Chapter Two
Corin agreed to let the Galmians come, thought both Cor and Aravis tried to dissuade him, an effort which ended in a string of arguments. When they inevitably made up, Corin said to his brother "Look, it doesn't matter to me, and it'll make the old man happy. Let them come."
"Can you really give up your love for Lucy like that?" Cor asked. He tried to imagine putting aside his love for Aravis to marry someone else. The very idea was impossible.
Corin gave what he thought was a wise smile. As Corin was not a wise person, the effect was rather comical. "I'll never give up my love for her."
Cor was rather perplexed as to how that could be possible if Cor was married to someone else, but he refrained from asking.
The day came when the trumpeter blared the signal that the Galmians were approaching. Everyone scrambled to get into their state and festival clothes, and of course Aravis came in to straighten Cor's collar and smooth out his cape.
"He says he still loves Queen Lucy," Cor blurted as he submitted to these attentions.
"Of course he does," Aravis replied, but her brow was creased with worry.
He looked down at her. This crease made him very tender towards her, and he bowed his head to kiss her forehead. "He won't marry her," he said, trying to convince himself as much as her. "He never gives up. He's too stubborn."
"Don't muss my clothes, Cor," she said in a small voice, so that Cor had no choice but to take her in his arms.
When they arrived downstairs they saw that Corin had the grace to look nervous. "I don't know," he said, pulling on his cuffs. "Maybe I shouldn't have let them come."
Cor and Aravis both wanted to cry "No, you shouldn't have!" but they were kind enough not to.
The Galmian Duke was a tall man puffed up with his own sense of self importance. He had a bushy, very waxed moustache that Cor thought (and Corin said) looked like a caterpillar. His daughter was docile and nondescript. As the lady of the castle, Aravis played her hostess for the afternoon, and when she snuck a moment alone with Cor before dinner, she had nothing good to say.
"She is dull and insipid," Aravis pronounced with a frown. "She can converse about nothing." There was a pause before she made her final verdict. "She falls well short of Queen Lucy."
The disparity of the match became even more apparent that evening. At dinner the Duke proposed Corin spend some time with his daughter. Lune looked to Corin, his face both anxious and hopeful. Corin swallowed a large mouthful of food and nodded, casing a sidelong glance at the duke's daughter.
Cor and Aravis played chaperone, and they saw firsthand what a disaster it was. Corin tried to make conversation, and his voice grew louder and louder with nerves, carrying across the garden. Whenever Corin was with Lucy, the two always had their heads together, conspiring and giggling, but this girl would have nothing of it. Cor felt bad for his brother who was trying so hard.
Aravis threaded her arm through Cor's. "You see? A poor match."
Cor twisted his mouth and nodded. A question sprang to his mind, and he glanced at Aravis. "What makes a good match?"
Aravis sauntered down the garden path lifting roses with her fingertips for examination. Cor thought he could easily endure her scrutinizing gaze to feel her fingers trail over him as they trailed over the petals. Eventually she spoke, jolting him from his fantasy.
"People think that a good match is someone who's like you, but that's not it at all," she declared. "A good match is someone who understands you, someone who loves you for exactly who you are, even if—" and here, surprisingly, Aravis blushed. "Even if you are a bit of a nag sometimes."
Cor found himself grinning broadly. "Romantic," he accused her playfully.
"Say that again and I'll knock you down," Aravis quipped.
The reminder of Corin turned their attention back to the pair walking before them.
"Cair Paravel's about three days' ride from here," Corin was explaining. "I can't believe you've never been! I'll take you there sometime."
"Three days' ride?" his would-be paramour echoed, looking worried. "Such a long time to be on a horse!"
Aravis and Cor looked at each other, snickering quietly as they remembered their long voyage north. Cor slid his arm around her waist. "I believe you forgot to say that a good match is someone who will voyage with you."
Aravis leaned against his side. She smiled almost to herself as she smoothed his tunic with her long fingers. There was no room in her expression for Cor to doubt what she thought of their match. He leaned in and kissed her softly to show her he felt the same. He couldn't imagine anyone but Aravis.
In bed that night, he stared unblinking at his canopy and wondered at the inevitability of the thing. He and Aravis weren't always in agreement, but they seemed to agree about their match. And yet, Cor panicked when he thought of marriage. If he knew there was no one but Aravis, why the hesitation?
Cor's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of his door opening and someone entering with a lit candle. Cor sat up slowly, pushing himself against the pillows. Was it Aravis, coming to his bed at last? His heart started to pound. They shouldn't, he knew this, but if she was coming to him willingly he didn't know if he had the strength of will to turn her away.
If he hadn't had so much hot blood rushing in his ears, Cor would have been able to hear that it could not possibly have been Aravis. His visitor walked too heavily and stumbled while Aravis would have moved with stately grace. As it was, he jumped with surprise when his twin poked his head through the bedcurtains.
"Oh good, you're awake," Corin observed. "I need to talk with you." Without waiting for an invitation, he parted the curtains and settled himself on the bed. Cor leaned back against the pillows and waited. Soon enough, Corin spoke, raking his fingers through his hair. "What do you think of her?"
"The Duke's daughter?" Cor confirmed. Corin nodded, and in answer Cor shrugged diplomatically.
"Don't shrug. Tell me what you really think," Corin commanded.
"It doesn't matter what I think," Cor returned. "What matters is what you think."
Corin scowled and flopped back against the blankets. "I don't think I can love her," he said after a prolonged silence. "She's boring. She's got no spark, no life, no adventure. She's a perfectly boring princess. Lucy…" here he cut himself short, clamping his mouth shut.
Cor twisted his mouth, debating internally. Finally he ventured "Perhaps you shouldn't marry her then."
"Not that easy, is it?" Corin returned. "You should see how pleased father is. He'll be terribly disappointed."
"He wants you to be happy though," Cor countered. "You shouldn't marry someone you don't love for father's sake."
"You sound like Aravis," he grumbled.
"Well, maybe that's because Aravis has a point!"
"It's so easy for you to say!" Corin exclaimed, frowning. "You two are in love. You have no idea what it's like." His vehemence turned into a pout.
"But you haven't even tried," Corin said gently. "If you love someone, you have to say it."
"I can't say it if she won't even talk to me, can I?" Cor's eyes widened, and Corin explained. "She returned my letter." He held up his hand against his brother's interjection. "I know, I know. But when she does come round, I'll still be silly Prince Corin to her, nothing more than a kid to play with. Peter would never take me seriously as a suitor. I have to realize it's not going to happen. And if that's the case, one girl's as good as the next, isn't she?" Corin sighed heavily, picking at a loose feather in the quilts. "Only—I wish she wasn't so very dull."
Cor blinked. He had never seen his brother so low before. Corin was always supremely confident he'd get exactly what he wanted in the end. This normally lent the impetuous prince a certain patience. After all, he had carried his torch for Queen Lucy for years. Could he really give it up so easily? Wouldn't he wait until Lucy's mind changed?
Before he could ask anything, Corin rolled off the bed with another deep sigh. "Maybe she'll get more interesting," he said without any real optimism. "'Night, Cor."
The next morning the Duke was crowing about arrangements for the wedding while his daughter stood by his side, blushing demurely. She couldn't manage to look at Corin.
King Lune stammered with the suddenness of it. "B-but they haven't even been bundled yet. We have to see if they suit."
"Bundled?" the Duke returned, frowning with uncertainty.
Lune went on to explain the tradition of putting two young people who might be betrothed in the same bed for a night so they might get to know each other. "Though of course," he added, "there is a divider between them."
The Duke chuckled. "Of course," he preened, thinking his daughter was so desirable her honor was quite in danger without this safeguard. Plainly he did not see the bland look on Corin's face.
Cor leaned towards Aravis and murmured to her mischievously, "I notice we have yet to be bundled."
"I wasn't aware we might be betrothed," she returned coolly, lifting a forkful of egg delicately to her mouth. Cor started to chuckle, but he happened to look at Corin's face, and he realized this was no time for laughter. All at once he realized that this was his brother's future, the whole rest of his life. Corin may not be himself now, but when he came to his senses he would be very sorry. The whole prospect of marriage seemed very unnerving at the moment. Cor jumped up from the table with a flimsy excuse and dragged Aravis out into the hall.
"We have to do something," he told Aravis urgently.
She rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "What do you think I've been trying to say?"
"No, really do something," Cor insisted, pacing before her.
Aravis grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. "Have a little decorum," she hissed. After checking that no one was around, she continued. "And what do you propose we do? We've already talked to him every way we can think of. What's left?"
"We need to…to get Queen Lucy here. If he sees her, he'll…"
Aravis threw her hands up in frustration. "How do you plan on accomplishing that? She's angry at him."
Cor grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her close to him. "You'll see me when you're angry with me."
She slapped his chest lightly, looking pleased all the same. "Don't joke, Cor. This is serious."
"Alright then. Seriously, we've got to think of a way to get Queen Lucy here. Together we stopped the Calormene invasion. I'm sure we can think of something."
What they thought of was this: Cor would write to the High King, who was rapidly becoming his friend, and say that he needed advice about the agreement his family was brokering with Galma. Cor liked this because it was actually true, and he had no desire to lie to the High King. Meanwhile, Aravis would write to Queen Lucy and say she missed her company and longed to talk with her friend. Singularly neither plea was likely to merit a visit—given her temper Queen Lucy was more likely to issue an invitation than come herself. Together, however, the two missives might summon the King and Queen.
Their plan paid off. Three days later, a trumpet called sounded at mid morning and a page came running into King Lune's state room, where the two delegations were hammering out a trade agreement while the Duke deeply hinted at marriage negotiations.
"Beg pardon, your Majesty, but the High King and Queen Lucy are at the gates!" The page was unnecessarily urgent, which made Cor smile a bit. But then he noticed that the duke blanched and he wondered why he should be displeased at the High King's arrival. Cor had no time to comment to Aravis, though, as everyone bustled away immediately to greet the Narnians.
When they got to the courtyard, King Peter and Queen Lucy were already dismounting. King Peter shook hands with Lune before turning to Cor, gripping his forearm and clapping his shoulder. "Well met, your Highness," he said with a grin.
Cor smiled in return. With a start he realized he was no longer smiling up at the High King. "Well met," he returned.
Nearby, Queen Lucy greeted Aravis with her usual warmth, hugging her friend and exclaiming in delight. Aravis' joy was more restrained, but Cor knew her well enough to see how delighted she was to see the Queen, master plan or no.
Then Corin came out. Unluckily, the Duke's daughter was hanging off his arm as was now her want—she was making the transition from shy to overzealous. Queen Lucy spotted this at once and her eyes narrowed slightly. Her greeting to Corin, the friend of her childhood, was cool. Aravis and Cor exchanged a swift glance; this was not the fruition they hand in mind.
Cor was determined not to give up because of a setback. He was too practiced in outwaiting a woman's ire and reaping the benefits of his patience. He considered also that the High King had enough power and influence to stop the marriage for political reasons. He would have liked to say he had this in mind when calling the Narnians, but it only occurred to him when King Peter questioned him later as they took a ride. "I notice the Galmians are here. What advice do you seek?"
Cor looked at him and took a breath. He had the look of a schoolboy ready to 'fess. "Father thinks to marry Corin to the Duke's daughter."
King Peter checked his horse so suddenly that Cor had to wheel about. The High King rubbed his chin. "An alliance through marriage?"
Cor nodded. "What do you think to it?"
"I don't like it," he replied at once in his simple, honest way. "I refused to sell my sisters in that way—I want to see them happy and in love." He shook his head. "It is, in my view, a poor way to do diplomacy."
"Corin doesn't love her," Cor admitted with a frown. "He wants someone else, but she won't have him. In his sulk he's throwing away his life."
On hearing that Corin loved someone else, King Peter raised a brow. He did not comment on that, however. Instead he clicked his tongue and spurred his horse onward. Cor fell into step beside him. After a pause, the King said thoughtfully "Tread carefully, Cor. I know you want to see your brother happy, but there's only so much you can do. He has to realize things for himself."
"But what about the Duke? He's pushing things so quickly that Corin hardly even realizes what's happening," Cor's brow was furrowed with worry.
The King looked around, his expression thoughtful. "There are things worth ruffling a few diplomatic feathers for. Edmund made the right decision in Tashbaan."
Cor nodded. It seemed easy then; obviously the right choice was to defend Queen Susan at all costs, even if it meant war for Archenland. Now though, things were less clear. The Duke's daughter was not vile as Rabadash had been, she was merely dull. And Galma was not a questionable ally but a longtime friend, one with important naval and trade connections…Cor rubbed his forehead. The older he got, the less clear right and wrong seemed.
Despite the High King's encouraging words, Cor found there was little he could do. In a meeting that afternoon, Lune announced that the couple would be bundled that night. Cor wondered how this could happen so fast, and he mused on this with Aravis when he shared the news. "I just don't understand. You would think something like this would take a bit longer, that people would want time to consider—why, Aravis! What's wrong?" He noticed that she went very pale and very quiet, bowing her head. Her fists were clenched by her side, her oval nails no doubt digging into her palms. When he lifted her chin, he saw there were tears in her eyes.
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of them. "Is this what Archenland's become?" she growled. "Are you a people to broker marriages like the Calormenes? What happens when your father needs a trade agreement with the Seven Isles? Are you to be sold off as well?"
Cor thought of his conversation with his father which seemed so very long ago, when he implied that Cor need not fear a match because he might marry Aravis. He thought this might comfort Aravis, but the words stuck in his throat. He tried to hush her wordlessly, but she would not have his comfort. She pushed him away and stalked down the hall.
Queen Lucy was similarly unsettled. At dinner that night she was uncharacteristically quiet. She watched Corin and the Duke's daughter with her eyes slightly narrowed and her mouth very tight. She drained several goblets of strong Archen wine and was the first to excuse herself. Cor watched her go, wondering what made her so obviously upset, and his heart leapt at one possibility. Automatically he thought of conferencing with Aravis in the hall, hatching a plan to find out if Queen Lucy could love Corin after all. Before he could act on the impulse though, everyone began to rise from the table. It was time to make preparations for the bundling.
There was a strange ceremony involved. Cor and Aravis were both present for the beginning, Aravis as highest ranking lady of the house, Cor as Corin's best man. The Duke and Father were present as well, and all four watched as a steward placed an embroidered bolster down the center of the bed. This pillow had a lot of budding flowers and young fruit to symbolize the hope for a prosperous union. It was all very intricately done, but all Cor could think was that if he were lucky enough to sleep in the same bed as Aravis, it would take a lot more than a pillow to keep him away from her.
Corin and the Duke's daughter were led in wearing their nightclothes and dressing gowns with embroidery to match the pillow. Cor and Aravis stepped forward to remove the dressing gowns, and as they did so Cor looked at Aravis with the dressing gown now draped over her arm. In spite of the seriousness of her expression and the heaviness of the moment, he couldn't help but wonder what she might look like in her nightgown, whether the rich color of her skin would show through the gauzy cotton. He turned from these thoughts to attend to Corin, who did not seem nearly as entranced by the prospect of getting into bed with a girl. Actually, he looked rather sick.
Cor and Aravis were supposed to advise the would-be paramours, but they had words of neither wisdom nor encouragement. So Aravis nodded to the wide eyed girl and Cor clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder. Corin turned to him with a look of panic in his eyes, and Cor could only shrug slightly in response. Together Aravis and Cor turned back the blankets and saw the would be couple into bed. Everyone filed out of the room then, Aravis and Cor going last, bearing the lamp with them. Cor took one last look at his twin, who was sitting up in bed staring at Cor with an imploring look. The Duke's Daughter was laying stiffly on her back with her arms folded across her, and there was nothing Cor could say.
In the hall, Cor and Aravis didn't even have words for each other. They simply looked into each other's faces, and Cor touched Aravis' cheek tenderly. She gripped his wrist and held his hand there. Then all at once she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him hard. Before he could even respond, she pulled away. She gave him one more long look before she drifted down the hall to her chambers. Cor found that he wanted to follow her very much, to hold her and lay with her. He wondered what it might be like if they shared rooms as husband and wife and that was his right and their pleasure. He looked back at the door of the room where his twin was accustoming himself to the idea of matrimony and he shuddered. Perhaps it wasn't time for that yet.