"Good morning, Sam!"

Sam raised a hand flat over his eyes to shield them from the garish light of the sun beating down on the Narnian grass beneath his feet. He greeted the ginger queen with a wave of his hand and made his way over to her. She was busy instructing a few Dryads on where to hang banners of lovely flowers.

"What's the occasion, my lady?" he asked.

Queen Anne sighed proudly at her work, stroking her belly softly and propping the other hand at the small of her back. "We have nobility coming to visit within the next couple of days and, in four days' time, we are to have a ball," she explained.

"A ball?"

"Indeed. It will be a grand gesture to our visiting principalities and may even spark up some friendly conversation between aspiring lovers."

Of course, Sam knew that she was not referring to himself and Lucy, but he was still curious. "Aspiring lovers, my lady?"

Anne nodded, gesturing for him to take a walk with her. "Aye. It has been a grim affair in the past, but I have sworn to myself - and to my husband, naturally - that we must liven the ordeal. It can be terribly dreadful, but I want to stay positive, mostly for my plus-two."

Sam could understand that entirely. He had read many times before that pregnant women must be kept happy. "What has been grim?"

"Suitors will be coming from other lands, seeking to wed one of our fair and yet-unwed queens."

Sam's heart sunk. He recalled, when reading the books, that such things had taken place, but he was, as of yet, unsure of their outcome and knew that this would not be taken lightly. "Suitors for both of them?"

Anne nodded. "Aye. Of course, as Susan is of age and Lucy is not quite there yet, she has thrice as many offers. She will deny them all staunchly, as she always does, and that will once again put the High King at rest."

"Why would that put him to rest, Majesty, if I can ask that?"

Anne smiled up at the man beside her. "You may ask me any question you would like to. Rumors fly - you know how gossip can be and how quickly it infects a populace. Peter disapproves of all of Susan's suitors before they have even arrived at the Cair." She paused, taking note of Sam's expression. "I know. He does not see any of them as worthy of her."

"Then why ask them to come and propose offers?"

"I knew you were a clever one. Think about it, Sam. Why would a brother demand that suitors make themselves known in grand gestures and then deny them their claim on multiple occasions? Why press the issue?"

Because he's in love with her. Sam's own thoughts startled him. It couldn't be true, not about two characters he had been fond of since early childhood. Incest in Narnia, one of the most allegorical children's stories of all-time? Peter and Susan. Susan and Peter. They were a thing? There were feelings? All of this was almost too much for him to ponder.

His expression must have given him away, as the Queen beside him nodded and sighed, turning a solemn look forward. "They would deny it to their graves if affronted with the question directly, but it is a true and cruel thing."

"How long have they been like this?"

Anne was silent for a moment before answering him. "They have been like this for as long as I can recall. Of course, being in positions of absolute power have gone to their heads, in that respect, and have broken some hearts along the way. Peter has been attempting to court a young wood-nymph named Sylfaen for a long time now, but she has not accepted him because of the rumors surrounding his relationship with his sister. Susan, on the other side, has had multiple, grand offers from Rabadash - "

"Rabadash? That cod."

Anne snickered at his phrasing. "He is indeed, but he truly feels for Susan. Peter despises the man terribly, but Susan indulges in the sweetness he brings with each visit as it is romantic gestures from a man who is not her brother."

"Have they acted on their feelings?"

"Most assuredly, yes, though they hide it well. The rumors have been circulating since we ascended our thrones, so I assume that they thought, why deny themselves the pleasures to which they are already accused?"

Sam thought long and hard before speaking again, hoping that this question was not going to overstep any boundaries or make the Queen uncomfortable. "Majesty...what of the High King's protection of Queen Lucy?"

"That is merely an older brother looking out for his baby sister. There is nothing to worry about, if you intend on approaching him to request becoming a formal suitor for her, if that is your intention."

Sam stopped short in his tracks at her words. The thought had not crossed his mind prior to her putting the idea there. A few steps later, Anne noticed that he was no longer beside her and she stopped, turning to face him.

"I have offended you, haven't I?" Her face fell.

"No, my Queen," Sam assured her. "I just...I hadn't thought about Queen Lucy like that before you spoke." That was, honestly, a bold-faced lie. He had been up for half of the night thinking of Lucy and of what it would be like to hold her.

Anne smiled softly. "I see the way you look at her. It is the same as when King Edmund looks at me, I am told. I also see the way in which she looks at you." Sam's eyes widened. "Have you not noticed?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Well, I have. As a married woman and a mother of one, soon to be two, I know of such things. Or...perhaps I am wrong? Perhaps the look you give her is something else entirely."

Sam paused for a moment, truly feeling a friendly connection to this woman, though fictional as he thought her to be. "No, my Queen...you are not wrong."

Anne smiled brightly. "I understand that you have only just met, but these things do not always take time to blossom."

He laughed slightly at her words, knowing exactly what she meant. Cas had said that he was here to heal, and, so far, he was still feeling the flames inching up underneath his skin on occasion. He hadn't, however, felt them when he was with Lucy. Maybe it was just because he hadn't been with someone in so long. Maybe it was because his inner child was begging for him to indulge in a fantasy crush. Maybe it was just this place, just his presence in Narnia that made him attach himself to Lucy so quickly.

Whatever it was, he knew that it was real. He was really here, he was really talking to a beautiful, fictional pregnant woman, and he was having very real thoughts and feelings about another beautiful, fictional woman, though, this time, not pregant.

Lucy was young, that was for sure, but she was at least eighteen at this point, which meant that they only had about eight more years left in Narnia.

Sam had lost Jessica. He had lost Madison. He had Lucy, right here, and he was not about to let her get away. Not when he had a say in it this time.

"It's too fast, my lady," Sam confessed after a brief silence.

Anne shrugged her shoulders lightly. "Perhaps it is, but trust me when I say that if it is real, do not let it slip away. You will regret it."

He thought through her words, realizing that she was absolutely correct. He wanted to go for it, wanted to sweep Lucy off of her feet. Still, he knew it was fast, and, without solid evidence that she was feeling the same about him, it would have to suffice for now that patience would be both a calling and a virtue.

::::

Sam returned to his chambers to change before supper that evening and was almost too surprised to see Castiel standing by his window.

"Jesus, Cas," he breathed, shutting the door behind himself. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"How was your walk with the Queen?" Castiel asked.

Sam sighed. "How'd you know about that?"

"Those things that she said - did they shock you?"

"Yes, they did...why?"

"Because I coerced her to say them."

Sam felt like storming across the room and throttling the angel, but he refrained, rubbing his temples. "Why in the hell would you do that? I thought she trusted me. I thought she was telling me of her own choice."

"Well, she wasn't. You believed that she would confess incestual happenings between her brother-in-law and her sister-in-law to a man who is nothing but a stranger?"

"Why did you do it, Cas?"

"You need to heal, Sam, and to do that, you have to fit in with these people. They have to know that you can be trusted."

"That's not what trust is. Trust is something that has to be earned."

Cas gave him an expression of confusion. "Oh. I believe I misunderstood your brother's definition."

"Clearly."

Sam paced, crossing his arms as his sights fixated on a vision strolling the beach. It was Lucy, and she looked more regal than ever. She was so beautiful, even from afar, and Sam longed to be next to her, to hold her hand and hear her thoughts.

"She's a pretty girl," Castiel commented, taking notice of the Queen as well.

Sam sighed, moving over to the wardrobe to physically separate himself from the sight of her. "She's more than that, Cas."

"Then I was absolutely right in sending you here."

When Sam turned around to tell Cas that he was not ready to have his heart broken again, Cas was gone, and Sam swiftly decided to skip supper. He had too much to think about to confront the beautiful Queen or to even lay eyes on the High King and High Queen now-knowing what he knew.

::::

Lucy sat all throughout supper merely picking her fork at her food. Without Sam's presence at the table, she found herself to be at a loss for words and appetite. Her sister-in-law and brother were chatting away about the events of their day, given that they hadn't seen each other since sun-up. Edmund and Peter had gone out to check the garrisons along the walls of the castle in case the threat of invasion should occur when the suitors announced themselves the following day.

Her thoughts were consumed by the absence of the handsome stranger she had so longed to see. With every being entering and exiting the dining hall, Lucy's heart leaped at the thrill that each footfall could belong to him, but each time, she was wrong.

Naturally, she assumed that Sam's absence was an avoidance of Peter after what had happened at supper the previous evening. God forbid he was avoiding her, a notion her one-track mind failed to pick up on. No matter the reason, however, she felt compelled to explain herself to him, and aimed to do so after dinner.

Of course, as she headed down the corridor towards Sam's chambers, she could hear the echo of footsteps behind her.

"Lucy, wait," the male voice pleaded, a voice belonging to Peter.

Lucy stopped in her tracks and wheeled around to face him. "If you are intending to apologize, do so to Sam," she instructed.

Peter sighed, his eyes conveying a sincerity that Lucy had long-since forgotten. "I am here to say that I am truly sorry for how I spoke to Sam last night. I know that you consider him to be a friend and, yes, I was bitter."

"More than bitter, I would say."

"You are correct. I was downright terrible to him when I should not have been. If you want to invite him to things and befriend him, I approve."

Lucy wrung her hands together behind her back, biting back from telling her brother what her real intentions with Sam were, but she refrained, keeping her head held high. "I appreciate it, brother. I do. I will extend your apologies to Sam himself." Turning on her heels, she glided down the corridor and made her way to Sam's room, the shadows of nightfall cloaking her trek.

His door straight ahead, Lucy could feel her heart pound. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, mustering up the courage to knock, but based on the silence from the other side of the door, she held back, instead stepping directly up to the door and placing her palm flat against it.

"Sam?" she said, her voice lowly and meaningful. "Are you in there?" He was, and, in fact, he was on the other side of the door, his hand on the latch, fully-prepared to open the door and speak to her face-to-face. "I'm unsure if you can hear me or not...or even if you are awake. I...we missed you at the dinner table tonight. We ate amid too much silence, so I barely ate at all. I kept hoping that you would arrive...but you did not and I found myself missing your company." Sam's eyes fluttered closed at the sound of her voice, placing his hand flat against the door as well, directly over the place where Lucy had placed hers.

"Peter is sorry for how awfully he spoke to you last night. I told him that I would tell you. I...I want you to know that a few suitors will be arriving to offer themselves to me tomorrow and on subsequent days. I did not ask the approval of my brother, but..." Here, Sam could hear her pause deliberately and take a deep breath before she spoke again. "I would like for you to be one such suitor...if you would accept that, of course. I do not wish to pressure you, especially since we know nothing of the other, but...I would feel much more at ease knowing that you were among the mix." Lucy sighed and Sam leaned his forehead against the door, almost as if he was attempting to inhale her breath. "I do not even know if you can hear me or not. I must rest now. I will see you tomorrow, and, if not, I will understand."

Lucy stopped speaking, her once quick heartbeat now slowing to a much more manageable pace. She pressed her palm a bit harder against the wood of the door, almost like she wanted to leave her mark before she departed down the corridor.

If asked later, Sam would have denied it, but Lucy could've sworn that she heard his door unlatch and that she could feel his eyes watching her as she disappeared down the hallway.