Family Bonds -STORY UNDER REVISION!

Placing Bets

"Is Peter going to be okay?" Caspian asked. His hand was rested on his wife's waist, scarcely believing that they were to be parents.

Susan shrugged, placing her hand on his. "I'm not exactly sure why he reacted like this, but I think he should be fine."

Peter was sprawled in the grass, having taking the news of his sister being with child apparently a bit too hard. Elizabeth Jane was kneeling by his side, looking concerned at the fact Peter had fainted from shock, though the rest gathered were trying not to laugh at the expense of the High King. 

Aslan shook his mane, the Great Lion excusing himself from the gathering of the family and their close companions, letting Susan know she was a month and a half along before setting off at a quick pace. 

Lucy let her hand drift to where she still carried her cordial. "Do you think we should wake him up?"

Edmund grinned. "I have an idea." The Just King exited and soon came back with a bucket of water. Lucy and Susan both grinned slightly as their brother dumped the water over their elder brother's head, splashing Elizabeth Jane in the process. 

"Wha- Edmund! What was that for?" Peter spluttered, scrunching his nose to try and prevent water getting in it. 

Elizabeth Jane placed a hand on his shoulder as he sat up. "You...fainted."

"I did?" Everyone nodded as his eyes roamed between them. "Why?"

"Because our beloved sister is going to be a mother." Edmund said. 

Peter nodded. "I remember that. But how did-"

"Well, you see," Edmund interrupted his brother, a smirk on his face, "when a boy and a girl love each other very much..."

"That's not what I was going to ask, Edmund! Besides, I gave you and our sisters that talk years ago in the Golden Age." Peter shook his head. "I was going to ask how I ended up passed out on the grass."

Edmund raised his brow. "Your eyes went wide when Aslan said Susan was pregnant, and down you went. Perhaps it was shock?"

"I highly doubt that." Peter crossed his arms, trying to act more composed than he was. He had a hunch it was exactly that, but would never admit to being so shocked up his sister's state, especially seeing as she was now a married woman. However, to pull attention from himself, he turned to Susan and Caspian. "So do you know if you're having a girl or boy?"

"We don't want to know, so we didn't bother to ask Aslan." Susan smiled at her brother. "It's more fun to let it be a surprise."

"I think it would be lovely to have a girl to inherit your beauty." Caspian placed a kiss to top of Susan's head.

"Well, then I think we would also have to have a boy to be as handsome as you." She replied, her face in a grin. Neither truly cared if they had a boy or girl, just wanting the child to be happy.

Edmund smiled mischievously. "Why don't we take a bet on it? Just a friendly wager among family members..."

"Don't you dare!" Susan protested weakly.

Edmund gave her a pleading look. "It'll be fun, Su! Besides, we can make a good sport of it. It's not like there's anything bad about making a guess..."

"Can my bet be that they loser must do something?" Peter asked his brother.

Edmund nodded. "For example, I could bet on it being a boy and say that anyone who loses has to spend the day carrying me around and doing my bidding and so forth."

Peter grinned. "Okay, it's on. What's your real bet?"

"I bet on a boy, and that if I win, I can reveal a secret I know about any one of the losers."

"Then I'll bet on a girl." Peter said, looking as if he had recovered quite well from passing out. "If you lose, which I'm sure you will, Ed, you'll have to admit to the world the one thing I know about you that no one else does."

Edmund let surprise cloud his features for only a moment and then let the mischievous grin spread across his face once more. "A bold move, brother, and one that I'll readily accept seeing as I goaded you into this." He shook Peter's hand.

"Now that this ridiculousness is over..." Susan started, but did not get the chance to finish her thought as Lucy spoke.

"I want to know this secret Edmund has, so I bet on a girl with the same conditions." She stuck her hand out, waiting for either of her brothers to shake it.

Edmund smirked and shook her hand. "Oh, I have a wonderful tale to share when you lose."

Lucy gave him a cheeky grin. "If it's the story about my less than graceful attempt to flirt with a Duke of Archenland back in the days, you'll have to do better than that to come close to embarrassing me. Falling face-first into a fountain after choking on tea and telling him he was as handsome as a dog isn't as embarrassing now as it was when it happened. Now it's just pretty hilarious."

"Oh, you just upped the story pool I'll pick from." Edmund raised a brow. "Now I can get a range of what will actually embarrass you."

Susan shook her head and scolded her brother playfully. "Ed, you are rotten."

"I know, I'm the worst."

Elizabeth Jane and Tumnus both spoke up, each believing it to be a girl. They joined the bet, as both believed Edmund had nothing on them that could be too embarrassing. However, when they voiced that, Edmund had just grinned wickedly. 

"So, wait. I'm the only one betting on a boy?" Edmund asked, shocked. He turned to Caspian. "You'll back me up on this, won't you, brother?"

"I am staying out of this." Caspian replied. "Somehow, I think that is the best move I can make here."

Susan nodded, giving her husband a playful look. "It's the best move he can make." She then crossed her arms and looked at the five others. "You five, on the other hand, I guess will just have to go without hearing about all the things Caspian and I went and saw on our honeymoon."

Lucy looked to both of her brothers. "I blame you two for that!" She turned to her sister. "Please can we still hear all about it?" 

"Well," Susan shared a look with Caspian and then turned back to their family and close friends, "I suppose we could have a nice conversation over tea, if you'd like." 

Lucy grinned widely as the family set off for a lovely conversation over tea.