A/n: Happy new year everybody! Thanks LOVEM, PeterCaspianRlz, QueenElenaofnarnia, optymalna, EC, Bella, Emma, CairParavel, Emily, Narniafan, Aslanmane, Connors, QueenLucyfan, GoldenAgeNarnia, and all the other guests. Hope y'all are enjoying your holidays. :D


(Anvard Pass, Archenland)

~Edmund's POV~

I could not believe what Dionne was telling me. I literally could not. No. I refused. I could not even — I swore I had lost the ability to even — I was unable to even — I just could not even process this. This was too damn overwhelming. I could not handle it. Nope. I didn't appreciate having to keep secrets from my wife but this time, I was glad and even more relieved that I wouldn't have to do any explaining to her. Because if I had to, I'd probably get befuddled in the process. This was so complicated and just too damn unbelievable.

"And I presume the deal between the three of you is still in effect, even till now?" I asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Dionne nodded.

I rubbed my temples tiredly. The truth had dropped on me like a bomb. Honestly no different than the bombings in Finchley.

"Well, at least now I know why you trust Silas wholeheartedly," I said.

"Nain does too, actually. And I must emphasize that Silas is innocent! He would never do anything to cause harm to his own biological daughter. He has loved her even before she was born," she added.

"Alright then," I sighed. "All charges against Silas Seymour will be rescinded and he is discharged from prison. But you will be the one to explain to Gilda why we let him go. Alright?"

"Yes," she gushed in relief. "Thank you so much, Edmund. I will tell Gilda that if Silas had really wanted to see her fall and hurt then he would not have caught her just in time. I have my lines prepared so you don't have to worry."

Smiling weakly, I quickly filled in and signed Silas' discharge papers. Once my royal seal was stamped onto it, I handed it to Dionne who thanked me again before taking her leave.

Ah, forced to keep a distance from their true love for 17 years and counting. Nobody had it tougher than Dionne Parr and Silas Seymour.


(Cair Paravel, Narnia)

~Peter's POV~

I was presently alone in my bedroom, idly waiting for Diane to be here so I could get a good lay. But why wasn't she here yet? On other nights we'd already be getting nasty at this hour.

Aimlessly, I went out to my balcony and my view was quite marvelous, actually. I could see the beach on which Susan's wedding was held, the village of Cair Paravel, and many other towns in the distance. Then I looked at the courtyard and I saw a page handing a piece of note to the guards at the bottom of the tower. But instead of letting him into the tower, one of the guards just took the note. A minute later there were knocks on my door. I guessed that it was the guard and I was correct. He handed the note to me and I nodded. "Thank you, Augustus. You may go."

As soon as he was out of sight, I unfolded the parchment and read from it:

My Kings,

I have important news for Your Majesties. I hope my Kings have not decided to abandon our agreement. I, for one, am looking forward to a special part of it. I will wait for Your Majesties in my cottage in the village of Cair Paravel. Please don't knock on the front door though, for it would raise suspicion.

Your 'pretty little whore',

Diane of Chippingford


(Village of Cair Paravel, Narnia)

~Diane's POV~

No doubt I had shared a bed with two men at the same time before. Or two women. Or more than two men or two women. But to have done that with two Kings — that had topped all of my previous accomplishments in life. I hardly thought any other prostitute in the world had achieved this, ever before. I was so engrossed in this glory that it was a blur to me how we got out of our clothes. All I could feel was the heat, and all I could say was that more than sweat was dripping down my body. The feeling was familiar as I had been in plenty of group sessions before, but this was something I'd remember for the rest of my life.

To make things easier for King Caspian, I had him blindfolded. This way, he'd be able to focus singularly on the pleasure I was delivering to him. Meanwhile with King Peter I was both a giver and receiver — it was a tangle of limbs and hot bodies, hands on my thighs, around my waist, gripping my shoulders...simultaneously kisses on my mouth when it wasn't full, kisses on my torso with playful pinches of my nipples, kisses on my nether regions before smooth tongues were replaced by rough thrusts, over, under, and sideways. I found it understandable that King Caspian prefered to take on a more passive role. I was active anyway and I would make sure he wouldn't be left out. King Peter on the other hand gave it his best; I wouldn't have had to ask him to pound harder even if King Caspian weren't fucking my mouth. While slamming into me King Peter held me firmly in place to prevent my body from contorting in pleasure; I was sure there'd be bruises on my hips from his grip, and my lips were swollen but goodness forbid I let them stop. They were mine this night and I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself if I didn't exhaust them and get the best out of this special night.

Eventually, it was only because the night had ended that I had to let Their Majesties leave. When the sun came up, I was spent, but I'd never been this proud of myself before.


(Cair Paravel, Narnia)

~Chronicler's POV~

The two Kings skipped breakfast and got some shut-eye. By noon they rose again and talked about it the truths they had learned from Mistress Diane, Their Majesties were shocked as they were unbeknownst to how dissatisfied their subjects were. It wasn't really their fault for not knowing, but at least now they knew. And Peter was glad that Ines loved him.

With new information, they could continue to plan their next step, which was for Peter to approach Ines to make amends. But ever since their previous encounter in the florist store, which involved lots of sexual fantasies as well as a last-minute, spur-of-the-moment kiss, Peter was a bit on the fence about visiting Ines again. He might do something rash, something he'd later regret, and muck it all up, ruining any chances he had of reconciling with Ines.

So Caspian came up with an alternative plan. Since his birthday was approaching, he had just received a letter from the gypsies requesting his permission to hold a carnival. It would last a week and it would also be in celebration of the Telmarine King's 20th birthday. Literally everybody in the country would be invited, and even Archenlanders could drop by to attend the gypsy fair. It would be held in Cair Paravel too, so there was a large chance Ines was going to be at the carnival — because honestly who wouldn't want to be a part of this big event? — giving Peter the perfect chance to have a moment with her. The plan seemed flawless to Peter.

By now, the Archenlanders who were interested in attending the carnival had already arrived at Narnia, but the Narnian Court would not be responsible for finding accommodation for the Archenlander visitors. There were many motels available in nearby towns, but of course King Edmund and Queen Gilda would be staying in their chambers in Cair Paravel for the time being. Madam Louisa also stayed in her own chambers near Gilda's, adjacent to her elder sister's chambers and opposite to her younger twin sisters'.

However, not everybody chose to attend the carnival on its opening day.


(The countryside, Millville, Narnia)

~Tyrone's POV~

I couldn't believe the predicament I had found myself in. Although I could have been at the gypsy carnival instead, I had agreed to go on a hunting trip with Darren and his usual hunting companions. In our party was also a bunch of footmen, attendants, and manservants in general. I didn't regret going hunting, as I was in the mood for that, but then it all went downhill once Darren suggested we go to the nearest brothel for the night, when his family had lodgings just nearby — and with a darn good wine collection too; it was actually where I had my first Red Port, and to this day I still thought it was the finest ever, so I had very fond memories of those lodgings — that were built for the specific purpose of being the stay place in case of hunting trips. But no, Darren just had to go to a whorehouse and everyone in our hunting party had voiced their agreement and support for this oh-so-brilliant idea. I protested, but got laughed at. Well, to be honest, I should be the one laughing, because I was the one married to the most amazing woman in Narnia who also happened to be a Queen, and I was the one who got to share her bed, not any of the men in the hunting party. I continued to voice my objections to Darren's idea, but in the end I still couldn't win and they had talked me into just spending the night alone in a room I could have all to myself, while they — none of them were married, as far as I knew, or even if they were married I doubted they cared — could have their fun. Wow, I was going to have so much fun waiting on them.

I sighed when we had arrived at their destination. Lazily and reluctantly I hopped off my horse. The others were stoked to be here and barged into the brothel right away. Before Darren could follow suit, I had grabbed him.

"Dar, come on. We could still turn back now. Your companions can stay the night here but seriously, let's just go back to your lodgings. I like it better there. It's nice and your father promised me I could try the cherry brandy," I said diffidently. I did not sound like a king at all.

Darren chuckled. "I'm pretty sure my father had at least six shots before he said that."

"That's not the point," I argued hotly. "Seriously, I don't want to be here. I'm married. If people here see me and recognize me, then the scandal would spread like wildfire, and you know that would be seen as adultery even if I have not the slightest intention of going there, which gets worse because my wife is a queen and a sovereign and their nation is one and the same, and so betraying my wife equates betraying my country which is treason! Darren, you're making me commit treason! Do you want my head chopped off, on a pike, and my bloody body dragged through Beaversdam for all to see? I seriously don't get why you just have to—"

"Alright, mate, I'm going to have to stop you right there," he placed his hand on my shoulder, looked me straight in the eye and said to me. "You're making this more complicated and dramatic than it has to be. You weren't this shy before you got married, Ty! You're not yourself. You need a fix more than any of us do."

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" I exclaimed. "You said it. It was before I got married! Now, I am someone's husband. Now, I am a King. And I intend to keep my crown on my head, and my head on my shoulders! I'm sorry I can't always be the friend you string along on every misadventure you go on and drag into trouble without a single word of complaint!"

He looked a bit hurt by that. But I had every right to be pissed off that he just couldn't respect that I just couldn't be here. He was too used to getting his way, I knew. It was like that with his parents because being the middle child had meant that he got a great deal of freedom when his parents were either attending to Ruben, the eldest and the heir, or Xavier, the youngest and naturally the baby. It was also like that with the girls that he had slept with. Either he was really good at seducing them or they just gave in really quickly and easily.

Darren shrugged. "Well, it's too late to change our plans now. We'll stay here for the night. You'll be on your own while the others and I will have the girls. And we can be your witnesses that you didn't sleep with anybody here. Everything will be fine. I know all the ladies here," he smiled. That typical, signature smile of his that had been antecedent to so much trouble.

With an arm draped over my shoulders we strode — he strode into the place while I walked at a pace similar to that of a funeral march. Once we opened the door, his attitude was honestly stunning. He acted as if he owned the place, and he did indeed know the name of every person here, all of the prostitutes, and even some of the customers, not to mention the bartender with the rotten teeth and only one eye, and the very, very old cleaning assistant who was half deaf and had almost no teeth left.

More quickly than my eyes could process, half the hookers in the noisy tavern that weren't preoccupied with other customers had thrown themselves at Darren. One of them started to claim that he had promised her last time that she would get to share his bed for the night, and then another whore had said the same thing competitively, and then altogether all of them had followed suit. I thought it was for the better that they were ignoring me even though I was standing right next to Darren, but then a redhead had winked at me and said singsong as she handed a goblet of beer to each of us, "but of course we couldn't leave out your charming friend, now, could we, my Lord?"

"Oh, actually, ladies," Darren had halted them in their advances. "My friend is here just to get some s—"

"Good idea! We're all looking forward to get some of that tonight," one of the hookers winked.

"I mean get some sleep, ladies. On his own," Darren explained. "It's a pity, I know, but he knows what he's missing out on. Trust me. I guess tonight you lovely ladies will just have me and my companions to entertain. Because we lot are unmarried and ready to...make some merry!"

I eyed Darren awkwardly and distasteful. That didn't even rhyme properly and wasn't even that funny, but the prostitutes did laugh at it genuinely...this must be some kind of an inside joke that I did not want to know about.

"So I guess you'll be getting a room by yourself, won't you, Ty?" He wriggled his eyebrows at me. I stiffened when he blurted my name.

"'Ty'?" One of the hookers gasped. "Isn't that the new King's name?"

"He even looks like the new King," another asserted.

"Maybe this is the new King!" A third concluded.

"More attractive than the new King, if you ask me," someone in the back cooed.

"He gets that a lot. Everyone says he looks like the King. But honestly the only thing he's got in common with the King's Majesty is that they're both married," Darren grabbed my forearm and brandished my hand in front of the prostitutes so they all could see for themselves my wedding ring.

"Oh, my Lord, you must be jesting! Why, if all the married men in the world had refrained from coming here to...make some merry, we'll all be out of business!" said the doxy nearest to us.

"Worry not, worry not. I shan't let that happen. Now, how about that room for the King's prudish doppelgänger?" Darren said casually.

At last I did get some privacy. It did not take long for me to realize that I was completely spent from hunting today. I just collapsed on my bed and slept for a long, long time. I even skipped dinner. When I woke up it was almost noon. I would stay in bed and resume sleeping until it was evening, but I really needed to use the bathroom.

When I looked myself in the mirror I noticed how disheveled I looked. But more importantly something was missing. My heart skipped a beat when I figured out what exactly was missing: my wedding ring.


A/n: What will Tyrone do now?