Hello! I am back!

Well not really, I am supposed to be focusing completely on my schooling this year. However, recently I was bored in class and decided to plot out most of the remainder of the story. Struck by inspiration, because I can't wait to get to the plot later, I decided to write some more chapters.

I don't know how long this wil last, but I want to get back into Narnia and leave Archenland. Let me just say that. So enjoy! And keep up the reviews! Thank you!

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And this is why I love him.

There was no hate or anger in his eyes, just compassion and sincerity. How could someone be so wonderful? So calm yet fierce? So gentle yet strong? I did not know how Peter did it, but he was everything. That was it, he was everything to me.

Do not ask me how it happened, I do not know myself. It just did, and there is no way of fighting it. I tried, but failed, I am in love.

Peter frowned, "Kay? Are you alright?"

What was he talking about? I blinked in confusion, and then knew what he meant. The instant my eyelashes touched, a tear fell down my face. "Oh!" My face went red, how absurd! Quickly, I rubbed my eyes dry and turned my face away. "Sorry." I mumbled and watched as the black horse nibbled on some grass.

His hand fell away from my face as I turned. "Are you sure because-"

"I am fine." Speaking was easier than I had thought. It was a miracle that I could talk without stuttering.

To my dread, Peter moved to sit in front of me. I had no choice but to look at him. Again, his eyes calmed me. He looked away from me though suddenly, and stared at his hands.

Oh my! He was just as nervous as I was! That was it, my nerves vanished and instead I felt equal to Peter, not under attack.

"Kay... Um." Peter lifted his hand to his face; he pinched his nose and closed his eyes. "Aslan, I thought this would be easy to say…"

"Do we have to talk about it?" I whispered. I really, really did not want to.

He smiled slightly, "I think we have to, or else you'll just run away forever."

I could not help but smile too, "Then you better get back on your horse."

Opening his eyes, Peter was about to say something, but paused. After a moment, he spoke, "I have spoken to Lord Patdor."

Oh no.

"… And he seemed very upset that we um, overheard his conversation with the servant girl."

"Her name is Maret." I corrected, not liking the reminder that she was of low class. How horrible, that should not stop love!

"Maret," amended Peter. "I am happy for them you know, they found love."

That caught my attention. "How can you say that, you are the one always following King Lune's rules? They cannot marry because of class, do you not know that?"

"Of course I do, but that law is crazy." Peter seemed offended at my accusation. "Do you really think I'm that heartless?"

I felt ashamed, the nerves returned. "S-Sorry. I just… I just assumed that you would-"

"Don't assume Kay, never do that. It saddens me that you would think that of me, we really need to get to know one another again." He sighed and his hand reached it. It rested on my own hand, and butterflies flew in my stomach. "I don't want to lose you."

"Why?" I barely moved my lips; I couldn't stop staring at his hand on mine.

"You are someone dear to me Kay, do not forget that." He said warmly. "Come on, look at me."

I did and slowly pulled away my hand, "Are we going to talk about, well, what Patdor said?"

He looked nervous again, making me feel calm in return. "Yes… I was coming to that." Peter took his hand back and used it to rest on his sword, something he did for comfort. Little did he know that I had my Sais hidden beneath my dress, just in case. "Do you want to talk first?"

"Not really." I whispered.

"Right, well…" He paused and took a deep breath. "I suppose I just want this an answer, and please Kay, be honest with me. Is… Is what Lord Patdor said true?"

That was the one question I hoped he would never ask. I bit my lip, unable to answer. Peter seemed to expect this, because he nodded in understanding and carried on. "I've been thinking about what he said, at first I thought that he was just jesting, but when you ran off like that… It made me believe he was being serious. I asked him when we spoke, he would not answer any of my questions, and he really is a loyal friend to you. Not even threats from a king would make him talk.

Maybe it is true, maybe it is not. If it is not, then I say that we just forget what was said and carry on like we did before. Our friendship is strong Kay, I hope that you realize that. I would risk my life for you, as you did for me in battle, I trust you with me and my family's life. We love you Kay, don't you dare run away from us- from me.

If it is true, well, I don't know what to say to that. I don't know what to feel or say or think, I can not think about love at the moment Kay. I am sorry if that hurts you, I really am, but I have too many responsibilities to worry about falling in love. I can't. I just can't."

I felt numb; my heart could not even break at his words. It was frozen. This was not what I was expecting, then again I had no idea what even to expect in the first place. He was being honest with me, and that was all I could ask for. Now I knew what he felt, and I should accept it.

"So… Is it true? What Patdor said?"

"No." I managed to say, I was shrivelling up inside.

"Kay, are you alright?"

For now I would not, I could not, accept his words. I was in love, and it was not returned, one does not just accept that. But I did the only thing I could do, I lied.

"Yes, I'm just fine."

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Peter had me ride the horse while he walked besides it, guiding with the reigns. Thankfully, he did not try to make conversation. I think he grasped that I was not in the talking mood. It gave me time to collect myself from what just happened: My world collapsing.

I have endured many pains before, sometimes thinking that I was going to die. But never, in my entire life, have I felt this sort of pain. My body felt fine, well what I could feel from it at least. It was like I was trapped inside a fake body, the limbs moving on their own, I had no control nor did I want to. All I wanted to do was curl up and cry, cry until my tears ran out. But that was it, I felt no tears coming. I just sat there, still as stone on the horse, staring at the castle.

I could not be angry with him, Peter had spoken truth and there was nothing wrong in that.

I could not be happy with him, Peter had unknowingly broken my heart.

So, I had no idea what to feel or do.

Well I knew one thing that I had to do: Act normal.

And I did. When we reached the castle gates, the horse attendants rushed to take the horse to the stables, Peter politely helped me down from the saddle. Of course, he offered me his arm and I accepted. We walked down the corridors, I nodded and smiled in greeting to other nobles who were also late in making their way to lunch. He walked me to my seat at the table, I smiled and thanked him as I was meant to and sat down.

"Ah! There they are, and speaking too!" King Lune bellowed with a grin. The chatter of the table instantly died down when dozens of heads spun around to see who had arrived.

I nearly cringed, but managed to keep the smile on. After pushing my chair in, Peter sat down as well and replied, "Just a misunderstanding, that is all."

King Lune raised an eyebrow at that, and turned to look at me. "Is that so?"

I could feel the countless pairs of eyes that landed on me, waiting to see my reaction. Secretly, my hands grabbed onto my seat until they turned white. With a smile and a soft laugh I assured, "Yes, just a misunderstanding… Now! What is to eat, I am starving!"

Laughter filled the air and the chatter began once more, along with the usual whispers of gossip. Yes, I would have to act normal, even if it killed me. No one would even notice the difference though, not these people, they were too caught up their own little worlds.

My relief lasted only a moment though, because it was then that I noticed one pair of eyes still resting on me. Peter's look was calculating, clearly reading whether I was being honest or not. I waited for the verdict, but never got one, because as soon as he realized I was watching him in return, Peter looked away and laughed at a joke the man besides him had said.

Acting normal would be more difficult than fighting a battle.

As usual, the food was delicious, conversation pointless yet entertaining, and compliments on my outfit completely fake. The only people that I actually enjoyed speaking to during the entirety of the meal were Patdor and his sister Calantha. I was especially keen to speak with Patdor, knowing that he had loyally refused to answer Peter's enquiries.

"Are you up for spar tomorrow?" I asked eagerly. "I could do with releasing some stress." Peter's attention snapped to me, and I awkwardly cleared my throat. "I mean, after spending the entire night in a formal gown and heels I am going to be furious."

Patdor's eyes went from Peter to me, and he smiled knowingly. "Sure, I need to regain my dignity after losing to you."

"Great, but prepared to be disappointed."

From across the table, Calantha giggled. "May I come and watch? I would love to see my brother lose to you!"

"I will not lose!" insisted Patdor, earning another giggle from his sister.

The rest of the meal flew by, and before I knew it, Peter was standing up. "Thank you for another great lunch. What time shall we make our formal entrance to the ball?"

King Lune shook his head, "Has no one explained the rules to you?"

Even I was confused.

"Royals get to play the identity game as well," Patdor said in explanation. "If there were formal entrances and your names were announced, it would defeat the whole purpose of the game wouldn't it? So for the one night, there is no Kings or Queens, only guests… You have to guess who the royals are like everyone else."

If it had been any other day, this would have sounded fun. But now, it sounded terrible. I would be stuck with Peter all night, not knowing where any of my friends were.

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I sighed again, that was all I could do, just keep on sighing. Resa had me dressed and hair brushed, now she was deciding which necklace I would wear. It was not a servant's duty to pick, but I was not myself today, she needed to do these things.

"What about this one Miss?" The question made me snap out of my trance. I had been staring at my pillow for the last ten minutes.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry Resa, which one?" I looked to see the jewels she held up this time. Diamonds, she held up diamonds. King Lune had presented me with a box full of the finest jewels, the royal collection of Archenland. I could not reject the offer, for that would have been rude, plus it was a very high honour. And so, Resa was absolutely ecstatic to see, let alone touch, the famous jewellery.

"No," I said quietly. "They are too much."

Resa lowered them in disappointment, "I thought they were beautiful…" She replied. "Are these to your liking?"

This time she held up a single ruby, cut in the shape of a tear drop, hanging on a golden thin chain. "Perfect."

With a wide smile, Resa walked over to where I sat on the chair in front of the vanity. I moved my hair out of the way, and stared into the mirror as she placed the necklace onto me. To be honest, I do not see how a simple mask will hide who I am… You can still see my hair colour and blue eyes.

"Will no one recognize me?" I wondered aloud.

"No!" Resa laughed softly. "Many young women have blonde hair here in the court."

"Will it not be obvious if you are following me around though?" I questioned. Resa wore her own dress, a sea blue colour, for she was granted invitation to the ball due to her title as a royal maid.

Resa pursed her lips, "You want me to follow you around?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I thought that was your duty… Am I wrong?"

Her cheeks turned slightly pink. "Miss… That is against the ball rules, otherwise like you said it makes it obvious who you are! B-But, Miss, if you w-want me to f-follow you…"

She was stuttering, and blushing even more. Comprehension came to me, "You have plans with a boy! Forgive me! No, no, don't follow me. I did not know these rules either, is there anything else I should know?"

"It is tradition that women do not say no to anyone who asks her to dance," Resa still looked highly embarrassed. "That way, men can get the chance to dance with the woman of his dreams, even if normally she would reject him. It is sweet for them, but horrible for us."

I wrinkled my nose. "So does that mean that I have to-"

Three knocks came from the door, and I froze. "Quick! The mask!"

Resa grabbed the mask from the bed and placed is over my face, then went to answer the door. I sat there, silently adjusting so that the holes aligned with my eyes. My vision was fine; the only difference was that I could not see out of the corner of my eyes.

"Kay?" His voice sounded surprised.

I stood, ready to face a night with Peter. Turning, his figure came into my eyesight. His golden tunic shone brightly, as if adorned by real gold, though it was just the silk material that reflected the light. His white cape matched with his white boots. On his face was a majestic mask of the face of a lion, he looked magnificent.

Peter looked at Resa and smiled, "Give your mother my thanks, Kay looks beautiful tonight in her dress."

"Thank you, your highness." Resa said quietly, then gained confidence when he continued to smile. "She made the mask as well!"

"Thank you again." Peter turned to me and motioned towards his mask. "What do you think?"

"Very appropriate."

His smile slowly vanished, replaced by a worried frown. "Are you feeling ill?"

"No Peter, I told you, I'm just fine." The lie felt good, it kept the pain away… For now.