Chapter IX
Again, for safety's sake- young men will be young men in this chapter. It's a little out of character for the Caspian we're normally presented, and I know that, but I'm not writing this story for little children.
Also, just to make something clear, Renevulte is the name I've given to the castle the Telmarines have built. Don't ask me why, that's just the name. I was on a Norman kick the other day.
"Caspian, you rascally old seadog, you! You went on an adventure and didn't bring me along!" A tall, fair haired man accused, coming into the Great Hall at Renevulte Castle where Caspian was looking over plans for road improvements with his councils.
"Lord Llyr, this is all very untoward," Lord Erecole reprimanded, looking more sour than usual.
"It's all right, Lord Erecole, Lord Llyr is a dear friend of mine whom I have not seen in a while," Caspian said.
"But my lord," Erecole began, probably to launch into another one of his diatribes on how Caspian was destroying proper court decorum. Caspian cut him off mid-complaint and dismissed the rest of his attending lords so that he could greet his good friend properly. When they were alone, both men let out a shout of joy and hugged each other like long lost brothers.
"Aslan's eyes, you're tan!" Llyr exclaimed, standing back for a moment to look at his old friend. "And muscled, too, where did this come from?" he asked, his hands on Caspian's upper arms. "You really are a regular old seadog now."
"Well, that's what happens when you sail to the end of the world," Caspian said.
"And now you're back," Llyr said, sitting down and pouring himself a rather liberal gobletful of wine. "I hear that from Drinian that you're in the wife market now and you need my help," he said, waiting for Caspian to sit down. "My question is, what for?"
"What do you mean, what for?" Caspian asked, popping a grape from the lunch repast into his mouth.
"Caspian, you're the king of Narnia. Girls are lining up to marry you. It's not like you need to frighten them out of caves or anything," Llyr pointed out. "Unlike me. Little land, no great title; speaking of which, can you do something about that?"
"We'll see," Caspian said. "I make no promises. But I need to find the right woman first," Caspian clarified. "You can't just go around making any girl queen. I need several…objective opinions."
"Oh, well, if you want objective, I'll be objective," Llyr assured him. "Do I get a chance with any you don't like?" he asked, leaning in close to his friend.
Caspian rolled his eyes. "You'll remember why I sent you to Archenland in the first place, Llyr, won't you?" he asked seriously.
Llyr nodded. "Have no fear of that, my king, my skirt-chasing days are over," he promised. "Well, not really." He amended truthfully.
"Llyr!" Caspian exclaimed.
"No, no, hear me out. I've moved on to married women and single spinsters," Llyr assured him. "Much less trouble than the unmarried ones. And between you and me," he confided, "A lot more fun."
"I'm not sure Caspian wants to hear about your sexual exploits at the moment," Drinian said, seating himself at the table and helping himself to some cold turkey.
"Your loss," Llyr said dismissively. "So, have we got a battle plan, oh wise-and-mighty Caspian the Navigator-of-troubled-waters?"
"I've no idea where to even start," Caspian said.
"I think perhaps making a list of all eligible ladies at court would be a good starting place," Drinian said. "My aunt Jusfilde will be able to help us with that."
"And of course you'll need an extensive calendar of events at which to meet these women," Llyr put in. "And one cannot forget lessons," He added.
"Lessons?" Caspian and Drinian asked at the same time.
"Yes, lessons. In how to court a lady," Llyr said obviously. "From yours truly. Because to tell you the truth, Cas, when it comes to the females of our species, you're clueless…"
Haha! You have no idea how much fun it is to write the obnoxiously playboyish and still somehow oddly endearing Llyr. The whole rating of this story had to go up because of him.
Yes, kind of a shorter chapter. I apologize. I'm not sure I'm making up for it with Monday's Chapter X, either...
