Aslan might be out of character because it is hard for me to write about him in a way that makes it sound like the way he would act. Did that make sense? Lol.
There's Suspian fluff in this chapter for all you Suspian lovers!
Chapter 2 – Once a King or Queen of Narnia…
Without a word Peter started walking up the beach at a fast pace. Lucy, Edmund, and Susan followed him. Crystal sighed and shook her head as she thought 'Same ol' Peter' before running to catch up to them. She finally looked up and gasped when she saw the large castle that was sitting on top of the cliffs. She stopped walking to look at it properly as the Pevensies kept walking. Lucy looked over her shoulder and hurried back to her. She grasped Crystal's hand, snapping her out of her stare, and gently but firmly tugged her after them. They climbed a set of stairs before stopping in front of the large stone doors.
"Cair Paravel," Susan whispered as Lucy smiled excitedly. Crystal remained silent as she looked around herself, admiring the breath taking view of the ocean and the surrounding area.
"Come on," Peter said before walking forward once more. Squeezing Crystal's hand, Lucy followed him and Susan and Edmund followed them. Crystal felt like the wind got knocked out of her when they made their way up the stairs and stepped through the doors of Cair Paravel. Centaurs and fauns held up swords in their honor as they stood perfectly still when the Pevensies passed. Lucy let go of Crystal's hand and nodded her head towards a faun that was standing nearby who had a dark scarf around his neck. Crystal nodded back in understanding as she went to stand by the faun, confused yet mystified.
It was then she noticed that the Pevensies school clothes had changed. Peter was wearing a blue and gold attire with a matching cloak-like cape and dark boots. Edmund wore the same thing but his clothes were silver. Susan was wearing a silver dress with a blue neck cape. Lucy was wearing the same but her dress was light blue and her cape was red. They all had different crowns on their heads but they were all elegant in their own way, littered with stones and diamonds. Crystal's eyes widened when a lion seemed to appear out of nowhere and stand in between the thrones that Peter and Susan were sitting in front of. He opened his mouth and he spoke, his voice rumbling.
"Once a King or Queen of Narnia...always a King or Queen of Narnia," Aslan stated as the Pevensies sat down.
"Long live King Peter," the audience chorused. "Long live King Edmund. Long live Queen Susan. Long live Queen Lucy." Applause and cheers became deafening as the sounds bounced off of the walls of the castle as the Pevensies smiled brightly and sat on their thrones. Aslan backed away as a man walked down the aisle. Peter locked eyes with him before standing and meeting the man at the bottom of the small stair set.
"King Caspian," Peter spoke up.
"I believe this belongs to you," Caspian said as he held out a sword that was still in its sheath. Peter grasped it and slowly pulled out the sword, smiling as the light from the glass roof reflected off of it. "Welcome back, My Lord." Caspian bowed respectfully as Peter slid Rhindon back into its' sheath.
"It's good to be back," Peter responded. He looked up at the audience before clearing his throat. "Narnians, we have come because we heard of a new threat that has been attacking Cair Paravel. Some Narnians have perished, but their spirits will not be forgotten. They have left this place making sure that the rest of you are safe, which was very noble. I..." he paused to look at Caspian who nodded slightly. "I mean, we, will do everything in our power to drive this new force out of Narnia for good." He paused to wait for the cheering to die down. He turned to Susan who stood and joined Peter and Caspian down on the floor as everyone fell silent.
"We are not alone. We have brought a special friend with us," Peter said as Susan walked over to Crystal and gently gripped her arm. She gave Crystal a look, telling her to keep her keep quiet for the time being. "She will be staying here with us and I expect you all to treat Crystal with the utmost kindness and respect." Aslan stepped forward once more so he was standing in between Peter and Caspian. "Do not be afraid," Peter said when he noticed the look on Crystal's face.
"I was told that someone else would be joining you when you returned," Aslan said as he locked his golden eyes with Peter's blue eyes. He wheeled around to look at Crystal, who flinched from his penetrating gaze. "Another Daughter of Eve," he said more to himself than to her. He looked her over and she tensed slightly, not liking the way he was looking at her. "You have the body physic of a skilled warrior."
"Thank…you?" Crystal said slowly.
"Not to be rude," Peter interrupted. "But I would feel a lot better if she were to stay inside and out of harms way, with Lucy."
"Peter," Edmund finally spoke up. "You know full well that she wouldn't want to sit inside while the rest of us are fighting."
"That's true, Edmund," Peter responded. "But I would feel a lot better if she stayed."
"Do I get any choice in the matter?" Crystal asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Peter, Edmund is right, I would rather be out there fighting with the rest of you instead of staying inside. I appreciate what you're trying to do," she added, stopping Peter from speaking when he opened his mouth. "But, if I'm going to stay here, I want to pull my weight around here. And you know that I'm a good fighter."
"That's true," Peter agreed with a sigh. "But-"
"The new beasts seem to only be after one thing," Aslan spoke up. "They're attacking the other Narnian Kingdoms because they know that the Kings and Queens reside somewhere in Narnia. What you really need now, especially King Peter, is protection." He turned his golden gaze to Crystal. He opened his mouth and let out a low growl, which caused Crystal to flinch slightly but a calming feeling instantly spread through her like a rushing river.
"I don't feel right about this," Peter sighed.
"How about this, then?" Edmund spoke up. "You can put her on this trial period. She can get taught how to use certain weapons, spar a bit, and then you can decide whether or not that she can become a warrior."
Peter locked eyes with Crystal who was giving him a hard challenging look. He sighed and nodded slowly, agreeing to Edmund's suggestion.
"If that is all settled," Lucy said as she got off of her throne. "The feast may begin!" As she raised her arms angelic music started to play. In the corner some fauns and centaurs were playing instruments that had a calming tone to it. Some centaurs and fauns started to eat while others started to dance. "Come with me. If it's all right you can share a room with me and we can get you a dress."
"A dress!" Crystal repeated as Lucy dragged her off. "Wait a second, Lu..." her voice trailed off as she was pulled away.
"You look...beautiful," Caspian said as he stood in front of Susan and smiled coyly. "Even more beautiful than the sunset," he added as he looked over her shoulder to the setting sun. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again." He reached out and gently cupped her cheek with his right hand and stroked it with her thumb. Susan beamed as she gently reached up and placed her hand on top of hers as she smiled in content.
"I knew that you would," Susan whispered. "I kept praying for it. I always had a feeling we would be together sooner than we thought." She flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around his toned waist as she rested her head on the crook of his neck, taking in his sent and sighing happily. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently played with the end strands of her hair as he took in her strawberry scent. It sent his heart into a frenzy to know that he could hold her again, and take in her scent like he always dreamed of doing. She pulled away and moved her left hand to his shoulder and placed her right hand in his left. He got the hint and moved his right hand down to her waits and pulled her close so their bodies were touching as they gently moved to the music, never taking their eyes off of one another.
"They make me positively ill," Edmund commented from his seat at the table. He was holding his silver goblet in his hand and he was staring across the room at the swaying couple. He had a disgusted look on his face that made Peter smile at him in a teasing way.
"You won't think that when you fall in love, Ed," Peter pointed out. He laughed at the horrified look that was on Edmund's face as he dropped his goblet. It landed on the table and started to teeter but Edmund quickly reached out and grabbed it. Once he set it down he turned to look at Peter.
"Tell me you're joking," Edmund pleaded.
"I kid you not," Peter said as he put down his own goblet. Edmund couldn't help but noticed that his was gold, slightly bigger than Edmund's, and the stones on his were bigger and far more elegant. "You should be interested in women now, but since you don't seem to be showing any interest, it'll happen when you least expect it. Who knows, you might end up falling in love with a Telmarine yourself."
"Shut up," Edmund snapped before picking up his fork and knife to begin to attack his food. Peter smiled as Edmund furiously cut into his meat that was sitting on his plate. He stabbed it with so much force his silver plate tilted, almost spilling it's contents on the long table. Chuckling, Peter shook his head at Edmund's immaturity before bringing his goblet to his lips.
"Wow," Crystal gasped as she looked around Lucy's room. It was vast and filled with antique dressers and elegant sheets. On the right hand wall was her bed that stuck out in the middle of the room. It had a canopy with sheets that matched the color of the sheets on the bed: lilac purple. Next to it was a tall wardrobe that Lucy was walking over to. Across the room was a desk with a window that looked out at the ocean, a perfect view. On both sides were tall bookshelves were stacked with books. On the desk were pieces of paper and an assortment of pens and pencils. On the wall to the left was a large door that opened out to a balcony where two chairs were set up. "This your room? It's so big."
"All of the rooms here are like this," Lucy explained. "It was hard for us to get used to but eventually the size is normal. You should see the library though, now that room is big." Crystal looked over at her to see that she was moving clothes in the wardrobe aside. "Ah, I think this will fit you," she said as she pulled a dress down. Crystal flinched when she looked it over. To her, it was ok looking, but she would never wear a dress or a skirt unless she was forced into it.
"Do I have to wear that?" Crystal asked as she made a face.
"Yes," Lucy replied. "I didn't like wearing a dress a first, but everyone here expects you to act and dress like a lady."
"Then I might as well go and get myself killed now because the only way you'll get that on me is if you put it on me during my funeral," Crystal said as she crossed her arms over her chest and stood defiantly on the other side of the room, near the balcony.
"You have to wear it," Lucy insisted.
"No I don't." Crystal shook her head. "You're not the boss of me."
"Technically," Lucy said slowly. "I am. I am a Queen of Narnia, after all." She didn't say it in a teasing tone, or a superior tone, more like a reminding tone. She sighed. "Don't make me get Peter." She knew that getting Peter into the conversation would end up getting Crystal and Peter into a fight, one that Peter almost always won and Crystal knew it. She scowled before taking the dress from Lucy and moving to the bathroom. "Change as fast as you can. I want to go and dance with some friends of ours. I haven't seen them in so long."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Crystal said before she closed the door behind herself.
"I wonder what is taking Crystal so long," Susan commented as she put down her fork and knife. After dancing many dances with Caspian she felt the need to sit down and talk with some of the Narnians. Caspian, who was sitting across from her, kept shooting glances at her, which caused her to blush. He would also gently placed his hand on her knee and give it a little squeeze. "Lucy should have found her a dress by now."
"You know her," Peter told her. Susan noticed that he had a tone of disdain that followed his words. "She fought for hours about wearing a skirt for your school uniform. She would fight about having to look and behave like a lady while she's here." Susan gave him a look. "I'm not saying that she can't do it," he quickly added. "But she's more..."
"She's more rough 'n' tough than prim and proper," Edmund filled in for him. Susan just sighed before turning to speak to a faun that was sitting by her. Edmund opened his mouth to ask Peter something but his jaw fell and his fork and knife clanged loudly against his plate as he let them go.
"Ed, what is your problem?" Peter hissed in a hushed tone. Edmund could only point. Peter made a face before following where he was pointing. His eyebrows rose as his mouth opened slightly. He regained his composure and slapped Edmund's arm. "Stop pointing, it's rude."
"Would you two stop staring?" Crystal grumbled as she and Lucy stood by the table. Susan and Caspian also looked up once the two joined the table. Crystal's hair was pulled back out of her face and held back by a blue stone studded barrette. Her dress was ice blue with white embroidery that ran along the edges and her cloak-like cape was a crystal blue that matched her eyes. Her necklace sparkled against her neck, which drew attention to the stones that littered the front and the glitter that rested on the bare skin between the cloak and the dress.
"You look amazing," Susan said with a smile.
"Thanks," Crystal said with a sigh before pulling back her chair to sit down. Edmund jumped up and went to her side of the table as Peter stood.
She gave him an odd look so he felt compelled to say, "A man must rise when a woman approaches the table and he must help her into her seat." As she sat he pushed her chair into the table before he did the same to Lucy. Edmund and Peter sat down in their seats in unison. Crystal gave Susan and Lucy a look and they just giggled behind their palms. Crystal rolled her eyes before picking up her fork and knife. 'God, it'll be hard getting used to this.'