The day had grown darker as they continued to ride toward Cair Paraveal. It had been hours since they had seen even a glimpse of the castle in the distance, and they were all starting to become weary of the never ending ride, even though Lucy had tried to keep them in good spirits by playing games and asking the girls questions about home. Lina, Natalie and Hannah found her adorable, but Edmund was becoming visibly annoyed with everything she said.
"So what school did you go to?" Lucy inquired. Edmund groaned and thought to himself, "Not another question! Any more questions and I might go mad." Lina rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Lucy, smiled at her, and said.
"We went to Hogw-." But before she could finish Edmund cut her off, saying.
"We've reached Cair Paravel." The girls looked forward to see themselves before a huge castle. It was perched on top of a mountain. and three of the sides were flattened out into a beach surrounded by water. The pillars of the roof reached up and touched the clouds, but the castle seemed to be disconnected because of all the different buildings, yet the whole castle was joined inside the mountain. The grandest aspect of the castle was the thousands of windows which seemed to be bringing a symphony of light in with each. The girls looked at each other with armament at the magnificent sight.
Once they reached the entrance, the men helped the girls off their horses, or at least tried to when Susan walked over to them, and with a smile on her face, said.
"Come. I'll show you to your rooms, and get you some new clothes," She laughed to herself and simply stated, "Because you three will probably scare the maids with all the dirt your covered in."
Lina was furious and opened her mouth to start talking, but Natalie mouthed "Don't!" Lina sighed in defeat, and followed the others into the castle. As they walked in, each of the kings were gazing after one of the three girls with a smile on their faces.
Natalie was showed to her room by Caspian, as Susan dashed away to try and find some proper fitting clothes for the girls. Natalie stared out the windows of her room in a daze.
"Will that be all, milady?" asked Caspian inclining his head. Natalie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
"Of course, ah, your majesty. But please, just Natalie is fine." She said entering a simple curtsy. Peter raised one eyebrow.
"Just Natalie it is then" he replied. Natalie gave him a look which made his smirk grow wide. There was a knock and Susan opened the door slowly. She saw the two in the room and gave them each a questioning glance. Natalie immediately blushed and looked down. Seeing the awkwardness she had created in the room, Susan broke the silence,
"I hope this fits." Susan said holding out a deep blue and silver dress. Natalie gave Susan her thanks, who curtly nodded and dragged Caspian out of the room to give Natalie some privacy.
Natalie slipped the dress on and admired herself in the mirror. She thought to herself
Hannah will love these dresses. They're so comfortable, and Lina- She froze in her thoughts and ran out the door. She knew Lina absolutely despised dresses, and she knew Lina's sharp tongue could end up being a problem. She heard voices coming from the other side of the hallway. She saw Lina and Caspian standing in the hallway, a pleasant smile on their faces. Natalie suddenly felt a flash of something, but she wasn't really sure what it was. She heard parts of their conversation.
"Thanks for getting me the pants and shirt, Caspian. I think I would have died in that dress." Caspian's laugh rang through the hall, and Natalie caught herself smiling.
He has a really nice laugh. She thought to herself. She walked up to the pair and smiled.
"Hello, Lady Natalie." said Caspian with a little bow. Natalie smiled as Lina politely excused herself, winking at the blushing girl.
"You look lovely." Said Caspian simply, not meeting Natalie's eyes. Natalie blushed lightly, and stared at the ground.
"So does this castle. Mind giving me a tour?" She asked softly. Caspian was about to answer when the two saw Edmund running down the hall toward them. He stopped when he saw them, and leaned over, putting his hands on his knees for support. He stood up, breathing hard and said.
"Asl...wants...ll..s..and-".
"Edmund, just to make sure you know, we have no idea what your saying," laughed Caspian. His laugh made her smile, and Caspian turned his head and smirked at her.
"Now let's try this again. And take a deep breath this time. What on earth were you trying to say?" Edmund glared at Caspian then laughed.
"Aslan needs us in Peter's study."
"Alright, I'll go and get the others." stated Caspian. He started to walk off down the hallway, until he stopped, and turned around and simply said. "It looks like that tour of ours will have to wait." Natalie nodded and as the boys walked away, she found herself wandering through the winding corridors, admiring the paintings of the great kings and queens on the wall. As she turned the corner, she came face to face with Susan, practically running into her.
"Susan, I'm so sorry, I-". smiling at her, Susan held up her hand and said.
"It's fine, no need to apologize. Are you coming to the meeting?"Natalie blushed and admitted.
"Actually, I was trying to find it."
"Well for starters, your headed in the wrong direction." Laughed Susan as she smiled at her. It was the first time she had seen Susan genuinally smile since she had gotten here. Maybe she isn't as bad as I thought she was.
"Come. We should go to the meeting. I'm sure the others are waiting," Susan concluded, as the two of them walked down the hallway to Peter's study. They walked in silence for some time, until they were nearly knocked over by a fast moving bundle.
"Oof! Hannah!" Natalie cried, rubbing her stomach. "Where are you going?" she asked, trying to regain her breath.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Said Hannah with a sympathetic glance to each of the girls in turn. "I'd left Lucy in Peter's study." She finished.
"But aren't' you supposed to be at the meeting?" Susan asked frowning. Hannah shook her head violently.
"No. In fact, Aslan made it very clear that only the Kings and Queens were allowed to attend.." Hannah said, glancing at Natalie apologetically. "Sorry, Natalie." Natalie shook her head.
"Really it's alright." She said "I've been in the mood for a nice nap." With that, Natalie took her leave.
"Is there anything else I could do to wile away time?" Hannah questioned, turning to Susan.
"There is the library." Said Susan
"Really, Su. You and your books!" She huffed, but Natalie shook her head.
"Perfect! Which way?" She asked the queen, smiling. Susan pointed her in the proper direction, and the two girls parted ways.
"They're WHAT?" Asked the Kings and Queens simultaneously. Aslan gave them a sad look then explained.
"Yes, children. Hannah and Natalie are, indeed, distant relatives of the Kings and Queens that followed your reign during The Golden Age. I'd taken them back to your world when the Telmarines were first invading. They were merely children." He chuckled
"Do they remember anything?" asked Susan in a soft voice.
"Natalie, does not remember anything of her previous life." Aslan stated
"And Hannah?" questioned Peter. Aslan sighed.
"Hannah was there to witness the death of her parents, her true parents. Nonetheless, it just comes to her as two people she does not even recognize." he explained
"What do you mean? Comes to her?" Asked Edmund. Aslan gave him a long grave look.
"She has horrific dreams. For her parents died truly horrific deaths. " Everyone cringed, imagining. However, Aslan did not stop.
"There is also something you should know about Lina." he said.
"She's got a blade for a tongue and a mind sharper still." Mumbled Edmund bitterly. Aslan chuckled darkly.
"That, and she is the daughter of The White Witch." The Monarch jaws dropped to the floor.
"D-does she know this?" sputtered Susan.
"Yes. Do not trouble her over it. She is not the creature her mother was, and she has faced many a nightmare because of it. All eight of you are tied together, as fate has pronounced. They are here to discover themselves, and to help you as well. Treat them well, and see to it that they are kept safe." The kings and queens nodded, and Aslan took his leave.
Hannah walked into the library; it had about a hundred different bookcases that reached from the ceiling to the floor. She ran her fingers along a shelf, until she found a book that captured her interest. The Golden Age: The Kings and Queens of Old, maybe the past will help her discover her destiny. She took the book and sat on a window seal that overlooked the gardens. I just hope we'll fit in here, she thought to herself. She started to read the book, trying to dismiss the thought from her mind.
"It looks like you're a lot like my sister; I always seem to find Susan's nose in a book." Smiled Peter and he sat down on the window seal with Hannah. She smirked and replied,
"I'm not going to lie. Your sister did scare me at first, but now that I've gotten to know her, somewhat, I realize she is not as bad as she seems." Peter leaned towards her and whispered,
"I've known Susan for 17 years, and she scares the wits out of me on a daily basis." The two burst out laughing until it faded into silence. Hannah looked down at the ground not knowing what to say, until Peter simply stated.
"So, I'm sure you heard my sister is planning a ball for next month." Hannah looked up at him and curiously said,
"No, I haven't. I didn't even know there was a ball."
"You should come."
"Um, I'm not so sure. Dancing really isn't my thing, and I'm sure it wouldn't be a big deal if I came. And besides, I wouldn't know anyone."
"Well you would know, I can teach you how to dance, and I won't even complain if you step on my feet. I'll even be your escort." He said with a smirk, and continued to talked while he walked off, "So it's settled, you're going."
"But I-" Hannah tried to protest, but Peter just yelled
"You're going!"As he walked away. Hannah smiled to herself, starting to look forward to this ball. Maybe I actually do fit in here.
Lina was busy exploring the castle when she decided to take a step towards the armory. Big Mistake. She could hear Edmund was there too, only he wasn't alone. There was a girl with him, she couldn't hear much of their conversation, just high pitched giggling. Disgusting, some girls just don't know how to have dignity, she thought. Lina wasn't sure why she was there, but for some odd reason, she didn't like it. She turned to step away, when the door burst open, revealing a somewhat happy couple. Standing next to Edmund, was a short girl, with big grey eyes, plump rosy lips, and perfect set white teeth.
"Edmund!" She giggled, "You never told me you brought new maids to the castle!"
"Um, Demetria, love, she's n-" He attempted to explain but was inevitably cut off by Lina, who said in a deathly steel voice.
"Maid? Why you little-" Raising her voice with each word, Edmund became irate.
"Ahem, Demetria, love. Why don't you excuse me and the, uh, maid." he finished casting Lina a deathly stare.
"WHAT? I'm not-" Edmund grabbed Lina by the forearm and yanked her with a great force, towards the courtyard.
"Would you just shut up for once! You talk too much, honestly, and I think a frea-" He was stopped as Lina's hand made hard contact with his face causing a sharp pain to cover the whole left side of his face. "You've stepped out of your place!"
"No, consider that a token of my gratitude, dear king." She said pointing her finger his bright red face. Edmunds face contorted in rage and he grabbed her wrist, but before he could cause any harm to the angry girl, Caspian's voice broke his concentration.
"What on EARTH are you doing, Edmund!" Caspian shouted jogging toward the pair. He pulled Lina away from Edmund, who looked near to blows. "The last time I checked," he said "the Narnian's weren't famous for abusing their guests."As Caspian pulled Lina down the hall, Edmund furious beyond common sense, retorted haughtily.
"She must be used to it, her dear dear mother, must have taught her all about cruelty, and abuse." His shouts had echoed down the hallway and through Lina's thoughts. Edmund expected her to hit him again. Lina turned, but instead of anger, her face was a blank, empty canvas. Her thoughts were unreadable as she pulled away from Caspian, and walked slowly towards Edmund.
"She hurt you too then." She said. She looked down, shook her head, and walked away to her room. As she turned the corner out of sight, Edmund was able to see only the hurt and pained look on Lina's face. The other three monarchs quickly approached, having heard the shouting from Peter's study.
"What happened?" asked Lucy, seeing the dark red mark on Edmund's face.
"Mr. I'm-The-King, over here almost beat Lina because of some stupid argument!" Caspian yelled, storming down the hall to find Lina, leaving the four royals very surprised and angry.
"Edmund! How could you?" Lucy shrieked.
"Really Ed? Is it really that hard just to walk away?" questioned Susan. Peter was just standing there, his arms crossed and his eyebrows wrinkled.
"What did you say that made her so upset. She looked rather hurt." He stated, he was the only one that was giving Edmund the benefit of the doubt. Edmund stared at his feet ashamedly.
"She shouldn't have hit me." He mumbled. Peter's eyes widened and he frowned even more.
"Ed, what did you say to her?"
"There might have been something I said about her mum." He mumbled rubbing the back of his head. Susan's eyes widened dramatically, and Peter smacked his forehead. Lucy walked backwards, appalled.
"You should go apologize to her RIGHT NOW!" she said. Edmund shook his head.
"Believe me, that's the first thing I wanted to do." he replied looking in the direction that Lina had stormed away.
"Well," said Peter clapping his hands together, "we'll leave you to it then."
Edmund slowly made his way to Lina's room, unsure of what to do or say. He kept wringing his hands and took shallow breaths as he paced outside her door. As he started to knock on the door, he heard a quiet, Come in, he opened the door and saw Lina hanging upside down over the edge of her bed. She wasn't looking at Edmund, but at the wall on the other side of her bedroom, with a blank expression on her face.
"Look I'm-" Edmund started but soon stopped when Lina sat up on her bed and stared calmly at him.
"Sorry? Yeah I kind of figured that bit out. Don't worry about it. Not like it hasn't happened before ." but Ed wouldn't stop.
"It wasn't my plac-"
"Ed."
"And I shouldn't ha-"
"Eddy"
"Bu-"
"Just shut up already, before I give you a matching set." She stated pointing to his still red cheek and giving him a knowing look. Just like me she thought to herself doesn't know when to shut his mouth. Edmund sighed. "She hurt me too. It's okay." Lina said smiling slightly.
"Friends?" he asked in a small voice.
"Friends." she said, nodding her head and sticking out her tongue.
"Now, I really must get back to Demetria. She'll be wondering why I wandered off with the maid." he said winking.
"Don't push it." laughed Lina gently shoving him out of her room. She closed the door and slumped into her bed for a well deserved rest.
