A/N: I was challenged by SpoilerAlert13 to write this story in the 'Narnia Still Lives 2' forum. I was to write a story involving Narnia without the Pevensies, a celebration and a goose. This is what I came up with.
This story is set and King Frank and Queen Helen's time. Theo is five, Nathan eight and Michael nine.
"And who…" the faun tutor, Augustus said as he turned his eyes to the youngest Prince who had raised his brows at the mention of his name, waiting for the question to be finished, "…sowed the Tree of Protection that has kept Jadis at bay for all these years, Theo?"
Theo scratched his head as the faun, his tutor, waited patiently for his answer. Pleadingly, he looked at his older brother, Adriel who only snickered at him. Sighing, Theo said, "It was a human, I'm certain about that." Scratching his head again, he looked up at the ceiling, somehow wishing that the answer would be written on the white marble. "I don't know, Augustus," he said at last, his eyes showing defeat.
"It was Diggory Kirke, was it not, Augustus?" Theo turned around to see his eldest brother and the crown prince, Michael, appear through the wide door with a half-eaten apple in his hands. His tutor smiled at them both and said, "It was, Prince Michael." The dark-haired boy looked over to Theo and the younger smirked.
"Have you seen Nathan? Mother says he was supposed to be helping her with the invites for Eve's birthday celebration," Michael said.
Hearing his little sister's name, Theo's eyes shined with charm. He adored her; she was only a baby, not even a year old. The whole castle had been put on their toes by Queen Helen who wanted the perfect party for her daughter; it was to be held tomorrow. Theo then forced himself to shift his mind's attention to the question his brother had just asked him. He had seen Nathan somewhere but couldn't seem to recall where.
"I saw him!" Adriel exclaimed and Theo looked at his older brother, older by only a year.
"Where?" Michael questioned and Theo looked back at Adriel.
"Out in the garden, he was being chased by a goose, an enormously large one as well."
Both Theo and Michael blinked at their brother's statement. "And you just left him?" Theo's brother asked.
"Well… there were a couple of dryads helping him…" Adriel's statement did nothing to defend him and Theo followed his brother as he dashed out of the room, towards the gardens; after shooting an apologetic look to his tutor.
Theo had hardly noticed Adriel following him with equivalent haste. The three of them ran through the hallways, occasionally ignoring the questioning glares of that the servants shot them. While Theo's legs paced, his mind raced, amused by the pictures of his brother being chased by a goose. The three stooped suddenly when they finally reached the garden, their eyes fixed on their brother, whose hands were raised in surrender. He was giving the staring goose hushing and comforting sounds, doing all he could to avoid a tackle.
"Poor Nathan!" Theo cried a little too loudly, causing his brother to look at him, the goose took the opportunity and gave his already exhausted brother another chase. A shrill scream was heard as Nathan started running again. He heard a loud laugh from beside him; Adriel seemed to be taking a little too much pleasure in their brother's miserable condition.
"We have to help him," Theo said. Michael nodded at him but then subsequently shook his head.
"What do we do, Theo?" Theo looked over to Adriel, his eyes asking him for a solution but he just went on to laugh even harder.
"I say you and I should distract the goose and Adriel could fetch the guards," Theo said, surprised by his own too wise words.
Michael nodded again and looked over to Adriel who had fallen to the ground, with his hands covering his stomach which was probably aching from the continuous laughter. "Adriel!" The said brother abruptly seized his laughs and wiped a tear from his cheek before letting out a heavy breath and standing up.
"Did you hear what Theo said?" Michael asked him and Adriel nodded. "Go on then." Michael gestured towards the castle and Adriel took off, still giving pitiful laughs. Finally, Theo and Michael turned back their attention towards their still running brother who looked like he could faint of exhaustion any minute.
"You go left, I'll go right," Michael suggested and Theo accepted with a slight nod.
"Please! What have I done to offend you, good cousin?" Nathan cried and Theo hurried towards the chasing goose (which was almost as big as Theo) and his running brother.
"Hey, over here!" Theo cried as he waved his hands above his head, hoping to catch the bird's attention.
The goose stopped but Nathan kept running until he was out of the garden. However, instead of looking at his fleeing brother, he kept his gaze fixed on the goose.
"Okay, calm down now. No one's going to hurt you," he said as he extended his hand towards the goose. The goose flapped his wings once and then relaxed his muscles and his eyes gave eased looks. "It's alright now," Theo said, taking extremely careful steps towards the now steady goose. He let his hand come within the reach of the goose and the goose moved forward as well. Theo had got him.
"I brought the guards! I brought the guards!" Adriel's too loud voice erupted the calm and the goose jerked back, he fluttered its wings and flew at Theo a little too fast for him to move. His enormous legs hit his head with immense force and he fell to the ground. He saw stars in the pink sky. He heard indistinct cries and the unfamiliar sound of absolute chaos. When the cries seized and the stars were no longer visible and the sky was once again blue, he noticed the figure hovering over him.
"Oh my, are you alright, Theo?" he instantly recognized it to be Michael's voice and his brother offered him his hand. Theo took it and gained his feet, rubbing his aching forehead. Theo looked around, at the too still garden. He looked at his brother with confused eyes and asked, "Where's the goose? What happened?"
"I would have helped you but when I saw you with the goose, I thought you had got him. Then, Adriel came shouting in and the goose tackled you. I thought you had fallen unconscious; it took me a good five minutes to bring you back to your senses. That's a big bump," Michael said, placing his hand on his forehead but Theo shoved his hand off. Theo looked around again and repeated his question, "Where's the goose?"
"I don't know. Last I saw, the guards were chasing him out of the gardens."
"Eve!" Nathan's cry made the brothers look at each other and they both ran to their left. Was their sister the newest victim of the goose? Oh Aslan, not poor Eve, she was only a year old.
They both halted at the same time as they stared ahead in absolute amazement. Their sister was giggling uncontrollably, laid down in her bassinet under the Apple tree in the middle of the eastern garden, as the goose nuzzled her with his beak. How had she managed to do what the rest of them could not?
Theo looked at the guards who too stared open-mouthed and then to Adriel who had fallen to the ground, laughing hysterically again.
Theo shook his head in warning when Michael took a step towards their sister and the goose. Dear Eve seemed to have gotten her birthday present.
Twelfth-day of Kyrorush, 1000
"…and that was how Princess Eve befriended the extremely hostile goose," Peter finished as he closed the enormously heavy book and placed it onto the table, next to the hearth.
"That was a great story, Pete. Princes Michael and Theo sound like you and Ed!" Lucy exclaimed as she settled in Peter's lap. Peter stroked the nine-year-old's hair and laughed.
"They do, don't they? Do you think Edmund would agree?"
"Would I agree about what?" Edmund's voice made the two turn toward the door.
"Peter was just telling me a story. Would you like to hear, Ed?"
"Why, yes of course," Edmund replied as he too seated himself on the armchair beside the hearth.
Peter sighed as he opened the book again and began, "It was the first birth anniversary of Princess Eve and Queen Helen had everyone in Cair Peravel on their toes…"
A/N: I researched a little and found that all of King Frank's descendants were named Frank? I knew I had to change that. Although, he still has five children, four sons and a daughter: Michael, Nathan, Adriel, Theo and Eve.
Leave me a review if you liked it :-)