Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any of the characters associated with it; I only own my OC's and storyline.

Hey, readers! Thankyou so much to the readers who have followed and favourited this story so far! It really means the world to me! Now onto chapter 2! :D

Chapter 2: Listen Before You Speak

We walk down to the dining hall quickly, my stomach grumbling as soon as I see the amazing food that lines the table. Peter gestures for me to sit down first once we get to the table, like he usually does, before Malina pulls out my seat for me.

"You must be starving after your massive holiday." Pff, holiday.

"Holiday? It would please you to know that we didn't have any kind of holiday. Everything we did was work related."

"Even at night?" I almost spit out my wine. Almost. This stuff is imported from Calormen and tastes amazing, why would I want to waste it?

"Malina!"

"What? I was talking about your nights spent drinking wine and reading. What are you referring to?" I send her a glare. She just smirks and chuckles slightly under her breath.

"MOTHER!" I jump slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"Can I eat now? Father just took a bite." Really? That's why you screamed?

"Of course you can. You know the rules." She smiles brightly before she begins to dig in.

"Ed? Have the spies you sent out reported back yet?" Peter asks eloquently over the murmur of voices. My glance flies over to Edmund immediately. He freezes, a leaf of lettuce hanging out of his mouth as he looks at Peter with a blank expression. I give Peter an all knowing look. I predicted this ages ago.

"You asked me to send out spies?" I run my fingers through my hair as Peter stares at him in disbelief. I put my hand on his thigh in an effort to stop him from losing his mind. We all know Peter tends to have a hot temper. Why, Edmund, why? Of course my calming efforts do nothing though. He pushes my hand away immediately.

"You told me this afternoon that you were right on it. I can't believe you haven't done it yet!" The room goes silent immediately, all murmurs stopping at the first word. "Do you even hear me when I talk to you? I mean honestly, Edmund! I asked one thing of you. One! Emolise?" I look over to me friend who's standing over in the corner with a tray of wine glasses. "Get me your father immediately please," Peter commands. Em looks lost for a moment before she gathers her wits and goes to find Oreius.

"Relax, it's nothing to get frustrated ov-" I start as my attention turns back to Peter.

"I am trying to rule a country here! You need to learn to listen to me, Edmund, and don't you even start, Ash! I don't need you telling me to calm down right now when we've just let a prisoner escape and have taken three hours to send anyone out after him! By the Lion's Mane can't anyone do anything right!" He stands up, slamming his hands into his plate of food before storming over to Oreius, who has just entered the room and missed most of the angry rant, before storming outside of the dining hall. Oreius' eyes meet mine with a pleading look, I just shake my head though. He drops his head in quiet defeat before following after Peter. I can hear him shouting from the hallway but can't actually make out any words which I'm rather thankful for if I'm being completely honest. When Peter loses his temper, he loses it big time.

Susan is the first to break the silence in the room with a sheepish grin. "You had better go and talk to Peter, Ashley. You're the only one he will really listen to." I know she's right, but I really wish she wasn't. Maybe I can take Bree for protection? For Aslan's sake, get it together, Ash! He's your husband!

"Okay, you stay here, Bree. I'll come and grab you once it's time for bed, alright?" I say as I brush hair away from her face. She nods once before looking down at her plate quickly, her eyes brimming with tears. I will have to deal with the upset daughter a little later.

"Would you like us to take care of the twins and put aside some food for you and His Majesty later, Ashley?" Kabella asks me whilst carrying two empty plates.

"Please," I reply with a general glance in her direction. "Okay, I'll be back soon. Be good." I kiss Bree's head before strolling off to my sure doom. Angry Peter is certainly not my favourite Peter in the world. The hallway is dark, only the few torches lining the walls give any sort of light. The screaming gets louder as I round the corner before I spot them. Peter has his back turned to me, but I can see Oreius' face clear as day. The usually peaceful and harsh faced Oreius has been replaced with a polar opposite Oreius. He looks a bit like a puppy who has just been told off by his owner.

"...lieve you haven't organised the new trainees yet! Oreius, what in Narnia have you been doing whilst I've been away all month? This is ridiculous. I've been in charge for four years now! You should understand my position by now and know what is expected of you for when I'm away! The safety of my family and country depends upon the new guards and people doing as I say. I need these spies sent out immediately and I need you to track down these trainees wherever they may be and get them trained! Have I made myself clear?" He straightens up and nods once, his face an open book for once.

"Yes, High King Peter. I will get right on it." With those parting words he leaves in the opposite direction, heading straight for the front door. Peter puts his head in his hands once he's gone before throwing a hand through his hair and flopping down on the couch behind him. He puts his fingers to his temple and rubs it a bit with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths in and out; obviously trying his best to calm down. I take a deep breath in myself before taking a few cautious steps towards him.

His eyes fly open as he looks up annoyed. "What now?" He shouts. His whole demeanour changes as soon as he sees me though and he goes back to the position he was in before. "I'm sorry," he mutters quietly, looking down at his hands which are tangled together in his lap, his fingers dancing around each other.

"You should be." His regrettable eyes meet mine as he opens an arm for me on the love seat. An invitation to join him. I accept graciously and take a seat next to him. His arm curves around my left shoulder before he pulls me into his side.

"Why can't anyone ever listen to me? That's all I ask. Was it really that hard to do?" I rub his shoulder and neck slowly a few times. I feel his whole body relax within a minute.

"You just need to learn to not get so worked up over everything. It doesn't help that we're both beyond tired. Maybe we should have an early night. Head up to bed for a good night rest?" He grimaces.

"Maybe." He's silent for a moment and from my vantage point his face is a blank space. He's not giving me any ideas on what he's thinking or how he's feeling. "I can't help but feel like there is a reason for this threat. What have we done? The only things I can think of is that we killed The White Witch and Starstone." A few servant girls walk by then, laughing about something although as soon as they spot us they all go quiet and look at us with solemn faces. Not good.

"Let's talk about this in private. Come." I grab his hand and pull him to his feet before walking with him over to one of the main courtyards. No one is here at the moment since it's night time. All the flowers are tucked away for the night while a few fireflies circle us. The small trickling of the fountain can be heard over the peaceful silence. I sit down with Peter on the stone chair and play with his fingers; a welcome distraction from angry Peter.

"Why did you want to speak in private exactly?" I look up at him. He's giving me a confused look, as if he's trying to read my mind.

"Because we shouldn't be talking about killing people with servants walking around us constantly. Most of them are brand new. We don't want to be scaring them away." He smirks.

"You're probably right."

"What are your thoughts on all of this though?" I ask him as I play with his wedding band, tossing my attention back to his hands.

"I think we need to go back and evaluate all of our moves. They wouldn't be after us for no reason whatsoever. We have to have done something to bring about this motive."

"I'm not sure. We didn't do anything to have caused this or brought it on. Perhaps they're out for revenge?" I suggest.

"Revenge for what though? Killing Starstone? They attacked us on our engagement night. We didn't kill Starstone till well after that night."

"We could be over thinking this. It could be that they just want the throne."

"Then they would've come in a group and killed us all while we were surprised. We were not expecting this. By taking the surprise element out it's just giving us a chance to get prepared for whatever is to come." I huff.

"Well what other options do we have then, Pete? Do tell me because every other option I've given here you've just turned down."

"I'm out of suggestions. Hopefully the spies can give us some details. As for us now, we need to act like everything is completely normal for the sake of our children and the country. We can't let anyone know what's going on and panic them all. I'm sure a lot of the court people are worried right now, but we must ensure that we go about our daily life as per usual. What these creatures want is to create fear, we can't give them that satisfaction." What he's saying makes complete sense; although I would like to know exactly what's going on.

"Okay. I do agree with that. You're going to need to make amends with everyone in that dining hall though."

"Is dinner still going?"

"It is, but the girls offered to put some food aside for us and look after the children until we're ready."

"Come and face the crowds with me?" I laugh and toss my gaze over to him again.

"Sure. Whatever meets His Majesties ideals," I tease. He shakes his head at me before pushing me off of him so he can stand. He grabs my hand once he's up before we walk back over to the dining hall.

"Well look who comes back after his temper tantrum. Feeling better, Petey?" Edmund you idiot.

"Maybe if people would listen to him when he speaks then he wouldn't have to fly off the hammer at you all," I remark quickly before Pete has a chance to say anything.

"Enough you two. I'm sorry everyone for getting angry. There's just a lot going on and I had to take it out on someone. Usually I would prefer it to be just Edmund, but it just comes out sometimes." There's a murmur of forgiveness around the room before we start eating again.

After dinner we head upstairs, both Peter and I being stuffed from the ride home from Beavers Dam earlier in the day. Both Anna and Brenton are out like lights once I put them in their cots. Their soft snores ring out through their otherwise dead silent rooms.

"Mother? Could you please read me a story?" Bree asks politely as I enter her bedroom to say goodnight. She's holding a book closely to her chest though I can't see the title of it from my vantage point.

"Of course I can." After reading to her for a while, I give her forehead a kiss before heading into our bedroom. To be honest, there is no better feeling in the world than lying down on your own bed after having slept in random beds for a month. Peter pulls me close to him, his arms wrapping around my body, before we both fall asleep.

Please if you enjoyed this chapter, leave a fav, comment, and follow (so you can keep an eye on new chapters being posted ;) ). Thank you for reading and I shall chat to you all soon!

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