Chapter One ~ A Fanciful Idea

As the years went by, Danika grew into a lovely, spirited young woman and many young men were enchanted by her. Her father referred to her as 'Dani' when she was older but now he only did it during moments of closeness between them because Danika didn't really like it but allowed him to do so simply because it stuck with her and reminded her of when she was younger. She was a bright girl but she enjoyed being creative more. Her favourite activities were drawing, playing the piano or reading books. Danika loved stories and had almost made her way through the entire library of Anvard Palace by the time she turned ten.

However, her favourite stories were always those that her father used to tell her when she was younger, about the Golden Age of Narnia and the Kings and Queens of old. These stories fascinated the young princess to no end. She loved to hear of how Queen Lucy saved many men upon the battle fields with a magical cordial that had been given to her by Father Christmas, and how Queen Susan was the most renowned archer in all the land, and how King Peter was knighted by Aslan himself. But her favourite stories had always been the one about King Edmund and how he was tricked by the white witch into turning against his family, but he was rescued and helped the to defeat her. The stories of the Just King had intrigued her the most.

This was the cause of the princess's delight and awe when, shortly after her twelfth birthday, news reached Archenland that the Kings and Queens of old had returned and helped Caspian X to rescue Narnia from the cruel clutches of the Telmarines. Messengers arrived with stories of a great battle which Danika had asked them to repeat to her several times. They told her of how King Peter had challenged Miraz to a duel and the Magnificent King had won but the treachery of the Telmarines had caused a battle to ensue. The Narnian revolutionaries had managed to defeat the Telmarines with the help if Aslan summoning the river god to destroy them all.

The princess was utterly spellbound and even more so when her father received an invitation to the coronation of Caspian X who was to be the new High King of Narnia. Danika had begged and pleaded with her father to take her with him but he refused, saying that she was far too young to travel all the way to Narnia and there would be a lot of talk about politics and he didn't want her to be involved at such a tender age.

After many heated discussions, early bedtimes and being confined to her room, Danika finally gave in and allowed her father to go to Narnia without her. On the morning of his departure, the princess made her way down to the courtyard to bid farewell to her father.

"I will only be gone for a few weeks, you probably won't even miss me," the king said with a smile as he scooped his beloved daughter up into his arms.

"Of course I will miss you father," Danika replied with a similar smile, "promise that you will tell me about everything when you get back."

"I promise," Hashim kissed her on the forehead, "goodbye, Dani"

"Goodbye father. I love you."

"And I love you, sweetheart"

When King Hashim arrived at Cair Paravel about a week later, it was late at night so he was shown to his guest chambers where his servants unpacked and he settled down for the night. The next morning, the King woke and dressed then was shown down to the Great Hall where a breakfast feast was being held for the Kings and Queens of Narnia and all the other monarchs who had arrived for the coronation ball.

As Hashim entered the Great Hall he was shown immediately to the high table where he was formally introduced to the Kings and Queens.

"It is an honor to meet you, your majesties" Hashim bowed politely. The Kings and Queens nodded their heads in reply and offered him their welcomes and deepest respects.

King Caspian was sat in the middle on the grandest throne, since he was to be crowned high king that very evening. He was tall, well built and very handsome with wavy brown hair that reached just above his shoulders and dark chocolate brown eyes. Hashim had heard rumours of his rebellion and was started to see that Caspian was much younger than he had anticipated.

On Caspian's left sat King Peter. Hashim now understood why they called him Magnificent. He had an air about him that suggested great understanding and authority, and left no doubt in Hashim's mind that this boy was definitely a more than suitable king of Narnia. His golden hair and sea blue eyes set him apart from the other kings and made him all the more majestic.

Next to Peter sat the youngest of the Queens, Lucy. She was very young and it was easy to tell from her pretty green eyes and light brown hear that flattered her facial features that she would be a beauty as she grew older. She was obviously wise beyond her years but still had a sense of childishness about her, made obvious by her cheeky smile.

On Caspian's other side sat Queen Susan. Rumours of her astonishing beauty had been true. Her sparkling blue eyes and dark curly hair were a stunning contrast against her pale skin and she held herself in a very queenly manner. Hashim knew that she was still unmarried but doubted that she would remain so for much longer, especially considering how close she was sat to Caspian and how they kept exchanging secret smiles when they thought no one else was watching.

Next to Susan sat the last monarch, King Edmund. The boy was tall and slender with unruly dark brown, almost black hair and big, brown eyes. He seemed somewhat solemn but extended his greeting to Hashim with a cheerful smile. He certainly was the most mysterious of the monarchs.

"King Hashim, I do hope you are enjoying your stay so far?" enquired Caspian

"Of course your majesty. Narnia truly is a magical place, and I look forward to tonight's festivities with great anticipation," replied Hashim.

"Oh, I think we all do," said Edmund with a cheeky grin. Obviously the young King was looking forward to the celebration, thought Hashim.

"Hashim, if it pleases you, we must talk politics later. I have had many dealing with Archenland in the past and I am anxious to learn of its welfare. Would you humour me?" asked Peter.

"I would be glad to your majesty" replied Hashim with a smile.

"Excellent. Well then don't let us keep you from the feast, enjoy my friend," Peter then began to pile food onto his plate whilst the other kings and the youngest queen laughed at him and Susan looked on half disgusted, half amused.

"Thank you your majesties" and with that, Hashim made his way to a table and sat down to eat his breakfast. 'Danika will be consumed with jealousy when I tell her who I just met' thought the king with a chuckle as he tucked in to his food.

After breakfast, Hashim returned to his chambers to change into something more suitable for the coronation ceremony. Later that morning, as escort was sent to Hashim to lead him down to the great hall where he was seated near the front with all the other monarchs. The hall had been decorated in red and gold and many people had come to the castle to witness the crowning of the new king.

It was a spectacular event and none other than Aslan himself was seated at the front of the hall to crown the new king. The queens entered first followed by the two kings and then Caspian. When they reached the front of the hall, the Pevensie's were seated whilst Caspian knelt before Aslan.

The great lion spoke to the assembly of the hardships of leading and of how only a select few are destined to rule and how he truly believed that Caspian has the makings of a great king. Caspian seemed highly embarrassed but all of the Pevensie's, including Peter, and a lot of the assembly nodded their heads in approval. Then Aslan beckoned to Peter who stepped forwards and lifted the crown from its resting place.

"I crown you Caspian the Tenth, King of Narnia" declared Aslan, and then he motioned to Peter who placed the crown carefully upon Caspian's dark hair. Then Caspian rose and turned around to face his people who were cheering for him. He held up a hand to silence them.

"I thank you may friends. Although I have to say that I would not have been able to achieve any of this without your help and most especially without the help of the kings and queens of old" Caspian beamed at the Pevensie's and the hall erupted into applause again.

"Therefore it gives me great pleasure to announce that the great lion Aslan himself has promised that the kings and queens shall be able to live out their days in Narnia, and it would be my great pleasure to have them stay here in Cair Paravel and help me to rule over Narnia…that is if they will accept?"

The Pevensie's looked at each other and then at Aslan who gave them a slight nod, then they looked back at Caspian.

"Of course we do!" exclaimed Susan who ran to Caspian and threw her arms around his neck, shortly flowed by the other Pevensie's who joined in the hug, not caring that their displays of emotion may be inappropriate, especially since Aslan himself was present. They were a family now. The assembly began to cheer for their monarchs again and Hashim clapped along with the assembly ecstatic that he had just witnessed an event that would go down in history; a new age of Narnia had begun.

After the ceremony, Hashim departed the great hall and spent the rest of the day exploring the grounds of Cair Paravel and conversing with the other monarchs until the late afternoon when her retired to his guest chambers to rest before the evenings celebrations. He woke in the early evening and was just finishing dressing when an escort arrived to take him to the Great Hall where he was formally introduced again and then allowed to mingle with the crowd.

The ball had just begun and people were still arriving. There were many other monarchs there but there were also many people from Narnia. These included the Telmarines who had now become a part of the Narnian population, but there were also fauns and centaurs and dryads, talking animals and many other wonderful creatures that Hashim had only ever read about in books and now here he was conversing and dancing and laughing with them. This was truly extraordinary.

The celebrations became more jubilant as the night went on and after a while Hashim had to sit down and rest. He had only been alone for a few moments when he was approached by King Peter, holding a half full glass of wine, his crown askew and his hair slightly messed up from all the dancing.

"Ah, Hashim, I was hoping to run into you, I was hoping we could discuss that matter I mentioned to you at breakfast?" enquired Peter.

"Of course your majesty. I was just hoping for a break from all the merriment. I am not as young as I used to be" said Hashim with a slight laugh.

"Well perhaps not, but I trust you are enjoying the celebrations?" asked Peter with a slight frown.

"Oh yes, very much your majesty. Though I daresay not as much as your siblings" replied Hashim with a wide smile.

Peter glanced around to see Susan dancing with Caspian, smiling and laughing joyously. Edmund was occupied with a group of Faun and Telmarine girls who insisted that he danced with them and told them stories of the Golden Age, he looked like he was enjoying the attention, and Lucy was conversing with a group of girls her own age, looking happier than Peter had seen her in a long time.

"Yes well they always were the life and soul of all the parties and I think we all are very happy to be back here in Narnia," Peter said almost to himself, with an absent minded smile. "Do you have any family, Hashim?"

"Yes, my daughter, Danika. She'll be nearly thirteen. I would have brought her with me but she is still so young and I didn't want her to be involved in all the politics that is going on. Although she would have loved to see Narnia."

"Of course. My brother is just thirteen and he worries me all the time" Peter said whilst watching his brother being admired by the young ladies around him. "Well perhaps you could bring her for a visit sometime?"

"Yes I don't think I will be able to refuse her for much longer" laughed Hashim. Peter chuckled in response but was still preoccupied watching Ed. Suddenly, he was struck by an idea.

"You know Hashim, Narnia and Archenland have had many dealings in the past, perhaps some sort of , well, union, between out two countries would help to strengthen our relationship and hopefully set a good example for other countries. I don't now about you but I have seen enough war to last two life times." Hashim didn't quite understand what Peter was proposing.

"A union? Like, like a marriage?" Hashim furrowed his brow and followed Peter's gaze to the youngest King of Narnia.

"Yes, like a marriage" Peter confirmed. Comprehension suddenly dawned on Hashim's face as he realised what the Magnificent King was proposing and he decided to let him know his feelings on the matter right away.

"Now, look here King Peter, I love my daughter very much and I would never force her to do anything that she didn't want to do. An arranged marriage would break her heart. I couldn't bring that upon her, she is all I have," Hashim explained desperately.

"Oh, I beg your pardon Hashim, I was certainly not suggesting that. I too love my brother very much and not only would I not want to force him to do anything he didn't want to but I doubt that I could without ending up severely injured," Peter said with an amused smile which was returned by Hashim. "I was merely suggesting that perhaps if your daughter and my brother were to meet, well hopefully they will make the decision on their own."

"You mean that you think there is a chance that they might fall in love?" Hashim was surprised at the Kings optimism. He knew that his daughter would not be one to lightly give her heart away, and from what he had seen of King Edmund, he seemed much too solemn and private to do the same.

"Is it not worth a try? You said yourself that you wanted to bring your daughter here so she would have to meet my brother and perhaps you and I could give them a push in the right direction, but neither of them will be forced to do anything." Peter realised that perhaps he was being far too pushy, but he was just trying to do the right thing. He had had enough of war and a union between Narnia and Archenland would strengthen political relations, and since Danika was the only heir to the throne and Edmund was about her age, it just made sense. It's not as if he was dragging them both down the aisle!

Hashim was deep in thought. This did sound like a reasonable idea but would it work? He would never force his daughter to do anything and he could tell that King Peter loved his brother too much to do that to him, so his intentions were pure.

"Well this is a fanciful idea, but I suppose it is worth a try and Danika does want to see Narnia so badly. When should I bring her?" Peter beamed at the king. Hopefully if this idea worked his family would be safe and happy for the rest of their wonderful lives in Narnia.

Hope you're enjoying this so far. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism more than welcome as always :) x x x