A year as a Narnian || 365 Narnia one shots (Part one)

170: I won't give up (part two)

June 19th - Prompt: It's been a long time

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It had been a week since the day at the beach, and Edmund wasn't doing any better than he had been.

He was still waking up every night with nightmares, whether it be a mild one or one that left him screaming and clinging to whoever was closest, which was usually Peter. He was still having random flashbacks during the day which led to him feeling down and withdrawn. He prefered to be left alone, most of the time anyway, sometimes he would spend some time with his siblings, but not for too long at a time. He was always tired, he wasn't eating a lot, and he certainly wasn't sleeping as much as he needed too, and Peter was worried he was gonna make himself ill, well, more ill than the ptsd.

Peter and Edmund were currently on their way down to lunch, Peter trying his hardest not to stare at Edmund the whole time and to give him enough room to actually walk properly, if Peter had it his way he'd have an arm wrapped around his shoulder to steady him, because Edmund looked as though one nudge might send him crashing to the floor.

Peter had gone to the healers again in the last week, being worried for his brother again. The healer had said the best thing to do was try and get him to eat and drink as much as possible, and as far as the ptsd went, to try and include him in things, try and take his mind of his past, try and have fun with him.

It had worked at points, Susan would ask him to help her make some sort of sweet treat, and Peter had never been happier to see a smile on his face. Lucy would take him down the beach, to the woods, in the gardens, and they would have fun, until they wouldn't. Peter had taken him out on a few rides, they'd had a few rounds with their swords, but what with how tired Edmund was, swordfighting wasn't a great idea, and Peter figured that out when Edmund didn't block the easiest of moves and ended up with the tip of Peter's sword in his arm.

The wound wasn't anything bad, just a bit of blood and not too much pain, but Peter had still felt so guilty he followed Edmund around for the rest of the day and refused to leave his side, no matter how many times Edmund claimed he was fine.

Peter was pulled from his thoughts when he reached the dining room, opening the door to see Susan and Lucy already inside.

He placed a gentle hand on Edmund's shoulder, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes when his little brother clearly jumped, that was another thing... Edmund startled easily... extremely easily.

But Edmund didn't say anything and just quickly pulled away and went to sit down, gripping the arms of his chair so tightly his knuckles went white.

"Susan made pizza." Lucy told Edmund with a smile.

Edmund smiled weakly at her, nodding a little. "Looks good." He murmured, his voice quiet.

Susan smiled a little too, dishing up her siblings a fair amount of food, although Peter couldn't help but notice when she put an extra slice on Edmunds plate.

Edmund thanked her quietly, before picking up a slice. He stared at it for a while, before sighing and taking a bite.

Peter watched him until he'd eaten one slice, before turning to his own food, but he still kept an eye on his brother.

They ate in silence for ten minutes, before Lucy started telling them what she'd done that morning.

Peter listened to his sister with a small smile, before noticing Edmund was sitting there, his head down and his eyes closed.