Chapter 1

After the defeat of the White Witch, all was peaceful in Narnia. The High King Peter was now 21, Queen Susan was 20, King Edmund was 18 and Queen Lucy was 16. The Kings and Queens ruled their lands with justice and kindness. Although the siblings bickered and fought, their love for one another resolved the issue right away. Narnia was more than just a kingdom to rule, it was their home.

Peter was looking into the distance towards Archenland when he heard a knock on his chamber doors.

"Enter," he said, still staring out the window.

"Your Majesty, a messenger from Archenland is asking for you and your council," the maid told him.

"I shall be down in the discussion chambers shortly," Peter said, dismissing the maid.

When she had closed the door, Peter walked to his bathroom and looked into the mirror. His blue eyes sparkled as his golden hair shined in the light. He still felt too young to be High King, but he never voiced his thoughts. He knew Susan would tell him to get over it, Edmund would roll his eyes and Lucy would just smile. Sighing, he head down to the discussion chambers.

When he arrived, his council members seemed quite happy, shaking each others hands and whatnot. Peter suddenly felt uneasy. Mr. Tumnus had a wary look on his face, and as soon as he saw Peter, he looked worried. What was going on?

"High King Peter, we have some glorious news for you!" Arrowynde said gleefully.

"Yes?" Peter said, awaiting the information.

The Archenland messenger stepped forward and pulled out a scroll.

"I, King Lune of Archenland, hereby accept the High King

Peter of Narnia's marriage proposal to my daughter, Princess

Marcea of Archenland. She shall arrive in three days time.

Archenland is delighted and honoured to strengthen our alliance

with the good people of Narnia.

Signed,

King Lune"

"What?!" Peter yelled.

He had not noticed that his siblings had slipped into the room.

"Your Majesty, you did not take our advice of seeking a spouse seriously, so as the council decrees, we must take matters into our own hands," Arrowynde informed him.

"Take matters into your own hands? Why I should have you all-"

"Peter, keep a cool head. Council members, you may take your leave now. Mr Tumnus, please accompany our guess to the stables, as he will certainly be itching to return home," Susan ordered.

As the council members left, Peter pulled out his hair in exhaustion. Had he not been a good king? Why would they do this to him?

"Marrying a Princess from Archenland Peter? Lucky man," Edmund whistled.

"I am not marrying anyone Ed," Peter said dejectedly.

"Yes you are Peter," Susan commanded.

"Who are you to question the High King?"

"Peter, now is not the time for your pompousness. This Archenland we are talking about. To reject this offer could mean distasteful unrest between both kingdoms, surely you can see that?" Susan told him.

"Susan is right Peter, you ignored the councils warnings and now you're threatening to pull us into an uncalled for war?" Ed exclaimed.

"So this is all my fault then?" Peter yelled.

"Peter, calm down. I get the feeling you'll like this girl a lot more than you think," Lucy said with an all-knowing smile.

"Right, well while everyone else plans my future for me, I might just go drown myself in my bathtub," Peter said bitterly before walking out and slamming the door.

He walked to his room, closed the door and collapsed on his bed. He knew it was partly his fault. Why did he ignore the councils warnings? Now he had to marry some poor girl he didn't even know.


Three days passed and Peter sat in one of the reading rooms, looking at the window. The window faced the entrance to the castle, where his future bride would be coming through. He watched the Royal Archenland carriage come down the road when the door suddenly burst open.

"Peter, she's here! Princess Marcea is finally here!" Lucy yelled, looking more excited than Peter was.

"Lucy, calm yourself down and tell the others," Peter instructed her, and she sprinted from the room.

Peter began his walk to the entrance with heavy steps. He felt like a man on death row. Now I know that's extreme, but it's true. As he slowly walked, he imagined what his life would be like, marrying this stranger. He wondered what it would be like to raise a child with this stranger. Peter just hoped to Aslan that she was decent looking.

As he arrived at the entrance, he walked outside and saw that the carriage had stopped, but no one had gotten out. His siblings were there, looking just as confused. Suddenly they heard screaming from the carriage.


A/N: You pronoun Marcea as 'Mar-c-a'.