Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't...

Summary: Good Suspicions... Or, when the Princess Consort had a conversation with the Princess Royal.

A/N: This story is part of my A Light in the Darkness universe. Enjoy!

Good Suspicions

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I paused as I heard the General lecturing the Princess Royal. I hadn't realized they were in the gardens otherwise I would have chosen a different path. "…at least attempt to behave yourself, Minx."

The Princess Royal's amusement wrapped itself in her voice and infected the air to the point that even I smiled. "Now, Cyneward, you act as though I might do something rash and without thought."

"No, I act as though I know that you will put great thought into your rash actions."

"I'm pretty sure that's an oxymoron."

There was a heavy pause and I began to retreat only to freeze as though an icy blast had sunk into the very roots of my tree when they came around the bend of the path. The General snorted. "You are an oxymoron, Alambiel." They both stopped when they noticed my presence. They were so very different in form, Nymph and Centaur, and in coloring, her golden hair and fair skin to his dark hair, coat, and complexion. Where her blue eyes danced with mischief and barely contained laughter, his dark gaze was solemn. Alambiel and Oreius were so different and yet there was more than enough evidence of their mutual love. Although he did often seem suspicious of her motives. "Your Highness."

The General's formal greeting startled me and I blushed, knowing my thoughts had been carried away on a breeze when they should have remained rooted. The General bowed and the Princess Royal dipped her head. Then he turned to her with a look of stern warning. "Behave, Sepphora."

She only laughed then approached me while he left the gardens by another path. "Thalia, don't tell me I already missed the meeting with that Tarkheena."

"No, Your Highness. I mean, Alambiel."

"Well, drats. I had been hoping I was gone long enough to avoid her."

"The General seemed suspicious of you." I gasped a little at my own impertinence in broaching such a topic.

Alambiel merely arched an eyebrow then smiled. "Did he?"

I hesitated, studying her face. She appeared amused, even pleased with the observation. Curiosity coaxed the next words out as the sun coaxed new spring buds to unfurl. "You…enjoy when the General is suspicious of you?"

She looked around then nodded toward the path leading to the upper terraces of the eastern gardens. "Let's walk while we talk." I followed her for some time before Alambiel finally broke the silence, "I enjoy it when Oreius has good suspicions, especially if I have given him cause to be so."

My brow furrowed then I shook my head. "I do not understand your meaning, Your Highness."

"Tis a game we play." She smiled at me. "I make him suspicious about what I might do to his armory or perhaps not being as diplomatic as Stonebrook would like although that is definitely more of a me being a willfully undiplomatic diplomat thing. Sometimes I play pranks or I just make him wonder if I am going to play a prank. It distracts him when he needs to step back from duty and allow himself to be only Oreius."

"Then it is similar to what I do to help Peter?"

"To an extent. But, I have always believed there are good, harmless suspicions and then there are bad, hurtful suspicions. I give Oreius some harmless suspicions and he also knows he can trust me."

"How?"

She fell silent as we stopped in one of the terraces overlooking the Eastern Sea. The waves glistened silver. I feared I might have overstep my bounds and opened my mouth to apologize just as she spoke, "I love Oreius with all my heart. He may be suspicious of whether I shall behave myself in regards to not staging a coup for an unannounced training exercise or playing a very inconvenient prank. But he trusts me to know my bounds and he knows he can trust me to never give him cause to suspect I might break my vows to him whether they are of betrothal or marriage. He will be a suspicious husband but never that I have broken faith. These suspicions will be the playful variety that bring us closer together and not of the kind that can tear a marriage apart."

I considered all that I had witnessed or heard pass between them. Even when they argued, it had never seemed to damage their love for each other. "I do not think Peter would wish to be suspicious of me in any manner."

Alambiel laughed. "No, I don't think so either. This game I play with Oreius is not one I would counsel other couples to use for every couple is different and has different needs."

"Peter makes me brave," I confessed quietly.

"And you help him not feel the crown so heavily. You are steadfast and that is what Peter needs." She smiled kindly. "Oreius and I have a unique way of doing things…most of it is probably my fault, but we are to each other what we need most. Don't be afraid to tease your husband, Thalia, to do what is necessary to make him forget the worries of the day if only for a short moment because he may never tell you how very much he needed to laugh at that moment."

"That is why you make the General suspicious."

"That and his reactions amuse me. They tend to take on so much, your Peter and my Oreius… They need us to remind them that they are not alone and that it is all right to relax, to laugh, and to play." Alambiel glanced at me with a wry smile. "Now if only I can get the Calormenes to leave so Oreius and I can marry and be done with it."

I laughed softly but I took her advice to heart. The Princess Royal was what the General needed. And I was what Peter needed. He stood tall as a mighty oak, ever seeking to protect Narnia, to protect his family, but even the mighty oak was stronger in a grove than all alone. I walked with the Princess Royal only for a short distance longer before I excused myself. I was no longer a lady-in-waiting to Queen Susan. I was Peter's wife and consort. My place was to stand with him and to shore him up. How could I complete this task if I never stayed with him?

I hadn't joined him in a meeting with the Calormene ambassadors since the initial presentation, even though I had returned from the week spent in my father's grove yesterday. Now I slipped into the meeting chamber. All eyes turned to me but I raised my chin as the Queens and the Princess Royal had bade me to do whenever in such meetings and approached my husband. I knew the question was in my eyes, the unspoken plea that he not ask me to aid his sisters, and I watched his jaw relax as he offered me the slightest smile that lit his blue eyes in a way that made my heart leap within my breast. The Narnians present rose and bowed with the Calormene following in a begrudging manner as I passed them to reach Peter's side. Choosing my favored position, I waved away the silent offer of a chair and stood behind Peter. Laying one hand on his shoulder, I hid a smile at how I could feel his tense muscles relax beneath my touch. Yes, this was where I could do the most good for my husband and my people.

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A/N: Please Read and Review!