Dancing with the Royals

As Rabadash slowly pulled Saedra onto the dance floor, she looked around the room. A sense of triumph filled her; King Lune would be so pleased if he could see her now.

The pair started dancing, and Saedra commented, "You dance remarkably well, your Highness! I imagine that the dancing up here is much different than the kind in Calormen."

"It is, O my Lady," Rabadash smiled down at her, his teeth lighting up his handsome, clean-shaven face. "Queen Susan was kind enough to bestow upon me and my cousin Rahai Tarkheena a private dancing lesson just this afternoon."

"That is very generous of the Queen," she commented.

Point one for Queen Susan, she thought. She's better at this than I thought!

"And you have learned so quickly, oh Prince. I'm most impressed." She wasn't flattering him; he was light on his feet.

"I couldn't have had a better teacher, my Lady. Queen Susan is the most graceful woman I have ever laid eyes on." Rabadash looked away from her, scanning the room. There was no question that he was seeking out Susan.

Having heard enough of the precious Gentle Queen, Saedra said, "And how do you find the land of Narnia, your Highness? Is it very different than Calormen?"

"It is pleasing to the eye, O Lady, but quite different than the luscious greenery of Calormen," he replied. "How do you find it?"

"I like it very much! The lack of humans was something to get used to, but it is a most pleasing place."

Come, Saedra! Think of something interesting to say!

"What brought you north, O my Lady?" he asked. "I did not know that many Calormenes lived in Archenland."

She didn't understand what he was saying and asked, "Pardon me, my Lord?"

"High King Peter said you were from Archenland, unless my ears deceived me."

"That is correct, oh Prince."

A hint of annoyance crept into his voice at Saedra's lack of comprehension. "Then what brought you up to Archenland from Calormen?"

Saedra was wholly confused. "I've never been to Calormen in my life, Prince. This is only the second time I've left Archenland in my entire life."

"You mean to tell me that you are not Calormene?" the Prince said disbelievingly.

"Whatever would give you that impression, your Highness?" she asked in surprise.

"Hah! Because your eyes and hair are as dark as the night, for starters!"

"That may be so, oh Prince, but does that make me Calormene? King Edmund himself has dark features as well."

"But it did not please the gods to give him dark skin like yours, your Ladyness."

"That's interesting of you to say, oh Prince, but my father was as fair as the day, and my mother (may she rest in peace) was Telmarine."

Rabadash didn't believe her. "That's not possible. You don't have an ounce of Telmarine blood in you."

Saedra blinked. "Pardon me?"

"It is as I said, O my Lady. I know my own kind, and you are as Calormene as I am."

She didn't know what to say to that, but she knew that he was wrong. "Then I cannot question that, for I can tell that your Highness is most knowledgeable."

Rabadash smiled triumphantly, as if he thought he'd changed Saedra's mind about her own heritage.

They talked about other trivial things, and Rabadash seemed much more interested in Saedra now that he had educated her about her ethnicity. As the song ended, he said, "I would be most pleased to dance again with you tonight, O my Ladyness."

"That would be delightful, oh Prince," she smiled encouragingly. "I thank you for the dance."

He bowed and kissed her hand. "The pleasure was mine, O my Lady."

She watched him as he walked away, and was pleased to see that he wasn't heading straight for Susan. Susan, however, was watching him with hawk eyes from where she was standing. Lucy, Tumnus, and Corin were conversing next to her, but she wasn't paying any attention.

Susan looked back at Saedra, and they locked eyes. At the betrayed expression on the Queen's face, Saedra felt slightly guilty. Susan looked away after a moment, then purposely headed towards Rabadash.

Why are you feeling guilty? Saedra asked herself. You didn't do anything to sabotage Queen Susan. Prince Rabadash is fair game.

She decided to go over and apologize to Corin for leaving before he had returned with her drink. He still held the full goblet in his hand, and was sipping from his own drink with the other hand.

"Lady Saedra!" Corin exclaimed. "I still have your wine!"

Saedra laughed as she took the cup. "What a gentleman! Thank you, Prince. I'm sorry I left before you got back."

Lucy smiled. "How was dancing with Rabadash?"

"Oh, it was nice enough," Saedra said casually, sipping on the cup.

Lucy watched her closely. "What was your impression of him?"

"He's very knowledgeable," Saedra replied with a straight face. "And he talked much of your sister."

Lucy looked visibly relieved. "Susan would be glad to hear that! She was a tad concerned that he'd asked you to dance because she'd displeased him somehow."

"I assure you, that's not the case," Saedra said honestly, then turned to the Faun. "How are you tonight, Tumnus?"

"I'm splendid, my Lady," he smiled, his hoof tapping on the floor to the beat of the music. He had the most genuine smile she had ever seen. "I must say, you look ravishing tonight."

"Why, thank you!" Saedra said. She deeply appreciated the compliment, as she had tried harder to look pretty tonight than she ever had in her life. "You look very handsome yourself."

Tumnus' cheeks turned a little pink, which Saedra found adorable. There was no wonder why Lucy loved being around the Faun so much.

"Who wants to dance with me?" Corin asked, putting down his empty cup. "I've only danced once tonight!"

Lucy smiled down at the boy and said, "I will, if your Royal Highness will have me!"

"Of course, your Majesty!" Corin bowed, holding up his palm.

Lucy and Corin skipped onto the dance floor, leaving a laughing Saedra and Tumnus.

"He has quite a good disposition for one who has so recently lost his mother," Tumnus commented.

"Yes, he does indeed," Saedra said, watching the boy. "He was extremely close to the Queen, and took it hard. King Lune thought it'd be best if he got away for a while, and it's turning out to be a good medicine for him."

"Maybe I should offer to take him to the Summer Festival," the Faun replied. "I think he'd like that."

Saedra had heard of the famed Narnian Summer Festivals. "That would make his summer!"

She looked back around the room. Peter was dancing with a beautiful Naiad, Susan and Rabadash were dancing again, and Edmund was chatting with some Dwarves.

"King Edmund doesn't dance much, does he?" she commented.

"No, not so much," Tumnus replied. "He does occasionally, when Princesses come calling. But usually he is content to mingle."

"I'm curious…what are the Princesses like that call on the Kings? I'm trying to picture the Kings dealing with their many admirers."

Tumnus chuckled. "Oh, they come in all kinds from all sorts of places. King Peter enjoys it more than King Edmund, as you probably can tell."

"Yes, I did pick that up," Saedra said wryly. "Have any of the women managed to make a lasting impression on either of them?"

"King Peter did fall for a Telmarine Princess, but that ended when he realized that she was only interested in his power, not him. King Edmund hasn't had anyone special yet."

Lucy and Corin came over, laughing happily.

"My word, Saedra! You didn't warn me about what an energetic dancer our Prince is!" Lucy gasped.

"Many apologies," Saedra laughed.

Corin beamed. "Who wants to dance next? Lady Saedra?"

"No thank you, not right now. I'm having a good time talking to Tumnus here."

"Oh?" Lucy asked. "What're you talking about?"

"I was just telling Lady Saedra how King Edmund hadn't had any lovers yet," Tumnus replied.

"Ah!" Lucy grinned conspiratorially. "And did you tell her why?"

"No, I didn't," Tumnus replied.

Lucy leaned in and said, "Edmund is in love with a mystery woman."

"Oy! What's that?" Corin asked.

"Nothing, Prince," Lucy said. "Would you be so kind as to fetch me some food?"

Excited at the notion of being a gentleman again, Corin ran off to oblige her.

"Here, let's sit down," Lucy said, and they followed her to some seats.

"What do you mean, he has a secret lover?" Saedra asked, supremely interested in this side of Edmund. "Tumnus just told me he hasn't had any lovers yet."

"He hasn't fallen for any Princesses, that's true," Lucy said. "But I can recall a night where Edmund drank too much wine, and—"

"What's this?" a voice interrupted.

They turned and saw that it was Edmund.

"Telling secrets, are we?" the King asked.

Lucy grinned. "No, no secrets. You may join us, if you like."

"I was going to see if Saedra wanted to dance, but that can wait. I will sit, thank you."

"Now, where were we?" Lucy asked, putting her finger on her chin.

"You were just telling Lady Saedra about a night where King Edmund was a tad drunk," Tumnus chimed in, trying to keep a straight face.

"What!" Edmund exclaimed.

"Oh, yes! Now I remember," Lucy said, ignoring her brother. "Well, it was late after a party a few years ago, and we were teasing Ed about a girl."

"Many years ago," Edmund reminded.

"Four years ago, actually," Lucy amended. "Anyway, we asked him why he didn't like a certain Princess, and he said it was because he had already found a girl."

"What?" Saedra exclaimed in delight.

Edmund groaned. "Lu…"

"He said that he had found her a long time ago, and that someday he would marry her," Lucy went on. "He said that she was everything he wanted in a girl: spunky, funny, smart, witty..."

"Beautiful?" Saedra added.

"Nope! He said he didn't care what she looked like; all that mattered was her personality. But of course, looks would be a bonus," Lucy said gleefully. She was thoroughly enjoying embarrassing her older brother.

"That's very admirable," Saedra said, grinning at Edmund.

He looked back at her with a beet-red face that held an expression that almost made her pity him.

"Where did you meet this girl?" Saedra asked. "In an enchanted forest?"

Edmund rolled his eyes.

"Why haven't you married her yet?" Saedra pressed.

Edmund looked at her seriously. "Because I will not declare my love until I'm certain that she returns it."

"That's terribly impractical, Ed," said Lucy. "You could both go on loving each other and never know it, for ages and ages..."

"Until you're both old and grey and too ugly to be looked upon," Saedra added, smiling.

"And then one of you will declare undying love on your deathbed, but then it'll be too late!" Lucy continued. "You'll have to marry a gravestone instead."

"How tragic," sighed Saedra.

"I can't take this anymore!" Edmund exclaimed and stood up.

"Can't take what?" another voice asked. Peter had come over to join the conversation.

"Oh, no! Not another one!" Edmund lamented, rolling his eyes.

Peter chuckled. "I don't think I want to get involved with this one. Actually, I came over to see if Lady Saedra would care to dance with me." He looked at her expectantly.

Saedra opened her mouth to accept, but Edmund said, "Hey, I asked first!"

"Then why's she still sitting here?" Peter laughed.

"Because, um—"

"That's what I thought," Peter cut him off. He held up his hand to Saedra, "Shall we, my Lady?"

Saedra hesitated a moment, looking between the brothers. Edmund's face was still red, and now he looked slightly annoyed. Peter was looking at her expectantly, looking especially dashing with his dark clothing.

"Um…" she said uncomfortably.

"How about I'll dance with Ed and you dance with Peter, then we can switch off?" Lucy volunteered.

"Sounds good to me," Peter said. "Shall we, Duchess?"

Saedra stood up and placed her hand in his. When Peter turned away, she looked back at Edmund apologetically.

As she and Peter started dancing, he smiled down at her. "So what were you all talking about?"

"Edmund's secret crush," she said. It was impossible not to smile back; Peter had such a charming grin.

"Ah," he chuckled. "We tease him about that mercilessly."

"So I see!"

"Is there any secret crush that we can tease you about, my Lady?"

"Sadly no, your Majesty. You?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm sure Lucy told you all about my courting history, what there is of it."

"She said that you certainly enjoy the company of your admirers."

"It's better to enjoy them than to make enemies with other countries by shunning them, don't you think?"

"It depends on what you mean by 'enjoy,'" she said boldly.

"Is your Ladyship suggesting that I have been less than respectable with my admirers?"

"I'm suggesting nothing, your Majesty. Only being cautious of being another of your conquests, if in fact that is how you view them."

Peter blinked. "You've already formed an opinion of me, I see. I don't know what would assure you that my intentions have always been for the benefit of Narnia."

"Your word would be enough, your Majesty."

"Then I give your Ladyship my word that my intentions have always been noble. I did fall for a Telmarine Princess by the name of Priyah, but it was her intentions that weren't completely noble and led me to cancel our courtship. I entertain the other Princesses that come in order to maintain the peace of the country, nothing more."

Saedra felt embarrassed that she had elicited such a long and heart-felt response from the High King, especially since her first impression had been wrong. "I thank you for the explanation, your Majesty. You certainly don't owe it to me, a lowly Duchess."

"If it isn't obvious enough, your good opinion matters to me, my Lady," he said, looking at her sincerely.

Saedra felt a blush creep onto her face. It was becoming a habit of hers, to get a bit flustered when he was around. She looked down, then back up at him; he was still waiting for her response intently.

"Thank you, your Majesty," she said softly. "Your good opinion matters to me too."

Peter looked very pleased at that. "How do you like the Calormene Prince? I saw you dancing with him earlier."

"He was pleasant enough. He tried to convince me that I'm Calormene, even though my father was an Archenlander and my mother was Telmarine. Of course, I agreed with him. I know better than to tell a Prince that he's wrong! Corin taught me that much."

He threw his head back and laughed. "Your Ladyship is too much!"

"Thank you, your Majesty," she smiled cheekily. "And how was the Tarkheena Rahai?"

"She's a quiet, pleasant woman. I think she's spooked by the Talking Animals, but I assured her that they're harmless."

"Maybe your Majesty could offer her Queen Susan's horn in case she ever feels endangered," she giggled.

"Hah! I'm sure Susan would like that!"

"It would—how did you say it?—'maintain the peace' between Calormen and Narnia," she said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Spoken like a true diplomat, my Lady!"

Edmund and Lucy came behind Peter, dancing so they wouldn't be run over. Edmund tapped his brother on the shoulder.

"I believe this Lady owes me a dance."

"That she does, that she does," Peter said, stopped their dancing. He bowed to Saedra. "It was a pleasure, my Lady."

"Thank you, your Majesty," she curtseyed.

Peter held his arms out to Lucy and said, "Shall we, sister?"

"We shall," she replied, and they started dancing.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important," Edmund said, stepping in front of Saedra.

"Not at all!" she smiled up at him. "We were just laughing about how many admirers he has to deal with."

They hopped into the line that had formed in the dance, holding hands. They passed Rabadash and Susan, who had eyes for no one but each other. When the line split up into a different formation, Edmund said, "People often ask me if I envy Peter's position, and I can honestly say no. All of the admirers are a big part of it!"

"I would feel the same way! Wanting me only for my power…it wouldn't make me feel good about myself."

"Precisely. Fortunately, Peter has enough self-respect to be able to handle it well."

Saedra and Edmund danced for a long time, until Corin interrupted them, demanding that Saedra dance with him. She danced with the young Prince until Rabadash came back, asking for one more dance with her.

Her dance with Rabadash was better than the first one, but she didn't feel like she was doing a good job of making him fall in love with her. He would constantly look around for Susan and mention her.

In the wee hours of the morning, the party ended. Saedra stumbled back to her room and collapsed onto the bed tiredly; her legs felt like jelly.

What a night! she thought drowsily. So much dancing…

Her last thought was that she hadn't gotten very far with Rabadash, but that strangely, she didn't care.