"Edmund are you in-Oh, my goodness!"
Susan stood in the doorway of Edmund's room, her hand over her mouth. Sam looked up.
"Susan! The duel, he must've-"
"I know! I'll go get Lu!"
Within a second she was gone.
Sam peered into Edmund's eyes. "Ed? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you, now help me!"
"He's fine," Sam muttered. She opened a drawer and, surprisingly, found the bandages.
Sam pulled Edmund's shirt over his head, willing the blush that rose in her cheeks to fade. Then she wet a cloth and mopped most of the blood off his chest.
"You are a very lucky king, this is a shallow cut and nowhere near your heart."
Edmund laughed bitterly. "What heart?"
Sam hit him lightly on the forehead. "This is no time to be pessimistic, just let me bandage it and you'll be fine."
Susan and Lucy appeared in the doorway.
"He's fine, he's fine. It's a shallow wound."
Lucy stepped forward with the small red cordial. "Just in case."
Sam shrugged and stepped aside.
Lucy poured a drop down Edmund's throat, and he smacked his lips lazily.
"I'll live, I think, and this definitely isn't heaven." Edmund gestured towards Sam. "It can't be, Sam's here."
Lucy rolled her eyes and kissed Edmund's forehead. "I'm glad you're all right."
Sam made a gagging sound, but Lucy ignored her. She and Susan went to tell Peter, leaving Sam to take care of Edmund.
Sam wrapped Edmund's chest in bandages and went to her room. She still had a book to finish.
In the middle of the night, Sam awoke to someone crying her name.
Edmund, she though. Must be dreaming…
"Samantha! Will you get in here now, before I bleed to death!"
Sam sat up. Maybe she'd better check, just to make sure…
Edmund's dark curls were soaked with sweat, as was the rest of him. His eyes were full of pain, and the wound on his chest was pouring dark blood again.
He must've torn it open in his sleep, Sam though.
"Ed...Edmund, listen to me. Calm down. I'll take care of you."
"Please, Sam. It's hurts," Edmund whimpered. His eyes brimmed with tears.
Sam wet a cloth again and wiped away the blood. But in an instant, fresh blood replaced it. Sighing, Sam took a towel and pressed it against Edmund's chest. His back arched and he moaned, "Stop! That hurts!"
"I know, Edmund. But I have to stop it gushing blood like that, do you want to bleed to death?"
Edmund's breathing was heavy, but he stayed quiet. Finally the blood stopped. Sam dropped the towel, now soaked in blood, in disgust and wrapped his chest again. She smoothed the hair back from his forehead and saw he'd been crying, and she hadn't even noticed.
Slowly, Sam leaned forward and kissed Edmund's cheek. Edmund put his hands on either side of her face, pulled her toward him, and kissed her full on the mouth.
After a moment they broke apart, and Sam smiled and turned to go back to her room.
"Night, Sam."
"Night, Edmund."