Even a traitor may mend || The chronicles of narnia

A little different

Over the next few months, things just got a whole lot worse for Edmund, well, in Peter's eyes they did.
He was getting meaner every day, getting into all sorts of trouble at school, and hardly even speaking to his older brother - and when he did it was shouting.
It wasn't just at school though, during the summer holidays Edmund's mood didn't change... he even started being mean to Lucy, much to his little sisters confusion and disappointment.
By the time Edmund turned 11 Peter had had just about enough of his behaviour, and on the morning after Edmund's birthday, decided to try once again to talk some sense into him.
Spotting him outside leaning against the garden fence, Peter quickly headed outside, not making a sound as he walked over and sat beside Edmund.
Edmund glanced at him for a second before looking away, not speaking and looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Ed?" Peter asked slowly.
"Hmm?" Was Edmund's reply, quiet and harsh.
Peter sighed. "Ed you have to stop acting like this." He said hesitantly.
Edmund immediately rolled his eyes. "Not this conversation again." He muttered. "We've had this conversation more times than I can count!"
"And it's obviously not enough." Peter said firmly, a small frown on his face.
Edmund looked away again, looking more than a bit annoyed.
"Ed you're eleven years old." Peter said. "Don't you think it's about time you grew up?"
Edmund's head snapped to the side so that he was looking at Peter again. "You don't understand anything." He spat.
Peter sighed. "Then help me to understand." He said as gently as he could, despite the anger he felt.
Edmund glared at him. "Just stay out of this." He said as he stood. "I don't always want you breathing down my neck."
Peter watched him as he ran back into the house, sighing a little. Once again he'd failed to get through to his brother.
No matter how many times he had that conversation with Edmund it always ended in the same way, with Edmund storming off.
After a short while Peter sighed to himself before standing and heading slowly back into the house.
Meanwhile Edmund lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, tears in his eyes which he forced back, telling himself over and over again that he would not cry, that he could not cry.
He would never tell Peter what was really going on, never tell him how much he missed his Dad and how much he was struggling with this whole war and everything else.
His birthday yesterday just seemed to of made things worse, but it wasn't exactly the best birthday he'd ever had.
Food rationing, was what ruined the day the most, in Edmund's eyes anyway. That and his Dad not being there.
Yesterday had been his first birthday ever without his Dad, and that just made him rather upset for most of the day.
He had managed to put on a smile and actually act kind enough when his siblings and Mum gave him presents, and when Susan announced that, after a long time of searching and saving up, she'd gathered enough ingredients to make a cake, but he just couldn't feel completely happy without his Dad.
What made him feel worse though was the thought of having to go back to school again tomorrow.
The thought of seeing his friends again was the only thing he was actually looking forward too.
He frowned to himself, friends? Were they really his friends? Peter had said they weren't, and that they only wanted to get him into trouble, and whilst he had certainly gotten into trouble more than a few times since he'd been friends with them, he still kept telling himself that they were friends.
He knew though, deep down that they were no good, but he would never admit that, to Peter or even himself.
Another thing though was his mother's disappointment when she found out how much his grades had dropped, and while she wasn't  angry at all, she had told him to try harder, a look of disappointment in her eyes as she did.
Edmund couldn't blame her though, even he was shocked at how bad he was doing. He'd had a test just before the end of the year, and had passed... but only just, he was surprised he actually did.
Peter had noticed this too and had tried his hardest to help Edmund with his work, but Edmund refused to let him, saying that he was quite capable of doing it himself.
Edmund was pulled from his thoughts when the bedroom door opened and Peter walked in, their eyes locking for just a second before Peter walked across the room and sat on his bed.
Edmund just sat and watched him, not saying anything or even moving.
It was Peter who eventually broke the awkward silence. "Mum said you should probably finish packing." He said quietly, nodding to Edmund's half filled suitcase which lay open on the floor.
Edmund nodded, but didn't move from the bed. "I'll finish after dinner." He said.
Peter nodded. "Okay." He mumbled.
They fell silent again.
"I forgot to ask if you had a good day yesterday." Peter said eventually.
Edmund was quiet for a moment before he sighed. "It was alright I suppose." He said. "Just - a little different."
Peter nodded. "I know what you mean." He said quietly. "But hey, hopefully by your next birthday everything will be back to normal."
Edmund nodded a little. "Hopefully." He mumbled.
"What do you say to a game of chess?" Peter suggested. "With the set Mum got you."
Edmund stared at his brother for a moment, taking a deep breath before nodding his head. "Sure." He breathed.
Peter breathed a sigh of relief, having thought that Edmund would've said no, so when he said yes, he smiled gently before Edmund went to get the chess board.

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