Not very proud of this, but it will get better as it goes along. It seems kinda blah, if you know what I mean. Please review to help me out, because I honestly don't know what I'm doing. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia, unfornately.
The meeting was very dull, as expected. It was filled with things that are important and needed to be discussed, but that make very poor conversation topics, like agriculture or money in the treasury. Me and Lucy used to play a game during the meetings, where we would put down a finger to guess who would stand up to speak next. For the first time in a while, Lucy and I playedthis game again to pass the time. Lucy was very good at this game, and I would often look over to her grinning smugly when I got it wrong, like after I suggested Lord Kraigley the faun and Mr. Beaver stood up instead. The meeting had been going on for over an hour, when at last, Mr. Tumnus stood up. Mr. Tumnus was known to only speak ideas out when nobody else in the council was brave enough to speak it to their kings and queens. If Mr. Tumnus was standing, it was something personal, something we would probably not like: something like the talk of marriage.
"Your Majesties." He bowed to all of us before moving to stand before Peter. Mr. Tumnus was sweating nervously, and Peter gave him a reassuring smile. "Your Majesty, it has came to the attention of the council that you are of age now, which brings about a new problem that we would like to address. Many kings, when they turn of age, get married." I heard Peter suck in a sharp breath. "But you do not, from what we can tell, tend to marry anytime in the near future. If you are anything like your sister, Queen Lucy," he glanced over at Lucy, and was rewarding a reassuring smile from her, "than you intend to marry for love, not politics. But I can assure you, Your Highness, as can the Council, that it would be in love: the love of your country. If you do not marry than we will have no heirs, leaving us open to foreign invaders." Peter had lost his smile, and instead a look of calculation overtook his sharp features. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. The Throne Room didn't feel light anymore. It had a tense vibe, and I felt like I had to hold my breath. Peter's decision on the matter at hand would change his whole future, and ultimately, mine too. If Peter gets married, his wife surely wouldn't want him to as close to another girl as he was to me. Our friendship would be broken apart, or as far as it could be while still reining the same kingdom.
There was also the fact that I was in love with him. There was no reason to deny it. I always had been. I never understood girls in books that I had read that did not understand that they were in love until they were kissed. If you don't know you are in love until then, than is it really love, or is it a matter of convenience? I had realized I was in love with him long ago, and at the same time, I realized he was not in love with me. That doesn't mean that I ready to lose his friendship.
"May I ask you a question about this proposal, Mr. Tumnus?" Peter said, leaning forward in his throne as he spoke.
"Yes, of course, Your Majesty." Mr. Tumnus replied.
"I understand that it is very important that we do not leave this country to fend for itself after we are gone, but why must I produce an heir now? As you have previously stated, I am only just of age. Is there not more time for me to father children?" Mr. Tumnus looked back at the Council quickly. He did not have an answer ready.
"I agree with my brother." Edmund stated. "Is it not better for him to raise children when he is older and more prepared? That way he would be able to better hand running a country and children at the same time."
Another member of the Council, a centaur named Reidg, stood and began to speak in a deep, slow, gravelly voice. "The quicker you produce an heir, Your Highness, the more you can teach them. They will be a better ruler, having been under your influence for longer, when it comes there time to rule. Also, other countries will see it as a point of strength." The Throne Room was quieter than it was before. It was the kind of quiet that made children fidget behind their mothers skirts and birds stop singing.
"Speak of other countries has made me think," I began. "If the High King were to marry, it would have to be a woman of another people, seeing as there are no people in Narnia for him to choice from. Do you think it is wise to incorporate someone from another nation into our rule while it is still so young?" Mr. Tumnus forward, shaking to the tip of his horns. He opened his mouth and shut it again, looking at all of us quickly, as if he was scared. This is not a topic any of us wanted to discuss, but we never wanted to scare our subjects unless it was necessary. We were not like the Witch. I softened my facial expression and gave Mr. Tumnus a small smile, even if I didn't want to.
"Speak, Mr. Tumnus." Lucy said softly with an encouraging look. I steeled myself for the upcoming words that would flow from Mr. Tumnus's mouth. If he didn't want to speak it, than it was surely something none of us would like.
"Well, you see, Your Highnesses, we, I mean the Council, discussed the fact the there was no humans in Narnia that were not of the same blood of High King Peter, except…well, except for…except for Queen Elaine!" he said quickly, falling to a bow at our feet before stumbling back to his seat.
I felt my eyes widen. I had thought about this many times before, but I never thought anyone else had. I was astonished. The council wanted me to marry Peter. I glanced over at him, and he looked at me with widened eyes that I'm sure mirrored mine. I wasn't even of age! I wondered if Edmund had knew about this, but judging by the looks of surprise that he was throwing between me and Peter, he was also unaware.
"Council dismissed!" I said loudly. This was too much. It needed to be over. We needed time to think, to talk among ourselves.
"My Lady," started Riedg. "I'm sorry, but we can't leave without the High King's—"
"Do as she says." Peter said firmly. The council left, making so much noise that I wanted to cover my eyes. It was too much. It was all too much. I felt myself tensing so much that any sound sounding louder and worse than what it really was.
Calm down Elaine. Your are better than this. You are a Queen! Do as you have been trained. I took deep breaths, and calmed myself down enough to function by the time the Council had left. When they were all gone, nobody made a sound. It was as quiet as a tomb.
"What do we do?" I asked Peter, after the silence had gone on so long I felt like it was consuming me. I sounded unsure of myself, and I hated it. I was supposed to be strong, to be a queen.
"Meet me in my study at 5 after noon." He then got up and walked out, leaving Lucy, Edmund, and I alone, with only our thoughts and the unbearable silence.
Me and Lucy left the Throne Room soon after Peter did. Anyone else would have left me alone, but Lucy was as stubborn as a rock. It was times like this that I was grateful for it. She stayed by me as I paced the hallways, never voicing any annoyances or complains. After I had been pacing for a long period of time, Lucy suggested that I go see Susan. Susan needed to know what was happening, and she was wonderful council, always looking at things logistically.
We found Susan in her room reading a book on her balcony. As soon as we entered her room, though, she put down the book and headed toward us with a look of concern. I must have looked very frightful. Susan grabbed my hand and led me to her bed, where we all sat: Susan on my left, Lucy on my right.
"What's wrong, Elaine? Are you hurt? Did you and Peter get into a disagreement?" Susan asked. I felt like my mouth had been stuffed with cotton.
"Me and Lucy attended a Council meeting today after Edmund told her that they were planning to discuss Peter getting married. There was no time to come and get you to bring along, or we would have, Susan. The Council wants Peter to get married soon, and they want him to…" I took in a deep breath. Saying things seems to make them real, and this was something I wanted to be as fictional as possible. I loved Peter, I really did, but I did not want to marry him because I had to. I wanted to court him, to be proposed to, to be married because we were in love, not because we had too. I wanted a happy marriage, which I'm not sure would happen if Peter and I had to marry just to produce heirs.
"It's okay, Elaine. You can say it." Susan coaxed. She and Lucy were both giving me encouraging smiles, forwarding me to continue speaking.
"The Council wants Peter to marry me." Susan gasped lightly. I understood how she felt. This was all so very sudden.
"Why?" Susan asked.
"They said it would be better to have children now." Lucy joined. "They would be able to 'train them longer', they said. They also said that Elaine is the best option because she is the only Narnian lady, and they should be married so that there is not a foreign ruler."
"And what did Peter say about all of this?" Susan was calmer now than she had been moments before, already thinking it all through.
"He told me to meet his in his study at 5 after noon, and then he just left." I replied. "What do I do, Susan? I don't want to be married for reasons other than love, but I want to help Narnia any way I can."
"You and Peter need to talk this out and work out everything. Think long and hard about this, Elaine. This will change your entire life."
"But how do we come to a decision?" How do you make a life altering decision? Either choice will change my entire future.
I needed a mother. We all needed mothers. It was one of the things that ruling Narnia could not give us. It was one of the things that we had to give up to get what we have now, and though I wouldn't change what I had picked, I often find myself wishing for both. It is a wish that will not come true.
"Well," Lucy started, "I think you should do whatever you would regret not doing later." She's right. I should do what I won't regret, but I don't even know which option that is. There comes a time in every king or queen's life where they have to decide between their personal life or their kingdom. It was just one of the thorns of the royal life. This was my time, and I wasn't so sure I could make the right decision. Aslan guide me.