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[callmegentle]

They had written to Peter, of course, soon after the Battle at Anvard had concluded and Rabadash was sent on his way back to Calormen. They hadn't expected much of a response other than the 'message recieved' one-- time was short for letter-writing in the North. They all knew that.

But Susan also knew that her brother would likely want to have words with her when he returned. So, when he did return and the feast celebrating his return had ended, Susan found herself waiting on the balcony staring into the night.

When she hears her brother's footsteps behind her, she lets her shoulders slump just slightly.

"Go on, then. Say 'I told you so.'"

Because he had told her so. And she had failed in her promise to him.

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[magnificis]

"Don't martyr yourself, Susan," Peter irritably snapped, starting to regret having champagne with dinner. It always tended to loosen his somewhat (often) tenuous hold on his temper.

"I'm not blaming anyone." More was the pity, he privately felt. "I'm simply trying to figure out a way to justify having to deal with the aftermaths of this." He knew that Aslan had punished Rabadash well and good, yet that wasn't quite mollifying enough for the High King. Coming home from a war and getting yanked into the thick of this mess certainly hadn't helped, either.

Peter blew out his breath, shaking his head and crossing his arms, leaning a shoulder against the marbled column. "It's quite a mess, Su," he mused after a minute. "One of the more impressive ones too, I might add."

[callmegentle]

"I know that, Peter." And there's an edge to her voice as she says it. She runs a hand through her hair, tugs just a little to hard on it as she does so, "Lion's Mane, you think I don't know that? We have been doing clean-up on this since well before you came home. But the Tisroc does not want to listen to the man who bested his eldest son in battle, nor the barbarian prize that son had hoped to win."

Because that had been the fate planned for her, had Rabadash succeeded. She would have been taken back to Calormen, made a concubine to the Prince against her will. The Tisroc had made that quite clear when they had first attempted to discuss matters with him.

The knowledge of that almost-fate gets a stiffening in her shoulders again, another pang of pain shooting through her chest. It is not easy thing to have been very nearly in love with a man who would have made you his slave when denied marriage.

[magnificis]

"Do you believe he has a choice?" Peter's tone was just as edged, he turning back to look at her, all feigned impassiveness gone from his countenance. "He will sit down and treat with me because I say he will, Susan, no questions asked."

There were times when Peter did lean upon his status and title to get things done, though he took care to use it as sparingly as he could. But every so often, he used his Crown to shove his way to peace, telling himself that the ends justified the means, if only to help him sleep at night.

"The man will learn to have respect, if not for his elders, then for his betters, by Aslan's eyes. And if I have to challenge him to single combat on the field to enforce that lesson if he won't agree to reason, then so be it. There aren't many options left, and we will not let this go unresolved."

[callmegentle]

"Yes, that is exactly why it has to be you to speak with him, much though I know none of us want this. Because he will not speak with Edmund and he will not speak with me. But the Tisroc is not so foolish as to deny the High King."

And she is certain, as surely as the Lion watches over them all, that Peter will be able to make the messages they have been trying to convey hit home.

[magnificis]

'Hit home' one way or the other, Peter was sure. He'd see to it.

"I never said I wasn't, Su. I merely said I wasn't looking forward to doing so." But Peter had never shirked his duty, and he definitely wasn't going to start now.

"Just--promise me one thing, please. The next time you fancy a particular young prince, allow me the obligatory elder brother thrashing beforehand? That way, if he comes back afterward, we'll know that one's worth keeping."

[callmegentle]

"I promise." And it's absolutely one she intends to do better with, "Though in all honesty, I'm quite done with and all this courtship nonsense for now. It's been causing me nothing but headaches and grief."

And even though she knows she's the best bargaining chip they have, so to speak, when it comes to courtship-- Lucy is absolutely too devoted to the Lion to seriously consider anyone else, Peter is too devoted to Narnia, Edmund simply doesn't care for the whole mess a whit-- she's quite tired of feeling as though she needs to put herself on the market for marriage for the sake of the kingdom.

"Surely they'll not be so insistent that I find myself a match for a while after this, yes?"

She hopes so.

[magnificis]

Despite his earlier frustration and pique, Peter simply couldn't keep his anger simmering, not at Susan directly. He knew she carried the guilt of what had transpired, but she'd have to make peace with that herself. He couldn't help here there. But he could reach out and pull her into a loving embrace, settling her head on his shoulder and putting his arms around her, offering comfort.

"I'd think not, Su," he murmured against her hair, kissing her temple. "I think we are done with that, for a good long while. There's no reason for you to feel as if it's expected, you're not a broodmare to be handed off to the highest bidder." Peter gently chucked her chin.

"You're a Queen of Narnia, remember?"

[callmegentle]

It takes her a moment to relax the tension in her shoulders enough to let him pull her in, but once she does, she leans against him with a sigh shaky from the sudden lump in her throat.

"A Queen is meant to have heirs, isn't she? And even if you or Edmund finally decide to take Queens of your own to ensure the line of succession, there's still the fact that it's quite useful in the way of making alliances with other nations to marry off one royal with another."

Which had, once it had become clear that Rabadash had come with the purpose of courting her, been one of the things she'd had on her mind when she'd been seriously considering him as a husband. A marriage to the Calormene heir, had it worked out, would have been a benefit to both kingdoms.

"And I know none of us want Lucy to do that-- certainly she doesn't, either, so I just thought..."

She just thought she was doing what was best, and it burned to know things had gone so terribly awry.

[magnificis]

He squeezed her tight. "There's time for that, Susan," Peter told her. The thought of marriage and children, quite frankly, terrified Peter. He kept telling himself the same thing he did Susan now, which was, "Narnia doesn't need allies so urgently as to pawn you off with the first noble offering an army, sister. I promise you that.

"Besides," he added, "I don't think Aslan would approve of a marriage based solely on political foundations. At least not for us, right?" He had no doubt the Lion would wish them to marry for love, or at least mutual affection.

[callmegentle]

"--No, I did not think so, either."

But admitting as much about what she thought of the Lion's will gets her eyes lowering again-- because there had been mutual affection, or at least she had thought, with Rabadash. There had been more than just the political in her mind.

She had, in a way, followed her heart as Lucy pleaded with her to so often, and the spectacular failure that it had become was making her think that it wasn't so brilliant a way to live after all.

At least, she thought to herself now, following her heart in this particular manner wasn't going to be an issue for a little longer yet.

[magnificis]

"Then there we are, all right?"

Peter drew back to kiss her forehead, then stepped back entirely, adjusting his scarlet cloak out of habit. "I know Rabadash hurt you, and Aslan has charged him for that. It's time to let go of that hurt, Su, and move on."

It sounded so simple to Peter, but then, he'd never experienced betrayal in such a way.

[callmegentle]

"I'm doing my best, Pete," she replies, pressing a brief kiss against his cheek before she pulls away herself, "Just... give me time, please? This has been-- harder than I thought it'd be."

Because he doesn't know. He's never had his heart broken quite like this, and he hadn't been around Rabadash to see how he'd treated his sister to see why she'd been drawn in the way he had-- couldn't compare it to how he had behaved in Calormen and since. So he couldn't possibly understand why the hurt lingered as much as it did.

[magnificis]

All in all, Peter didn't envy Susan her situation. He knew it was hard, or thought he did. They looked at things from such different points of view, it was sometimes worrisome.

But she was still his sister, and he loved her. So he nodded. "...all right." Thankfully Aslan had taken care of meting out justice, because in all honesty, Peter didn't think he could have been impartial doing so. Not seeing his gentle sister looking so forlorn and despairing.

[callmegentle]

"Thank you, Peter."

And there's a flicker of a genuine smile that touches her lips, just barely, as she says it. It'll be some time before she can smile entirely properly again, but she'll heal.

She'll put this behind her, just as she has put every other pain of the past. He can be well-assured of that.

[magnificis]

"You're welcome." He could be gracious, he supposed. He had no reason to dig the spurs in any deeper, really. "C'mon, Su," Peter entreated, offering her his arm. "Let's call it a night, hm? It's late and everyone's exhausted."

[callmegentle]

She takes his arm after but a moment, shifting to lean her head just slightly against his shoulder as she does so.

"That sounds good," she agrees, "Especially since you look as though you've not slept since you left for the North."

Which she would probably put money on, really. It was Peter.

[magnificis]

"Very little," he agreed as they walked down the open corridor. "It was a rough campaign, that was certain." Bloody unbearable, really; it was cold, harsh terrain, colder and harsher enemies with which to contend.

"But we came through well enough." And the threat was quiet, at least for now. "I doubt the Ettinsmoor will start any trouble again soon."

So he prayed.

[callmegentle]

"I have every faith that you have taught them a lasting lesson," she tells him, squeezing his arm just slightly, "And now, Lion willing, you'll have a little bit of time before your next campaign."

She doesn't say time to rest-- Lion knows they never get that-- but at the very least, he'll have time before he has to go into combat again.

[magnificis]

"So I hope," Peter agreed fervently. "I'm getting bloody well tired of riding off to deliver a lesson in manners to some idiot bungler just on the principle of the thing." Regardless of his skill in battle, of his courage and bravery in leading his people on the field of valor, Peter still viewed war as one of the stupidest things. There were other ways to settle disputes, by the Lion's great mane.

But he hadn't secured his borders nor the safety of his subjects, as well as his family, by backing down from any threat, either.

His lips twitched. "You'd think folks would realize by now that we mean what we say when we say it." He gave Susan's hand a squeeze, saying with a tired sigh, "I suppose it'll always be like that, though. Jolly fun, really."

[callmegentle]

"There'll always be someone trying something somewhere, unfortunately," she reminds him, "That's why you and Edmund need to take turns more often in leading the army, instead of you running yourself ragged trying to deal with them back to back."

Or Lucy, really. Their brave sister was proving her mettle in battle more and more often. Not that they desired for her to be in battle, but certainly they'd all feel more comfortable if Peter wasn't taking on so much of this load on his own.

[magnificis]

Peter sighed, pausing before the doors to Susan's quarters. "Which is why our work will never really be done." He put his hands on her upper arms and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Don't fret for me, Su. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."

Although "myself" usually came dead last on Peter's to-do list.

"Get some sleep," he told her, taking another squeeze for himself. "And I'll see you in the morning at breakfast." Although his door was always open, should she need him before then.

[callmegentle]

"I know. The question is will you take care of yourself."

Which all of their siblings know is a problem they all face-- they'd rather take care of one another than themselves. She returns the embrace affectionately.

"You get some rest as well, Pete. And welcome home."

It's good to have him here.

[magnificis]

His lips twisted in a wry smile. "If I don't, I can always count on one of you to do it for me, right?" Whether he wanted them to or not. It was one of the things he both loved and hated about his siblings.

Another kiss to her cheek and Peter stepped back, nodding. "Thanks, Su. See you in the morning." He chucked her chin and flashed a rare smile before moving on down the corridor, headed for his own quarters and hopefully, a decen night's sleep.

[callmegentle]

"Always, Peter." And that was just the way it was, between the four of them. It was something they simply had to accept.

"Sweet dreams."

And it's good to see him smiling before he leaves. Has a small one touching her lips as she turns in for the night, herself.