The Dove Princess
Chapter One
Deep in the dark forest, where no one would dare venture; myths and legends of evil witches and monstrous beasts come alive; a dashing King from a foreign land galloped with his mighty stallion, a champion smile on his sun-kissed face and his faithful men who galloped with him knew he was unstoppable. The hunt for the rare animal was as good as over. Nonetheless, the King's competitor, an arrogant pot-bellied man knew nothing of the young King's capabilities. As arrogant as the competitor, Prince Julius, were his men. A sneer played over Julius' face as he eyed the young King.
'Foolish boy' Julius thought. When he had received the letter of acceptance from the High King of Narnia, he thought the King himself would compete against him, not his younger brother. Yes, King Edmund was skilled for his age but not enough to compete in a man's battle.
King Edmund, aware of his competitor's thoughts smirked. His opponents always underestimated him, haven't they heard age is never a measure for one's skill? At the end of the day, he was sure and he could feel it in his, bones another man would be proved wrong.
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His men cheered with pride, the beautiful dove was theirs. She was a hard thing to capture but at the end of the day their mighty King captured it with great ease. Another victory for Narnia. He had used a dagger, a bow and an arrow without the dove inflicting a single wound. A clean hunt. His men cheered.
"Aye, King Edmund, Queen Lucy would be very happy you won again." One of his faithful men said, Robin was his name. He wore a smile as he handed the lovely creature over to his King. The bird was soft to the touch and her eyes were as blue as the transparent sky and her beak an unusual shade of pink.
Edmund gave a nod and smiled. "She will be." He could already imagine his youngest sister, leaping for joy at her new pet. And Peter would ask the best blacksmith in the kingdom to put this little white dove in the most beautiful cage the world has ever seen. The little white dove looked at him with her innocent piercing eyes. He could feel her terrible sorrow. She did not like her predicament. Edmund held her with his left hand, as he refused to put the dove in a ruthless sack. The poor bird was tied, her wings clasped together with a brutal wire.
The dove was wiggling its way out, even using its delicate pink beak to peak at the wire. Guilt rushed over Edmund. Feeling sorry for the bird, he tried to loosen the wire. He knew the sorry feeling of a prisoner better than anyone else did.
'Let me go.' It was the sweetest voice that graced his ears. A woman, yet the sound seemed to have been from his head.
"I can't" Edmund softly said as he caressed the dove's fragile body. He was looking intently at her pleading eyes.
'Please. I caused you neither harm nor trouble.' Edmund watched its beak, making certain it did not move. He loosened the wire, little by little, his pity for the little creature was growing.
He loosened it unconsciously until the dove was finally free and flew away. It caught him off guard.
"Don't shoot!" Edmund yelled trying to regain his composure. His men were startled and tried to chase the poor bird back, one hunter shot the bird with an arrow.
The arrow hit the bird's wing and immediately Edmund ordered him to stop again. His men did as they were told. He felt a wave of panic as the dove dropped from the air, grace gone. Edmund immediately hopped off his horse and aided the poor little dove.
"Who told you to shoot?" Edmund angrily spat. Hans, the hunter who grazed the bird, laughed at the King. Edmund, his temper already rising, grabbed the man by the collar. In his cool deadly voice he whispered "If anything happens to that dove, I swear by Aslan's mane I shall have your head. This is not the first time you have violated a royal order."
Hans did not make anymore comment but sneered.
"Robin get me my spare shirt and wrap the wing with it and you" Edmund glared at the sneering Hans. "You've done enough damage. After we get back in Narnia, you are dismissed from my hunting team."
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His blood was still boiling when he attended the welcome ball Susan had arranged for him. Typical Susan. Preferring to torture him all night with dancing and swooning ladies rather than give him a good night's worth of sleep. 'Oh Ed. Don't be Silly. You can sleep tomorrow' He could still hear Susan's voice ring in his ear. He growled. All of his men were already in their own rooms sleeping like baby.
"Ed! You're back! And what are you doing here in this corner?" It was Lucy. She hugged him tight. He was gone for more than a month and Lucy grew another inch. Her long brown hair was longer and shinier than when he last saw her. "I looked everywhere for you. You weren't in your room. I even asked Mr. Tumnus but he said he hasn't seen you yet. Then I saw Robin and he told me you were able to capture a dove."
"I'm sorry Lucy but she's not feeling so well." Edmund apologized, just by looking at Lucy's eyes he knew she would want nothing more than keep the little dove in the palace gardens, safe and sound.
"Poor little thing, perhaps she got tired and weary with you chasing her all around the forest. Maybe I should visit her." Lucy paused for awhile. Her big eyes beaming at Edmund, excitement was flowing through her. "I'll give her some of my vial and she's going to get better again."
Edmund smiled and nodded.
"Oh, I better go now and entertain your guests." Lucy playfully said, taking pity for Edmund. He looked tired and the dark circles beneath his eyes were screaming for sleep. Sleeping in the forest for a month seemed like an adventure. Moreover, every time Edmund gets back from his trip he has new stories to share.
Edmund watched his youngest sister flounce her way through the dancing hall and talk to her friends. Only a few more years, Peter and he would start shooing off Lucy's suitors. As if Susan's weren't enough. He chuckled to himself.
"What are you chuckling about, Ed?" Peter with his favorite gold tunic stood beside him in the farthest corner of the great hall. Peter was wearing his smile and waving at the women who curtsied their way. "Why don't you dance with one of them?"
"Peter, I'm tired and I'm doing this thing so Susan won't kill me." Edmund skimmed his eyes over the people and glared when he saw Susan who was flocked by all her admirers. Knights, Barons, Princes and Kings from all over the world were tending to Susan's every need. Susan, who saw them excused herself and made her way over to their direction. "I don't have to dance with anybody tonight, well why aren't you dancing?"
Peter gave a hearty laugh. "Well Ed, a little more dancing and my feet would chop themselves off! Besides, I wanted to talk to you about King Julius."
"What about Julius?" Edmund sounded alarmed, was their hunting trip a little ploy of the Telmarines? His brows were furrowing together when Susan hugged him.
"We missed you Ed." Susan's ivory skin gleamed in the lights, a flattery contrast to her hair. Unlike Lucy, nothing much had changed in Susan except the obvious addition to the number of her suitors. "Don't talk serious business with Peter tonight. Your lovely Gretel keeps on asking me about you Ed. Why don't you dance with her? Or maybe Maurice? Keep things light and fun for awhile."
"Susan, I think we should give Ed some peace. After all, tomorrow we have a long, long day. Meetings with the knights, treaties to sign, subjects to attend to." Edmund groaned at the mere thought while Peter patted his shoulder giving him a stern look before walking away towards some of his diplomats, leaving him all alone with Susan.
"Dance with one of them. It wouldn't kill you." Susan dragged him towards a group of her friends. She didn't sway even when he told her he wouldn't ask any of them. Gretel, Maurice and Bea immediately dropped their conversation to face the royal siblings. All their eyes were gleaming with delight eager to have a dance with the young King.
"Gretel, Maurice, Bea I believe I do not have the pleasure of knowing your friend's name." Susan said and smiled sweetly at the unfamiliar face. The girl smiled timidly and offered a shy curtsy to their direction.
"We don't know her name yet, do we Bea?" Maurice asked and looked at Susan. "She seemed a little lost and we talked to her, Your Majesty."
"What is your name?" This time Gretel asked, her high-pitched voice shocked everybody.
"I'm… I'm…Ellaine, Your Majesties." She stammered out. From the way she spoke, they knew she wasn't royalty, nor from a high status. Her shimmering white dress could have made her royalty but her voice sounded croaked and whispery like a common servant girl. "I was lost then asked for directions from some nymphs and they said I could ask here…"
"Hello Ellaine, I am Susan and this is my little brother Edmund." Susan smiled a little and offered a little nod. "If you don't have anywhere to go, I insist for you to stay here in Cair Paravel."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Ellaine's face lit up at the invitation then shifted to Edmund wanting to thank him as well. Something about how their eyes were staring through each other reminded Edmund of a previous encounter he couldn't quite place. "I'm very grateful."
"Eh-hem." Susan coughed. Beneath her big red ball gown, her finely shaped shoe stomped her brother's feet, reminding him why they came to this group of ladies. Edmund still oblivious to what she meant received another kick that finally reminded him of Susan's wish.
Edmund looked at the girls one by one. Trying to decide which one is the lesser evil.
"May I have this dance?" Edmund's hand extended over to Ellaine who did not know what to do. Instead, he grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor, making sure he glared at Susan for his aching foot.
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"Did you come from the Other world?" Edmund asked trying to break the silence. Like most girls he danced with, Ellaine only spoke when she needed to. A trait he never found attractive.
"What do you mean by 'Other'?" Ellaine's brow furrowed together. "Maybe you mean country?"
"No, not country." Edmund paused for awhile, perhaps Robin was the last who ventured into Narnia. "Forget what I said. What country did you come from then?"
Ellaine gulped. She couldn't remember what name her country was or where her country is exactly. It was also a puzzle why she came to this place. "I don't know…."
"Can you tell me a little about it? Perhaps some scenery you like best?"
Ellaine nibbled her lower lip, her brows showed her deep concentration. "I can remember snow, Sire. Everything is in white, and it's very cold- but that's the most of it. The rest is a little like a puzzle to me."
"Like what Susan said, you are free to stay as long as you wish." Edmund quipped, he felt a little sorry for the girl. Maybe she had some sort of accident that gave her amnesia. Imagine forgetting majority of your past and living a life full of questions with little knowledge of how life has been. "I'll tell the dwarf-doctor to help you with your memory."
"Excuse me?" She sounded alarmed and a little insulted. "Perhaps you misunderstood me, Your Majesty."
"You mean you don't have amnesia?" Ellaine laughed at him.
"No, I don't. But perhaps I do need to see a doctor." Ellaine eyed her arm. The puffy sleeves of her dress certainly hid the swelling. "I bruised my arm and somehow I find it hard to move."
"Is that so? I'll tell Susan you need medical attention." Edmund twirled Ellaine but she winced at contact. "Does it hurt that bad?"
"A little." Her arm was throbbing wildly and Ellaine felt the weight of it.
"I can take you to your room now, if you'll allow me." Grateful, Ellaine nodded and immediately Edmund dropped his hold of the girl and led her out of the banquet careful not to draw any attention. The hallway was decorated with beautiful murals of every creature known to Narnia and every pillar had a magnificent lion adorning it.
He led her to a staircase. At the top of it was a wonderful portrait of the Pevensies. The painting was seven meters in height and five meters in length. Ellaine looked at the portrait with great confusion trying to recall the two blondes. "Those are my other siblings Peter and Lucy."
"Peter and Lucy…" Ellaine repeated. Her eyes scanned the portrait. Peter was standing like how any King should; pride was in his eyes balanced by the smile on his lips. His thumb was at the sword's handle, it was a gift of Father Christmas he greatly cherished. Susan was glowing as she was sitting in the chair again adorned by a lion. Her cheeks were pink and it reminded her of the summer sun. Edmund looked happy in this portrait; his smile was not as big as Peter's, his cheeks were not as rosy as Susan's was but his eyes, unlike any of his siblings, looked in love. The youngest of the siblings, Lucy, looked a lot like Peter, her face full of childish wonder and beauty. She was smiling widely and she looked so friendly.
When they reached the end of the staircase, Ellaine looked one last time at the portrait and focused on the hallway in front of her. They passed so many identical doors. Intricate designs farmed the mahogany doors and when they stopped in front of one, Edmund said, "This will be your room, a nymph would fetch you in the morning for food and the like. See you around Ellaine."
But he never did.
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Review? C:
A/n: Legally rejected is on hiatus and this chapter took me about four months to write. hahahah, please review. :D