Hello dear readers! How are you? I wrote this a couple weeks ago when I had a hunkering for some Peter and Susan sibling fluff. Here is the first half. Hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to Lady of Stormness Mountain for betaing!
Disclaimer-Though I would dearly love to, I do not own Narnia at all.
Dressed in a cotton nightgown, a silk robe and slippers and holding a candle, the Gentle wandered the torch-lit halls of Cair Paravel. The young queen greeted guards on duty whom she passed as she made her way to the Great Hall, home to the Four Thrones. Were it any other night, the castle guards would have asked why the Gentle ventured abroad so late at night, but tonight was unlike any other.
Narnia had seen only six months of the reign of High King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant. For ones so very young, the four children handled their various lessons and royal duties with amazing grace and considerable wisdom. Well, so most Narnians thought. In truth, ruling Narnia was a great stress on the Four, although they took care to conceal this from their new subjects. Though they knew it would be difficult, especially since they were children, so they set to learning in earnest. However, there were times when the stress would catch up with them.
When Lucy became stressed, she would excuse herself and retreat to her room in order to vent and recover her composure in privacy. Edmund would go for a ride when he became overwhelmed. Susan took to the archery range, but Peter tended to lose sleep.
And Peter had not been getting much sleep that week.
After they discovered the High King out past midnight three times, the nocturnal guards wisely chose to mention it discretely to his siblings. The Gentle graciously thanked the guards and asked to be notified the next time they saw the Magnificent out of his chambers at a late hour.
So now Susan was making her way to her older brother to find out what was troubling him.
The Gentle found the Magnificent perched on the rail of the balcony off to the side of Lucy's throne. It made Susan edgy only because she was afraid Peter would succumb to sleep and fall from the rail. She walked up beside her brother and set her candle on the rail.
"I hope you do not plan to sleep here, Peter," she commented. "Because it is a little ways down the rocky terrain that would do considerable damage to your person. And I know for sure that I do not want you hurt because you couldn't keep your eyes open."
The Magnificent turned and tiredly smirked at his sister, who smiled softly in return. The siblings turned their gaze towards the beach. The moon's silvery light set the sand aglow, and both moonbeams and starlight danced in the waves that lapped the shore. A soft breeze rustled the trees and Trees' leaves alike, tossing the eldest Pevensies' hair. Susan let the silence linger for a few minutes before she broached the subject that they needed to discuss before Peter dropped from exhaustion.
"What's wrong Peter?" she asked gently.
He didn't meet her eyes and instead kept looking at the beach. "I don't know," he answered quietly.
The Gentle leaned on the rail. "Yes you do," she countered in her motherly manner.
She looked at her brother again. The tension was practically seeping from his being. Susan placed a hand on Peter's arm to draw his attention. The High King turned towards his sister. He could see the concern etched in her soft features.
Taking a deep breath, the Magnificent explained what was keeping him up. "It's the Lone Island delegation."
Susan nodded. Their arrival and Peter's sleep problem correlated. "Their attitude is what's stressing you," she stated.
He nodded. "Their expectations are slightly outrageous."
Susan smiled. "You mean because they thought we—children—would have Narnia running like clockwork in six months? That there should not be any sort of disorganization or dissent within our own people who just emerged from a century of winter that, at times, required submitting to Jadis in order to live?" she asked sarcastically.
The young queen achieved her goal—the High King genuinely smiled. "Oh, that might be a couple of reasons why," Peter replied in kind.
"Well, then they should get a dose of reality. Perhaps they should join us during our security meeting tomorrow," the Gentle suggested.
The Magnificent tilted his head in thought. "Agreed, but perhaps not the security meeting—don't want them taking the information that can be gained there and use it against us. How about our morning weapons training and court? That way they get an idea what we have to deal with every day."
Susan tiredly beamed. "I agree. Now, will you stop stressing about the dignitaries?"
Peter gave a lopsided smile and shrugged. "I'll try."
"Ask Aslan for help."
The High King raised an eyebrow. "Channeling Lucy now, are we?" he asked in jest.
The young queen made a face at him. "Maybe, or perhaps Narnia is having a tremendous affect on me." She patted his arm. "Come now. It's about time we got some sleep," she said as she straightened up.
Peter swung his legs around and eased off the balcony rail. Susan reached for her candle, which was more of a stub now. The two put their arms around one another, and they walked back to the elder's chambers. The Gentle didn't leave the Magnificent's side upon reaching his chambers.
"Su, what are you doing?" he asked when she followed him in.
"Making sure you get to sleep," she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Peter glanced at his sister suspiciously. "You don't need to do that," he said cautiously.
Susan smiled mischievously. "Oh yes I do."
Swiftly, the Gentle closed the large oak door and began to tickle the High King. Peter yelped in surprise and made to get away from his sister's fingers. Susan managed to corral him towards his bed, and when Peter started to fall over, he grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her down with him. Once they were both on the bed, Peter started tickling his sister in retaliation. Susan did her best to muffle her screeches and laughter so she wouldn't wake the castle. The elder Pevensie tickle fight continued for about ten minutes before they laid back in exhaustion.
Peter started to drift off, so Susan moved to tuck him in. Once her brother was settled in for the rest of the night, she silently left his chambers and went to bed herself.
The Gentle smiled at her sleeping brother as she softly shut the door. Tomorrow would bring its own troubles, but tonight her family would slumber in peace.
There you have it! Part one of two. What did you think? I would dearly love to know.
Aslan's Blessings upon you and yours,
~Fierce Queen