AN: I know this isn't a long chapter but it's all I had time for. I hope you like it anyway.
Although it wasn't quite as painful as seeing Cair Paravel in ruins, Anvard was a close second. It seemed more like a broken down cathedral overgrown with weeds, a sacred place never to be seen by human eyes again than it did the cheerful home of King Lune.
In her mind's eye, Lucy could still see a little fair-haired boy named Corin rushing about excitedly. And in the back of her mind she could still hear his cries of, "Father, father, they're here!" as he raced out to great them.
Despite the fact that there was quite and age difference between them, Lucy and Corin had been good friends. Much as she loved him however, he was Susan's little boy and she'd always been more comfortable around his twin brother Cor. She's also befriended Cor's wife Aravis. The two of them had a lot in common and used to spend hours laughing, talking, riding horses, practicing archery, swimming, playing tricks on the twins, and hundreds of other things.
Lucy slipped down from the saddle of Caspian's horse. The poor horse let out a slightly frightened snort. "It's alright, Destrier." Lucy said softly, stroking the horse's side a bit to reassure him that he wasn't in any danger.
Destrier had never seen a ruin before and couldn't be blamed for being a little alarmed. He was a good horse but he wasn't a talking horse, he was only a poor dumb beast that didn't know any better than to fear the strange quiet place they'd stopped at.
"Patterwig, stay here with the horse." Lucy told him. "I'm going to look through the castle."
"Castle?" Patterwig looked very confused. "Where? Where? All I see is a bunch of fallen down bricks."
"It's a ruin." Lucy explained. "it used to be a castle called Anvard."
"Are you sure this is the place?" Patterwig asked. "It mightn't be the same castle..."
"I think I know Anvard when I see it." Lucy said firmly but not unkindly.
"Do you think Aslan's in there?" Patterwig asked her.
"No, but I want to see if there's anything left." Lucy said shortly, not because she was cross but because she was eager to have a look around and the conversation was delaying her.
Being careful not to go under anything that looked too unstable (It wouldn't be seemly for the great quest to come to an end because of an old pillar falling on her head), Lucy began to explore the ruin. There didn't seem to be much left. The place had probably been raided a long time ago. Anything of value was long gone. It seemed that the only things remaining there were her memories.
Suddenly, Lucy slipped on a lose stone and fell forward, scraping her chin. She felt blood coming up from the wound but not a lot of it. It wasn't too bad. A mere scratch when all was said and done. What was more noteworthy than the blood was the strange silver box that was now sticking out of where the stone had been.
It looked like it had been there a long, long, time. Much longer than 1300 years. It was so old Lucy guessed it might have been there hundreds of years before she and her siblings ruled in Cair Paravel.
Reaching down, Lucy struggled to get a grip on the box. It was fairly tiny. Smaller than a shoe box and about the average size of a music box. The only problem was that she couldn't tell the exact the size of it because half of it was still stuck in the ground. It look a lot more pulling and when she finally unearthed the thing, her fingers were a mess. The nails were filled with dirt and the fingers themselfs were covered in little splinter-sized cuts.
These little cuts hurt so much that Lucy had to rest for a moment before attempting to lift the latch on the box. Thankfully, the latch wasn't very tough and she quickly snapped it all the way open.
Inside was a yellowed letter of some sort and a ring made of gold that looked rather like a man's wedding band. (This turned out not to be a wedding band after all, in spite of what it looked like).
Lucy looked at the letter first, careful not to tear the paper as she unfolded it to see it's contents. Though slightly smudged, it was still readable if Lucy held it up to the light.
"My dearest son, Len..." The letter started. "I am very pleased to hear that you have been crowned king of Archenland. Here in Narnia, your father, King Frank has just passed the crown to your brother Omar. We would love to visit your new castle, this place you call Anvard and will arrive within a few days. Omar cannot come with us this time, he is far too busy but he wishes us to send you his love."
Lucy remembered King Lune telling her stories of the first king of Archenland, King Len. She remembered it very clearly not only because they were wonderful stories that where nearly impossible to forget, but also because she recalled both Edmund and Susan wearing very strange expressions on their faces while King Lune was telling the tales. Susan especially looked strained as he spoke, as though she was struggling to remember something. After the stories where over, Susan's face would return to normal.
Often she'd say, "Ed, what do those stories remind you of? I keep thinking of something but I can't quite put my finger on it."
"I don't know." Edmund would answer. "I was hoping you did. It does remind me of something...but what?"
Lucy looked back at the letter. "Len, darling, I have some rather odd news to share with you. The great Lion Aslan himself visited our court of Narnia yesterday..."
Lucy felt her heart race faster at the mention of Aslan.
"He caught me looking at the old portrait of your missing brother and sister. He said a very strange thing to me. He said that though I was never to see those lost children again in Narnia, that they would infect return after the time of myself and your father. And that they would rein as king and queen after helping save Narnia from great peril. And that they were both well and safe. I pleaded with the the Lion to tell me where they were. He said they were living in the world Frank and I came from but in a differen't time, with a very nice family. The mother of this family is named Helen as well. I don't know why, but I found that little fact very comforting. Silly, I know. I just hope this Helen Pevensie-as Aslan calls her-and her husband are taking good care of my darlings. Not once in all these years, no matter how many other children I have had and loved, could I stop missing them. The Dear Prince Edmund and Princess Susan of Narnia."
Lucy let out a gasp. Edmund and Susan weren't the children of street people as they'd always assumed but their parents were Narnian. Edmund and Susan were even more Narnian than she and Peter were. Full blooded Narnians. A former prince and princess. Which would explain everything. Susan's fine dress that she'd long outgrown and given to Lucy (She could fit in it because she was small for her age), The looks on their faces when King Lune spoke of Len...everything.
"Along with us, your father and I are bringing Master Koreen and your sisters Amallie and Ellie.(Note: Amallie and Ellie were born at least three years after Edmund and Susan left Narnia and moved in with the Pevensies, thus the reason they are not mentioned in the Prologue) we shall be with you very soon, Love always, Mother."
Next, Lucy turned her attention to the ring. She noticed it had the name Edmund engraved on it.
The reason for this was that each of the sons of King Frank and Queen Helen had a gold band with their name on it made by friendly dwarfs and gnomes that lived in mines in the northwest of the Narnian mountain range. Each boy was given his ring when he turned fifteen. It was a right of passage sort of thing. Omar, Len, and other boys that Helen later gave birth to, were given their rings when they came of age. Edmund however had gone missing long before his ring was to be given to him, so it had been put in the box untouched for centuries.
Lucy slipped the ring onto her thumb (The only finger it fit) and admired the gold glittering in the sunshine. It reminded her of her golden dress and of Aslan's golden mane. Somehow, the ring made her feel hopeful and she liked that.
Back at Miraz's castle, Susan and Caspian wandered through the palace gardens.
"Look at those roses." Susan commented, motioning to the bush near the castle wall. "They're so beautiful."
"You like them?" Caspian asked even though he already knew perfectly well that she did.
"Yes, they remind me of my mum's roses back home in England." Susan told him. "She keeps them out back and looks after them all summer, then they die in the winter, or sooner if Lucy and Edmund accidentally trample them."
"Do you miss your own world very much?" Caspian had often wondered if she pined for the world she came from. Of course she had lived happily in Narnia for 15 years without complaining but she still might miss this place she called 'England.'
Susan shook her head. "Not really. There was a war going on there before and I've always felt more at home in Narnia anyway."
"I see. Did you fight in the war?" Caspian figured she probably went about with her bow and arrows in this 'England' place just like she did in during the night raid.
Susan laughed a little at his question. "No, of course not. Not even Peter fought in that war. Father went away to war though."
"Was he hurt?" Caspian noticed the sad look on her face.
"No." Susan told him. "But it was hard on all of us. Edmund became impossible after father left. Peter had too much weight on his shoulders. Lucy didn't fully understand what was going on, I think."
"What happened?" Caspian wanted to know.
"We found Narnia." Susan said simply. "We ruled here for 15 years, then we went home."
"Did your father come back?" He asked.
"Yes, he was fine." Susan assured him. "I think it was sort of weird for Peter though."
"How so?" Caspian asked.
"He'd gotten so used to being the father figure to Lucy that I think it was sort of awkward for him that Lucy had a real mother and father again. But he got used to it in time." Susan explained, She left out the fact that in spite of that, Peter never truly got over not being a king anymore. And that he fought with the other boys. And that she worried about him more than she let on. Those were things she never told anyone, not even Caspian.
A while later, after they'd been walking quietly and conversation had come to a halt, Caspian turned to Susan. There was something he wanted to tell her.
"Susan, I know that we're only marrying to save the Narnians but I..."
"You what?" Susan asked, taking a step closer to him now.
"I love you." Caspian finally managed. "I always liked you, which is why I was so willing to go along with this but it's more than just that now." He took one of her hands in his.
"It's so much more than that now." Susan agreed, smiling up at him.
"Which is why I thought even though we're already betrothed I should do this properly." Caspian got down on one knee, still holding her hand. "Queen Susan of Narnia," he started.
Susan got a little misty eyed.
"Will you marry me? Not just for the sake of the treaty but simply for me?" Caspian looked up at her hopefully.
"Yes." Susan cried happily. "I will."
Caspian got up off his knee and kissed her.
Unknown to either of them, Peter was watching all this from the window.
"Spying again are we?" a voice behind him said suddenly, causing Peter to jump at least a foot off the ground.
He calmed down when he realized it was only Edmund.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Peter told him sharply.
"Peter, are you ever going to tell her?" Edmund asked him. "As opposed to scowling at the window?"
"No." Peter said firmly. "You know why I can't."
Edmund nodded. "I know, but you can't spend the rest of your life like this."
Peter knew Edmund was right but he didn't know didn't know what to do about it.
AN: You know what would really make me happy? If you reviewed! So please, please, please review.
