CHAPTER ONE
PART ONE: THE BEGINNING
Briar Castle
Spare Oom
March 21, 4998
"Come, Lucy!" Lucy's sister called from further in the forest that surrounded the grounds of their mother's large stone castle, that resided deep within the land of Spare Oom, a country that bordered the realm of Narnia. "You have to do better than that!"
Little Lucy grumbled, but gave chase once more, gathering up her light blue gown with silver thread work, trying with all her might to find her older sister.
They were playing a game of hide and seek, little Lucy's favorite past times-except when she was losing as she was now. She hated when her sister, Susan, was the one who hid because she always did an amazing job of it, sometimes making Lucy look for her for hours on end, or at least until their governess put a stop to it. Lucy never had the talent for hiding, never being able to keep still in one place for too long, but that didn't stop her from loving the game. It was one of the only times she got to be truly alone with her older sister, her one true friend in the whole world, and away from their oppressive Mama, the head of their house.
Lucy's gown was becoming stained with grass and dirt as she trudged deeper into the forest after Susan, but she paid no heed to it, no matter that her Mama would be angry with her for soiling her gown. She thought only of finding her sister and ending this game of hide and seek once and for all.
Deeper and deeper into the forest she went, trying to step as light as she could so as not to give her sister a hint as to where she was. Lucy searched every nook and cranny, behind every tree and through every bush, but there was no sign of Susan.
"Do you give up, Lucy?" Her sister called, far on the other side of the trees.
"Never!" Lucy screamed and went in the direction of Susan's voice. Their game was soon ended, however, by their governess. Countess Polliana came rushing up to them in the forest, holding her pearled hairnet in place as she ran.
"My ladies!" She called, stopping Lucy in her tracks and causing Susan to stand up behind the blackberry bush as dark as her hair that Lucy was standing in front of. Lucy gave a little harrumph at the look of victory on her elder sister's face but said nothing. "My ladies, your lady Mother requests your presence at once!"
Lucy and Susan shared a look of confusion, but did as their governess bid, following her out of the forest. Their mother, Duchess Helena of house Pevensie, owned several acres of grassy land, including a large part of the forest that Lucy and her sister came out of. On the grounds of land there were the servants quarters, the farmland where they grew all their own food, a lush rose garden which their family was famous for, and Briar castle, which sat on top of a crested hill.
Briar castle was an impressive thing: large stone drum towers and parapets, arched windows like the cathedrals in Narnia, an outer wall that included the battlements against any unlikely invaders, along with a large barbican in the front with a cherry wood gate, inscribed with the roses of their house.
Lucy and Susan followed their governess through the back passage, meant for servants and the like, and walked through the lower bailey where many of the servants were going about their daily work. Briar castle employed over three hundred servants, their jobs ranging from working the farm to helping the lady with the politics of keeping a castle.
As they walked with their governess, Susan looked over at Lucy and said, "You know Mother will be displeased with the state of your gown."
Lucy shrugged, trying to show indifference, but in truth she was a bit fearful. Their mother was quite the formidable woman, especially when she was displeased and she was displeased a lot when it came to Lucy. Susan was her golden child, the one with the makings of a true lady, gentle and full of grace, whereas Lucy had always been wild.
They made their way across the lower bailey and up the back entrance into the main keep, a large stone drum tower that was the first built and added upon throughout the years of the Pevensie's dynasty. Up at the very top of the keep was the solar, where their mother signed papers and other things for the upkeep of their home and family.
They hurried through several hallways and rooms, up a winding set of stone stairs, until they reached the wooden doors of their mother's solar. The guards standing at the door, dressed in their livery of gold and red, banged their staffs and the doors opened. One of the guards announced them.
"The ladies Susan and Lucy of House Pevensie, along with their governess, Countess Polliana."
Their mother, as always, sat behind her large desk, a stack of parchment in front of her. She wore a plain black woolen dress, a sign of mourning for their father, even though he had passed over a year ago. Her dark black hair was braided up and away from her face and covered with a white hair cloth, held in place by a golden circlet. Upon her neck was the only adornment on her person, a white chain which held her wedding ring and a locket which contained a portrait of her late husband.
Their mother was a severe woman, with ice-grey eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. She was raised this way by her late father, being his only child and heir. Unlike the neighboring countries, Spare Oom was one of the only ones that allowed women to inherit, so when her father died when she was aged sixteen, she inherited his lands, fortunes, and title: Duchess Helena of the House of Pevensie, Lady of Pevensie castle. She was allowed to marry whom she wished and she decided upon the second son of a lower house, an unlikely choice. Her husband and Lucy and Susan's father was something of an enigma, happily taking his wife's name as his own and fully embracing the House of Pevensie. They had loved each other fiercely, Lucy remembered. When he was still alive, their mother actually smile and often. There was no talk of the future when he was still alive and she was happy. When he died, however, all the happiness in her seemed to go with him and she grew cold and stern. She now spent every waking hour dedicated to the betterment of their house. At the age of seven, walking into her mother's solar, Lucy had no idea just how far her mother would go to seal the legacy of her house.
When Lucy and Susan first entered the solar, decorated from their grandfather's time with mounted stags and portraits of family members of old, along with tapestries from all over the world, including Calormen and Telmar, a neighboring country to the south, their mother had graced them with one of her small, rare smiles. It soon faded, however, when she saw the state of her youngest daughter.
Susan tried to save her sister by giving their mother a deep curtsy of deference, which Lucy followed suit, and they echoed the words like twins, "Good morrow, Mother."
Duchess Helena did not respond to them. Instead, she turned her head to their governess, her words full of ice. "Is this how you bring my youngest daughter to me? She looks as if she's been rolling around in the grass like a common peasant. A young lady such as herself should not be playing so rough in the woods. Susan, I thought you better than to encourage her."
Susan looked to the ground in shame and Lucy bit her lip to keep her tears at bay. She didn't understand, she was only seven. Shouldn't Lucy be allowed to be a child still? But neither of the girls said anything, nor did their governess.
"Governess Polliana, take Lucy to her rooms and have her changed out those soiled clothes. I must speak with Susan alone." She gestured to their governess to take Lucy away and Lucy went, after sparing a sorrowful glance at her sister before the great doors to solar separating her and her sister where closed shut.
Lucy spent the rest of the day in her bedchambers. She tried to distract herself from thoughts of what was transpiring between her sister and their mother by playing with her dolls or playing a game blind man's bluff with her governess, but it did little to help. Hours passed and her sister never resurfaced. Lucy wondered just what was it that kept her sister from her so.
At last, the sun began to go down which meant it was time for supper. Lucy brightened at that, sure she was to see her sister in the small dining hall and she could inquire about what happened there. No such luck, however. Lucy was left to dine with her mother alone, which meant in stony silence as Lucy picked at her roasted meats and sweets. After an hour of doing this, her mother had enough and sent her to her room for bed.
Lucy slunk back to her room, dejected that she still saw no sign of her sister. She was uncharacteristically silent as her handmaidens dressed her for bed in her linen nightgown. The drapes around her windows were pulled tightly shut for the night and all the candles except one by Lucy's bed were snuffed out. Lucy laid in her large canopy bed for what seemed like hours, her head filled with anxious thoughts about what had happened to her sister.
Just as Lucy was about to fall into an uneasy sleep, there came a knock at the door and she nearly leapt from her bed in shock. The knock sounded again and Lucy calmed, for she knew who it was by the sound. She and her sister had devised a knock to use amongst themselves when they wished to speak in secret; it was a gay little thing and it always made Lucy smile when she heard it.
Delighted, Lucy ran to her door and threw it open, revealing Susan in her own nightgown, holding a candelabra. Lucy was so happy to see her, but one look at her sister's face and she knew something was wrong. She looked wan and tired, her eyes red from crying, and Lucy silently let her in and closed the door behind her.
"I must speak with you," Susan said, sitting her candelabra down beside the bed. She pat the space next to her and Lucy sat beside her. Susan's hands immediately found her, gripping tightly.
Lucy was afraid.
"Susan? What's wrong?" She was scared to ask but she knew she must if she wanted to make her sister happy again.
Susan avoided the question at first. "I'm sorry I did not come to you sooner, Lucy, but I must admit I've been afraid. I've been in my room crying all day, overcome with nerves."
"Why?" Lucy whispered, her breath catching in her throat.
Susan looked off into the room for a moment, her eyes roaming over all the little things that made this bedchamber Lucy's: from the dolls that were arranged neatly in a scene of battle, to the abandoned effort at needlepoint by the window. Susan smiled sadly and said, "As you know, Mama wished to speak to me today." She stopped then spoke again, "About my future."
"What about your future?"
There was a long, pregnant silence, and Lucy thought her heart was about to beat out of her little chest when Susan finally spoke. "I'm to be married, Lucy."
A pause, then: "What?!" Lucy screamed, incredulous. Susan gently shushed her and Lucy continued on, quieter. "Why? When? To whom?"
Susan smiled a little at Lucy's questions. "I'm fourteen, Lucy and already flowered. It is high time for me to be married, or at least that's what Mama said."
"Wh-who are going to marry?" Lucy shivered. She only had seven more years until she too was likely to be married and she did not like the sound of that.
"Crown Prince Peter of Narnia; next May."
Lucy's childish eyes grew wide. "A prince? You're going to be queen?" She whispered, frightened of the implications that statement brought. By the look on Susan's face, she was frightened also. "You're going to leave? All the way to Cair Paravel?"
"Yes," Susan whispered, her eyes shining with tears.
"I don't want you to go," Lucy began to sob and Susan pulled her close, smoothing down her hair in a motherly gesture.
"Me neither," Susan said, and Lucy could hear tears in her voice though she kept them at bay. The sisters were so different in so many ways but Susan had always been Lucy's best friend since birth, her only true confidante in a castle controlled by Mama.
"Don't leave me alone with Mama," Lucy cried. "She doesn't love me like she loves you."
"Oh, Lu," Susan said, kissing my forehead. "She loves you, just as much as I."
Lucy didn't believe her but she said nothing. "I don't want to leave, Lucy, but I must. For the good of the family and our House. And one day, it will be your burden to bear."
"I do not want to marry," Lucy said. "I want to be free, forever."
Susan lightly laughed, choked a little by the tears in her throat. "I am afraid life does not work like that, little one."
"Life is unfair," Lucy mumbled.
"Aye," agreed Susan, "but one day, when you grow up, you'll learn to live with it, same as I."
Lucy pulled back and looked into her sister's eyes. "You do not seem very happy about it."
"You do not have to be happy about it, you just have to accept it. Accept it and endure. We women, we endure. And I believe, you will endure it most of all."