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It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.
Their outing wasn’t supposed to happen like that.
Edmund and Caspian’s hunting party wasn’t supposed to be attacked by Telmarines loyal to Miraz.
Caspian should never have found himself in the situation where he had to hurt his friend to help him. But here we are.
To add a little more context, since the abolition of Miraz’s reign and Caspian’s coronation just two months ago, the young man had been trying to spend a fair amount of one-on-one time with the 4 Pevensies. Because yes, they had stayed in Narnia rather than return to their world, feeling far happier and more accomplished here than there. Long discussions had followed the announcement of their desire to stay in Narnia, notably about who had which place.
After several long hours, everyone had finally agreed that the best thing to do was for them all to be the 5 kings and queens of Narnia. Indeed, putting only the Pevensies back in power would raise doubts in the Telmarines, who didn’t really recognize their legitimacy; but Caspian ruling alone would lose the confidence of the Narnians, who were more likely to recognize the sovereignty of the Kings and Queens of Old.
So, to ensure that everyone was satisfied and felt respected and represented, the 5-monarch solution was chosen.
And when it came to our young monarchs, they too had a hard time coming to an agreement. And not for the reasons you might think. No, each wanted the other to take the throne. Peter and Caspian, mainly, had spent hours on end arguing. “You should be king.” “No, you should.” “You know Narnia better than I do.” “I know more about the Narnia of 1500 years ago, I know nothing about the Telmarines.” “Your exploits are legendary; you’ll lead far better than I.” “I disagree, it was you who succeeded in reconciling Narnians and Telmarines.” “And I couldn’t have done it without you. You should be king.” “No, YOU should be king.” And so on.
Edmund, Lucy and Susan had simply watched the match, watching the young men in turn, like in a tennis match. They didn’t really have an opinion and would take the throne if it was offered to them but wouldn’t make a fuss if it wasn’t.
And then, after the 3rd time Peter and Caspian had repeated the same arguments over and over, Edmund had finally intervened. “What if both of you were kings?” He proposed, speaking a little louder to make himself heard.
Caspian and Peter stopped talking and turned to him, unsure how to react.
Susan took advantage of this lull to speak in turn. “Edmund’s right. The two of you could both be kings. You each have your own areas of expertise, and you can complement each other.”
“Narnia is big enough to have as many monarchs as she can take.” Lucy smiled. “And that way, both Narnians and Telmarines will feel represented and listened to.”
Peter and Caspian exchanged a look, feeling a little ashamed that they hadn’t thought of it before. But it was a good idea. So, they nodded, agreeing on the course of action.
“Then I suppose Narnia will have 5 monarchs.” Caspian declared.
“Five?” Edmund repeated.
“Five.” Peter confirmed. “I don’t rule without you. The 4 of us have learned to rule together and we all have our roles. There’s no way I can rule Narnia without you by my side, even with Caspian on the throne with us.”
Negotiations ended there, as all had agreed. The 5 of them would rule Narnia together.
Caspian was crowned King, while Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy reinstalled their titles as Kings and Queens of Narnia.
After that, when they weren’t actively reigning, Caspian tried to spend time with each Pevensie, getting to know them as individuals, not just as siblings.
And that was the plan for today. Edmund had invited Caspian to join him for the hunt, giving the two young men an opportunity to spend time together, away from their responsibilities and the other monarchs.
And it had all started well. They chatted about everything and anything, getting to know each other outside the castle and battles. Caspian had learned that Edmund was a great fan of reading and could spend hours with his nose plunged into any book he could get his hands on.
A keen reader himself, Caspian had offered to show Edmund the castle library in person, with Edmund in turn offering to share works from the Old Times, salvaged from the ruins of Cair Paravel, which was currently being rebuilt.
And it wasn’t long after that that everything went downhill.
As the two young men chatted quietly, Edmund heard a crossbow bolt and had just enough time to straighten his head before being knocked off his horse, and arrow embedded in his abdomen.
“Edmund!” Caspian shouted, cocking his own crossbow and searching for the source of the shot.
The reflection of the sun on a helmet gave him the position of their attacker, and he released his arrow. As soon as he heard the evidence that his arrow had found its target, he wasted no more time and jumped from Destrier, kneeling beside Edmund, who was flat on his back, his hands clasped on his abdomen, around the arrow that was still stuck, trying to reduce the amount of blood he was losing.
“Edmund, are you okay?” The young King asked, putting a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, mentally slapping himself for asking such a stupid question. Of course he wasn’t okay, he’d just been shot.
“Not dead yet.” Edmund groaned. “Look for… the others.”
“The others?”
“He certainly wasn’t… alone. Gotta finds his buddies.”
“I’m not leaving you here alone.” Caspian refused firmly.
“Not alone for long. Sky’s already left to warn the Castle.”
Caspian looked up quickly and saw that Skyfender, the eagle that had accompanied them, was no longer above them, having doubtless left for the Castle as soon as Edmund had been wounded.
“Caspian. Get the others. We need to.. find out why they- did this.”
Caspian was clearly divided, but he had to admit that Edmund was right. “You stay here.” He ordered simply, before rising to his feet and heading off into the forest towards the assailant he’d shot, crossbow ready and sword not far.
Edmund, for his part, allowed himself a few moments to breathe before trying to stand up, heaving in pain and letting his head fall back to the ground. If moving a little bit like that hurt that much, getting up was going to be a real ordeal. But Edmund didn’t really have a choice. He just couldn’t stay here, at everyone’s mercy and without any defense.
But clearly, he couldn’t do it alone. And Caspian might be off tracking their assailants, but that didn’t mean Edmund was alone.
As if to confirm his words, Majdha, his mare, came and blew on his head, making his hair move. “It’s all right, sweetheart.” The young man tried to reassure her. “I- I might need some help.”
And just as Edmund was thinking about how he was going to use his mare to get back on his feet, another helper arrived. “Majesty, we can be of assistance.” A voice came from his right.
Edmund turned his head and saw a pair of boars approaching him.
“Allow us to help you, Majesty.” The most imposing asked, coming even closer.
“I’ll accept with embarrassment. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get up in my own.”
“We’ll help you.” Asserted Mr. Boar, moving a little closer.
“You really shouldn’t move, Majesty.” Mrs. Boar interjected, worried. “Help is already on the way, you should better stay still.”
“Caspian may need me.” Edmund argued. “I’ve got to get up at least, we’ll see what we do after that.”
Clearly, Mrs. Boar wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but she approached as well.
Edmund thought for a moment, formulating his idea in his head.
“I’m going to turn around so I can get up on all fours. Then, I’d like to lean on your backs to get up. Majdha can support me once I’m on my feet. Will you allow me to lean on you?” Edmund asked, not forgetting his manners.
“Gladly, your Majesty.” The two boars replied, positioning themselves on either side of Edmund.
The latter nodded in thanks and breathed calmly a few times before starting to move. The first step was to roll on his side, and that alone was going to be difficult. Gritting his teeth, Edmund managed to rotate his torso to the side, but getting his legs to follow was more complicated, requiring more use of the muscles in his abdomen. Just as he was about to do so anyway, Edmund felt a new touch on his right leg and looked down to see Destrier, giving him little nudges with his nose to encourage him, letting him know he was ready to help.
“Thanks, Destrier.” Edmund whispered, accepting the extra help.
It took him a few minutes, and the pain was blinding, but Edmund managed to find himself on his knees, his hands resting on Mr. Boar’s back. All he needed was one more push to get to his feet. It wasn’t the most complicated or the most painful, but it was the riskiest, because if he falls straight back, Edmund could make the arrow move even more, worsening his injuries. But then again, he didn’t really have a choice. And he wasn’t alone. Mr. and Mrs. Boar were still here, as were Majdha and Destrier, ready to catch him if necessary and support him.
So, without much thought, Edmund forced on his legs and stood up, leaning first on Mr. Boar’s back, before grabbing Majdha’s saddle, leaning heavily on his mare to stay upright.
And Majdha was a great help, because as soon as he was on his feet, Edmund’s head began to spin violently, his vision filling with gray dots and his hearing taking a vacation. His legs were shaking, not just his legs in fact but that was the biggest worry at the moment. Edmund gripped Majdha’s saddle tightly, leaning on her to stay upright, closing his eyes and breathing hard, trying to push through the dizziness.
As soon as he felt slightly better, Edmund took a long breath and straightened up a little, without letting go of his mare. A glance around him told him that Mr. and Mrs. Boar were still there, still worried, and that Destrier was only a few yards away, turned towards where Caspian had gone, head held high and ears pointed forward, stamping on the spot.
“Everything all right, Destrier?” Edmund asked, frowning.
Destrier stomped a little and jerked his head towards where he was looking.
“I think Caspian’s in trouble.” Edmund muttered. “Thank you for your assistance, Mr. and Mrs. Boar. I’d advise you not to accompany you, as it could become dangerous. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask, I won’t forget your kindness.”
“We did our duty, your Highness, it was our pleasure.” Mrs. Boar simply said, bowing her head and heading back into the forest with Mr. Boar.
Edmund breathed in, bracing himself for the pain walking would cause, and glanced down at his wound.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have, for what he saw made him lightheaded. The arrow was still stuck in his abdomen, having passed through his leather tunic, shirt and undershirt, but seemed to have moved a little. Even through the dark leather, Edmund could see the bloodstain that accompanied the wound was large. Large and growing, because in the short time Edmund had been upright, the blood had already soaked part of his trouser leg.
Maybe they wouldn’t have time to wait for the reinforcements from the Castle after all. But those were thoughts for later. For now, Edmund had to join Caspian and help him.
“Let’s go. Destrier, take us to Caspian.” He asked, straightening his head.
They then moved forward slowly, Edmund’s left arm draped over his mare’s neck, clutching the saddle and leaning on it to move forward; his loaded crossbow held securely in his right hand.
After a few minutes of difficult walking, Edmund saw signs of fighting. Low foliage was in shambles, and low branches appeared to have been broken. On these branches, Edmund saw drops of blood, and he prayed Aslan that it wasn’t Caspian’s blood.
A few more moments and Edmund found a battle scene. Three men were already on the ground, more or less moving, while Caspian was fighting a fourth with his sword. Since he seemed to be winning, Edmund instead observed the scene around him, checking that there were no more men in ambush. And it’s a good thing he’d checked, because he spotted a man, perched in a tree and partly concealed by foliage, his cocked crossbow pointed at the scene, aiming at Caspian.
So, without much thought, Edmund pulled his left arm from his mare’s neck, leaning his back against her to stand, and raised his crossbow, aiming at the perched man.
Edmund didn’t spend too long aiming, not only because he was wasting precious time, but also, and above all, because keeping his arms up like that was straining his wound and he felt himself weakening by the moment.
So, he took aim quickly and unleashed his bolt, spinning between the branches to plant itself in the arm of his target, who fell from the tree with a scream, stopping screaming as he crashed to the ground. Whether he was dead or unconscious, Edmund didn’t know, and he honestly couldn’t care less, especially when his legs almost gave way beneath him and he had to hurry an arm around Majdha’s neck to avoid sprawling on the ground, barely stifling a cry of pain when the sudden movement disturbed his wound, stretching it painfully.
Caspian, for his part, was just finishing fighting the comrades of the man who had attacked Edmund when he heard a man he hadn’t seen cry out in pain and fall from a tree. He glanced to check that the fallen man was no longer a threat and then quickly knocked out the man he was fighting.
After that, without wasting time, he turned his head to see where the shot had come from, and that’s when he saw Destrier and Majdha, with Edmund half-slumped against his mare, and definitely not where he’d left him ten minutes earlier asking him not to move. Even more worrying was the size of the bloodstain Caspian could see from here.
“Edmund! What are you doing here?” Caspian exclaimed as he rushed towards the other king, barely catching him.
“Couldn’t… leave you- alone.” The youngest gasped, his face pale and sweating profusely.
“Idiot. Have you seen the state you’re in?” Caspian asked rhetorically, helping his friend to let go of his mare so he could lie on the ground.
Edmund gave in without protest and soon found himself back on the floor.
“I’m sure you aggravated your wound by moving around.” Caspian mumbled, observing the wound.
“Possibly. I think we- we’re going to have to… cauterize it.” Edmund choked out, struggling to catch his breath.
“What? No, it’s out of the question. Reinforcements will arrive soon, and Lucy will be there to heal you in no time.”
Edmund shook his head, stars filling his vision as he moved. “Too long. At least an hour- to us. Bleeding… to much. Must remove and- close.”
Caspian was clearly not up for this plan. Not to mention that while he’d never done it before, he knew how painful cauterizing a wound was. And he wanted to avoid inflicting that pain on Edmund.
“At least let me take a closer look at the wound. Sorry for the tunic.” Caspian apologized, pulling out a small dagger and using it to enlarge the hole in the thin leather.
“Already ruined.” Edmund mumbled. “Not the first. Don’t- worry.”
Caspian didn’t respond to this, simply frowning, and then attacked the shirt and undershirt. When he had cut through the 3 layers of clothing, he had freer access to the wound and felt himself turn pale.
At first glance, there was so much blood that he couldn’t make out the edges of the wound. But on closer inspection, he could see the delineation of the wound, the crossbow bolt stuck in the middle. And even if the bolt was still stuck in, the wound was bleeding. Heavily. Edmund was losing far too much blood, and even removing the bolt and applying compression wouldn’t be enough. If Caspian did nothing, Edmund would bleed to death before reinforcements could arrive. So, he’d have to cauterize the wound with whatever he had in hand.
“Edmund…” He began softly, hesitating and unsure how to say it.
“I know.” Edmund said. “Gotta burn.”
“I’m sorry, I know how painful this is. I mean, I don’t, but I’ve got an idea.”
“I know.” Edmund repeated, and Caspian didn’t want to think about what that meant. “Let’s make a fire first.”
Caspian shook himself and straightened up, going to fetch enough dead wood to light a fire strong enough to heat his sword long enough.
And just as he was about to get up, he saw several forest animals, including bears and wolves, approaching, all carrying dead branches of various sizes.
“We thought you might need these, your Majesties.” A grey wolf said, dropping what he was carrying a few yards from Caspian.
“Wha-” Caspian stammered, not really used to the Narnians and their help yet.
“Mr. and Mrs. Boar carried the message that the King was wounded and wouldn’t stay still despite warnings.” Informed a bear, also dropping off his load.
Edmund snorted, from where he was lying on the floor, even though he winced when that little movement disturbed his wound.
“Thank you, thank you all.” Caspian thanked profusely, grabbing branches of various sizes and putting them in an organized pile, in just the right position to start a fire.
Once this was done, he stupidly realized that he didn’t have anything to light the fire with. But before he could panic, a faun he hadn’t noticed approached.
“Here, Sire, use my fire stones.” He proposed, holding out his stones to Caspian, who took them.
“Thank you so much.” The monarch thanked, then quickly lit the fire.
And Aslan must have been with them, because the fire caught without a hitch, producing beautiful flames straight away.
“I can take care of heating the blade, Sire.” The faun offered.
“If you could.” Caspian agreed. “What’s your name, by the way?”
“Octus, Majesty.”
“Thank you for your help, Octus, it’s greatly appreciated.” Capsian thanked again, handing over the dagger he’s intended to use to cauterize Edmund’s wound to the faun. “And thank you to the rest of you too.” He added in the direction of the other Narnians, who had retreated a little to give them space, but remained close by in case their help was needed.
Caspian then turned his full attention back to Edmund. The younger’s face was tense and his breathing choppy, and he seemed to be doing his best not to let the pain completely overwhelm him, but he was still struggling.
“The blade’s heating, Ed. When it’s ready, I’ll have to remove the arrow before cauterizing the wound. I’ve got some water to clean the wound but I’m afraid the burn won’t keep it clean for long.”
“No water- worse. No risk.. infection.” Edmund whispered. “Lucy has… potion. Just stop- blood.”
His words were beginning to blend together and his voice was growing weaker. Clearly, the signs of blood loss were catching up with the suborn King.
Caspian was becoming increasingly worried, but he knew that panicking would get him nowhere, so he tried to stay calm. It wasn’t easy, but the Narnians around him were a great help.
“Ok. Ok.” He said softly.
With another blade he had on him, Caspian cut a large piece of Edmund’s tunic, in a place that wasn’t too dirty, and not entirely stained with blood.
“What’re doin’?” Edmund mumbled.
“You’ll probably want to bite something.” Caspian simply said, folding the piece of leather and placing it on the black-haired man’s shoulder to keep it off the ground.
Edmund nodded vaguely. He, too, was beginning to feel the effects of his injury and staying conscious was started to feel complicated. But he couldn’t let himself go. Firstly because he knew the risks of losing consciousness now, but also and above all because he knew it would panic Caspian even more.
It was at times like this that Edmund fully remembered that Caspian wasn’t even 18 yet, and that he didn’t have as much experience as the Pevensies in this kind of situation. That was normal and didn’t bother the others at all, but it also meant that in this precise situation, Edmund had to keep a cool head and be calm so as not to panic Caspian any more than he already was.
“Sire, the blade is ready.” Octus said, snapping Edmund out of his thoughts.
“Thank you, Octus. Ed, I’m going to have to remove the arrow.”
Edmund nodded, opened his mouth to allow Caspian to place his piece of tunic in it, and tried to take a deep breath, then gave a little nod to indicate he was ready.
And even though he’d prepared for it, he tensed when Caspian grabbed the arrow, making it move a little.
“I’m sorry, Edmund. I’m sorry.” Caspian muttered, seeming devastated to inflict more pain on him.
Edmund understood the feeling and appreciated that, but now was not the time.
“Do as you must.” Edmund gritted out, his teeth clenching on the piece of leather in his mouth.
He wasn’t sure how his words had come out, but they seemed to have been effective, for Caspian nodded, determined, and gripped the arrow firmly.
“I’m pulling the arrow out.” He announced simply, before pulling firmly, but not too fast either.
From then on, Edmund wasn’t really aware of what was going on around him. The pain that shot through him as Caspian withdrew the crossbow bolt tore through his abdomen, and he was glad to have a piece of leather in his mouth, for otherwise he would at least have split his tongue or lips open, biting tightly to try and stem the pain. In an almost automatic way, he raised his arms to bring his hands to his wound, trying to reduce the pain.
But fortunately, before his hands could reach his wound, his arms were immobilized at the shoulders by large paws and at the wrists by smaller ones. He didn’t know who was holding him down, but he was grateful to them. He knew, logically, that he shouldn’t touch the wound, but at that very moment, his logical mind had gone on a vacation.
Edmund barely had time to breathe once the arrow was out of his body before he felt heat approaching his abdomen. Instinctively, he began to wriggle to escape it, and weights blocked his legs, preventing them from moving either.
Luckily, Edmund didn’t have time to panic too much before the heat went from above him to on him.
And this time, when unconsciousness knocked on the door of his mind, Edmund welcomed it with open arms, letting go completely.
Caspian, for his part, had rarely felt so bad in his life, obliged to hurt Edmund even more to save his life.
Because even though he’d tried not to let on, Caspian had seen the way the youngest had tensed up when he’d caught the arrow. With his encouragement, Caspian had hesitated less and resolved to go for it. The sooner he started, the sooner he’d be finished.
So, without rushing, but without dragging, he removed the arrow. When Edmund’s hands began to move towards his wound, Caspian barely had time to open his mouth to tell him not to when a bear and two wolves were already on their monarch, pinning his arms to the ground.
Caspian didn’t say anything, but he was grateful to them and noted in the back of his mind that he’d have to thank them more later.
Without wasting any time, once the arrow was removed, Caspian grabbed the hot blade Octus was holding out to him and, mumbling an apology to his friend, brought the burning metal close to the open wound.
Edmund began to wriggle again, and this time, Octus came to pin his legs, immobilizing them, leaving Caspian free access.
He didn’t wait any longer and placed the burning blade on the open wound, which was bleeding even more since he had removed the arrow. Edmund tensed immediately and his cry of agony was barely muffled by the leather in his mouth, before his body went limp and his head rolled to the side, losing his battle with unconsciousness.
Caspian was almost relieved when Edmund passed out. If it would ease his pain even a little, it was worth it. It wasn’t ideal, but nothing in this situation was, so it would do.
It took Caspian two tries to stop the bleeding completely.
When the wound was closed, Caspian let go of the blade as if it had burned him, even though its handle wasn’t hot, unlike the blade, which he’d just burn Edmund with.
The young monarch remained motionless for a moment, sitting on his ankles with trembling hands, gradually realizing what he’d just done. He knew, logically, that there must still be things to do, but he couldn’t move. It was as if he was paralyzed by the horrors of what had just happened.
Luckily for him, he still wasn’t alone, and felt something nudge him in the shoulder. He shook his head and turned it slightly, seeing that it was Destrier, who gave him another little nudge in the shoulder, looking worried.
“Thanks, Destrier.” He said in a low voice, giving his horse a gentle pat on the tip of the nose before refocusing on his task.
Without saying anything more, Caspian grabbed the rest of Edmund’s ruined shirt and cut it into strips a few centimeters wide. With the Narnians’ help, he quickly bandaged the wounded man’s abdomen.
Once he’d done that, Caspian found himself rather idle. Now, he simply had to wait for reinforcements to arrive. But rather than stand idly by, he stood up and untied his cloak from Destrier’s saddle, wrapping Edmund in it as best as he could. It wasn’t particularly cold in the forest, but it wasn’t very warm either, and Edmund was essentially shirtless. Caspian didn’t want him to get sick, on top of that horrible wound. Once Edmund was wrapped in Caspian’s cloak, the latter grabbed Edmund’s own cloak from Majdha’s saddle and spread it like a blanket over the unconscious young man.
When he finished that, Caspian thought for less than a minute and decided that the closer he was to Edmund, the better he could monitor him, so he moved Edmund a little, almost settling him on his lap, himself leaning against the trunk of a tree.
A wolf and a few foxes approached and curled up in a ball pressed against Edmund’s legs, trying to keep him warm. Looking up, Caspian saw that Octus was further immobilizing the men he had fought earlier, and that other Narnians were a little further away, surveying the surroundings. Caspian let a small smile take place on his lips, the Narnians were really fantastic.
“Thank you so much. Thank you all, really.”
“Pleasure is ours, Your Majesty.”
Caspian wasn’t really sure who had just spoken, but it didn’t matter that much. He was just very grateful for them.
“It’s going to be alright, Ed. The others can’t be that far. We’ll get you patched up and back to the castle and you’ll be fine, I promise.” He said softly, pulling a few strands of sweat and grime covered hair from Edmund’s forehead.
He knew that the other King was unconscious and probably couldn’t hear him, but it was also to reassure himself that everything was going to be all right.
After that, Caspian wasn’t sure how much time he spent in this position, Edmund in his arms, anxiously awaiting the arrival of help.
And then, after several dozen minutes, one of the patrolling wolves approached them and Caspian raised his head.
“Their highnesses are approaching, Sire. They’ll be here shortly.” He informed him.
Caspian nodded and straightened slightly, wanting to put Edmund down on the ground. The latter groaned softly, however, moving his head a little to keep it in the crook of the taller man’s neck. Caspian resolved to wait in this position, even if he would have preferred to stand up to greet the rescue party.
It didn’t take them long to gallop into the small clearing they were in. Peter was leading the procession on Epona, his unicorn, and Lucy was next on Volovent, her stallion. Several centaurs and other Humans accompanied the two monarchs.
“Edmund, Caspian!” Lucy exclaimed as she leapt from the saddle, running the last few yards, crouching by the two young men. “What happened?” She asked immediately.
“We were attacked by a group of rebels loyal to Miraz. Edmund was hit in the abdomen by a crossbow bolt before we detected their presence. I told him to stay put while I went to see if there were more of them, but he ignored me and followed. When he reached me, and after I’d taken care of our attackers, he collapsed. I think moving to join me made his injury worse and he was losing a lot of blood. We… He insisted that I remove the arrow and cauterize his wound. He passed out during the cauterization. I didn’t have anything to clean up before or after, but I bandaged the wound with the remnants of his shirts. He’s been unconscious ever since.” Caspian quickly explained, trying hard not to let his voice shake.
Lucy nodded, having a pretty clear idea of what had happened. “Okay. I’ll heal the wound with my cordial, but I want to see it first. Help me lay him on the ground.” The young healer Queen asked.
Caspian complied and stood up, Lucy getting to work with a young healer from the castle who had come with them.
Caspian just stood there for a moment, simply watching them work, before a hand came to rest on his shoulder, making him jump slightly. He turned his head and saw that it was Peter, whose eyebrows were also furrowed. “Peter.” Caspian blurted out, not really knowing what to say.
“Caspian.” Peter answered with a small nod. “You’re okay? Were you hurt during the attack?”
“No I- I’m not hurt. Edmund was hit first and I quickly took care of the rest. I told him to stay put and let me do it, I swear, but he-”
“He’s stubborn as a mule and doesn’t know when to stop, I know.” Peter finished with a slight smile.
“I take it this isn’t the first time he’s done something like that?” Caspian guessed.
“Far from the first, and certainly not the last.” Peter confirmed. “So stop blaming yourself. Whatever you could have done, whatever you could have said, it wouldn’t have kept him put. And don’t you dare apologize for having to hurt him to remove the arrow and cauterize his wound. You probably saved his life by doing that.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Caspian defended himself weakly.
“But you were going to and you were already thinking it. I know what it’s like to have to hurt someone to help them. I know how unpleasant it is, but sometimes it’s necessary. Here, it was necessary. And it worked, because he’s going to be okay. You did the right thing and Lucy will be able to heal what’s left.” Peter reassured him, his hand still resting on Caspian’s shoulder.
Caspian still wasn’t convinced, but he was reassured. For a moment, he’d been worried about Peter’s reaction, knowing that the other king was extremely protective of his siblings. But it seemed he’d worried for nothing. Because maybe Peter was worried, but he wasn’t angry. Not at Caspian, at last.
“You said you’ve been attacked by Miraz’s followers?” Peter asked, glancing at the captive men guarded by the Narnians.
“Affirmative. I didn’t have time to ask them too many questions, but that’s what I understood from what little they said during our fight. Some of them are still alive.”
“Good. Glenstorm, we’re going to take these prisoners back to the castle for questioning. I’ll leave you to it.”
“As you wish, Majesty.” The centaur agreed, setting to work.
Caspian and Peter took a step back and watched as men and centaurs worked in harmony to take care of the prisoners.
“Caspian.” Lucy called, a few minutes later.
Capsian turned his head towards her, Peter copying his movements, to see that the young Queen was waving them over.
Caspian obeyed and, as he approached, realized that Edmund’s eyes were open and that he seemed to be feeling better. “Edmund.” He sighed, relived. “You’re awake.”
“Thanks to you.” The youngest king said with a small smile. “Thank you, Caspian, for everything. And it’s not your fault, you did the right thing.” He continued, knowing the other King’s habit of blaming himself for everything.
“Don’t worry, Ed, I’ve already told him. We’ll have to say it a dozen more times before he believes it, but we’ve got time.” Peter interjected, crouching beside his brother. “How are you feeling?”
“Ready to sleep 15 more hours but otherwise fine.”
“It was close.” Lucy muttered, putting her things away. “You’re lucky the arrow didn’t do more damage that that when you moved, stood up, and came to fight with it still stuck in you.”
“Exactly what she said.” Peter added. “So next time, you learn to do as you’re told when you’re hurt.” He said softly, ruffling his hair.
“I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.” Edmund defended himself, pushing his brother’s hand away limply. “Besides, if I hadn’t arrived when I did, Caspian would have been shot too. And we’d both have been wounded waiting for you.”
Peter and Lucy immediately turned their heads towards the 4th monarch at this sentence, the younger one examining him with her piercing gaze to make sure he was as well as he claimed to be.
Caspian fidgeted a little under her attention but finally answered. “We’re not even sure he would have hit me. Anyway, I thank you for intervening, Edmund, but I don’t thank you for moving and aggravating your wounds when I asked you not to.”
“See, we all agree. When are you gonna learn to do as you’re told, Edmund Pevensie?” Peter asked playfully.
“You know what, I’m going to fall asleep here and now so I don’t have to listen to you talk nonsense.” Edmund replied, effectively closing his eyes.
“At least wait until you’re on a horse, you’re such a dead weight to move when you’re asleep.” Peter complained.
Edmund didn’t reply and even feigned a snore, indicating that he had no intention of moving in the near future, leaving all the work of moving him to Peter, who grunted but eventually laughed.
Lucy joined him in his laughter, and even though he was still pretending to be asleep, Edmund smiled too. Caspian couldn’t hold back for long and ended up laughing softly too.
Yes, the decision to rule Narnia as a 5-person team with the Pevensie at his side was a good one indeed. And even if it wasn’t always going to be easy, as today just proved it, they were in it together.