Disclaimer: I only own Jaer, Jaerin, and the long delay in getting this to you. Sorry about that.
Jaer laughed at King Edmund's reaction to the party—clearly it was a successful surprise. He listened attentively to King Peter's speech, wondering what had happened to almost kill the younger king. With the others, he cheered loudly as the speech ended—and then the main party began. Jaer and his family sat at a table just to the right of the dais. Tran and Leah could have sat on the dais itself, based on their rank in Archenland, but they chose to stay with the rest of their relatives since they would be leaving soon.
The meal, Jaer thought, was the most amazing one he had ever eaten. There was glazed ham (obviously not from a talking pig) and pineapples, baked to perfection in the stone ovens, garlic beef grilled over an open flame. Golden corn-on-the-cob dripped with rich butter (how did they get fresh corn in the spring?) and brightly colored salads glowed like jewels. Breads of all kinds, hot and fresh filled the air with a delicious fragrance. Jaer ate fish grilled with red bell peppers, mushrooms wrapped in bacon, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, peas and green beans, grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe, and more foods that he could only begin to guess at.
For desert, there were truffles and puddings, pies and candies but the crowning glory was the massive chocolate cake. Just when Jaer was beginning to think that even he might not be able to eat any more (he had noticed that his parents and sister had given up long ago), the cooks brought in a cart on which sat the biggest chocolate cake he had ever seen. It was big enough that the top layer was even with the top of the dais table. Twelve tall candles in all the colors of the rainbow gleamed on top, bright even in the well-lit hall.
At the sight of the cake, everyone in the Great Hall stood and burst into cheers and shouts. King Edmund stared in shock at the cake. It was not until King Peter prodded him in the side that the younger king recovered himself enough to act, standing graciously and bowing slightly to the cooks as they wheeled the mountainous cake up to his place.
"Blow out the candles!" someone shouted.
"Make a wish!" another yelled.
King Edmund smiled, (a smile that in later years Jaer would learn meant he was planning something that, while not wrong, his sisters would certainly not approve of) and instead of decorously going around the table to the cake, placed one hand on the table and leaped over, landing with cat-like grace on the other side. Taking a deep breath, the young king blew all the candles out in a single puff. More cheers erupted and King Edmund bowed grandly and vaulted back over the table. The chefs cut the top layer of the massive cake and set a piece before King Edmund and the other monarchs before moving about the room, giving pieces to all the guests that wanted it. Jaer saw Prince Zarak poke suspiciously at the cake before his own slice arrived and he forgot everything else.
The chocolate cake was rich and moist, sweet, but not too sweet. It melted in Jaer's mouth and he closed his eyes to savor the flavor in silence.
"This has got to be the absolute most amazing cake I have ever tasted," Jaerin said.
"Mm hmm," Jaer answered, taking another bite.
Apparently, the entire room thought the same as the two boys because it was fairly quiet in the Great Hall. So quiet in fact, that Jaer jumped when King Peter spoke.
"Well, brother, shall we proceed?"
King Edmund swallowed his last bite. "Proceed? With what?"
"You silly!" Queen Lucy's golden laughed echoed in the room. "With the party of course. You didn't think all those packages were just for decoration did you?"
"Packages?" King Edmund's eyes turned to the table on which all the gifts had been piled. His eyes widened and he swallowed hard. "Oh my."
As the procession of people bearing gifts for King Edmund began, Jaer felt nervousness descend on him and his chest tightened. Quietly, he pushed back his chair and moved to his father's side. He tapped Peridan lightly on the shoulder.
"Father?"
Peridan turned and smiled up at his son. "Yes, Jaer?"
"I…I have a gift too." Jaer shifted nervously. "I just couldn't put it on the table. Could you…could you tell them? When it's almost over."
"You have something?" Peridan's eyes widened. "But what? You have had no time to make anything and no money to purchase a gift."
"I have this." Jaer gestured to his violin case, clutched tightly in his hand. "I can do my best."
A proud smile spread across Peridan's face. "That is all we ask. I will tell them."
Jaer smiled thinly and slipped around the edge of the table to wait in the corner. Jaerin called out to him as he left but the older boy shook his head and kept moving, knowing that if he stopped now, he would loose his nerve altogether. The gift procession proceeded for rather a long time. It seemed to Jaer that everyone in the kingdom must have decided to give King Edmund something. There was a finely worked hauberk from the dryads, an elegantly tooled sheath and delicately crafted dagger from the Blue River dwarves. Queen Lucy gave him a small pillow woven by her own hands and Queen Susan offered a leather bound journal.
But it was King Peter's gift, given last of the presents on the table, that took everyone by surprise and awed Jaer. With a heartfelt speech—by the end of which tears glistened in his siblings' eyes—that defied, refined, and glorified all laws of courtly speech, the elder king presented to his younger brother a sword. A sword that, even from where he stood, Jaer could see was of the finest workmanship, perfectly balanced, and honed to a deadly edge. King Edmund whipped the sword from its sheath with practiced perfection and held the blade up so that the candle light rippled like water on its polished surface.
For a moment, the dark haired king stared at the sword then, with a crash that echoed through the Great Hall, he dropped it and flung his arms around his older brother. King Peter staggered under the impact but wrapped his arms tightly around King Edmund. Jaer could see both kings' shoulders shaking. A moment later, the two brothers released each other and turned to the crowd.
"Thank you." King Edmund's voice was thick with unshed tears of joy. "Thank you all. This has surely been a night to remember for years to come. I am honored beyond all measure that you should chose to honor me in this manner. I thank Aslan daily for my family," here the king glanced to his right and left at his brother and sisters, "and for granting me the responsibility and privilege to serve you as your king. To Aslan!"
"Aslan!" Every mouth—except those belonging to the Calormenes—took up the cry. Jaer felt as though he could shout himself hoarse.
"And now, as the giving of gifts seems to be ended," King Peter began when the shouts died down. Jaer tensed, fearing that his gift would be left out. "Let me…"
"My lord king!" Peridan's rich voice cut across the king's words and traveled to every corner of the room. "My lord king. A word I beg you."
"Of course, Master Peridan. What do you wish to say?"
Peridan strode to the front of the room and bowed before the Four Monarchs of Narnia. "Only that the gift giving is not yet finished. My son has something that he wishes to present to you, King Edmund."
"Then let him come." The two kings sat down. Curiosity and confusion warred for preeminence in their features.
Peridan nodded to Jaer and returned to his seat. Jaer swallowed hard and walked out to stand in the middle of the room in front of the dais. Carefully, he set down his case and gently took out the violin that lay on the black velvet.
"I…I don't have much, King Edmund," Jaer began quietly, "and I'd no time to make you anything. But you've been a friend to me and my brother, all of you, and I wanted to give you something. So I give you this. It's all I have to give."
Setting the violin to his shoulder and placing the bow across the strings, Jaer began to play. The Great Hall fell silent as a song of mingled joy and sorrow, love and longing, peace and storm filled the room. Jaer played as he had never played before, putting his heart into the music and giving it his all until he was conscious of nothing but the notes that poured from his fingertips in an unbroken melody. Quietly he played at first, building layer upon layer of notes as the song progressed. Somewhere in the hall, a faun pulled out his pipe and added its voice to the song. A bird, then two, then five, then forty, began to whistle the haunting melody. Someone, somewhere found another stringed instrument and the volume grew. Still Jaer played on, swaying in time with the music, using his body as part of the instrument. Slowly, the others dropped out, their notes fading until only the single violin played by a blond-haired boy danced in the Great Hall.
Finally, with a final wistful tremor, Jaer finished. Breathless, he bowed and looked up at the high table. The look on the face of King Edmund was enough to reward him for the effort. Jaer smiled and walked back to his seat, heedless of the applause that now thundered in the Great Hall, content that his gift was well received by the king. Peridan leaned over and rested his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Well done, son. That was a gift fit for a king."
A/N—Sorry for the long wait. This chapter has been in my mind for a long time but I have only just gotten the chance to write it out in a manner that satisfied me. I hope it satisfies you. The song I envision Jaer playing is called Ashokan Farewell and is technically a fiddle piece. But they're the same instrument so it really doesn't matter. I highly recommend finding a good recording of the music and listening to it. It is a beautifully haunting piece.
This story also just won The Hermit Award for Best Original Characteras awarded by the people at The Lion's Call. Jaer and Jaerin won together!
Next chapter: Schooling