September 27th - Prompt: Potion
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Edmund swallowed hard as Peter came running over, falling to his knees beside him and helping him to sit up.
"Are you alright?" Peter asked, sounding beyond worried.
Edmund slowly glanced back at the tree branch, taking a deep, shaky breath before nodding a little. "Yeah..." He whispered, but he sounded far from certain.
Peter stared at him for a second or two, before tuning to the bench. "What happened?" He murmured, gripping Edmunds shoulder.
Edmund coughed a few times, before biting his lip. "The - The wind picked up." He mumbled. "And the branch just fell..."
"It just fell?" Peter said, not sounding convinced at all.
Edmund hesitated. "But Peter-" He choked out. "There - There was snow. There was snow Pete, only a little bit, but it snowed."
Peter stared at his brother, eyes slightly wider than before. "You're sure?" He breathed.
Edmund nodded. "It was snow." He choked. "Peter, what if-"
"Don't Ed." Peter cut him off quickly. "Don't even say it."
"But there was snow!" Edmund cried. "It's only October Peter! It didn't start snowing until December last year!"
Peter took a deep breath. "Come on," He said. "You need to get back inside, you're shivering."
"I'm shaking." Edmund corrected him, but let him pull him to his feet and lead him back inside.
He walked in silence until he reached their room, before sighing and collapsing onto his bed. "Something's out to kill me." He grumbled.
Peter frowned. "What?" He mumbled.
Edmund raised an eyebrow, sitting up at looking at his brother. "I got locked into a room that sets itself on fire, and then a branch nearly falls on me and kills me." He explained slowly.
Peter stared at him, slowly shaking his head. "Don't be silly Ed." He muttered. "It was just a - a bit of bad luck."
Edmund sighed. "And the snow?" He murmured.
Peter didn't know what to say.
"Somsthings going on Peter." Edmund told him. "There's no point being in denial about it, it won't help either of us."
Peter hesitated, but slowly nodded. "You - You want me to talk to someone?" He asked. "Get their opinion?"
Edmund nodded. "Thanks." He breathed.
Peter smiled weakly, and after placing a gentle kiss to Edmunds forehead, he stood. "Wait for me here." He mumbled. "I won't be long."
Edmund nodded, and once his brother was gone he lay back down, curling up under the covers and eventually, to his surprise, actually falling asleep.
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Edmund didn't know how long later it was that he woke, but he did quickly realise that he was still alone.
Stretching and taking deep breaths, Edmund slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing.
Trying to flatten his hair which had decided to stick up on end, he grabbed his cloak and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
Rubbing at his eyes he made his way down the corridor, creeping around each corner and nodding and smiling at everyone that passed and wished him a good afternoon.
If he knew Peter, he had gone straight to the healers to ask, so that was his first stop, and if he wasn't there, then he was probably with Orious.
He rubbed at his eyes as he walked, but quickly realised this probably wasn't a good idea when he tripped.
In no time he found himself face down on the slippery, marble floor, gasping slightly in pain before groaning. "Idiot." He grumbled to himself.
He froze though when a cold draft passed over him, and he shivered for a second, before it completely disappeared.
"Maybe you're an idiot for wondering around the castle by yourself."
Edmund sighed at his own voide in his head... it was right he guessed, but at the same time he shouldn't have to fear his own home.
After a moment he decided he should probably get up and off the floor, but he didn't get very far before someone grabbed his arms and began dragging him across the floor.
At first he thought perhaps it was Peter, just having a laugh with him... before he looked up...
There was no one there...
He was being dragged across the floor, by no one.
His instincts kicked in, and he quickly began kicking and screaming, hoping beyond hope someone would hear him and rescue him from... nobody.
It was a horrid feeling, being dragged across the floor but what seemed like nobody, and he hated it, praying to Aslan that someone would hear him.
He was so releived when suddenly Peter and Orious burst from a nearby room, both looking beyond concerned.
And when Peter saw his brother, his eyes went wide. "Ed!" He screamed, before dashing off after him.
Once reaching him, he flung himself to the floor and all but on top of his brother, stopping him from going anywhere else until Edmunds arms dropped to the floor above of him, like someone had dropped them, and he took a deep breath.
"Ed?" He whispered, slowly looking up but not daring to move from where he was pinning Edmund to the ground.
Edmund was taking quick, sharp breaths, tears stinging his eyes which he was forcing back, but in all honesty he looked traumatised.
"Ed?" Peter tried again when his brother didn't answer him.
Edmund swallowed hard, and it looked like he pulled himself together, at least, he sat up slowly and glanced down at Peter, who eventually decided to let go and sit in front of him. "Someone - Someone grabbed me." Edmund choked. "Someone was dragging me."
Peter hesitated. "There was no one there..." He all but whispered.
"Someone had hold of my wrists Peter!" Edmund cried. "I felt it, someone grabbed me! And their grip was as cold as - as ice."
Peter stared deep into Edmunds eyes, spotting a worried look he'd only ever seen at one point in his little brother's life...
When the witch came to Aslans camp to claim his blood.
"Ed-" Peter murmured.
"She's grabbed my wrists before Peter." Edmund choked. "I know what it feels like... It was Her, I know it was."
Peter's heart was pounding. "But how?!" He cried. "It - It can't be, she's dead, I watched Aslan kill her Edmund."
Edmund swallowed hard, trying to still his sudden trembling. "I - I don't know how." He all but whispered, staring at anything but Peter now.
Peter stared at his brother for a moment, before sighing. "You okay?" He murmured.
Edmund was going to say yes, but in the end knew Peter wouldn't believe that so shook his head. "If it really is Her, in some sort of ghost form by the looks of it," He said slowly. "She's gonna kill me Pete."
Peter firmly shook his head at this. "No," He said. "She won't."
"Have you not seen what she's already done?!" Edmund choked. "She's tried killing me three times already."
"She won't kill you because I won't let her." Peter snapped. "I promise you."
Edmund gave Peter a weak smile, but it was gone as quick as it came, and he gently and hesitantly rested his head forward against Peter's shoulder.
Peter rested his head on Edmund's, wrapping an arm around his shoulder with a sigh. "You really think it's a ghost?" He mumbled.
Edmund hesitated. "Or along the lines of it, maybe She's come back as an evil spirit or something." He suggested, trying to think of every possibility.
Peter nodded a little. "Okay..." He said slowly. "How do you get rid of an evil spirit, it's not like we can see it to kill it."
Edmund was quiet for a moment. "We could ask someone?" He said. "I'm sure a healer would know the answer, or someone along those lines."
"Yeah." Peter breathed. "Alright then, come on."
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"This potion..."
Peter took a deep breath, staring at the two vials the healer had placed on the table in front of them, eyeing the dark brown liquid warily.
"It's known to let people see ghosts and spirits." The healer explained. "And if you can see it, you can kill it."
"You can't kill a ghost." Edmund pointed out.
The healer shook his head. "If its an evil spirit though, I do believe Rhindon is enough to get rid of it." He said.
Peter slowly looked down at the sword he carried, taking a deep breath. "Really?" He murmured.
The healer nodded, before sighing. "Only thing is, no one's ever really tried this potion before..."
Peter's heart skipped a beat. "So there's a possibility it won't work?" He asked.
"There's that, yes." The healer said slowly. "But there's also a chance of side effects, painful side effects, as there is with any potion."
Edmund bit his lip, and noticed Peter's worried look. "We have to Peter." He said, almost desperately. "The witch is going to keep on trying, until we get rid of her, and only your sword can do that, if we can see her."
Peter hesitated. "Let me do it then." He said quickly. "Just me, there's no need for you to drink it and join me."
Edmund sighed. "I won't let you face her alone." He said firmly, despite how absolutely terrified this whole thing made him... seeing the witch again was enough to make him feel more than sick.
"I can't let you Ed-" Peter whispered.
"Peter please," Edmund sighed. "I can't let her hurt you."
Peter shook his head. "And I can't let her hurt you." He choked.
Edmund smiled weakly. "She's already done that Peter." He sighed, before: "Besides, two people have a much better chance at success than one..."
Peter swallowed hard, but he couldn't deny that Edmund was right about the two being better than one.
He glanced into Edmunds dark eyes, and saw the determination in them that he'd seen so many times, and which also told him he wasn't going to give up, that he was going to be doing whatever he'd set his mind to.
In the end, Peter really had no choice but to say yes, although he hated it so much. "But please, don't do anything stupid." He muttered. "I'm killing her, you're not to go near her."
Edmund nodded slowly, understanding Peter's concern and agreeing with what he wished, after all, refusing to do as Peter said would just make things a whole lot worse.
"So, we both drinking at the same time?" Edmund asked, taking one of the viles.
"I will leave you be." The healer stepped in. "And make sure the castle is clear."
"Could you not tell the Queens?" Peter asked quickly. "They don't need to know, not just yet anyway."
The healer bowed his head. "Of course." He replied, before leaving.
Edmund waited until the door was closed before opening his vial.
"Ed wait." Peter said quickly. "I'll take it first, just to be on the safe side."
"Not likely." Edmund snorted. "At the same time."
"Ed please?" Peter begged.
Edmund stared at him for a long minute, before slowly nodding. "Okay." He murmured.
Peter hesitated, before nodding and undoing his vial, staring down at it in disgust. "Looks awful." He grumbled.
"Bet it tastes awful too." Edmund added, staring at the horrible, brown stuff.
"Well," Peter said, taking a deep breath. "Bottoms up."
And with that, he lifted the vial to his lips and drank the contents, and to his horror, so did Edmund.
"Ed - Edmund!" Peter coughed and spluttered, choking on the foul taste in his mouth.
Edmund full on gagged at the taste, and nearly threw it straight back up again, but thankfully managed to hold it down. "We - We do things together, Peter. Never alone." He muttered. "I would've thought you'd know that by now."
Peter stared at him, and the two seemed to be waiting for something to happen... only, nothing did.
After a good five minutes, Peter took a deep breath. "How you feeling?" He asked.
Edmund frowned, shrugging. "I feel, normal." He replied.
Peter nodded. "Yeah, me too..." He breathed.
"So..." Edmund paused for a second. "If it was the Witch, we should now be able to see her, and kill her with your sword?"
"Yeah." Peter said slowly and quietly, nodding his head.
Edmund took a deep breath. "Alright then." He breathed. "Let's go hunt a Witch."
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