Lost and Found

44: Priceless

"Your majesty?"

Peter took a deep, shaky breath and hesitantly glanced up, managing to give Philip a small smile as the horse wandered over to sit beside him.

"If you don't mind me asking," The horse said gently. "Shouldn't you be in there with your brother?"

Peter sighed, wiping the tears away and sniffing loudly. "I should." He whispered. "But it's just too much, he's in so much pain, and all he wants is for it to end, but I can't do that! I can't end his pain and it kills me."

Philip stared at him for a moment. "He'll be in more pain if you're not there." He said softly, and when Peter looked up at him he continued. "He's been alone for a whole month, he's been through hell and back, and the whole time he's had a hole in his heart, one that only you and your sisters could fill. Now that you're together again, that hole has been filled, but the more time you spend apart, the more chance it has of re opening again. He needs you Peter, he needs you there with him, to comfort him and to keep him calm, to look after him and reassure him that everything will be fine. He won't be in pain forever, as soon as he's had Lucy's cordial he'll be on a quick road to recovery."

Here Peter snorted. "I wouldn't exactly say quick." He breathed. "Yeah his injuries may heal after he's had the cordial, but it's not just the whip lashes or the burns that are hurting him. He's lost so much weight I could count his ribs, he's bound to suffer from nightmares from weeks to come, he's scared of being separated from me, I doubt he'll leave my side for months-" Here though Peter froze.

"Exactly." Philip said gently. "He's scared of being separated from you, so can you imagine how he's feeling right now. You just left him without a word, left him alone and in pain. I do not mean to make you feel bad, but you need to go back in there, for your brothers sake as well as your own."

Peter took a deep breath, blinking back anymore tears before nodding slowly. "Alright." He whispered. "I'll go back in there."

"And be gentle with him, be calm, you getting upset will most likely get him upset, and with the state he's in, we definitely do not want that." Philip told him.

Peter nodded. "Yeah I know." He breathed, before going to stand.

But before he could get to his feet, he felt the cold steal of a sword tip against his neck, and froze.

"Neither of you move."

Peter glanced up, frowning when he spotted one of the guards from the place Edmund had been kept.

He took a deep breath, and his heart skipped a beat when a dozen or more gaurds suddenly appeared, standing in a circle around the tent, blocking the way in and out.

"Get up."

Peter hesitated, but in the end he had no choice, so he slowly stood, raising his hands in surrender. "What's going on?" He demanded, his "High King voice" coming through.

The guard laughed before sheathing his sword and grabbing Peter's arms, tieing his hands behind his back as tightly as he could.

Philip was surrounded and so was Amir, unable to help their King, who was suddenly forced to his knees, earning a loud gasp of pain from his lips.

There was silence for a long time, before the owner of that house walked over and stood in front of Peter.

"You?"

The man smirked. "I changed my mind." He said with a casual shrug. "I decided that if I'm going to let King Edmund go, then I want a lot of money, he cost me so much to buy, that I just can't let him go for free."

Peter swallowed hard. "You said-"

"I don't care what I said." The man interrupted. "What I'm saying now is I want as much money as your brother is worth in exchange for letting him go."

"Jokes on you because I'm afraid my brother is priceless." Peter spat, trying to free himself from the guards hold, but it didn't work.

The man smirked. "We'll see about that." He laughed.

"We have no money with us." Peter told him. "Besides, we owe you nothing because he is my brother, my family, my own flesh and blood."

The man laughed. "But he is my property." He said.

"He is nobody's property." Peter said, panicking slightly as Jadis came to his mind. "He belongs to no one."

"He belongs to me." The man said. "And seeming as you have no money with you, I will just have to take him back to my mansion until you are able to pay me what you owe."

Peter's heart skipped a beat. "You touch even a hair on his head and I swear you won't live to see tomorrow." He all but growled.

"I'm afraid he will be in immense pain until you can pay me." The man said, shrugging. "So it's up to you how long you take to hand over my money. In total I reckon you owe me-"

Peter's mouth dropped open and his stomach plummeted when the man named his price. "That's not possible!" He cried. "That's more money than Narnia and Archenland have combined!"

"Well if you cant pay it, then your brother works for me for the rest of his life." The man said.

Peter glared at him. "I said it's not possible." He snapped. "We don't have that much money! Do you understand how much you're asking for?"

"I'm asking for enough to make me the richest man in the whole world, besides, I thought you said he was priceless?" The man said, raising an eyebrow.

Peter swallowed hard, looking down. He couldn't let Edmund suffer that fate, not when he'd just gotten him back. "Look." He said, taking a deep breath. "I'll pay you half now, or as soon as i get hold of it, and half in a few months?"

The man laughed. "I want all of it at the same time." He said. "I want it on my desk by this time tomorrow, or he belongs to me."

And with that he marched towards the tent, causing Peter's eyes to go wide. "Edmund!"

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