ELECTRA OF THE LONE ISLANDS
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, and Aslan are all property of Disney® and C.S. Lewis, as is Narnia.
The Plan
Electra had done many things before to prepare her for committing piracy. However, she could honestly say she never put on a dress and mask before one. It was as if she were pasting a huge sign on her that read 'I'm about to steal something.'
"I look ridiculous," she grumbled, turning to Veil.
"You look ready to go to a party," she replied, winding more golden leaves and thread into Electra's hair. "And besides, you deserve to dress up every once in a while with how beautiful you are."
That was probably a bit much, both adding the gold and Veil's comment of her being beautiful, but she didn't complain. It was once in a lifetime that Electra would have been able to attend a party fit for a king or queen, let alone the Kings and Queens of Narnia.
"Are you sure they'll be dressing up this much?" she asked, fussing a bit with her shoulder straps. She was glad the sleeves were long and tight, hiding her still sore wrist. However, them being as they were, she didn't have to wear a bulky bandage and asked what she had been injured for.
"Look at it this way," Veil replied, "If any of them ever see you again, chances are they won't recognize you without all of this. There, done."
"True," Electra replied. She moved away from Veil and in front of the mirror. At first she was shocked at the woman who stared back at her before she remembered it was herself. Electra had been dressed in a deep red and gold trimmed dress that seemed to bring out her eyes more than ever. Her pale skin seemed to glow palely in what light they had in the room. The effect was only because she had scrubbed her skin so severely it had almost rubbed a raw red.
Her darkened curls were more elaborate than ever, her hair pinned back halfway so the rest hung past her shoulders and strung with gold Veil had done. Her face had even been made up for the occasion, making her look fit to join a royal court, something Electra would not have thought of before that evening.
"You, Veil, are a genius," she replied, going over and hugging her. Veil's dark navy dress that was cut in a similar fashion as Electra's was trimmed with a bright silver.
"Remember," Veil said, handing Electra her mask before taking her own from a side table, "enjoy yourself first. Don't just go after the treasures right away or you'll look suspicious and get caught."
Electra nodded, still feeling slightly queasy again. She honestly didn't like the idea of stealing from Cair Paravel, but at least they weren't kidnapping anyone. That surely would have been so much worse.
The plan had been built and elaborated over the past week: they would enter the masked ball, all of them entering and enjoying the party just as everyone else. One by one, they would disappear into the depths of the castle, seeking the treasures each of them had been assigned.
Veil would be the first, her objective was the horn. She would then come back with Queen Susan's horn hidden in her dress and alert Alec. Alec would then go and find High King Peter's sword, Rhindon, and leave. After about a half hour of his disappearance, Damin would disappear, taking King Edmund's sword. Lastly, Electra would disappear into the depths of the castle and take Queen Lucy's vial. The two women would then leave with Darit. It had been decided to leave Queen Susan's bow and Queen Lucy's dagger, as taking too much would be dangerous, and the valuables they had chosen were worth enough as it was.
It was rumored that Queen Susan's horn could call upon help from anywhere, no matter what the danger was. King Edmund's sword had broken the wand of the White Witch, a valuable prize. High King Peter's sword fought and defeated the White Witch, and Queen Lucy's vial could heal any injury.
Afterwards, the five would sail to the Lone Islands, selling the objects for the biggest pile of gold any of them had seen. The crew never need know about their heist since the next gathering wasn't until the next full moon, a full month away.
They were now on Electra's one man ship, slowly sailing toward Cair Paravel. Sunset was glowing in the horizon, signaling their soon arrival.
"Veil?" Electra asked, looking down at her mask, her voice a bit unsure.
"Yes?"
"I have a small problem," she replied, looking back up at Veil. "I don't know how to dance."
Veil had probably guessed this, as Electra hardly ventured far from them lest she had gone out sailing on her own. Even then, they knew that she had never gone too far out to sea, just far enough to feel the freedom of the ocean.
"We can fix that," she replied, taking Electra's free hand and leading her out of the cabin.
Alec, Damin and Darit were already dressed, waiting for them. They turned at the sound of the door opening, and Electra felt her cheeks burning slightly at the looks they were giving her and Veil.
Electra turned her head to avoid their gaze, feeling Veil's hand slip from hers, going toward Alec to embrace him. Neither had seen the other so wonderfully dressed before, and Electra didn't want to watch their flirting. Her eyes gazed ahead toward their destination. The stone walls of Cair Paravel glittered in the orange light. Already she could hear the cheers of the crowded shores and in the castle. Many guests had already arrived, but they would not be the last. Many more ships, much bigger ones at that were heading toward Cair Paravel as well.
The castle was huge; she had seen it several times before when she was younger, but now that she saw it again, she wondered how in Aslan's name they were to navigate through the place.
"Electra," Veil's voice called, pulling her attention away from the large castle. She had her hand out, and Electra slowly came over, taking it, a bit confused.
"Alec will show you how to dance," she replied as Alec's hand took her place and slowly brought Electra closer.
Electra felt her face burn with the idea of learning how to dance in front of Damin and Darit, who were sure to make fun of her. Alec smiled at her, slowly placing his hand securely at her waist.
"It's almost like sparring," he said, "only you're dancing with a person rather than a blade." Electra tried to keep this in mind, slowly taking her first step into dancing.
It wasn't as horrible as it could have been, but Electra still dreaded walking into the party and being asked to dance by any number of men there. Electra had to laugh at herself at the thought as the boat pulled up to the dock. She could handle a swordfight just as easily, but a dance scared her.
With Veil's help, she tied the mask behind her hair securely so it wouldn't slip the entirety that they were there. Each step from the boat toward the castle was a heavy one, and somehow Electra convinced herself that if someone realized she couldn't dance that would blow the entire operation.
"Just relax," Veil's voice whispered in her ear, as though reading her every thought as though she were an open book. "You'll be fine. Just breathe. If you don't enjoy yourself, people will notice."
Great, Electra thought. Now not only if I don't dance, I'll be caught, if I don't enjoy myself, the exact same thing will happen. Somehow she felt her entire future was riding on this one night. Everything that happened from here on out would all be because of what happened at the celebration.
She watched as Alec and Veil took the lead, each arm in arm and walking gracefully, following the rest of the crowd heading toward the castle before stepping onto a carriage and allowing it to take them up to the front gates.
The castle doors of Cair Paravel loomed overhead, making Electra feel much smaller than she was already feeling at the moment. The doors were opened for them. Despite being a castle and the sun far down on the horizon, the interior was brightly lit. Electra quickly looked around, trying not to miss a thing inside the castle. The chances of her coming back were slim. If she did, it would probably not be on quite as good terms.
Everyone was being led into the massive throne room. It was hard to miss the four rulers: there they were, sitting on each of their respective thrones.
The right most one to Electra had a reddish blonde tint to her hair and had to be a few years younger than Electra. A silver crown stood out from her decored curls that hung past her shoulders. Electra could sense her bright innocence and cheery air about her from all the way across the room. This had to be Queen Lucy.
Talking to her at her right was a much older and more mature looking young woman. Her beauty seemed to surpass everyone in the room, and a gold crown stood out from her dark hair, elaborately twisted and braided back until it hung down past her mid back. No doubt this was Queen Susan.
Next to her was a man who must have been nearing his twenties, or just entering them. He had sandy blonde hair and a nobleness about him that seemed to shine. A gold crown was set perfectly atop his head, shining in the light that filled the room. Simply by his age, Electra suspected him to be the High King Peter.
He was talking to a young man at his right. He couldn't have been any older than Electra. Like Queen Susan, he had dark hair that fell under his silver crown. There was something about him that Electra couldn't quite put her finger on. Perhaps it was his smile that gave off a sense of underlying mischief, or perhaps his eyes and how they seemed to pierce whatever he looked at. There was something about King Edmund that captured Electra's curiosity almost instantly. She had to fight herself to subdue it, reminding herself of the task for which they had come was.
The five of them moved toward an empty table to sit down. Before them were golden plates and goblets, already filled with some sort of cherry red liquid. Electra couldn't help but feel jealous at all the splendor the castle had and how rich the four of the rulers were.
Absentmindedly, she raised the golden goblet to her lips, tasting its sweet spice. It was almost the exact same as the spiced wine Agatha had given her so many nights before, only sweeter and more delicious. She took another drink before setting it down, looking about the hall at all the others who had formed company at their own tables drinking deeply from their goblets which were refilled almost instantly by servants.
Upon second glance, Electra realized that not all of the guests or servants were human, but a range of creatures who found their home in Narnia: fauns, dryads, dwarves and nyads were here and there littered among humans. Centaurs lined the entrances more for the service of the guests than actual protection. There were even animals among the people. Electra distinctly saw a fox speaking with a badger and a beaver in a corner. The thought of animals talking made her smile, as none resided in any land she had been to before, save for Narnia.
A hushed silence filled the room as small horns began to sound off and everyone's attention was directed to the four thrones, where the Kings and Queens were now facing the assembly rather than speaking to one another. The High King Peter rose from his feet to address the audience once the horns died down.
"My friends and guests of Narnia, Archenland, Telmar, Calormen, the Lone Islands, and those of our words, man or Beast," the High King said in a loud and humble voice to the congregation, "as High King of Narnia, it is my pleasure to welcome you here to Cair Paravel as we celebrate the long broken ties between the Lone Islands and Narnia. Please enjoy the evening, as this is a celebration…"
His small speech continued on, though Electra tuned it out. Her eyes had wandered back to his siblings, particularly King Edmund, whom now she could get a better look at now that she was closer.
His dark eyes were watching his brother with a pride Electra had never seen before in anyone. She wondered what could have befallen the both of them that would have caused the younger King to look at his elder brother in such a way.
A quizzical look crossed his expression and his eyes quickly darted around the congregation. Electra quickly averted her vision back to the High King just before King Edmund caught her staring at him. She sincerely hoped she wasn't going pink as she felt his eyes fall upon her, perhaps a little longer than necessary. Had he caught her watching him?
When her eyes flicked back to him, however, she realized her paranoia had been only that: paranoia. His eyes were still glued to his brother with the same proud expression as before, except now there was something stirring behind his dark eyes. It was a sort of confusion about an unsolved riddle or puzzle. Electra forced her gaze back to the High King, forcing herself not to make the same mistake twice.
By this time Peter had sat back down at his throne and the waiters were passing out food and entrees in combinations Electra would have only thought of in her dreams. While the other four gratefully dove into the food, eating with as much delicacy as anyone else there, Electra merely pushed hers around the plate with her silver fork, thinking back to a few minutes ago.
It had been wrong to watch anyone but the High King while he had given his speech. Had she been caught, their cover would have surely been blown. He probably would have suspected her of something for being so rude as to not give his brother her full attention, especially with the way he respected him.
Soon the clatter of metal on metal stopped and people began joining the dance floor, including the Kings and Queens who were momentarily dancing with each other, moving in perfect tandem with the bright and cheery music that filled the room highlighted here and there by conversations from those still residing at their tables.
Electra could see many of the Calormens had gathered together in the back with their own countrymen, glaring at everyone merrily joining the party, and she knew why. Normally men would be the ones enjoying themselves until they pulled a woman aside to join dancing. The women would be the one serving, and no animals or other races besides humans would be allowed in the celebration.
Electra rolled her eyes and turned back to the table, a little surprised to see Alec and Veil standing up.
"Where are you two going?" she asked in a whisper that clearly implied if they were going to go through with the plan already.
"We're going to dance," Veil replied with a grin. "I feel I have the right to enjoy myself before we leave." She gave the other three a wink before Alec pulled her onto the floor to dance. Damin stood up as well.
"Well," he replied, putting his smooth voice into action, "I see a couple of ladies that have been eyeing me. It would be impolite to leave them hanging." With a smirk he disappeared into the crowd, leaving Darit with Electra. Electra was beginning to get a small churning feeling in her stomach.
"Would you like to dance?" Darit asked her politely, offering her his hand.
"I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head. "You've seen the catastrophe I am. I'm more likely to knock everyone on the floor down."
"Your loss," he replied, standing up and following his brother across the dance floor.
Electra watched him go, mouth gaping open in disgust. Just because she rejected his invitation to dance didn't mean he had to leave her high and dry. Grumbling slightly, she straitened up in her seat, taking another sip of spiced wine.
"Hello!" a cheery voice greeted from right next to her.
Electra nearly spit out her wine in surprise before looking over at the woman who had spoken to her. A pair of bright blue eyes sparkled cheerfully against a fair complexion and reddish blonde hair. Queen Lucy had situated herself next to Electra with the intention of making a new friend.
"Your Majesty," Electra replied, quickly standing up so she could politely curtsy to the Queen.
Queen Lucy giggled behind her hand. "You don't have to do that, you know," she said, gesturing Electra to sit back down.
She obliged, though confused. "I don't understand, your Majesty," she replied. Wasn't it required that they curtsy and show them immense amounts of respect? Perhaps she hadn't gotten all of the stories correct about Narnia. They had, after all, all been hear-say stories.
"You don't have to get up just to curtsy to me," she replied. "I like to think of my guests as friends rather than subjects. It makes talking to people so much easier."
Electra watched the young girl in a state of dazed confusion. Queen Lucy had no idea who Electra was, what she had done, what she was capable of. If Electra wanted, she could have slit Queen Lucy's throat without batting an eye right then. She didn't for two reasons. One, Electra only killed when necessary. And two, she would have been killed on the spot. Electra was very fond of her life to want to end it so soon. Besides, Alec and Veil would have been severely disappointed in her.
"I was just curious as to why you were sitting here by yourself," the Queen continued, not taking in Electra's expression. "It makes me sad when people aren't having fun."
"It's not that, your Majesty," she replied. She hesitated a moment before adding, "I just don't know how to dance." She had decided to be honest: if she said she didn't dance, that might come off as rude, which was the last thing Electra wanted.
"Oh, that's not a problem," she said with a laugh. "The best way to remedy that is with a good dancer. Now let me see…" She turned her head to scan the crowd. Electra had a moment where she thought about darting away, but that too would have been greatly frowned upon. Not to mention with how innocent Queen Lucy was, she couldn't find it in her heart to do that to her. "Peter's busy so…" She waved her hand in the air, attempting to attract someone's attention.
Electra's heart stopped as she realized who exactly Queen Lucy was summoning over. She quickly tried to gain back the attention of the Queen before she could gain the attention of the person she was waving to.
"No, your Majesty," she protested quietly. Somehow, if he saw her sitting there, he would have realized it was her she was staring at. "It's alright, really. I don't mind sitting here…"
The dark haired King had already cut through the crowd, however, making his way over to his little sister and her new best friend.
