A/n:

I'd just like to say thanks to GoldenAgeNarnian, QueenLucyfan, Narniafan, Anon, Emily, EC, sarahwood, Connors, Emma, QueenElenaofnarnia, PeterCaspianRlz, Anonymous, Lea97, and the other guests for the reviews! Here's a virtual cookie to you all, from Katrina and Ines as a token of appreciation. :P

More about Peter's past with Helga will be revealed in due course. :D

(Telmarine Castle, Narnia)

~Chronicler's POV~

On the same afternoon as that on which King Peter and King Edmund went to Cair Paravel, Queen Susan was by herself, practicing archery on a practice field. Someone was looking for her, though, and he had to ask around and see which servants could inform him of the Gentle Queen's whereabouts.

"Your Majesty," he said as he stepped onto the field.

Susan immediately set down her bow and turned around. She could recognize that voice – now one of her favorite voices to hear. "Tyrone," she grinned.

"My Queen," as usual, he kissed her hand.

"You've come to practice with me?" Susan enquired, more hopefully than preemptively, pointing at the crossbow Baron Tyrone was holding.

Tyrone beamed. "Well, actually, no, that's not the case, my Queen. As much as I would love to practice with Your Majesty, this crossbow, in fact, is my gift to you."

"To me?" Susan gasped in delight. "That's so sweet of you, Tyrone," She smiled as he handed the crossbow to her. "Oh the handiwork is so fine!"

"Well, Your Majesty has previously mentioned to me that you would like to learn to use a crossbow, so I thought it would be a befitting present. From your humble subject," Tyrone explained the concept behind his gift.

"Thank you so much, Tyrone," Susan grinned happily. "By the way, you mean more than a subject to me.

"Then it is I who should be thanking you, my Queen," Tyrone beamed with a slight bow of his head. "Perhaps, my Lady, you would like me to teach you how to use a crossbow?"

"That would be very nice," Susan nodded. "It's just basically very nice to chat with you, be in your company, you know."

Tyrone smiled. "Same goes with you, my Lady."

"Oh, and I hope I'm not taking up too much of your time. You probably are very busy as the Chief Treasurer. I would hate to have delayed the progress or efficiency of the council's operations because of my hobbies," Susan added considerately.

"No worries at all, my Queen. Work has been settled, and I long to spend time with Your Majesty as well," Tyrone assured.

"I couldn't say no to such sweet company either," Susan admitted. Her heart was fluttering. "And I believe I can let you into my comfort zone now. From now on, you will call me Susan."

"Of course, my Queen," Tyrone nodded. "Susan."

Susan grinned. "I find myself liking you a lot, Tyrone. And thinking about you a lot too, I'll admit."

"Is it strange that I feel the same way about you, Susan?" Tyrone beamed too.

"I hope not," Susan smiled. "Mutual feelings are always more of a relief than one-sided, unrequited ones are."

Tyrone nodded. "Well, I trust you'd like to try using your new crossbow. Shall we start then?"

At Susan's nod, they spent the afternoon together in mirth.

After the archery practice and taking a bath, Susan went to meet up with her siblings for tea. Before the four of them could order any food be made for them, a box of cookies was delivered to their dining room as a care package.

"My Lords and Ladies," the waiter bowed. "I was requested to deliver this to Your Majesties by two of the handmaidens in training, the two Farmington sisters of Chippingford."

Right away, King Peter and King Edmund knew that the cookies had to be from Ines and Katrina. Immediately, the Pevensies thought that it was very caring and nice of the two girls, and their hearts were warmed. And a positive side effect was that they had managed to leave a good impression, so that meant they would stand a better chance at being picked as the two Queens' ladies in waiting.

Together with the care package was also a note attached to it. It read:

Your Majesties,

We sincerely hope that King Peter is feeling better now. We offer our sincerest condolences for your loss, and send our regards to you. We would also like to offer you some cookies as a token of appreciation – thank you for showing us the ruins of Cair Paravel earlier today. We are very grateful for it and are enriched by the experience.

Warm wishes,

Ines & Katrina

"Aw, those girls are so sweet," Queen Lucy commented with a grin.

"Very nice of them indeed," Susan nodded, beaming.

"You feeling better now, Pete?" Edmund patted his brother on the shoulder.

"Yes, I guess," Peter replied, nodding.

"Shall we help ourselves then?" Susan pointed at the cookies.

"Yes, let's," Edmund said gleefully.

"Don't forget to save some for Caspian though," Lucy reminded her siblings.

"That's right, Ed. Don't eat them all. The note says 'Your Majesties'. Clearly Ines and Katrina had meant all five of us," Peter added before his brother could rebut.

"I make no promises," Edmund smirked.

"Edmund," Susan said with a motherly tone, eyeing him skeptically.

"Fine. Because he's my best friend I will save some for him. I'll take whatever's left to him afterward, alright? I'm going to meet up with him for sword fighting practice anyway."

"Sounds like a plan," Lucy smiled as they dug in.

After tea break, Peter decided to retire to his bedroom and have a nap. Sleep was a good way to forget about whatever made him distraught. The Queens were working in their offices, which left Edmund the only one remaining in the dining room. He was hoping maybe he could have just one more cookie before giving the rest to Caspian, but before he could steal a cookie, Caspian himself walked into the dining room with Gilda.

"Your Majesty," a footman announced. "King Caspian and Princess Gilda are here to see you."

"King Edmund," Gilda curtsied when she entered the room.

"Edmund," Caspian marched towards Edmund, chuckling. "Give me the cookies; I'm hungry."

"Gilda, hullo," Edmund said with a muffled voice since he was still chewing. "Caspian. How did you know? Aren't you supposed to wait for me at our training field?" He spluttered.

"Ah, I was on my way, but I bumped into your sisters and they warned me about you," Caspian laughed.

Edmund grinned playfully. "Well, they clearly know me too well. Still, can't I have one more cookie? I'm hungry too."

"No, because I'm sharing the rest with Gilda," Caspian shook his head lightheartedly.

"Caspian, I'm your best friend," Edmund pleaded.

"Edmund, she's my fiancée," Caspian shrugged and grabbed a cookie then handed the box to Gilda.

Gilda beamed. "Go on, King Edmund. You can have one if you want."

Edmund gleefully took a cookie. "Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Highness." He then turned to Caspian with a joking look of disapproval on his face. "So much for being my best friend! Gilda's my best friend now."

Caspian sighed dramatically, pretending to clutch his chest in pain. "I guess I've been displaced, unfortunately. You'd better watch out, Edmund. I won't be easy on you when we sword fight," he winked.

"Ooh, now I'm scared," Edmund taunted.

"Better run while you still can," Caspian joked.

"I'd rather eat while I still can," Edmund shrugged, taking a sip from his goblet.

"Actually," Gilda piped up. "May I join the two of you for sword fighting practice?"

"Sure," Caspian nodded, looking impressed. "I didn't know you knew how to use a sword, though. I don't believe a lot of ladies do, but if you do then that's great."

"I agree. Susan's the best archer ever, of course, and Lucy's actually better with her dagger than others might think she is," Edmund smiled.

"I don't know how to use a sword, actually," Gilda admitted. "Which is why I'm hoping Your Majesties can teach me."

"Of course we can teach you," Caspian said affably.

"Well, I like you a lot already. I'll like you even more when you do know how to fight," Edmund grinned at Gilda.

"Oi, Ed. Don't flirt with my fiancée," Caspian raised his eyebrows.

"Flirt? I wasn't flirting! It's just my natural charm, something you'd know nothing about. Pity. It's not like I can help it," Edmund laughed while Gilda blushed. "Girls who can fight are so much better than those who can't and keep wailing and whining and expecting others to help."

"Well, I can't disagree with that," Caspian beamed good-naturedly.

"No, I don't suppose you can, Caspian," said Edmund sassily. "Now, let's go practice."

Gilda was introduced to both Narnian and Telmarine swords afterwards, but she found that they were too long and too heavy for her to handle, since she was not a tall girl at all, and it simply would make her clumsier, were she to wear heels while wielding a sword.

"I have a remedy for this. If the sword isn't for you, why not try the katana?" Caspian suggested. "It's shorter and lighter which might be easier for you to handle."

Gilda liked the idea and the Kings retrieved a katana from the armory. It was a curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Its length was only about three-fifths that of a sword's, so naturally it would be lighter.

Gilda also found out that using any weapon was no easy skill to learn and she was exhausted by the end of the hour. Her arm muscles were fatigue and she was sweating a lot. Still, she thanked the two Kings for being patient with her – some of her movements had, unfortunately, made her look like a drunkard brandishing a blade.

Gilda had never been taught how to use any weapon. She knew archery because it was a very popular female sport in Archenland, and she could use a penknife if the situation required, but it was nothing like learning how to use a katana. Learning something new was always something she loved, as she intended to develop in many aspects.

So afterward, she went back to her quarters and treated herself to a nice warm bath, feeling satisfied.

(Beavers-dam, Narnia)

A few days later, the ladies in training had another day off and therefore they were allowed to go on an excursion. Today, Ines and Katrina had a picnic in Beavers-dam. They had a great time and spent the morning chatting with the Talking Beasts, and that included badgers, squirrels, owls, birds, and other animals. However, one of the hedgehogs came with the warning that several Telmarine landlords had arrived in Beavers-dam, and they wanted to deforest the whole area in order to build casinos, but that would mean that the Talking Beasts' natural habitats would be destructed and there'd be no place for them to go.

"That isn't fair," Katrina protested. "Shouldn't we go talk them out of it?"

"We've already tried, but clearly to no avail," replied the saddened hedgehog.

"Well they have no right to take down your homes like that," Ines folded her arms.

"They're very oppressive. We don't want to anger them," the hedgehog shook its head.

"We're going to stop them," Ines said insistently.

"Stop us?" A hoarse male voice spoke from behind the girls. "Is that what you're suggesting?"

The ladies stood up and turned around to face two armed, burly Telmarine men, while the Talking Beasts seemed rather frightened. The birds and owls flew onto the branches of the taller trees, the squirrels went back into hiding, and all other animals looked genuinely scared.

"We're not suggesting that," Katrina corrected. "We are going to do that."

"I'd like to see you try, actually," said one of the men.

"Well, too bad for you, because we don't try to do something. We do it," Ines stood up against the burly men.

"Really, little girls, get out of the way. Don't interfere with our business. You have no place here, unless you've got a title, or money," said the other man.

The sisters glanced at one another slightly anxiously, but kept their cool. "We know what you want, and we're not afraid of you," said Ines dauntlessly.

"Well, you see, I don't reckon you'd like it very much if talking animals destroyed your residences," Katrina said defensively.

"Well, you see, I don't reckon you'd like it very much if talking animals stood in the way and obstructed you from earning big money," Telmarine Number One said, stroking his beard menacingly.

"How about this, little girls: get those stupid animals out of the way, and we'll give you a share of the profits we make from our casinos," Telmarine Number Two said with an evil glint in his eye.

"It sounds like a fair deal to me," said One, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Fair? That's hardly fair!" Katrina reprimanded them.

"We don't want your money," Ines said firmly.

"Then what do you want? Land? I've got plenty. Come and live in a suite of bedrooms with me," proposed Two, smirking.

"You've got plenty, yet you still want more, at the expense of the Talking Beasts' homes," Katrina rebuked them. "That's very selfish."

"Oh, sod it. We'll build a few cottages here and there for them then," said One dismissively.

"We don't want your land. There's no use trying to bribe us," Katrina reiterated.

"Mind your own business, little girl," Two sneered, about to pull out his knife in a threatening act, but the four humans heard a few centaurs approaching, led by Glenstorm. There were a half dozen of them, all armed and not the least bit intimidated by the burly Telmarines.

"Leave us. Immediately," Glenstorm warned, about to draw out his sword.

The two landlords murmured a few profanities to each other, then glowered at Ines and Katrina but had to leave the woods because they knew they were no match against half a dozen centaurs. As they left, the animals came out of hiding.

"We've got to appeal to a higher power," Ines said decisively.

"But how? And to whom?" The hedgehog queried.

"To Their Majesties of course," Katrina answered.

"Yes, we'll go to them during the afternoon open council session," Ines agreed.

"I thought court was only for the councilors?" The hedgehog looked hesitant.

"The morning session is a closed one, but the afternoon is open to members of the public, and we can voice out any complaints or requests et cetera," Katrina explained.

"I doubt if Their Majesties will believe us; we have no solid proof or pieces of evidence that those men threatened us," the hedgehog sounded unsure.

"But there are so many witnesses," Ines looked around.

"And it's not the first time, is it?" Katrina added.

"It has been going on for quite some time now, indeed," the hedgehog sighed. "But thank you, ladies, for showing us kindness and not siding with them instead."

"We will not be twinned with those people," Ines assured.

"Don't worry; we'll explain this to Their Majesties and they're going to take action to make sure it doesn't happen again," Katrina said confidently.

A/n: What do you think of the chapter? Do you think Ines & Katrina will succeed at defending the Talking Animals? Tell us what you think in the reviews, please!

P.S. the next chapter will be up once we hit 200 reviews! ;P