A Tale of Books
Disclaimer: I don't own.
Hannah slowly cracked her eyes open. The sun blinded her and she blinked before reopening them. She glanced around to see that Faith and Rose were still asleep. She smiled. They're probably still exhausted from the coronation yesterday, she thought. She decided to go ahead and get up, and maybe explore, since she hadn't had time to do that yet.
A few minutes later, she exited the room she shared with her cousins, silently closing the door behind her, and wandered down the halls. Boy, am I glad that Orieus said we don't have to train this morning. I get a morning all to myself! Her hand flew up to her mouth as she thought of something. A castle this size has to have a library, right? A devious grin appeared on her face as she descended the stairs. Now, if I was a library, where would I be? She roamed around for a few minutes until she spied a door that was cracked open a few inches. Inside she saw a lot of shelves. Yes! she thought. I found it! She eased the door open and didn't see anyone in there, so she went in. So many books! Hannah silently sighed, knowing she could easily spend hours in this room without realizing it. She started prowling through the shelves, gathering interesting-looking books as she went.
As she scanned the shelves, she was startled as she ran into someone, knocking whoever it was over and sending her books flying. Hannah gasped. "I am so sorry! I didn't think anyone else would be awake or in the library this early! Are you all right? Here, let me help you up."
The person on the floor laughed as she pulled him to his feet. "It's all right, Hannah; I'm fine."
"K-k-king Edmund!" she gasped, curtseying.
"I wish you wouldn't do that," he said, sighing.
"What? Curtsey?"
"Yes. It gets a bit old after three straight hours."
She shrugged. "I suppose it would."
"Here, let me help you gather your books."
"I can do it, but thanks anyway." The new knight smiled slightly.
"So, you like to read, too?"
"I love to! I could spend hours lost in this room."
"So could I."
"Really? I've never really met anyone who likes to read as much as I do. The girls certainly don't."
"I've not really met anyone who reads either. Susan will read romance novels, but she said that she imagined that there wouldn't be any here, but I happened to find one." He held up the book in question.
"I guess she'll be happy to hear of that?"
He grinned. "She will… when I tell her. I'm not going to until I've read it. It sounds like a good book."
Hannah smirked, an incredulous look on her face. "You? Read a romance novel?"
"Something wrong with that?"
"I just didn't think you would be the type to enjoy romance stories."
"You might be surprised. But it's not just about a love story. It's a true story about politics, kings, queens, princesses, a prince, battle-"
"Okay! I get it!" Hannah laughed. "I might like to read this book after you're done."
"I'll make sure to tell you when I'm done. Although," he tried to keep the smile from his lips, and failed, "it looks as though you're going to be busy for quite a while."
"You might be surprised. I read quickly."
"That wouldn't shock me at all. I imagine you are quite good at speed reading."
"I am." She smiled. "If you come across any more good books, would you let me know?"
"I would be delighted, milady," he said with an exaggerated bow.
"I would be most appreciative, milord," she said, with a similar curtsey. They burst into laughter.
As time went on, and their lives got busier, the king and knight continued to meet occasionally in the library. They never planned these encounters, yet somehow they happened rather often, considering that they were accidental. They began to form what might be called a book club, sharing their opinions and recommendations with each other. At least once a year, they would decide to reread The Princess's Political Games together, a chapter a day, which is the romance book Edmund had found the second day they lived in Cair Paravel.
The amount of time they spent in the library diminished as they grew older and gained more responsibilities. It shrunk even more when Hannah married Peter and Edmund married Faith. Yet they still managed to reread 'their book' at least once a year. After the Four, Faith, and Rose left to return to England, Hannah almost couldn't bear to set foot in the library. It just didn't seem right with Edmund gone. So the bookmark in The Princess's Political Games stayed in chapter 8, which was where Hannah and Edmund had left off when he disappeared.
Once back in England, Hannah and Edmund continued to read and suggest books to each other, although they also bemoaned the lack of quality compared to Narnia's literature. As Edmund often said, "It's just not the same."
When they returned to Narnia, they didn't have time to read anything, although they both considered it. They weren't around each other much after coming back after that visit, so they didn't really have the chance to read together. On King Caspian's ship, they had but one book that would have interested them. (But that's another story…) After they went back home, they read together more often than they had before, yet their meetings were still relatively few.
Then the train crash happened, and Hannah and her cousins were sent back to their time. Hannah continued to read, but she would often break down sobbing as she would think, I bet Ed would love this book, or, I wish we could read this one together, or even, This book is so similar to The Princess's Political Games. She wept for almost an hour after she read the latter book. Eventually, when she would read, the memories made her smile or laugh instead of weep. Yet, she could never read without thinking of Edmund and their informal 'book club'.
In the New Narnia, when Hannah joined her friends there, after greeting everyone, she realized she hadn't seen Edmund yet. A broad smile lit her face as she suddenly thought of where he might be.
The library door opened silently under her hand, and she entered the room. Then, she saw her reading partner. Engrossed in a book, he hadn't noticed her come in. She grinned as she recognized what he was reading. "Isn't that one getting a little old?" she asked him. "We've read it at least 16 times!"
His head shot up. The Princess's Political Games tumbled to the floor as he leaped from his seat. "Hannah! You're finally here!" The two of them ran to hug each other tightly. "I've missed you," she said.
"And I you."
A teasing smile played across the High Queen's face as they broke their hug. She leaned over and lifted the book from the floor. "Where were you?" she asked.
"Just starting, actually."
"Oh, good." She grinned as she opened to the beginning. "Once upon a time…"