A/N: All my updates won't be that fast; I just had the first two chapters and the prologue already written before I published this. And I'll be gone for a long period of time starting tomorrow, so this might be the last update you get for a while. It's considerably longer than the prologue, so relish the length and let me know what you think! Again, the characters that you don't recognize are mine (same with this situation); everything else belongs to C.S. Lewis/Disney/Walden Media.
Caspian strode through the corridors of the castle easily; he had inhabited them for his entire life, with the exception of the past few months. No matter, Sir Malenam would be arriving at any moment. Caspian remembered the famed battle strategist from his youth. The man had never seemed to like Caspian's uncle very much. No wonder Miraz had removed him; such a powerful position in the hands of a man that was not on his side could have easily been the end of Miraz's reign.
Hopefully there will not be a need for battle strategies anytime soon, Caspian thought as he continued to walk through the halls.
A tall, muscular man who looked very much like the average Telmarine warrior approached the young king. "My liege, I am honored to serve your line once more," the man said as soon as Caspian was within earshot of him, dropping onto one knee.
"I still feel as if our positions should be reversed, Sir Malenam, as you surpass me in both years and battles. No matter, I am glad to have you back here, along with the rest of your family. If you are not too exhausted after your long journey, I would enjoy it if all of you would dine with me this evening so that I may welcome you back into the position you deserve," the young king suggested.
"Many thanks, Your Majesty. We would be honored to be in your presence this evening," Malenam replied, smiling.
"I look forward to it as well. Who will you be bringing?" the young king inquired.
"My wife, Galitra; my son, Pietro; and my two daughters, Annelise and Shira. Pietro will be thrilled; he is only seven and is fascinated by what you have done," Malenam said, his eyes alight with joy.
Caspian laughed. "I hope he is not disappointed," he remarked.
"I doubt he could be," Malenam said. "Thank you for your time, Your Majesty," he added, bowing and leaving to tell his family the news.
"Galitra, the king has invited all of us to dine with him this evening!" Malenam told his wife the moment he entered their quarters.
"My dear, that is the best news I have heard since you told me that we were invited back into the palace!" she exclaimed, embracing Malenam.
"King Caspian himself approached me and personally invited me," Malenam added, waiting to see Galitra's reaction.
"He is humble—an admirable quality in a king. Narnia has longed for a ruler as adept as Caspian for years," she stated, a faraway look appearing in her eyes.
Malenam gently kissed his wife's forehead. He knew that Galitra had dreamt of the day when she would be able to live in peace, not fearing attack or some other calamity from Telmarine soldiers who had learned of her Narnian blood. Being thrown out of the castle by Miraz had badly shaken Galitra—she feared that her family would be put to death because of her blood and what she had taught them of the Old Ways. Fortunately, Aslan had been watching over them and the family had survived, though impoverished, in the time between their banishment and Caspian's coronation.
"I should tell the children now. Annelise and Shira will want plenty of time to ready themselves for this evening," Malenam thought aloud, grinning at the mental image of his daughters fussing over their gowns and hair.
"Go," Galitra told him softly, smiling.
Giving his wife a brief peck on the lips, Malenam went to tell his children about their dinner. He took a few steps out the door and almost ran into Pietro, who had been sitting outside the door, listening to his parents' conversation. "Pietro, remind me what I've told you about eavesdropping," Malenam commanded, giving his son a rather stern look.
"You say it's wrong…but Father, we're going to meet King Caspian!" Pietro exclaimed, his eyes alight with childish awe.
Malenam did his best to bite back a smile. "We most certainly are, Pietro, but that does not give you the right to listen to other people's conversations without permission. You are to sit in your chamber for half of an hour and think about eavesdropping and why it is wrong," he told his son firmly.
"Yes, Father," Pietro replied rather glumly.
As soon as his son had trudged away, Malenam's daughters floated around the corner, obviously deeply engaged in conversation. "Girls, I have something wonderful to tell you," Malenam addressed his daughters.
They both stopped, looking expectantly at their father. "King Caspian has invited the family to dine with him!" he exclaimed.
Annelise and Shira shared a look that Malenam could only interpret as extreme shock. "Tonight?" Annelise wondered, her tone relatively nonchalant.
"Yes, which is why I am telling you now. No doubt you shall spend quite some time preparing yourselves," he stated, grinning. "Be sure you are ready in time!" he reminded his daughters as he walked away.
Once her father was well out of earshot, Shira's breath began to come in quick, shallow gasps. "Breathe deeply, Shira. Think of nature…the beauty of Aslan's creation surrounding you, washing over you…just relax," Annelise said soothingly to her younger sister.
"Anne, I don't know if I will be able to do this. I expected to have some more time to adjust to living so much closer to the king," Shira gasped, her breathing becoming more regular.
"If there is anything I can do to help you, I will do it. You could have feigned an illness and stayed behind if we were given more time, but to do so on such short notice would be obvious," Annelise told Shira, embracing her briefly.
"Thank you, Anne, that is an excellent idea that I will save for some other time. At the moment, I need to get out of here for a while," Shira explained, walking quickly towards the door.
"Shira, you are without a doubt the most fortunate maiden in all of Narnia!" Shira's friend Callina exclaimed. "The king has personally restored your father's prestigious position and is now spending time with your entire family!"
Shira simply sighed, hoping that it did not sound as heavy as it felt. "I don't suppose you are so thrilled by my father's return to society as by the fact that I will be spending time near His Majesty…whom you never stop talking about," she said, a sly smile creeping across her face.
"That might have the tiniest bit to do with it," Callina muttered, blushing.
"Of course. Then I suppose I'll have to pay attention to everything so that you know what King Caspian wore, how he spoke, how he ate, where his eyes were at every—"
No. Not now, any time but now! Shira thought as she glimpsed who was rounding a nearby corner.
It took Callina only a second to understand why her friend was speechless. "Stop shaking, Shira!" she whispered fervently, giving Shira a rather hard jab in the ribs.
As their king approached, Callina and Shira both dropped into deep curtsies. Caspian stopped when he reached the young women, gesturing that they should arise. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your names?" he asked them.
"I am Callina, daughter of Lord Zydrex, Your Majesty," Callina said, her voice clear and sweet.
"And I am Shira, daughter of Sir Malenam," Shira muttered, looking past Caspian, trying desperately to keep her breathing even.
Caspian smiled at her. "Ah, I am acquainted with your father, Lady Shira. I look forward to seeing you later this evening," he remarked politely, inclining his head.
As he walked away, Shira began to slowly relax, hoping that her friend hadn't noticed any changes in her behavior. "He looks forward to it!" Callina gushed once the king was out of earshot.
"Yes, Callina, I heard," Shira responded, giving her friend the most convincing smile she could offer at the moment. "If His Majesty is so excited to dine with my family, I should not disappoint him. I should go and ready myself," she added.
"Promise me that you will tell me about it in the fullest detail!" Callina begged.
Shira smiled genuinely at her friend's eagerness. "Of course, Callina. I promise," she said over her shoulder.
Tonight would require a large amount of mental preparation.
"Caspian. King Caspian. His Majesty King Caspian. Caspian, my lord," Shira said to her mirror. Her reaction to his name was much less obvious than it had been an hour ago—her eyes only widened slightly, which could easily be mistaken for awe.
"Oooh, Shira's in looooove!" cried her younger brother, Pietro, poking his head into his elder sister's chambers.
"Hush, Pietro. I admire and respect King Caspian and am overjoyed about what he has done for Narnia, but I do not love him in a romantic sense," she said rather firmly, though a smile was slowly turning up her lips.
"What?" Pietro asked, obviously confused by Shira's elevated vocabulary.
"She means that she doesn't love King Caspian…yet. But it is only a matter of time before Shira and Caspian are kissing," Annelise remarked, stepping into Shira's chambers.
"Yuck! Why would you do that?" Pietro wondered, disgusted.
Annelise and Shira looked at one another, grinning. "Tis what men and women do when they are in love," Annelise explained.
Gagging theatrically, Pietro fled Shira's doorway, causing his sisters to collapse in fits of laughter. Once they were both relatively calm, Annelise wondered, "Shira…would you truly consider courting His Majesty?"
Weakly, Shira shook her head. Annelise knew why Caspian's name plagued her sister so much; she had listened to Shira talk in her sleep for a few months before asking for the whole story. "I have only just adjusted to hearing his name. No matter how hard I try, I will be incapable of forgetting what happened," Shira said, sighing.
Annelise shook her head sadly. She remembered how Shira had swooned over Prince Caspian when she was young, as many other girls had. The infatuation's abrupt cessation had perplexed Annelise for a few weeks before she heard Shira muttering in her sleep. After that, the truth had eventually slipped out of Shira's lips.
"Very well. We both know that I cannot change how you feel about this," Annelise told her sister before leaving the room.
Shira was rather relieved to be alone once more; she felt the need to do a bit more preparation for the evening.
"Caspian, my liege."
Shira's family was seated around King Caspian's table, waiting for His Majesty to be announced. Saying the king's name a few more times and talking with Annelise had kept Shira relatively calm thus far, but she knew that seeing Caspian would make her stomach churn.
"Presenting His Majesty Caspian the Tenth, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Emperor of the Lone Islands."
Everyone seated at the table immediately arose. "Anne," Shira gasped through her teeth, clutching her sister's wrist.
"You do not have to look, Shira," Annelise whispered.
Shira stared straight ahead at a stone in the wall, breathing in and out deeply. She curtsied and sat down at the same time as her sister, not daring to look away from the stone she was staring at.
"Thank you for joining me this evening, Sir Malenam," Caspian said to Malenam.
"I am honored to be here, my liege," Malenam replied. "As is my family. This is my wife…"
No, Shira thought, tuning out her father momentarily. I cannot look him in the eye. She sat in fear, awaiting her name.
"…and these are my daughters, Annelise and Shira," her father told Caspian.
Fighting the fear that had governed her life for many months, Shira drew her eyes away from the wall and looked at Caspian. His eyes were deep and friendly, a slight smile turning up the corners of his lips. Shira respectfully inclined her head before turning away from the king cautiously, making sure that she did not move too quickly. Tears began to fill the corners of her eyes.
"Shira, are you all right?" Annelise muttered, touching her sister's hand tenderly.
She nodded, knowing that speaking would unleash an unseemly torrent of tears. Aslan, I cannot do this. Tis impossible for me to sit here in the presence of the man whose life I could have destroyed and act as any other young woman would in my place!
Courage, dear one. With Me, you are strong and capable.
"No," she whispered.
Annelise looked over at her sister curiously. "If you can, just try. It will all get easier after this," she murmured.
"I will," Shira replied.
Annelise gently elbowed her sister. Shira looked over at Pietro, who was staring at Caspian in awe. "Pietro, is there something you would like to say?" Annelise asked, shifting her eyes towards Caspian slightly.
Everyone looked in Pietro's direction rather expectantly. "King Caspian, what was fighting like? What are the dwarves like? What are the Talking Beasts like? Were the Kings and Queens from the high past old? How big was Aslan? Tell me everything," the young boy said, his blue eyes exploding with light.
Shira had to bite back a giggle. Pietro was going to make this evening much more bearable. "Thank Aslan for younger brothers," she whispered.
The entire room listened as Caspian told Pietro of his time in the woods with the Talking Beasts of Narnia, meeting the kings and queens of yore, and fighting for rule of Narnia. Even Shira was swept up in the king's descriptions everything he had witnessed, though she did not dare look in his direction. "Was that what you were hoping for, Pietro?" Shira asked her brother, smiling.
"Even better!" he cried.
"Excellent. Now you will be able to tell me stories before you go to bed," Shira pointed out.
"But you're so good at it, Shira!" Pietro protested. "I could never be that good."
"You only say that because you've never tried. Once you learn a story that you love, you will be able to tell it over and over," she counseled her brother.
"You must love many stories," her younger brother remarked.
Shira laughed lightly. "I do," she declared, carefully shifting her eyes away from Pietro in order to glimpse Caspian out of the corner of her eye. Oh Aslan, he is watching me! she realized, a shock of horror running down her spine.
"Which of the Old Tales is your favorite, Lady Shira?" Caspian asked her.
Shira felt her heart stop at the sound of his voice. She had been able to forget the past when talking to Pietro, but it was looking her directly in the eye now. "I have always loved reading about how the High King Peter and his siblings came out of another world and brought Narnia out of its long winter, though its position may have been challenged by your story, Your Majesty," Shira said, amazed at her ability to speak in a normal voice to the king.
"Ask him," Annelise hissed, kicking Shira's ankle.
"And which of the Old Tales do you find the most enthralling, Your Majesty?" Shira wondered, her voice a bit too high. Soon enough, this was going to be too much for her to bear.
"I was never able to choose one. They have all played important roles in my life," he answered.
To Shira's sheer relief, the first course was brought out. Thank you, Aslan, she silently prayed.
"Sir Malenam, I have heard many great things about your skills with battle strategy. Your ingenuity has always kept this castle safe, especially…"
Shira had no interest in a conversation between her father and the king about Malenam's strategies. Besides, she did not want to know what listening to the king's voice for much longer would do to her.
"Well done, Shira. You managed to speak to the king without making a complete fool of yourself," Annelise congratulated her.
"Thank you. I do not believe I could have done it without your assistance," Shira responded, a smile touching her mouth.
"You've done so well that I think the king may be developing feelings for you," Annelise muttered, her eyes filled with mischief.
Shira's eyes widened to twice their size. "Annelise, please do not even joke about that," she hissed.
"Shira, I would never do that to you. I know how hard it is for you to even be around him, but I do think that he feels something," Annelise stated firmly.
"If he does, I hope it goes away for his sake. You know why it can never happen," Shira said a bit too fervently.
"You have to let this go, Shira, not just because of His Majesty, but because it's hurting you to clutch so tightly to something horrible that you never did," Annelise informed her sister passionately.
"If I am meant to leave it in the past, I will," Shira said with an air of finality.
Annelise shook her head. "I cannot say anything more about that, but I will always be here for you," she promised, her voice rather heavy with exasperation.
"Thank you, Anne. I will need you tonight if the king decides that he wants to speak with me again," Shira whispered.
Fortunately for Shira, Malenam and Caspian remained engaged in conversation about battles and protection of the castle for a large part of the meal. Shira began to relax slightly as she ate and talked with her sister. Perhaps the king would forget about her altogether. After all, tis not as if I am drastically different from the rest of the ladies of Narnia, she realized. Of course Caspian would not show any interest in her.
"How do you like being back in the castle, dear?" her mother asked.
Shira paused for a moment to think before answering, "I never thought that I'd miss anything about the cottage, but I loved how it looked as if it had survived from another time. It was a stimulant for my imagination; everything I did there seemed slightly surreal. I will not miss doing the dishes and sweeping the floor six times a day."
Galitra laughed. "I do not believe that I'll miss any of that either," she added.
"Well, neither one of you had to wash Pietro's filthy, mud-encrusted clothing," Annelise pointed out, her mouth turned down into a very convincing pout.
"And none of you had to chop wood!" Pietro complained.
"Think of it like this: if you chop firewood, you will get strong and become an admirable knight of Narnia, fighting many battles that everyone will want to know about for years to come. However, if you decided that you would like to wash dishes and allow me to take over the wood, I would become strong and be the subject of tales and you would have wrinkled fingers," Shira explained to her brother.
"I suppose it wasn't completely horrid," he agreed reluctantly.
"See? Now you know that what you did had some purpose, other than keeping the rest of us warm," Shira stated.
"Devote your life to something, Pietro, and you will make it a part of everything that you do," Malenam interjected.
"How can being a hero be a part of my lessons?" he wondered mischievously.
His family shared a secret smile. "We cannot tell you everything or you would learn nothing on your own," Annelise pointed out. "Oftentimes, doing something yourself is what makes it stay in your brain."
While she said this, she shot a quick but pointed glance in Shira's direction, who bit back a less-than-friendly response out of respect for her sister.
"Is that how you have memorized the tales of Old Narnia, Lady Shira?" Caspian asked her.
Shira felt her heartbeat speeding up drastically. If only he'd given some warning!
Annelise gently prodded Shira, then touched her arm. "It is, Your Majesty," she responded before glancing to her sister for suggestions.
Speak more slowly, Annelise mouthed.
"And how many years did it take you to retain so much knowledge?" the king wondered.
"She's never used a book, and she's told me stories every night since I was born!" Pietro exclaimed.
"If you were a few years older, you'd remember Shira trying to memorize the stories. She would walk around the house telling herself the tales repeatedly. She refused to leave one alone until she had every detail perfectly memorized. By the time you were born, she was still doing it and would sit by your cradle practicing for hours. All in all, it must've taken her…only a year, I suppose, though it felt like much longer," Annelise informed him.
"That is quite impressive, Lady Shira," Caspian remarked.
"Thank you, my liege, but it does not feel like much of a feat," Shira said sotto voce.
"Memorizing the history of Narnia in a year? It seems like an accomplishment worthy of praise," Caspian objected.
If Shira's stomach hadn't been doing acrobatics, she would have smiled. "Thank you," she murmured.
"I would like to hear you tell them sometime. Not tonight, though—there is not enough time for that," Caspian said.
Thank Aslan, Shira thought, letting out a deep breath.
"Sir Malenam, may I show Lady Shira the castle? Things have changed since you left and I would enjoy making your daughter feel at home once more," the king requested.
"Of course, Your Majesty, as long as Shira has no objections," Malenam answered.
Refusal would be a direct insult to the king. However, agreeing to walk with Caspian alone would put Shira through a breed of emotional turmoil that she had hoped never to experience.
Shira shot a frightened look at Annelise. Her sister mouthed one word to her:
Yes.
"Twould be an honor, Your Majesty," Shira replied weakly.
"I'm sorry, Shira. Just…think of the cottage," Annelise whispered to her sister as Shira arose slowly, shaking with fear.
"Thank you, Anne," Shira whispered before walking to Caspian's side.
This was officially the most horrid evening of her life.
Caspian gently reached for Shira's arm, praying that she would not resist him. In a surprisingly casual manner, she folded her hands in front of her stomach. He glanced at her, but she said nothing. "Have you found that much is different now that your family has returned to the castle?" he wondered, his tone friendly.
Shira visibly stiffened. Her steps slowed slightly before she replied, "I feel much safer now, knowing that my family and I do not have to hide our beliefs. And…a much better king."
"Thank you, Lady Shira," he murmured. She had been so much more relaxed in the dining room—was their solitude making her nervous?
Caspian had never imagined that he would make anyone nervous, though he'd pondered the other odd reactions that people might have to his kingship. He had hoped to learn more about Shira, but if she was unable to relax when she was alone with him, their relationship would never move beyond a casual friendship—which, from the nature of his conversations with Shira at dinner, was not exactly what Caspian was seeking with her.
"Are you well, Lady Shira?" he wondered, shooting a concerned look in her direction.
"Yes, my king, I am well," she responded rather breathlessly. "Just rather tired."
"Perhaps I should take you back to your family. You seem rather exhausted," he stated after a slight pause.
"Thank you, my liege," Shira sighed.
Caspian glanced in her direction again. Her posture was stiff and fear thrived in her eyes. Worse than I thought, Caspian realized grimly.
They were at the doors of the dining room once more. "Thank you for coming with me, Lady Shira. I hope that when you are more rested, you will tell me the tales that Pietro seems to love so much," he said, tenderly touching her shoulder.
He could feel her muscles tense beneath his hand. "Perhaps," she answered, her tone chilly.
"Goodnight, Lady Shira," he nearly whispered, reaching for her hand.
She pulled away deliberately. "Goodnight, Your Majesty," she said too loudly, tripping over her words as she hurried away from him.
Even a lady overcome by the worst of nerves would not have brushed Caspian aside so nonchalantly. Perhaps there was some logical explanation for Lady Shira's odd behavior. She could have decided that she had no romantic interest in Caspian, but it did not seem in her nature to act rudely to someone whom she did not fancy.
"Women are the greatest mystery of all," the young king muttered to himself.