"Peter!" He barely recognized who was shouting, the day before had been a long one and he wanted nothing more than to rest.
"Peter, if you don't let me in right now I'm going to allow Edmund to have his way!" He still didn't move.
He regretted that choice. A few minutes later he shot out of bed as a bucket of freezing cold water was poured over him. He glared irritably at Edmund who was now smiling obnoxiously at Peter
"Cheer up Pete, atleast that's your bath sorted!" Susan who was standing beside Edmund rolled her eyes. When Edmund had said he had a solution, this wasn't what came into mind.
"I had a long day yesterday. What's the meaning of all of this?" Peter wasn't pleased, he wanted answers.
"Aslan has requested to see you, he said it was urgent." Susan replied calmly.
"Aslan? Here.." Aslan hadn't been seen for two years, ever since Miraz was defeated. He nodded at Edmund and Susan, there was no way he could turn Aslan down.
Susan and Edmund left shortly after. The two of them both wondered what was so serious that brought Aslan's presence.
"Why Aslan? Why must I be forced into this marriage? Why can I not have the chance to fall in love with the woman of my choosing?!" Peter gazed at the great lion.
"That is not my question to answer. But I will tell you this. In this marriage you will find love and happiness." Aslan said.
"How? I don't even get a say in this. This isn't what I want, why does this have to happen?" Peter breathed. He was taking in a lot of information in a very short time.
"Do you doubt me, dear one?"
"No, of course not Aslan."
"Then let me assure you that this marriage is in your best interest, and Narnia's. Your marriage shall be right and it shall be just. The two of you in due time will grow to love one another and your bond shall be Narnia's salvation." Aslan stated soothingly.
Peter wasn't happy about it. No, he hated the idea. Deep down he had always wanted to marry a woman of his choosing and settle down together, raise a family. He could feel that dream dissolving. Still, there was no point trying to convince Aslan otherwise. Peter had no choice but to accept and trust in Aslan, although this request was a big ask. "I'm doing it for Narnia." He told himself.
"When will the marriage be?"
"A fortnight, dear one. That is as much time as I can allow."
"I do believe that you are expected at the dining table." And with that the lion departed. His mood for the day had officially been ruined. He didn't feel like eating but he got the feeling Aslan meant he should talk it out with his family.
"Well, what did he say?" Lucy pressed excitedly. He hadn't even sat down yet.
"Nothing much Lu, eat your breakfast." He replied.
That was the worst lie any of them had ever heard.
"Peter, Aslan doesn't turn up for the occasional chit chat. If he came to see you urgently then there must be a reason." Susan took Lucy's side.
"He's arranged a marriage with someone I haven't met yet." The words were out of his mouth faster than he intended. He looked round at the questioning glances he got, of all the faces Caspian was the only one who gave him a look of recognition.
"You want to get married so soon?" Caspian asked.
"No, I don't want this at all. Aslan says the marriage must take place and I have no say in it whatsoever."
"Well. There's no use denying the matter Peter. We must start planning for this marriage at once." Susan said all matter of factly.
"We don't even know who he is supposed-.." Edmund was cut off by voices outside the door.
"Through here my lady" A servant outside was heard saying before the door opened.
The woman was breathtakingly beautiful. She was also fairly tall, around Susan's height who was only three inches shorter than Peter. What intrigued them all was her eyes. Peter had never seen them before, they appeared to be a mixture of brown and gray but the colours changed the longer you stared.
Their examination was interrupted when she coughed.
"Ah! You must be Peter's bride to be." Susan stood up to welcome the girl.
"I'm Vanessa." She replied shyly.
"Nice to meet you Vanessa. I'm Susan, this is Lucy, Caspian, Edmund and I'm sure you've already heard of Peter." Everybody greeted her and invited her over to the table.
Peter excused himself even though he had barely touched his food. His mood had already been ruined earlier on with what Aslan told him, he didn't need a constant reminder of what ruined his mood sitting opposite him.
He went where he always did when he was annoyed or upset, the practice range. "I'll go talk to him." Edmund also excused himself. What he didn't tell them was that he had prepared a surprise for the person who went in there and Peter in his mood was not the person he wanted annoyed.
As soon as Peter opened the door to the training range, a bucket of manure was poured over him.
Edmund caught up with him soon after and watched from a little distance. Peter was visibly angered.
"Pete, don't you know that manure is a good natural fertilizer?! We need that for the farms." He joked although he could tell Peter was not in the mood for it.
Peter drew his sword and charged at Edmund. "I'll kill you!"
"That's if you can hit me grandpa."
The two battled it out, swings were blocked, parried and replaced with new swings where the cycle was repeated. Edmund knew this wouldn't last forever and he didn't want another trip to the nurse even though she was pretty.
"Aslan?" Edmund called out seriously.
It worked, Peter was distracted and turned around. By the time he looked round again, Edmund was already running into the gardens.
It was a maze in there, Peter knew he had lost him. Grumbling, he headed into the castle and went to his quarters.
"Peter, you could use a bath. Maybe even two." Caspian joked. Peter was really not in the mood for jokes.
"Thanks Caspian, I never had a clue." He forced a smile and walked past his fellow king. He met Susan, Lucy and Vanessa on his way to the royal quarters. Lucy and Susan burst out laughing when they saw him, Vanessa on the other hand was a little bit shy and giggled quietly.
"I should've known Ed would be up to no good when he followed you." Susan announced.
"Yeah, why else would he skip a meal. You really do stink by the way." Lucy added
Peter walked past the three of them sighing. "Still don't smell as much as you do Lu." Peter mumbled as he slouched away.
"I heard that!"
"Excuse him Vanessa, he isn't usually in such a bad mood." Susan said
"I don't blame him, he doesn't want to get married and to be honest neither do I." She explained
"You don't seem to be too bothered by it." Lucy stated.
"I've just accepted the fact that we're getting married whether we like it or not. Either way, I trust in Aslan and if he says its in our best interests then it is." Vanessa continued.
"Wise words, Peter might learn a thing or two from you." Susan laughed and lead the two of them into Vanessa's guest room.
"I-..I can't stay in here." She gasped as she looked at the size of the luxurious room.
"Eager to stay in Peter's room are we?" A voice behind them made them whirl around, it was Edmund.
"Edmund!" Susan scolded. He laughed when he saw Vanessa blushing and looking at her feet.
"Ignore him Vanessa, he thinks he's funny." Susan continued.
"Hey! I am funny." Edmund chortled.
"I saw you all laughing at Peter earlier, that was my joke you were laughing at!" He continued.
Lucy and Susan rolled their eyes.
"Grow up Ed!" Lucy said as she closed the door on him.
"I'm older than you!" He shouted from outside the door.
"Act like it then!" She returned the shout and turned back to the two girls.
Vanessa looked around the room, it really was royalty quality. "There is a maid who is stationed in this corridor, just ring that bell on the wall if you need or want anything." Susan explained.
"We have various activities going on through the day. There's sword fighting practice in two hours, you're in luck actually.. today is the competition day! They're always fun to watch."
"There's also archery later on in the afternoon. We should all go together." Lucy continued
"I don't know, things are happening quite fast." Vanessa replied.
"Come on.. it'll be fun, I promise."
"Fine." She agreed.
"Susan?" Lucy asked.
"Wouldn't miss it Lucy." She smiled.
"We'll give you some time to get used to your quarters, Lucy and I will come and get you when it's time for the sword fighting contest." Susan continued.
They both smiled at her before leaving the room. Vanessa smiled once they were gone. Susan and Lucy were really nice, she could see them being great sisters. The day was going to be a long one, although she could just see it also being a fun one too.