Susan and Silvana made their way down the stairs and into the Great Hall. Susan caught her breath when she saw it. The vaulted ceiling was of ivory and the door they had just come through hung with peacock feathers. To her left was a dais with a single glorious throne in the center of it, and directly across from her was a beautiful sight.
The easttern door, inlaid with designs of gold, had been thrown open to reveal the green and blue of the ocean, for the door opened right onto the sea, and when the weather was fair as it was today, the door was kept open that the afternoon sun might shine in on the golden panels and the sea breeze would waft freely into the Hall. Susan inhaled the great tang of the sea.
Before she could go to the door, however, the sweet sound of a horn reached them from outside. She followed Silvana out into the courtyard in time to see a group of nobles ride up. One of them, a handsome young man with golden-brown hair, carried the gay yellow banner of Archenland. There were two other men and three ladies, all dressed in beautiful clothing and with their hair free in the breeze.
They dismounted once they had gained the courtyard, and the first man hailed Silvana as "Cousin".
"Good health, Cousin," she greeted him amiably. "What news from your father's kingdom?"
"All is well in Archenland," he answered, as a younger woman rushed past him and gave Silvana a hug.
"Well met, Cousin!" the girl cried. She had dark brown hair that waved gently over her shoulders, and Susan thought she detected a resemblance between her and the first man; they looked like siblings. "You know my husband, of course, Lord Dirin," she introduced another of her company as the group dismounted. "And my good friends, the Ladies Calia and Caliana, and this is Sir Tevran."
Sir Tevran, the good-looking man, had handed the banner to Lord Dirin as he dismounted—rather stiffly, Susan thought. He bowed to Queen Silvana and kissed her hand.
"Welcome to Cair Paravel, honored guests," the Queen declared graciously. "This is Lady Susan, who comes from our southern border, and Huffledud the dwarf, and Aminia the dryad…"
Susan jumped and looked around. The courtyard had filled with people while she was distracted, and now she saw there were a few dwarves and nymphs, a faun and a huge badger, two oversized jackdaws and something that looked suspiciously like a naiad. Oh dear, she thought desperately. How does one go on in a society that isn't even human!
The visitors from Archenland didn't seem to mind. The siblings were introduced to the court as Prince Everon and Princess Eva, apparently the children of the current king of Archenland, King Halberas.
"Come, let us go into the hall," Silvana suggested, and the court and their visitors trooped back into the palace. Sir Tevran was behind the rest; he had stopped to pull a crutch out of the bundle on his horse's back and limped out of the courtyard, laughing at some jest that one of the ladies had made.
000
When Silvana suggested a walk in the garden, it was Sir Tevran that Susan found herself beside, at the back of the group. She was there because she felt a little awkward around the Narnians, and he was there because he didn't move as quickly as everyone else, and so naturally fell in at the back of the group.
"Lady Susan," Sir Tevran said courteously, inclining his head. "So which part of the southern border do you come from?"
Susan thought fast. "Due south of Dancing Lawn," she improvised. She was pretty sure that was far enough away from Anvard, the capital of Archenland.
"Ah," the young man replied. "And where is that? I am unfamiliar with the geography of Narnia, you see."
"Oh. Well, it's just a little west of Aslan's Howe," Susan explained. She was certain he would recognize that name; she recalled that when they had played that they were in Narnia in Prince Caspian's time, her brothers and sister had bandied around that name as if everyone knew where the landmark was.
But Sir Tevran shook his head. "I am afraid I have not had the pleasure of learning of Aslan's Howe," he said courteously.
Just one more proof, Susan thought with smug satisfaction. Anyone who has been to Narnia should have heard of Aslan's Howe. Could this possibly be some sort of elaborate set-up? But a set-up for what? Susan frowned.
By this time they had become caught up in conversation and had dropped even further behind the rest of the group, who had moved on to view some other part of the gardens. Susan was startled by Tevran's voice. "Do the roses displease you, madam?" he asked.
"Roses?" Susan asked in confusion, then glanced down at the flowers by the garden path. "Oh! No. I was just thinking."
"Of some great trouble, perhaps?" Tevran asked gently. "No happy contemplation could have made you look so angry."
"Do I look angry?" Susan laughed. It was time to turn on the medieval charm. Maybe she could get the truth out of someone in this nuthouse! "I do not mean to, I assure you. Your company is quite pleasant."
Tevran looked a little surprised at this statement, but not displeased. "Yours is as well, my lady."
A bell sounded somewhere inside. "Ah. The call to dinner," Tevran said. "Shall we return to the front doors?"
"Oh, no need for that," Susan said airily. "There's a back entrance somewhere around here…" She led him down the path and then pointed out a door, half hidden in a recess of the wall. Tevran held it for her, and they both entered a back corridor of the castle. "The dining hall should be right down here," Susan continued, pulling a door open. Sure enough, there were the great tables laid out for dinner. She smiled broadly at her companion as he entered.
"You must know Cair Paravel quite well, madam!" Tevran smiled back at her. "I am sure very few visitors ever notice that door."
Susan's smile froze on her face and she stared at him in horror. She didn't know Cair Paravel well—she had never been there before! How had she known about that door?
Tevran didn't notice her discomfiture. He went and pulled a chair out for her at one of the tables and turned back with a pleasant expression. Susan plastered a wooden smile on her face and stiffly took the chair. All the time, her mind was chanting, What's going on? Am I going mad? What's going on!
000
Dinner would have been a fascinating experience, had Susan been concentrating on it. But her mind was focused elsewhere. So many things were beginning to seem familiar. It was like returning to a house you had lived in when you were so young that you no longer remembered it. The sound of laughter and clinking cutlery echoing in the high ceiling of the dining hall, the smooth stone of the floor, the sweet tang of salt air—somehow more healthful than the air of Brighton—fanning gently in the room to move the ladies' hair and skirts. The distinctive voice of one of the jackdaws telling a joke—they were so very fond of jokes, weren't they? The jackdaws?
Stop it, Susan told herself. You've never heard a jackdaw talk before—much less tell a joke! But it was all terribly familiar!
No, not all of it, she told herself. Some of it seems strangely out-of-place. That decorative sideboard, for instance! It stood off on her left, and it had a particular kind of scroll work that Susan was positive she had never seen before. She didn't understand.
She managed to excuse herself shortly after desert (the gentlemen all stood when she got down from the table, which gave her a bit of a shock) and fled to her room. At least here, she could think in peace without having to worry about what people around her were thinking. The light coming in the window was lovely. She walked over to them and leaned her head on the window frame.
In Silvana's wonderful hospitality, they had given her a room that looked eastward over the sea. The light that entered the room was all reflected off the water. The sea was a light and luminous green-blue, a more limpid and lovely color than the sea at Brighton had ever seemed in any light. For one instant, she wanted it all to be real. She wanted there to be such a wonderful place as Narnia. But there was no such place, and right now, it made her heart ache to think that. She shut her eyes.
A sound rose from the water below, but Susan didn't notice it. It began low and rose in loops and curls of twisting melody. The sea-people had swum up to the eastern door and were serenading them. It was a strange kind of sound, rather unearthly, but stunningly beautiful all the same—a song of warm shores and cold currents, changing tides and changeless depths.
It was a song Susan had heard many times, and she began softly to sing along. She mimicked the strange, ululating notes of the merpeople, the articulations and flourishes of their voices. She was carried away in the melody, and sang a little louder. The song began to die away, and stopped suddenly, letting the sound of the waves crash as a finale. But Susan held that last note.
And heard her own voice.
She knew that song. The merpeople had sung it many nights, as she and her brothers and sister and the people of their court sat in the great hall and listened. The sunlight would glint off of the eastern door, and the peacock feathers on the western door would float in the sea breeze. And the delicious warmth of the day would fade into the sweet cool of the evening, and the nymphs sitting on the steps of the dais would lay their heads on their knees and smile in perfect peace. It was the part of Narnia Susan had always loved the best—the great hall in the evening, with the sea folk singing that very song.
This was Narnia. She could deny it no longer. The memories came to her—not like a flood, but like a veil slipped slowly to the floor, revealing everything that had always stood behind it, not quite visible to the eye. This was Narnia. And she herself had been a queen.
TBC
AN: Yes, I know it was a terribly long time between chapters! But I'm a little stuck at the moment. My basic idea for the story needs some major revision, but I hope to get back into it! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! Reader interest is really what keeps me coming back to update.
fledge: You know, you're right. They might not be prudish—after all, with the nymphs and so forth running around in those diaphanous costumes. I'll keep it in mind and come up with an explanation. :) Your comments really make me think about what I'm writing! Pray continue!
Writer from Rivendell: Thanks! Always proud to have a rule-breaking story. :)
Lizzy: I won't answer your question just yet, but awesome guess!
poison blossom: Yeah, I loved that line, too. :)
Enjie Yekcam: Good point. Will remember it!
ice73: Cricket! Hee hee hee! And I am SO SORRY I referred to you as female! I don't know why I did that. It's either because I expect girls to read the story more (which really makes no sense) or because I'm just used to putting things in the feminine because I'm at women's college… :) So, so, so sorry! (But I love the hot chocolate… Yummy! And the review!)
qwerty: Was that an exclamation or a prayer? I hope it's not that bad:)
varlet-un: Yeah, I'm sure the "Dear Reader" didn't go over well with everybody. –shrugs— Well, ya win some, ya lose some. :) Thanks!
Isobel Kelte: All answers shall be revealed in time! –grins evilly—
Yoo-hoo luver…w/legs!: (would love to know where the screen name comes from, btw) Yes! A fanclub for the peaches! I love it!
sasori: lol Yes, isn't it, tho? Thanks!
Gods-girl2004: (love the screen name) Oh, PLEASE don't go insane!
MissE: Well, we've already got the female warrior in Queen Lucy the Valiant, and gentleness is certainly also a virtue. I hope to bring that theme in again later. And good question why none of them was "the Brilliant" or "the Wise". I guess they had that covered in Edmund the Just. It's interesting: Peter was "a great warrior" and was "the Magnificent", so there's the very strong man of the two of them (Peter and Edmund). And Lucy was "the Valiant", so she's his counterpart (the oldest and the youngest!). Then there's "Edmund the Just" who was therefore also merciful, and "Susan the Gentle". They all balance each other wonderfully!
Herald Jacquelle: I like how you put that!
Thanks also to Jaina Kenobi, Jennevieve, xxhannahbananaxx, HottStuffMelv, Alexis Kent, ShadowWalker, and silver-star-0!
Please review! Criticisms and comments are welcomed with open arms! The more criticisms and comments I get, probably the faster this story will start to fall into place, and the faster I'll update! (How's that for bribery?) I'm sure the hot chocolate hasn't run out just yet! (And help yourself to some peaches! Just not the ones in the jar, please. Susan might get upset.)
