Chapter 22

Ladine brushed her hair out of her eyes triumphantly, stringing the struggling Telmarines together.

"That's for branding me." she told them and stalked off, her head held high. She smiled as she saw Lucy and Edmund walking towards her, Edmund leaning heavily on Lucy's shoulders.

"Hello. Seen Caspian?" she asked.

"Not since I saw him bring down three men at once." Edmund told her, with a serious expression on his face. Ladine snorted.

"I'll find him." she said and scanned the battlefield. All around lay the bodies of Calormens, twisted in their shining armour, a silver spike poking through their cream turbans. Ladine frowned and stopped a Narnian soldier who was dragging the bodies from the field.

"Have you seen Caspian?"

"Not since he lead the charge you majesty." he told her, bowed his head and continued on with his work. Ladine bit her lip.

"I should be able to see him." she said and looked about her again. She set off down the field and stood in the middle.

"It's so small." she said, her voice small.

"What is?" she turned and sighed.

"I thought I'd lost you!" she said, flinging her arms around Caspian's neck.

"Why? I'd all ways fight to see you." he told her and softly kissed her.

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Susan gripped the hilt of her dagger a little tighter.

"I don't understand." she said and Peter swallowed and looked back up at the proud girl.

"Why not? Why can't I ruin his life for a change? He's always been the perfect little boy. The one that could do no wrong." he was breathing heavily and Susan could see his skin gleaming from the sweat that lay on his muscles.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her brow wrinkling.

"Why wasn't I enough?" Peter asked. "Wasn't I good enough? Did mother really have to look after the little baby she found on the side of the road?" Susan shook her head.

"She didn't even find it herself. It was one of her maidservants. Couldn't she have looked after it?" Peter said and suddenly Susan could no longer see a ruthless man in charge of the largest and fiercest army she had ever seen. All she could see was a jealous little boy, a scared little boy.

"Peter?" she moved towards him, her hand dropping from the jewelled hilt of the dagger and coming to rest on Peter's shoulder.

"You don't have to do this. Please." she said and Peter looked up into her eyes.

"I do. First rule my father ever taught me or Edmund" his face soured when he said Edmund's name "once your in a fight, never give up."

"That's stupid."

"It's all ways worked before." he said and moved away from Susan. Her hand dropped loosely down to her side.

"That's why you bullied Edmund. You thought it was a long fight. You had to keep hurting him before he hurt you." she said and Peter nodded, his back turned to her.

"What're you looking at?" she asked.

"My army." he replied. "Clever trick." and he turned back to her and Susan could see the wild look had gone from his eyes. She smiled.

"Easy. Once you know what to do. Some people like destroying the enemies mind when their in it, but I think it's easier to bring out their worst nightmares." she said and peter smiled, cockily.

"What's my worst nightmare?" he asked, brushing the hair back from his face. Susan shrugged.

"I don't look. I like preserving some of my victims dignity." she said and Peter snorted.

"At least you don't turn them into vegetables." he said, smiling jokily.

"You got it." she said. She looked into his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell Jadis?"

"I was five. I thought he was my personnel, living toy! I didn't actually think he'd be considered my brother. Or a Telmarine." he looked away from her.

"I actually asked my father if I could be the one to brand him. I loved him. I wasn't going to hurt him like I knew my father's lords would. But my father told me that mother wanted Edmund as her son." he looked back at Susan and she saw the hatred clear in his handsome eyes.

"It hurt. To know that your mother wanted another person to be her son. That I wasn't good enough for her. I hated him. I wanted him to die. I tried to kill him with my bare hands. I was stopped and I went later that night into his room with a dagger. I meant to kill him. But he was awake. He stopped me long enough, was loud enough for people to come running, to take me away from dear, precious little Edmund. Mother sent me to Calormen." Susan smiled, sadly and Peter looked at her.

"That didn't hurt as much as you think it would. I was tougher, I went away and I trained and trained and trained till I told myself I was better than that stupid little boy. But when I came back, I didn't want to fight him any more. I wanted to just do better than him." he turned and smiled, almost proudly.

"You would kill so many people." Susan said, without meaning to. Peter stiffened.

"What?"

"If I let you go, so many people would die. I would be the first, then Lucy, then you would send your big army over here and kill Edmund. Then you would rule. You'd be a bad king. So many Narnians would die because they would be loyal." she said, walking up to him till she was right up beside him, an odd look on her face.

"You see, I have to stop you. I can't tell you to run away. You're a little boy: you'd just come back. You have to die. Right here, right now." she said and drew her little dagger.

"I'm going to stop you." she told him.

"Not if I stop you." he told her, bent his head down and kissed her soft lips.

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So sorry for the long wait for this one, but I just had writer's block and stopped writing. But I'm back and ready to finish this story, so I can say I finally wrote and finished something! So, I'm thinking about what else to write. Suggestions would be welcome (Mystic Lover of the fairytale I am still thinking about your suggestion).