HIDDEN CURSE

Edmund: 16

Peter: 19

Susan: 18

Lucy: 14

Again thanks for the reviews. I'm sorry for not really updating sooner. I know this chapter is short, but I felt like where I ended it was a good place to stop. I promise there will be another chapter soon. And sorry if some of this is a bit choppy.

Chapter 6: The Journey Begins

Peter was standing at the doorway to Edmund's quarters, the sky outside just starting to lighten to turquoise. Tears were openly sliding down his face, as he stared at Edmund's sleeping form on the plush bed. Edmund was sleeping anything but peacefully, and this made it all the harder for Peter to leave him. He wanted to stay with Edmund until he woke up, let him know what whatever was happening inside those dreams wasn't real. But he couldn't. The best way to do this was to do it before Edmund could stop him, before he could see Edmund's hurt face again.

He walked silently over to wear Edmund was sleeping, desperate to take in every last feature. He didn't want to remember Edmund this way, with his body looking frail. He wanted to remember the alive Edmund, whose freckled cheeks were full, and red. He wanted to remember the dark brown eyes that no one could ever decipher, because Edmund had such vast inner world that no one could ever imagine, that were bright with a constant smirk. He didn't want to remember Edmund with his cheek bones sticking out painfully, his freckles popping off his pale skin, or eyes that still held that secret world, but instead were rimmed with hard acceptance and pain. But he didn't have a choice, remembering Edmund like this was better than not remembering him at all. So he drank in every last feature, until when he closed his eyes he could see Edmund's face staring back at him.

Wiping his tears, he leaned over, and kissed Edmund's sweaty forehead. He brushed Edmund's sweat soaked hair out of his face, staring down at him, his eyes nearly cracking in half at leaving his baby brother alone in this. But his eyes harden resolutely, he had to do this. Taking in one last look at Edmund, he swept from the room, and didn't look back.

Grabbing his saddle bag he packed the night before, he met Oreius and Rarnus outside by the stables. Climbing onto his unicorn, he took one last look at Edmund's window, and muttered "I'm sorry," under his breath. Peter gave his companions a nod, and they rode off.

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While Peter had told Susan and Lucy what he was doing, he had not told Edmund. The next morning when Susan went down to breakfast, there was a note on her seat. It said simply:

"Take care of Edmund, and yourself. All my love, Peter."

Susan sighed. This was going to be a long day. She had barely finished her thought, when Edmund came bounding into the room, still in his nightshirt. He looked frantically around, "Where is he Susan?"

She stared at him, knowing the words she was going to tell him next were going to crush him. He didn't need anything else to crush him, but she also couldn't lie to him.

"Where is he?" He repeated, his voice rising a notch in desperation.

"He left, Ed. This morning." His face contorted, and he ran from the room.

Susan sighed and got up to follow him, today would be one of those days where they couldn't just leave him be. Knowing him and his stubbornness, he'd do something stupid. As predicted, she found him in the armory, struggling to get his armor on.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going with him. I know the direction he's headed, I heard him talking with Orieus last night. I can't just stay here," He said wildly.

"Oh but you must." And she swiftly pinned him against the wall. She laughed at the look of shock on his face. Her siblings tended to forget that even though she was Susan the Gentle, she was also very capable, especially when it came to her family.

Overcoming his initial surprise, he began to struggle against her. "Lemme go, Su. I need to go."

"I'm not letting you go. You are in no fit state to go running off on your own."

"I'm fine!" But almost as if he jinxed it his head chose that minute to begin pounding, and before he could stop himself, he let out a moan, and grabbed his head.

"My point exactly," she said grimly, and gently pushed him into a sitting position.

An hour later, Edmund was forced into bed by Susan. "You know I can still walk around with a headache."

"Yes, but it's easier to keep an eye on you this way."

"Are you going to chain me to the bed or something, Su?"

She gave him a devious smile. "If I have to."

He rolled his eyes, and looked out the window.

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The rain slicked Peter's hair down as his sore body bumped along on his horse. His cold from the other night was in full swing now, just barely holding onto his unicorn while he coughed deeply.

Orieus eyed Peter nervously, "Maybe we should stop your Majesty."

"No, no, I'm fine, we need to keep going. Unless you two need to stop?" Peter replied inbetween coughs.

"No we do not need to stop, but I really think it best that we do." Rarnus said over Peter's coughing.

"No. That won't be necessary, it's just a cold. Nothing compared to Ed…" Peter trailed off, and the two centaurs let the subject drop.

However, Orieus being the closest to Peter and Edmund, knew them better than any other centaury. He half teased, and half scolded Peter. "You and your brother are stubborn as mules. I hope you realize how exasperating the pair of you are."

"We are, but where would be if we weren't?"

Rarnus took a guess, "Dead?"

"Exactly," Peter said. And as if to finalize the discussion he rode ahead of the two centaurs, making sure to straighten his slumping posture as he went.

They rode in silence, with the exception of Peter's coughing, for a few more hours. As Orieus heard Peter's cough steadily deepen, he was about to force Peter to stop, when a large tree branch did the job for him.

There was a sickening crunch as Peter's head got wacked by a tree branch, and he slumped forward on his unicorn. The world went black.

Rarnus and Orieus ran over to Peter, and layed him down on wet leaves.

"Knew he should have been made to stop…" Orieus grumbled.