The Golden Age of the Pevensies

Repaid(Part 4)

Part 4

'Pete, you're horribly injured! Move your hand, let me see.'

Edmund tied up the wound with his cloak, in an attempt to stop the profuse bleeding. He examined the other injuries on Peter's chest, forgetting his own aches and bruises.

The wounds were not fatal, but something had to be done quickly about it. He saw his brother bravely bearing the pain with a smile.

'It's alright, Ed. It's okay, I promise......'

'Do you reckon you can ride? It has got to be really fast, and it will hurt a lot, but we have to reach a safe place before I can fetch Lucy from Cair. These woods aren't safe. We need to get you to the Dam, and it's an hour's ride from here. Come on, get up!'

'I...I don't think so, Ed. Things will only get worse...'

'But I can't leave you out here! We don't know how many more there are of them. You have to do it Pete. For Narnia, and for us.' Here a tear rolled down Edmund's cheek, looking down at the temporary bandage he'd made for his brother. He knew that it would hurt him terribly, but he wasn't left with any other option. He felt helpless and miserable and thought that it was his fault Peter was injured.

Peter, still clutching his stomach, weakly murmured, 'It's fine, Ed. I'm glad I've repaid you for saving my life at Beruna that day. I ....'he flinched, but managed to put on a warm smile again, 'I felt the same that day...'

Edmund smiled back, and uttered in a feeble voice, 'Thank you.'

He helped Peter up and carefully saddled him to his horse, quickly cleaning the Rhindon and his own sword in the brook. This was one of Orious' lessons too. And he rode swiftly, manoeuvring the horses through the trees, following the path the Witch had taken when chasing his siblings to the Stone Table. His assumption proved to be true. Two other creatures, whom he hadn't been able to identify, had attacked Peter before he could reach Edmund. One of them had slashed through his tunic and his chest.

It had taken much lesser time than he had thought, and in a little more than half-an-hour Edmund had left for Cair Paravel, leaving the Beavers and their friends to dress the wounds of their High King. Of course, the others had offered to go, seeing Edmund's scarred back, with droplets of blood shining along the scrape like beads, but Edmund had simply refused, knowing that almost no swift creature lived in this part of the Woods and he would be able to fetch help sooner than any of them. So, he rode back to the castle just in time to see Susan and Lucy roaming about in the garden, taking their regular afternoon stroll.

It was Lucy who first saw him and let out a loud gasp.

'Oh Edmund! What happened?'

Susan turned back and seeing the bruises all over his body, as he stopped, gasping for air, stood motionless for a moment. Lucy ran up to him and anxiously asked, 'What happened, Ed?'

'Where's Peter and why are you bruised all over?' Susan asked, joining their side.

'Attack...wolves...he's at the Dam, terribly hurt. We need you... and the cordial, Lu,' he panted.

There were sharp intakes of breath from either side of him. Susan called out to one of the sentries, a leopard, and asked him to get the horses ready as soon as possible. In five minutes, the three young monarchs were riding side by side. Susan had tried to persuade him to get some rest, but Edmund being Edmund, had flatly refused. However, he did allow Lucy to use the cordial to heal his wounds and admitted that he felt much better and refreshed. In the wee hours of dusk, the siblings entered the Dam to find the whole village of the Lantern Waste gathered around King Peter. Susan had confessed later that the sight had truly shaken her, she had felt, at the first sight, that she had lost her childhood companion, her protector, her second pillar of strength next to her parents, her dear brother Peter, who had taught her to crawl, when he himself used to be unable to stand properly for more than 10 minutes. Once inside, they saw him resting his head on three pillows, talking to a little squirrel, face brightening up when he saw his siblings. The wounds had been cleaned and dressed; medicine applied, but the cut was as bad as ever. Blood still flowed and it still hurt him terribly to move a single abdominal muscle. Susan rushed to his side, took hold of his hand, smiled and kissed the top of his head. Tears were welling up in her eyes, just like they had done a month ago when another of her brothers had lain down on the battleground of Beruna in a pool of blood. And the Gentle Queen wept. By this time, both Edmund and Lucy were at Peter's side and Lucy quickly poured a drop of the shining, red liquid into her brother's mouth.

They waited for about a minute and Peter's eyes fluttered open. The colour came back into his cheeks and he reached out to embrace his siblings. Edmund whispered into the hug, his voice only audible to the four Pevensies, 'Don't ever try to repay me, any of you!'