Dislcaimer: As always: Borrow, don't steal. All I own are the italics.
Author's Note: Uploading this to you in the middle of my Discours and Framing class.
Unimprotant driblbe: Hear ye, hear ye! I have sad news that in no way affects you, but I still wanna complain to as many as possible. Thank god for mass publishing. My harddrive, the harddrive that holds about 180 Gigs of my life, has crashed. That means, gentle reader, that ten years of writing hangs by a thread. I refuse to even consider to posibility that it cannot be salvaged. My world would crumble and collapse under the weight of melancholy. Not to mention the huge amount of music and movies on there. But in brighter news: This story is NOT on the harddrive :) Congratulations, you're safe.
Chapter 36: "The Star"
"Together they dance, and dance, and prance. In the sky around each other twirl. Twinkle, twinkle little star, shine a light near and far. Chase the shadows back a stride. Leave your light to light the tide."
Autumn arrived and swept over the land in waves of orange, brown and red. Lucy's birthday wasn't far. Every inch of the kingdom was a flurry of excitement. A month had passed since the battle of Tashbaan. Everyone had healed, or were very near being fully healed. The days were shorter. The sun lingered low in the sky and cast a mesmerizing red glow over everything. Spider webs caught the rays of sunset and transformed them into goldthread. The apple orchards outside Cair Paravel and the barley fields all had to be harvested. Everyone helped. Lucy took advantage of the last warmth by walking around barefoot every chance she had.
Harash had regained her toffee colored feathers and was back to playing chase with her brother. Edmund's hair as well, had almost regrown. Still far from its former glory, but at least it wasn't blond. He refused to let anyone near him with shears, claiming that he wanted it longer than it had been. Peter let his own hair grow as well. To his joy a beard seemed to be sprouting on his cheeks.
All across the country peace seemed to be the prevalent state. News had reached them from Tashbaan. Ashay hadn't been found yet, but Bismillah promised to keep searching. Hebu had returned and laid claim on the throne. For a while it seemed the peace might not last, but riots were subdued with promises of lowered taxes and better schools. Hebu even went so far as to extend official invitations to a summit. He explained he wanted to hold a council for all rulers in order to prevent something like the war from ever happening again.
Peter was never again sending his siblings to Calormen and was already trying to formulate a response so the summit could be held in Narnia. He knew many of the dukes of Calormen had never seen Narnia and figured it wouldn't be too difficult to lure them away from the desert. He also knew that the Tisroc was in the process of choosing his ministers and desperately wanted a chance to meet them before any binding agreements were made.
Lucy helpfully pointed out that it shouldn't be too hard to move the summit to Narnia since She was sort of in the center of the known world.
The Agrippa brothers had moved to Narnia and given up their sinful ways. They now worked in sales, helping the Dwarves market their most exquisite wares. Mostly woodwork so far, but there was room for expansion. A less known career consisted in purchasing information from Tashbaan and Aswaan and passing it on to the kings and queens.
Susan had the country up and running by hosting feast after feast to draw in foreign dignitaries. She tracked down long lost dukes from the fringes of Archenland and Narnia and furthermore planned on throwing one long party in honor of Lucy and Peter's birthdays. The fair-haired siblings' birthdays were only within two weeks of one another. Susan hoped the presents would help fill up the treasury. She hated herself for it, but their country needed all the help it could get.
Edmund was lying in bed two nights before the Autumn Feasts was scheduled to begin. His mind was going over the weeks of celebrations ahead. King Lune and his extended family had been invited. Duke Ayel had been invited to return, this time with his entire family. They would have to keep Archer out of sight. Even Terebinthia and the Lone Islands had been invited. No one knew how many would come.
Peter was turning twenty two and Lucy was turning seventeen. Neither birthday would have warranted such festivities had the birthday boy and girl not been king and queen. Lucy was looking forward whilst Peter remained humble and awaiting. Sending shy glances at anyone who congratulated him. "What do you think Lucy will say to her present?" Edmund asked the dark room.
The only light was that from the full moon, but it was enough to keep him awake. Peter sighed and shifted. He couldn't sleep either, Edmund knew. "I think she'll love it." On nights like these they were usually out. Especially seeing as tomorrow was a day of rest.
The idea vexed Edmund until the point where he sat up. "I can't sleep, can you?"
Peter huffed. "No. My mind keeps going over everything." King Lune had joyfully accepted their invitation and promised to bring his entire family. On top they had heard rumors that a whole host of Archen dukes was on their way as well. "Do you think they will even fit in the Cair?" Peter pondered with his eyes fixed on his shrouded bed.
"I think it will try." he answered with a smile. It was a shared joke. Since Cair Paravel was so large it was near impossible to fill it. There were always hidden rooms no one noticed until they suddenly needed one. Edmund knew there were more than a few hidden armories and probably treasuries around as well.
Peter puffed out a laugh. "I don't think even Lucy knows all the ins and outs of this place."
"Susan does," Edmund fired of.
"How?" Peter sat up as well and met his brother's black eyes in the moonlight.
"She told me." Edmund shrugged. "It makes sense I suppose,"
"How?" he repeated in the same tone. "She's not usually one to run around exploring. That's Lucy's game."
Edmund smirked, thinking of the treasure hunts he and his sister had had in the early days of their reign. She always loved those. Back then they had been much more spontaneous. Nowadays there was hardly time to grab a drink of water unless it was scheduled. "Peter, have you ever met anyone more organized than our sister?" He smiled when his brother's expression became thoughtful. "Combine that with her curiosity and I don't think even the best of spies could keep something from her."
He let out a giggle. Silence fell again. Each boy was caught in his own musings until suddenly Peter spoke. "It seems silly to spend such a bright night inside." He sounded like Susan when she nagged them to get out more. "Do you think the girls are asleep?" He looked over at his brother when the urge to go outside suddenly became all-encompassing.
"I would be surprised if Lucy was even in bed. Susan is probably reading."
Peter let out a smile. "I thought I would crash after the day I've had." He rubbed his face, but didn't feel the usual weariness. For the first time in a while he felt alert.
"What happened?" Edmund asked. He had been on the training grounds with Celer and Oreius for most of the day. It was on the general's instance to work through his emotions from being burned. Edmund was happy to admit it was helping. Pounding his anger out in controlled bursts of violence seemed to be the cure for his ailments.
"Some of the fixtures in the grand hall were knocked loose during the siege. The Dwarves wanted more than we agreed for repairing them."
"Send them to me tomorrow. I'll deal with them." Edmund promised.
His brother let out another laugh. "I will." Both brothers indulged in a rare fit of giggles. Neither of them spoke of why they couldn't sleep. For Peter it was nerves over the upcoming celebrations. For Edmund they both knew it was more than nerves. "Would you like to get out of here?"
The dark king watched his brother a moment before he nodded and rolled out of bed. Both brothers were dressed within minutes. They greeted the surprised guards on their way and hurried to find their sisters. The Queens' common room was lit by the fireplace and Susan was sitting in her usual chair, reading a heavy book. She looked up when her brothers entered. "Can't sleep?" Peter asked.
She closed the book and shook her head. It was a while since she had been visited in the night by restless brothers, though most of her nights were restless. "Where's Lucy?" Edmund asked, already heading for her door.
"In her room last I checked." She stayed in her chair when Peter came over and sat down. Edmund closed the door behind him and left the two eldest alone. "He's still not sleeping?" Her voice took on a sad note.
Peter's smile faded and he calmed down. "He still has nightmares every time he closes his eyes."
"Still afraid of fire too," Susan muttered and turned her gaze to the fireplace. Both elder siblings flinched when a roar and a scream sounded from Lucy's room. They smiled when it was quickly followed by great waves of laughter.
Susan looked relieved when Peter turned to her. He reached over and grabbed her hand. "How about a moonlit stroll, my Queen?"
"What?" Susan smiled cheekily. "No ladies to take one with you?"
Peter chuckled deep in his throat and rolled to his feet with a hand out. "Tonight I think I'd like to be with my family."
Susan sighed. "We really should be sleeping."
"What we should do is cherish every moment our time is our own." he answered mysteriously.
She looked closely at her older brother. He was usually right about these things. He got them from Edmund and Lucy. She sighed again and swung out of her seat, taking his hand as she stood. "I'll be right back."
Peter smiled in her wake and grinned when she ran the last few steps to her room.
Inside Lucy's room a small light was burning. She had a massive book open in her lap. It was a very old history book from the royal library which meant it was more like a fairy tale. It featured a brave knight who fought a vicious king by befriending a dragon. Lucy wondered if there were any dragons left. She would love to meet one someday.
It was then she heard the door to the common room open. Deep voices she easily recognized sounded muffled through her own door. A lighter one that was just as familiar and just as muffled. She smiled when footsteps neared her room. She hurried and put the book away before she blew out the candle. The door opened very hesitantly. A beam of light entered the room and was quickly followed by a dark head of hair.
She smiled into her pillow and waited for her brother to come over. She stayed, tense as a string, and waited a little more. Then she became confused when no sound was forthcoming. She turned very slowly in the dark and flinched when a tall shadow suddenly let loose a mighty roar. She jumped and shrieked before she flung her pillow at her giggling older brother. Even as it hit him he couldn't stop laughing.
"You dolt!" She swung again and again until he grabbed it and swung back.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He hopped onto the bed and made her bounce a little.
"Shouldn't you!" She grabbed one of her many other pillows and gave him a last shove. He stole that pillow from her as well.
"I can't sleep tonight. You know that." he said with an air of confident mockery she hadn't heard in years.
"Oh and how do know that? I was sleeping myself before you barged in-"
"Then why do I smell stearic?"
She huffed and refused to dignify his question with an answer.
"Why do you even need candlelight on a night like this?"
"What do you mean 'a night like this'?"
Edmund sprang from her bed and marched to the window. He ripped the curtains apart and showed a full moon that was hanging right in the center. Turning everything it touched to silver. Lucy gasped. "It's a full moon?" she asked in surprise. Edmund stayed beside the window. "I had no idea."
Then he smiled. The only way she saw was by the reflecting moonlight on his teeth. "And we all know what people do on full moons." He walked to the door without any further explanation. "Get dressed." It swung closed behind him with Lucy sitting in awe.
It only took her a moment to recover before she smiled as brightly as her brother had and hopped out of bed to pull on her clothes. Edmund was right. How could she possibly have slept on a night like this? She threw on a woolly frock over her pale nightgown and ran from the room with her sandals in hand. In the common room she found Edmund speaking softly with their brother. Both were standing in the middle of the room, well away from the fireplace. She did her best not to notice and came to bouncing halt in front of her wonderful older brothers.
"I'm ready," she chirped.
Edmund arched a brow. "Lucy, you were supposed to put on real clothes-"
"These are real clothes." Lucy mouthed off. "What about you-"
"What are you implying? These aren't my nightclothes-"
"Children." Peter calmly interrupted when Susan joined them. "Ready to go?" he asked her.
Susan looked at him with a smile. In less than ten minutes she had managed to pull on one of her pretty dresses. The ones that always made her hair look like onyx and her eyes like ice. It was dark, almost black. Peter wondered how she could get dressed so fast and still take hours to get ready before every party. He opened the door for the girls and slapped Edmund upside the head when he passed.
"Ow,"
He shoved his brother along and closed the door behind them. The knowing smiles from their guards were returned as he ushered his siblings into the castle. It was far from quiet. A bit calmer in the private section, but the second they entered the public halls they were swarmed by Court officials and Scholars. Every garden was filled with giggling Dryads and Animals. Not just nocturnal Animals and Creatures, but also creatures that simply enjoyed staying up late. One of them was Cheroom, the great Centaur that spent his nights studying the skies.
"Mentor," Peter greeted when they passed. It was the official way to greet one's tutors, at least the Centaur ones.
Cheroom nodded regally back and didn't even raise an eyebrow as to why the royals were out of their beds so late.
And so it went through most of the castle. The royals calmly greeted their subjects who in turn greeted them. Dispatchers were sent to the training grounds where a couple Jaguars were training in the moonlight. A group of guards, mostly Great Cats, were gathered to escort the royals to wherever they wanted to go. Nothing was said of it and Peter couldn't have been more grateful. They ran through the field outside their castle. Laughing and chasing each other through the hip-length grain. It had all been replanted and seemed to have grown back over night. They laughed and the girls giggled as the boys chased them. Their guards followed silently with smiles of their own. Only by the light of the full moon.
When they reached the Oak Circle Lucy crawled onto a root and kissed an Oak. It shivered in delight and she hopped quickly along. Her siblings giggled at her antics, but followed her dutifully into Rush Forest. It was like watching strange creatures, not the usual kings and queens. The night transformed them from children and royals into something else altogether. Like dangerous Ivy Dryads or mysterious creatures of the night.
In the forest they were overwhelmed by an explosion of senses. The trees were lively tonight. Most were dancing and the further the siblings went the clearer it became as to why. Deep notes of a drum vibrated their chests and made them smile predatorily.
The first clearing they came to was alive with movement. There were no fires and no talks. Just the strange thumps from the Nymphs' drums and shrill whistles from the Naiads' reed flutes. With the slow shakes of music Lucy began dancing. She joined the Wind Spirits and Sirens in the whirling movements. Peter grabbed Susan's hand and pulled her into the dance. Edmund was swept up by three Naiads and pulled along, laughing.
Without fire or wine the night took on a strange characteristic. It was calmer than the feasts they usually threw. It wasn't wild like the merry parties Fauns were known to host. It wasn't intense like the Centaurs' nighttime stories. It was the full moon dance of the forest. Fireflies and strange, little sprites filled the air. A sweet smell spread with the wind. Bison grass and jasmines. Laughter was in the air, but not stifling. A spray of salt sometimes blew through the trees and reminded them all that the ocean was near.
As the royals danced their troubles away for just one night, their guards looked on with smiles of their own. And as the silent Moon climbed higher and higher, she looked down at the merry faces and smiled. She looked at her sons and daughters in the night sky and bade them all to dance. So it seemed that the Stars themselves joined in the mysterious tones from the drums and flutes.
Only as the Moon yawned and began falling to the floor did the partiers calm as well. The Stars slowed their dizzying circles and curtsied to each other in thanks. It was a night well spent. As their father, the Sun, came into the sky they dwindled and blinked their goodbyes to the strange, little creatures on the ground.
Lucy's laughter could be heard all the way back to the castle as she joked with her siblings. Their laughter rang like little bells all through the castle and Great Cats slunk in the wake of her and her siblings. All who heard the laughter awoke with a strange sense of joy. The smiled in their sleep in the moments before real alertness.
Oreius was there to greet the brothers after they escorted their sisters to their rooms. The general said nothing when Peter and Edmund entered their room and closed the door behind them. They could miss training just this once. With a small smile he headed down to the grounds and allowed his kings their rest.
AN: A nice one. They're doing a little better, which hopefully comes accross. I'll try to be more consistent with the updates. Cheers.