Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia nor any of the characters and places associated with it.


Chapter 5: Date

"Cock a doodle doo!"

"Ahh!" I scream while falling out of my bed and landing on the painful, wooden ground with a thud. I have a sudden urge to go and kill that rooster. I was having a very nice dream about weddings when it interrupted the ceremony. I sigh as I put my hands on the bed and hoist myself up onto it. Great, I'm late again! I think as I look outside my bedroom window to see the sun up and joyful already. I'm over work now. Do I have to go? Of course I do! I don't really have a choice in the matter. I get up off my double bed then and go to my small closet. I fling open the door and pull out my, now clean, servant uniform. I put it on and run into the kitchen. Grabbing a cup, I get some freezing cold water from the bucket and chug it down quickly. I go to turn around, almost bashing into Bella in the process. "You alright, Bell's?" I ask as I take in her tired, dreary face. She's rubbing her eyes a lot too, usually a sign that she needs more sleep and rest.

"I'm just tired. Have fun at work," she replies sleepily. I think I woke her up. I don't have much time to ponder on the idea though as I look up at the sundial. Eleven am! If I don't get to work soon, I'm going to be fired.

"Alright then. Love you. See you tonight," I say as I quickly give her cheek a kiss and run out to the back stable. "Come along, Crystal," I say while hoisting myself up onto her bare back.

"No saddle?" she asks. I shrug. Riding bare back doesn't bother me; in fact, it is how I was taught to ride.

"I don't need one and I'm in a hurry. Come on, go!" I scream frustrated. We ride to Cair Paravel quickly, passing through the large golden gates. I almost run over some pedestrians in my rush, frustrating me to no end. They don't seem to understand the rule of making way for horses. Have I mentioned that I hate this town now? It's busy every morning and it's the biggest pain when you are riding in on a horse. Eventually we make it to the stables. We trot to the back stable and I leap off of her before I shove her into her gate and run up the front steps.

"Good morning, Ashley! You're really late aren't you," Malina greets while running next to me.

"Yes, I know! Just shut your mouth!" I snap angrily. She rolls her eyes at my attempt to be angry. For me it's very hard to get angry; usually I'm quite happy. "Look I know how late I am, okay? I didn't mean to snap at you like that. It's just...I didn't get much sleep this morning. I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes I got these odd images flash up into my mind," I explain. She frowns.

"What do you mean odd images? Most dreams I get are bazaar, but you don't hear me rambling on about them," she says. I shake my head. She doesn't understand.

"No! I don't mean a dream. I tried to go to sleep twice, but each time I closed my eyes I got odd moving pictures. Like Aslan nodding his head and... Starstone shaking her head in disapproval and, and –" Malina grabs my right shoulder then and takes me inside slowly.

"It's okay, Ashley. I'm going to get you some serious help." Her face is serious and I struggle to maintain my groan of annoyance. I grimace at her instead. Some great friend she is. Instead of trying to help me herself and listen she takes me to see a counsellor. She leads me up two flights of stairs then before we turn left, then left again, then down one flight of stairs, then right, then up four flights, then left at a weird corridor, then pass by four spare bedrooms, until finally we arrive at a room that says "Counsellor". I'm about to pull the door open when I hear a faint male voice say my name.

"Ashley, why are you going to see a counsellor?" the voice asks me curiously. Oh, please say that I don't know that hugely familiar voice. I turn around and frown. Sure enough my date for tonight is standing in front of me.

"She thinks I need counselling," I say sourly while pointing at Malina. Peter chuckles a little bit.

"Counselling? Really, Malina?" he asks, raising one of his stunning eyebrows at the same time.

"You know my name!" she squeals. Of course Malina would only hear him using her name. She probably doesn't even realise that he's curious. I roll my eyes at her.

"Yes, I know your name?" King Peter asks, completely and without a doubt confused at her bizarre reaction. I hold back a chuckle.

"How?" she asks over excitedly. King Peter looks so confused. If I don't control myself I know that I probably will be on the floor in laughter.

"That doesn't matter! Why are you sending Ashley to counselling?" he questions angrily. Now it's my turn to raise an eyebrow. The High King is angry? Well that's a first!

"Because she said she was having bazaar images and so I thought that she better consult a counsellor about the issue," she explains as if her idea is the smartest thing in the world. I can just picture her wearing thick, black-rimmed glasses and overalls with socks pulled up over her knees. I chuckle. I catch her deadly glare in my peripheral vision. Wow! Who ever knew that Malina could be scary?

"What type of bazaar images?" he asks, tilting his head a little bit and walking forward. I blush.

"I'll tell you tonight, if we're still on," I comment. If he's forgotten, he is not worth the hassle.

"Sure and yes we are still on for tonight. You didn't seriously think I would forget about it, did you?" he asks as if he's offended by the idea. I smile.

"No, I didn't," I lie smoothly.

"Oh, well, okay then. And I'm sorry ladies, but I've got to head off to court. I'll see you soon, um, both of you and, Malina? I don't think Ashley needs counselling," he backs me up, before walking away. I smugly look over my shoulder at Malina then only to see that she's glaring at me. I poke my tongue out at her and walk away. I'm so glad I know this castle back to front otherwise I probably would be lost by now. I walk back around a bend towards the last corridor then and bash into just the person I do not want to see.

"Hi, Starstone," I greet, my voice shaking. She looks at me and shakes her head. I don't know how Oreius can put up with her as his wife; let alone Emolise as her daughter. If my mother was always like this I would be scared half to death most of the time.

"You're late...again," she says angrily. Maybe Henrietté is right. Maybe I will get fired, only it won't be by King Peter and I courting, it will be because I'm always late. I just nod my head at her with a sorrowful look on my face. "Ashley, if this continues then I'm going to have to fire you. I won't have a choice. I don't want to fire you though, so please stop being so late." She sounds truly upset, making me feel a little bad. I just nod my head softly. She pulls me into a hug. I hug her back. Actually, on second thought, she would make a good mother. "Now, on the bright side of things, I do want to tell you that you get the day off today. You worked until two-thirty and, besides, we have a lot of servants today anyway." I freeze.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" She cracks a smile.

"I said; you can have the day off." I can't believe what I'm hearing. She's letting me off with a warning – again! I definitely don't deserve this type of treatment. Hang on, why am I so upset? I get the day off, which means that I get to go shopping for my date tonight. "Go home now, Ashley," she suddenly commands out of the blue.

"What?" I ask, confused. It's weird that she would just command me to go home like that. Starstone usually is nice about giving people the day off, not commanding them to leave immediately like they're on private property or something.

"Go home!" she commands again, pointing towards the newly painted exit. What in Narnia?

"Are you okay, Starstone?" I ask nervously. She narrows her green eyes at me. I didn't do anything. Why by the Lions Mane is she glaring at me?

"Ashley, just go. I'm not in the mood today to be arguing with you," she says in a dangerous warning tone. This is so weird. I can tell she's getting frustrated with me. I can just imagine smoke coming out of her ears.

"That's fine, I'll see you tomorrow," I say while pushing past her. I can feel her glaring eyes on my back as I turn the corner and exit the castle. That was so strange. I go directly to the little town, looking at all the stalls and shops. I need something nice for tonight, but I don't have anything nice at my little stone cottage. I go to a little shop called 'Pink Boutique'. It has pretty little dresses in the window, so I have a feeling that it'll be nice. I'm definitely right about that. This little boutique has the most adorable dresses in it. The only problem is the prices. They are not cheap; at all. The sale rack is full of gorgeous dresses that would be perfect, but they're asking for ten gold crescents per dress. Only royalty have that much money to spend on dresses. I groan and look up to the ceiling.

"Welcome to Pink Boutique! My names Alessandria. Can I help you with anything today, Miss?" A pretty, blond faun asks me.

"Um, what's the cheapest dress you have here?" I ask, trying not to be too pushy. She thinks over it for a moment.

"This one right here," she says while holding up a pink, knee-high dress. Ugh! How dare she even show me that! Only married women wear knee high-dresses and even then, it's when she's alone or with her husband in private.

"How much is it?" I ask curiously. I'm not planning on buying it, but that doesn't mean I don't still want to know what their version of "cheap" is in this store. She flips over a little, pink tag that's attached to the collar of the dress and nods once.

"Eight gold crescents," she answers happily. I frown. She looks at my face for a moment. "What do you need the dress for?" she asks curiously, concern written all over her face.

"I have a date tonight," I answer gloomily. This is the only place to buy formal and pretty dresses and they're all way too expensive. How typical! The girl sighs and puts the dress back on the hanger.

"Is it your first?" she asks, while leaning on a rack full of pink and purple dresses.

"Yes. I don't have anything to wear and I'm really worried that if I wear something too cheap then he's going to think that I'm way to poor for him," I explain. She smiles at me in comfort.

"Is he upper class? Part of a royal family or something like that?" she asks. I think she truly is sorry for me. Maybe it's an act. Or maybe she's being truthful. I don't want her to feel sorry for me though. All that will do is make me feel like I'm only getting things because I play the pretty, little, poor girl who has her first date.

"He's part of the Royal Family. Do you know High King Peter?" She gasps and her eyes grow wide as her jaw drops to the floor.

"You're going on a date with the High King!" she exclaims surprised. I nod. "I see what you mean," she agrees. "Well are there any dresses that you had your eye on or anything?" she asks. I glance around the shop and my eyes land on the perfect dress. It's a deep blue colour and has a cream piece of material that flows from the top of the dress to the bottom. Around the edges are gold trimmings and it has gorgeous dark blue lace sleeves too. It looks as if it'll reach down to my ankles and just fit my body shape, which is pretty curvy if I'm being truly honest with myself. It's perfect. I run over to it and search through the rack and, thank Aslan, they have one in my size. I pull it out and admire it. I see the little pink tag hanging on the back of it and flip it over. My eyes widen. One hundred and fifty-six gold crescents! My dream of wearing this dress tonight just faded into thin air by one tiny, little, pink, price tag. "That's one of our new arrivals. It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Alessandria says, admiring the lovely dress.

"Yes, it would be perfect; if I could afford it," I say frowning. The perfect dress and it's too expensive. How typical! The shop assistant taps me on the left shoulder then, bringing me out of my reverie. She points to the little, wooden, dressing room.

"Go and try it on, I'm sure we can come to an arrangement," she promises me, winking. I smile and skip to the first available dressing room. I take off my servant uniform quickly and shove the dress on. I was right. It does fit me perfectly. I love it; it's so light-weight and feminine. It also looks expensive, which is always a good thing when you're going out with the High King. I come out of the dressing room. Alessandria claps. I smile. "It looks really nice on you. You're the first person who's come in so far that has actually suited the design and colour," she comments, smiling. I spin around. It's so pretty. I need this dress and fast. "How much money do you have?" she asks. I frown. I feel as if I can burst out in tears at any moment.

"A lot less than what this dress is worth," I reply sadly. I look down and seriously feel as if I can cry. It's so nice. She eyes me and smiles.

"Just tell me how much you have," she asks politely. I frown. There's no getting out of this question! I may as well answer it honestly.

"Four gold crescents," I say. Alessandria clicks her tongue and grimaces. Now this is the one time that I wish I had parents to 'borrow' money off.

"Hey, Lu, what about this one?" I know that voice. I spin around, my eyes landing on the two Queens without a second glance. What luck that is! Queen Lucy examines the lime-green dress and shakes her head in disapproval. Susan glances over at me then and our eyes make contact. "Hi, Ashley!" she exclaims while running up and giving me a hug. I smile.

"Your Majesty," I say, curtseying. This dress is so perfect for curtseying in. I want it!

"Please, call me Susan. I am surprised to see you in here if I'm being fully honest. If you can afford to shop in a place like this, then why on earth do you work?" she asks with wide eyes.

"Well I can't. I was just browsing and then I saw this dress and really liked it so I thought I'd try it on. Do you like it?" I ask as I notice her eyeing the dress with an approving smile.

"I love it on you. It wouldn't look nice on many people, but you certainly make it," she says, smiling the whole time.

"Hi, Ashley!" Queen Lucy says while skipping up to me and giving me a tight hug. "Wow! I love your dress," she adds. I frown. I can almost hear the moment when all the dots click together in Susan's head. She puts her hands on my shoulders to make sure that I'm paying attention to her before looking at me expectantly.

"This is for your date with Peter tonight," she states, not needing me to really answer. I nod anyway and hold back the threatening tears. Why is it that the one time I actually have a date is the one time I can't afford the dress I like? "Ashley, what's wrong?" she asks before pulling me in for a light hug.

"Who was I kidding when I came in here? I can't afford a place like this, Queen Susan. I was hoping I could, but I can't. The one dress that I really love is probably one of the most expensive dresses in the shop since it's one of their new items and I'm really worried that if I don't wear expensive clothing tonight then King Peter won't want anything to do with me again," I explain quickly, while holding back the tears that are threatening to fall.

"Are you crazy? My brother doesn't care what you wear, he's a man! A clueless male who couldn't tell the difference between hand-made and shop-brought. Don't worry about that. You're gorgeous either way and plus, we're going to buy you that dress – as well as shoes and jewellery – so take it off," she commands. I grimace.

"Your Majesty, I can't let you –"

"Don't argue with me." Queen Susan has a snappy side apparently.

"Fine then and thank you. It means a lot to me," I say, smiling at her.

"Well, I mean, you're going on a date with my brother. It's the least I could do," she promises. I grin and go back into the changing room. I take the dress off and hand it to her over the doorway. She grabs it and I can hear her shoes clicking against the stone floor as she goes to pay for it. I can't believe she's doing this for me. It's crazy! I put my uniform on quickly then and rush out of the changing room.

"Thank you for all your help. I'll make sure to recommend your store to all my friends," I say to Alessandria. She nods her head in acknowledgement and smiles.

"Any time. Have fun with the High King tonight," she says while I leave with Queen Susan and Queen Lucy.

The day goes by quickly and by the end of it, I end up with a dress, a pair of pretty black and blue flat shoes that have rows of diamonds zigzagging across the top of them, a diamond necklace and bracelet, and, also, some hair accessories. The girls help me get ready once we get to my place and leave at six-thirty pm. I'm wearing my dress already with the shoes and jewellery. Queen Susan has somehow curled my hair into elegant sways and Queen Lucy has put a cute, little, diamond hair band on the top of my head. I love King Peter's sisters. They're so genuine.

So now all I'm doing is sitting on my brown, leather sofa in front of the blazing fire waiting anxiously for the knock of a life time. I have my bag and coat (both new also) sitting on the couch next to me. Bella's sitting on my other side. She had helped a little bit with putting the bracelet on too which she is very happy about. I have my arm around her, trying to use her as a calming device. It's silent as we wait. I can easily say now that waiting is the worst part about a date. It gives you way too much time to think, which, before a date, is never a good thing. What if the only reason he asked me out was because he felt sorry for me? What if he doesn't like me at all? What if the date goes really bad tonight and he never wants to see me again? What if he ditches me and doesn't come at all? What if –

Three light taps on the front door pull me out of my gloom. I jump up off the sofa, taking a few calming breaths in the process, and yank the front door open (I swear I probably could pull it off its hinges; I'm so excited!) and here he is. He's wearing a woodland green tunic, which stops just above his knee. He makes that tunic look so good! He's gorgeous! I look up at his gorgeous smiling face. The first thing I notice is that he had taken his golden crown off; obviously he didn't want to pull any unwanted attention to us. I sigh in contentment.

"Hello, beautiful lady!" he says while pulling out a bunch of dark red roses from behind his back. "These are for you," he says, smiling widely at me. I take the roses from his outstretched hand and smell them. I know, how cliché! They do smell fresh and gorgeous though.

"Thank you, they're beautiful! Would you like to come in?" I ask shyly, gesturing for him to come through.

"Yes, thank you. I'd like that very much." He smiles and enters slowly and curiously.

"So how have you been?" Really? Out of every question in the world you ask that one? I kick myself mentally.

"Hmm, alright. I've been very busy though. I never knew how much work went into being a King. And what about you?" he asks as I gesture for him to take seat in the lounge room. He smiles at me and casually turns around before walking through to the lounging area and plopping himself down onto the lounge. I walk through to the kitchen and grab my mother's crystal vase out of the top cup board. I fill it half way up with freezing water and cut the roses stems so that they fit in perfectly. I put the vase in the middle of my little oak lounge room table and turn to face him.

"Not bad, just boring work and annoying friends. You know the usual," I state smiling. He chuckles a little. At that exact moment I notice my little sis sit next to him.

"Hi, I'm Isabella, Ashley's cute, little sister," she interrupts. I love you Bella, but why? Just why?

"Oh! Well it's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Bella. I'm Peter." He holds out his hand for her to shake and I chuckle as she looks at it strangely before refusing it. She stands up on the couch so she's towering over him before glaring at him – or trying to anyway. It looks more adorable than deadly to be honest.

"Here's a warning for you, buddy. If you hurt my sister then I. HURT. YOU!" she threatens while pointing her finger at his chest and poking him. I bite my lip in an effort to stop the invading giggles. Well at least she's protective. I look at King Peter and purse my lips as I notice that he's trying to contain laughter too.

"I will definitely not hurt, Ashley." She smiles and puts her chin up. I shake my head. He turns to me then and smiles.

"Shall we go?" he asks while holding out his hand. I contain a sigh. Now play it cool, Ashley.

"Sure!" I agree in a high-pitched tone. Goodness, that was so wrong! I put my hand in his and he laces his fingers with mine before he pulls me to the front door. I stop and take my hand out of his. I miss the contact instantly. My hand's burning with electricity. I spin around and lean down so that I'm on eye level with Isabella. "I'll be back late tonight, okay. You're going to have to put yourself into bed. There's some left over fruit salad in the cooling station for you for dinner. I love you and will see you in the morning," I kiss her cheek and stand up, lacing my fingers with King Peter's again.

"I love you too. See you in the morning," she says before walking away. I smile after her.

"Ready now?" he asks me, raising an eyebrow. I look down and check to make sure that I have everything. My coat is now hanging over my arm and my hand bag is in my hand.

"Yes," I say, smiling again. I can't help myself, every time I'm around King Peter, he just makes me smile; not that that's a bad thing at all.

"Come along then," he says, pulling me out the front door which I continue to close and lock behind me. He grins at me and leads me through the dark, creepy forest. Tonight is going to be great; I can feel it in the depths of my bones. The air in the forest is quite warm tonight for a change; usually it's absolutely freezing out here. I sigh. The forest is also extremely quiet. I can't hear anything, just dead silence. It's just me and King Peter, not that I'm complaining at all.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks me out of the blue, making me jump a little bit. What am I thinking about? That is a good question.

"I'm just thinking that it's so quiet and warm tonight. Usually seven-thirty pm is quite a busy time to be out. So I'm just pleasantly surprised," I explain. He grins at me.

"Well, at least no one will see us together, which is probably a good thing considering your line of work," he says, swinging our arms between us. I smile. There is an awkward silence. "You didn't tell me you had a little sister. How old is she?" he asks. I grin. That's always the first thing that people wonder about Bella. She seems a lot older than what she really is.

"Sorry about not telling you that, she's seven," I get the wonderful display of seeing his jaw drop.

"Seven? Are you serious? I thought she was eight at least. Her grammar is perfect for a seven year old," he comments.

"Yes, that's just because I'm the best teacher in the entire universe!" I add. We both laugh at the same time. I bite my lip before glancing around in confusion. I don't recognise this place at all. "Where are we going?" I ask curiously. The only thing I see in front of us is a huge waterfall and a steep grassy incline.

"We are going to a place that I found while heading to the Stone Table. It has nice views and so I thought it would be romantic for a first date," he explains, pulling me into his broad and muscular side. I giggle. Who knew the High King has muscles? I certainly didn't! "I also got Eddie to take some dinner up for us 'secretly'; the cooks will do anything for him, especially the females, whether he did it or not though I do not know," he adds. I giggle again.

"Wow, you trust your brother so much," I respond sarcastically. He chuckles to himself.

"Yes, my brother isn't the most trustworthy person in the world, but he'll do anything for me as long as I ask politely and remind him when he has to do it," he says, while pulling me up to the edge of the dark forest. I look up the grassy hill. It looks as if the Great River runs right over the top of it. He's right, it should be romantic. "Come along," he says in his striking, unusual accent while beginning to pull me up the hill. All I can hear apart from his calming voice is the loud splashing of the waterfall next to us.

I brush away a few stray drops from my arms with a giggle. The water is freezing! Eventually we reach the top of the incline. King Peter was right, this hill is beautiful. The Great River runs straight through the heart of it causing a deep crevice in the middle of the hill. There is another stream too though that starts from a large pond placed on the opposite side of the hill to us. Its water flurries through the slight forest and pours over the edge in a mass of noise. The views are breathtaking also, looking out over Narnia in all directions. From this point, I can see the stars for miles and miles. It's extremely relaxing and stress relieving. I let go of King Peter's hand then and cautiously walk over to the edge. Looking down I see the giant waterfall pouring off of the edge of the hill. No wonder we were getting wet, this waterfall is huge!

"This is amazing! I've lived here eighteen years and I never noticed this," I awe in amazement, while turning to him. He raises his eyebrows at me.

"Seriously? You didn't know this was here?" he asks flabbergasted. I smile.

"It's true," I swear while walking over to him. He chuckles under his breath and takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers together once again. He leads me silently into a little bit of bush before we are standing in front of the rushing stream.

"Right. Ed has set up our dinner over the other side of the river, so we'll have to cross over these rocks here," he explains while gesturing to the small stepping stones that are carefully placed in the river. I look at them and back up at him. He must read the worry in my eyes for he crosses over them at once and holds out his hand to help me skip across them. I look down at the tiny, wet rocks then back up at him. "Trust me. I'll catch you if you slip. I promise," he says in a very convincing tone.

I look into his deep, blue eyes, only to see complete and utter assurance. I smile at him. Don't be a girl about it! They're stepping stones! Okay, there's one. There's two. And – shoot! I slip while landing on the third, wet, brown rock. Two strong arms catch me and pull me up before I land into the rapid river. I look up at King Peter and he smiles reassuringly. He holds onto my hand as he carefully picks me up and places me down onto the grass next to him. "Are you okay?" he asks a bit worriedly. I nod.

"Yes, I'm okay, it's a tiny bit harder to jump across a river in a long dress though," I say while grimacing. He chuckles.

"You're right. It is harder for you than me," he says in between laughter. I giggle a tiny bit as well. "Come on!" he says while keeping hold of my hand and leading me through the bit of undergrowth to another open space. I look around and notice a table with two chairs on each side. The table itself has a golden tablecloth on it with two sliver plates and cutlery. On the edge is a large gold candle with two little silver candles on each side of it. All three candles are lit and have little flames on them, lighting up the whole table. My eyes widen at the sight of it. It's so...perfect! "Well at least Edmund did something right!" he exclaims. I laugh openly.

"Peter – I mean, King Peter; it's ideal," I reassure him while looking up at his face. He looks down at me and smiles his drop-dead, gorgeous smile.

"Ashley, while I'm away privately with you, you may call me Peter. This isn't a formal event or anything and you're not working," he says with a heart-warming smile. I put my hand on his shoulder and he twitches at the different touch.

"Thank you. That's what I've wanted to call you ever since I met you," I say, a tad shy. He grins down at me and kisses the hand that is apparently still sitting there. I jump slightly. Why is my hand still on his shoulder? I blush deeply, my face feeling like someone just placed a burning iron on it. He must have noticed my slight delay for he touches my cheek with his hand. I recoil a little bit at his unusual touch.

"I love your blush," he declares quietly. I smile. "Anyway, let's go and um eat," he says while pulling his hand away from my boiling cheek. My cheek feels electric from his gentle stroke. I can definitely get used to this. He grabs my hand, thankfully, and leads me over to the gorgeous table. After letting go of my hand, he walks up to one of the chairs and pulls it out for me to sit on. I bite my lip slightly, hesitating.

"My lady," he acknowledges me, while gesturing for me to sit down. I walk silently over to the golden chair and sit on it. He pushes my seat back underneath the table and goes to sit himself down opposite me. "I have no idea what Edmund has planned, so don't start complaining if we don't end up with anything to eat," he says, smiling at me. I giggle a little.

"As long as I'm with you I'm happy," I declare myself, instantly regretting it. He smiles at me and put his hand over my own. I blush.

"Relax, Ashley! I'm the same as you," he declares himself. I hold back a squeal. The High King possibly likes me. I'm about to reply when I hear footsteps slowly and hesitantly approaching us.

"Good evening! My name is Susan and I will be your waitress for this evening. Here are your menus and if you need anything just ring the miniature, silver bell on the table," Susan says, smiling widely at the two of us. With that she leaves us alone to look at the menu. As soon as she's out of hearing range Peter and I laugh.

"Well I guess that answers the question about the food and drinks," Peter says in between laughs. I giggle at him. "So anything you like?" he asks. It isn't up until this moment that I suddenly realise I haven't even opened my menu yet. I look at the front.

It looks quite formal. I open it up and notice that each page is very neatly hand-written. My eyes widen. It would've taken them a while to do this. The thing I do like about this menu though is that there are no prices. Everything is free. Thank Aslan! I look up at Peter and smile. He's looking at me. Not that I'm complaining at all. I look back down at the menu and scan through it. Lamb and gravy sounded good. I put it silently down on the table in front of me. "So, what are you going to have?" he asks, still gazing at me. I blush and look at the yellow flame of the golden candle.

"Um, lamb and gravy with a side of salad," I say, quite unsure of myself. He laughs a little bit. "What?" I ask joining in.

"We picked the same thing," he laughs out. I giggle. I have to admit that is pretty funny. He smiles at me and then picks up the silver bell. He rings it twice. Two, long, high-pitched notes echo throughout the hill and forest beneath it. I just keep staring at Peter. It's so hard to be able to look away from him. There is something extremely natural about the way he presents himself and acts. It's rather like a breath of fresh air. His whole demeanour is so relaxed and friendly that it makes it hard to not smile around him. He looks at me again and smiles as if he read my mind. He's just too gorgeous for his own good.

"Ready to order," a voice asks from beside me, pulling me out of my High King trance. Susan's standing there wearing one of the spare servant uniforms. I grin. Oddly enough she looks nice even in one of the horrible dresses.

"Um, yes thanks, can we please have two plates of lamb and gravy with the side salad," Peter orders for both of us.

"Anything else?" she asks while tilting her head and throwing her gaze to me.

"Drinks perhaps," I suppose. She smiles.

"Perfect. I'll be right out with all those," she says nodding her head and collecting the menus. She leaves then, leaving Peter and I to talk in private. I smile. I can't believe she actually agreed to do this!

"So random question time!" Peter says enthusiastically. I giggle in response and nod. "What's your favourite colour?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. I enclose another giggle.

"Blue." The colour of his eyes...really?

"Same, another likeness," he says happily, winking at me. I smile at him for the hundredth time tonight. I swear my jaw is going to be hurting by the time this date is finished from smiling so much. We chat idly for the next twenty minutes, just enjoying the time together. It's starting to become very natural to talk to him. There really is something about him that makes me open up and talk. I'm usually very shy around new people, so it is a welcome surprise. Susan comes out then with two plates of delicious looking food. She places it down in front of both of us and leaves again.

Peter and I look at each other for a moment and we're just about to start eating when Susan comes out again only this time, she has a tray that has wine and two crystal cups on it. My eyes grow large. Crystal? Are they serious? She places the cups in front of us and pours the wine into them one at a time. Red spiced wine! I wonder if they know that red is my favourite? She places the decanter on the table when she's done and leaves us alone, hopefully for the last time tonight. "Cheers to happiness!" he says while holding up his cup.

"Cheers!" I say putting my glass up against his. We both smile and have a sip. Can I please drink that forever? It's the best wine I have ever tasted in my life! I put my cup down rather regretfully and start eating my dinner. It's beautiful! I can't even remember the last time I ate out apart from home and of course the sick room. Once we have both finished our dinner, Susan comes up and takes away our plates.

"Come on, I know a little park bench where we could sit; if you would like to of course," he says, extending his left hand towards me. I take it gracefully and get up off my seat. He leads me towards the river and we walk a little bit North before I spy our destination. Sure enough there's a wooden park bench sitting right next to the beautiful, shining river. We sit down together, both of us admiring the moonlight bouncing off the water.

"It's so beautiful out tonight," I comment as the ripples dance around the rocks.

"Yes, but not as beautiful as you are," he compliments. I blush scarlet. Unfortunately, where we're sitting is smothered in white moonlight so he notices my blush, much to my embarrassment. He strokes my cheek lightly. "Why is it that every time I compliment you, you blush?" he whispers gingerly into my ear. I shrug my shoulders.

"I can honestly say that I do not know. It just sort of happens. I guess I can blame genetics."

"Well I like it. It's a trait that I'm always going to love because that's who you are. A blushing beauty," he tells me sincerely. I feel my cheeks heat up again. Stupid blood flow!

"Thanks for telling me that. Sometimes it's annoying though. It usually gives me away when I am trying to cover something up," I explain. He smiles and pushes a loose strand of hair out of my face.

"Is that such a bad thing?" he asks. His blue eyes boring straight into mine.

"Yes it is," I admit while looking away.

"Okay, give me a demonstration. If I asked, 'do you like me' what would you say?" he asks.

"N-o-o-o?" I stutter out making it sound like a question. I blush bright red while he smiles at me gleefully.

"So you do then?" he asks, "Because I really do like you," he adds on quickly. I feel a breath get caught up in my throat.

"Yes, I do," I answer while looking anywhere, but at him.

"Really?" he asks curiously. I nod.

"Yes, really. I would love to get to know you more," I tell him truthfully.

"I would like that too," he tells me before standing up. "Come on," he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me up off the seat. I giggle. He pulls me into him and picks me up bridal style.

"Hey!" I exclaim while wrapping my arms around his neck in a death grip.

"What? Don't you want me to carry you across the river?" he questions, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Well of course I do, but – " I start, but get cut off by his lips on my forehead. He pulls away after a second and leaps easily and swiftly across the rocks.

"That's all I wanted to do. So stop complaining and let's take you home," he says, grinning widely at me before he puts me carefully back onto the ground, making sure that I'm steady before he lets me go. He grabs my hand almost immediately in his and laces our fingers together again. It's as if he doesn't want to leave me. "Now would you like me to take you home now or would you prefer to go for a romantic walk along the river with me?" he asks.

"River walk," I reply, almost too quickly to be healthy. He laughs and starts pulling me back to the hill opening.

"Alright, beautiful, come along!" he says while pulling me back down from the most romantic hill in the country. I wonder if he realises that the most romantic thing to do around here for dates is to walk along the Great River hand in hand which is exactly what we're doing now. I have a feeling my friends are all going to die of excitement when I tell them about this. Peter suddenly yawns, bringing my attention back to the real world.

"Are you tired?" I ask curiously. He nods his head in full agreement with me.

"Yes, I didn't get much sleep last night. I was too excited for tonight," he explains while yawning again. Did he just say that he was excited for tonight?

"Really, you were excited?" He nods. The High King was excited about going on a date with me. ME! "I somehow don't believe you," I say grinning and pushing him playfully. He chuckles.

"Imagine that, you not believing me. What a shock!" he says sarcastically, while pulling me down to the grassy ground beneath us. I giggle as he pulls me up onto his lap. I automatically wrap my arms around his neck. I sure hope no one comes by and sees us in this position or else I will probably be dead before I even tell the girls tomorrow. "Ashley, I was sort of wondering if..." he pauses and looks away from me for a moment.

"Yes," I say gesturing for him to continue. He laughs nervously.

"Would you like um...to court for a while?" he asks nervously. My jaw flies open.

"Yes, of course," I answer as calmly as possible, even though my heart is thumping wildly in my chest. I think all my friends are probably going to have a squealing session tomorrow. I'll have to take them to some abandoned place in the middle of nowhere. I give him a tight hug then and a quick kiss on his blushing cheek.

"Was this date okay?" he asks as his blush wears off. Was it okay?!

"Peter, seriously! Of course it was okay. I promise. It's been the best night of my life," I declare to him. He smiles.

"Same! Anyway, I better get you home. I'm not really sure if the made-up story of going and helping at the soup kitchens is really going to quite do it if I'm out too late," he says. I immediately frown when he puts me on the ground in front of him, so as soon as I get the chance, I grab his hand in mine and hold it tightly. He laughs. "Ashley. Get up you, silly girl," he says, pulling me up to my feet.

"Fine," I state simply. He chuckles again and leads me through the forest back to my home. We talk all the way back to my little cottage covering all sorts of topics. We talk about our favourite books, mind you I've never heard of any of his favourites before, our favourite foods, our siblings, our homes, everything really. By the time we reach my cottage, I feel that I have a better understanding of him. "Well, this is my stop," I say as soon as I see the familiar oak stable up the back. I walk over to the front door, dragging him along with me. There is no way I will be able to leave him, even for a short period of time. We stop at my front door and I yank it open. He lets go of my hand and I frown. He frowns a tiny bit as well. He enjoys holding my hand and I know it for a fact.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he says simply.

"Yes, sure," I reply. He pulls me into a really nice hug. I feel so safe in his muscular arms. He gives my forehead a quick peck before blushing and unfortunately letting go. I yawn as soon as he does, much to my embarrassment.

"Time for bed," he says, grinning. I smile at him and nod.

"Absolutely, I feel like I'm about to die from tiredness," I say dramatically. He laughs openly and free. He is mine! Officially.

"I'll talk to you soon then," he says before placing a kiss on my cheek and leaving. I sigh after him. He is just perfect. I close the front door and slide down the frame, my cheek tingling from the after effect of his gentle lips. It feels nice. I get up then and walk over to my bedroom in an absolute daze. Tonight was beyond perfect. He is everything I had imagined and more. Suddenly I can't wait for work tomorrow. I quickly get into my pyjamas and jump into bed. As soon as I close my eyes, I fall asleep and have endless dreams about our date all night long.