Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: You know the story of the Horse and his boy. But what was happening in Narnia? A northern campaign. Trouble on the homefront and a prince's invitation. Will anything be as Peter left it?

A/N: If you have not read the first ten stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakened, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, Rekindled, Refracted, Reflected, Veiled, Unveiled, and Eclipsed), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.

Chapter Two: Of Two Princes

17 Mayblossom 1014

"Perhaps, O My Hostess, you should refrain from any activity that might cause you distress?"

Just how bad could it be if she smacked the annoying radish? Alambiel glanced over at where Stonebrook was standing, arms folded over his flowing beard, and a warning glint in his eyes as he met her gaze. She suppressed a sigh and once again reminded herself that smacking the annoying radish was frowned upon. Instead, she offered him a closed-lipped smile. "I thank you for your concern, Prince Rabadash, but I am recovered enough that a short stroll around the garden should not cause me any great distress."

And there was no power in this world or any other that would convince her to leave the Rabid Radish alone with Susan. The peacock stared down his nose at her yet still managed to appear solicitous in his manners (how he managed it she didn't know) then he offered a short bow. "As it is said, O Lady, the patient may be wiser than the physician." Straightening, he offered an arm covered in bright orange silk to Susan. "O Delight of My Eyes, will you not be merciful enough to accompany me through these gardens? They are much different from those found in the palace of my father the Tisroc (may he live forever) but they seem suited to the Northern beauty I have grown so fond of in the days since the gods blessed me to set foot in your strange land."

Would he ever leave? That is what Alambiel wanted to know though she thought she did quite well in keeping her exasperation with the Calormene prince and his unctuous manners hidden. Stonebrook frowned at her and she made a face then got out of her chair with just a touch more caution than she liked to admit. Her knee immediately threatened to buckle and Ptah gave her a look before rather pointedly nudging the cane she had been forced to use for the last two weeks. It was better than bed rest. She just had to remember it was better than bed rest as she snatched the cane up then hobbled to catch up to where Susan and the Rabid Radish were walking slowly through the southern gardens.

As they passed the maze, Alambiel glanced longingly at it, wishing that she could disappear into it and avoided all the annoyances of dealing with Rabadash and also-

A shout rose from the depths of the maze and Alambiel closed her eyes. Another shout of glee sounded, this time much closer, and she opened her eyes in time to see a towheaded blur hurtle into the Calormene prince, knocking him into Susan, and then both adults fell to the ground. The sound of steel sliding free of scabbards made her ignore her injury and rush to the pile. She immediately grabbed Corin by the back of his tunic and yanked him off the others. The two massive slaves who guarded Rabadash glared at her but they finally slid their scimitars back into their sheaths. Rabadash's sickeningly solicitous voice rang false to her ears as he extended both hands to Susan and helped her to her feet. "I crave your pardon, O My Queen, for it is a foolish man who touches beauty that does not belong to him without declaration of intent. Have you taken any harm?"

Susan shook her head as she extracted her hands from his. "No, Prince Rabadash, and I thank you for your concern. I hope you will forgive young Prince Corin for the boy (I am certain) meant no harm to either you or me."

There was the slightest twitch in his dark cheek but the Rabid Radish did not fly into the rage Alambiel expected. Instead, he tugged on his oiled beard and then bowed over Susan's hand, the feather in his turban swaying as he did so. "Alas, young boys can be most reckless but your kindness is most beauteous, O My Queen, and I shall not take the boy to task for it shall please you."

"Take me to task? I'd like to see you- Ow!" Corin yelped and squirmed as much as he dared in an attempt to escape the hold Alambiel now had on his ear, but at least it shut him up before he went and blundered merrily into a diplomatic incident worse than any she had created over the years. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Alambiel quickly flashed Susan a smile. "I believe I should see that the young prince does not miss his afternoon lecture. Come along now, your highness." Without waiting for dismissal, she strode (as much as her injured knee would allow) back toward the palace with Corin in tow and still yelping from her grip on his ear. Only once they were out of earshot of the Calormene flunkies who were always trailing after the Rabid Radish did she stop. Releasing the boy, Alambiel glared at him. "Corin, how oft must thou be lectured on proper princely decorum before it sinks into thy thick head?"

He stared at her with a mutinous pout as he rubbed his afflicted ear but it seemed her use of the courtly accent stilled his tongue. For a moment or two, at least. Then Corin's fair face screwed up into a full-blown scowl as his blue eyes flashed with temper. "You heard him, Dame Sepphora! He thought he could take me to task! I want to box him! He's a silly peacock, anyways."

"I don't care if he is or not. You cannot box the Crown Prince of Calormen, especially when he's in Narnia as a guest."

"But, Dame Sepphora-"

She raised her hand and tapped the crown currently around her temples. "Do I look like I'm Dame Sepphora right now, boy? You know the rules. I know you know the rules. So, calling me 'Dame Sepphora' isn't going to get me to let you box Prince Rabadash or any of his guards and attendants like you tried to yesterday." The boy's scowled managed to darken further but she ignored it. Susan and Lucy had coddled Corin far too much. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow. "And if I recall correctly, you are supposed to be having a lesson in diplomacy with King Edmund in ten minutes time."

Corin pulled a face. "I do not want to go! King Edmund never lets me box anyone outside the training yard even when it's the best solution! I'd much rather play with Shane and Thane. They don't have to have lessons in diplomacy."

"Their lessons only occur at different times of the day from yours, Corin." Edmund quirked a dark eyebrow as the boy spun to face him, a gleam of humor shining in his dark eyes for a moment, and then he held out his hand. "Come now, your highness, it is time for you to have that lesson then I have arranged for you to box with Thornbutt before you'll have the rest of the time between the end of your lessons and supper to spend with Thane and Shane."

The boy took his hand with great reluctance and Alambiel found herself once again torn between amusement and annoyance as she watched them leave. Corin was a menace. A spoilt menace. And when he wasn't so determined to box a Calormene (and she wasn't the one who had to deal with him), he was a hilarious distraction from the Kentauri being gone. And . . . her knee was throbbing.

"Your highness."

She looked over her shoulder (not daring to test whether her knee would support her movement) and then held out her hand to accept the cane proffered by a Faun. Still, she tried not to put too much of her weight on it or limp a lot as she made her way into the palace. Ptah was staring at her. She grit her teeth then murmured, "Not a word."

"What about a dozen? Or a score or more? The General would certainly say that many if not more when he learns you have been aggravating your injury instead of following the healers' instruction."

"You mean if he learns about it, which he won't because no one is going to tell him. He's far too busy to be bothered with such a trivial matter." Alambiel grimaced and leaned more heavily on the cane as her knee threatened to give out entirely as she opened the doors to her quarters. Just a few more steps. Shutting the door behind them, she glanced down at Ptah then chose to ignore his warning look in favor of limping toward the bedchamber. "Besides, I just need to wrap a cold pack around it and then-" She cut herself off as her knee finally gave out only steps away from the bed and she landed hard on her rump. She sucked in a deep breath, fighting against expressing the sharp lances of pain now radiating through her knee. "Ouch."

Ptah gave her a scolding look even as he came over and allowed her to use him for leverage so she could drag herself over to the bed. He also brought the towel-wrapped cold pack over to her. "Shall I summon Leeta?"

"No, I'm fine." Alambiel sat up and quickly placed the cold pack over her swollen knee while Ptah was in the other room. She managed to give him a wan smile when he returned. "Truly, Ptah, I don't need the healers to come and fuss over me or to worry Oreius unnecessarily."

The Leopard gave her a knowing look. "You are waiting for the next letter."

"Everyone is waiting for their next letter."

"The General would not consider your well-being a trivial matter."

Alambiel had closed her eyes as she laid back against the pillows but she opened them at that. "My job is to make sure he doesn't get distracted by worries over what's happening here at home. He needs to be focused on his present task, which does not include me."

"He loves you."

She smiled then reached out to scratch behind the Leopard's ear. "I know. But he doesn't need to worry about me. I'd much rather he remain preoccupied with the Giants and keeping Peter out of trouble."

Ptah nudged her hand with his nose. "I am certain, my lady, that the General misses you as much as you miss him."

He didn't have to live in quarters that seemed too large without her Kentauri's presence filling up space. She doubted Oreius' tent seemed too large. How she wished she hadn't been injured. She would feel infinitely better if she were there fighting by Oreius' side and making sure his hidden hurts were tended to at night because her Kentauri was too stubborn to let the healers tend him. A little sigh escaped her as she remembered sparring with Oreius to sharpen their skills before a battle. Couldn't do that either.

"There is talk that the northern threat will be handled by summer's end, if not by Midsummer's Day."

"Optimistic." Alambiel didn't say anything else. No one knew how long the campaign would last. It was far too early to make a decent estimate. Oreius had danced around the subject when they last spoke of it (the day before he left) and she hadn't the heart to press him now. Not yet, at least. She knew too well how an army on campaign could sometimes be unaware of where they would make camp for the night, much less when the campaign would end.

"My lady?"

"Mmm?"

"I've a solution for what you might use your cane for."

"Oh?"

"Take it to the young prince and teach him manners."

She laughed. "Oh that is wicked of you, my friend." She laughed again then tucked her hands behind her head. "No, I could not do that even if I were inclined to beat the boy. The cane would break before that method worked on him. Besides I fear it is too late to undo the boy's spoiling. We can only hope to curb it before he attains the throne."

She laughed a little more, knowing the Leopard's outrageous suggestion came solely from his attempt to distract her from feeling lonely. Her knee ached. Her heart ached for Oreius' company or just a letter, no matter how brief. But she supposed it was not the absolute worst way to spend one's birthday. Now if only Susan would rid them all of the Rabid Radish.

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20 Mayblossom 1014

Stillness save for the distant sound of the waves lapping at the shore and the occasional call from soldiers on watch filled the night air. She wrapped her arms around herself, almost wishing for a heavy woolen shawl to go over her nightgown and light robe despite the pleasant late spring warmth. What should she do? Every evening on their after-supper stroll, he pressed for an answer to his suit. What should she do? His mannerisms and speech were fair, much fairer than she had expected based on her experiences with other members of his family and the various Tarkaans. But could she stand to leave Narnia? Her family? Her people? But if she did not, what would it take for the Tisroc to finally attempt to gobble up their fair kingdom and suppress it? What should she do?

Susan looked bleakly out over the star-spangled skies and dark sea. She wished she could seek Peter's counsel. Even if he had always been overprotective of her and Lucy regarding the various treaties that proposed the use of a royal marriage to bolster the bond between nations, he understood the tax of duty and the heavier sacrifices the eldest of the Royals were at times required to bear. Of course, he had also married for love. Perhaps she would do better to consult with Edmund. But until then, she would have to continue to speak sweet words that pacified while promising nothing (something she was very skilled at) to the southern prince and delay him as she debated.

Returning to the comfort of her plush bed, the thought still haunted her. What should she do?

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A/N: Please Read and Review! The two princes . . . I think the Narnians are torn over which one they'd like out from underfoot the most or Rabadash is wining by a slim margin. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.