A/N: I do not own anything but a few side characters. The main characters and places belong to C.S. Lewis.
And many thanks to my faithful reviewers,
JustMeAndADream, (Corin and Cor are twins, after all, no end in sight quite yet, you will have to wait a little while longer )
rock'n'rollbitch, (Narnia is the most beautiful place, after all….)
Warrior of Virtue, (Well, I don't want to give anything away, but you are on the right track, give me more of your insight!)
HeLl HaVe No FuRy LiKe A wOmAn, (Thanks for being the ultimate reviewer! Here is Lucy for a start, and the rest of the family join us in the next chapter!)
Having great peoples reading my story makes it all the more rewarding for me!
Keep it up,
cheers
Chapter 6
Voyage ends
The next few days brought them always closer to the magnificent palace that awaited them by the sea. On the way through a deep green forest, the company passed a talking badger and porcupines who were having a heated debate over a considerable pile of pinecones.
"Of course you don't actually cook them in a stew," a rather old badger was saying with an exasperated growl, "they must be fresh and crunchy!" The surrounding porcupines burst out in fits of snorting giggles and shook their small heads.
"There is no way you can enjoy the rich taste of a pinecone without cooking it in its own juices for at least half a day," all the other porcupines nodded in agreement. "Hear, hear," they all called out. "I say," a young member of the porcupine family cried out, "look there, we have visitors!"
All the animals turned around and when they saw the royal banner of Archenland, they bowed their heads respectfully. One of the youngsters hurried forward and called, "hullo there, who are you?" The mother of the small one came forward and held his mouth shut.
"Hush dear, these are the prince and princess of Archenland, our ally of the southern mountains!" She stepped forward and greeted the travellers. "Welcome to Narnia, dear friends of the four thrones."
Aravis bowed her head and Corin nodded in their direction. "Thank you greatly," he said in a royal voice that sounded quite strange from his mouth. "We are on our way to Cair Paravel at this moment, is our direction accurate?"
All the porcupines started chattering at the same time and the old badger, who had apparently forgotten all about their earlier strife, joined in with great enthusiasm.
"Well yes of course."
"What is your business?"
"Don't be so rude, they are royalty!"
"Well I am only asking."
"Excuse me, you are standing on my foot!"
"Well, your foot is in my way."
"Silence!" Corin called out and the whole party went quiet. The porcupines looked a bit ashamed and shuffled their feet timidly. "We are sorry, Prince" the outspoken mother porcupine said, "but we have never met you before."
"My name is Corin, son of King Lune of Archenland and this is my sister, Aravis of Archenland." Corin smiled at Aravis and she inclined her head. It was customary not to mention her real heritage, she was the princess now and what had happened before in Calormen didn't matter anymore.
"We greet you and be at ease. You are taking the shortest and most efficient route to our majesties. Please do you need an escort anyhow? We would be honoured to accompany you to the palace, if you please." The porcupine bowed again and the rest followed suit, though the two youngest had to stifle a fit of giggles. Aravis smiled and nearly giggled herself. She liked these lively Narnians and she dearly wished for their company. It would lighten things up for the travellers seldomly talked and if she did, it was with her stepbrother.
"We would love for you to join our voyage!" Aravis exclaimed. Corin looked a bit doubtful. He seemed to be calculating just how much these newcomers would be slowing them down, but his sister looked certain so he sighed and nodded. "And my brother agrees," Aravis spread out her arms and then dismounted nimbly. "Let me have a better look at you all!"
After she had been introduced to the whole porcupine family that sported thirteen members and not forgetting the old badger who called himself Berd, Aravis turned back to the mother and leader of the group. Her name was Cercil and she held her family together in a firm way. "Please Cercil, do you wish to walk, or ride on the horses with my courtiers, brother and me?"
The whole family started chattering once more but Cercil calmed them down quickly.
"We will ride with you," she said firmly. "but maybe you can let us off the wagon a mile or so from the gates of Cair Paravel. It would be wonderful to lead your company into the palace," she winked and continued. "Us porcupines, we aren't really well represented at the palace, we get forgotten behind all the nymphs, fawns, dryads, mermaids and the sort…"
"Well," Aravis straightened up and set her new friend in her saddlebag. "We can change that!"
It was only necessary to make camp one more time. Aravis smiled as she listened to the porcupine children awe at the landscape that passed them by. Cercil seemed used to the beautiful scenery, but sometimes Aravis still caught her with a wide eyed stare of wonderment upon her dainty features.
When the travellers had passed the historical place where Aslan had built his camp in the fight against the White Witch and arrived at the rivers Bend, Corin called for a halt and Aravis slowed Bavari to a stop. From where she stood, the castle of Cair Paravel looked like a beautiful beacon gleaming in the setting sun. The white marble walls reflected the golden rays, creating the utmost feeling of giddy anticipation. Well, that's the way Aravis felt, Corin looked a bit crestfallen when he started building up her tent.
"Is anything wrong?" Aravis lay her hand on his shoulder. A short silence followed, then "well, I am going to miss you, my sister," Corin didn't look up, but continued hammering down the pegs that held her tent steady.
"It's just, we spent so much time together throughout winter. Studying and learning… it seems impossible that I should not see you for such a long time!" He swung the hammer hard and missed, hitting his foot instead. Swearing loudly he started hopping about on one foot. The chattering that had come from the family of porcupines, who were getting ready to crawl underneath the wagon and curl up to sleep, died down immediately.
Aravis chased after Corin and sat him on the ground.
"Let me have a look at that," she started untying his shoe whilst he bit his lip, stifling a cry of pain. When the sock was off and a toe with a broken nail and a considerable amount of blood came into sight, Aravis sighed and went to get her medicine pouch. The porcupines came to look what all the fuss was about and they all crowded around Corin, consoling him and giving brilliant advice like, "lick it quickly, before more blood comes out!" or " do you want me to bite off that strange claw so we can have a better look?"
Corin moaned and held them all at bay until Aravis returned, giggled at the comments, sat in front of him and safely bandaged up his toe. At last it was out of sight and out of reach, so Corin limped towards the water skin for a drink and then disappeared inside his tent. Aravis had to calm the porcupines down and assure them that this was not a mortal wound and that the prince would be just fine to continue their journey on the next day.
The badger suddenly started snoring and everyone took that as a cue to go either into their tents or under their wagon to sleep. As Aravis made herself comfortable in the narrow bunk bed, her thoughts went back to what Corin had said about them parting.
She too would miss her brother, but she felt that Corin would miss her in a different way. The queen of Archenland had died when Corin was very young and he never really had a mother figure until Aravis arrived when he was about twelve. She had been the responsible one, the one bossing them about. But she had also been the one to console and embrace him, whenever Corin fought with his brother, or the King demanded too much of him. Aravis was the rock, the never changing person Corin had been able to rely on and now she was leaving for several months and he was left with no one to turn to, if need be.
The next day dawned cool and bright. Aravis woke up to the loud cackle of their small companions who had apparently just finished their breakfast. Making herself stand up, she leant out of the tent and yawned widely. This is the most beautiful day to arrive in the most beautiful palace; she thought and started dressing in a hurry. Suddenly, with Cair Paravel so close, her dear friends Lucy, Peter, Edmund and Susan so near, Aravis felt impatient and ready to finish the journey and enjoy a long hot bath.
Getting the porcupine family and the badger back onto the wagon and the horses wasn't an easy task. They all insisted on walking the rest of the way, as Cair Paravel was close and they did not want to be spotted riding on horses instead of walking in a dignified waddle, as if they had done it all the way. But Corin and Aravis would not hear of it. They were still much to far away and the slow pace at which they would be forcibly held could slow them downs so much that they might have to make camp for another night and that was the last thing on Aravis's mind as the palace came tantalizingly closer and the air filled with the salty smell of the sea.
"Oh by the mane of Aslan," Aravis heard Corin sigh. "This is the most refreshing air I have ever breathed in my life!"
She felt the same way. Earthy green and damp air was one thing, but clear, crispy and cool air was another. She never thought, in all her life that there was anything better than a fresh seaside breeze that makes your hair flutter and your eyes water slightly.
The travellers arrived in Cair Paravel that afternoon. Corin and Aravis agreed to let their 'guydes' off the wagon and horses about half a mile from the palace gates. Those last, very slow, minutes created a peak in Aravis's passionate anticipation. Her heartbeat quickened with every peak of the palace coming into view. She couldn't stop grinning and when the gates opened to admit their party, she could hardly keep herself in the saddle. Any moment now, Queen Lucy would come hurrying down the marble front steps to greet her long awaited friend. The porcupines, with Berd walking in the end of the procession and Cercil forming the front, walked with their heads held as hight as they would go. All of them had solemn and very businesslike looks on their small faces so that Aravis was hard put not to giggle out loud. Laughing was what she felt like, letting all her boxed up emotions out into the open, giggling until the sun went down.
Just as she had expected, the great engraved front doors opened to release a whirlwind of blue and green silk. Queen Lucy cried out with joy, as she ran down the white stone steps straight into her best friend's arms. Both young women didn't know what to say, they felt overwhelmed and so happy that tears fell down both their cheeks. Being separated from ones best friend is never easy, but being reunited again nearly makes it all worth it. Nearly.
"I see you have an escort?"
Aravis grinned and nodded, "yes, they were wonderfully kind to us. I am so glad we found them, to show us the way." Lucy's smile broadened and she nodded when Aravis winked at her.
"I see. Well you will be very welcome to join us for dinner tonight, all of you."
The porcupine family started rejoicing and clapping their paws in glee. The old badger Berd sat down hard and looked up at the Queen in wonderment, apparently unable to believe his ears.
"Well I say, you look lively and well, dear Queen Lucy," Corin just finished giving instructions to the stableboys who were taking away the horses.
"Thank you prince Corin," Lucy gave a small curtesy and Corin kissed her hand. Both girls laughed and Corin smiled as they made their way up the big stone steps, past the wonderfully engraved front doors into the Palace of Cair Paravel.
