Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, everyone be proud of me; this is definitely the longest chapter I've ever ever ever written! Please review this chapter, it does make me happy...oh, and also check out my brand new story, SILENT WORDS, which is out now! Enjoy!
"Well, I'm not sure what Riordan will do next but all this waiting is beginning to annoy me." Edmund stated as they all sat down to dinner. It'd been 5 days since Felicity had killed Joseph and since then there had been no sign of them forming in preparation for a battle. Peter had opted against going out and attacking them because of the difficulty involved in getting the Narnian army across the water, and he didn't want Felicity attacking again unless it was necessary. They now knew exactly how dangerous her power was and he knew Gardania wouldn't attack without a backup plan.
"Edmund, don't say such things!" Susan said indignantly. Felicity rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of Susan; she knew exactly what Edmund meant.
"I think you can lower the guard around me now, Peter." Felicity said as she swallowed a mouthful of pheasant.
"Absolutely not." He replied instantly, so resolute on the matter he didn't even look up from his plate. For the last 5 day's he'd had two guards placed on each balcony, two outside his bedroom door and five patrolling the outside corridor. He was so worried about Riordan targeting Felicity, to kill or kidnap her, that wherever she went she had two wolves, Shate and Unef, with her for extra protection.
Felicity rolled her eyes and ate a mouthful of carrot.
"A boat is approaching!" Cried a faun, running into the hall quickly. "They're coming with olive branches!"
After a moment of silence everyone around the table sprang up and ran to Edmund's room. Everyone jostled for the best view on his balcony as they all squinted at the approaching little wooden boat. A telescope appeared and was handed to Felicity.
"It's Riordan." She said, everyone turning to look at her expectantly as she peered through the telescope. "Riordan...and General Timmond...and someone I presume to be Prince Rabadash, and one other person I don't know..and four soldiers."
Peter took it from her. "It's definitely Prince Rabadash, and Tarkaan Schrakneff."
They all hurried back down to the great hall suddenly where there was a great flurry of movement as everyone attempted to clean up the hall and make it look as imposing as possible. The dinner was cleared away and the table put horizontally to the doors and a group of Fauns were dispatched to fetch the four royals crowns.
Everyone sat down on the far side of the table, Peter in the middle with Felicity and Edmund flanking him, then Susan and Lucy.
Behind them and around the room stood Orieus, Harlow, Tommy, Mr Tumnus, Orieus' four sons, the beavers, and a representative of the most intimidating creatures in Narnia. The two wolves who'd been assigned to protect Felicity sat down directly in front of her on the other side of the table.
The hall was quiet with only the muttering of a few to disturb the silence. A scout had been dispatched and he'd return when the party were a minute away.
"Do you think they intend to surrender?" Susan asked hopefully down the table.
"No." Peter replied shortly. His tone clearly told her he didn't want to speculate any further and Susan leant back in her chair, disgruntled.
"They're here." The lioness, Aria, said as she padded into the room, taking her place beside Mr Tumnus.
There was an air of excitement and expectation as everyone adjusted their clothes and stature to make themselves look as strong and imposing as possible.
Felicity straightened her back and lifted her chin slightly in preparation. Peter glanced at her briefly before doing a double take.
Felicity looked at him, full of embarrassment and horror for he seemed to be staring down her dress.
"What?" She mouthed at him, darting glances at the door as she expected Riordan to walk through it at any moment.
Peter touched the chain on her collarbone and pulled on it until the Narnia pendant he had given her emerged from her dress. He let it go and it fell back into place, on the outside of her dress and in full view.
"Keep it out." He muttered. Felicity looked at him in confusion before understanding what he was doing. It was silly; a small gesture to show Riordan that she was Peter's, not his. She had thrown away the simple wedding ring Riordan had given her as soon as they'd left Gardania; it now lay at the bottom of a stream.
The party of eight walked in menacingly, their boots and armour emitting ominous clanking sounds. It was not Felicity's imagination; they were walking slowly as if to make themselves seem more threatening than they actually were.
Riordan's face was exactly the same. He looked as though he was still living in a palace, not a ship that he'd been on for weeks and weeks. His lips moved into a sneering smile. He spared Peter only one glance before focusing on Felicity and only her. She stared steadily back, controlling her breathing and blinking so that she did not indicate in any way how quickly her heart was beating.
The group were not announced; a subtle discourtesy that they retaliated to by not bowing to Peter.
"Queen Felicity." Riordan started, being discourteous to Peter yet again by refusing to address him first. "I have bought some clothes for you from Gardania. They are waiting for you in our room on my ship."
"Then please feel free to send them to me." She replied coolly.
"Do you not want to collect them yourself?" His tone was sarcastic; he was mocking her with his lame attempt at tempting her back to Gardania.
Felicity tossed her hair over her shoulders and leant forwards on the table. "I will not go anywhere with you, coward."
"Come now." He retorted with a smile on his evil face. "Are we not married? By Gardanian law you must obey me, and I order you to return with me to my ship."
"But we are in Narnia now," Felicity retorted with a genuine smile, "High King Peter makes the laws here."
Riordan finally turned to face Peter, allowing Felicity to look at the others with him.
General Timmond was still watching her, his face grave rather than full of dislike as she had expected. Felicity held back the urge to smile at him; despite his position in the Gardanian army, she had always found him to be a polite, sensible man with a pleasant face.
"I am here to discuss the terms of a peace treaty." Riordan told Peter whilst Felicity inspected the rest of the group.
Prince Rabadash could not make up his mind if he'd rather stare at Felicity or Susan. His gaze flicked between the two for a moment, but when Felicity turned to examine the rather striking Tarkaan Schrakneff, she saw his gaze fix on her from the corner of her eye.
"Return her to me, and the war shall be over." Riordan said. Felicity did not even have to look at Peter to know that he would refuse, but before Peter could speak Rabadash practically jumped in. He'd looked at Riordan with a strange expression that Felicity could not read.
"And, I most humbly request the elegant hand of Queen Susan." He added, smiling at her so sweetly that, had Felicity not been told stories by Susan, she would not have believed him possible of cruelty.
"I suggest," Peter started, running a hand over his chin as though seriously thinking something through. Their small acts of discourtesy had all been noticed by Peter and he realised that they were past a time for eloquent language and impressive gestures, "that you return to your ships immediately before I have my guards chase you there."
There was silence around the room and a slight sense of shock. Felicity and Tommy, used to much more dramatic threats and violent language, struggled to hold back their laughter whilst Susan fought to keep herself from apologising to the party of behalf of her brother. Rabadash looked stunned; the language of the Calormene was much more eloquent than the Narnians and he had never been spoken to as such in his life. Riordan merely raised his eyebrows, his gaze unwavering from Peter's eyes.
"You have no right to bargain yet again for Susan's hand, Rabadash. We already reached a compromise between Narnia and Calormen." Edmund suddenly interjected, lounging in his seat in the typical stance of a bored teenager.
"Yes, well that was before my beloved sister returned to me in tears because King Peter had abandoned her; left her at the mercy of the monsters you rule." Rabadash said, recovering quickly and becoming much more frank with his use of language.
"I only agreed to marry your sister; there was nothing in the agreement about being a good husband to her." Peter replied, staring Rabadash down.
"This is irrelevant!" Riordan suddenly interrupted, holding up a hand to commandeer everyone's attention. "Queen Susan is not part of the bargain. Just give me Felicity, and this scuffle with Narnia shall be forgotten."
"I have a better idea." Peter said after a moment's thought. He'd remembered Felicity's words that Riordan was a coward; hiding on his ship rather than fighting with his army as Peter did. "I suggest you and I fight. Single combat, one on one, till the death."
Riordan stood frozen for a few heartbeats as he tried to figure out what was the best way to wriggle out of the situation.
"Why would I do that when my army is twice the size of yours?" He finally asked with a sneer.
"Because this time last week it was four times as large." Peter replied with his eyebrow raised, almost taunting Riordan. "Because Felicity's magic has returned, and if I ask her to she can wipe out your entire army in five minutes." Felicity forced herself not to look at Peter in horror. He'd said nothing to her about wanting to fight in single combat with Riordan. She'd told him that Riordan was a coward, but she hadn't told him that he was also good with a sword.
Riordan was silent yet again.
"Whoever survives wins Felicity and the other's country." Peter added, tempting Riordan. "I'm sure you want me dead, King Riordan...it can't be nice knowing that people are ridiculing you everywhere you go. Everyone knows Felicity and I are sharing a room..news travels fast when it concerns royalty." He said with a sly grin, taunting Riordan to accept the terms and agree to the fight.
His plot was working; a vein was standing out in Riordan's forehead as he fought to control himself. "I will crush you, boy." He finally said, spitting out the last word with disdain written all over his face for of course to him Peter was a boy; he was only 19 whilst Riordan was 29 and had received training in almost every aspect of his life since he could walk and talk, whereas Peter only had four years experience in everything to do with being a king.
"I look forward to it, grandfather." Peter replied, raising an eyebrow and smiling invitingly. "10 o'clock tomorrow. I'll have an arena drawn up."
Riordan turned to Felicity, schooling his face into a smile in a moment. He bowed low to her in a grand gesture. "I'll see you tomorrow, my Queen. Have your things packed and ready."
"Wait, no!" Prince Rabadash protested angrily. "You include me in the treaty, or I will take my army straight home!" He declared. Felicity's body convulsed slightly as she held back laughter at his petulance. Riordan's hopes of a dramatic departure were ruined as he turned to Rabadash in annoyance.
"Leave then. I no longer need you or your ridiculously small army!"
Rabadash pulled out his curved sword and lunged for Riordan, but General Timmond had seen it coming and defended his king, stepping in front of him and deflecting Rabadash's blows until he was able to strongly push him away. The Narnians around the room instantly bristled; the predatory large cats and wolves stood, poised and ready to attack should they turn on anyone Narnian. The two guards who were Gardanian stepped in and defended their king as well; taking up a stance directly in front of him. The remaining Calormene drew their swords and stood, poised, ready for attack.
The tension in the room was broken by Peter giving a loud laugh that Felicity knew to be fake. "I will see you tomorrow, Riordan. If you survive the journey home!" There was a smattering of laughter around the room as other Narnians laughed at Riordan who stormed out in annoyance.
After a moment of uncertainty, the Calormene followed the Gardanians out, their swords still drawn in preparation.
They had only been gone a few seconds when chatter started up around the room again. When she was sure no-one would be able to overhear her she wheeled round on Peter. "What do you think you're doing?" She demanded in an angry hiss. "Riordan may be a yellow-bellied coward, but he is still talented with a sword! Why did you suggest that?"
Peter stared at her face for a long time, unable to reply.
"You said yourself I can wipe out his entire army in five minutes, so why not let me instead of risking your life?"
"I'll speak to you about it later." He muttered back before standing up and walking around the table to discuss tactics with Orieus.
With that Felicity had to be content. Tommy walked up to her and leant over the table to whisper to her. "Did you suggest he fight with Riordan? Because I really don't - "
"No!" Felicity cut him off immediately. "I don't bloody well know why he's doing it!" She said, unable to stop herself directing her anger at Tommy instead.
"Come on. We need to talk." Tommy said, stepping away from the table and reaching out a hand to her to indicate she should join him. Instead of being lady-like and walking around the table she simply slid over it in her annoyance, landing between the two wolves who'd been assigned the duty of guarding her and walking out of the room with Tommy, refusing to look at Peter.