Silence || The Chronicles Of Narnia

29: If he has the courage

Not wasting a second, Peter quickly handed the torch to Susan before rushing over and falling to his knees beside his brother. "Ed?" He choked, grabbing his shoulders and giving him a rough shake... but Edmund didn't respond. "Edmund wake up."

After a moment of two, Peter quickly began checking him over for injuries, and froze when he placed his hands to Edmund's stomach, feeling blood beneath his fingers. "He - He's covered in blood." He choked, fearing the worst.

Susan took a step or two closer and glanced down. "So's the floor." She murmered.

"Is - is it his?" Lucy choked, voice quiet.

Peter swallowed hard and quickly lifted Edmund's tunic. "Yeah it's his." He whispered. "Bring the torch closer Su."

Susan did as he said, and Peter swallowed hard at the blood that covered his little brothers stomach.

"Where's it coming from?" Susan asked, kneeling on the other side of Edmund.

Peter frowned. "Nowhere." He murmered. "There's no sign of any injury."

"What?" Susan whispered.

Peter swallowed hard before placing his hand flat against Edmund's chest, listening closely. "He - He's not breathing." He choked. "His hearts not beating."

Susan stared at Peter, her eyes slightly wider than usual and her grip on the torch tightening.

After a couple seconds Peter took a deep breath and pressed his hands to Edmund's chest, beginning compressions and hoping beyond hope that he could get his brother to breathe again.

Lucy knelt beside Susan and buried her face against her shoulder, crying quietly as Susan tried her best to comfort her.

"Come on Ed." Peter choked, counting in his head. "Come on, breathe... you have to breathe. Don't do this Ed, don't leave us, you have to breathe."

They sat there for a whole minute, Peter never stopping, but after a moment Susan sighed. "Peter," She mumbled.

"No." Peter snapped quickly. "I'm not stopping, he's not dead."

Susan swallowed hard but didn't say anything else, placing a quick kiss to the top of Lucy's head.

"Please Ed." Peter whispered, sounding extremely out of breath by now, but he continued. "Breathe. Come on, I'm begging you Eddy just breathe."

But after another two minutes, Peter collapsed back against the wall, sobbing and trembling, his own breathing heavy. "No." He whispered, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "No."

Susan let out a quiet sob and pulled Lucy close with one hand, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried.

The three children looked up though when a bright, golden light appeared in the cave, causing them all to cover their eyes, Peter still sobbing.

The light faded after a moment, and she wasn't sure, but Lucy swore she saw the silhouette of a lion before everything went dark again.

The three children sat in complete silent for a very long time, until the sound of deep breathing could be heard.

Peter's heart skipped a beat and he immediately looked back down at Edmund, almost crying out in relief when his chest rose and fell, and again, and then again. "He's breathing." He sobbed. "He's alive."

"Why isn't he waking up." Susan choked, wiping away previous tears.

Peter shook his head. "I don't know." He whispered, before carefully lifting his brother into his arms and holding him gently against his chest, burying his face against his dark hair.

"What - What was that?" Lucy asked suddenly, staring at where the golden light had been.

Susan frowned. "Didn't those dwarves say something about a golden light?" She remembered.

Lucy nodded, before glancing over at her brothers. "Well, whatever it was, or whoever it was... it saved Edmund's life."

Susan swallowed hard. "Aslan." She whispered after a while of silence except for Peter's heavy breathing.

Lucy nodded slowly. "Yeah." She whispered. She turned around quickly when she heard a noise, and almost laughed when Aslan walked over to them. "Aslan." She breathed. "It was you."

Aslan smiled at her and nodded, before glancing over at Peter, who was still holding Edmund close to him, shaking so badly Susan winced. "Peter?" He said gently.

Peter swallowed hard, hesitating before glancing up at him.

"Edmund is going to be okay." Aslan told him.

Peter took a deep breath. "But - But he was - was covered in blood, and - and he wasn't breathing." He choked.

"I know Peter." Aslan said gently. "But look at him, he's breathing now, and his injury has healed."

"But - what injury?" Peter choked, tightening his grip on his brother and pulling him even closer. "What happened? What was he hiding?"

Aslan gave him a sad look, before sighing. "That is down to him to tell you." He said gently. "If he has the courage to that is."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter whispered.

"Peter, you're forgetting that the white witch is still alive." Aslan said slowly. "She has threatened your lives if Edmund tells you what happened, or what was going to happen, that's why he's kept it in all this time."

"He hasn't told us, to save our lives." Susan murmered.

Peter swallowed hard before glancing back down at his brother. "Oh Ed." He choked. "You - You really have to stop sacrificing yourself for us." He frowned after a moment though. When he'd walked into the room to find Edmund holding a knife to his chest... was he going to do that so they didn't find out? So that they wouldn't find out and die?

Taking a deep breath Peter buried his face against his brothers hair, tears still rolling down his cheeks... but he didn't care, Edmund was alright, he was alive... for now anyway.

The witch was still out there, and goodness knows what she'd do when she found out that her plan had failed, and that Edmund was very much alive.

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