Disclaimer: Everything but the plot is not mine :D
A/N: Yay! Monday! So yeah, it's Update Day today :D Frankly, I'm starting to run out of things to say in my A/Ns XD LOL, I'm quite sure it's because I'm always tired once I get home because of all the grad practices and blah blahs like that.
Anyway, without further ado, I present to you, chapter six of "When Two Worlds Collide"! Review afterwards and do enjoy!
Chapter Six: Lady-in-Waiting
A knock on the door roused Hermione from her sleep. She blearily opened her eyes and yawned, standing up from the bed as she stretched her arms above her head. "Coming!" she cried. She thought it was probably Babbity, but the Rabbit does not knock on the door anymore.
Slightly disoriented with sleep and confusion, Hermione opened the front door. She backpedalled in befuddlement, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening upon seeing Queen Lucy herself standing in front of the door. The queen waved her hand happily and behind her, Hermione could see a Minotaur standing guard.
"Queen Lucy!" Hermione exclaimed and hastily fixed her rat's nest, backing away and ushering Lucy inside.
The queen smiled at her fretting and walked inside, her eyes looking around the whole house. "A burrow," she had said, and Hermione nervously nodded. "I remember staying in a house somehow akin to this place." Lucy's eyes landed back on the brunette and added, "You must feel comfortable living here."
Hermione instinctively fixed the clutter on top of the rickety table and pulled a chair for the queen to sit on. Lucy gently thanked her and sat down. "Um… I adjusted well," the brunette said, snatching her cloak draped over another chair and wore it on her body. "Babbity makes everything as comfortable for me as possible."
Lucy smiled and looked at the odd clock hanging on the wall. "How have you been?" she then asked, her eyes once again landing back on Hermione.
The brunette frowned, not really knowing what to say. "Well… I'm good," she said, nodding her head for emphasis.
"How's your injury?" Lucy continued, staring at her bandaged leg.
Hermione hastily hid her leg underneath her simple dress. "The limp is becoming unnoticeable now," Hermione said. "Thank you for asking."
Finally, Lucy's warm, honey-colored eyes met Hermione's brown ones. Her face showed slight guilt and hope and the brunette was forced to look away. "It's been three days now, Hermione," she said.
"I-I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked, although she perfectly knew what Lucy was talking about.
"It's been three days now ever since that insolent brother of mine insulted you," Lucy elaborated and in spite of herself, Hermione smiled. "I'm awfully sorry for what had happened in Cair Paravel. I've warned my brother to be at his best behaviour but he's just so… so…"
"Insufferable?" Hermione offered.
"Hmm, insufferable," Lucy said, smiling for her thanks. "I've given him a piece of my mind, don't worry. I've pulled the silent treatment on him for two days until he snapped and finally apologized to me. And so, here I am, meaning to offer a proposition to you."
Hermione blinked, a little confused and curious, and said, "A proposition, your majesty?"
Lucy nodded. "Yes, a proposition," she said. "And can you please stop calling me 'your majesty'? Calling me by my name will suffice." She added as an afterthought.
"I understand… Lucy," she said, almost stammered, but smiled when the queen gave her a bright smile.
Their conversation was momentarily cut short when they heard Babbity's frustrated voice.
"I live here, you impolite creature," the Rabbit cried, pointing a finger at the Minotaur. "How dare you for forbidding me from going inside my own house."
"Pomnov!" Lucy called. The Minotaur looked up at his mistress and Lucy smiled. "It's all right. You can allow her to come inside."
Babbity huffed when the Minotaur stepped aside. "Hermione, there's a Minotaur outside my burrow!" she exclaimed, sounding exasperated. "And he did not want me to come inside. Can you belie - " The words died down from the Rabbit's mouth upon seeing the smiling face of Queen Lucy, who, on the other hand, waved her hand in greeting.
Babbity, slightly mortified, fell on her knees and bowed down. Lucy sighed, stood up and pulled up Babbity. "This is getting a little ridiculous now," the queen said, and Hermione laughed. "Please, it's just the three of us. You can treat me as your equal."
"Q-queen Lucy, what brings you here?" Babbity stammered as she hastily hid her basketful of vegetables inside one of her cupboard.
"I want the both of you to live in the castle," Lucy simply said. Babbity froze on the spot where she was standing and Hermione's jaw dropped.
"WHAT?" the brunette exclaimed, not really minding the tone of her voice.
The youngest Pevensie turned around and smiled upon seeing the astonished look on Hermione's face. "That's my proposition," Lucy said. "I propose for the two of you to live in the castle. Leave this burrow and live with us… with me!"
"B-but that's a little…"
"What? Strange? Impossible? Oh, pish-posh," Lucy said, holding Hermione's arm. "I want you to live with us and we'll take care of you until you have your memory back. Peter agreed, don't worry. He's the High King, remember? Nobody contradicts his decision. So, pack your things and Pomnov and I will be waiting for you in the carriage until you're ready."
Lucy then stood up from her seat and walked out of the door. There was silence in the burrow until they heard the closing of Lucy's carriage door.
It was Babbity who broke the silence. In fact, she released an oddly-sounding scream and hopped excitedly around the house. "I can't believe this," the ecstatic Talking Animal cried, hopping towards her small wardrobe to gather her clothes. "I'm going to live in Cair Paravel."
Hermione snapped off from her stupor and walked towards Babbity. "You're agreeing quite so easily," she lightly accused. Gesturing towards her whole house, she added, "What about your burrow?"
"Oh, don't fret over such a trivial thing, sweetheart," the Rabbit said. "I've built this burrow two years ago and yes, it makes me comfortable, but I do believe that nothing compares with the castle."
The brunette was forced to pack some of her dresses and cloaks. She and Babbity walked out from the burrow towards the carriage waiting outside. Lucy waved her hand for attention and the Rabbit happily hopped towards the queen. Hermione, on the other hand, frowned at the sudden turn of events.
"I-I don't think I can accept such a wonderful invitation, L-Lucy," Hermione stammered, now standing outside the carriage.
"Nonsense," Lucy said. "Babbity here agreed and if you were to stay behind, nobody's going to take care of you."
Hermione heaved a huge sigh and reluctantly surrender her small trunk to Pomnov. "All right, but I have a proposition to make," the brunette said.
Lucy's eyes glimmered under the sunlight. "Go on," she said.
"Give us some work," Hermione suggested. "Give me some work. I do believe that we're going to intrude and I think we've already established that I'm not completely welcome in your castle."
The queen lightly scowled. "Don't worry about Edmund," she assured. "He's just some paranoid bloke. Four of us would love to know more about you, Hermione."
Hermione pouted and knitted her eyebrows. "I still feel like it's… wrong," she said. "Make me a servant or something. Oh, Babbity is a wonderful cook. I think she'll love working in the kitchen. Am I right, Babbity?"
"Oh, quite right, my queen," the Rabbit said. "I think it would do me some good, too, if I were to work in the kitchen."
Lucy looked torn as she looked from Babbity to Hermione. At last, when her eyes were intently connected with Hermione, she said, "All right, fine." Hermione's eyes lightened up. "But, I think a servant sounds a little degrading. You'll be my lady-in-waiting instead." Lucy groaned and slightly glared. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. I've actually been meaning to be friends with you."
Hermione smiled, remembering all those medieval stories she had read when she was young. "I think that's socially unacceptable," Hermione pointed out, now climbing beside Lucy.
The queen looked at her incredulously. "Blimey, before we were kings and queens, we were normal human beings, thank you very much," Lucy interjected, a growing scowl now on her face. "Doesn't really mean that we have royal blood running through our veins."
Both Babbity and Hermione laughed, and in spite of herself, Lucy smiled.
"Now, now, we're all set," she stated. "Pomnov, we're ready to go."
The Minotaur ordered the horse to start moving and soon, they were journeying to Cair Paravel.
"WHAT?"
"Here we go again," Susan said, rolling her eyes and striding towards her husband-to-be.
"PETER!" Edmund exclaimed, trailing behind the obviously irritated High King. "I can't believe this. And you actually agreed."
Peter strode towards his throne and sat down. He shot a very dark look towards his younger brother, but Edmund seemed unfazed. The High King then released a monumental sigh and started to rub the bridge of his nose. "It was Lucy's request, not mine," he pointed out. "So don't go all… all volcano on me, Ed."
"But I just apologized to her!" he exclaimed, which prompted Caspian to laugh.
"The power of little sisters," he had said, echoing what Lucy had told him days before.
Peter couldn't suppress the smirk that was growing on his face. "I believe that was the exact reason why she finally decided to put her plan into action," Peter said. "She knew you wouldn't dare anger her and be the receiving end of her indifference once again, eh?"
Edmund slumped down on his throne and grumbled things that sounded like 'younger sisters' and 'pain-in-the-necks'.
A Badger then walked inside the Great Hall. He bowed, lifted his head, and announced, "Queen Lucy and the guests have arrived."
"I'm out of here," Edmund announced, standing up from his throne and striding towards the door. Lucy, Hermione, and Babbity just came inside and Edmund walked past them without even a single glance.
"And out goes Mister Melodramatic," Lucy said as her greeting. Hermione once again felt that bubbling anger at the pit of her stomach and it took all of her willpower not to act rude once again in front of the remaining monarchs of Narnia.
"Hermione, it's a pleasure to see you again," Peter piped in, stepping forward and stretching his hand. Hermione stared at it for a while before gingerly placing her palm on top of his hand. She initially thought he only meant to shake it but her eyes had widened into saucers when the High King bent down and bestowed a sweet kiss on her knuckles. Her cheeks turned into a lovely shade of pink and Peter even had the decency to smirk.
The brunette hastily snatched her hand away. "Y-yes, I do feel the same," she answered back, looking anywhere but the handsome High King in front of her.
"She'll be my lady-in-waiting now," Lucy announced. Upon seeing the affronted look on Susan, she added, "Well, she insisted I give her a job."
"Hermione," Caspian said, cutting in. "I do hope you'll feel comfortable here."
The brunette smiled at the Telmarine.
"Well, Lucy, show her where her bedchamber is," Peter ordered. Lucy happily obliged, bid her siblings and Caspian goodbye, while ushering Babbity and Hermione to follow her.
"I'm still not sure this is a good idea, Lucy," Hermione said after a few minutes of silence. They had passed numerous rooms now with majestic portraits hanging on each wall. There was this uncanny resemblance between these paintings and the ones in Hogwarts; the difference, though, was that the paintings were not moving. There were also ornate vases and furniture in each room and Hermione swore that one day she would venture in every room just to appreciate their beauty.
"You'll have a wonderful time here. Trust me," Lucy said, stepping up into a staircase. Both Hermione and Babbity followed.
Hermione pointedly looked at the Rabbit, remembering the little dramatic fiasco that had happened when she and the others arrived. "I'm sure there are others here that don't really like the idea of me staying here," she voiced aloud.
A soft laugh escaped from Lucy's mouth, turning her head around to look at the worried brunette. "It's only Edmund," she said, winking at her. "He could be a right git if he wants to, but he's really nice, Hermione." Something flashed in Lucy's eyes, her humor now completely gone. "These days had been… quite hard on him." The queen shook her head and stared straight ahead. "Please don't assume that Ed's a bad bloke. I'm sure things will be different if…"
Lucy's voice died down and Hermione looked at her in wonder. The younger of the two then cleared her throat and stopped in front of a wooden door. "Well, here we are," she said, twisting the knob and pushing the door open. "I hope you'll be comfortable here."
When Hermione stepped inside, her jaw dropped. For a servant, her room sure looked too luxurious for her own position. There was a large white poster bed at the very middle of the room, its bed hangings also white with embroidered roses as embellishment. The floors were tiled and clear; Hermione could clearly see her reflection on it. The walls were a light shade of red and huge nostalgia overwhelmed the brunette, thinking about her room back in Hogwarts. There was a large boudoir opposite her bed with a huge wooden wardrobe standing beside it. To her delight, a small bookshelf was standing at the left side of the room and a small desk and chair was beside it. The comfort room was just beside the door and when Hermione peeked inside, she was immensely relieved to see that there was toilet installed. Since it was a medieval castle, she assumed that everything will be medieval-styled. A roaring fireplace was seen at the opposite of her bed, instantly warming the whole room.
What caught Hermione's attention, though, was the huge window at the opposite of the room. Walking slowly, she smiled at the impeccable red curtains with golden linings. She looked outside, sat on the wide windowsill, and sighed. She could see a vast forest in Narnia and Hermione finally decided that by far, this was the best room she had ever had.
"I can't have this," she finally said, looking at Lucy.
Lucy laughed and shook her head. "It would have been better if you did not say it with pained eyes," she said, which prompted Hermione to sheepishly smile.
"Sweetheart, it's beautiful," Babbity piped in, hopping towards the brunette. "I'm sure you'll be comfortable here."
"But this is too much!" Hermione exclaimed, gesturing at the whole room. "I'm merely a servant, your majesty."
"Lady-in-waiting," Lucy corrected, frowning. "And I told you this is a reluctant decision of mine. We've all decided to let you stay here even before you pleaded for me to give you a job." Sighing, she walked towards the brunette and held both of her hands. "Look, if it makes you feel better, this is the farthest room from Edmund's."
In spite of herself, Hermione laughed. "Thank you," she said, squeezing Lucy's smaller hands. "I think arguing with you is futile and so, I am just accepting this with infinite gratitude and happiness."
"You're very welcome," Lucy said, smiling at her new friend. She then looked back at the Rabbit and said, "I'm sure you have some bosom friends in the kitchen, Babbity. I've appointed them to show you to your quarters and I do look forward to your cooking."
The Talking Animal bowed, her ears almost touching the floor. When she lifted her face, her eyes were oddly glossy. "You have no idea how this whole thing makes me happy, your majesty," she earnestly said.
"You're welcome to approach either Hermione or me when you need help," the queen said and with that, Babbity hopped off to the kitchens.
Lucy once again looked at Hermione and retrieved her hands back. "I must get going now," she said. "I have some matters to attend to."
As Hermione watched Lucy leave, she sighed, looked at her retrieving back with utmost appreciation and just hoped for the best in this strange and magical world.
Hermione stared at her ceiling and sighed.
She couldn't sleep at all.
Strangely, she missed Babbity's too-small bed and the warm, small hearth. Her room was vast and it made her feel lonely.
Hermione finally decided to get up as her gaze landed on her window. Dawn was coming, she concluded, as she saw the beginning streaks of orange and red at the horizon. As Lucy's lady-in-waiting, it was Hermione's task to wake up before dawn, wake up the queen, and help her get ready for the day. Hermione did not really mind her schedule, seeing that she was a morning person.
After taking a nice, long bath in her new comfort room, Hermione strolled out of her room and walked towards Lucy's room.
The royalties of Narnia had been very kind to her (well, excluding the Just) and Hermione found herself beginning to feel very comfortable in Narnia. It did not stop her from longing to go back to her world, though. She still had obligations to do back in Hogwarts and now that she was here in Cair Paravel, Hermione thought she would be able to finally discover on how to go back home.
She was nearing Lucy's room now, but a shadow at a distance had halted her in the steps. Hermione slowly walked closer, her eyes narrowing a bit, and regarded the strange silhouette with guarded eyes. Her wand hand had turned into a fist and it somehow made Hermione frustrated to know that she did not have her wand right now.
'That doesn't matter now because it does not work,' she reminded herself. Still, her wand still gave her a fraction of comfort.
Finally, onyx eyes met her brown ones and instinctively, Hermione scowled. King Edmund seemed to finally notice that she was approaching Lucy's room now for he pushed himself away from the wall, faced her entirely, and crossed his arms imperiously. Hermione rolled her eyes, surprised that he had finally decided to show himself to her. Last night, he had been stubborn enough to refuse to dine with her in the picture now. Hermione remembered Lucy's words, telling her that Edmund was not a "bad bloke" at all. Regardless, Hermione still thought he was an enormous git.
"Why are you here?" he started, his tone commanding and firm.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, shooting a look at the door behind the King. "I am supposed to wake Queen Lucy, your majesty, seeing that I am her new lady-in-waiting," she stated matter-of-factly, a hint of sarcasm mingled with her soft tone.
To her surprise, Edmund had caught it. She had used that tone to Harry and Ron countless times already, especially when they were being insufferable, but for once, they never detected it.
"Do not get cheeky on me now, Miss," Edmund said, narrowing his eyes. "What I meant to say is, why are you here? Why are you in Cair Paravel?" He took a few steps closer to the brunette. "It's quite strange for a Londoner, one that doesn't remember anything from her past, to suddenly show up in Narnia."
Hermione sighed, annoyed that he was being too perceptive for her own liking. "I told you, I do not know if I'm a Londoner or not," she lied through gritted teeth. 'Honestly,' she thought. 'He is so insufferable.'
"What do you want from us? From my sister?" he suddenly accused, standing at his fullest height. Although she did not want to, Hermione took a step back in surprise. "Do you wish to bring harm to my sister or, God forbid, to Narnia? Why? For money? If all you need is gold, then I'll gladly give it to you just… just go far, far away from here - "
A deafening silence followed Hermione's slap. Unable to accept the offensive words spouting from the king's mouth, Hermione's hand moved at its own accord and bestowed a painful slap at the now dumbfounded king.
"With all due respect, I would never, ever dream of harming such a nice, young lady, King Edmund," she spat, her eyes now blazing. "And if I were really hiding an ulterior motive, wait 'til I have my memory back. You'll be the first person to know."
With one last glare, Hermione brushed away from the stunned noble and walked into Lucy's room.
It made Hermione feel odd that the three kings were talking about the grave issue of rebellion in Narnia and its neighboring countries. It was plain to see that both Queen Susan and Queen Lucy were uncomfortable with the topic, especially with their pale faces and absurd silence.
"I heard from Reepicheep that there were ten casualties in the recent attack of the Telmarines in Ygspurt," Peter said gravely, talking about the town near Narnia.
Edmund rubbed circles at his temples and sighed. "It's getting frequent now, Pete," he said, looking from the High King to the Telmarine King. "A lot of innocent creatures are being affected by it. This must stop. Immediately."
"What do you propose?" Caspian asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
"How about a surprise attack?" Edmund asked, a hopeful tone in his voice. "We attack with our soldiers at, let's say, the middle of the night and catch those blasted rebels off-guard." He was always a fan of impulsive attacks against their enemies. It had won him so many great wars but the result of these were always a fewer survivors in their part.
Caspian shook his head. "No, we can't risk that," the Telmarine King said. "You've been known all throughout Narnia and the other countries to be an impulsive attacker, Ed. I'm sure the rebelling Telmarines are always ready in case we attacked them in surprise."
"And besides, we do not know who's a rebel or not," Peter included, backing up Caspian. "I don't think it's practical to do that, Edmund."
Slightly fuming, the youngest king frowned. "Fine," he spat in frustration. "Do you have any brilliant suggestions, then?"
"I think," Caspian started. "That it is best if we just… wait until the rebelling Telmarines attacked again. If ever that happens, we would attack, too."
This time, it was Edmund who furiously shook his head. "No," he interjected earnestly. "What if they attacked a place so far away from Narnia? Like, let's say, Elsinor? It would take days, Caspian. Maybe even weeks. If we arrive to the attacked place, it would have been too late already."
Peter frowned and sighed at the gravity of their situation. He had been a king for a hundred years already, battled numerous times and won most of them. But this situation was different; Narnia was never confronted with such passionate and determined enemies. Truthfully, it had caught Peter off-guard and for now, he was honestly at loss of what to do. Narnia's neighboring countries were already being bothered. The King of Archenland already sent him a warning letter. If this monstrosity continued, other countries such as Archenland would wage a war against Narnia.
"Why don't you delegate tasks?" Hermione suddenly piped in. All eyes landed on her and she, unable to help it, turned into a furious shade of red.
'Stupid!' she told herself, annoyed that she was suddenly the center of the attention. 'You should have stayed silent, you bloody moron.' She couldn't help it. The situation of Narnia had been slightly familiar with her past experience in Hogwarts regarding the Death Eaters and other followers of Voldemort.
"Nobody asked for your opinion," Edmund spat, still sore about what she did to him early that morning. Hermione lifted her chin in defiance and felt a smirk fighting its way on her face when Peter had silenced his brother.
"Continue, Hermione," the High King said, giving his full attention to the brunette.
Hermione blinked and tucked a stray strand behind her ear. "Well, I just thought that delegating tasks wouldn't hurt," she said. "If you appointed some of your best soldiers to guard the major countries surrounding Narnia, then these countries will be able to be ready in case there are surprise attacks. I think placing them in the major countries is also strategic. For example, if twenty of your Narnian soldiers were designated to defend Archenland, the minor villages and towns around it will be protected, too."
There was a stunned silence that followed her suggestion and Hermione sheepishly smiled.
"I just… I just thought it'll be practical. That's all," she softly added afterwards.
"Well, I think that is a brilliant plan!" Susan exclaimed, regarding Hermione with awe and pride. "If you gentlemen did not listen to this young lady, then I'm afraid you'll gain more casualties in the future."
Caspian nodded his head, a kind smile playing on his face. Edmund, not really knowing how to interject a brilliant plan, scowled and crossed his arms petulantly. Peter, the most ecstatic of the three, clapped his hands and rose from his chair.
"I must divide my soldiers then," he said, his eyes landing on a slightly embarrassed brunette. "It's a little surprising for a woman to know a lot of things about battle strategies."
"Oi, watch it!" Lucy admonished, playfully glaring at her older brother.
Peter laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "It's a compliment, my dear sister," he said. His eyes once again landed back on Hermione and with utmost sincerity, he said a soft, "Thank you."
Hermione gently smiled back. "It's my pleasure to help Narnia, your majesty," she said.
In that moment, Hermione thought it was not bad living in Narnia after all, especially because it was ruled by the most dedicated and kind-hearted royalties she had ever seen.
A/N: Eh, so what do you think? Good? Bad? Eh? Meh? XD Tell me in your reviews!
So, I kinda researched what a "lady-in-waiting" does and discovered that most of the time, they must have noble blood. Well, I thought that perhaps, since it was apparent that it was against Lucy's will to make Hermione work for her, she bestowed such a title to Hermione. Hence, Lucy sees Hermione as more of her companion, which is one of the primary roles of a lady-in-waiting, than a servant.
Also, please excuse Edmund's behaviour, hehehe. I know, I know, his attitude towards Hermione is sometimes uncalled for. But, you know, I kind of placed myself in his shoes, imagined what I would do if I discovered my sister invited a mysterious guest when a great prophecy that could bring the downfall of Narnia was revealed. So yeah, I'll do what he does to Hermione, just so you know. And besides, I'm not letting Hermione stand back and receive his hostility; good Merlin, the king needs a rightful smack, which she just gave to him *evil grin*
So anyway, there! That's it for now, I think. Once again, thank you for all the lovely readers who took their time to review and put this story in their story favourite and alert.
With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe :D