A year as a Narnian || 365 Narnia one shots (Part one)

182: Breaking point

July 1st - Prompt: Loss

----------

Peter frowned a little as his eyes flickered open, confused as to why he'd woken in the middle of the night.

He lay in bed staring up at the ceiling for a while, before sighing a little. It had been three weeks since they had returned to England, and it hadn't exactly been easy, they were all trying to get used to it.

Lucy would cry a lot, hug all her siblings alot more than usual, but she was happy sometimes, and Peter lived for the times she was.

Susan shed silent tears usually when she was alone, but she had let Peter comfort her a few times, she sat in her room or outside a lot, just reading book after book, but for the most part she seemed okay.

Peter had been finding it hard, and had of course cried about it, but when no one could see or hear, after all he couldn't break down in front of his siblings, not when they were struggling too. So he suffered silently and helped his siblings through it, no matter how upset he was.

Edmund though hadn't shed a single tear, not even when he was alone. The whole three weeks he had kept to his room he shared with Peter at the professors, reading even more books than Susan and sometimes just staring into space for hours on end. The times he came out of the room he was able to laugh and joke around with his siblings, but mostly that didn't last long and within two or three hours he was back in his room, staring over and the wall as if in some kind of trance.

Peter had tried asking him to talk, but Edmund refused to talk about Narnia at all, which really surprised him, and Susan and Lucy.

Peter had a feeling he was understanding why though, Narnia had been Edmunds home, it was the one place his brother actually belonged. Edmund felt far from welcome in England, and probably missed Narnia more than he could handle.

Rolling onto his side Peter sighed again, deciding he should probably get back to sleep, but before he could close his eyes he saw that Edmund's bed was empty, the covers pulled back and piled at the end.

Slowly sitting up Peter frowned deeply, where on earth was his brother at this time of night?

He waited around five minutes, thinking perhaps Edmund had just gone to the bathroom, but when he didn't come back he sighed.

Climbing out of bed he grabbed his dressing gown and slippers, pulling them on before lighting a candle and heading from the room.

He did check the bathroom, but when he didnt find Edmund there he turned and headed down the corridor.

He had no idea where he was going really, but eventually his feet led him to the wardrobe room, where the door was closed.

Taking a deep breath Peter grabbed the handle and opened it, peering inside to see if Edmund was there.

Taking a few steps in his noticed that the wardrobe door was open, and this made him frown, as it was always kept shut.

He listened quietly, and his heart dropped when he heard the quiet, muffled sound of someone crying.

Sighing sadly he closed the door, walking over to the wardrobe and placing the burning candle on the floor just outside.

Being as quiet as he could he climbed in amongst the coats, pushing his way to the back until he was stood beside Edmund.

Edmund was curled into the back corner, one hand on the wood which was the back of the wardrobe, one arm wrapped around his knees which were pulled up to his chest, and he was sobbing, hard.

Tears now stinging his own eyes, Peter sunk down beside his brother, knowing Edmund knew he was there.

He sat beside him and pulled him close, allowing his brother to turn and sob into his chest.

Edmund gripped Peter as tight as he could, his sobbing if anything getting harder as he sunk into Peter's arms.

"Shhhh." Peter murmured. "It's okay, shhhh, calm down."

Edmund choked on a sob. "I - I wanna go - go back." He whispered, voice breaking.

Peter's eyes slipped shut. "I - I know." He breathed. "Trust me I know."

Edmund cried for another five minutes before opening his mouth again. "I - I'm so sorry." He choked out.

Peter's face fell. "Ed don't be." He told him. "Everyone has their breaking point."

Edmund swallowed hard and buried his face against Peter's shoulder, letting out a shuddering sigh. "I - I just miss it so much." He whispered.

Peter nodded. "I know you do." He breathed. "I just don't see why you kept all this bottled up inside."

Edmund bit his lip. "I didn't - didn't really know how to deal with it." He admitted. "We were in Narnia for fifteen years, and now suddenly we're back here again, I'm twelve again Peter, I'm just a kid."

"It's hard." Peter agreed. "But we're gonna go back someday, I know we are."

"When?" Edmund choked.

Peter sighed. "When we're called." He replied. "Which I'm sure won't be long."

Edmund sighed but didn't say anything, and Peter was glad his tears had stopped.

"Come on." He whispered. "We should head back to bed."

Edmund hesitated as Peter pulled him to his feet. "Can - Can I stay with you?" He asked slowly, sounding unsure.

Peter frowned. "We share a room...?" He said.

Edmund lowered his gaze. "I meant in your bed." He muttered. "It's big enough."

Peter smiled weakly. "Of course." He breathed. "You didn't even need to ask."

Edmund shrugged a little, but didn't say anything in reply.

Peter helped him out the wardrobe, keeping a hand on his shoulder. "Everything's gonna turn out fine yeah?" He said gently. "I promise."

Edmund glanced up at him, before he nodded gently. "I believe you." He breathed, before Peter grabbed the candle and the two headed back to their room.

♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡☆♡