Disclaimer: You have no idea how much I wish Narnia and her characters were mine (well, maybe you do), but they're not. It's sad, but I think I'll survive.

Summary: They thought she was only interested in nylons and lipstick and invitations. No one bothered to ask why.

A Queen without Her Throne
By CountryPixie

They thought she was only interested in nylons and lipstick and invitations.

"Why don't you come out with us tonight?" Peter would ask, but the events he would suggest were always more suitable for a magnificent king than a gentle queen.

"Do you want to stay in and play a game?" Always the just one, Edmund would try to compromise, but it was her responsibility to be the face of peace, and how could she do that at home?

"Let's go for a drive," Lucy would suggest. "You never know what we'll find." She was almost tempted to agree, but then she'd remember a lamp post and Spare Oom. Some things were better left undiscovered.

It seemed like every time she closed a door, her siblings were left on the other side. They always looked so sad when she left. She knew they talked about Narnia when she was gone. About her and how much she'd changed.

Peter would always be magnificent. He had led Narnia out of the dark and into its Golden Age as High King, and he had led the Pevensie family through the most difficult time it had ever seen. Not many thirteen-year-old boys could lead a family the way Peter had, and now, at nineteen, Peter was one of the top students at university. It came as no surprise to anyone when his professors declared that his future held great things. One had even actually said 'magnificent.' She could still remember how much Edmund had teased Peter when he'd sheepishly told them about it during a visit.

Edmund had probably adjusted the best. Justice ran through his very veins, and it didn't matter if those veins were in Narnia or England. As a reformed traitor, he saw things a way others were unable. Whereas some would judge and convict, Edmund listened and advised. When they had returned to Finchley, nothing changed. Edmund was as just as ever, and more than a few people had been left staring in bewilderment. "Wise beyond his years," they would say, never knowing the truth of their words.

As for Lucy, well, no amount of fear or danger could ever stop her from doing what she believed to be right. Her bravery and stubbornness had brought about several arguments with her protective siblings, but she'd always won, because trying to stop Lucy was like trying to stop the tides. She'd had to use some of her cordial on herself a fair number of times. There were no Calormenes or Giants to keep her safe from in England, but she'd stopped more than her share of fights in school and she still jumped at every opportunity for adventure.

They'd adjusted. Why couldn't they see that she had, too?

It was in her nature to be gentle. In Narnia, she was tall and gracious, and she had been known for her beauty. She had attended feasts and celebrations as a guest and as a hostess, and she had thrived in both roles. She had been fourteen when she had received her first suitor; Peter and Edmund had practically thrown the man from Cair Paravel before he had finished asking for the honor of courting her. By the time she was eighteen, having kings send their ambassadors to ask for her hand in marriage had become routine. Being gentle in England meant being womanly, and that was easiest when she was dressed up and attending parties.

They thought she was trying to forget. What they didn't see was that in her own way, she was trying to hold on. Every time she was praised for her beauty, she felt like the Queen she was. Every time a man asked her for a dance, she felt like her true self. Every time she was gentle, she remembered Narnia. She didn't talk about it like Peter, Edmund, and Lucy, because when she did, she felt like the child everyone saw her as, but she did remember.

They thought she was only interested in nylons and lipstick and invitations. No one bothered to ask why.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this. I'm not new to Narnia, but I am new to Narnia fan fiction, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Good? Bad? Meh?