Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: There's danger in the north. Giants hunt for Narnia's Kings and General. Who will survive when hope is eclipsed?

A/N: If you have not read the first nine stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakened, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, Rekindled, Refracted, Reflected, Veiled, and Unveiled), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.

Chapter Twenty-One: Brothers

Susan paced the length of the war room, her velvet skirts of the richest plum swirling with every turn. Captain Ardon was still the only other person aside from Leeta who knew what had happened. Every time the council asked after the other Royals, she wanted to tell them why they were gone even with the Calormene ship due to arrive two scant days. But she could not. She was the Queen. She would find a way to smooth any ruffled feathers among the Calormene delegation no matter how much charm she would have to pour out. Her brothers and sister, her people were counting on her to do so should the worst happen.

Still, her stomach twisted into knots as she thought of her brothers in the hands of Giants for over a week. Over a fortnight if they had not been rescued by now. The vibrant mahogany table in the center of the war room was covered in maps with all possible trails into Ettinsmoor marked out. Captain Ardon had finally conceded to her pleas and posted sentries along the main road to Cair Paravel. As soon as they drew within sight, she should hear of it.

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"How fares the General, Dame Sepphora?"

Alambiel opened her eyes to meet the kind if still serious gaze of the Centaur Captain. She glanced at Oreius' still form then offered a tiny smile she did not feel. "He endures, Captain Marius."

She didn't know him as well as she knew some of the other captains in the army. Marius was one of those Centaurs who didn't approve of her methods or of the fact that Oreius tolerated her antics so much but Oreius spoke highly of him (mainly because Marius hadn't been stupid enough to ever insult her even when he admitted that he did not approve). And if she recalled correctly, he wasn't always comfortable with her being Oreius' wife (again he was smart enough to never say so but she knew how to read a Centaur's body language). Nevertheless, knowing those things, she was not comfortable enough to either drop his title or to confide in him anything less than a positive outlook. The travel had been hard on Oreius and she feared some of the ruts early on had broken some of the ribs that had hitherto only been cracked.

The Centaur nodded then ran his hand over his flowing blond beard. "We should reach Cair Paravel soon."

Alambiel looked up at the sky just as it began to snow. Thick flakes falling in lazy spirals. She glanced at the Centaur. "What time, Captain?"

Marius flicked his tail, looking a bit irritated that the snow had finally caught them. "After dark, perhaps after midnight with the weather turned against us."

She dipped her head slightly. "Thank you for the information. Have you apprised Queen Lucy and Princess Thalia?"

"Not yet, Dame Sepphora. But I will do so now."

As the Centaur galloped to the wagon ahead, Alambiel unfolded another blanket and covered Oreius, wishing he would move or twitch or anything. She tangled her fingers in his hair then murmured, "Wake up soon, Kentauri. Your soldiers are beginning to annoy me with their pitying looks. I'll have to start throwing pudding at them or something."

Pogs, the Red Dwarf driving the wagon, chortled around the stem of his pipe but wisely didn't otherwise indicate that he was listening to her conversation. Alambiel was courteous and didn't throw anything at him. She was too tired to drive the wagon anyway.

Night fell and the snow built up strength until it became a true snowstorm. Alambiel tucked herself against Oreius' uninjured side and pulled the rest of the blankets over them both. His faint breaths tickling her cheek were the only sign that he still lived.

The wagon ride seemed to drag on for eternity but finally she felt it rumble to a stop. Shoving the snow-laden blankets aside, she was pleased to see that not only were they now in Cair Paravel's courtyard but the storm was so intense that hardly anyone was around to see them arrive. Stiff with cold and not as clearheaded as she would have liked for lack of sleep, Alambiel still mumbled the instruction, "Take them all to their quarters."

Three, no, four shapes appeared out of the swirling snow. One darted to the wagon where Peter and Edmund were being helped down (they had recovered just enough to walk short, very short distances without too much aid). The shortest of the shapes followed and Alambiel recognized Tuulea. Then she turned to the other two, Leeta and Ardon, as they approached her. Ardon's gaze settled on Oreius then he glanced at her. "We should get him out of sight."

She nodded. "He would prefer it. Did we get in a skirmish with Calormen yet?"

"No, My Lady," Leeta answered as she slipped a supporting arm around her. "Their ship has been caught in a storm. It will delay them a little longer. Come, you need rest and food, My Lady."

"Yes, Child, you do," Tuulea chimed in as she bustled over. "I have sent the Kings to their own chambers. Alithia and Tanith are waiting for them and will bind their wounds." Her chatter slowed a moment as she looked under the blankets at Oreius then she briskly ordered, "Take him to the healers' wing at once."

Alambiel raised her head as alarm coursed through her. "No, Tuulea, you mustn't. Please." She pulled away from Leeta and moved between Tuulea and the litter. "Please, Tuulea. He will recuperate better in his own quarters. You know he's worse than the Kings combined when it comes to resting in the healers' wing, especially if it's going to be for more than a day or two."

As soon as Tuulea frowned, she knew the Black Elder Nymph would not give in easily. Alambiel glanced over her shoulder at the soldiers waiting for their orders to be clarified and then grabbed Tuulea's arm, pulling her away from the wagon and litter. She didn't stop until the only one nearby was Ardon (and he wouldn't bear any tales about what she said) then whispered, "I am aware of how bad it is, Tuulea. The travel hurt him and if it were anyone else, I would think the healers' wing the best place to go. But it's not anyone else. It's Oreius. And we have the Calormenes to think about. If they find out the General is laid up in the healers' wing, who knows what sort of mischief they'll get up to. That's without taking into account how badly the Kentauri will mess up his own healing process if he wakes up in the healers' wing. You know that it's going to be difficult to keep him still. It will be much better if he's in our quarters where I can keep an eye on him."

Snow turned Tuulea's black hair white and clung to her lashes as the storm gained strength and the wind howled through Cair Paravel. The Nymph didn't act as though she felt any of it. Then again Alambiel could barely feel it (of course, she was probably just slowly freezing to death). Her dark eyes were solemn as she studied her. "I am not so certain you do not need to be in the healers' wing yourself, Child."

"Tuulea, please." She wanted to explain further, to share how much it hurt her heart to see Oreius like this, but she couldn't. The words pressed for escape but she did not allow them. It was bad enough that her own weariness put her perilously close to tears from the sheer stress of it all but she could not break down in the middle of the courtyard even if it was partially deserted. Too many eyes watched and too many ears listened. She met the Black Elder Nymph's gaze and hoped the woman who had always been the closest thing she had to a mother and grandmother knew her well enough to see what she could not speak aloud.

Tuulea nodded once and then walked to the wagon and the litter. "Take the General to his quarters. Leeta, you know what to do. Alambiel, I shall expect to see you shortly."

Alambiel bowed her head slightly as the Nymph swept past, leading the Centaurs into the palace. Then she looked up at Ardon. "So, Susan remembered Blodeuwedd?"

He grinned. "She did." His grin faded as they followed the others. "How bad was it?"

"Almost as bad as Veri."

"But you brought them all home alive."

"By the grace of Aslan alone."

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Edmund grimaced and tried to get away from the cool hands touching his arm and forcing lances of pain to spear him. Wouldn't the Giants ever leave him alone? More hands settled on him, keeping him from moving away from the pain. He opened his eyes, a curse leaping to his lips, which died as soon as he realized there were three very concerned faces looking down at him. The grey-eyed, chocolate-haired Centauress murmured soothingly, "Be at ease, My King, I am nearly finished."

Edmund blinked. "Alithia?"

She nodded, a faint smile appearing, and then turned her full attention to the task of making him wish he could gnaw his arm off. The only distraction from the pain came when gentle fingers brushed back lank locks of hair. Susan smiled down at him and all Edmund could do was grab his sister's hand and hold it to his cheek as tears formed. "Home."

Susan laughed but tears shone bright in her own eyes as she nodded. "Yes, although you, Brother, promised to be home well over a week ago. And how foolish of you to taunt Ettins."

"Harfangers," he mumbled. "I taunted the Harfangers. The Ettins I was rude to when I remembered them. My face itches."

"That's because you need a bath." Susan wrinkled her nose as she tugged on a tuft of beard. "And a shave. Not to mention a haircut."

His valet nearly smiled before he refocused on holding him down when Alithia poked a particularly painful bruise. Of course, the Faun considered keeping Edmund dressed and groomed in a manner befitting a king of Narnia both a personal challenge and triumph. Edmund just groaned. "Bath and shave."

"When I have finished with you, my King, and not before."

"Yes, Alithia."

Susan was eying him with such concentration he feared he'd cursed before realizing where he was but then she patted his cheek again. "I'll go see that a hearty broth is prepared and I'll fix some of my chamomile tea too. Listen to Alithia and cooperate."

"Yes, Mum."

Everything was a bit of a daze after that. Susan stayed by him for hours and then Lucy came and chattered about all their sister had done while they were gone. But after a while the details began to blur and he didn't recall much other than grumbling that he didn't want to drink his dinner until the next time he woke. The Greyback brothers were snoring on either side of him, although Romulus was curled more against his leg as he tried to avoid Edmund's heavily bandaged right arm. Edmund smirked a little when the Wolves didn't stir as he drew his legs up and then carefully climbed out of bed. Some guards they were. His amusement vanished when his right leg threatened to buckle under him as a dull ache spread through his hip. He bit his lip to keep from making any sound. The last thing he needed was Remus to forget he was injured and jump on him in an attempt to find out why he was groaning.

The pain receded a bit and Edmund tentatively put more weight on his leg. It shook but he pushed through it as he limped out of his bedchamber. He stopped short in the sitting room. A man was sprawled in one of the chairs, his head tilted back awkwardly in sleep, his familiar profile illuminated by the flickering flames from the fire burning merrily in the hearth. Edmund shook his head then pulled the bedchamber door to before he limped over to the chair and poked the great lummox in the nose. "Wake up, Pevensie. This is my room you know."

Peter snorted then coughed as he straightened, blinking in utter befuddlement. "Huh? What? Oh, 's you, Ed."

"Of course, it's me. It's my room. Don't you know you're supposed to be in your room? Where your wife is?" Edmund groaned as he pressed his good hand against his ribs, feeling the heavy swathe of bandages beneath his nightshirt, and then carefully eased down onto the settee. "What are you doing in here?"

Peter yawned then shoved a hand through his tousled hair. "Couldn't sleep and I wanted to make sure you were okay, Eddie. Thalia told me you tried to bargain for my freedom by volunteering for . . . by volunteering to-"

"How did she know about that?"

"She was watching us and the Giants for a while. Gathering information." Peter looked away from him and his voice fell to a raspy whisper, "Oh Eddie, she heard me . . . She heard me say that I would turn a knife on myself before I allowed those vile women to violate my vows." He covered his face with his good hand and his broad shoulders shook, reminding Edmund of a Peter who had been much skinnier and very young when he took responsibility for their family (even him despite his being a poisonous little beast). But the problem then was the same as it was now. Peter never wanted the people he loved and who needed him to know that he wasn't always strong, that there were things even the High King and Knight of the Order of the Lion could not face. Peter always carried too much.

"She probably under-"

"She never should have heard me. She never should have been there. You never should have been there." Peter looked up, his eyes filled with torment and self-loathing, as he whispered, "You never should have even contemplated volunteering to do what the Giants wanted. I would not wish such a fate on my worst enemy, much less my own brother. We never should have been there. The soldiers-"

"It wasn't your fault," Edmund interrupted. He pursed his lips together to keep from snapping at his lummox of a brother. "Not one of our spies or scouts knew the Giants were still lingering in the area after the last attacks. We were all caught by surprise. And every soldier who joins the army knows the risks of military life. Even when we're at peace, we can't guarantee their safety. It's their choice to serve. You didn't force them into it."

His brother shook his head again. "No. But I am the one who insisted we go on the tour of the northern villages. I'm the one who insisted that you and Oreius should come with me, never mind the fact that we should have just stayed in Cair Paravel and got ready for the Calormene visit since the diplomatic stuff is even more complicated than usual. I'm the one who insisted that we didn't need extra soldiers. I'm the one who insisted that we press on to that last village. If we had changed just one thing, none of this would have happened."

"Well, it did happen," Edmund stated bluntly. "Honestly, Pevensie, you act like you are responsible for every bad thing that ever happens in Narnia. Kat says it's Murphy. I'm beginning to think you won't be happy until we replace Kat's Law of Murphy with a Law of Peter. If anything bad happens in Narnia or to a Narnian or somewhere in the vicinity of Peter Pevensie, it was Peter Pevensie's fault."

"Ed, you don't understand."

"I think I do." He glared at the fire, remembering every torment. "It was my spy network that failed to notice Giants creeping over the border after all. How do you bloody miss ten bloody Giants? It's not as though you can look at them and think they're a new species of daises."

Peter laughed then coughed and pressed a hand to his ribs (only on his left side). "Oh don't make me laugh, brother mine. Unless you intend to finish what the Giants started." He sobered suddenly then whispered, "Do you dream about it, Eddie?"

He swallowed hard, his throat seeming to have gone parch in an instant, as his mind flicked back to the suffocating dreams. He swallowed again then mumbled, "Can't breathe because they're pressing down. Smell them, hear them laughing while they pull you apart and when they smack me down like a useless doll after I yell at them to stop." He took a shuddering breath and blotted the sudden sweat from his upper lip with his sleeve. "I dream."

"It can't go on." Peter shoved up from the chair and then nearly toppled as he teetered to his left. Edmund grabbed his right hand and pulled hard but his brother didn't even seem to notice as he repeated with more urgency, "It can't go on, Eddie. It can't. I won't let it."

"Right now you can't afford to fall over, Pevensie. Sit down before you break something and then I'll get fussed at by Susan and Tuulea and Alithia and Thalia since they are under the mistaken belief that I can influence your behavior." Edmund tugged until the blockhead sat on the settee next to him (at least that way he could sit on him if he tried to jump up again) then scowled. "No more leaping about like the Hares after they've had overripe carrot juice. Now what are you going on about? You can't go on blaming yourself for things you couldn't control? In that case, I agree. When you blame yourself for all the bad things in the world, it's very tiresome plus it's a tad conceited even for someone called 'the Magnificent.' The High King isn't supposed to have the biggest head in the land you know."

Peter scowled then a tiny smirk appeared. "I suppose you have a point."

"I have many points, you just don't recognize them."

"Ed." His big lummox of a brother gave a brittle laugh then sighed. He scrubbed his hand against his eyes, no doubt wiping away tears, the big softie. "I am supposed to take care of my family. I am supposed to take care of Narnia. All I have done is fail."

Edmund nudged him with his good arm. "Rather conceited of you. You may be the High King and the oldest but the girls and I also are charged with Narnia's care. That's why Susan stayed here and held the place together while coming up with a right clever way to keep that Calormene chap from arriving too soon. That's why Lucy and Kat and Thalia came charging after us. We're always stronger when we face the challenge together." He glanced at his brother who was staring morosely at the crackling fire again then added in the same tone, "And Thalia supposedly thinks you can actually cook, so there's hope for you yet, brother mine."

"I can cook." Peter started to get to his feet until he grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down again. His brother scowled at him then seemed to resign himself to the unspoken rebuke as he gingerly leaned against the settee's back. He fiddled with the edge of the bandage wrapped around his hand, plucking it enough that Edmund wouldn't have been surprised if the whole thing unraveled, and chewed on his lip. "This can't go on, though. This situation with the Giants, I mean. Blast it all, Edmund, too many innocents have suffered because I've been content with driving the Giants back over the border all these years. I won't stand for it any longer. There will be no more villages destroyed, innocents murdered and devoured, and no more annual or biannual raids and skirmishes by these Northern Giants. By Aslan, I won't have it. Narnia is strong enough now. Our army is disciplined enough. There is not a single reason I should not take the army, go north, and teach those rotters a lesson."

"Not a one aside from the blizzard outside, your injuries, my injuries, Oreius' injuries, oh, and the Calormenes due to arrive any day now."

His brother merely ignored him. "We'll call a council in the morn."

"Next month."

"Oreius would be glad of the opportunity to plan a campaign."

"I'm not sure Kat will let him."

"We should leave as soon as the spring thaw arrives."

"That one I can almost agree with."

"I just need to find out where my boots went."

"You're wearing fuzzy slippers and shuffling in your dotage."

"And my pants."

"The Leopard cubs or Thalia? They all seem to like your legs."

"And no more of this nonsense about broth."

"Pie or cake?"

"I'll need to write down as many names as I can remember then you can have your spies go north and see what the Giants are doing."

"Pie and cake it is."

"Then we'll draw up an official proclamation of war. I want it to be very officious and official and stuff."

"You were drugged earlier, weren't you?"

Peter finally looked at him. "I don't think so. Although, I am getting a bit sleepy. But I should check on the girls and Oreius and Kat first."

Edmund got up when his brother did and grabbed his elbow. "Somehow I doubt Kat and Oreius would welcome a middle of the night visit from you, Pete. We want to avoid Kat stringing us up by our toes, remember? And if the girls catch you out of bed, you'll worry them and get fussed over while I get fussed at."

"Lucy wouldn't fuss at you. She's a badger."

Edmund snorted as he helped his brother limp out of his quarters and across the hall. "Susan would make up for it. Come on, you great lummox, let's get you to bed before that happens or you fall on your face."

"Not going to fall on my face, Eddie." Peter yawned then turned a weary, mournful look on him. "They hurt Babur, Ed. They crushed him."

Edmund tightened his grip on Peter's elbow. "Babur's all right now, Pete, don't think about it. Think about what you're going to give Thalia for Christmas." He glanced up as his sister-in-law opened the door to her and Peter's quarters then continued, "And no food poisoning. Or badly written poetry."

"Thalia likes my cooking and my poetry too." Peter finally noticed his wife and gave her a goofy smile. "Hello, Flower."

She acted as if it wasn't the first time he had dragged Peter home to her drunk with remorse and pain (and likely a sedative of some type) but then again it wasn't. Thalia smiled gently with not even a hint of alarm showing although she glanced at him warily once when Peter wasn't looking. She came close and kissed Peter on the lips. Edmund grimaced. "That could have waited until I wasn't holding him up, Thalia."

Thalia ducked her head, her nut-brown hair sweeping forward to hide her newly pinked cheeks. "Forgive me."

"I didn't mind," Peter mused. "I quite liked it. Makes me feel better. Perhaps another kiss will cure me."

Edmund rolled his eyes while his sister-in-law pressed a hand to her mouth in an obvious endeavor not to laugh at Peter's pitiful attempt to be suave and dashing. He cast her a warning look. "I'll thank you not to do any such thing until I have deposited this nitwit and left." He gave a little grunt when Peter suddenly stepped to the right, trying to change course toward Thalia and tromping across his feet as he did so. "Peter! This is not the time, you ninny. Thalia, just go ahead of us since he's gotten it in his head to follow you around."

As his sister-in-law obeyed the command, Peter leaned against him and whispered loudly, "She's pretty, don't you think? I should ask her to dance sometime."

"What did they put in your water?"

Peter frowned, his brow furrowed as he focused on the question, then he brightened. "It tasted different. Do you think she'll dance with me? I'd like that."

He didn't answer as he helped his brother limp into the bedchamber and over to the bed as Thalia finished turning down the covers. Peter grinned idiotically at her as he sat on the edge of the mattress. "Hello. Have we met before? I just think you're the most beautiful creature I've seen walk this earth. May I join you on a walk?"

Thalia looked over at Edmund and he shrugged, fighting back a grin. "I don't know what they put in his water."

"They said it would help him relax."

Edmund glanced at where his brother was trying to casually grab Thalia's hand. "It worked."

Peter snagged her fingers just then and smiled. "Hello. Would you like to dance? I'm afraid it will have to be tomorrow though. Everyone seems to have gone to bed."

His sister-in-law slipped her fingers through Peter's and then bent to whisper in his ear. Whatever she said put an even more idiotic grin on his brother's face as he gazed up at her. "Ed?"

"Yes?"

"I have a wife, Ed."

"Yes."

"Go away."

Edmund snorted then mockingly offered a half-bow. "Gladly, brother mine, gladly. Take care of him, Thalia."

She smiled at him as she lowered her hands to help Peter shrug out of his robe. "You have done your part, Sire. I shall not fail in mine either."

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A/N: Please Read and Review! I'm not sure what the healers put in Peter's water but it was funny. ;) Nearing the end now, only three chapters left. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.