Peter rushed through the halls to his room. He had to hand in a paper before the theatre that night, the classroom being on the way to his room. Unfortunately he was stopped by a professor who wanted to discuss his paper on Medieval Battle Tactics. Peter thought a short meeting wouldn't cause him to be that late, but soon found that the meeting wasn't going to be a short as he thought it would be. He unfortunately cut it short with a promise to finish the next day.
When he got to his room he met Frank getting dressed. He had showered and shaved already with enough time left to give his mustache a quick trim. Peter preferred to have a clean face; his beard reminded him to much of being king. He shaved quickly and got dressed. He slipped some shillings into his pocket as Frank looked at his watch, repeatedly.
"Alright, alright, I'm ready." Peter said as he pushed him through the door. Frank's father's car was sitting in front, ready to pick them up. Peter barely noticed how much more Frank had, but sometimes it made him think of how King Lune saw Narnia. Narnia was so much richer and more powerful than them, but King Lune stood by him. Many guys at university were jealous of Frank, but Peter stood by him, he didn't know why, but he did. It was like someone was blinding him to all Frank's flaws, or it was the fact that Frank seemed to have a way of reminding Peter of Narnia. Who knows.
They picked up the girls at Daisy's house, they both looked beautiful. Always the gentleman Peter got out of the car before the girls got there. Daisy had a red dress on, nothing scandalous or revealing, but decent enough with a white sweater to keep off the cold. Frank planted a kiss on her cheek and helped her into the car. Katherine wore a simple deep blue jacket and skirt outfit with a matching hat, but what stood out most to Peter was the pin on her lapel. It was the head of a lion, golden with rubies for the eyes. Just seeing it he could hear Aslan roar, he felt that feeling again, the mixture of every good thing in the world.
Katherine stuck out her hand, immediately Peter bowed grasping her hand and kissing it lightly. The same way he would have greeted any visiting dignitary in Narnia, his voice rolled out majestically as he straightened, "Good Evening Milady."
Katherine and Daisy were amazed at the strength behind Peter's manner, the sort of nobility that emanated from him. Frank was completely stunned at the sudden change in Peter. Katherine finally managed to whisper, "Good Evening." A little surprised at Peter's greeting, yet strangely flattered at his demeanor.
Peter snapped back into reality and attempted to greet her a bit more normally. "I'm Peter Pevensie. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss O'Dell."
"The same here, Mr. Pevensie. Please, call me Katherine, Miss O'Dell is too formal for such an outing." Katherine said, noting the use of her last name. It was nice to meet a gentleman everyone once in a while.
"Certainly Katherine, shall we go." He said pulling her hand to the car. She graciously allowed him to help her into the vehicle. The back of Frank's car was set up like a taxi, with two bench seats facing each other. Peter and Katherine sat behind the driver while Frank and Daisy across from them. Almost immediately Daisy picked up the conversation with books. Not just a safe subject, but also one that she knew would be good for Katherine and Peter. Apparently both of them were extremely interested in the myths of King Arthur.
"The duals are very well planned out, but I think the writers could have added more description to them. It is easier than one may think to write about a dual between two opponents." Peter commented after Daisy had remarked on the mentions of war in the myths.
"That is true," Katherine added "the author could have put more description, but then he risks writing a story that is not romance. Much of the myths of King Arthur that are read and reread are the romances. I would dare to say that most of the myths contain a romance of one kind or another. If the author put in more description, he risks writing a romance of war, similar to the Knights tale in The Canterbury Tales."
"I think you risk too much my lady when you compare the Myths of King Arthur to The Knight's Tale." Peter warned playfully.
"How so?" Katherine Challenged.
"The Knights tale is more on the nobility of fighting for a woman, while King Arthur focuses more on the nobility of honor. The Knights in King Arthur fight to preserve their honor, the love of a woman just serves to add to their motive for fighting. The Knight's Tale uses women as an excuse to motive a fight."
"You have a point in a way, but I think you trivialize the power of women over men." Katherine countered, moving closer to Peter, "I mean there was Cleopatra, to whom Alexander fell to his knees over, than there is Helen for whom the wars of troy were fought over. So many women through history have power that far exceeds any women today."
"That is far from the truth." Peter retorted, "The women in power than, only had that power because a man in power thought they were beautiful."
"Hear, Hear." Frank added at Peter's words, leaning over to whisper in Daisy's ear.
Peter just chuckled as he continued, "I have seen countless wars started over women that were not because of anything Su-the woman did. Nor was it the intention of the woman to start the war."
"How could you know the intention of a woman in history? How could anyone know whether any women wanted to start a war?" Daisy quizzed across the car.
"It's not hard to guess. I mean what woman would want to start a war?" Peter said, attempting to cover his mistake. They continued their discussions on the merit of women the entire way to the restaurant, finally coming to a conclusion they could agree on.
Dinner went just as well, the conversation going from women and war to literature. Katherine was very interested to hear Peter's thoughts on King Lear. Peter was equally interested to hear her comments on the story. Neither one ate much as each kept their mouths moving on the different points they liked and disliked about reading the play.
They wandered through play after play, commenting on this or that. Peter was pleasantly surprised to find that they both favored A Midsummer's Night Dream, although not for the same reasons.
"I have to admit, I thought it was well written, but my favorite part will never cease to be when the faun realized his mistake in his matches." Katherine said between bites.
"That is true, but I'm still fascinated by Shakespeare use of love potions. I have never known – I mean, heard of a potion that was quite that potent. Don't most stories point out the power of true love over potions?" Peter said, finally giving up on eating his food.
"I think that true love exists only rarely," Katherine said thoughtfully, "and even at that, it can be overruled by the Gods. I mean look at the roman God, Venus. She is the goddess of love. I think in literature she can be allowed to overrule true love."
"Do you believe in true love, Peter?" Daisy asked across the table, ignoring Katherine's incredulous looks. She was known to be a matchmaker, but Peter didn't know that.
Peter was unaware of her intent in asking, instead was lost in thought. Thought of Narnia, thoughts of the North, thoughts of people he left behind. Finally he declared thoughtfully, "Yes, but I agree with Katherine that it exists only rarely."
The girls remained silent, respectfully. Although they couldn't read his mind or know what it was he missed, they both could tell (as women can) that he missed it terribly and with all his heart. Katherine bit her lip to keep from crying while Daisy leaned on Frank's shoulder. Frank was first to break the silence with a comment on the time. Smiling they began talking about the bill, which Frank promptly stole from the waiter. Peter insisted on paying for his and Katherine's meal, which Frank obstinately insisted he had already done. Peter pressed, but Frank was stubborn at times, and this was one of those times. Instead Daisy led the conversation to more favorable waters. She would be the perfect hostess someday.
Peter and Katherine talked all the way to the theater, sometimes breaking out laughing at the other's jokes. Yet they came to respect each other's intelligence and insight. Peter was amazed at the maturity Katherine could portray while still being innocently naïve, a quality lost among many after the war. Katherine was simply blown away at the maturity of peter. Sometimes he seemed like he was twenty years older than her. Yet his maturity was refreshing, she was getting sick of talking to flighty, dreamy boys that never wanted a relationship to go anywhere.
The theatre was a complete success, not a single mistake on the part of the players. The audience gave a standing ovation, and calls of well done rang out. Overjoyed and laughing Frank and Daisy lead the way out, Daisy clutching Frank's arm. Peter followed with Katherine on his arm. They had an easy time leaving the Theatre, Frank's car being own by him. They weaved through the crowds calling for cabs, searching for buses, or walking along. People still walked more than drove, it was a hard habit to break.
Peter and Katherine spoke the entire way back to Daisy's house, ignoring the other two who were otherwise engaged. When they reached the front door Daisy just hopped out, but Peter stepped out to help Katherine to the sidewalk. He even walked the two girls to their door, even though it was just four feet.
At the door Katherine turned, misty eyed yet glowing. "Thank-you Peter for such a wonderful evening. I couldn't hope for anything better."
"You're welcome, Milady." Peter said kissing her hand. Reluctantly Peter and Katherine parted company, Katherine heading into the door after Daisy, Peter back to the car that was threatening to leave at any second. It truly was a magical night.