A/N: So I meant to post this last week, but my beta got sick and my computer decided to stop working. I hope you enjoy this chapter...and please don't hate me for waiting this long to post this.

Catherine

Chapter 4: Permission

Peter couldn't help but stare at Aurora. They were out on the Anvard archery range, shooting arrow after arrow, and never missing the mark. Watching her made Peter uneasy. After they had shown Edmund, Lucy, and Susan around Anvard, Aurora had challenged him to come out to her archery range and shoot with her. Peter, of course, accepted; he would never give up an opportunity to spend time with his Aurora. She shot another arrow, striking the bull's-eye, and Peter let out a low whistle.

"Impressed, are you?" Aurora said, turning around to face him.

Peter wrapped his arms around her, pressing his lips to her ear.

"I'm always impressed by you," he whispered.

Peter watched Aurora close her eyes temporarily, fighting the sensations his closeness caused her to feel.

"So are you going to show me that you've improved, or did your lesson go to waste?" Aurora asked, turning around so that she was only inches from his face.

"I've improved," Peter replied, defending himself.

"Well, let's see."

Aurora gave Peter a flirtatious wink before stepping away from him so that he could take his stance.

Peter positioned himself the way Aurora had taught him, keeping his elbow low and loosening his grip on the arrow. He released it, and it struck the inner circle of the target.

"Very good!" Aurora praised him, as Peter beamed in response. "Again."

Peter restrung his bow, and shot again. This time, the arrow struck much closer to Aurora's.

"Now," Aurora began, turning to Peter, "if you get the last shot, I'll give you a prize."

"What's the prize?" he asked, thoroughly intrigued.

Aurora smiled at him, and moved closer, their lips almost touching.

"A kiss," she whispered, and Peter inhaled her heavenly scent.

He wanted that kiss more than anything else in the world at that moment. He had experienced many kisses with Auroranone of them topping their firstbut he wanted to earn this one. However, he wondered if he even could.

"What's the shot?" Peter asked as an afterthought.

"Hit the bull's-eye."

Peter looked at the target, then Aurora, the target, and then back to her.

"How?" Peter asked. Surely she was joking; her arrow was in the middle of the bull's-eye, blocking any chance he had.

"Split my arrow," Aurora replied, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Split your arrow!" Peter exclaimed, looking at Aurora as if she was insane. He could feel the kiss he wanted slipping through his fingers.

"You can do it, Peter," Aurora encouraged, as the king restrung his bow.

Peter focused on his goal of splitting the arrow and not on the promised kiss. He released the arrow, and held his breath. It felt like he was watching the arrow in slow motion as it zoomed through the air, and split Aurora's arrow in two. Peter calmly slung his bow over his back, and turned to Aurora.

"Do I get my reward now?" he asked, with a boyish grin.

Aurora only had time to smile before Peter's lips were on hers.

Peter wrapped his arms around Aurora, pulling her closer to him. His lips were passionatehungry for her intoxicating taste. Their lips moved in a constant rhythm against each other's. He removed the comb from Aurora's hair, and ran his hand through her tresses. She moaned, biting his lower lip, which made Peter kiss her harder and more fervently. They were both slowly running out of air, but they didn't care; all that mattered was that they had each other.

Aurora and Peter parted, taking in much-needed oxygen. Peter rested his forehead against her own, and lightly brushed his lips against hers. Their kisses were now feather-soft, unlike the passionate one they had shared before. Peter cupped her face in his hands, and peppered her with soft kisses on her nose, her eyelids, and back to her lips. A small sigh escaped Aurora's lips at the sweet kisses he placed on her face.

Peter, determined to make this kiss last forever, tried to deepen it. He opened his mouth to take it one step further when something interrupted.

"Peter? Aurora?" he heard Lune call.

Peter seriously thought about ignoring him, but he knew that Aurora had heard too. Aurora pulled away to answer her brother.

"Yes, Lune?" she replied, giggling at the kisses Peter was now placing up and down her jaw line, hoping to draw her back to him.

"It's time for dinner," her brother replied, beckoning them to come up to the castle.

Peter gave Aurora one more kiss before taking her hand and walking alongside her to the castle.

"Peter, son, tell me all about your recent campaigns," King Brim requested of the younger king.

Peter quickly chewed and swallowed the bite he had just taken before answering.

"They've all gone quite well," he replied. "How much do you know about them?"

"Only what Aurora has told me, which never satisfies me." King Brim nodded at his daughter, who was seated next to Peter. It was dinnertime of the evening the rest of the Pevensies had arrived at Archenland.

"Recently, I've been trying to launch a fleet to explore the sea and all of the islands out there."

The older king looked impressed. He had been King for almost thirty years, and not once had he thought of such a thing.

"I don't expect them to reach all of the lone islands," Peter continued, barely noticing the impression he had made on the other king. "I think it would be nice, though, to look out at the sea and know what exactly is out there."

"I completely understand," King Brim added, nodding. "You never know what you might find. What about Narnia? Is there anything going on there?"

"No, not really. After what happened last spring, we were able to finally finish getting rid of the last of the rebellion. Since then, Narnia has lived in total peace."

"It's a nice feeling, isn't it? To know that your land is living in harmony with itself."

Peter nodded, taking a long drink from his goblet.

"What about you, King Brim? Surely you have had some campaigns of your own," said Peter, taking another bite.

"No, I haven't. I've been trying to spend the majority of my time here with my children. The events of last spring showed me that I haven't been the most attentive father, and I'm trying to make up for it now."

"From what Aurora's told me, you're doing a wonderful job," Peter said, trying to bring the king hope that he hadn't failed.

"How are you and Aurora?" King Brim asked, much to Peter's surprise. The king eyed his daughter, who was engaged in a deep conversation with Susan.

Suddenly, the butterflies began to flutter in Peter's stomach as his nerves began to rise. He realized that now was the perfect opportunity to put his plan into action.

"Wonderful," Peter replied, glancing over his right shoulder to look at her.

The older king looked pleased to see that they were happy together.

"Actually," Peter continued, hoping that Aurora was still involved in conversation with Susan, "I was wondering if I might speak to you tomorrow morning regarding a few things."

King Brim nervously glanced at Edmund on his left, who was now busy conversing with Lucy, Amabel, and Lune. Peter had, of course, told his brother what he was intending to do while he was at Anvard. Edmund was very supportive, and wished him luck.

Peter's heart was in his throat as he waited as patiently as he could for the king's reply. What if he figured out what I'm planning to ask? a small, frantic voice said in the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it, but couldn't deny his fears that King Brim had figured it out.

"Of course," came the king's reply, and Peter let out a small sigh of relief before King Brim continued. "I'll arrange it so that Lucy and Susan keep Aurora company so we can discuss whatever it is you wish to speak to me about without you worrying about her being lonely."

"I appreciate that."

Peter couldn't sleep that night. The anticipation of the morning meeting he had with King Brim made his stomach feel uneasy. He tried everything to help himself get to sleep: counting sheep, counting sheep backward, drinking a warm glass of milk, and finally, remembering the droningvoice of his old English teacher. At last, he was able to drift off into a few hours of troubled sleep.

The next morning, Peter dressed in a trance, silently going over what he was going to say. He had it all planned out; every sentence and every phrase was. However, with his hour drawing near, mere words seemed inadequate to express what he was feeling. Peter loved Aurora with every fiber of his being, and would spend the rest of his life showing exactly how much he loved her, if she would have him. And he dearly hoped that she would.

Peter knocked on King Brim's office door, and nervously brushed himself off again. He wanted to look his best for this meeting. His sisters, who also knew of his plan, helped him pick out an appropriate outfit long before he left for Anvard: dark brown pants and boots, and a deep red tunic with the image of a roaring lion embroidered upon it in gold. He had the regality of a king and the innocence of a boy in love.

"Come in," came the muffled reply, and after taking a long breath, which did nothing to settle his nerves, Peter opened the door.

King Brim was sitting behind his desk, shuffling through what looked like maps.

"Ah, Peter, come in," King Brim greeted, motioning to one of the plush leather armchairs in front of his desk.

Peter declined the invitation, for he knew that his nerves would keep him from sitting still.

"Peter, what's wrong?" King Brim asked, concerned. He had never seen Peter so nervous.

Peter squared his shoulders, his face set in determination. He could do this… hopefully.

"King Brim, you know that I love your daughter with all of my heart."

The older king nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"And there is nothing that I wouldn't do for her. Aurora has made me complete, and has made me the man I am today. Within a month of meeting her, I knew that I was in love. Aurora is kind and beautiful, and has the purest heart of anyone I have ever met. She has made me the happiest person in the world, and I can only hope that I have made her happy as well."

King Brim began to speak, but Peter's hand silenced him.

"Please, sir, let me finish. I love her, and I never want to be apart from her for as long as I live. I knew I couldn't have her until I had your consent. So will you, King Brim, give me the permission to ask for your daughter's beautiful hand in marriage?"

King Brim took a moment to consider this, sitting back a little in his chair.

"No."

Please,please, please review....please.