Chapter 10: Festivals
Lucy was amazed by the colorful culture of the island. Their buildings were typically a blinding white with flat roofs, but a few were domed and the most beautiful blue color. A rainbow of paper lanterns were strung across every street while candles lined rooftops and windows and walkways-creating so much light that it was almost as though the sun had decided to take longer to set. People were bustling everywhere, which only made Lucy wonder what it was like before the war.
The people themselves were very much into color, wearing as many and as bright as possible. Alot of them had coloring similar to the governess, though they all appeared to have tanner skin and a healthier glow to them while Lady Ganeya was as pale as Edmund in winter. Women shouted to each other between houses while making dishes that smelled wonderful. Small children, human and animal alike, were running around in clouds of giggles as they waved batons with brightly colored streamers. Usually they were followed by a fairly more frantic being who was trying to keep them from running around their visitors' legs.
Once or twice one of the children would manage to stray off and have to weave its way through the procession to catch up to its friends. And then, of course, there was one young kitten who'd been trying to catch some of the streamers but instead crashed into Lucy's ankles. Undaunted the fluffy little orange-colored critter sprang to its feet again, looked up at the young queen with a smile and shouted, "Hello!"
Then it was off again to catch more streamers, moments later followed by an adult brown cat. Lucy nearly burst out laughing as the brown cat quickly crossed their path again, pausing briefly to bow slightly as he carried his whining orange child back up the road.
Some of the other children focused their attention on the rest of the crew, having probably never seen a minotaur before. Perosa was in her glory, comparing hair ribbons with the little girls, while little boys seemed to take an interest in asking the crew as many questions as they could.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked, fighting down giggles. "Is it always this energetic?"
Lady Ganeya gave he a sidelong glance and smiled. "No, not always," she said. "Though I have yet to see a week where there is not something that needs the colors lit."
An tiny boy toddled toward the road, making his mother race out after him even as she continued to hold her conversation with an elder neighbor. Both women had ribbons tied around colorful scarves that covered their hair and Lucy found herself trying to examine them from afar.
"You do not have traditions with headwear in Narnia?" Lady Ganeya asked as she caught Lucy's gaze.
"Other than crowns? I guess not," Lucy said, blushing sheepishly. "Or at least, I haven't been told of any."
The governess gave her another smile. "Then we shall have to impart our wisdom while you are here."
Lucy nodded, chuckling to herself at the strange idea, but looking forward to it all the same. Several minutes later, a good mile's worth even not counting the small hills, the road led to an opulent temple of white marble and sculpted pilars and a roof of tiles so blue the dome could have blended in with the night sky were it not for the golden figure of a lion at its top.
"Welcome to the Eastward Lion's Temple," Lady Ganeya said with a smile on her thin lips. "Which the sun is first to greet."
All Lucy could do was stare with wide eyes and try to keep her mouth from hanging open. It made the Governess's smile broaden ever so slightly, delighted in seeing the young Queen's awe. Which only heightened as they crossed the threshold of mosaic tiles, that reminded Lucy of the spray of the sea, and passed into the inner chamber.
It was a room as vast and grand as her own banquet hall in Cair Paravel, though more shaped like an oval, with a stage on the far end with golden curtains hiding some marvelous surprise she was sure. More twinkling lanterns were strung on fishing wire to zig-zag across the room, aiding in lighting the space alongside the large bowl-like sconces that roared with life on every pillar.
"My dearest Lady Ganeya!"
Lucy was pulled from staring around the room as a warm and lavish voice drew her attention down to a beautiful orange tabby that bowed in front of them at the top of three steps, which she surely wouldn't have noticed otherwise. "And, indeed, my dearest Queen of the Eastern Seas," the tabby continued, rightening herself again. "Such a pleasure and an honor to be in your graces."
She felt her face burn, but Lady Ganeya chuckled, her attention firmly on the cat. "You are quite flattering in your praise, Lithica," the governess said, stooping down to hold her hand ever so slightly forward. "As friends there is little need for such."
The cat, Lithica (which Lucy repeated silently in her mind to remind herself that this name had the "th" sound instead of separating the two letters as Narnians tended to do), gave something of a smile and happily rubbed against the young governess's hand, to the surprise of the Narnian and Arcenlandic crew. That was an action not well bespoken of in Narnia, as more a sign of infringing upon personal choice. But Lithica didn't seem to mind at all, in fact she had a purr to her voice when the Governess got to her feet again.
"Good and dearest guests," Lithica trilled. "Please join us in this festive occasion! You are welcome to join any table you wish!"
There was a murmur of things from the still rather surprised crew, but the tabby cat was already off at a run and disappeared quickly behind the colorful table clothes of the settings on the floor below.
"The captain of my night patrol," Lady Ganeya said and gave Lucy a smile as the islanders claimed up members of the crew to join their tables—including Edmund, who was slowly stolen away by a gaggle of giggling young girls who wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "What say you, Majesty? Captain?" the governess asked, looking from Lucy to Melmerby who had taken Edmund's place as her shadow (and more effectively scared off any adventurous Valoanian who might have asked him to dinner). "Would you join me for this evening's meal?"
Lucy cast a smile up at the captain, who gave a low bow, then she grinned at the Governess. "Of course!" she answered for them both and linked arms with the older girl. "We'd love to!"
The governess blushed in surprise at the eager motion, but soon she was smiling back and even offered a hand out to Melmerby (who politely motioned for the girls to take the lead) as they made their way across the floor.
When they came to a stop, Lucy was delighted to find herself facing a table decorated with bright orange and joined by none other than Lithica and the father cat and kitten (along with three sibling kittens) on stools along one side of the table.
"Hello!" the little ball of fur mewed enthusiastically, making Lucy laugh.
Then she curtsied. "Hello again," she greeted him. "And hello to all of you!"
Each little kitten (two light orange and two a shade of brown that matched their father) attempted to bow, wobbling unsteadily atop their stools as they did so, even with their parents holding onto their perches. Lucy couldn't help giggling even more.
"Majesty," Lithica said, sounding like a well practiced mother now that she was rolling her eyes at her young ones. "This is my family. My husband Cartius, and our children—Tuli, Kezi, Frolem, and it sounds as though you have already—uh—bumped into Zrent."
"That is me!" the little kitten announced and gave the air a big sniff. "You smell like salt and water!"
Zrent was so intent on using his powers of smell that he took a step onto the orange table cloth, only to freeze as his father let out a soft warning growl. Instantly the kitten was sitting properly atop his stool again.
"Lithica's sister is one of our priestesses here," Lady Ganeya said.
"Oh?" Lucy asked, turning towards the orange tabby.
The tabby nodded. "By tradition, it would be Lareen who would sit here," she explained. "But my sister is not here at the present time, so we were asked to step in."
Just as she'd been about to ask where the tabby's sister was instead, since celebrating seemed to be such an important thing for the Valoanians, but Melmerby's soft chuckle attracted her attention. She looked up to find the captain watching none other than her brother.
Lucy couldn't help grinning. King Edmund the Just was not only seated centrally at a table of teenaged girls, but all of the girls were swooning and making baby-eyes at him. Edmund had a red blush to his face and his ears looked like they might as well be burning as he tried to avoid the mad flurry of questions and comments that floated around him.
"Your crewman does not seem to be quite at ease with his choice of table," Lady Ganeya said quietly to Lucy with a sly smirk.
"No, he certainly does not," Lucy agreed with a giggle.
At that moment Edmund chanced to look up and his eyes flashed at his little sister's mirth at the situation. Which, of course, only made Lucy giggle even harder. But there was one thing that could distract Edmund from the fact that he believed himself to be under torture, and it was the same thing that distracted Lucy from watching him try to pry the girls off without being rude. The food.
The food was... Lucy wasn't sure how to describe it. Amazing, perhaps fit best. Alot of it was delicious, with exotic mixes of flavors or spices, and most courses were had some variety of fish in it. Though some made her cringe-like the practically raw clams that had been their appetizer, though she was sure Hirusha (sitting not too far away with a beautiful lady eagle as well as Branwen the Crow) was probably very happy with.
One thing she could say about it was that the Valoanian people took cooking as an art form, where as in Narnia it was more like a trade. Each dish was delivered looking as though it were a masterpiece, almost too beautiful to eat. But, of course, the aromas were rather too enticing to resist and Lucy was fairly sure she'd developed new favorite dishes, particularly the desserts. And, though all were wondrously light and sweet to taste, a particularly strange one struck her fancy even more than the others. It was a flaky pastry containing a mix of apples and raspberries and a small bit of soft, salty cheese and all in a light fruity sauce with a touch of cinnamon.
"Sú craobh úll," Lady Ganeya supplied with a smile when she saw Lucy's delight. "It has always been one of my favorite dishes, too. My cousin quite likes it as well."
"Your cousin?" Lucy asked curiously. "Which one?"
The question made the governess lose a little color in her cheeks, which she could ill-afford considering that (apart from her freckles) the girl was as white as the pillars of marble surrounding the room. But she smiled at Lucy after a moment. "The one who lives with me," she said softly. "You shall meet her soon."
"Dearest little Zyli," Lithica said with a chuckle, pausing in her efforts to clean her children. "A whirlwind if ever there was one in solid form."
"She lets us ride on her shoulders!" Zrent announced having escaped his washing with a face covered in jelly and crumbs.
"And in her apron," his sisters added, looking far cleaner than him.
Not about to let her son's appearance slide, Lithica pounced and pulled him to her stool amidst his whines of 'no'. Her husband chuckled, having finished cleaning off their second son and took up the description. "She is like that of a fresh spring breeze," he agreed, smiling at Lucy. "Brought on by splendors, her half name suits her well."
"Half name?" Lucy asked.
"The name Zyli is a shortened form of the name she was given, which means 'Zephyr' or 'wind'," Lady Ganeya explained. "Her full title is Lady Ellebazyle, which in contrast means 'drifting seaweed'."
Lucy nodded, it was strange that cutting a name shorter made it a different word entirely. And, of course, it made her curious to see who could fit two such different names.
As the dishes were cleared away by young satyrs and dryads, whom Lucy happily greeted to the response of giggles and blushes, an excited murmur floated around the room as people adjusted their seats and turned towards the raised floor and its shimmering curtain.
Then drums and violins began to play, joined by a soft chorus of men's voices before the men themselves came onto the stage. At first Lucy thought they were just making sounds to go along with the music, but as she looked at other Valoanians she noticed a few singing along.
"Ancient Valoanian," Lady Ganeya whispered with a smile when she caught Lucy's eye. "We barely use the language itself now, but it is very prominent in our music, what better way for the great lion to recognize who is singing?"
Lucy smiled in agreement, liking the idea very much. "I'd never thought of that."
The Governess gave her a sly smirk. "Though, this is not exactly a song that directly praises."
"Hmm?"
Lady Ganeya held up a finger in front of her lips then motioned to the stage. Lucy looked back as five girls came into view, each dressed in beautiful draped garments and smiling as their swaying steps brought them into a row in front of the men. They'd ended in a bit of a bookend order, the tallest and eldest on the ends (the long haired one on the left playing small solos on a strange looking violin) and the smallest in the center who grinned slyly at the audience as they sang strange words to a bouncy tune.
Lucy smiled, eager to see what was going to happen even if it was all in ancient Valoanian. Luckily it wasn't, there were several songs that she could understand and, though she'd never heard them before, she did her best to twitter along with the choruses.
It reminded her of the many feast days celebrated in Narnia. The energy was amazing, so many people clapping their hands and tapping their toes and singing along. The only thing it lacked, in her opinion anyway, was the open outside air with room to dance as well. And maybe a crackling fire-pit. But, really, it was genuinely delightful anyway.
Even Edmund was enjoying himself, only occasionally blushing or freezing up when one of the girls around him giggled too loudly or stopped their own singing to flutter their eyelashes at him. Lucy tried to watch him at least a little bit, just so she could report this scene back to Peter if ever the High King needed his spirits lifted.
The night seemed to pass quickly and Lucy almost couldn't believe it had been two hours when the youngest member stepped forward to announce that they were drawing the concert to a close. "But," the girl said brightly, her curly hair bouncing along with her as though each strand was full of its own supply of energy. "Twould be a shame to put away this fine day without bidding our friend night welcome and sending our love to the seas!"
There was applause, though some of it was cautious, and Lucy looked around to see many faces full of hope as well as decided determination. She frowned curiously, especially when her eyes went back to Lady Ganeya to find the older girl even more troubled than when they'd first met.
She pulled her attention back to the stage. The young singer was still smiling, but the expression in her eyes had taken on a fierce defiance that made the young queen wonder if she was about to witness a conflict on the first night of their visit. But then the girl opened her mouth and the voice that came from her made even Edmund's jaw drop.
Being in the main group of soloists, the girl had sung multiple times through the night, but she'd usually been aided by one of the elder singers in a duet or she'd be singing funny little lines that didn't really display her range. But this song, slower by far and sung with so much heart, had many members in the audience dabbing at their eyes.
It was astonishing. Edmund's singing, Lucy had been told, could do that at times, though she'd never been around to witness those few times he actually sang for public. But even in her awe and decided love of the new melody, Lucy instantly noticed something was off as the third verse began.
The Valoanians around her looked at each other with quizzical expressions, though none did more than mumble about what seemed to be curious. Lady Ganeya sighed and gave the girl on stage a tired look, as though she'd talked to the singer about this before. But the person who caught Lucy's attention the most was none other than Captain Melmerby.
He'd tensed at the words, looking at the girl with an expression that Lucy couldn't decide on. It was either in horror or disbelief. Either one, though, kept the typically imposing man frozen in his spot until the last of the girl's clear notes faded from the air into an applause that followed her even after she'd left the stage.
"My cousin," Lady Ganeya explained as the room's occupants stirred to leave. "She takes great pride in stirring water. I had told her not to sing her verse, but she has never cared for the original."
"There's another verse?" Lucy asked, joining the governess as she stood.
"Indeed," Lady Ganeya said with a small smile and nod. "One that does not focus on love for those absent across water... Come. I have rooms for you and your kin at Siocan Leat—my home."
Lucy gave her a smile and quickly turned to bid Lithica and her family (all four kittens desperately fighting sleep) a good night. Then she looked up at the captain. "Will you join us Captain?"
Melmerby gave a tentative glance towards the stage, looking half as though he were expecting a monster to come from it, then gave her a reassuring smile and shook his head. "Nay, Majesty," he said. "If it is all the same to you, I sleep better on water than on land. Same goes for most the crew, I'm afraid. But keep your watch dog with you, good Queen, lest you need assistance."
She smirked at his quick insert of Edmund's cover story as her brother somehow managed to pry himself away from his admirers and join them. Then she nodded and gave him a searching look. "Everything's alright then?"
He gave her an even more assured smile. "Ship-shape, majesty," he said, then bowed to her and the Governess. "Good evening to you both, good ladies."
"Good night, Captain," Lucy said warmly.
"Safe slumber, Dearest Captain," Ganeya said with a gentle smile.
"And to you," Melmerby said with another bow, then he turned and called the crew's attention and started out the door.
.:.:.
Lady Ganeya led Lucy and Edmund through the town again, with a small group of sentries, turning south about half way and continuing until the houses grew scarce and the only place left in sight was the palatial looking structure atop the hill. One section, which looked similar to the eastern temple, Lady Ganeya informed them was the southern temple and it served as the entrance to Siocan Leat, the governess's home.
To get inside, the group had to pass through the temple and then through another large room, though this new one was more in the shape of an egg with marble seats set between each of the columns. "This is where our council of elders gathers," Lady Ganeya said, seeming to quicken her steps to the large brass doors across the room. "We'll be in here tomorrow to welcome you formally."
"Ah." From the way the governess was acting, Lucy wasn't sure that she was looking forward to it.
Several twists and turns later, Lady Ganeya's sentries had dispersed and left the trio to walk through what felt a little more like the Cair than anywhere else so far. Lady Ganeya stopped at the first of a series of large oak doors. "This is for your manservant," she said, giving Edmund a soft smile, then motioned to the next door further down the hall. "And your room, dearest Queen, is neighboring. Both have attached washrooms. I hope this setting suits you well."
Lucy cast Edmund a glance, he was frowning but he nodded and opened the door. Lucy smiled at him, then turned to continue slowly walking with Lady Ganeya to towards the next room.
"I thank you with everything I am and more for responding to my letter so quickly," the girl said once they were several steps away. "Normally I would have had to wait until a scribe woke to send such a formal document."
"That was directly from you?" Lucy gasped, stopping her step briefly to stare at the girl next to her.
The girl smiled. "I did not wish to alarm our people further by letting anyone else know the true danger that our soldiers face," she said, her smile quickly fading with a pained sadness. "So many of our people have gone to aide my cousin, Lord Rauth, but I fear it is of little use."
"Don't think so darkly, dear Lady," Lucy hushed comfortingly. "There's hope yet."
Lady Ganeya nodded in thanks. "Indeed, Aslan's grace has brought you to us."
They stopped at the second pair of oak doors and Lucy smiled up at her. "And we'll soon have everything sorted," she said. "I know for a fact that Aslan doesn't like turmoil in the world, Lady Ganeya."
Her comment made the governess smile. "You need not use my title," the girl said. "I do not deserve the honor."
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, turning from the door to look at her curiously.
Lady Ganeya's face seemed a little pale, but she also seemed well practiced at keeping a smile on her face. "I am not a fan of the title," she said. "Please, call me Ganeya?"
"Alright," Lucy said, still studying the girl even though she smiled too. "Ganeya it is. As long as you call me Lucy, instead of Queen."
The governess blinked, a little surprised by the compromise, but she let out a little laugh and nodded. "While we are without observation," she promised. "I will address you as Lucy."
Close enough, Lucy thought. "Good night, then, Ganeya."
"Safest slumber, dearest Lucy," Ganeya said. "On the morrow we will break fast together before the council meets."
Lucy nodded and stepped into her doorway, giving Ganeya the allowance to leave, though she kept her door open to watch the governess continue down the hall, past the last of the large oak doors and around the corner. Then she heard a door click closed, signaling that Edmund had ended his watch, and with a smirk she closed the door too.
A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long! Really, I feel awful about it. Hopefully this is actually an okay chapter! *sigh* Well I'm off to cook up a good couple thousand potato pancakes! I promise better chapters to come and (hopefully) sooner!