A/N: Hey guys! AllzStar here….This is just a side project I decided to work on in between chapters of Black and Blue. This story takes place after Prince Caspian, in Narnia, so I guess the Pevensies just stuck around. They are all about four years older, so Peter is twenty, Susan nineteen, Edmund going-on-eighteen, and Lucy fifteen. I hope you like it! Reviews make me happy… :-)

The Debutante

AllzStar

The ballroom was alive with movement, all the colors of the rainbow and then some reflected on the women's skirts as they swished around the dance floor in the arms of men dressed in handsome tunics. All but one of the four thrones was vacated: the High King, Peter, was dancing with a slender girl and looking regal as usual; Queen Susan was waltzing with her Prince Caspian, and a mysterious stranger of a gentleman had taken the hand of Queen Lucy.

King Edmund sat alone, unnoticed, unbothered.

He rather preferred it this way. He had always been more comfortable looking at girls rather than interacting with them. His awkward speech and clumsy movement were better off unprovoked for his sake and his family's. He had more than once brought shame upon the King and Queens of Narnia, whether it be by tripping down a flight of stairs or knocking a girl's champagne glass onto her dress or giving the orchestra conductor a black eye. He couldn't help that he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time and there were always people about.

"Are you alright, your Majesty?" It was Christine, a girl Edmund had met at the ball three weeks ago and wouldn't leave him alone.

He immediately sat up and put on his important face. "Yes, I'm fine. Please go about your business, I am quite alright."

Looking a little disappointed, Christine slumped off back to the wall-flower bench.

Edmund didn't know why he was so mean to girls sometimes. He wallowed in self pity about being alone but when girls approached them he turned them away. Maybe he just liked the thought of being ready to love someone, but really wasn't.

He went back to his grumbling. All this for one girl to meet Peter. They had to invite every blasted girl in the kingdom and beyond to this bloody ball when the whole purpose was for this one debutante to meet High King Peter and then marry him. Peter's twentieth birthday had brought the responsibility of getting married and producing an heir as fast as possible (because there weren't three other people who were already eligibly running the kingdom with him…?). An arrangement had already been made, of course. Now all there was to do was meet the girl.

The young King had to admit it: he was intrigued to meet his future sister-in-law. He wondered what she would be like, what Peter would look like with a bride on his arm. He found it hard to picture. Peter had never been a romantic, nor had a girlfriend. Now he was going to be married to the first pretty princess that showed up claiming eligibility.

Edmund swore right then and there that when he turned twenty and it was his turn to get married (he was forbidden to wed before then) he would pick his own bride, no matter how long it took. He had never told Peter this, but Edmund really did like girls. He rather fancied having a pretty girl to love, and more important, be loved in return. But such an opportunity had never arisen; not one girl had stuck a chord in his heart.

"Doing alright, Ed?" asked Queen Susan, standing on her brother's left and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's a bit much isn't it?" wondered Edmund, gesturing to the spectacle before them. "I mean, why the fuss? Why couldn't there be a ball after Peter marries this girl?"

Susan sighed and smiled at her little brother. "Oh, Edmund. You'll understand when you're older." Edmund rolled his eyes and Susan continued, a little annoyed. "Lady Ella has travelled a very far distance to be here tonight, and she deserves a warm welcome. From everyone." She gave Edmund's shoulder a squeeze before once again taking Caspian's hand and allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.

Edmund watched as his sister twirled away from him, safely locked up in Caspian's arms, wondering how it was so easy for them to love each-other. Certainly next year when Susan turned twenty she would marry him. Edmund had to say he approved; when he saw the way Caspian looked at his sister…Edmund knew Caspian really loved her, and that was all Ed needed to know.

Finally the music died away and the floor cleared. Peter, Susan and Lucy took to their thrones as the trumpets sounded obnoxiously in Edmund's ear. The time had come for this Lady Ella to make her debut, meet her future husband and his siblings. What a night this must be for her. Edmund could only imagine how nervous the girl must be.

On cue, the grand doors at the far end of the ballroom opened and two women stepped forth. One was an older woman in her early forties at the most. She had mud-brown hair that was completely pinned up on her head in a ridiculous arrangement. She was wearing a rather ugly dress of a dull yellow.

Edmund barely noticed this woman any further, for it was the other one that held his gaze.

She had long, silky red hair that tumbled freely over her slight, bare shoulders in perfect ringlets. Her skin was a creamy ivory and flawless, her cheeks containing just the right amount of blood to give her a natural blush. Her dress was emerald green and fitted her form perfectly, accenting her slim waist. The sleeves hung off her shoulders and her perfect, dainty hands clutched the fabric of her full skirt as she walked slightly revealing her delicate feet in dark green ballet-flats.

As she approached Edmund could see why this color dress had been chosen. It matched her eyes exactly. Her face was heart-shaped and soft, her features small and her smile enchanting.

She was the most beautiful girl Edmund had ever seen.

He couldn't help but stare as she curtsied deeply to each of the Pevensies in turn. Peter stood, kissed her hand and bowed back to her dutifully. When she came to Edmund he copied his brother, but he could not tear his gaze away from her eyes. Neither, apparently, could she, for she would not look away from him. Edmund felt a blush creep up into his cheeks as he kissed her hand for longer than necessary. He felt like he should look away, pull his lips away from her hand, but he could not.

Finally, she moved, and he immediately let her hand drop and stood up straight. She had looked away and was now reaching for Peter's outstretched hand. The couple walked down the stairs and to the dance floor.

The orchestra began to play especially for them, and a sigh swept through the crowd as the young duet waltzed gracefully.

It hit Edmund then that this girl—this beautiful girl—was Lady Ella, Peter's bachelorette.

Suddenly Edmund couldn't breathe. He excused himself and ran out to the balcony behind the thrones, gasping in the night air. He felt as if he's been punched in the stomach. Is this what falling feels like? he thought, clutching his gut and struggling for the breath that evaded him. It was impossible. It was scandalous. It was forbidden.

He had fallen in love with Peter's future wife.

**

Bit of a short chap, sorry guys.

I hope you liked it!

Reviews make me happy…. :-)