AN: Sorry, sorry! This was much later than I intially planned it to be, but life insists on hindering my stories. My only excuse is that I'm sick. Hopefully I didn't miss anything due to the cold.

The greater cantle of the world is lost

with very ignorance; we have kiss'd away

Kingdoms and provinces

-William Shakespeare

Cor ran his hands through his hair worriedly. His twin had been acting strange lately. And by strange, he meant formal, polite, and quiet. After nearly two months of nearly ceaseless chatter, the sudden silence was both awkward and wrong.

He bit his lip worriedly, wondering what to do. After a minute's thought, he nodded his head determinedly. Yes, going to King Edmund to advice was probably the best course of action.

Going to one of the other monarchs would have worked just as well, but Cor felt a strange connection with the dark haired king.

As he reached King Edmund's study-after checking both his bedroom and King Peter's and finding them empty- he heard the sound of a muffled voice.

Intending to come back later when the king wasn't preoccupied, he turned at the sound of a muffled thud. He opened the door warily, simply wanting to see if the room's occupants were alright. He froze at the sight of blond hair.

Corin stood near one of the room's many book stacks. His face was red as he repeated a statement. "…. Obtain someone's love."

"You want to obtain someone's love? Whatever ever for?" King Edmund asked curiously.

Cor stiffened at his brother's next statement; "Well, I realized, actually I'd figured it out before, but I knew then, because of what you'd told me." Corin babbled, clearly nervous. "Cor doesn't love me…"

The rest of Corin statement was left unheard by his older brother as he stood in mute horror. How long had his brother labored under that delusion? Why? Cor's silent musings were answered as he tuned back into the conversation as Corin smiled sadly.

Cor hated the look on his brother's face at that moment; the look of anguish, betrayal, and heartbreak. Corin's next words were so quiet, Cor had to strain to hear them.

"I-it's just that I've tried everything! I tried going horse riding with him, tried learning to draw, I even begged Father to get me a horse just so we'd have something to talk about, but he doesn't even look at me!"

Cor froze guiltily. All of that was true, but he hadn't thought Corin had noticed. If anything, his shunning of his twin had made the younger more persistent. It was so like Corin to assume that he was in the wrong, even when his older brother hurt him.

Tears ran down his cheeks, heart aching for his twin.

Corin continued speaking, a look of resignation on his face now. "…nothing can be done."

He was giving up?

Panicking, Cor blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Is that what you think? That I don't love you?"

Corin froze in horror, staring at his twin for a moment before disappearing into the door behind him. Cor looked uncertainly at the door, his previous guardian's words ringing in his ears; "there's no point in loving someone, you just get hurt in the end."

Cor hesitated a moment longer, but an image of Corin's tearstained face flashed in his mind, and he chose.

He raced after his twin, barely catching a glimpse of him rounding the corner. He weaved between bustling milk maids, strict tutors and tired guards, bumping into one of the latter by accident. He apologized even as he ran, throwing the apology over his shoulder.

Still following his minute glimpses of his brother's tunic, Cor paused when he ended up in the kitchen. He leaned on the door frame, gasping for air.

Suddenly, he recalled a conversation he'd had with his brother a week or so ago. "…you just go through the larder, there's a door at the very end, leading to the hallway."

Cor flung the larder door open and sure enough there was a door, still rattling lightly from its previous opening. He rushed through it, hearing a bang as it closed on the other end.

He ran faster, managing to catch his twin just as he entered the bedroom. He paused for a fraction of a second, before flinging himself bodily across onto his brother.

"W-what are you doing, idiot?" Corin sputtered indignantly.

Cor didn't respond for a second, panting into his brother's chest. "Did you mean it? About thinking I don't love you?"

"I don't think that, I know it."

"'m sorry," he muttered helplessly, it's an apology for everything; ignoring his brother, causing his brother pain, being oblivious to that pain.

Corin doesn't understand the underlying meaning, or if he does, he doesn't accept it. He simply ran his hands through Cor's hair.

Strangely, all Cor felt a strange warmth, not the usual repulsion and fear he normally associated with being touched. He leaned unconsciously into the heat of those hands.

"I do love you," Corin shook his head.

"You're feeling guilty, Cor. You don't have to lie to me."

Cor sat up at this, feeling hurt. "You think I'd lie about something like that?"

"No, you're right. You're telling me what I want to hear."

"No! Why-why would you think that?"

"Because you've given me no reason to think otherwise." Cor felt rather as though he'd been slapped. His face must have reflected this, for Corin attempted to retract the statement."Cor, I didn't mean it like-"

"Yes, you did. And you're right. I haven't been the best brother, but I want to-would you let me explain?" Cor looked at his brother nervously. What would he do if Corin said no? He had every reason to.

"Alright," Corin agreed, unbeknown to his brother, Cor froze, shock and hope written all over his features

"But..." Of course there was a but. There had to be a condition. Corin couldn't possibly be so civil to someone who'd caused him so much pain. Before Cor could ponder in earnest what Corin would demand in return, his twin had pulled himself up from under his brother, and guided them both onto the bed.

Cor smiled at him, and then proceeded to flop down on top of him, in an almost perfect mimicry of their earlier position, hoping he wasn't overstepping the boundary of brotherhood with the tackling and now this. He froze at Corin's protest.

Cor's smile held a hint of nervousness now. "You alright?"

"A bit late to be asking that, don't you think?" Corin complained. Cor tensed, preparing to get off his brother when Corin began playing with his hair again. Cor relaxed with an inaudible sigh.

"I told you about how I lived in Calormen, you remember?"

Corin nodded, a hand reaching to squeeze his brother's tightly. Cor smiled at the show of support.

"I left out a lot. I ran away because the man who'd raised me, the man I'd thought was my father, had agreed to sell me into slavery."

Corin inhaled sharply, hands tightening on his brothers'. Cor paused again, and smiled at his brother, using the fake smile he'd always used in Calormen.

"Don't." His brother's distress was obvious, and Cor was partially terrified and partially relieved his brother saw so easily through his façade.

"That's part of the reason why. I can't lie to you. In Calormen, pretending was an essential survival trait. No one's ever been able to tell the difference between my fakes smiles and my real ones."

Corin closed his eyes, and Cor had the odd sensation that his twin was actually feeling his pain.

"I didn't actively try to avoid you, I suppose I was doing it subconsciously. It's just hard." Cor tried to explain.

Corin looked up at his twin curiously. "What is?"

"This. Everything."

Corin tried to withdraw his hands at these words to hide the hurt. Cor tightened his grasp, both unwilling and unable to let go off his twin. He needed the support for his next words. Please, please let his next reaction not be disgust.

"He used to hit me, you know?" Cor tried for a bland tone, insides contorting in nervousness, anxiety only increasing when his brother nearly fell off the bed.

"I'll kill him." There was no small amount of rage in Corin's snarl.

Cor furrowed his brow, unable to understand why his brother was so angry. "It wasn't often, just when he was drunk."

"Still, he hurt you!" Cor froze. His brother was worried about him. Still, his 'father's words still echoed relentlessly in his mind.

"This is the part that scares me."

Corin frowns. "Which part?"

"This." Cor squeezed their joined hands. "Just caring about someone so much. I never thought I would. And, I never thought someone would care about me, never thought someone could get angry at the thought of someone hurting me."

"Well, I do. So get used to it."

Cor hesitated. "But, how do you know you'll keep caring? What if you wake up one day and realize you don't want me in your life anymore?"

"I will. Always. This isn't some stupid romance novel, Cor. I'm always going to love you. I swear."

Cor looked tentatively hopeful. "Wait, is this why you were avoiding me? Because you thought I'd get tired of you?"

Cor turned bright red. Corin complained, in mock annoyance, "I'm doing chores for a month to earn that stupid horse that I didn't even want!"

Cor snickered, unable to resist irritating his twin further. "I don't know, you seemed pretty enthusiastic about it. Until it threw you off, for, what was it… the fifth time or the sixth?"

Corin raised a pillow threateningly. "That's it!"

Cor dodged instinctively, an arm coming to block the incoming object, causing it to veer off course.

Right into the surprised face of Narnia's youngest male monarch.

Cor bit his lip; about to start apologizing, only to break out into startled laughter when King Edmund threw the same pillow at Corin.

Corin grabbed his elder brother's arm with a war cry, and so it began.

AN: Thanks for reading, and for any (and all) favorites and reviews!

Please don't hesitate to tell me if I've made any mistakes, I'm looking for a beta at the moment.