Moments in Time
Disclaimer: Copyright J.K. Rowling & C.S. Lewis
XIII: Moonlight
or
"The sun sees your body, the moon sees your soul."
It was intriguing how history sometimes tended to forget details. History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
History liked to remember the Kings and Queen of Narnia from the Golden Age as legends. It liked to remember King Edmund the Just, Duke of Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March and Knight of the Noble Order of the Table as a redeemed traitor shown by his bravery and honour. Aslan had given Edmund his first two titles, but the others were earned and gifted to him by the people of Narnia. He was the Sword of Narnia, second to only Peter himself; he was Silvertongue, the mischievous, dry-witted and rather sarcastic ruler. History painted Edmund's triumphs, but it rarely spoke of the struggle he went through for most of his first few years in Narnia, in his vain attempts to prove his worth.
Susan was remembered foremostly as the Queen Susan the Gentle or the Queen of the Horn. History only spoke of her as the fairest lady in all of Narnia and its neighbouring lands; but there was hardly ever a mention of Susan's logical (to the point of being stubborn), motherly and serious disposition. Lucy was the Valiant Queen, yet the history books barely spoke of her trials at battle. At first, it had baffled Peter even, when Aslan had named his youngest sister 'the Valiant' - for someone as sweet as Lucy couldn't be so fierce, surely. But as she grew older, Peter understood. There was a fire in Lucy that could never be extinguished. Lucy was always on the frontline of the battlefield, bravely choosing to fight beside her brothers whilst her older sister held a vigil at The Cair.
But these were all rather trivial in detail when one considered the weight of things. For, what history had completely failed to mention was what they all had left behind when they had left Narnia. He may be High King Peter the Magnificent, Emperor of the Lone Islands, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Table; but once he had been a husband and a father.
Of his siblings, he had lost the most when they had walked out of Narnia unknowingly. Whilst Lucy mourned the loss of her friends, the many creatures and subjects she had managed to befriend during their reign; Susan, her archers and Edmund, his trustworthy advisors - Peter had been the only one to form a family. And how it had hurt. How it still hurts. When they had reentered, he had prayed, hoped, to be able to see his child and wife once more. Alas, he had been thirteen hundred years too late. After the Second Battle of Beruna, he had hoped that he would be able to find out about his family. Had they escaped the invasion? Had they survived? Had they lived a long, happy life elsewhere? Perhaps there was something in the books that Professor Cornelius had managed to save, so he enlisted the help of Edmund and they had scoured every history books for days on end. In the end, Edmund had placed his hand on his shoulder and whispered: "I'm sorry,". Peter couldn't blame him, it was hardly his fault, after all, it had been his idea to chase the White Stag in the first place - "Me too," he had replied, as he walked away from his pain. Thus began his escapades.
He was sure that Edmund had something to do with the fact that Susan had never come to reprimand him for his behaviour but he hardly would have cared if she did. He had hoped that losing himself in throes of passion would make his forget but it was never enough. No one could replace his wife, and certainly not his child. He wondered if his baby had a chance to grow up, to be the beautiful woman he knew that she would have been - just like her mother. The hole in his heart seemed like a void until he had stumbled across Cassiopeia.
For the first time, he didn't think of his wife as he stared at her. He didn't remember the pain but felt hope. Perhaps Aslan was allowing him a chance to be wholly happy again. That wasn't too much to ask for, right? And he had been so selfishly wrapped up in his own happiness that he had completely blanked out on his siblings.
Since when did Edmund start cavorting with barmaids around the castle in the middle of a state lunch? How had he been so completely unaware that his little brother was completely besotted? He knew that this one was different. Peter had witnessed Edmund and Mina, he had known, as he watched his brother lust over the Calormen Princess that it would never go anywhere. As a High King, he should not have let their relationship go as far as it did, with the knowledge that she was a poor match for his brother, but he couldn't bear to take it away from Edmund. He was a grown man, after all, he could make his own mistakes and learn from them. What Peter hadn't expected, however, was to see Edmund gallivanting around with a simple girl. He knew that his brother was not a saint; Edmund may be better at keeping his escapades a secret, but servants talked, and eventually the news did spread. But Peter had always expected Edmund to be the one in the family to marry for convenience. Edmund was different to the rest of them. His emotions ranged from white-hot anger to a softness that was only reserved for family.
But he had seen the way that Edmund had looked at Hermione Granger as she walked down the staircase of the Feasting Room with Lucy. It was an expression that was so similar to what Caspian wore when Susan was in the same room and that was when Peter realised how deep in his brother was, whether he realised it or not.
Peter Pevensie stood facing the window in his solar, pondering. Last time in Narnia, he had found the love of his life. This time, he was sure that Edmund had found his - even if the boy didn't realise it yet. He finally saw why Susan had been walking around the castle looking like a toy that had been wound too tight. She had reacted the same way before he had married, after all - and everything had worked out in the end. Susan had accepted Lillian into the family and she had been the most doting aunt to Evelyn. Peter could sense that history would repeat itself once more. Though, he sent a prayer to Aslan - wishing that his brother would never have to feel the pain of losing his family before they had a chance to really live a life together.
The room was filled with so much tension that it was extremely uncomfortable. It didn't help at all that his siblings were in the room with him and were completely silent. Glenstorm and Trumpkin stood to the far side of the room and he was sure that Reep was hanging up on the beams somewhere above them - they were practically a part of the family. Usually, when the room was full like this, it was boisterous and practically impossible to hear one another over the laughter and chatter. Today, however, each one of them either didn't want to talk to the other or felt like they had nothing to say. Never before had Peter been put in such a difficult situation with all three of his siblings, well two really, because Lucy was the only one who seemed to be behaving as of late.
He took a deep breath and briefly pinched the bridge of his nose to gather his strength before he turned around to face the music. Edmund, the cretin, was casually stood near to the door, and he looked like he had no care in the world and didn't even consider himself as the root of the current problem. No, in fact, Edmund just looked as though he was here for a light, casual conversation with the way his left foot was resting against the wall and his arms crossed. The only thing that gave away his defensiveness was the squared shoulders, straight spine and the absolute determination to avoid all eyes that were trained on him.
The monarchs and people of both Calormen and Archenland had decided to leave early; seeing as their meal had been disrupted. Peter wasn't sure where the Caloremen girl, Hermione, had gone but he had seen Edmund speaking quietly to his guard, Dagger, prior to Peter's announcement for a family meeting. Peter had long since lost count of the number of years he'd lived, but he was sure that after all this time, Edmund could read him like an open book. There was not much that Peter could hide from Edmund and Peter was sure that Edmund could predict his next move as easily as he did during a chess game. Peter's eyes flew over to the fireplace to share a glance with Caspian; the man looked as exasperated as Peter felt.
They had come a long way, Caspian and him; not that things were so bad to start off with - but Caspian's hero worship had been slowly fading over the past few years and he was really coming into his kingship. Peter felt almost proud of the way Caspian now held himself. He was no longer the anxious boy declining his rightful place on the throne, showing preference to the Kings and Queens of Old; but rather, a strong, decisive, dependable leader and a brother in arms. A man Peter was proud to be able to call his brother-in-law soon.
For once, he thought, could things not go smoothly around here?
Susan and Lucy sat together on the sofa; Lucy perhaps the more relaxed of the two, and maybe of all of them as she was the only one who seemed hardly affected. If Peter knew better, which he did, he would say that his youngest sister was finding this situation all too amusing, as always, her playful eyes were lit with merriment. Susan, however, was at the complete opposite end of that spectrum. Peter fought the urge to groan. Anger and stress were rolling off Susan in waves.
Peter cleared his throat awkwardly, how should he even approach the subject? He never had this problem the last time they were in Narnia. During the Golden Age, Edmund had been all too focussed on proving himself and being the best monarch of the four that Peter never had to reprimand him - at least not over such trivial matters as this. But now it seemed as though, without the need to validate his regency, Edmund was enjoying being a young man in his prime. Peter could hardly blame his brother, anything he said against Edmund would be hypocritical and he was sure that everyone in the room knew it, even Lucy. What Peter had never expected, however, was to deal with an insurgent Edmund. His brother took his duties very seriously, so Peter had been shocked, to say the least, when the boy had practically run after the girl in the middle of a state lunch.
Blinking his thoughts away, Peter looked around the room clearly and realised that they were all waiting expectantly for him to speak.
"W-well," Peter stuttered, scratching the back of his neck as he squared his eyes on his brother.
Unperturbed, Edmund stared back with unblinking eyes. It wasn't often that Peter found himself staring into Edmund's cool gaze these days - they really had worked hard at overcoming whatever discord they had as children. So when he was forced into a situation where Edmund was pitted against him, outside the training grounds; Peter felt pity for all those noblemen Edmund had stared down with those exact cold, calculating eyes. In that moment, Peter appreciated how intimidating his brother was, and he knew, in the back of his mind, that Edmund wasn't even aware of how he was exuding his presence. It was a kind of reflexive, defensive stance that Edmund often fell back on when he was forced into a corner unwillingly and was willing to do anything and everything to remove himself from between the rock and hard place. This was one of Edmund's finest qualities that Peter respected when they stood on the same side of the battlefield, but in this moment, it seemed as though Edmund felt that they were all against him.
"Ed," Peter tried again, "do you want to explain yourself?" Peter asked, treading with caution.
Now the High King was no wimp in comparison to his younger brother, in fact, when drawn to his full height and passion, Peter could be equally, if not more, threatening - but the High King also knew when to pick his battles. Peter had learnt at a very young age that one should not rattle Edmund's cage when he felt cornered as the consequences were rarely a pretty sight.
Unfortunately, it seemed as though it was one of those days where Edmund was willing to push all their buttons until one of them snapped - as Edmund responded to his question with a noncommittal shrug. Peter bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from playing right into Edmund's hands. However, today, it seemed as though it wasn't his turn to pick a fight with Edmund as Susan seemed quite prepared to do it for him.
"You have nothing to say?" She asked in a cold, slow voice.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Caspian flinch at the tone. Clearly, the Telmarine King had been at the receiving end of that tone before and knew what followed. Lucy, bless her soul, was quickly becoming to realise the position she had put herself in when she had chosen to take a seat next to Susan, as she was now, stuck in the middle of their battle.
Peter's eyes fluttered as Edmund remained adamantly silent.
"Do you have any idea how much embarrassment you have caused?" A shrill shriek escaped her lips.
Peter flinched more visibly this time as he instinctively stepped back - only to find that he had nowhere else to go as his back pressed against the wall-sized window. Lucy shrunk into the sofa, with a hand over her face - as though she was hoping that it would miraculously make the situation go away. If only.
One of the most unnerving things about Edmund was the way he would calmly stare back at you with an impassive face. Any other person, when forced into a situation such as this would have looked at their feet, or at the very least, anywhere but at the person who was screaming at you; but not Edmund. The only indication that Peter had that suggested that Edmund was present at the situation was the way his silvery-blue eyes darkened to a stormy-grey with every word that slipped out of Susan's mouth. That in itself was enough to tell Peter that this was going to end in tears, and Edmund would not be the one crying.
"-and of all the things that you could have done to discredit us you ran out of a state luncheon after that harlot! Have you no sense-"
Peter had been too fixated with the new octave that Susan's shrilly voice had taken that he completely missed Edmund's move towards their sister. Suddenly, the black-haired boy was right in front of Susan, with his hand gripping her arm in an unpleasant grip. Lucy let out a startled gasp as she opened her eyes to the scene.
"Don't call her that," Edmund hissed through his teeth, sounding every inch the infamous Sword of Narnia.
Peter started moving towards them, as did Caspian. To the side somewhere, he heard Trumpkin choke on his own spit; and he was sure that if it was not considered treason, he would have heard Glenstorm unsheathing his sword. My, what a turn this conversation had taken. He had completely misjudged the situation - things now bordered on turning extremely sour and as afraid as Peter was to admit it - dangerous.
Susan looked momentarily astonished by Edmund's actions and words before her ire slipped in.
"Touched a nerve, have I?" Susan sneered, though the hurt was vividly evident in her eyes.
Edmund either did not notice - which Peter highly doubted - or did not care - which scared Peter beyond all rational thought. For an indifferent Edmund, meant an extremely unpredictable situation.
"Susan, shut up," Peter growled as he stepped in between his siblings.
Giving his brother a sharp look, Peter removed Susan's hand from Edmund's grip. The High King grimaced at the obvious, angry-looking handprint on Susan's arm. Passing his sister off to Caspian, Peter gazed at Edmund trying to understand where he was coming from. But Edmund seemed keen to play the bull in the china shop today; he had absolutely no sense of control over the damage he could inflict not did it seem like he wanted to seize anew the reins on his anger. For the first time that night, Peter felt his anger build.
"She's not from Calormen," Lucy spoke, cutting into the tense atmosphere with her timid voice.
Peter turned to look at his youngest sister with confusion, as did everyone else in the room; but apparently, this was no news to Edmund - what a surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Peter questioned, feeling completely out of the loop.
"She's from London, like us," Lucy cleared up.
Peter turned to Edmund sharply, frowning deeply at the boy. Why had Edmund kept that a secret?
"Why are you telling us this now?" Caspian asked from behind, sounding justly annoyed. Glenstorm seemed to snort in the background, as though agreeing.
"It was not of national importance," Edmund snapped.
This time, Peter was sure that it was Trumpkin who made a noise of concord. Really, if a stranger sat in this room with them now, it wouldn't be too hard to tell where the dwarf and centaur held their alliance. In fact, the only one who could be considered impartial was Reepicheep and that was probably only because you heard the mouse when he wanted you to. But even Peter was not blind to the fact that the mouse held a stronger alliance with Edmund as part of his Secret Service and Lucy - then again, when it came down to it, everyone would choose Lucy.
"Edmund," Peter ground through his teeth, bringing himself back to the matter at hand, "if a girl who claims to be an ex-Caloremen slave and instead turns out to be a world traveller; I think we needed to know."
Edmund frowned and Peter knew that his brother knew that he had been wrong to keep this information to himself, but was also too stubborn to admit it right now.
"How long have you known?" Susan inquired quietly, as she rubbed on her sore arm.
"Since the day you found her in Ed's room."
"You've known for that long?" she exclaimed.
"He would have told you too if you didn't jump down his throat about her every time you spoke to him," replied Lucy.
"Since when did this family keep secrets from each other?"
"It was hardly our secret to tell, Su. If anything, we were hoping that once she felt comfortable, she would tell everyone herself."
"That's beside the point, we are all Kings and Queens of this country! It won't work if we start keeping things from each other! We're a family for Aslan's sake!"
"Susie, you can't be hypocritical, you don't tell them everything either," Caspian interjected, looking rather uncomfortable.
That was one thing that you could always expect from Caspian. Peter wasn't sure if it was due to his upbringing or the harsh wake-up call the man had had a few years ago regarding his family, but he always spoke the truth. Even if it put him in hot water.
"What is he talking about?" Edmund asked, and for the first time that night he didn't look as though he wanted to tear anyone apart at the limbs.
Peter was slightly pleased to see, through his building headache, that Edmund's anger was simmering down and he looked a touch regretful for his actions. That was a start.
"It's not fair that you're keeping this from them. They're going to know soon," Caspian pressed, with a wince.
"Susan? Is something wrong? Are you ill?" Lucy held her sister's hand in hers with tenderness in her gaze.
Susan peeked through the curtain of her hair meekly, whilst simultaneously giving Caspian a cold glare. Trumpkin and Glenstorm moved closer to them, out of concern and curiosity. Peter could now see where Reep had decided to settle as he made himself visible on the beams.
"Susan?" Peter demanded worry enlaced in his tone.
"I'm pregnant." Her whisper echoed through the room.
"WHAT?" Peter and Edmund exclaimed; one out of anger and the latter out of disbelief.
"Why didn't you tell me?" came Lucy's hurt tone.
Peter's head spun; it was as though a dam had broken open and all the secrets that his siblings had been keeping from him came out at once.
"And you were calling Hermione a harlot?"
"EDMUND!" Lucy scolded, momentarily letting go of her betrayed emotions.
"Do you have a bombshell to drop on me too, Lucy?" Peter asked faintly.
"What did I strike a nerve?" Edmund asked the stricken Susan, moving away from Peter's shock. "How dare you be so hypocritical when all Hermione's been doing is helping me solve the bloody murder mystery and embezzlement we have going on in this castle that everyone else has conveniently forgotten about."
"What are you speaking about Edmund?" Caspian asked, his tone revealing his irateness.
If there was one person who was more protective of Susan than Peter and Edmund, it would be Caspian.
"It means that while the rest of you have been gallivanting around the castle having a shag, Hermione and I cracked the code! And you have the bloody nerve to stand there accusing me of being up to no good!"
Everyone in the room apart from Lucy blushed at the accusation. In parts, they felt guilt and indignation at Edmund's barbed words.
"You've cracked it?" Lucy asked, being the only one left with enough dignity to speak.
"Yes," Edmund sighed roughly, running a hand through his hair. "It's Peter Kader."
"He's the murderer?" Peter asked as Susan and Lucy gasped at the revelation. Trumpkin muttered something to Glenstorm, but Peter couldn't find the strength to eavesdrop.
"We don't know for sure yet, but we have quite a few clues that are stacking up against him."
"He left the banquet earlier," Lucy said with dawning realisation. She had seen the Captain leave but she had paid much more attention to the abrupt departure of her brother and Hermione.
"That's why we left," Edmund added, falling back onto the couch, "Hermione noticed him receiving a note and he seemed in a bit of a hurry. Only, I didn't expect for her to get up and follow him-"
"-which is why you followed her-" Edmund glowered at Lucy for interrupting his tale, but acquiesced that she had it correct.
"Hermione managed to keep quite close behind him, and he got a bit careless when he dropped the note that he received."
Peter frowned, as did Glenstorm, that didn't sound like the ever careful Captain.
"Do you know what he's planning?" Caspian asked.
Susan, who was still in his arms, looked rather shell-shocked at all that Edmund was revealing.
"He's meeting someone in the Eastern Village this evening, we don't know who he's meeting but we were planning to follow him."
"But what were you doing in the alcove?" Peter asked curiously, as he had been pretty convinced that his brother had been cavorting with Hermione.
Edmund pinked, "Hermione noticed Kader heading back, so she dropped the note on the ground again, as she gathered that he realised it was missing. We hid in the alcove, except he must have seen something because he headed in our direction - so we had to think quick-" Edmund's cheeks burned with embarrassment.
Peter and Lucy smirked widely at their brother. Glenstorm made a noise that sounded an awful lot like laughter whilst Trumpkin didn't bother to hide his guffaws. Edmund sent the dwarf a betrayed look.
"I need to leave," Edmund announced, feeling extremely uncomfortable, "Hermione and I need to leave early to avoid crossing paths with the man."
"You're taking her with you?" Lucy questioned, with a cocked eyebrow, though she no longer looked teasing. "Edmund, she's a civilian."
"You try telling her that!" Edmund retorted with equal exasperation.
"Take a group of soldiers with you," Peter suggested.
"No, that would draw too much attention to us," Edmund argued, "it would be better to travel smaller."
"Then I'm coming with you," Lucy announced.
"And I," Reepicheep squeaked, as he landed on the ground from an impressive jump off the beams.
Edmund, for a moment, looked like he was going to argue before he registered the suggestion completely.
"That's not entirely a bad idea," he agreed.
Lucy and Reepicheep beamed at him.
"Brilliant!" She tugged his arm and started to pull him out of the door.
Edmund turned back to look at Susan, his sister looked despondent, and her mouth was half-open as though she was about to say something, but Peter cut in before she could.
"Well, that was one thing, but - WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING WITH MY SISTER, CASPIAN?"
Edmund and Lucy didn't bother sparing a backwards glance and all but ran out of the room with Reep hot on their heels. They heard Trumpkin groan as the door closed behind them, cutting off the dwarf's escape.
Hermione sat in front of the dresser in Lucy's bedroom, gazing at herself in the mirror, though not seeing. Wallowing in guilt was nothing new for her these days, but this one really hit home.
Ron.
What was she doing? What had she been thinking when she ran her hands all over Edmund? And as her heart thumped louder and faster at the mere thought of it, it still felt like the utmost betrayal on her part. If Ron knew - if he could see her at this moment - she knew, she knew, that he would hate her. It would be like his reaction in the tent when he abandoned her and Harry, but so much worse this time because she had betrayed his trust. She felt foolish, she felt dirty. In some ways, she wanted to justify it, Ron was not here with her anymore - the future, the idea that she had dreamt of her and Ron building a family, being a Weasley, was no longer a reality. But at the same time, she had spent the better part of her teenage years pining for the infuriating, yet brilliantly, on occasion, hilarious boy. It was hard to let all those feelings go - especially when they hadn't been given a chance to explore what could have been.
"Are you alright, girl?" Dagger growled from beside her.
Hermione jumped in her seat, wiping her misty eyes with the back of her hand.
"Yes - sorry -" she stood up from the chair and reached for the clothes she had been wearing earlier, "I should get changed".
She paused awkwardly, looking at the wolf. It was a sentient being, it was one thing to get changed with Hedwig in the room, but a whole other when you knew that the animal could speak its thoughts.
"Through there," Dagger guided with a jerk of his nose.
Hermione followed through to the door that led into the ensuite bathroom, drawing the curtains closed, she settled herself in. With a flick of her wand, the ribbons of the dress and corset unlaced at the back and she slipped out of it with ease. She put back on her boots, trousers, tunic and robes. Now having the time to adjust her clothes, she cast a few alteration spells to tighten her clothing so that the material was less loose on her and certainly more comfortable. The itchiness of the clothes here in Narnia made her feel like she was wearing her grandmother's clothes. Wearing Lucy's dress had been a dream in its silky smoothness. She transfigured the itchy cotton material into a smoother silk and sighed at the way it felt against her skin. She took another look in the mirror and felt more like herself than she had in ages.
"You're here to protect the Kings and Queens," she whispered to her reflection.
She couldn't afford to lose focus. What happened in the alcove with Edmund had been an accident and it would not happen again, it couldn't happen again. She would just be setting herself up for another heartbreak anyway. She had no chance with a King, she was hardly pretty enough, nor had the title or dowry to go with her name. The positively medieval thought made her want to shudder with discontent, but she had to acknowledge that she was no longer on Earth. It was in a country that was run by five monarchs. A country, that had not yet discovered gun powder and relied heavily on swords and arrows to defend its walls. She knew that she was completely in out of her depth but she would do her best to fit in and keep her head low. It was better this way. She may be forced to live here but she definitely did not belong here. She was a witch and she would never be accepted; especially not by a man who terrible memories of the White Witch. And if his past encounter with Jadis had been anything like hers with Bellatrix, then there really was not much else to say other than that she understood. With a brush against her scarred arm and a decisive nod, she flicked her braided hair behind her back and stepped out.
Dagger looked at her with surprise, and Hermione realised that perhaps she had been too quick, or perhaps the Wolf could sense her use of magic. Could he? Could he see under her robe? Could he tell that she was no longer wearing the rough material she had taken inside, but a transfigured version of it? Could he smell the magic on her? Was that possible? Her heart pounded.
Eager to distract the observant wolf, Hermione spoke to him, "Will you come with me to the kitchens?"
"Hungry?"
"Not really," Hermione answered truthfully, "but it would probably be best to take some provisions with us on the journey. Just in case."
As ever, the planning instinct kicked in.
"You've put some thought into this," Dagger observed.
"No, it's just habit. Be prepared for the worst."
"Certainly a good motto to live by," he replied gruffly, eyeing her with interest.
"It definitely saved a few lives here and there," Hermione agreed, thinking back to the time when Ron had splinted himself and the dittany she had packed.
"I suppose not all of those who you were acquainted with agreed with it?"
"I wouldn't say didn't agree with it, but they for sure were thankful for my foresight during some sticky situations. That isn't to say that I wasn't surrounded by some brilliant people. Harry was a brilliant duellist, taught me a lot of what I know in terms of defence and Ron was a true strategist, came up with some brilliant plans - much to mine and Harry's shock."
"You were close with your comrades?"
"As thick as thieves I guess you could say," Hermione smirked. "A pack of Marauders. Rocco!" Hermione greeted the cook as they strolled into the kitchens.
"Miss Granger! What a pleasant surprise!" The Hare replied with genuine affection. "Here for a more palatable meal?"
Hermione huffed a laugh, "No, no. Not today; though I do need some provisions for a journey."
Rocco glanced in Dagger's direction and hesitated. After all, Hermione was neither a Lady nor a servant of Aslan. To be giving her free food from the palace kitchens could place him in deep waters, especially with all the gossip about an embezzlement that's been circulating the rumour mill at the castle.
"She's here on the King's orders. Give her as much as she needs," Dagger growled, though not unkindly.
With a wide grin, Rocco snapped into motion, "Right away!"
By the time that Peter was through with Caspian and Susan, he found himself with a pounding headache. The role of High King and eldest brother could really be tiring sometimes. And his brotherly duties would never be over until the day he laid down to rest for eternity; on most days that thought was a balm for his hurting soul; knowing that he would always be needed. But today, he found himself cursing his mother for giving him two of the most stubborn, mule-headed siblings. Honestly, at times like this Peter considered Lucy an angel.
"Ed! Just hold on for a minute there!" Peter called out as Edmund talked to the stable boys about preparing two steeds for immediate departure.
Edmund clicked a tense tendon in his neck.
"Quickly Peter, I'm busy," Edmund replied, as he rifled through some weaponry on the table.
"I talked to Susan."
Edmund placed the light sword back down onto the table, his attention fully on his older brother now. He waited patiently, waiting for his brother to reprimand him or the very least to delve into a rant about Caspian's wondering hands. But the question that eventually slipped out of Peter's mouth caught him completely off guard.
"Is she worth it?"
Edmund blinked.
"Who Susan?" he asked, with owlish eyes.
"Is the girl, Hermione, is she worth it? Worth fighting with Susan over?" Peter rephrased.
"What difference would that make?" Edmund muttered, his eyebrows furrowed together.
"Oh everything, Ed, you can't choose who you fall in love with."
Edmund spluttered.
"Love? I think you're getting ahead of yourself there, Pete," he mocked.
"Are you saying that to convince me or yourself?" Peter asked, with a raised eyebrow.
Edmund stared at him dumbfounded for a moment.
"Of course, I'm not in love with her! I barely know her! I'm just being courteous and polite, I can't be blamed for Susan's pettiness."
"You really think that Susan would get so wound up about a simple girl, Ed? Do you not remember what happened-" Peter's voice broke, "-with Lillian?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that Susan can see what the rest of us can, Edmund, you're changing ... you have changed."
"Me being polite to someone is really that shocking to you all? I'm not that much of an unapproachable grouch."
"You being polite to a lady is perhaps not all that shocking. But you fighting violently with Susan to the point of bruising her is."
"I didn't mean to."
"Yet, you did. I don't think that you were even aware of yourself as you did, were you?"
Edmund stared at Peter, his lips set together in a firm, thin line. He had no answer, as they both knew what his answer would be.
"We're done with this conversation," Edmund announced, as he turned away and picked up a small knife from the table.
"But you haven't answered my question, Ed. Tell me so that I can make Susan back off; it certainly won't do her any good to be so stressed out for the next several months anyhow. Is Hermione worth it?"
Edmund didn't bother turning around, but Peter watched as his younger brother tensed his shoulder and stood just a slight bit taller. He didn't need to hear Edmund's quiet confession that came a second later, he already knew the answer. His young brother was infatuated with the girl and that meant that Peter Pevensie, older brother of Edmund Pevensie had some investigations to do. Boy, did his headache grow in intensity.
Edmund walked away from him and towards the girl of the moment, who had just walked into the stables with Dagger, and a bulging bag. Peter knew he had to have a chat with her when they returned and preferably without Edmund's knowledge as he was sure that Ed would skin him alive if he found out.
Yes, now was not the time. There were more important things to take care of.
"Miss Granger," Peter greeted, as he walked over.
"High King Peter," she replied with a respectable bow of her head.
"I believe I've asked you to call me Peter before and I have you to thank, I find, for the recent discoveries that were made," Peter stated as he took her hand and brought it up to his mouth for a kiss.
Hmm, she didn't blush, but she did spare a glance in Edmund's direction. That was a telling sign.
"Why I'm surprised that you didn't take all the credit for yourself, Edmund," she replied candidly as she gazed at his brother with a smirk.
Peter observed their interactions as Edmund didn't rise to the bait as he perhaps usually would and instead rolled his eyes at her.
"What's in that bag?" He asked instead.
"The lass was considerate of your insatiable stomach, Sire," Dagger answered, grinning wide enough to show off all of his fearsomely sharp teeth.
"What makes you think that this food is for him?" Hermione interjected.
"They aren't?" asked Peter.
"No! Well, yes, but only as an emergency supply," she said.
"The girl also has medical supplies in there."
"Very thoughtful," Peter said, wondering if she knew about Lucy's cordial. Obviously not, if she was going to all this trouble.
"Alright, alright. We need to get going ... and just where is Lucy anyway?" Edmund questioned.
"Right here," Lucy replied from behind them, making them all jump.
And just in time as well, as the stable boy brought out the horses. Lucy was finishing tying up the clasp of her black cloak, similar to the one that Edmund had decided to wear himself. As Lucy offered one to Hermione, the girl refused, insisting that she was warm and comfortable enough in the weird black robe thing that she was wearing. Peter wondered where on earth she had managed to find such a garment. It was most unusual. He had never seen anything like it in Narnia, at least. But he couldn't help but feel a stereotypical déjà vu over the article of clothing, almost as though he had seen it somewhere before, perhaps in a book or something.
"You're riding with me," Edmund told Hermione as Peter helped Lucy onto her steed.
"Good, because I've never ridden one before," Hermione replied, "but I imagine it to be more comfortable and less frightening than riding a hippogriff or a dragon," she muttered.
"And where in Narnia did you find a hippogriff?" Peter asked disbelievingly, not having heard what she had said after that.
Edmund also frowned. Hippogriffs had not been seen in Narnia since the Golden Ages. Whether the beautiful, regal creatures had gone extinct over the years, or simply fled like many of the Narnians during the Telmarine reign, Peter did not know. But, what he would give to see one of them again. They were highly intelligent beings, for one, but having experienced riding one, Peter couldn't think of anything that could compare - and he was sure Edmund felt the same way.
"A hippogriff? What's that?" Hermione feigned ignorance.
Peter glanced at Edmund whose frown had only deepened. Peter mirrored his expression. He could have sworn that was what she had said, clearly Edmund did too.
"Oh, the most beautiful creature to grace the Narnian sky," Lucy gushed, from atop her horse, "I wish you had met one Hermione, they were truly majestic."
The look on Hermione's face was one of good-naturedness. As though she was humouring them for some reason. But Peter couldn't figure out why. There was no way that Hermione could have seen a hippogriff in Narnia during her short stay there. Yes, Narnia was a rather large country, but the skies were clear and the trees were sentient. Word travelled fast in Narnia, the report of a hippogriff returning to Narnian soil would have been the talk of all Narnians ... and it was completely impossible for Hermione to have even heard of such a creature in London; so why?
Edmund cut off Peter's confused and suspicious thoughts as he straddled his horse and held out a hand to Hermione. Peter watched with a knowing expression as Hermione settled in behind Edmund, her grasp on him light for the moment, but Peter had a suspicious feeling that it would be a lot tighter the minute they started moving. Edmund briefly caught his eye, but upon seeing Peter's look, he immediately averted his eyes. Edmund's sharp tug on the reigns had Peter scrambling out of the way of hooves. Peter fought the urge to roll his eyes, Edmund would come to realise on his own. He had meddled enough for the time being.
"Ready?" Peter asked an extremely nervous looking Lucy.
She clearly was worried about the outcome this little trip could bring.
"Yeah ... sure ... what could possibly go wrong?" she asked rhetorically.
Peter didn't want to tempt fate anymore, so he responded by giving the horse a sharp tap and as she guided her quickly galloping horse.
Aslan bless their journey.
A.N./ Well, this chapter took its own path! I was hoping to write about Harry and Ron this chapter, but Peter's thoughts took the reins on this one and so I decided that Harry and Ron can wait. I realise that the first part is pretty heavy in monologue, but I'm trying to make my characters as 3D as possible. One thing that quite a few of you picked up on what that Peter was a bit of a playboy, and I think one of you called him a 'sleaze' which is entirely different to the Peter from the books and movies. I've always had a backstory for Peter, and I hope that this touched the surface of his inner thoughts and explained his behaviour and character to you all. This is the same with quite a few of my OCs, I just haven't revealed them to you yet, so I hope that you hold on and believe in the characters I am writing about as there is more to them than meets the eye and not everything is as it seems. There may be some snakes among the lions and some werewolves who are entirely misunderstood but that's what I call ... plot twist(s). It's going to be a long and bumpy ride ladies and gents, I hope that you are strapped in.
Once again, I know that this chapter may need a bit of tweaking, but I've tried my best to proofread at this time I've corrected as much as I could. But like with all of my chapters, I'm pretty sure that when you come back to read it all again, there will be some differences - only to improve the story of course. I actually had most of this chapter written at the same time as Chapter 12, but I wasn't at all happy. Harry and Ron's adventure was completely taken out to make room for Peter and Hermione. I could have left it in and given you all an extremely long chapter, but their comedy didn't fit in with the mood of this particular chapter so I made an executive decision to move that scene onto Chapter 14.
Oh, and if you are interested in reading an EdmundxOC fanfic, I came across one yesterday and it was a brilliant read! It's called In the Name of the Crown and you can find a link to it on my profile under Favourite Stories!
Thanks again to the amazing people who keep on giving with the reviews, once again: Royal Lemur, runrigrocks, lottiemoreland13, dreamcatcherinthemoonlight, IsobelFrances, AliceinWonderland13, OOANDISAOO, craaazyaboutMalfoy, Victoria, twztdwildcat and LackingDelirium. And erm, 100+ follows and favourites? Like, what? Thank you so, so much to all of you for giving this story a shot! See you next time x