Journey to forgiveness (The Chronicles Of Narnia)

A hug from his big brother

"Ed?" Peter asked as he entered his tent. It had only been half an hour since the witch had left and Edmund had somehow managed to slip away, and Peter was starting to get worried.
He sighed in relief though when he saw Edmund sat on his hammock, fiddling with the sleeve of his tunic.
"Hey." Edmund mumbled as he gave Peter a watery smile.
Peter frowned a little. "Are you alright?" He asked as he slowly sat beside his brother.
Edmund only shrugged. "I suppose I've been better." Was all he mumbled.
Peter bit his lip, not knowing what to say.
"I - I didn't think I'd see her again." Edmund mumbled suddenly. "I didn't think she'd actually come here and - and try and get me back."
Peter sighed, placing a hand gently on Edmund's shoulder. "She's gone." He said reassuringly.
Edmund sighed. "I know." He said. "But she's not dead."
"Aslan will kill her eventually Ed." Peter sighed.
"Yeah." Edmund breathed, nodding slowly. "Would-" He paused and sighed. "Would you really of stopped her from taking me?" He asked quietly.
Peter frowned a little. "Of course I would've." He said, looking a bit confused.
"Why?" Edmund asked.
Peter sighed sadly. "After seeing what she's done to you Ed." He said. "There was no way I was letting her even touch you again. And there was definitely no way I was letting her kill you on the stone table either."
Edmund swallowed hard as he looked down at the floor, taking a deep breath. "But It's what I deserve." He mumbled.
"What?" Peter all but whispered.
"You heard her." Edmund said. "All traitors must die on the stone table or all of Narnia will perish."
"Ed." Peter sighed. "You do not deserve to die. You made a mistake, that doesn't automatically mean you don't deserve to live anymore."
Edmund bit his lip, not saying anything in reply to his brother.
Peter sat there for a moment before he took a deep breath. Very carefuly and slowly He wrapped his arms around Edmund's shoulders and pulled him close.
Edmund froze completely for a few seconds, but when he felt Peter kiss the top of his head and tighten his grip he relaxed into his brothers arms and wrapped his arms around his waist, burying his face against his chest.
Peter swallowed hard as he placed his cheek on the top of Edmund's head, hugging him tightly.
Edmund took a deep breath, a single tear rolling down his cheek, eventually stinging the cut on his lip. But he didn't care, he'd gotten what he'd wanted since the second he arrived at camp. A hug from his big brother.
Tightening his grip Edmund slowly let the tears fall, burying his face instead against Peter's shoulder and hoping that he wouldn't notice.
But Peter wasn't stupid. "It's okay." He whispered, placing a hand on the back of Edmund's head and playing with his hair. "Just cry." He mumbled.
Edmund hesitated but found himself unable to hold in the tears anymore.
Peter held him while he cried, whispering reassuringly in his ear as he held him tight, trying his best to avoid his back. "It's all gonna be fine." He choked, feeling the tears sting his own eyes, but he held them back, for Edmund's sake.
After a full five minutes Edmund's crying slowly stopped and he relaxed back into Peter's arms, absolutely exhausted, not to mention in alot of pain.
"Ed?" Peter asked.
"Hmm?" Edmund answered from where he once again had his face buried against his chest.
"Do you reckon we could clean your back now?" Peter said slowly and hesitantly.
Edmund swallowed hard but nodded his head slowly.
Peter sighed and very reluctantly pulled away from his brother and stood, walking over to the table and grabbing the bowl of water and the cloth that was there.
He sat back beside Edmund, who was just staring at him, a look of fear in his eyes.
There was silence whilst he pulled his tunic over his head and turned with his back to Peter.
Peter held his breath as he caught sight of the lashes, most of them bleeding. Sighing he said: "This is gonna sting."
Edmund nodded. "I know." He choked. "But just get it over with."
Peter sighed sadly and wet the cloth, wringing it before holding it up to Edmund's back. Taking a deep breath he pressed it against the back of his neck, at the bottom, which is where some of the lashes started.
Edmund gasped as he immediately pulled away, squeezing his eyes shut as he gripped his blanket tightly in his hand.
"Sorry." Peter mumbled.
Edmund swallowed hard. "It's fine." He replied.
Peter nodded. "Ready?" He asked.
Edmund nodded back but said nothing as he braced himself.
Peter bit his lip before continuing.
Edmund had to bite down hard on his lip to stop himself from screaming, and unfortunately managed to split it again. Blood rolled down his chin but he completely ignored it, trying his hardest to ignore the pain in his back. With every second though this became harder and harder. Slowly he let the tears fall, taking a deep, shaky breath as they rolled slowly down his cheeks.
Peter continued for a while, hating having to cause his brother further pain. But he knew this had to be done, otherwise the wounds could get infected or something.
Edmund let out a small sob after a while, his eyes closing as he gripped the blankets as tightly as he could, literally forcing himself not to scream.
"Oh Ed." Peter choked, his hands shaking as he continued.
After another five minutes Edmund couldn't handle it any longer and, he screamed.
Peter immediately dropped the now blood covered cloth back in the bowl and placed it on the table. "All done." He said quickly before he pulled Edmund back into a hug, gripping his shoulders tightly. "It's all done."
Edmund let out a shaky breath as he buried his face into Peter's chest, trying to keep his breathing under control.
"It's okay." Peter whispered as Edmund slowly started to calm down.
After a long while he pulled away, squeezing his eyes shut when he moved.
"Ed your lip." Peter mumbled.
Edmund licked his lips and sighed when he tasted blood. "I - I obviously bit down on it too hard." He said quietly.
Peter grabbed a clean cloth and wet it before pressing it against his lip and cleaning up the blood. Edmund flinched slightly, but it was no where near as painful as his back.
Placing the cloth back on the table he carefuly helped Edmund put his tunic back on. It took a while but they got there eventually, before Edmund sunk back in to Peter's arms.
Peter pulled him close. "All done." He whispered.
Edmund nodded. "Thanks." He said, his voice cracking.
"No problem." Peter replied, and the two sat there in each others arms for what felt like forever.

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