- Chapter 29 -
Just past dawn, the group began their journey again. Within three hours, they had arrived in the outskirts of the small city of Durham.
"It's beautiful here," Lucy commented, smiling as she took in the rolling green hills, the dewy grass, and the golden morning sunlight that made everything glow.
Durham wasn't a big place like Archenland. It actually wasn't even shown on the large maps of Narnia. But it was truly a breathtaking place, though not as magical as Narnia.
"Look, your Majesties, I can see the castle from here!" Reepicheep announced, pointing off in the distance.
Analiese squinted through the sunny sky and could just barely make out the outlines of a castle.
"Oh, I see it!" Lucy exclaimed happily.
"I don't see anything," Avaline said, squinting.
Lucy directed her horse a little to the right until she was right next to Avaline's horse. Then, she pointed toward the castle. "It's right there."
Avaline nodded and opened her mouth wide. She kept one arm wrapped around Adela's stomach to make sure she stayed on the horse, and her other hand covered her mouth.
"It's beautiful!" she said.
The two girls spent the next few moments chatting about how amazing it was that the intricate architecture could be spotted from so far away. Then, Lucy turned backwards to search for her sister-in-law. A smile still adorned her face until she saw the look on Analiese's.
The queen was riding her horse silently, looking down. Thinking back, Lucy was sure she hadn't heard Analiese say a word all morning. Now, Analiese held onto her stomach.
"Analiese, did you see the castle?" Lucy asked.
Analiese's eyes slowly moved up to meet Lucy's. Lucy took note of the way her hands were shaking as they moved from her stomach. It just so happened that as Lucy was opening her mouth to speak again, her eyes caught a second glimpse of Analiese's hands. They were covered in blood.
Lucy's jaw dropped and her eyes fogged over. Avaline looked over at them to see what the silence was all about and gasped.
"Oh my gosh," she said. "Analiese, what in the world is that?!"
Analiese's voice shook. She was speechless. All she could manage to say was a whispered, "I don't know."
"Stop!" Lucy yelled. Everyone halted their travels, turning around to look at their youngest queen. It wasn't long before their eyes looked over to Analiese.
"My Queen!" Reepicheep cried. "Whatever is the matter?"
"I think it's something wrong with the baby!" Avaline said.
"Babies," Analiese corrected. She winced in pain. "I don't even know where it's coming from!"
"The blood?" Avaline asked.
"No, the twins,"" Analiese glared at her. "What do you think?"
"My Queen, it's only half an hour until we reach the castle. Do you think you'll be okay for that long?" Reepicheep asked.
She nodded, but inside she was quite worried. What if she couldn't wait that long?
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Within fifteen minutes of arriving at Durham Place, two new rulers of Narnia had been born. As soon as this was shared with them, Caspian, Avaline (and Adela), and Lucy crowded into the room to see the new additions to their extended family.
The wait had been horrific. They had all three paced up and down the hallways. Duke Camden had been trying to calm Queen Lucy, but she couldn't handle her nervousness.
After all, of the three monarchs present, she had the most reason to be stressed. Her brother - Analiese's husband - wasn't there to be with her and his newborns. How was that fair to anyone?
When the three had entered the room, the first thing they saw were two cradles. Duke Camden had had them removed from the attic and placed in the room so as to provide a space for the twins. The second thing they noticed was Analiese's absence.
Avaline spoke to the nurse, who was standing over one of the cradles. "Where is Analiese?"
The nurse looked up at her. "Queen Analiese is getting checked up. Their Highnesses have been born, but we would still like to see what caused their premature birth."
Avaline nodded at the nurse.
Adela cooed softly, squirming a little in her mother's arms. Avaline turned her attention to her daughter and realized the little girl was smiling hugely.
"It's like she knows she has two baby cousins now," Caspian commented. He stood beside Avaline, watching the baby as well.
They heard a door close, and before them stood Analiese: cleaned up, though still tired-looking.
"Ana!" Lucy exclaimed, throwing her arms around her. After handing Adela to Caspian, Avaline joined in the hug.
"Hey, girls," she said weakly.
"Oh, you look exhausted!" Lucy said. "Do sit down."
So the two young girls sat down on the floor - Adela had crawled over to sit in her mother's lap - and Analiese sat on the bed.
Caspian rolled his eyes. "Way to leave me out!" he said jokingly. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, just a bit hungry," she replied.
"Oh my goodness Caspian, quit the unimportant small talk! What did you name the twins?" Avaline asked excitedly after scolding her cousin.
"Well, I-"
"Wait!" Avaline interrupted. "Let's see if we can guess the genders, then the names!"
"A girl and a boy, I'll bet," Lucy declared.
"You're right!" Analiese said.
Caspian hummed, deep in thought. "Darlene?"
Analiese disapproved. "That's not very queenly."
"Catherine?" Lucy guessed.
"Close."
The teenager gasped. "It's Cathalina, isn't it?"
Analiese smiled and nodded.
"Oh, it's beautiful! And I already know that the other is Kingston. Peter has wanted to name his son Kingston ever since I can remember. Aslan only knows what his attachment to that name is."
"You guessed it."
"Well, are you going to tell us the middle names?" Avaline asked.
"Oh. Well, I love the name Elle, so Cathalina Elle Pevensie. I know it doesn't flow well, but Elle was my sister's name. And since Peter isn't here..." Analiese's voice cracked, and she cleared her throat quietly. "Kingston Peter Pevensie."
Lucy jumped up to hug her friend. She wrapped her arms around the crying girl's shoulders and put her head on her shoulder.
"Ana, they won't be gone forever. I just know it. Aslan wouldn't give you two beautiful children in exchange for-"
And there is when the story turned, as Lucy realized that Aslan would, in fact, make an exchange such as this. She managed to cover her realization before Analiese noticed, but it was too late for the others.
Avaline and Caspian stared at the young queen, trying to see if it was true. They searched her face for clues to whether the question that was running through all of their minds could be answered with a "yes."
Was Aslan really leaving Analiese alone?
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Dinnertime came upon them quickly. Analiese was told to rest in her temporary room for three days, but the others were allowed to go downstairs and dine with Duke Camden.
"Good evening, your Majesties," he greeted them as they entered the dining room. In comparison with Cair Paravel's dining hall, it was quite small, but they thought it was homely.
In the dining room now were Duke Camden, Caspian, Avaline, Adela, Lucy, Reepicheep, Trumpkin, and two other people whom Lucy had never met.
The six Narnians took their places at the table. Camden sat to the right of a tall man who sat at the head of the table and invited Lucy to sit beside him on his left. Next to Lucy sat Trumpkin and Reepicheep. On the left side of the tall man was an unidentified woman, then Caspian, Avaline, and Adela (who sat in a high chair).
Once everyone was seated, Camden placed his napkin in his seat and stood. "In a few moments we will begin our supper, but first I would like to say a few words to Your Majesties." He looked each one of them in the eye as he spoke. "It is my pleasure to house you all during this hard time. I want you all to know that if ever there is another time when you need the help of my city, I will gladly assist you."
"Thank you," Lucy said, speaking for the rest of her family. She smiled at him.
Camden smiled back at her. "One more thing before we eat, I would like to introduce my parents."
He pointed to the tall man and the woman who sat on his left. They gave polite smiles to the Narnian rulers. "This is King Alfred and Queen Henrietta of Durham."
Caspian, Avaline, and Lucy each said, "Nice to meet you."
Caspian looked between the two rulers of Durham. "Which one of your Majesties is relative to the late King Lune?"
King Alfred, who had his forearm on the table, slid his elbow to rest on the table and raised his hand.
"That would be me," he said.
"Oh, how exciting!" Lucy replied before Caspian could speak. "I simply adored King Lune. And his sons Cor and Corin, too, of course."
"Oh, yes. I had forgotten you have known my great ancestors."
"Yes, oh, the memories I have of Prince Corin!" Lucy reminisced.
"I wish I had known King Cor," Camden commented. "He seems much like me."
"Cor was not nearly as much trouble as Corin," Lucy said, then began to laugh. "When Cor first returned to Archenland, he was always getting blamed for something he didn't do! Like the time he mixed cough syrup and lemon juice into the lords' wine at the Holiday Ball. King Lune actually believed all of the mischief was Cor's doing. Corin got in so much trouble when Lune discovered the truth!"
Queen Lucy had entertained the table easily with her stories about the Archenlander royalty. They all found themselves laughing over the tales of Corin's mischief, Cor's love for the ladies, and Lune's big appetite.
Before long, the table had been cleared of all food. The three guests stayed for a while to talk with their hosts. They chatted about the kingdoms, the new royal children, their new lives with Adela, and so on. The topics of the Pevensies' disappearance and oncoming war with Calormen was carefully avoided.
The dinner finally ended when Adela began wailing at the top of her lungs. Avaline picked up the baby and stood. She bounced her up and down in an attempt to calm her.
"What's wrong, pretty girl?" Avaline cooed. Adela continued crying.
"What is the matter with her?" Lucy asked.
"I'm not sure."
"I've never heard her fuss like this before."
"Me neither!"
Queen Henrietta spoke up in interest. "Queen Avaline, if I may add, that is the cry of a teething child."
"What does that mean?" Avaline asked. Her voice was growing frantic as she tried every way possible to get the child to quiet down.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Ava, really?"
"You have to keep in mind that this is my first child, Lucy!"
"Teething is just a stage all children go through," Henrietta said. "It's when the baby's first teeth begin coming in. She'll go through this stage again in a year or two."
"How do you know that she's teething?"
The queen of Durham raised her eyebrows innocently. "I can check to make sure if you would like, Queen."
"Sure," Avaline nodded.
After a moment of silent prodding through Adela's mouth, Henrietta had come to the conclusion that the young princess was indeed teething.
"Look right here," she said to Avaline. "Do you see the tiny white things under her gums? Those are her teeth. It can be painful when they are coming in for the first time. I suggest putting her down for a little rest."
Avaline reluctantly did as she was advised. The entire trip to the room she shared with Adela was spent muttering negative thoughts to herself. Almost as soon as her daughter was born, she had learned that she didn't appreciate other people telling her how to be a parent.
When she reached the doorway that led to her room, she shifted Adela to her left arm so she could open the door with her right. Avaline's mouth fell open. The door swung open to reveal her room trashed.
Two lamps had been knocked over. The dresser drawers had been pulled out and turned upside down, the contents dumped on the floor. The bedspread had been yanked off of the bed and thrown on across the room. But what stood out most to Avaline was the large envelope that lay on the desk, which was parallel to the door and sat under a window.
Avaline held Adela tightly and began slowly moving toward the desk.
I shouldn't be doing this. I should get Caspian and Lucy first. The burglar could still be in the room, her subconscious warned her. But the words meant nothing to her as she moved forward silently.
Avaline sat Adela on top of the desk. The baby had fallen silent as well. Her chubby hand was in her mouth, which was held open in a big O shape.
The Telmarine queen cautiously picked up the letter. She tested it for a few seconds before opening it just to make sure it was safe. Then, she ripped the thick envelope open. She gasped when she saw what was inside.
It was Edmund's crown, stained in blood.