ignite me / p. pevensie

chapter forty-six

 "Peter!" Rowyn shouted at her husband as his sword swung back and forth down onto the head of the man who's lap he straddled. "Peter, stop!" Rowyn carefully tried to pull him away from the man's clearly deceased body. Peter was shaking with rage as he continued for another minute or so before Rowyn successfully pulled him off of the solider and into her arms.

Edmund came rushing forward with his own blood-soaked sword. "Get him out of here, Lucy and I got this!" Rowyn silently thanked him and—with her arm around his waist—carefully led Peter off of the battlefield and to their tent which rested a few miles North.

Peter held a straight, terrified, angry expression as she undid the buckles of his chain-mail and pulled them from his body. His once tan skin was now completely red and dripping with the blood of the man who nearly took Rowyn away from him. Rowyn bit back any sign of shock as she removed her own battle leathers—leaving her in just gray leather pants and a red tunic—and removed the rest of Peter's clothes until he was completely bare in front of him.

"Can you lift your arms for me?" Rowyn asked quietly when she struggled to remove the undershirt he wore underneath his armor. Peter, keeping his dead stare on the ground, raised his arms, and allowed her to peel the soaked material from his chest. Rowyn placed the material in a basket beside their bed and led Peter to a small tub that rested within the large tent they stayed in. Carefully, Rowyn helped him sit in it before Rowyn grabbed a cup and placed it into a large bucket of water they used for cleaning themselves.

Peter didn't show any expression for awhile, just a dead, cold stare, until he finally spoke as she poured water onto his shoulders. "I thought I was going to lose you for good . . ." His voice was broken.

Rowyn's movements halted and she placed the cup down and brushed his jaw with her fingertips. "You're never going to lose me, Pete." He finally met her eyes with tears brimming the edges of his ocean blue eyes. "It's okay . . ." He took a deep, shaky breath and closed his eyes.

"I-I didn't even think, I just-"

"What you did doesn't make you a monster, Pete . . ." She told him while forcing him to keep his gaze on hers. "You were protecting me."

"But I-"

"You aren't a monster." She brushed his cheekbone. "Not to me."

A few tears escaped his eyes as he brought his hand up to hold hers. "I love you . . ." His voice shook as he held down a heavy cry.

"And I love you."

"Hey, check it out, Rowyn!" Sam exclaimed weakly as he stood from his wheelchair and took a few steps forward. "Not bad for someone who's been in a hospital bed for the past month, huh?" Sam smiled as bright as he could.

Rowyn smiled from her place on the grass a few feet away from Sam. "Nice, dad." Sam smiled wider as Charlie came out and nearly panicked that Sam was standing so far from his wheelchair.

"Baby, it was a heart surgery—my legs still work." Sam told him and gave his husband a quick kiss. "Besides, I want to soak up some sun with my baby-girl." Charlie helped Sam sit down on the grass beside Rowyn before going inside to make some food for them all.

Rowyn grabbed her glass of wine and took a sip. "You're gonna give dad a heart attack."

Sam shrugged. "Then he'll join the club." Sam reached his hand out to have a sip of her wine but Rowyn didn't allow.

"I'm fairly positive that you can't have alcohol right now." She told her father who scoffed.

"Doctor Mallory didn't say that."