Peter stared, open-mouthed, at the scene before him. Edmund lunged at Groul, who dodged and aimed a swipe at his back. He rolled out of the way, rising onto the balls of his feet, ready for action. He saw Peter and relaxed. Strange, considering Peter was forbidden from Edmund's training ground. "Hullo, Pete," he called.

Groul gasped, whirling around. Edmund leaped onto her back and pulled the leopard's ears, whooping victoriously. "I've beaten you, for once!"

She sniffed. "Don't get cocky." She rolled over, pounding him into the dust and eliciting a few yelps of alarm from the younger king.

Peter had always been insanely curious about Edmund's training. It was the only thing he wasn't allowed to know about, and it galled him. That day, he decided he didn't need to know about it at all. He was safer sticking with Oreius' regime—and that was saying a lot!