post.

Chapter 13

Initium III

Spring 1005

The hype of Edmund taking in an abandoned wolf pup had died down rather quickly in Cair Paravel after the young king had reluctantly given Nyra to her foster mother. The tigress, Indira, was an exceptionally caring creature. Although Edmund could still see the faintest traces of despair from losing her cub, Indira had taken quickly to the wolf pup. The king couldn't help but smile at the unusual pairing. It warmed his heart to see how much the tigress had fallen in love with her new child.

With Nyra at a mere two weeks old, Indira had taken it upon herself to find the most secluded room of the castle to raise the wolf. Edmund had only been allowed to visit her once since Indira hid her away. As frustrating as it was, Mrs. Beaver reminded him that Nyra was not his pet. Yet still, Edmund couldn't quell the pull in his heart for the pup. It was far more powerful than his connection with any other Narnian, but perhaps it was only some self-righteous feeling lingering from the first moment he held her.

Whatever the reasoning was, Edmund was well aware that Nyra would be far better of being raised by Indira than she ever would have been with him. All he had to do was keep himself distracted until the aching subsided. That would prove to be the hardest part.

"Ed!" Peter's voice quickly drew the young king from his thoughts.

Edmund looked up from the table where he'd been repairing a tear in his sword holster as his older brother approached, two bags slung over his shoulder.

"Get your stuff together," Peter said, tossing one of the bags onto Edmund's lap. "We're going on a patrol."

"What- now?" Edmund enjoyed patrolling, but this was the first time Peter so abruptly decided they would be going on one.

"Yes. We're going to meet Anari's group in Owlwood, she requires assistance dealing with… rebels."

The young king nodded, quickly gathering his equipment and heading towards the stables. Much to his surprise, Peter had taken it upon himself to tack up Atlas, and was just finishing up his own horse as Edmund walked through the doors.

"Must be really urgent." Edmund mused, strapping his pack onto Atlas's back. Peter only responded with a tight-lipped grimace.

Edmund didn't push the issue any further. He remained silent, adjusting his stirrups as Peter finished tacking Ahern. It unnerved him to see his brother so uneasy about a routine patrol. There weren't many matters Peter fell short on describing in detail- especially when it came to happenings in their kingdom. From the moment the Pevensies were crowned they had vowed never to keep secrets from each other, particularly matters that could have devastating impacts on their country. They had learned long ago how vital communication was.

The pace the high king set on the trail was rather brisk, but nothing Edmund couldn't keep up with. About a mile in, Edmund couldn't help but wonder if they were really going out to meet a patrol or if his brother had something else planned. His grip on the reins tightened ever so slightly as Edmund began to suspect Peter had brought him out into the woods to talk about Nyra. Was there something Peter knew that he didn't? Had the news traveled farther than their borders? He couldn't even imagine what would happen if the Lords of the South began to think it acceptable to take young talking animals for themselves.

"Ed, I want you to know exactly what's going on before we reach Owlwood." Peter didn't stop, and Edmunds heart raced as he pushed Atlas to walk next to his brother's horse.

"What's wrong?" It was odd how distant his voice sounded. Whatever Peter was about to tell him, Edmund had been mentally prepared to hear from the moment they set out.

"I've received a report that… that there has been a pack of wolves found dead just north of where we're heading." Edmund's heart sank into his stomach as he realized what his brother was implying. "Our scouts aren't sure, but they believe that they may have slaughtered each other."

The young king couldn't bring himself to say anything as he imagined what they would find once they met up with Anari. Peter reached across and grabbed ahold of Edmund's reins, pulling both of their horses to a stop so he could look at his brother.

"No matter what we find when we get there, you need to know that none of this could possibly be your fault." Peter's tone left no room for argument, so unlike Susan, who would have been far more gentle in the delivery. Edmund wasn't quite sure which one he would have preferred more at the moment. "We're going to get through this together, alright?"

Edmund stiffly nodded, "Let's just go."

Without waiting for Peter to respond, Edmund continued down the path, not at all sure if he was prepared for that they were about to walk into.

The stench was the first thing they noted as they neared the area in which they were to meet the patrol. Edmund could feel Peter shooting him wary glances, probably wishing he hadn't brought his fourteen year old brother along to a gruesome kill sight. It wasn't as though they had never seen death before. They came from a world at war, only to fight in another war. It wasn't something they could run from. It followed them- even into their dreams when they thought that everything was finally alright. Death haunted every step they took, and not even Aslan could protect them.

"My Lords." Anari emerged from the undergrowth, gesturing for the kings to follow her. "This way."

Peter was the first to trail after the centaur, providing his younger brother a moment to steady himself. The boy waited for Ahern's tail to disappear, before continuing on with a deep breath. This wasn't something he could avoid; it was his duty as king.

"This looks to have happened approximately one week ago." Anari was reporting to Peter as Edmund finally emerged into the clearing.

One look around and Edmund felt as though he'd been stabbed in the gut again. Four wolves laid still near what could only be a den. Beyond their blood-soaked bodies, two of Anari's patrol had taken it upon themselves to enter the small den and retrieve two more lifeless forms no bigger than his hands.

As calmly as he could, Edmund stumbled off of Atlas's back. His legs were so shaky that he still required the horse's form to steady himself once he managed to set foot on the ground. Clutching the saddle, Edmund took deep breaths, trying to convince himself that he could stand on his own.

"Anari, we found two more by the river!"

Peter gently placed a hand on Edmund's shoulder, pulling him away from Atlas.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, trying his best to look at his youngest brother rather than the grim scene not ten feet from them. Edmund, however, couldn't take his eyes off of the unmoving forms.

"I thought we fought to prevent this from happening." Edmund's voice was barely over a whisper, yet Peter was blown away by the rage behind his brother's eyes. How could something like this have happened under their rule? Peter could only imagine that the guilt his brother felt was astronomical compared to his own.

The kings finally turned away from the den site to follow Anari, hoping to find answers to why such a horrific crime had been committed.

"The wounds we have inspected thus far contradict any suspicions of the culprit being anything but one of their own kind." Anari continued to explain as they made their way toward the river. "It could have been a rival pack, but I've never seen any territorial disputes like this before."

"You think it was one of the wolves already in the pack?" Peter guessed.

Anari nodded, "Perhaps one who desired to be alpha."

"But why kill all of them?" Peter ran a hand through his hair, frustrated that there was no clear answer. "Wouldn't it be far easier just to leave and start a different pack?"

"If only we could speak with the dead, my lord."

Edmund was about to note that there were only two other wolf packs known in Narnia when he caught sight of both of the bodies. One appeared to be an older wolf, her pelt riddled with various cut and bite marks. She was lying on her side in a puddle of her own, dried blood. Without any further analysis, they instantly knew that this female had been guilty of the crimes they had stumbled upon.

"It looks as though she died of her wounds." Anari sighed, examining a deep tear along the wolf's neck. The Pevensie boys couldn't quite tell if the centaur was distressed that the murderer was already dead or not. Of course, it took care of the punishment, as Aslan would surely refuse her entry into his country. However, it still felt as though there was no justice.

"This female's body was found in the reeds a few meters down the river." Another one of Anari's scouts informed them as a soaked corpse was dragged onto the bank. "We believe she drowned."

Peter hadn't registered that Edmund left his side until his baby brother was on his knees by the wolf's body. The King gestured for the surrounding scouts to give them a moment, before gently placing his hand on Edmund's trembling shoulder. The Just King's fingers were entwined in the wolf's drenched fur, his head tilted towards the ground so that his face was concealed.

"It's her." Edmund's voice caught in his throat as he struggled to maintain his composure.

Peter felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest as he stared down at the female's body. Surely he didn't mean…

"She's the one who gave me Nyra." As soon as the name left his lips, Edmund slouched forward, a sob escaping his throat. He spoke through the tears pouring down his cheeks, "She brought her to me… She…"

Peter dropped down next to his younger brother and roughly pulled him against his chest, much like he'd done so many years ago after Edmund had been stabbed by the White Witch. The king didn't resist, dropping his head forward to rest on his brother's shoulder as sobs continued to rake through his body.

So this is what had become of Nyra's protector.

"It's not your fault." Peter said gently, one hand rubbing circles on his baby brother's back. "None of this is your fault."

"Why…" Edmund could barely get the words out. "Why didn't she tell me? We could have prevented this."

"Ed, listen to me." Peter pulled Edmund's head away from his shoulder so that he could look him in the eye. "There was nothing we could have done to stop this. It was her decision-" he gestured to the dead wolf in front of them, "-to save Nyra from this horrific crime. She knew what she was doing, even if it led to her death."

Edmund's tear filled eyes drifted to the familiar corpse, "I just… I don't understand."

Peter pulled Edmund against him again to prevent him from staring at the wolf. Honestly, he didn't understand either. He had no idea what to tell his brother to make him feel better. He had no idea where to go from here, what actions was he supposed to take in a situation like this? Why would Aslan allow something so horrific to happen? What would happen once word of this spread? There were far too many questions, and Peter doubted he would even understand if Aslan himself explained. All he knew was that the one responsible was purely evil. Looking at the wolf's lifeless body, he knew justice had been swift, but the damage would linger forever.

This was a tragic loss of innocence for everyone involved, most especially Edmund.

All they could do now, was try to move forward.

"We can't let the girls know about this." Edmund looked up at Peter, surprised yet understanding of where his brother was coming from. "Or Nyra."

He wanted to object. Nyra had a right to know what happened to her real family- or at least what they thought had happened. They had no authority to keep that information from her. However, as Edmund looked at the dead bodies surrounding them, he suddenly understood where Peter was coming from. Their job was to protect those whom they loved. The only way to do that was to hide this horrific event to the best of their ability.

"Okay." Edmund finally was able to pull himself away from his brother's comforting embrace and compose himself. "But if she ever asks either one of us about her past, we have to tell her the truth."

Peter nodded in agreement. "Let her be blissfully ignorant until then. For now, we shall carry this burden."

So that's the basics of Nyra's history and what happened to her original family. Sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed, but I don't want to dwell too much on the past, as I want to elaborate on the present of this motives of the murderer will NOT be revealed until farther down the road (but feel free to speculate in your reviews). I hope to post the next chapter soon, however I am completely swamped with college, work, and generally life right now so I can't make you guys any promises.

Any questions, comments, or life threatening concerns don't hesitate to pm me!

Charlii