Chapter 12

After giving Lucy a curt nod, Caspian stormed over to the small stream that flowed near the How. The cold water on his face didn't seem to help, so Caspian removed his leather armor and his shirt, getting ready to slip into the cool water.

"Edmund's right, you know."

Caspian nearly fell in the stream as he whirled around, giving a small yelp of surprise. Lucy had apparently followed him and was now sitting calmly on a nearby rock. The girl-queen was looking at him with an amused smile, and Caspian became acutely aware of his shirtless-ness. Unfortunately, his flustered state led him to get fairly tangled in his shirt, as he hastily attempted to don it. After a short struggle – which the shirt nearly won – Caspian triumphed and bowed to Lucy, his face flushed red. "Your majesty…."

"Lucy," she corrected with a pleasant smile.

Caspian matched Lucy's smile; he was not completely immune to the Valiant Queen's calming presence. "Lucy. May I ask what you mean by 'Edmund's right'?"

Lucy simply said, "He's right that you shouldn't react to Peter's baiting."

Caspian felt his irritation rise again. "That is difficult when he treats me as if I am worth less than the dirt beneath his feet," he snapped, feeling slightly guilty as he did so. Lucy had done nothing to deserve his anger, after all.

The young queen did not seem hurt by his anger. Instead a rather determined look stole over her face. Lucy straightened, her aura that of a grown queen, her eyes showing years he body did not. "I do not condone Peter's actions," she prefaced softly," but it is true that you are worth less than the dirt beneath his feet." Caspian gaped, astonished that she would say something so cruel. Lucy, picking up a handful of dust, elaborated. "This," she said, sprinkling the dust into the breeze, "is Narnia. It's the land we've fought and bled for, that you are now fighting for. As a king, you have to be willing to die for this earth, for its people."

Understanding dawned on Caspian, and he lowered his head in chagrin. "Lesson Four," he said in a soft voice."

Lucy's brow furrowed. "What?"

Caspian gave her a sheepish smile. "Edmund has been trying to teach me how to be a king. Lesson Four was 'A king must hold his life as worth less than the life of the lowliest of his subjects'."

"That certainly sounds like something Edmund would do," Lucy laughed.

Caspian shrugged ruefully. "It is a good lesson. Though, at the time, I was more upset that he had nearly gotten himself killed again. He tends to do that remarkably often."

Lucy's giggles turned into a sigh. "That sounds like Edmund, also. He does seem to get into trouble a lot. It's rather frustrating to those of us who care about him"

A silence settled for a moment, as the two were lost in their separate memories of Edmund nearly following Lesson Four to its furthest point. Lucy had more years of memory, but Caspian still held his fresh in his mind. For in only making small raids, and for less than a month at that, Edmund had put his life at high risk an astonishing number of times. Some of which Caspian had related previously, on the journey to the How. The queens, he remembered, had been rather shaken at the thought of their brother in danger of his life. Not so, he thought darkly, King Peter. "It is too bad the High King does not seem to care so about his brother," Caspian muttered aloud.

Lucy's dark glare startled him. "Don't you dare say that, Caspian! Peter cares more about Edmund than he cares about the breath in his own body!"

"That is hard to believe," declared Caspian hotly. "He heard every word of the danger Edmund has been in, and barely blinked his eyes! And he certainly does not care how his words have been worse than any weapon." Caspian paced to the edge of the stream and back, almost growling in frustration. "Even only knowing him for a short while, it is clear that Edmund would do anything for Peter, even die if he must. But in just a day since you arrived, I have seen Peter treat his brother with nothing but coldness; disdain even. And I have come to understand, by the frustration and grief I see when Edmund talks about his brother, that Peter has done so for quite some time. That is not the action of a loving brother!"

His rant finished, Caspian gave Lucy a fierce look, daring her to contradict his words. He watched as Lucy bit her lip in thought. After a moment she spoke, careful in her speech. "You're right in saying that Peter shouldn't be acting like this." His sense of vindication didn't last long as Lucy continued. "But Caspian, despite the fact that you're our brother now – yes, Ed told me about that – despite this, you haven't quite learned about how relationships between siblings work. You see, right now Peter's hurting; and when he hurts, he doesn't disassociate himself like Susan, or ignore it like Edmund. Peter lashes out. And because we, as his siblings, are closest to him, we end up with the brunt of his anger. Especially Edmund, because they are the closest of all of us. Peter is relying on the fact that Edmund will bear all his anger and hurt, and still love and follow him; since that's what siblings do."

Caspian shook his head. "It's still not right."

"No, it's not." Lucy's eyes shone with worry. "And I'm afraid for the day Peter realizes how much he's hurt Edmund. Because Peter is liable to murder anyone who dares harm his brother; and knowing that it's him who hurt Edmund…it could kill him."

Despite the fear in her voice, Caspian was not moved by Lucy's words. Frankly, he thought Peter deserved to be punished for treating his brother so badly, for taking Edmund's love for granted. I would not do that, he thought with determination. A brother should not hurt his brother, and I will not! I will not hurt Edmund as Peter has. However, Caspian knew Lucy would not appreciate his thoughts. So he organized his features into a polite mask and said, "I will think on your words, Lucy. Pray, excuse me."

Lucy watched Caspian walk away and sighed, having seen right through the mask. She looked out over the stream. "Please come, Aslan. This is all going to fall apart soon. And I'm scared, Aslan. I'm scared because I don't know if we can survive that."

~*~

Face and neck freshly washed, Peter composedly followed Trufflehunter as he lumbered through the tunnels. The badger was right at home as they walked, chattering at Peter and reiterating his pleasure at meeting the High King. To his credit, Peter kept his features in a stoic mask, despite his inner agitation; the High King let slip only the slightest frown when Trufflehunter showed him to a small cavern and told him, "I am sorry that there is not enough room to give you your own quarters, Your Majesty, but there should be enough space in King Edmund and King Caspian's quarters for you. I believe King Edmund even had the room set up when you arrived."

Peter politely thanked Trufflehunter, waiting until the badger had waddled out of sight before entering the cavern. Three mattresses, similar to those which Peter remembered from previous campaigns, lay next to each other in the small space. Peter scowled as he realized that Edmund had had his own things moved to the center mattress, separating the two older kings. In a fit of annoyance, Peter shoved Edmund's things to the left-hand mattress and flopped himself onto the center bed.

Resting his neck on one arm, the High King of Narnia stared at the cave's ceiling and sulked. The feeling of contentment and fulfillment that Peter previously held while sparing had disappeared completely, replaced by familiar fury and upset. That he had been unreasonably rude to Caspian never came to Peter's mind; he thought only of how Edmund, his brother, had defended the upstart Telmarine against him.

If he was honest to himself, Peter might have realized that his anger at Caspian came not from any righteous fury for Telmarines crimes, but from his own personal jealousy and fear. He had not truly been angry that a Telmarine sought to steal yet more of Narnia – her styles of fighting – but, in fact, was lashing out at a boy who dared call Peter's little brother 'Ed'. No one save Peter and his sisters ever called Edmund by his shortened name. That Caspian should be so familiar with Edmund, and then have Edmund protect the Telmarine instead of following Peter as he had before when the eldest Pevensie lashed out…It made Peter's heart uneasy.

Despite his best efforts at redirecting the source of his ire, Peter could not shut out his inner voice, which whispered his fears into the falling night. An inner voice that sounded very much like Lucy. For all his anger, for all his silent ranting – Stupid Telmarine. Stupid Edmund, how dare he proclaim that upstart a king! How dare he act like he has more authority than I do! – Peter could not beat back the memory of Lucy's voice"

'Be careful, though, Peter. Push him away too much, and you may really lose him.'

With a scowl, Peter turned on his side. He wasn't pushing Edmund away! Edmund knew that Peter had to be in control, show this Telmarine who was High King of Narnia. And anyway, Edmund is the one who is following Caspian instead of me!

'…you may really lose him."

If Peter's frustrated growl sounded more like sob, there was no one in the darkness to hear.

~*~

Edmund waited until Lucy arrived to escape from Susan's clutches. Despite his older sister's annoyance at yet another potential suitor dissuaded, she had at least accepted his reasons and, cautiously, accepted Caspian into the family. In fact, by the time Lucy showed up, Edmund almost saw the real Susan peek through her English-girl exterior, saw the Gentle Queen appear in Susan's face. Particularly when she insisted on washing his face and trimming his hair.

Unfortunately, it seemed Lucy had not been as successful in her mission. She didn't say anything when she entered, only shook her head sadly and hugged him goodnight. Edmund thought of speaking to her, but Susan, her mothering nature again taking over, began fussing over Lucy. So Edmund bid his sisters goodnight and headed to his own bed.

One look as he entered showed that Peter was fast asleep…on Edmund's mattress. Caspian, settling into the right-hand mattress and as far as possible from the High King, smiled at Edmund and nodded his own goodnight. Edmund let out a breath and resignedly lay down on the bed he had intended for Peter. He had hoped to keep the two older boys separated, if only to prevent the violence bound to occur when Peter kicked Caspian in his sleep. At the moment, though, Edmund was frustrated enough with both of them, and just plain tired, that he, frankly, didn't really care anymore.

With night barely risen, Edmund followed his brother and friend into sleep. Despite the fact that Edmund was a heavy sleeper, those who knew him would not have been surprised that he roused slightly when Peter jerked awake from a nightmare. Barely coherent, Edmund would not remember reaching out a hand to his brother, a habit born of long years of battle and campaigns. In fact, he fell asleep again as soon as Peter squeezed his hand in reassurance. Therefore, Edmund never saw the tear that Peter hastily wiped away, nor did he see his brother clench his blanket until his knuckles went white. He did not hear Peter whisper "Don't leave me, Ed. Please, don't leave me."

Edmund knew none of this. All he knew was that, when he woke the next morning, the mattress next to him was empty and the room was cold as ice.