Trials of Faith

Chapter IV

Chapter IV

Peter tosses frantically in the bed, chest heaving with exertion, brow lined with sweat.

He has his hands wrapped around Jacob's throat and can feel himself squeezing, tighter, tighter, tighter until Jacob is dead.

"Peter Pevensie, you are under arrest for the murder of Jacob Schultz." A British law enforcement officer speaks. He is handcuffed and led away.

Murder. The word lingers in his mind as the dream continues.

"Peter," Aslan speaks. "I am disappointed in you. You have failed the trials of faith I have set before you."

The last scene is the worst, by far. Aslan's disappointed eyes searing into his soul...The image will be forever etched in his soul.

Peter wakes up with a strangled scream, the disappointed eyes of Aslan seemingly still staring at him.

Edmund awakens as well, runs to his brother's side, and covers his mouth to avoid complaints from their dorm mates, or worse: yet more taunts from Jacob if he happened to be lurking around at present.

"Mmph!" Peter pulls Edmund's hand away, turns, and faces the wall. It's the first time Edmund can ever remember his brother rejecting comfort.

"You were having a nightmare. I only-" Edmund begins.

Peter sighs. "Thank you for covering my mouth. I don't want our neighbors to have cause report us again." He chooses to ignore the brotherly comfort that Edmund had shown.

The first time they had been reported was the first night of school. Peter had woken up after a similar nightmare sobbing loudly, and Edmund had spent the rest of the night comforting him. Peter remembers this all too well.

He's alone on the field of Beruna, once green, now stained red with blood. The Witch attacks him fiercely, and he manages to hold her back, until Aslan comes along with Susan and Lucy. "Where's Edmund?" Susan gasps. By the time they reach Edmund, he is dead.

"This is all your fault!" Susan yells at him. "You didn't protect him; you let him get murdered!" Even Lucy, kind, forgiving Lucy, refused to meet his eyes. The worst of all was Aslan, who stared at him with hate-filled eyes. "You are the cause of your brother's death. You murdered him. For that, you shall never be forgiven...."

Edmund nods.

Peter says nothing, and goes into the bathroom to get ready to face the day.

Edmund starts to walk back to his bed.

"Where are you going?" Peter asks.

"Back to sleep. Wake me at seven?"

"Fine." Peter responds shortly, and turns on a dim light. He wants to get some studying done. After all, if he wasn't going back to that place, then he needed to be able to have a job here.

Edmund sits up. "Could you turn that light off? It's blinding."

Peter glares at him. "Shut your eyes, and you won't see it." He retorts.

Edmund groans and pulls his covers over his face. "You're impossible."

The oldest Pevensie decides not to justify that remark with a response and continues flipping through his Calculus textbook, taking notes on the current section that the class was studying.

"Stop thinking about it, Peter." Edmund says. "It won't do you any good."

"What on Earth are you talking about, Edmund?" Peter asks.

"The nightmare. It's over now, so why do you go on brooding about it?"

"I am not thinking about my sleeping activity!" Peter snaps, refusing to call it a nightmare. "I am studying so that I may have a decent life in the world we're stuck in."

"You're obviously still stuck on your 'sleeping activity.' I can tell by that look on your face." Edmund steps out of bed and into the small bathroom to brush his teeth.

"I am NOT!" The blue-eyed boy roars angrily at his younger brother. "Kindly shut up and mind your own business!"

Edmund spits into the sink and wipes away the remaining toothpaste from his mouth. "You know, adding 'kindly' to the beginning of a sentence doesn't make it any kinder. I was only trying to help you, but I won't make that mistake again." Edmund puts on his slippers, grabs his rucksack, and begins to leave the dorm in his pyjamas.

As soon as the dorm door slams closed, Peter puts his head down on the desk. "What am I doing?" He whispers, horrified. He feels his eyes beginning to moisten, and he allows the tears to fall, unhindered for a brief moment. He pushes the chair back from the desk and begins to dress for the day.