This was an idea I had that I thought was fun, and I decided to set it in Narnia with those lovely siblings we all know and love. I read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was nine, so I don't know much about the books. I did my best. I also made up a lot of characters and a place. Please understand that I mostly did so to prevent myself from making a zillion factual errors.

Thanks a lot!

Feel free to review. Loved it, hated it with the passion of a thousand suns, let me know. Thanks!

I

The High King of Narnia was sitting on the beach when it occurred to him that he wanted to go sailing. Not for recreation, the way some do, with their little sailboats that fly on top of the water. He wanted to captain a ship. Sand was creeping underneath his clothes and between his toes, and we cradled some salty, dark water in the palm of his right hand. He squinted and started into the horizon. The sunlight reflected off the water and into his eyes. The purples and yellows of the sunset begged him not to leave, and he was all too eager to acquiesce. He had no desire to return to the hectic business of Cair Paravel.

Behind him, his horse lifted her hooves and neighed softly. Peter turned his head and saw a young woman walking towards him, the sounds of her footsteps absorbed by the sand. It always astonished him to see his little sister growing into a woman, and in the waning sunlight, she was a vision. She smiled when she saw him and broke into a run, sliding next to him and brushing sand over him. He laughed as she settled herself next to him.

"I was going to scare you. Your stupid horse ruined it."

Peter only shook his head. "Oh, she was only trying to protect me, weren't you, Penny?"

The brown stallion blew air out of her nostrils in reply, and Peter rubbed her coat fondly. "What are you doing out here in the first place, Lucy?"

"Susan was asking for you. I think she's mad at you."

Peter laughed. "Isn't she always, though?"

Lucy laughed, but nervously. She stood up and lifted her skirts, letting the tips of her feet touch the foam from the waves. "You know, lately she's been thinking that..." She trailed off and made a motion with her hands, the hems of her skirts darkening with water. Every wave that reached the shore left a mark on her ankles where it had touched her, and she rubbed the excess salt off with her hands.

"Thinking what, Luc?"

She plopped herself down next to him again. Her brown hair was lifted a little by the wind, and Peter tugged on a clump of it, causing her to shriek in fake pain.

"Peter! Well now I really won't tell you."

Peter only sat and waited. He knew that if he didn't press her, she would tell him. And she did.

"I think Susan thinks that it's high time each of us got married."

Peter's mouth fell open in shock. "Married? You're not even a proper woman yet! You're only sixteen!"

"She met Taylor when she was fifteen, Peter. She says that with the war over, now would be a good time to make some 'smart matches,' as she calls them."

Peter could feel his anger rising in his chest. He stood up and lifted Lucy onto Penny against her protests and lifted himself behind her. "Don't worry, Lucy, I'll get this all straightened out for you. I'm surprised Susan wouldn't come to me personally about this."

He pushed his foot into Penny's side and urged her into a gallop, Lucy's long hair blowing into his face.

"Peter, slow down!" Lucy yelled, but he did not hear her. He heard the wind, he heard the crashing of the waves. And he heard Susan's laughter, even before he stepped foot into the castle.

He walked past the guards in front of Susan's bedchamber and opened the door with such a fury that it looked like it would snap in half like a twig.

"Taylor, leave us!" Susan's husband gave him a deep bow which Peter returned before he left, closing the door gently behind him.

She stood up. "How dare you intrude like this! I'm not a child anymore, Peter. I'm quite a woman now, if you haven't yet noticed."

"I, Susan? How dare I do this to you? Do you realize that you are using our sister as a political tool? Why did you marry Taylor?" he demanded from her.

She looked at her feet and wrung the sleeve of her dress in her hands before shaking her head. She looked back up at him. "Because we were in love."

He softened his expression. "Exactly. You were so happy you cried. Do you remember?"

She smiled at her brother, wondering how he was always right. She sat down lightly on her bed and Peter watched her replay her wedding day in her mind's eye. "Yes," she said. "I remember."

"Don't you want Lucy to feel that happy?" He sank into a chair and allowed himself to slouch. "Don't you want me to, Susan? Shouldn't it be more than just a 'smart match'?" He put his hand on his face, rubbing his forehead.

"Peter, you know how important your happiness is to me. But can you at least listen to what I have in mind?"

"Fine," he replied coldly, "but don't expect me to like it."

She pursed her lips. "Well, I haven't really thought of anyone for you yet, but for Lucy, I was thinking that Lucy and Prince Steven would make a lovely couple. He's very handsome, you know, and I've heard that he's extremely agreeable."

Peter laughed out loud, causing Susan to frown, and he didn't stop when he saw her face. "Sue, you know that that would be dreadful. He's dreadful. She's far too intelligent for him."

She stood up. "Peter, it wouldn't hurt for them to at least meet. I don't care how, but I want it to happen. Excuse me."

"You know, I don't really have to listen to you," Peter muttered as she walked past. His hair fluttered in the wind she caused, and he felt the chair shake when she slammed the door. He was now alone in his sister's bedchamber, left with the job of talking to Lucy. He wondered how she would react. If she would feel betrayed by her eldest brother, who had protected her for as far back as she could remember. But now he had his people to think of. They all did.

"Must she always leave me the difficult part?" he said out loud, sliding farther down into his chair. He looked out the window, and he could see the ocean. It was dark now. On the horizon, he saw lightning, and he thought that even enduring that might be better than what he had to do. He sighed and stood up, taking the first few steps toward breaking his sister's heart.