A/N: There is a reason I have not uploaded in so long. You shall see.

Chapter 10: Nicknames and terrible things

Peter's POV

"Edmund stop that!"

"Oh relax would you, it's fine!"

"No it's not, stop that at once! I'm serious!"

"Hello serious, I'm Edmund."

"Why did I even marry you?"

"Because you couldn't resist my devilish, handsome looks."

"Handsome? Nah. Devilish? Of course. Now stop that, right now!"

I chuckled to myself as I watched Edmund throw Talina into the air over his head and catch her, eliciting the most adorable giggle from her.

"Edmund you might drop her, and I don't want to take the chance! Please stop it!"

Ella was almost green with worry as her eyes never left Talina, her protective instinct practically glowing off of her.

"Begging, are we? Reminds me of last night." Edmund winked cheekily at Ella after he caught Talina and cocked her securely onto his hip, causing Ella to roll her eyes and groan.

"See, Talina's fine. She liked it, didn't you my cupcake?" Edmund cooed and smiled fondly at Talina, and at the same time, Ella stroked Talina's soft hair, sighing in relief.

We had just finished up a meeting to discuss our alliance with Archenland against Jadis and Jadin. Everyone else had left, I was just going through some documents and Trumpkin had brought in Talina, causing Edmund to grab his little girl and start playing with her, much to Ella's dismay.

I felt happy for Edmund, seeing him like this. He had a woman he was madly in love with, and a little girl who was the most precious thing in the world to him. He had his own little family, and he was happy.

As the 3 of them left the room, I looked down and sighed. There was a slight sting in my heart as I thought of how much I wanted to have what Edmund had, and how I would never get it. I would never know what it was like to be in love, to have a child made from love, to have my own little family that I loved.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and I looked up to see Serena by the doorway, wringing her hands shyly.

And then it hit me.

Just because I was marrying Serena, that didn't mean we could not have a happy marriage.

As long as I was in this, I still had the chance to make it work.

So what if I did not love Serena?

We could still be friends; at least that would make the marriage bearable.

"Your Majesty, I just came to inform you that one of the kitchen maiden's father is ill and she had to leave immediately to see him, and I let her. I hope that was okay."

Her soft voice disrupted my thoughts, and I looked back up at her.

She was, truly, beautiful.

That was the bright side to this marriage- at least I was not going to marry someone with a face only a mother could love.

"Right, um, thank you for informing me. Yes, it's fine. You did the right thing, and that's good, seeing as how you're soon going to be High Queen of Narnia. Not that it would not have been good if you were not going to be High Queen, but just that, it's all the more important that it's good. It's just, generally good." I rambled on before coming to a stop, the awkwardness of my words drenching the space between us.

Serena simply looked down with a slight nod, but just as she was about to turn away, I called out.

"Serena?"

This was the first time I actually called out to her, and when she turned around to face me with those violet eyes, I recalled our little incident, one which I would never forget. Time to time, I would still think about how her lips felt on mine.

She was a good kisser, another thing that would make this marriage better.

Wait…was I thinking about kissing Serena again?

Of course, that would be normal since she would be my wife.

But it would not be necessary, especially since we did not love each other.

But it was not that I needed to kiss Serena again.

I wanted to.

"King P-Peter?"

Again, her voice broke my train of thoughts, and I hastily stood up, making up my mind that I was going to do whatever it took to make this marriage work.

"Are you free right now?"

"Um, yes. Is there something you require me to do, King Peter?"

"Actually there is," I walked up to her, until I was right in front of her, looking down into her confused eyes.

"Take a walk with me."

The gardens were one of my favourite places in the castle; it was where I went to clear my head whenever the pressures of being a King got to me. It was like my little sanctuary, where no matter how stressful life was, I would be at peace here.

We walked slowly, our arms brushing against each other. I was looking ahead, but once in a while I would discreetly look at Serena from the corner of my eye. She had such a serene look on her face, and I noticed her smile whenever she looked at a certain flower, or a particular plant.

Finally, after a few moments of awkward silence between us, I broke it.

"So um, how are you finding your stay in Narnia so far?"

"Oh," She bit her lip, and that tiny action stirred something within me, "It's been a pleasure, everyone has been so kind to me here."

"That's good to hear." I nodded, and again noticed how she wrung her hands- probably a habit from nerves.

"I know Aslan said that you could not disclose any personal information about yourself, but I really would like to know a little more about you."

"Right, it is only natural you would, seeing as to how I'm going to be your wife, whom you would know nothing about." She chuckled, and in that split moment, her walls came down, and her little laugh was so beautiful, I really would not mind hearing that for the rest of my life.

But as quickly as her guard was let down, she put it back up again, and a little part of me got upset because of that.

"Um, w-what would you like to know, King Peter?" She was back to her formal tone, which though I appreciated since it showed her respectful side, I did not really enjoy.

"Right," I stopped, and gently tugged her arm to stop as well and look at me, "If we are going to get married, I have a couple of rules. First of all, don't ever call me 'King' Peter okay. I'm just Peter."

"Peter," She spoke after me, my name rolling off her tongue so wonderfully.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" I replied, a small smile tugging at my lips as I saw her blush a little from our proximity.

As I looked at her, I could see the hesitation in her, whether or not to come out of her shell, or to continue with her regal demeanor.

And from what she spoke next, I knew which she chose.

"Well, then can I call you Pete?" She raised an eyebrow playfully, a little dimple forming from her small grin.

"Well sure, as long as I can give you a nickname as well. Serena is simply too long."

She laughed, making my heart do a little leap, and walked towards a bench, plopping down onto it.

"Good luck with that, my name's not an easy one to form a nice nickname out of."

I sat down beside her, close enough so our arms were glued together, and I did not miss the tantalizing blush that crept up her neck and cheeks, that ravishing red on her fair, pale skin.

"Let's see…I could call you Ser."

Her nose scrunched up in disgust at the name, and I smiled at her cuteness.

"Alright, um, Rena?"

She looked down thoughtfully, tapping a finger against her chin, "I knew a dog by that name."

I searched my brain for what other ways I could morph her name into a nickname, and finally…

"Se-Se?"

We both looked at each other for a brief moment, before breaking out into laughter. She laughed so hard, so freely, and it really did make me happy to see her care-free, a refreshing change from her usual shy, awkward stance.

"I think I would prefer the dog's name to that." She coughed out between laughs, wiping away a tear once we both calmed down from our hysterics.

"Oh, how about, Rae?" I suddenly spoke as the name dawned on me.

"Rae?" She repeated, and then thought for a while, before looking up and nodding with a smile.

"Rae it is then. Hi, I'm Rae." She stuck out her hand, a playful twinkle in her eye.

I reached out and grabbed her warm hand, shaking it firmly.

"I'm Pete, nice to meet you." We both smiled at each other, and in that moment, I could actually picture myself in the future, laughing away with this girl in front of me.

"How did you come up with Rae?" She asked, her hand still in mine even though we stopped shaking.

I looked down at our hands intertwined and then looked back into her eyes, and this time, she looked back confidently.

"It just…came to me. Like, I just knew. Seemed right, you know?"

She quirked an eyebrow, grinning ear to ear, "No I don't know, but I'm just going to pretend I know, because something tells me if you try to explain it to me, I'm still not going to understand. Might as well save us both that trouble."

I laughed, and then I realised just how much I had been laughing the whole time I was with Serena. There was just something about her like this, something about her mere presence when her walls were down and she was her genuine state, which made me happy.

Perhaps this marriage could work out after all.

As I was about to come up with a witty reply, I noticed from behind Serena, Keladry running towards us.

"Your Majesty, My Lady," He seemed distressed, huffing madly as his face turned a crimson red.

"What is it Keladry?" I spoke seriously as I stood up, all traces of enjoyment washing away from me as I noted how panicked he looked.

"There has been a robbery Sire. All of our weapons and war machinery, they're all gone."

"WHAT?!"

Lucy's POV

"54, 55, 56, 57," I muttered to myself, plucking the petals carefully and placing them in the basket beside me.

As I was about to reach 60, I heard footsteps and looked up to see Susan walk into the room.

"Hey Luce," She smiled sadly at me, and I noticed her eyes were puffy and slightly red, "What're you up to?"

As she walked in and sat down beside me, I knew something was wrong. Susan had been crying, she looked weak and vulnerable as ever, the colour drained from her face.

"Just…plucking some petals to make something. Su, are you alright? What's wrong?" I asked softly, moving my stuff away to sit closer to her, placing my hand over her's.

I noticed her lower lip tremble a bit, and tears slowly filled her eyes, "I can't keep it to myself anymore. I need to tell someone."

"You know you can tell me anything, right Susan?" I murmured softly, wrapping an arm around her.

Within 2 seconds, she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably into my shoulder.

"Something happened, Lucy. Something very terrible happened."

A/N: I have a little surprise for you guys... ;)

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