Disclaimer: I'm not that well acquainted with real geography, despite having traveled so much; inventing an entire world is quite beyond me.

Beta'd by trustingHim17, who has beta'd all these chapters with painstaking help for the ornate language, and I can't believe I've forgotten to credit her in former chapters. My apologies!

OOOOO

"Have the Tarkaans yet commented on the new absence of your beard, my brother?" queried Lucy merrily the next morning, dipping her bread into the breakfast pudding before her.

High King Peter scowled at her. Unable to settle himself or his warning instincts, his rest had been short and disrupted. "Less than my sister has, O fair one. Cease your merriment, if it please you, for my head aches this morn."

"Then at once I cease," Lucy responded, her voice soft and kind, and Peter felt the touch of Susan's fingers on his forehead.

"I feel no fever. What ails you, my brother? Surely not thoughts of our guests? By Aslan's grace, we have these six days to reveal the secrets of their hearts."

"Or is it those in the North who have vanished, whose unknown fate weighs heavily on your mind?" Lucy interjected. "If it be so, still I claim I could go to the North, my brother, and find those who dare to lay their hands on our subjects. I would cause them to cease right speedily," she finished, her eyes nearly sending sparks into their breakfast. In spite of his headache, Peter laughed.

"I do not doubt your Valiant spirit. But peace on that, till we know more. To the North I do not send you. Yet."

"Then if it be not sickness nor these our troubles, what causes these shadows?" Susan questioned, one hand touching the darkened skin under Peter's eyes. Peter hesitated.

"We are Four, my brother, and not one." Edmund's quiet voice pulled Peter's attention to his brother's face, and the quiet intensity of it reminded Peter that they did not bear burdens alone. His siblings had the right to know of his fears.

"I know not if it be Aslan's warning or my own fancy, but last night the shadows seemed to hide danger, and our home to no longer be safe." Peter shook his head. "Though we divide up our guests today, I would not have any of us go alone. Take with you such as can guard you well and yet not alarm our guests."

"Uvayeth is yet yours?" Lucy asked quietly, mindful of her brother's headache. Which would, all of them knew, probably be much worse by the end of the day, as he nodded in acceptance of his fate. "Then I request that Ikelken be mine. I would make him my friend if I could, and the friend to Narnia, if only to ease his heart. His mind is fair, and his will set. I work to see if Aslan will claim such a one for His own." The three siblings nodded assent, reminded yet again of their sister's great heart. "I will ask Trela the Eagle to be our companion this day. Between her winged claws and my dagger, Ikelken falls if he attacks."

Not that he would, Peter thought. He was not such a one to attack unannounced, as Rabadash had been. Lucy at least would be safe.

"Then I lay my claim to Lamash," Edmund stated, smiling one of his more dangerous smiles. "It will be a day of matched wits and draws, I do not doubt, but such a day is as necessary as the days Oreius claims us."

"And the companion for your battles?" Peter reminded him.

"Hmmmm. Perhaps I shall ask our feathered Librarian to lend us his wits. The past has proved the Owl's talent for upending onto their backside any who displease him in the library, and once down, Lamash would be but easy prey," Edmund said, grinning at the remembered misfortune of some of their rowdier castle dwellers.

"Then the sheep shall both be mine," Susan said with a sigh.

"Aikaden and Igteroth will be as gold in the hands of a dwarf by the end of the day, I have no doubt." Peter, ignoring the increasing pain as the light from the window grew brighter, smiled at his sister. "Who will be of help to you as you herd them, fair consort?"

"Mr. Tumnus visits here today, and will at request speak much of Narnia and its beauties, assisting me in the testing of their greed." Peter nodded assent; since the return from Tashbaan, Susan had often gone to their Faun friend when needing either reassurance or advice. "And you, my brother—who claim you as your companion on this glorious day?" Susan asked.

"Since our good guest is already acquainted with Leo and Por, I thought to imitate my sister and request their services," Peter said dryly. "But that would lead, methinks, to a terror not conducive to our goal. So I give my knightly word to keep to well-crowded corridors or keep stout Narnians by my side, and ever my sword at ready." The other three looked at him sharply, and he sighed. "Peace, my siblings. I will not walk alone with him, my word on it. But his heart holds, perhaps, the deepest secrets, and I would have him off his guard." He could see they did not like it, but as he was not truly taking much risk, neither did they object. Susan instead laid down her glinting silver fork, and folded her hands in her lap.

"Before we break from this our meal, I would ask of you your attention, my brothers and sister." She took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the plate before her.

"Susan?" Lucy questioned gently, when their sister failed to speak.

"I have rendered my apologies to you three this year again past, but it seems what mischief my blind judgement wrought is not yet finished." Peter did not have to see her hands to know they were tightening together under the table as she strove for composure. He yearned to interrupt, but knew his sister needed to say what was in her mind, if it was to be refuted and made into truth. "For the trials that continue to come from that foul land, which I in my fallen fancy favored, I ask your pardon once more."

"The desire of Tisroc and his Tarkaans for our land is not your doing, sister fair," Edmund's quiet voice broke in. "His father permitted his desire for your hand for he thought it would lead to Calormene soldiers in our land, and from our land they would spill to Archenland, the North, and all the lands that are not his own; the Lone Islands would also be his, and from there he meant to send his fleet on the other islands, besieging them from both directions. Now that thy favor is withdrawn, and that plan be no longer valid, he seeks but another way to put his foul plan into play. Be at peace; this second venture is not of your doing."

"And it is not your fault, my sister, that your Aslan-blessed beauty caught the eye of such a spoiled brat," Lucy added, a little tartly. "To show him favor was your mistake, and it is forgiven. But you cannot say, gentle sister, that your showing favor brought this one, for you haven't shown any."

Susan's face broke into a small smile, reassured, but not completely convinced.

"The greed of those such as we guess our guests to hold would not be stayed, nor can it be laid at your door. He is here because his heart urged him, not because you did," Peter stated firmly, catching his sister's eyes and holding them. "Nor would it surprise me to learn some of our guests were sent to us by Aslan; He has worked thus before."

"And more, my sister, Rabadash himself has been naught but peaceable since the festival of Tash, when he became again a man. Aslan used your mistake to humble him, and I would not be surprised if we breathe much easier when his father dies and he becomes a peaceable Tisroc."

"Such is the grace of Aslan, for our mistakes," Susan agreed, looking thoughtful. "I thank you for the mercy you show in His name, my siblings."

"Always," Lucy said quietly. "For all have need of it."

The Four rose soon after, three going various ways to library, eyrie, and a tea room not far to request their subjects give them both time and protection through the day. Peter walked directly to the room their Calormene guests breakfasted in. A Dwarf announced him, the five Calormenes rising from mostly empty plates and bowing. Peter saw at a glance they had oil, toast, fish, and a few other dishes Narnians would consider odd, and was thankful Susan had remembered this courtesy. He inquired after their health and rest, and then requested that they spend their time accompanying the Narnian Sovereigns throughout the day, unless they had other business they wished to attend. Ikelken accepted with grave formality, and Uvayeth again pushed his way forward.

"O my host, what of the Jewel who reflects the light of the sun, the younger Queen? Surely one such as she toils not nor spins, but breathes into Narnia its very life. I wish to see more of her, if the gods allow. Does she wish for the company of her guests the great Calormenes as well?"

Peter sternly reminded himself that, no matter how bad his headache, he was not allowed to physically harm their guests. "The Queen Lucy spoke of her wish to show Tarkaan Ikelken the joys of Narnian flowers and people. I requested your company for myself, sir, for surely we have much in common in our interests in arms and like." Uvayeth's face fell into a scowl, scorn twisting it at the thought of being compared to Peter, but Ikelken hastily agreed before he could protest. Peter did not envy the older Tarkaan the task of keeping such a boy polite.

"My royal sister Susan wishes to speak with Lords Aikaden and Igteroth, and King Edmund the Just heard praise of Tarkaan Lamash's wits. They come behind me shortly, but I wished to give time to ready yourselves. Please send word with a Page. Narnia awaits you." He bowed and left, stopping abruptly in the corridor when he heard raised voices in foreign accents. He paused to listen, not knowing if he was needed—but heard Ikelken and Uvayeth yelling at each other, and shook his head. That was not his fight to resolve. For now he strode to the gardens, wanting a few moments of peace to rest his head before the day began.


Peter was right. A few hours into the morning his headache was much worse. He had taken Uvayeth first to a balcony above the training courts, as below him Fauns, Dwarves, and Centaurs clashed with arms, Badgers and Cats wrestled with bared claws, and Horses reared and whined. The courts took up one entire side of Cair Paravel, for the cacophonous clamor was such no other business cared to take place near it. He pointed out first the differences in learning such races had to be trained in, but Uvayeth responded with a twisted mouth and, had he dared, rolled eyes.

"Perhaps it would please you to see their armor made," Peter inquired politely, and Uvayeth had consented with a lot of words and little warmth. Peter called for horses—not Talking ones, of course—and noted Uveyath examining the leather, and the gold crest tooled into it. He did not comment, but made sure, on reaching the forges (and, at peril of his life, were he not the High King, interrupting the Dwarves briefly with a bow) to take Uvayeth past their store of metals, piles of them, including one of gold. The man's face had lit, but not just at the gold – at each pile, Peter could see him counting the breadth and height of them, even more than the piles of finished armor. So not money, Peter thought, but unmade metal? With time for little more before Cair Paravel met for lunch, Peter took him (and a Dwarf) down a corridor studded with gems, a place the Narnians lit with hundreds of candles at festivals, and one of Cair Paravel's greatest beauties—and richest hallways. The Calormene's eyes had once again counted the gems, estimating them, but with less greed and less speed than the piles of rough materials. Peter wondered what the man would think of Narnia's great forests. Perhaps that was a task for this afternoon.

Uvayeth, scanning the walls still, looked curiously towards the two immense doors at the end of the hall.

"There lies the thrones of Narnia, wherein we sit only in judgement or to dictate new laws." Peter paused, for Uvayeth's curiosity did not fade. "Would you care to see such a place?"

"Indeed, it would be my delight, O my host and O King," he responded, bowing. Peter led the way, lifting the bar and shoving at one of the immense doors. It opened without creaking, but the silence of the stone hall, larger even than the Great Hall, and the gravity of the power of this room, kept Peter quiet, thinking. The light filtered in from openings in the high ceiling, towering taller than twice the height of the tallest Dryad, and at one end, on a dais at the end of twelve steps, were four gold thrones. Peter, once again asking Aslan for His help to rule this land well, glanced over at the Calormene.

His eyes were fixed on the golden thrones, the largest one with Peter's crown engraved on the top, and his face twisted into the horrid mockery of humanity that belongs to undisguised greed. Peter, protective of his country and disliking such greed near the thrones, said shortly, "Lunch is near, and it would be wise to be early. Come, guest of Narnia." He led the way out with swift steps, and dragged the door firmly back into place, letting the bar fall back. He then walked towards lunch, not letting Uvayeth walk behind him and unobserved. He offered the Dwarf luncheon as well, and the three walked quietly in the hall where many Narnians were already eating. Uvayeth gathered food from the servants and went to sit with his countryman, and Peter looked around for his siblings.

"Peter," he heard hissed behind him, and he turned—sitting in three chairs against a wall were his siblings, all together. He grabbed a nearby empty chair, lifting it and setting it in front of them with little trouble. The instant he sat his subjects gave him a plate full of food, and left their Rulers to speak alone in the circle of chairs they had formed.

"What found you?" he asked them quietly.

"Aikaden and Igteroth are but men who desire to go home, with honor added to their names, and the Tisroc's (may he be generous to the foolish, however long he lives) approval adding to their treasuries," Susan said quietly. "Their desire for gold is not matched by courage or cunning to gain it by any dishonest means, unless led to it by others more cunning than themselves."

"As we thought," Lucy murmured. "Edmund, what of your guest?"

"He cares for nothing Narnian but what Narnia may bring Calormen," Edmund put in. He too kept his voice low. "What a Lord might be made of the man! But his cunning is bought dearly, I would wager, for under his sleeves his arms bear scars of one who has been in the prisons of Tash's accursed priests." His eyes glanced quickly at Peter; the two Kings had some of those scars on their own arms. "Whatever pain taught him, dishonesty was not among the lessons his soul took. He watches his words but does not lie with them, and he covets naught for himself, nor even for the dying Tisroc, only for his country. He seeks to win Narnia's treasures for Calormen by wits and by our clumsiness."

"And did he find his wits to be matched by Narnia's King?" Susan asked, a smile glimmering in the corners of her mouth.

"As the morn wore on, almost we made ourselves friends in our fights," Edmund answered, grinning. "Rivals we will be, lifelong, if the new Tisroc is wise and grants Lamash such power. But the Tarkaan's respect is won, and if friendship follows, I would welcome the challenge of matching an honest, cunning man."

"If he is as he seems," Peter muttered. He knew he shouldn't be surly, but truly, his headache was much worse, and his brother's enthusiasm made him grumpy. "Valiant Queen, what of your guest?"

Lucy looked at him gravely, and Peter wondered if his pain showed in his eyes, for Lucy's hand reached unconsciously for where the chain to her cordial would be, were she wearing it. But she answered her brother's question without mentioning it. "I heard much of his story," she said, glancing over to the Calormenes' table; and again compassion wrote itself on her face. "He stared towards the border of Archenland with a sadness I have seen before, in the faces of families of those I have not reached in time." She touched the absence of the golden chain around her neck again, eyes still on the older Calormene. "I asked him to speak of what was in his heart, and he spoke of his cousin. The two grew up as brothers in a family of merchants. Both desired more than the counting house or the slow passage of the seas, and both joined the ranks of Tisroc's men. His cousin was a great warrior, and rose to become one of the greatest there, earning himself the rank of a trusted Tarkaan by his deeds. Ikelken rose more slowly, helped by the words of his cousin, but rise he did—in the palace of Tashbaan, where words were his weapons, instead of his cousin's choice of scimitars. But a year ago the son of Tisroc called all the most trusted members of Tisroc's soldiers together, 200 strong mounted on horses, telling them they went to destroy a threat to the life of the Tisroc. Before he left, Ikelken's cousin called his brother of the heart in and bid him farewell, telling him all. The prince led his soldiers into the desert and through it, and so to Archenland, where he bid them kill each male man and child and take what they willed for themselves. But Archenland had drawn shut its gates, and Narnia came to her aid. Ikelken's cousin fell, fighting against a threat that never existed, and two months past Ikelken's father's brother also fell in a battle on the seas. Though the ambassador did not say so, it would be fair to think he fell raiding a Narnian ship, and Ikelken wishes with all he is to stop the continued falling of men into senseless deaths. So he says, and I believe him, my siblings. His sadness is true, and there is no anger in his heart. Almost I wish he would stay and be healed, here in this land, and not return to a god who celebrates his festivals with death. There is much need in him for Aslan."

"Two sheep, an honest wolf, and a broken man," Edmund murmured. "Who put these men together as ambassadors—and with such a paltry request? I wonder if the desire hidden in the goodwill springs not from them but from the hearts back at Tashbaan itself, my consorts fair. What of Uvayeth?"

The three other siblings looked to Peter, who leaned back against his chair and shook his head. "I know not fully what he wants, only that he looked to the unmade metal of the Dwarves' forge with greedy eyes, and at the thrones in the Hall of Judgement with a heart greedier still, though if it be their power or their worth as precious metal, I know not."

"Perhaps tomorr-" Edmund began, but was interrupted by a voice to the side of their circle.

"Your Majesties are up to mischief," growled a low voice behind them, and Peter turned to see Ren standing there, her dark eyes fixed on them and her graying muzzle sniffing.

"Mischief, good Mother of the Pack? Why call you our meeting such? 'Tis merely lunch, surely," Lucy answered, eyes warm.

Ren snorted. "And when my children wish to get away with anything, I first find them and their spouses together, plotting." She paused, looking from one of the Four to the next with penetrating eyes. "As you are not just Cubs, but rulers also, I will not demand to know your business. But you should know, Your Majesties, Oreius and myself are both wary of what you may be up to, and we're employing several of your subjects to see that you keep out of mischief."

"We sit grateful for your care, Ren," said Susan. She reached out a hand and brushed the Wolf's head. "Truly we but speak of the manners and hearts of our guests." Ren looked over at them and snorted again.

"Two smell like prey, one smells like scrolls, one smells like tears, and one smells like a hunting Wolf before it buries its teeth in your neck." Lucy covered her mouth to hold in her laugh, and Ren shook her head. "Aslan's blessings on you, Majesties. Still, I'll keep Leo and Por's ears bent towards your words," she ended, trotting away, and Lucy uncovered her mouth to laugh merrily.

"Next time let us just ask the Wolves what their noses have smelled before we spend such a morning, so our eldest brother avoids his headache," she gasped. Susan, her glance sharpening, caught the attention of a nearby servant and murmured a request for a cup of soothing tea, setting in gently in Peter's hands when it arrived. He sipped it gratefully, but set it back in its saucer with a sigh.

"This morning our most unpleasant guest requested to spend his day with our youngest Queen," he told his siblings, again pitching his voice low, though if Leo and Por really were listening, that would not help much. Lucy frowned, and the two other siblings sat up straighter. "I mistrust the shadows of even our home, and wish that you walk in no place alone, my sister. Peace, I do not doubt your skill with dagger or bow," he said quickly, seeing her objection. "But we do not know of what Uvayeth has planned, and I would not chance your safety again. 'Tis but a week; grant us that, for our peace of mind?"

Lucy sighed, but gave in to the three faces that looked at her pleadingly. "You have my word, and that I will not break," she said quietly. "While our guests remain, I will not walk alone in any place."

"My thanks," Peter responded, smiling at her in gratitude.

"I think Mr. Tumnus could be persuaded to extend his visit to such a length," Susan said thoughtfully. Her smile growing, she looked back to Lucy. "And of late you have lamented you see him little. Would the company of such an old friend be acceptable?" Lucy's resigned face lit with her own smile, and Susan nodded. "I shall make that request now," she said, rising. "Wilt walk with me, my sister, so I too may not be alone, and accosted? For I too trust your skill with dagger." Lucy laughed, and took her sister's hand, both brothers rising till they walked away.

"Think you he means to try for Lucy?" Edmund asked quietly.

"For her throne at least. That I have seen him to covet—though truly I do not think marrying the youngest would content him; he looked towards my throne, not hers. But it is her he asks for, each time the choice might be offered." He looked towards Edmund. "I do not mean to offer him the choice. Our sister has endured enough, without suffering the ill-thought and unwelcome attentions of such rashness."

"Both have suffered enough; we shield them as we may." Edmund paused. "Though such suffering be the price of being Aslan's Queens at times."

"Yet it is our privilege as brothers to lighten such a price. Us, and our subjects."

"I would not object to having the Leopard brothers follow one sister, and the Wolves another."

"Agreed."

Edmund smiled. "I'll find the brothers, you find the Lady Ren?" Peter bowed assent, and the two separated.

OOOOO

A/N: The action should pick up in the next chapter, or at the very latest the one after, for those who are waiting. But it will probably be the next.

Response to Anonymousme: I've read the latest chapter of Belana-and it is satisfying to see her come into her own. I am hoping we get a bit more of the reaction of her former clan chief, but I'll enjoy it as it comes. I'm updating once a week now (on Tuesdays, if knowing the day helps, though I'll freely admit it can be anytime on Tuesdays, from 5:45am to 10pm, depending on how the day has been!). I'd like to concentrate on my original work through this year, so I've dedicated Saturdays to fanfiction and Mondays to original work; I'll keep writing, but a bit more slowly. I was completely stumped when creating a summary for this story! I sent trustingHim17 a rough outline of the plot, and she was gracious enough to create a summary. I didn't want the summary to give anything away, so I'm afraid you'll just have to suffer for now. *Impish smile.* Thank you for reviewing!