Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia... I wish I did.

The Discovery

"How long has he been unconscious?" the old centaur asked Peter, stepping into Edmund's bedchamber.

Peter looked up from his brother, whom he had been staring at for a while. He set Edmund's hand back down and looked, sceptically at the doctor.

"A few hours, he awoke at about eight o' clock this morning. He was awake only for a few minutes."

The old centaur nodded, and made his way over to the young man and removed the thick blankets that covered him. Edmund's pale thin figure wasn't a pretty sight. It was feeble, meager and covered in dried blood... and now Peter noticed fresh blood.

"Oh dear Aslan," Peter muttered under his breath "He's bleeding again."

"Quick, " the centaur's voice was urgent "His bandages need to be changed."

Peter didn't even need to be asked, he was already on the other side of the room preparing new bandages which he brought back to the centaur with efficiency.

Carefully the centaur removed Edmund's bandages. The last time Peter had seen Edmund's wound open was when they had first placed bandages on him when they had gotten him into the infirmary right after the battle, but even when it was fresh, it looked nothing like this.

The blood was darker even though it was just as fresh. The last time it had been a bright crimson, but now it was a dark red and violet. Peter's chest tightened and he reached for a wet cloth to dab it on the surrounding skin, his intentions to clean it to his best abilities. But before he could get his hand on his younger brother, the centaur stopped him.

"No" the beast spoke in a voice that was in awe and in fear at the same time "Don't touch it."

Peter could only do as the centaur told him "What do you-"

"Magic..." the centaur mumbled then turned to Peter quickly, fear in his eyes "Has your brother taken Queen Lucy's cordial?"

Peter nodded.

The centaur's eyes grew wide he spoke with terror in his voice "And he hasn't improved!"

Peter shook his head. "He stopped bleeding until just now" he stated hopefully.

The centaur's expression still remained "Has he had any problems with his kidney, appendix, or stomach?"

Peter nodded wincing at the memories of the nights after supper when he would go out in the gardens for a walk and suddenly round a corner to find Edmund sitting on a bench vomiting into the bushes as Susan sat by his side rubbing his back. The excuse they had used was that Edmund still wasn't used to the alcohol served at dinner, but they always knew deep down something was wrong.

"His stomach hasn't been what it should to be." Peter sighed, reaching out to touch his brother's forehead, which was beginning to bead with sweat. Letting out a quiet sigh, Edmund turned his head, nuzzling Peter's palm. Even in his sleep he felt his brother there with him.

"I can tell by how thin he is..." The centaur said under his breath, looking at Edmund, examining every breath, every heartbeat, every pump of dark blood that gushed out from the wound as if he were trying to find something, a missing symptom. There was something missing, something undetectable that the centaur was trying to find.

"Is there any magicians present?" He asked and Peter nodded, "Go get the best one, the most skilled and knowledgeable."

Peter nodded, stepping out in the doorway and calling to the halls for a servant, a young fawn trotted to the door where Peter repeated the order. There was a slight hesitance from the young one as he peered past Peter and at the youngest King but he nodded and ran off.

Peter turned back and looked at his brother who was beginning to wake up. Peter knew that if Edmund was to wake into this mess and pain without someone there he wouldn't do well after. Peter dashed to his side right as Edmund's eyes opened.

There was a moment of content peace in his brother's eyes for a small fraction of a second, as he gained consciousness but that instantly faded when he clenched his teeth in pain and grabbed onto Peter's hand gasping. Peter reflectively took it and began to rub little circles on Edmund's hand with his thumbs.

"Pete..." Edmund gasped in pain "Oh... it hurts..."

Peter felt his heart rip at Edmund's voice and he took his hand and wiped the sweat from Edmund's face. He had to be strong. For Edmund. "I know, Ed... I know." That was all he could say at this point. There wasn't going to be a 'you'll be better soon' this time like he could usually tell him when Edmund was sick after supper. Edmund had always stayed strong during recovery from injuries. Even when he was shot in the shoulder with a bow and arrow, he didn't shed a single tear. But now Edmund's face was worse than all the other times. Now it was so full of pain you would think he was being tortured to death.

"Pete..." Edmund gasped again, squeezing onto Peters hand tighter.

"Ed, what's wrong? You weren't like this earlier!" Peter's voice grew fearful.

"My... my stomach..." Edmund reached down to touch his wound but the centaur caught his hand.

"Don't touch it, son." He spoke softly. "There aren't any bandages on it right now and you've began bleeding again. That's why it hurts so much."

Edmund moaned slightly "It hurts almost as bad as when... when she did it..."

Peter bit his lip. He looked over to the centaur who was now looking at Edmund with a frown of stress on his face.

"Are you referring to Jadis? Your injury during the battle of Beruna?"

Edmund could only reply with a painful nod.

The centaur sighed and put his hand through his hair and muttered "... Oh dear Aslan... why...?"

At that moment they heard quick footsteps enter the room. In stepped a stout old man with a long white beard and hair. He wore a long crimson robe and small spectacles on his nose. In after him came Lucy with her cordial and Susan bringing only a worried expression.

Lucy peered passed Peter at Edmund and hiccupped back a sob and let little tears flow down her face in complete and utter sadness. Susan couldn't stand the sight of the hole in her brother's side and turned her head. The old man, who Peter now recognized as Lucy and Edmund's magic and healing tutor, stepped next to Edmund's bed with them.

"Do you think you can help us here?" the centaur asked the tutor.

The old man looked at the young King lying there helplessly. He examined the wound thoughtfully then turned to the centaur "I will do my best."

The centaur pointed to Edmund's wound "Look at how the blood is dark. Lucy's cordial didn't work. And this is where he was stabbed by the white witch all those years ago."

The tutor nodded in agreement. "Yes... yes that has to be it!"

"What?" The two brothers said at once, Edmund's voice exasperated and painful and Peter's confused and worried.

"Edmund," The tutor said, sympathy touching his voice "I'm afraid you have an infection. A black magic infection, given to you by the sword of Jadis... the stab would have healed right away with your sister's cordial, but the magic was irritated from the stab and now its growing worse"

"And that's why you have such a bad stomach" the centaur added, "the black magic didn't agree with your food."

Edmund was still gripping Peter's hand but now his face didn't only hold pain, now it held a different emotion. An emotion harder to look at than the pain.

Hopelessness.