Many thanks once again to all of you! In particular I have to thank my wonderful beta PaintingMusic14 for her insight and effort in making this chapter better than it previously was. Don't forget to vote on the poll, you can find it on my profile page :-)
Before:
Playing the part of a besotted fool was rather more difficult that Peter anticipated. With the enchantment broken and the Green Lady's intentions revealed as evil he found that her smiles seemed less genuine and the sweet, musical quality of her voice was sickening. By the time she had escorted him to the dining hall, smiling and talking softly all the while, Peter was thoroughly ashamed that he had ever thought her kind. He could see now the poison and bitterness that hid in her words and the sly deceit that coloured her smiles.
Knowing it had not been entirely his fault, that he had been enchanted, scarcely made him feel better. He had thought her beautiful and good from the first moment they met upon the moors, long before she would have had a chance to enchant him. He had disbelieved Edmund's suspicions even before her music had first called to him, and that was what he regretted most.
"It must have been very difficult for you, dear king, to kill your brother, traitor though he was." She put her arm through his as they walked together and she was far closer to him than was strictly necessary. It took all his self-control not to pull his arm free and confront her then and there. This is why I'm not a diplomat.
"He was a traitor, my Lady," Peter tried to make his voice as devoid of emotion and foolish as he could. "He would have tried to harm you."
She smiled. "If only the other Narnian rulers were as wise and loyal as you are. We must speak of my plans for Narnia later."
He reluctantly took the seat next to her at the small table set aside for them in the main hall. The other tables were crowded with giants, some of whom appeared half drunk already, and the noise of their laughter and conversations was thankfully loud enough to prevent the Lady conversing with him further.
Peter watched the doors, trying not to make it too obvious. He nearly smiled with relief when he at last saw Edmund slip into the hall and silently take his place in the shadows near the wall. A moment later everyone rose to their feet and turned towards the opposite end of the hall as a fanfare sounded.
The Giant king's face showed no grief at the recent demise of his Queen; quite the opposite in fact. He smiled broadly as he greeted the Lords who sat with him upon the dais and spoke loudly and jovially to the room at large.
"Greetings, dear friends! We have gathered, as is tradition, to celebrate another autumn, despite the grief we all must feel." He laughed, and the other giants laughed as well, shaking the room and making Peter want to cover his ears. They seemed to think it was a great joke that their Queen was dead. "These Narnian fools have done us a great service; the Queen was a fool, ever suing for peace with our enemies, and we are well rid of her! Moreover, her death shall serve as cause for war betwixt our land and that of Narnia. We shall fall upon these fools, slaughter their people and throw down their fortresses."
The giants cheered and raised their tankards; the Green Lady shifted her chair closer to Peter's and put a hand on his arm. "There is no need for concern, dear king, his majesty has most graciously agreed that you shall retain your throne, if you will but agree to make me your Queen." Peter forced a smile.
"You are both too kind, most gracious Lady." He sincerely hoped she would not expect him to say anything else regarding the matter.
The King waited for the clamor to die down and when it at last did so, he took his seat at the head of the great table and beckoned to a nearby guard. The guard listened intently for a moment as the King spoke, then bowed and hurried away. The King motioned imperiously to the Lady at Peter's side, silently commanding her to approach. She stood gracefully and took Peter's arm again, making it clear that he was to accompany her and giving him little choice in the matter. By the time they reached the dais the guard had returned and was depositing a furious Lucy on the table before the King.
"You have killed our Queen and plotted with your traitorous brother to overthrow the High King; what have you to say for yourself?"
Lucy drew herself up to her full height, which rather failed to be intimidating considering she was standing on a table and the giant King was sitting down and still towered over her, and gave the King such a look of disdain that Peter felt infinitely blessed to not be the one it was directed at. "I am loyal to the High King my brother, as is King Edmund whom you have falsely called a traitor. The only treachery to be found here is within your own heart, for it was you who invited us here under false pretense and have now falsely accused and attacked us. Such an act of aggression will not go unpunished." The King laughed heartily, but Lucy did not back away and her expression did not waver. Peter was terribly proud of her in that moment.
"Well spoken, little queen," said the King, wiping his eyes. "You would call the vengeance of Aslan upon us no doubt, and yet," here he paused to look about the room dramatically, "I see no Lion charging in to save you. I do not see your traitorous brother come back from the dead to protect you, and your brother the High King will kill you himself if my Lady commands him."
Lucy looked towards him then and Peter saw the terror she was hiding from the giants; her face was ashen and her eyes red from crying. He clenched his fists wanting desperately to smile reassuringly at her but did not dare risk it, not with the Green Lady so nearby. Then, to his utter shock, she smiled, joy flashing across her face for the briefest moment; somehow she had seen through his deception and realised the enchantment was broken.
"Then command him to do so," Lucy said, directing a very sweet smile up at the King. It was such a contrast to her earlier look of disdain that the King looked rather startled. "I am quite willing to put my life in his hands."
"Go on," the Green Lady whispered near Peter's ear. "She is a traitor. She would kill you if given the chance; strike first and protect your kingdom."
Peter stepped forward, trying to look dazed and believably angered by Lucy's supposed crimes, while at the same time scanning the shadows beneath the table for any sign of Edmund. Suddenly, halfway down the table a giant sprang to his feet with a cry of pain. "Something stuck me in the foot!" He stamped the offending foot and swayed somewhat drunkenly.
The giant next to him seemed to take exception to the loudness of his voice and promptly hit him over the head with his heavy silver plate. In no less than twenty seconds the whole table had begun brawling. In the confusion of stamping feet and drunken shouting giants Peter dashed forward and grabbed Lucy's hand, pulling her to relative safety under the table. Edmund joined them, grinning.
"That went rather well." He wiped the bloody dagger he had used to stab the first giant in the foot on his cloak, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "It's quite lucky giants are quarrelsome by nature."
Lucy threw her arms around his neck. "I knew you couldn't really be dead!" Peter saw Edmund grit his teeth in pain, but he returned his sister's hug warmly nonetheless.
"We need to leave now; those drunkards might be willing to brawl all night but I doubt the King is willing to let them." Peter peered cautiously around the table leg and was greeted by the rather amusing sight of the Green Lady hiding under her own table to prevent being crushed by the giant's feet. "Which way Ed? Back to the stables?"
Edmund nodded, handing Lucy his dagger. "We left three horses there earlier, not the Talking ones obviously, but they'll do well enough to get us away from the city."
The entire hall had erupted into chaos by this point with clusters of giants at various stages of intoxication punching each other and throwing plates, food and furniture. The King was on his feet, shouting, but no one seemed to be paying attention. In the confusion, everyone seemed to have forgotten about Lucy and Peter, with the possible exception of the Green Lady but she did not dare leave the shelter of her table for fear of being crushed. They made it to the door with very little trouble, other than it occasionally being necessary to dodge a flying chair.
Everything was going beautifully, therefore it was inevitable that their luck would run out at some point. They had nearly made it back to the stables when everything went terribly wrong. Peter felt a sudden, terrible pain in his head and stumbled nearly falling as his vision went black for a moment. Peter. The Green Lady's voice was deafeningly loud inside his mind.
"Peter?" Lucy was staring at him in concern and Edmund had caught his arm to keep him from falling. "What is it?"
Peter dear, come back here at once; your Lady has need of your aid. Her voice was sickeningly sweet and the pain in his head seemed to triple. He bit his lip to keep from screaming as his knees buckled.
"Peter! Whatever she's telling you to do you have to fight it. Focus on my voice." Edmund was kneeling beside him, his expression betraying his panic.
"I can't!" he ground out through gritted teeth. "Get out of here!"
Peter! Vaguely impatient and annoyed her voice sent a fresh wave of agony crashing through his skull.
"What is she saying?" Edmund demanded, shaking his shoulders harshly. "Tell me!"
"My…name. It hurts." He closed his eyes and pressed his hands against his temples, vainly trying to block out her voice.
"Names have power here, remember when she told us that?" Lucy's face was pale and horrified as she bent over him. "Do you think the cordial would help?"
"You have to leave!" Peter. He staggered to his feet, unable to resist the command in her voice. Come here. "Get out of here! Stay near the city and wait for Susan; I'll signal you if I can. Now GO!" Edmund shook his head, silently refusing and Peter turned desperately to Lucy. "Lu, please, both of you have to leave. Please!" The Lady's voice was growing louder, which probably meant nearer and Peter knew they had no time to argue. "Knock him out if you have to, just get out of here!"
Both of them stared at him for a long, terrible moment. Edmund shook his head defiantly, daring Peter to try arguing with his decision. Lucy looked uncertainly between her brothers, wavering on the brink between siding with Edmund or obeying Peter's orders. For a moment, her face grew strangely blank and she tilted her head as if listening, then she nodded sharply and struck Edmund across the back of the head with the hilt of her dagger. Peter barely had time to catch him as he collapsed, threatening to pull both of them down when the Green Lady's voice called his name again. He realised with a feeling of utter horror that this time it was not in his mind.
Together he and Lucy half dragged Edmund the last few yards to the stables and managed to maneuver him onto one of the already saddled horses. Peter hugged Lucy fiercely. "Don't let him come back for me without the army." He shuddered, the Green Lady's voice nearly drowning out all other thought; his head felt as it might split in two at any moment.
"Peter, Aslan spoke to me just now," said Lucy quickly. "He said you must not lose faith and that Edmund and I must leave you to find your own path." She sniffed, a tear slipping from the corner of one eye and turned away hurriedly. Peter watched her go as he sank to his knees; the Lady calling his name as she emerged from the castle, disheveled and furious. The little door closed behind Lucy and Edmund, and Peter breathed a sigh of relief before the witch grabbed his arm with a snarl of rage and the pain in his head overwhelmed all conscious thought.
Some Weeks Later:
"You hit him?" Susan felt her jaw drop at the idea of Lucy knocking Edmund unconscious.
Lucy flushed and looked at the ground. "Aslan and Peter both told me to get him out of the castle."
"It was still a rotten thing to do," Edmund growled, glaring at her, the memory renewing his old anger at her actions. "I never would have left him there if I'd had a choice and this whole mess could have been avoided."
"Or the Green Lady could have killed Peter! You don't know what might have happened if he had come with us; we don't know what kind of dreadful spell she cast on him for her saying his name to effect him like that!" Lucy glared at Edmund just as fiercely as he glared at her and Susan thought it best to distract both of them before they could begin quarreling in earnest.
"You said earlier that Peter had signaled you like he said he would; that means he is alright and in his right mind, doesn't it?" It seemed rather impossible given what she had just heard but Susan had to hope.
Edmund threw one last glare at Lucy before turning back to her and shrugging. "He seems to be, but there's really no way to be sure. I don't doubt that he's safe, at least as safe as you can be in the presence of a witch, but whether or not he's in his right mind is debatable. Signaling in code is always a bit dodgy and there's no way to know if he's merely doing what she tells him to." He kicked at the ground miserably. "I never would have left him."
"I know." Susan understood why Lucy had acted as she did but she knew how terrible waking up to find that Peter had been left behind must have been for Edmund. "And since then? Have you had any trouble with the giants?"
"They've been hunting us," Lucy stated grimly. "They killed a few of the Dogs before we learned to hide from them better and they've effectively scared away any game left in the mountains."
Susan looked from Lucy's grim, pale face to Edmund's haunted, thin one and found herself wanting to cry. If only they had stayed home; we would all be at home right now, around the fire, looking out at the first snowfall from warmth and safety. But it was no good wishing; they had to face the reality.
"We'll have to stay here tonight," Edmund said suddenly, looking over at Metelus who had fallen asleep near the fire. "Tomorrow we can join the army and start planning how to take the city." In a moment, he had changed from a frightened, half-starved boy to a king and Susan pushed her own fears aside as Edmund had. They were rulers and leaders, not merely frightened siblings, and only by leading could they have a chance of getting Peter back.
I'm honestly not sure who I feel more sorry for; Peter, Edmund, or Lucy. They all seem equally miserable right now. Once again, thank you all for reading...Please leave me a review if you are able, I would love to hear what you thought!
Cheers,
A