Solaris sighed as she looked around the magnificent throne room in Cillias Castle in Charn. The red sun was beaming through the windows behind her and all around her the stained glass windows lit the cavernous hall casting long shadows on the stone floor from the pillars holding up the high arched ceiling.
Her eye fell on the two crowns nesting on the purple velvet cushion on their special stand near the thrones, in one of which she sat. The beautiful gold crown studded with equally beautiful diamonds was accompanied by a smaller silver one with sapphires in it. That one was to be Jadis's in the coronation tomorrow. Good Jadis now.
Having taken the evil out of her, Solaris was once again proud of her sister. Now they could be as they were when they were younger. Jadis was trying to redeem herself for all the wrongs she had inflicted on the world and she was doing well. Solaris permitted the odd snide comment that Jadis couldn't help uttering now and again.
Her thoughts ran onto the country they had brought back. Charn, once left desolated and deserted by evil Jadis, was now nicknamed the New Narnia. Together they had managed to revive the land, made the rivers flow with water once again and fill up the empty lakes. They had got the trees to dance once more. Narnia had helped to populate Charn once more and the red sun now smiled down on a beautiful land once again.
In her mind she was flying far above the mountains and lakes on Addonna, her faithful winged horse, when her reverie was interrupted by a golden portal opening up in the middle of the room and a strangled cry followed by a falling man. He hit the floor heavily and with an audible "Ow!".
Edmund stood up with his back to Solaris and looked back up into the portal. A few seconds later he caught the small trunk that fell from it.
Solaris giggled and he turned to face her. He set the trunk down and bowed to her.
"Greetings. You know, Sol, you really need to move that portal. It's too painful." He said cordially, approaching her.
"I'll tell Jade. She set it up, she's the only one who can change it."
"Thinking about the coronation?" he sat on the empty throne beside her.
"Tomorrow it's all official. Charn is back on the map."
"You can't seriously be having second thoughts."
She looked sideways at him. "No, just wondering if the country will last. If it will work."
"Of course it will." Edmund replied without hesitating. "It's got you."
Solaris stared ahead at the window on the opposite wall. It held a stained glass window similar to ones found in cathedrals. It portrayed a large depiction of Aslan and below that the five kings and queens of Narnia.
Edmund noticed her looking at it. "You have nothing to worry about. You will be the greatest queen Charn has ever had."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I believe in you. I believe you will be as great a monarch as Aslan. And anyone who says otherwise will face me and my sword."
Solaris laughed. "Thank you." she said gently.
"Anytime. The others will be here shortly by the way."
"We can't have a coronation without the kings and queens of Narnia there. Besides, you and Peter are actually doing the crowning."
Edmund got up from the throne. "Everything will be fine. Both for your country and for you." he walked back down the steps and picked up the trunk.
She watched him leave the hall and looked up at the stained glass Aslan again. The artist had captured the eyes of the Great Lion spectacularly well; they almost seemed real to her. "I think he might be right." She murmured to herself.
Chuckling to herself she also rose from her seat and picked up her staff from where it leant on the arm of her throne. She wandered through the hall and thence down the corridors of the castle she knew from memory.
She found Jadis in her large bedroom, making adjustments to her coronation dress with a female faun.
"Edmund's here." Solaris said gently, sitting on the bed.
"When are you going to tell him to stay here and marry you?" Jadis snapped playfully.
"Never." She sighed. "But from what I hear Caspian and Susan are very close to getting engaged."
"Doesn't surprise me. A couple as much in love as they are; it would almost be a crime for them not to be engaged." Jadis chuckled.
"I wonder how he'll propose?"
"Oh dear, sister, you're getting awfully broody." Jadis said, examining a portion of the dress's train.
"My guy's not moving fast enough, I have to get my kicks on someone's successful love story."
"Sol, I've said it a thousand times, and I'll probably say it a thousand more times; Edmund is terribly shy. You have to make the first move. Take the party after the ceremony, for example. You find a quiet, romantic moment with him and then you kiss him, and bam you are the love story."
"I wish it was half as simple as that. And before you suggest it, no I am not going to use a spell."
"You might not; but I probably will if it doesn't speed up." Jadis threatened.
Solaris sighed. "Don't you dare. I'll handle this my way, thanks."
"Well your way sucks. Let me help, please? It physically hurts me because it's so slow. You're acting like the love-struck spotty teenage witch who fell in love for the first time with Verdan the centaur."
"You had to bring that up didn't you?"
Jadis dismissed the faun and turned back to her sister with the dress in her hands. "Yes I did. You're wearing your heart on your sleeves, just not when he's around. I haven't seen you act like this since Verdan. It's very sweet and I don't have to use my empathy to see how much you love each other. Now help me with this." She shook the dress a little and motioned to the dress stand.
Solaris got up and helped her sister put the coronation robes on the mannequin. "I want to do something about my situation with Edmund, but when I'm around him I have a hard time keeping my self control."
"But that's not how it's supposed to be." Susan said coming into the room.
"Queen Susan, welcome."
Susan curtseyed then sat down on the bed. "My thanks, Solaris. It seems the youth must teach the old. Love isn't supposed to be controllable. It's meant to be impulsive. Love is the only excuse to let yourself go. When you're in love, despite all your better judgement, you have to succumb to it. Love is impulsive and, yes, it does lead you into trouble. As is evidenced by the way Peter dislikes Caspian."
"You'd think we'd know all about this by now, wouldn't you?" Solaris said sitting beside Susan on the bed.
"You're not supposed to know this stuff until you are in love. It's one of love's great mysteries. So what are you going to do about Edmund? Oh come on," she said when Solaris looked at her in surprise. "I may have been engrossed in my own romance but that doesn't mean I haven't noticed how Edmund skips around Narnia and how he laughs when Peter beats him at sword practice. Instead of paying attention to state affairs, he daydreams and only mentioning your name can wake him up."
Jadis sniggered. "You should see her. She acts like she's walking on air. But she thinks she's hiding it well. But it's so obvious." Jadis sat on Susan's other side.
Solaris got up. "Look, unless you two vultures are done picking at my love, then I'm leaving. Some of us actually have to work around here. Oh and Jadis, you might want to more the portal on this end." She swept from the room with as much dignity as possible but outside they heard a crash and a thud and two very audible 'Ow!'s. A gold crown rolled past the open door.
"What's going on Sol?" Jadis called, smirking.
"Solaris!"
"That sounds like Peter. They must have bumped into each other." Susan said laughing.
"Not just Peter." Lucy stumbled into the room looking very dishevelled and ruffled.