Lost and Found

40: Reunited

May 22nd

Peter took a deep breath. "So, this is the place?" He murmured, climbing down from Philip.

"This is the place." The man replied. "But I'm afraid I must leave you now, but I hope your brother is okay."

"Thank you." Peter said quickly. "For everything, this means more to me than you'll ever know."

The man smiled at him. "My pleasure your majesty." He said, bowing his head before kicking his horse into a gallop.

Peter watched him go before turning back to the gates. "Let's do this." He said, taking a deep breath.

Orious nodded, and caught the attention of a passing guard.

The guard looked shocked to see the crown on Peter's head, and hurried over. "Can I help?" He asked slowly.

"Yes." Peter asked. "Who's in charge here?"

"Well, um, he's up in the house." The guard stammered.

"Are you able to take us to him?" Peter said slowly. "You don't need to worry, we come in peace, we don't want any trouble."

The guard hesitated. "I will take you to see him." He said, but there was a hint of fear in his voice.

Peter swallowed hard and the second the gate was open he, Orious, Philip and Amir followed the guard across the grounds.

They walked for perhaps thirty seconds, before Peter caught sight of what looked like the stables, and peering inside he saw something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

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Edmund could hardly keep back the tears as he cleaned up, getting rid of all the hay scattered on the floor and stuff like that.

He felt on the verge of collapsing, but he knew he couldn't do that, not if he didn't want to get punished.

Everything hurt so, so much. He was in pain, tired, hungry, thirsty, exhausted, hot, dizzy, weak, and he missed his family, more than words could describe.

He swallowed hard as he ran a hand across his forehead, wiping away the sweat before running a hand through his dirty, greasy, damp hair, shuddering and leaning against the wall for a second or two.

He took a deep breath before grabbing a bucket, knowing he should probably fill it with water for the horses, it was a very hot day after all.

Sighing sadly he limped outside, only to stop dead, his heart skipping a beat and tears filling his eyes at what he saw.

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Peter stared at Edmund, absolutely horrified at the state he was in.

He looked absolutely awful, exhausted, in pain, and the second he saw Peter his face dropped.

But Peter didn't care, he didn't wait a second. He started running, as fast as he could towards the stables.

Edmund stood there for a moment, before he dropped the bucket and began limping towards his brother, tears already streaming down his cheeks.

He ignored the shouts of a nearby guard, and just limped towards Peter, trying to run as fast as he could, because all he wanted was his brothers arms around him, the one place he knew he'd finally feel safe.

Tears were rolling down Peter's own cheeks as he ran, and the second he reached his brother, he wrapped his arms around him, holding him close and burying his face against his hair.

Edmund wrapped his arms around Peter's waist, sobbing into his chest and taking deep breaths to try and cope with the pain. But he didn't care how much pain it caused, he was finally back with his brother, and that was all that mattered.

It was a relief to him that he wasn't scared of Peter, he had been so scared of everyone else that he had feared he'd be the same with his family, but it would appear not, and Edmund was so grateful for this.

Peter clung to him, eventually bringing them both to the ground and pulling him straight into his lap, and he knew Edmund wouldn't care. He was still trying to be careful though, because he knew Edmund was in a lot of pain, but when it was clear that his little brother didn't care, he squeezed just a little bit tighter, placing kiss after kiss to the top of his head.

"Ed." He choked. "Oh Edmund."

"Pete." Edmund whimpered, voice muffled against Peter's tunic.

Peter's heart broke at the desperation and weakness in his younger brothers voice, and this only caused him to pull Edmund closer. "Shhh." He whispered. "It's okay, you're safe now. I've got you and I'm never letting you go again. You're safe Eddy, you safe."

The two sat like this for a further twenty seconds, before all of a sudden two guards grabbed them and pulled them apart, causing Edmund's eyes to go wide in extreme fear. "Peter!" He screamed, despite his weakness.

"Get off me!" Peter snapped. "I swear, let me go or you'll have hell to pay! I am a King!"

The guard holding Peter quickly let him go, as if only now seeing the golden crown on his head, and in all honesty he looked scared.

"PETER!"

Peter's heart shattered as the shrill scream from his brother, and quickly spun around, only to see the guard holding Edmund punch him square in the face, ending up with him hitting the floor with a thud.

"Edmund!" Peter cried, rushing over.

Everyone seemed to freeze as Peter knelt beside his brother, but the guard who had punched Edmund stood up straight. "What an earth is this all about?!" He snapped.

Peter helped Edmund slowly sit up, where his brother buried his face against his chest and collapsed again him, trembling hard and sobbing.

"How dare you!" Peter growled, glaring up at the guard.

The guard stared down at him. "You're king Peter, of Narnia?" He asked suddenly, sounding confused.

"Yes I am." Peter muttered.

"Why are you showing such tenderness to a slave?" The guard asked.

Peter resisted the urge the punch him, and instead just took a deep breath. "Because he's my brother." He muttered simply, before turning to Edmund and pulling him close. "It's okay, shhh, you'll be fine."

"Don't - Don't let them separate us." Edmund sobbed into Peter's chest.

"I won't." Peter said quickly and firmly. "I promise you Ed I won't, I'm not letting go okay? You're safe Ed, Eddy you're safe, you're gonna be okay now, I promise."

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Hehehe, the chapter you've all been waiting for is finally published!