An Archenlander Who Can't Arch

The next day, Saedra slept in late. It was almost noon by the time she lazily rolled over, opened her eyes, and noticed the position of the sun through the opening to the balcony. Her face felt dry and crusty, and her stomach ached. And little wonder, for she had been lying on her back still wearing her tight party dress and makeup.

"Ugh," she said aloud, sitting up slowly. She looked across the room to the mirror. When she spotted her reflection, she nearly laughed; she looked like a raccoon with a bird's nest perched atop its head.

She rolled over and got out of bed slowly. As soon as she put weight on her legs, she winced. They were no longer jelly-like—they were hard as rock and hurt something fierce!

She hobbled over to the closet and slowly peeled her navy blue dress off of her body. She went to the water basin and scrubbed her whole body clean, trying to rid herself of any foul smells, then threw on a robe.

She limped back to the bed and flopped onto her stomach, her face buried in the quilt.

Well, I failed. After last night, there's no question that Prince Rabadash and Queen Susan are infatuated with each other.

She chuckled to herself. That is actually quite a relief, I must say. Rabadash may be handsome, but there was no chemistry between us. King Lune will simply have to find another means of securing peace between our countries.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" Saedra hollered, sitting up. She went over and opened the door a millimeter. When she saw that it was only Lucy, she opened it wide so that the Queen could enter.

"Good afternoon!" Lucy said, bright as the sunshine. "I thought you might still be in bed."

Saedra groaned and plopped down on the bed. "I hope I haven't been entirely rude by missing breakfast. I just feel so sore!"

Lucy held up some envelopes that were in her hand. "The Birds brought these letters for you today, and since I wanted to see if you were ready anyway, I said I'd bring them up."

"Thank you!" Saedra took the letters from her and scanned the handwriting on them. One was from Gilda back in Harden, and the other was from King Lune.

"Also, I wanted to make sure you were still coming with us for the picnic and archery this afternoon," continued Lucy.

"I forgot about that! When are you leaving?"

"In half an hour," replied Lucy. "You still have time if you hurry."

Saedra glanced down at her letters longingly. She did want to go on the picnic—very much—but she desperately wanted to read her notes; they might contain important instructions from King Lune or pressing news from Harden.

Lucy read her expression and said, "How about I pick out some clothes for you, and you can see what your letters say?"

"Would you?" Saedra said gratefully. "That would be excellent. Besides, I don't know what to wear to archery practice."

Lucy laughed. "It doesn't matter what you wear! It looks to be a hot day, so I'll pick out something light."

Saedra ripped open the letter from Lune and scanned it.

…It pleases me to hear that his Highness Prince Rabadash has finally arrived. I'm anxious to hear what thy impression of him is. The alliance between thee and him would be a great asset to our people, and to thy coastal province especially. I know I can count on thee to make this arrangement with delicacy and taste, my Lady. Thy esteemed father (may he rest in peace) trained thee well in the art of diplomacy…

"Now let's see here…" Lucy continued as she flipped through the dresses.

Saedra wasn't paying attention to Lucy; she was digesting what Lune had reminded her of. She had lost sight of the reason that she was trying to win Rabadash's affections. It wasn't just for the convenience of an alliance between Calormen and Archenland, it was for the future survival of her people; the people whose land had been sowed with salt, just out of the spite of the Calormene raiders. The people who barely made enough to survive.

"This is what I'd wear if I was you." Lucy pulled out a golden yellow dress that had white lace sleeves. "This is light enough so you won't get too hot, but it's very pretty."

Saedra accepted the dress. "Thank you, Lucy." She grabbed some undergarments and went behind the partition to get dressed.

Her mind was racing with thoughts as she slipped into her clothing. Could she just tell Lune that it was a hopeless cause? That Queen Susan had already won his heart?

It hasn't even been two days since they arrived, she reminded herself. He may question why I've quit so early.

But there was another angle to think of, and that was of the relations between Archenland and Narnia. What if they were tarnished by Susan's potential dislike of Saedra, who was representing her country? Archenland couldn't afford for there to be any bad blood between it and Narnia. Archenland was a small country smashed between two larger ones, so it was always keeping a delicate balance. Saedra was walking a fine line between pleasing Rabadash and angering Susan, and she knew it.

Before she stepped around the partition, she took in a deep breath and thought, Today will be the final test. If I don't make any progress with Prince Rabadash today, then I will abandon the mission.

When Saedra came out, Lucy clapped her hands. "I do have excellent taste, I must say," she joked. "You look radiant."

Saedra smiled and did a curtsey dramatically. "I owe it all to my stylist."

Lucy giggled, her eighteen-year-old innocence shining through. "Come, shall we go down to the stables? That's where we're all meeting. Ed said he'd make sure Prince Corin was ready."

Saedra linked her arm through the Queen's and they walked out to the stables, rehashing all of the details of the party the night before. When they entered the stables where the dumb horses were kept, they saw that they were the last to arrive. Peter, Susan, Edmund and Corin, Rabadash and Rahai, and other Dwarves and Centaurs were standing around saddled horses, talking merrily.

"Ah, here come the snails!" Peter said jovially when he saw his sister and Saedra. He turned to an attendant and called, "You there, bring those horses over here!"

A Dwarf led two horses over to them and said, "Here you go, your Majesty."

"Thank you," Peter replied, handing the reins of one to Lucy. Lucy hitched her foot into the stirrup and swung herself upon it smoothly.

"What is it, my Lady?" Peter asked Saedra.

Saedra had been unconsciously staring at how Lucy sat, with one leg on each side of the horse. Saedra rode like that whenever she was alone, but never when she was in sight of other nobles! She couldn't believe Lucy would just hop on a horse like that in the presence of men! She rather admired it.

"Uh—nothing," Saedra said, looking away from Lucy and up at Peter.

Peter was beginning to ask Saedra if she needed assistance climbing onto the horse, but she quickly put her foot in the stirrup, gripped the saddle, and swung her other leg over so that she was sitting the same way Lucy was. She looked down at him, feeling very triumphant for being so brave as to mount a horse without the help of a man and sitting side-saddle. A slow smile grew on Peter's face, as if he could read her thoughts through her eyes. He smothered the smile and simply handed her the reins.

"Thank you, your Majesty," she said, taking them from him with self-satisfied, upturned lips.

"You're welcome, my Lady," said he with the same smile on his face.

They arrived at their destination half an hour later, at the hottest part of the day. It was a wide, green field where targets had already been set up in rows. There were trees bordering the field, and under these were spread blankets with baskets of food laid out. To the right was the sea, glittering in the strong sunlight.

Saedra had ridden next to Lucy and Corin most of the way, but as they were riding towards the trees where they would tie up their horses, Peter came trotting over between Lucy and Saedra.

"So, my Lady, are you going to teach me to arch today?" asked the High King teasingly.

Saedra laughed. "I hardly think I'm the person to do that! I shoot a little, but very poorly. Lucy here has kindly offered to coach Prince Corin and me."

"What!" Peter exclaimed in feigned shock. "An Archenlander who can't arch?"

Saedra tried not to laugh too hard, for it was a terrible joke.

Lucy leaned in and said, "I bet you anything he's been practicing that one the whole ride!"

"I can arch!" Corin interjected.

They halted at the trees, and Saedra suddenly realized that while she might have gotten onto the horse without exposing herself, getting off was another matter. She couldn't do as Peter and Corin did, which was simply lift a leg in front of them and hop off the side, because that would probably expose her undergarments.

She made sure Peter wasn't looking, fearing he might tease her for not knowing how to ride like a man; he had already seemed on the verge of teasing her when she had first mounted the horse. Now he was tying his horse to a tree, so she glanced out of the corner of her eye across his horse to Lucy. She watched as Lucy leaned forward, looped her leg over the backside of the horse (which didn't expose anything), and slid off while facing the horse.

Saedra quickly copied her, and felt a jolt from her sore legs when they hit the ground. She turned around, adjusting her skirts, and found herself face-to-face with Peter. Quite face-to-face. The High King had been starting to walk in-between the horses, and she had unintentionally stepped right into his path.

They both turned red and said "Excuse me!" at the same time. Then they awkwardly laughed at how they had said the same thing at the same time, and stepped back away from each other.

Peter waved his hand, saying, "You first, my Lady."

"Thank you," she said, trying not to sound embarrassed. She grabbed the reins of her horse and started pulling it towards a tree.

Peter saw what she was doing, and stepped over. "Oh, let me get that, my Lady!"

"Oh! Thank you, your Majesty," Saedra said, feeling more flustered.

Peter took the reins from her, and tied the horse to the tree. Saedra awkwardly waited for him to finish, feeling it'd be rude to simply walk away.

When he finished, he came over and said, "May I walk you over, my Lady?"

"You may," she smiled up at him, hitching her arm around his.

When they left the shadow of the trees, they saw that Susan was already starting to give Rabadash and Tarkheena Rahai a lesson in shooting. Rahai was horrifically bad, and Rabadash was pretty bad himself.

"Your Majesty," asked Saedra, "do they not teach archery in Calormen?"

"No, from what I hear, they don't," Peter replied as they approached Lucy, Corin, and Edmund. "They prefer using lances and swords."

"I wonder why that is," she replied thoughtfully. "Shooting from a distance is terribly useful in battle."

Peter leaned in and said softly, "I've heard it's because Calormenes lack the patience to make sure they are aiming correctly. Look at Prince Rabadash. Does he not strike you as the impatient sort?"

Saedra looked back at Rabadash struggling to aim the bow. She turned around, biting her lip to suppress a giggle. "Your Majesty makes an accurate observation, if a bit unkind."

"Who's unkind?" Edmund asked, overhearing the last part.

He held a bow by his side, and Lucy was tutoring Corin how to hold a bow. Saedra unlinked her arm from the High King's, and they nodded to each other courteously.

"Me," Peter replied, going over to Lucy and Corin.

"Ah, no argument there!" Edmund said, shaking the bow at his brother's back.

Saedra laughed.

"Well, would you like to shoot, Saedra?" Edmund offered.

"I'd love to, but I'll probably end up killing something! Lucy was going to give me a refresher, but she looks a bit preoccupied over there."

"Then I'll show you, if you'll allow me."

"Of course!" she said. "I didn't know you were good at shooting."

"I'm not," he admitted, grinning. "But I'm not that bad."

While the others shot around them, Edmund instructed Saedra. Once when he was behind her helping her position her arms, Peter noticed them and called over, "Ed! You aren't trying to be fresh with the Duchess, are you?"

Edmund turned a deep shade of red at that, and quickly refrained from touching Saedra for the rest of the training session.

After a couple of hours, Saedra and Edmund had learned a lot more about each other than they had known before.

She learned that Edmund was very modest, for he was an excellent archer (though not near as good as Susan). She found out that besides his siblings, his best friends were a Horse named Philip, with whom he had first learned to ride, and a Lion named Mivvel whom he had drawn on when Mivvel was a stone statue. (That was a long story, but if you ever wish to read it, see "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe").

Edmund learned that Saedra was an avid book reader and that though she had travelled a scant amount in her life, she knew a lot about foreign countries through her books. He asked her if she had seen the library at Cair Paravel, and she said no, and he promised to show it to her and Corin the next day.

In late afternoon, dinner was set out, and they all entered the shade of the trees to sup. Saedra ended up sitting next to Rahai, the silent Tarkheena. On the other side of Rahai were Rabadash and Susan, both looking love-sick.

Saedra wasn't really interested in getting to know the stunningly beautiful Tarkheena; she made small talk, however, and learned that Rahai was an oldest daughter of a high-ranking Tarkaan. She had two younger sisters who were both engaged to Tarkaans. Saedra was curious why Rahai never married, but felt it rude to ask. Rahai looked to be about twenty years old, and her sisters were over five years younger than her.

After dinner, Saedra made a last-ditch effort to get Rabadash alone by pulling Corin aside and telling him that if he really wanted to learn how to shoot, he should ask Queen Susan. Though Saedra felt very sneaky doing it, it worked better than she imagined. Susan graciously agreed to oblige Corin, and Rabadash wasn't interested in leaving the shade again. Thus Susan and Corin left the six adults to relax in the late afternoon coolness of the trees.

Lucy came over to sit next to Saedra and asked, "So, how was Ed at teaching archery?" She looked over at Edmund with a grin.

"Much better than I expected!" Saedra replied. "I think I've improved a good deal."

"She has," Edmund piped in, leaning on his elbow. "She's a natural."

"That might be going a bit far…" laughed Saedra.

"In fact," Edmund continued, "I would venture so far as to say that some of my talents transferred over to her."

"That doesn't make any sense," Lucy said, making a face.

"Yes, it does," he replied. "I'm so talented that I have talent to spare on the needy."

"The needy!" Saedra exclaimed indignantly, laughing at Edmund's cockiness.

"I could beat you any day!" Lucy declared.

"You think so, eh?" Edmund challenged, sitting up.

"Let's have a match. Right here, right now," said Lucy. Her face was lit up, anticipating a challenge.

"You're on." Edmund said, standing up. "Would you like to watch, Saedra?"

"I'll watch just fine from here," she smiled. She wasn't about to lose the chance to talk to Rabadash when Susan wasn't around.

Edmund and Lucy ran off to duel. Saedra watched, feeling a bit of jealousy. She hadn't realized what she had been missing being an only child until she had met the Four. It was touching how close they all were.

"Where are they going?" Rahai asked in her smooth, accented voice.

Saedra hadn't realized that she'd been listening. "Oh, they're going to compete to see who's the better archer."

Rahai smiled. "I vote for Queen Lucy."

"What are you talking about?" Rabadash asked, him and Peter joining the conversation.

"King Edmund and Queen Lucy are having a competition, O my Cousin," Rahai replied. "Would you like to go watch it with me?"

"No, I wouldn't," Rabadash replied, looking very comfortable where he was lying on the blanket.

"I would," Peter said, smiling kindly at Rahai. "If you will allow me."

"I would like that very much, O High King!" Rahai said enthusiastically.

Peter stood up, and as Rahai was standing, he looked down at Saedra with an unreadable expression. She simply looked back at him until they turned away, headed towards the others.

Saedra turned towards the lounging Prince. He was studying her, looking her up and down; she didn't like that at all.

"O my Lady," Rabadash said, "I have not asked you before. What part of Archenland are you from again? I've been trying to remember who I know from my blessed land of Calormen that might have relatives in the North."

Rabadash wasn't giving up on the idea that Saedra was Calormene, apparently.

"I'm from the Harden Province," she replied. "It's on the north side of the Winding Arrow River, on the coast of the Bight of Calormen."

"Mm," Rabadash said, reaching for some grapes and chewing on them. "Never heard of it."

"It was subject to some pillaging by Calormenes a decade ago. King Lune went into an intense dialogue with your father because of it."

Rabadash didn't look the least bit interested. "I know nothing about that, as I was a child then."

Saedra wasn't sure if she believed him or not. "Surely you were aware of political situations even when you were younger, oh Prince. It is, after all, your future to be Tisroc."

"More or less," he shrugged indifferently.

Saedra was getting annoyed, but she endeavored not to show it. "It's a bit hot out, isn't it?"

Rabadash looked out onto the field, searching for Queen Susan. He didn't even bother to reply; Saedra bored him, he bored her. It was hopeless.

Saedra took one last look at him, stood up, brushed off her skirt, and said, "Excuse me, your Highness. I'm going to join the others."

And she walked away from him and from the idea of marrying him, and towards the people she really wanted to be with.