Hello everyone! Firstly, thank you for the reviews. Secondly, I see that some of you are confused about the ages of our monarchs, so here you go:
Caspian and Peter: 25-ish
Isabel and Susan: 23-ish
Edmund: 21
Estella: 19
Lucy: 17
Any more questions? Feel free to ask! But for now, go – read and review!
Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.
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DEFINITELY DESTINY
– – THE WEDDING – –
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Slowly, his senses came back to him but he kept his eyes shut. He could hear some whispers but they sounded like horns to him. Groaning, he pulled the covers up to his chin and tried to go back to sleep, ignoring the pounding in his head. But the whispers, they wouldn't stop. And ever so slowly, the words started making sense...
"I'm sorry."
"I don't care, Peter."
"Don't give me that look," the man who he recognized as Peter said. "I already have a severe headache so please don't make it worse than it is."
"What do you expect, breakfast in bed with a sweet good morning kiss?"
"… Yes?"
"Well, you're not getting any," the woman said. "Today is the big day and I cannot believe that you had the groom so drunk last night that he wouldn't bloody wake up!"
"Oi!" Peter shouted. "Caspian, wake up!"
Caspian groaned and pulled the covers over his head, hoping Peter and Isabel would just go away and continue their little domestic scuffle elsewhere. Did they not know how badly his head hurt?
"You better get up before I cancel your wedding," the High King warned.
A part of Caspian's mind registered that this was not something that he wanted, but his head was hurting and the rest of his mind was just content in lying there and falling back to sleep.
"This is serious," Peter said after a short pause. "He didn't even react to my threats. I expected him to jump out of the bed."
"Clearly, the remnants of the alcohol he consumed along with you and Edmund wouldn't allow him to do that." Isabel stated.
"You said that we could have fun," Peter mumbled.
"But I didn't say that you could come back so drunk that none of you may function the next day." A pause. "Is this the reason you slept in Caspian's room?"
"Yes," Peter admitted sheepishly. "But I slept on the sofa. They slept jumbled up on the bed."
Isabel sighed. "Caspian!" she called. "Please wake up."
No answer.
"Now!"
Nothing.
"Then you leave me with no choice."
"What are you doing?" Peter asked.
"The same thing I did to you," Isabel replied calmly.
There was a lapse in conversation - and then Caspian yelped as a shower of icy cold water hit his face. He looked around like an idiot until his vision cleared and he saw Peter and Isabel hovering above him, the former looking sympathetic (his own hair and tunic was wet, no doubt the result of a similar icy shower), and the latter looking at him with utmost disapproval.
Caspian groaned again, massaging his temples with his fingers. "My head hurts. A-and where am I?"
"You deserve the headache," Isabel said with an I-told-you-so tone that reminded him of Susan, "And you are lying on your bed with your feet on Edmund's stomach."
"Wha-?" Caspian looked around. Sure enough, Edmund was he was lying on his bed, asleep. "Why is he sleeping?"
"I was about to wake him up," Isabel told him.
"Allow me," Peter volunteered and then pushed the Just King off the bed. "Wakey Wakey, Ed!"
Edmund let out a loud scream, then groggily propped himself on the edge of the bed. "You're such an arse, Pete," he mumbled. "My head hurts."
"You deserve –" Isabel began.
"The headache," Caspian cut her off. "Yes, you said that."
Peter looked lovingly at his wife. "You are a fierce lioness, did I ever tell you that? So beautiful, so commanding, so-"
"You're still not getting it, mister!" Isabel muttered, unimpressed.
"Getting what?" Edmund yawned.
"A good morning kiss," Caspian explained as he slumped back on his pillow, closing his eyes.
"Lovely." Edmund mumbled and made a few kissing sounds, clearly too hungover to make actual jokes.
Caspian felt someone shake him. "Caspian, wake up, do you have any idea how late it is?" Isabel asked him softly. He only mumbled something incoherent in reply and pushed her hands away. God, he wanted to sleep... He could probably sleep for a week. "Up, Caspian. Now!"
"Go away, Isabel," Caspian cracked his eyes open, "Let me sleep. I had the scariest nightmare last night," he rolled so that he was lying on his stomach and closed his eyes as he continued, "I saw that you all were waking me up to tell me that it is my wedding day."
Isabel shared a glance with Peter, who bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.
"Uh, Caspian," Edmund said matter-of-factly, "It is your wedding day."
"Hmm." A couple of moments of silence passed and then Caspian shot up, his eyes wide as he stared at the others. "I am getting married today."
"Yes," Edmund nodded. "Today is the death of your freedom. From today, you will be a slave to the most ruthless existence ever: a wife. Not just any wife, mind - Susan as your wife."
"Is this supposed to make me feel better? Because it isn't." Caspian said, exasperated. Then, as he noticed Peter's glare, he quickly added: "Not that I'm feeling bad. I wouldn't. I love Susan."
[][][][][][][][]
Susan looked in the mirror. Her hair was neatly tied up, her tiara sparkled and she practically glowed. How could she not? All her dreams were coming true. She was going to marry the man she was madly in love with. As she adjusted the voluminous skirts of her wedding gown, she noticed her friend sitting in a wing chair, looking deep in thought. "You are awfully quiet today," Susan could not help but state. "Is something the matter?"
"Hmm?" Estella snapped out of whatever daydream she was in and shook her head. "Oh, no. Just thinking." Her lips curved into a huge smile. "You look lovely, Susan."
"Thank you. And you're changing the topic."
"I'm not." Estella said. "How does it feel to be a bride?"
Susan thought for a moment. "Interesting."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Nerve-wrecking. Exciting. Emotional. Happy. Sad. Nostalgic." Susan stopped. "I guess it is hard to explain in words."
"And yet you used plenty of words," Estella grinned. She hesitated for a moment, then said: "I am getting married next month."
Susan whirled around to face her friend, eyes wide. "You're what?"
Estella chuckled. "I expected that reaction, but I must admit it is funnier in real."
"To whom?"
Estella shot her a look. "Who do you think?"
"Alfred? He proposed?"
"Sort of," Estella told her. "You know how proper he is. The last time he was in the city, he asked father for my hand in marriage. And father told him that he would ask me and let him know."
"That was months ago!" Susan narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe you've been hiding this news from me for so long!"
"Well, you've been busy with your wedding preparations." Estella said. "Besides, it wasn't like that. Father asked me, and I said I'd marry whomever he wished. And then Lord Alfred left for Daelhr and it was just... left up in the air. Of course, when Lord Alfred returned last week–"
"I saw you two in the gardens. I knew something was going on, you minx!" Susan exclaimed.
Estella chuckled. "He asked me to go for a walk with him. And the day after, we had supper together. And two days ago, he visited our home."
"And...?" Susan prompted.
"Well, he spoke to father for a bit. And father gave him his blessing, so he came to me and asked me to marry him."
"And you said yes."
"Of course I did." Estella said. "He said that he is here for a month for some meetings, and that he wanted to return to Daelhr with a wife. I... I was going to tell you after the wedding. Didn't want to shove my news into your big day."
"My silly Estella!" Susan rushed forward to embrace her friend. "This is wonderful news! I am so happy for you." She pulled away from the hug and nudged her teasingly. "Alfred, huh? He's very handsome."
"Yes he is." Estella blushed. "But shouldn't you be talking about a certain dark-haired, dark-eyed King, my dear Susan?"
"Come on, I can–" Susan was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in."
The door opened and Edmund walked in. He stopped when he looked at his sister. "Su," he said. "You could have clothes half a village with the amount of cloth used on that dress!"
"A simple 'beautiful' would have sufficed, your Majesty." Estella said.
"Oh. I barely noticed you were here." He said, eyeing her. She looked rather pretty in a purple gown. "And what did you make that dress out of? Curtains?"
Estella glared at Edmund. "Why are you here, my king?"
"I can be wherever I want to."
"Let me rephrase that," Estella smiled sweetly. "There must be some reason why you came here. Do you need anything?"
Edmund chuckled and turned back to his sister. "It's time."
"Well then, I better go," Estella smiled at Susan. "I'll see you soon."
Susan watched her friend walk out of the room and then smacked Edmund lightly in his arm. "You be nice to her, Ed," she told him. "She won't be here with us for much long."
"Why?" Edmund asked, then went on without waiting for a reply. "Forget it. Pete's waiting for you. Shall we?"
[][][][][][][][]
Peter stood outside the huge doors of the Great Hall, waiting for his sister. He was not nervous. Just… emotional. But he supposed that that was normal. Every brother felt that way at his sister's wedding, especially a brother who had also taken care of his sisters like a father.
"Peter."
He turned around and smiled as he took in the sight of his sister. "You look lovely."
Susan smiled. "Do I look prettier than Isabel?" This had become a joke between them. Even since Peter had fallen in love with Isabel, he considered her to be the most beautiful woman ever. And Susan loved teasing him about it.
"Today, you do." Peter replied. A pause, then: "Also, I can say this because I haven't really seen Isabel yet."
Susan giggled. "Look at you, finding a loophole to please all the women in your life."
"Look at you, about to be married."
"Yes." She blew out a breath. "I'm nervous."
"Understandable. I was, too, on my wedding day. I seriously considered jumping out of that window and running away," He nodded towards a window to their left. "It won't work with that dress of yours. Besides, you love Caspian and you want to spend your life with him, do you not?"
"Yes. I do." Her reply was instant.
"Then once those doors open and you see Caspian, all of your jitters will go away. I promise."
Susan rested her head against his shoulder. "Thank you, Peter."
The doors began to open slowly, and the two of them straightened up.
"Ready?" Peter asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied.
Just like Peter had said, her fears vanished the moment the doors opened and she saw Caspian standing at the altar. He looked so handsome, so happy - and her own heart filled with joy. She loved him, truly loved him, and now they were both going to be bound in holy matrimony. This was her destiny - to be with Caspian, to have a life with him. She wanted this, and she would never fear any future so long as he was with her. And after today, he will be.
She clutched Peter's arm tighter, eager to hurry down the aisle, for the ceremony. The walk down the aisle felt awfully slow now, but seeing him shift restlessly, grinning as he watched her, was definitely worth it.
And when they reached the altar, Caspian walked over to them. He had eyes only for her. "You look beautiful." He said, and held out his hand.
"You're going to marry her, Caspian," Peter whispered. "But know this: I loved her first. Before you." Then, turning to Susan, he smiled. "Off you go, then."
Susan smiled at her brother, her eyes filled with tears. Then, she slowly let go of his arm and took Caspian's hand. Together, hand in hand, gazes held, smiles wide, the couple turned towards the altar, ready and happy and eager to begin a new life together.
See ya' all in the next chapter! Till then have fun! Oh, and:
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