Peter felt as if he was going to snap at any moment. Lies upon lies, upon lies. What was worse was he lied to Lucy and that, he realized, hurt the most. Even as he sat on his throne that morning, he was able to keep it together.

Yes, Edmund's not here today. Yes, he's currently ill and I will let him know of your good wishes.

But as Peter caught sight of Lucy joining the audiences, the guilt set in again. She deserved to know, but also, it was difficult to keep her quiet; and goodness knows what her reaction would be. Peter couldn't imagine it would be anything good. So, again, he reminded himself it was for the best that Lucy was in the dark.

"Peter!" she came over between audiences and gave him a hug. "I had so much fun this morning! Mr. Tumnus and I went outside and had a tea party! Just like the one we had when we first met! With sardines and everything!"

"I suppose he brought his umbrella?" Peter asked with a smile.

"Of course! And this time, it was so lovely."

"That's wonderful," he loved his little sister, little Lu, so much.

"And I told him about the snow and what you said about us arriving in Narnia in the Fall and he said it made sense." Lucy paused to gather her next thought. "But how do you know so much about Narnia so quickly? We just arrived here two weeks ago."

"Susan is a fast reader," Peter reminded her and she accepted the answer. "Now, are you ready for the next audience?"

"I suppose," Lucy rocked back and forth on her heels for a moment, thinking. "But when can I see Edmund?"

"I thought you didn't like reading to him," Peter reminded her.

"I don't, but I'm worried."

"No need to worry. He's getting better and is sleeping at the moment."

"That's what you told me this morning!"

"People sleep for a long time, Lu."

"Why don't you want me to go see him?"

"Because what he has might be catching and the last thing I need is for the two of you to be ill."

"Fine," Lucy sulked back to her throne and sat down in a huff, "I just want to play with him, that's all."

"I understand," Peter really did. He remembered when Susan was younger and always wanted his attention. Now, that attention was divided three ways. "Ready?"

Lucy nodded and called for Mr. Tumnus to let the next audience begin. As the faun came and went, escorting Narnias before their King and Queens, Peter could not help but notice Mr. Tumnus seemed concerned about something. The High King could guess what it was, but later had his worries confirmed when Mr. Tumuns asked:

"Any guess as to why it's snowing again?"

The two were the only ones left in the throne room three hours later at this time. Susan had gone to check on Edmund and Lucy went off to eat lunch with King Lune who she had become swift friends with.

"This snow truly has me concerned." Mr. Tumnus noted, glancing at the windows of the throne room where snow still gently fell from the sky. By now, the lands beyond the wall looked like Aslan had never stepped foot in Narnia. "If it doesn't stop, I don't know what I will do."

"Nor do I," Peter agreed with him. Every audience that morning was about the snow. Everyone was worried, scrambling and seeking answers that Peter couldn't give or even knew. "I am as well. But perhaps, it's a natural snow."

"It was spring two days ago," Mr. Tumnus pointed out. "And two days ago, your brother fell ill."

"And what do you make of that?"

"Peter," the faun's voice was dangerously low as he turned to face the High King. "I beg you to tell me what is going on. For Lucy's sake. For Narnia. Please. It is possible I could help. I-" he paused a moment, "I was under Her service as well and-"

"Please, just look after Lucy." That was all Peter could ask. "For now."

"But-"

"Just do it," Peter wished he could explain, but he wasn't going to say anything without Susan's wisdom. "Trust me."

"I try," Tumnus sighed and brought an end to their conversation. Peter felt rather bad about it, because it was possible the faun was correct. But he couldn't take the risk of telling Mr. Tumuns. Not yet.

Peter went to his room and changed out of his formal attire before checking in on Edmund and Susan. The two seemed to be having fun with a lively game of guessing. So, Peter went to ask General Orius if he completed the report on Beruna he asked for that morning.

The centaur greeted him kindly and also commended on the snow. To which Peter noted how strange the weather could be in Narnia and then changed the subject. That was the best thing to do, after all.

Once he had the report, Peter went back to Edmund's room. He gently knocked on the door and Susan let him in. The two were now playing chess and by the looks of it, Susan was losing.

"Thank you for saving me," she said and Peter could only laugh.

"He's completely destroying you, then?"

"Yes. Most cruelly. Turn three he had both my knights."

At this remark, the youngest of the three cackled with joy, clearly having far too much fun.

"Edmund," Peter scolded his brother mockingly as he laughed. "Play nice."

"I try, I try," Edmund snickered and asked about the scroll he was holding.

"It's the report Susan wanted." The moment the words left his mouth, the document was ripped out of Peter's hands.

Susan unrolled it and sat down in her chair to study the document. As she did, Peter watched as an expression of concern settled on her face. "What is it?"

"They're dead," she said. "Almost half of them died from illness or after being brought to the medical tent. Those after the battle most likely from infections and whatever else one can catch in Narnia. Peter, do you know what this means?"

"What?"

"I was right. Lucy's cordial only heals wounds. It doesn't disinfect, or remove the cause of the injury."

"So, if we-"

"Wait," Edmund cut in, holding up a hand to make them pause. "Then why did Father Christmas give it to her?"

"Because it's somewhat useful," Peter suspected. "And maybe he knew she would need it."

"But you can't tell Lucy," Susan instructed Edmund.

"She already feels bad enough as it is," Peter added.

"All right," Edmund agreed. "It's our secret."

"Thank you," Peter was happy to hear it. No. Overjoyed. "Now, we have another problem. Mr. Tumuns knows something strange is afoot and he offered to help. What do we do?"

"Tell him," Edmund said with a shrug, "I feel if we leave him in the dark, it won't be good."

"But Ed," Susan still seemed to be absorbed in the report as she spoke, "what can he possibly do to help? The fewer people who know the better."

"And who knows what he might do," Peter had to agree with Susan. "I know he thinks he can help, but we cannot-

"Everyone will soon enough," Edmund pointed out, "there's only so long you can play sick after all. A week at most. Then people are going to worry a lot."

"How do you know that?" Susan asked next, looking over the top of the scroll at her younger brother.

"Because that's how long I've pulled it off before."

"Edmund!" She gasped and he laughed. "You mean that week you were ill-"

"I didn't want to go to school, because it was dreadfully cold and my shoe had a hole."

"Well, you could have just told us you needed-"

"It was after the war started and I didn't want to be unpatriotic with my new shoes. The school kids would sneer at me, Peter."

"Fair enough. I still have my old socks I need to mend in my room. If only someone would give me a sewing kit."

"Anyway, another reason we should tell Tumnus, he hates Jadis as much as I do and he knew her longer." Edmund pointed out next. "And he might know something none of us do."

"Fair," Peter couldn't argue with that. "Shall I go get him?"

"If you want," Edmund said, "I think the sooner we tell him, the better."

"All right then, you two stay here and I will find a way to explain this all to him. But getting Lucy away from him will be a task." With this, Peter left the room, leaving Susan to Edmund's mercy as the chess game they had been playing, continued.

A/N: Life has been busy! I'm still here and going to update when I can. On another note, it's hard to find exact figures for how many died after battles in the medieval era in a general Google search- forgive me. I am a bit short on time lately. But against forces that are heavily armored, I would assume many were injured from the general battle or retreat. Also, since it was a grass field, it would most likely become muddy and torn up as the fight went on, and so on and so forth. I also don't know how many actually died in the Battle of Beruna, but I assume at least 2/3 were injured in some way. That's my brief thought on it and the lack of modern medicine most likely didn't help save people and I am sure the amputations the doctors had to do didn't always go well. Anyway, I have more important things to research for future chapters. So, forgive me. (And if you know, go ahead and leave it in the comments. I can update and give credit.) As for how long they have been in Narnia, I am guessing. The initial journey may have been about a week, then a day or two between meeting Aslan and the Battle of Beruna, then a day for travel and another for coronation, give or take. Thanks for reading and reviewing.