Home, Sweet Home

"So, dear Duchess, we finally get to speak face-to-face!" King Lune said, sitting down behind his desk.

He and Saedra were in his personal office: a huge, spacious room that was lined with books from the floor to the high ceiling. Saedra was seated in front of his large wooden desk with her hands folded in her lap. The excitement with Rabadash the day before had died down, and many Narnians had already started returning home, so she had decided to take advantage of the peace to visit King Lune in the late afternoon, when the castle was most quiet.

"Yes, it has been far too long, Sire. If I may, I have a question for your Majesty. Rather, a few questions...things I don't understand," she replied. "They are about my mother, Lalevis."

"Pray, I know not whether I would be able to tell thee anything that thy father could not," Lune said. "But do tell."

"That is just it, your Majesty. Father told me nothing of my mother. The only reason I know anything about her is because of our enemies to the south, and I came to see if you know why, Sire. You were, after all, a close friend with my father."

"Aye, that I was. Dane Harden was the best of men," Lune said, nodding. "But to answer thy question, I knowest not why. I'd no idea until now that Dane had been so secretive with thee." He stroked his chin. "No, I do not know why, my Lady."

"Do you remember anything about my mother, Sire?"

"Yes, yes, how could one forget her? The sweetest thing thee ever saw. A little shy at first, what with being new to the country and still in her youth, but she seemed happy and Dane loved her," he smiled. "I knewest not her personally well, for she was only up here a few years before she died."

Saedra nodded.

"Whom did thou meet down in Tashbaan that would inspire such inquiries?" he asked curiously.

"My mother's family," Saedra admitted. "I didn't mention it before because it didn't seem appropriate to talk about it in large company."

"I completely understand, my Lady! I would not speak of my dear late wife so casually either. And what now that thou art back? What art thy plans now?"

"I will go home and rest, oh King. Within the week we will leave. I bring back with me the girl Talia, and I've decided that I will make her my daughter and future heir."

Lune raised his eyebrows. "Oh? A brave move, is it not?"

"In what way, your Majesty?" she asked.

"Making a slave girl thou doesn't know into a duchess' heir. Thou art very trusting."

"Your Majesty, I sense no deviousness from her, only the innocence of childhood. But all the same, Sire, while I'm adopting her officially now, I'm not naming her heir right away. My current heir is my regent, Gilda, who has been kind enough to fill my place during my absence. If anything happens to Gilda before I die, I'll know enough of Talia's character to see if she's right for the post. Otherwise it would be Gilda's choice."

"A wise idea, my Lady, even though some other nobles haven't been pleased that thou hast put servants in such high positions," the King agreed, and hastily added, "And let me say now that no one is here to distract me that I'm happy that thou hast come back. We have missed thy visits. Thou must come for the Winter Festival if business requires thee to stay away long. Especially now that Lady Aravis has come, there is more reason for thee to come by."

"I will, Your Majesty," she promised.

"And now, on to the question that I have for thee, my Lady," he said. "Thou indicated that thyself and the High King Peter had formed an attraction."

"Oh!" Saedra almost squeaked. How do I handle this delicately? she wondered. "Well…"

"I see by the color in thy cheeks that thou hast feelings for the good King," Lune said keenly. "Good, good. Such an alliance would be great for our two countries. Such a marriage hasn't been seen in many a century."

"Your Majesty," she protested, "I may have been hasty with my conjecture about any such alliance."

"Nonsense, nonsense." He waved his hand. "Do continue to encourage the King. I'm sure we'll have an engagement by the end of the year, based on your letters!"

Saedra didn't have the heart to let down the excited King, so she didn't press the matter. Boy, will he be disappointed when nothing happens!

"How long will it take us to get to Harden?" Talia asked as they waited in the stables for their horses to be saddled up. It was very early morning a week after they had arrived in Anvard, and Saedra felt that it was time that they got home. They had said their goodbyes the night before.

"If we leave soon, we should be there before nightfall," Saedra replied. She was very sleepy since she was not a morning person, but excitement started to fill her as she thought of being home in her warm bed…with her library…back with her old governess Gilda.

"Duchess!" a voice called out excitedly.

They turned towards the entrance to the stable and saw Corin running up (they knew it was Corin and not Cor because he was missing his front tooth.)

Talia's face lit up with happiness when she saw him and she exclaimed, "Prince Corin!" This was the first time Saedra had ever heard her say anything to him in her presence.

"King Edmund sent me down to tell you that he and Queen Lucy are coming to see you off," he said, panting.

"Thank you, Prince," Saedra said, and went over to the horses to attach their bags to the saddles.

"I do hope you will come and visit like you promised Aravis you would," Corin said to Talia. "It won't be as fun when there's only the three of us here."

"Saedra said that we'll be back for the Winter Festival," Talia said.

"But that's half a year away! You must come sooner, or I shall be very cross."

Saedra walked back to them, saying dryly, "There's nothing we fear more than to see you cross, dear Prince." She looked up and smiled when the daylight was blocked in the doorway. "Edmund! Lucy!"

Lucy rushed over and hugged her. "I know we said goodbye last night, but we had to be here to see you off."

"I am glad you did," Saedra smiled. "I'll miss you dearly."

"I wish we had had more time together since you got back from Calormen," Lucy pouted. "Ed and Su got to spend all the time with you down south."

"That's because Sae loves us best," Edmund teased, coming over and embracing Saedra. After a long moment, he pulled back slightly and looked at her seriously. "Write us, Sae."

"I will," she promised, then went onto her tip-toes and kissed Edmund's cheek. "Goodbye, Ed."

She released him, and he helped her onto her horse. Lucy had been hugging Talia, and she released her so that Edmund could pick her up and put her on the other horse.

"Have a nice trip, Talia. It was a pleasure to meet you," Edmund said nicely.

"Thank you, your Majesty," Talia said sweetly.

They all said their final goodbyes, and Saedra and Talia rode out into the early sunlight. For the past couple of days Lucy and Saedra had been teaching Talia how to ride a horse, and she had picked up the basics quickly; she was a very smart girl. They passed over the grassy field outside the palace and onto a worn path that appeared at the edge of the trees as the land began to slope upward.

"So, Talia," Saedra said. "We've hardly had a moment alone since we came here! What do you think of Archenland? Do you think you will like it here?"

"Oh, I like it very much!" she replied. "Prince Corin was very obliging, and he was nice enough to show Prince Cor and Aravis and me around the place."

Saedra chuckled, pleased that the girl was being so open and talking more. Some of Corin's spunkiness had apparently rubbed off on her, for during the past week the two had been inseparable.

"How do you like Aravis?"

"She's very pleasant, much more pleasant than I remembered."

"Than you remember?" Saedra asked.

"Oh, I once was her servant when her family visited the Tisroc," Talia said casually.

Saedra thought it very odd that Talia could be so relaxed about serving as a slave the person who was now her friend and equal. "She wasn't as nice then?"

"Oh, no. She was like the rest of the Tarkheenas that I served, and they were all terribly bossy."

Saedra could not fathom the life of a slave and pitied Talia. "We have a few servants at Harden, but not nearly as many as the Tisroc has. At home we usually clean our own rooms and dress ourselves. We do have some people who cook and clean, but they're paid."

"What's the castle like?"

"It is on a cliff that overlooks the Bight of Calormen. The castle faces the sea, and to the right is the delta where the Winding Arrow flows into the ocean." Saedra smiled to herself, thinking back. "I used to play on the delta when I was little, because it gets very shallow there from all of the deposits sometimes. It's like a sandy beach with lots of streams flowing through it."

"Is the castle big?"

"Oh, yes. In some ways it is more like a watchtower because that's what it used to be in olden times. It has many towers all over it, and I used to get lost in the building because it has many winding passages. It can seem like a maze. It would have been the perfect place for a game of hide-and-seek if I'd had anyone to play with."

"Why didn't you have anyone to play with?" Talia asked with a sad expression on her face.

"I was the only child living in the whole palace. The only people who lived there besides me and Father were Gilda my nurse, Lord Reine and other grown-up advisors to my Father, and servants. The province has lots of farmers in the area that are under the castle's governance, but Father wouldn't let me play with the farm children."

The sun was already behind the western mountains when Saedra announced, "We're home!" The forest abruptly ended, and the road continued to wind up around boulders that dotted the steep hill in front of them. Atop the hill sat a castle made of grey rock. It wasn't nearly as grand or large as Anvard, but it was much older and looked like it had been atop that hill since the beginning of time. Behind the castle were the ocean and a pink-colored sky.

"This was the home of the first king of Archenland," Saedra said as they nudged their horses up the steep incline.

"Then why does King Lune live at Anvard?" Talia asked.

"When Archenland started getting bigger and the inhabitants started spreading out, it was necessary for a more centralized capital. So they built Anvard in the middle of the country and an easy distance from Narnia."

Saedra continued telling Talia about the history of Archenland as they climbed. When they reached the open gates, a male servant spotted Saedra and instantly went over to help her down from her horse. "Your Ladyship! You're home!"

"Hello, Talan," she smiled. She dismounted and then looked around the empty stone-paved courtyard. As Talia was helped down, she asked the servant, "Talan, where is everybody? It seems so quiet around here." Usually the courtyard would be a bustling marketplace where farmers would sell their goods, but there was not a stand or soul in sight.

He looked at the ground and then over towards the east side of the castle. "Many servants have been dismissed and-"

Saedra's eyes widened. "Dismissed? What do you mean, dismissed?"

"Lord Reine-with the permission of Lady Gilda, of course-fired many of the servants."

"And why would he do that?" Saedra said pointedly, clearly angered.

"I don't know for sure, my Lady, but there have been rumors of financial troubles..."

"Thank you, Talan. Please bring the horses to the stables and see that they receive the best of care. Oh, and have my things delivered to my rooms. Talia, come with me." Saedra grabbed Talia's hand and practically dragged her through the front doors of the building.

What was Reine thinking? she fumed. He knows how I feel about letting people go!

The inside of the castle was as empty as the outside had been, and without all of the people it seemed rather gloomy. As Saedra stormed up the grand staircase, a middle-aged woman rushed down to greet them. She had greying blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing simple but fine clothes.

"Saedra! My goodness, I am glad you're here! Nina just told me you arrived."

"Gilda!" Saedra released Talia and hugged her former governess. She quickly introduced Talia before demanding, "What's been going on around here?"

Gilda looked around before leaning in and saying, "Not here," and motioning for Saedra to follow her. They finished climbing the stairs and went down the second-floor's main hallway that led to Saedra's office. Gilda opened the door, motioned them inside, and shut the door behind them.

Saedra's office was large with a high ceiling with a large window that faced the eastern ocean, with smaller windows on either side. In front of the window was a desk that was piled with papers. There were some couches along the wall that were used if she had a meeting, and on the walls were large paintings of previous dukes and duchesses that had lived in the castle.

"Talia, have a seat. You must be exhausted from the journey. Gilda, could you get Tina to fetch us some tea and dinner? We haven't had a decent meal since this morning." Saedra started walking around to sit at her desk.

"Uh...Tina doesn't work here anymore," Gilda said guiltily. "She was one of the many that Reine let go. I understand Talan mentioned that to you."

Saedra's eyes blazed, and whipped around. "How could he let Tina go? She was my personal assistant! He has no right under any circumstance to let her go!"

"He felt you were paying her too much," she shrugged. "He did have a point...she was paid an extreme amount for a servant—as were all of the servants who worked here."

"She deserved every pence!" Saedra snapped, not at all happy that Gilda was taking Lord Reine's side on this. "She gives everything that she earns to her family, and you know how poor they were before I hired her! They haven't been able to grow anything ever since the Calormenes raked their land with salt."

"That's true, but-"

"Where's Reine? I want to talk to him."

"He's down seeing how the wall is coming along, now that the workers are done for the day."

Saedra closed her eyes, took a breath, and then opened them slowly. "What wall?" she growled.

Gilda looked more uneasy than ever. "You didn't see it? He's building a wall on the east side of the building."

Saedra didn't reply, just strode over to the window and looked down. Below her lay her favorite part of the whole castle. It was another paved courtyard, but there were large pots of plants all over that gave it the illusion of being a natural garden. At the end of the courtyard had been a three-foot-high wall, and on the other side of the wall was an extreme drop-off that led down to the ocean. Now, however, the wall was five feet tall and there were stone bricks and building materials lying about, indicating the construction. Many of the pots had been shattered and strewn about.

It was the last straw for Saedra. Not only had her favorite servant been fired, but her favorite place in the whole castle had been ruined because they were almost completely blocking the view of the ocean.

"I don't give a damn what Reine is doing right now!" she snarled. "Get him! Get him now!"

Gilda looked at the Duchess with a scared expression before scampering out of the room, hiking up her skirts to keep them out of her way. Saedra had never raised her voice with her before, and it did not feel good at all. But before this day she had never needed to.

Just then she remembered Talia sitting on the couch, and walked over to her and held out her hand. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I think it's time for a rest. My bedroom is just down the hall and you can sleep there tonight. I may be up a while sorting out this mess."

Talia had looked scared, but with Saedra's soothing voice she relaxed. Saedra brought her to the end of the hall, opened the door to her room, and saw that the servant Nina was fixing up the room. She figured Gilda had told her to freshen up the place. "Nina, don't worry about the room. Could you please see that Talia gets a good dinner and put her to bed? She'll be sleeping in here tonight."

"Yes, my Lady," Nina curtsied then smiled at Talia.

"Will you be okay with Nina, Talia?" Saedra asked, bending down to look at her.

Talia nodded then yawned.

Saedra smiled and said, "Good. I will see you in the morning."

She left her bedroom and went back to her office. When she opened the door, no one was there yet, so she went and sat behind the desk to peruse the paperwork that lay before her. After a few minutes of looking at the papers, she was fuming again. When Gilda opened the door, bringing in Lord Reine and Lord Leren (another courtier who had been advisor to her father) she stood up to greet them with a solemn expression. "Be seated."

The lords obeyed and sat in the chairs in front of the desk. Reine was a white-haired man with a pale face and very blue eyes. He was neither plump nor skinny and was clothed in finer clothes than he had ever worn around Saedra before. He did not look intimidated in the least at Saedra's expression and looked at her expectantly.

Leren was younger than Reine and had dirty blonde hair, and wore fine clothes as well. Leren had once tried to court Saedra, but she had utterly refused him, suspecting the only reason he had shown interest in her was because of her position.

When Gilda started heading for the door, Saedra said, "You too, Gilda. Sit."

When all three of them were seated, Saedra remained standing and put her palms on the desk to lean over. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Reine."

"Do I?" he said in an amused voice.

Saedra had not been expecting him to be amused with her anger, and it disturbed her. She didn't show it, though, and snapped, "You know very well you do. Let's start with the servants that you've fired." She held up the list that she had found. "Eighteen servants? What gave you the right to send away eighteen of my best workers?"

"Gilda did."

"Oh, so this was her idea?" Saedra said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it was my idea. You exceed your means, Lady Saedra. You pay the servants extravagantly and leave no money for anything else. I figured we could get rid of the unnecessary help."

"Unnecessary?" Saedra said, disbelievingly. "So it is not necessary to have someone to light the fires? It is unnecessary for someone to dust and sweep the entranceway? It is unnecessary to have someone to cook dinners? Do not think that I have not noticed the dismal state of the castle, Lord Reine."

Reine was about to speak but she cut him off, saying, "On to the next topic. Whatever possessed you to build a wall around the east and south side of the building?"

"Safety, your Ladyship."

"Safety! What kind of fool do you take me for?" she exclaimed. "Are you afraid that Lord Leren here is going to throw himself off the cliff?"

"No, it is in case the Calormenes or anyone else attempts to invade us."

"And you think that a hundred-fifty foot cliff on is not enough of a deterrent to attackers? We have walls where they might be necessary, though I dare any enemy try to bring an army up our west and north sides with the steep, rocky hill there, even without the walls we already have."

"It seemed wise at the time," Reine said stiffly.

"Wise to fire servants in order to finance a wall that is completely useless? I have seen your financial records, sir. You have squandered money on lavish food and fine clothes while claiming a financial crisis. Your deceit is exposed, Lord Reine! You may leave and I shall decide what to do with you."

For a second he didn't catch her order to leave. She stared at him expectantly, and a moment later her words registered.

He stood up and bowed. "Your Ladyship, I'd advise you not to question what has been done here. You cross me to your own peril."

Saedra raised an eyebrow in a disbelieving look. After a long moment of staring hard at her, he spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, Lord Leren hot on his heels. The door slammed behind them.

"Gilda."

"Yes?"

"I can easily see Reine wanting to do these things, because he has always disliked me and tried to irk me. But why in the world did you use my seal to order these atrocities? You were the one I left as regent, not him!"

"You don't know the pressure I was under. They put up with you because Duke Dane named you heir, but I've no claim to power. At times...at times I feared for my safety."

"Your safety?" Saedra exclaimed.

"Reine often hinted that he would have me poisoned if I crossed him. Oh, Saedra, he has so many supporters! It would be unwise to cross him!"

"Pish posh! Who would support him? Surely not the servants!"

"No, but many of the farmers in the province are on his side. He's promised lowered taxes and more power to the people."

"Speaking of the farmers, what has happened to the market?"

"He has shut it down..." Gilda paused. "Saedra dear, he claimed that it was your order that he had it shut down."

"He's saying that was my order? He's more cunning than I thought! That's a sure way to turn them against me. Well, the only way to deal with this is to set things to right. Gilda, could you find me all of the paperwork for the changes Reine has made?"

"Yes," Gilda said, starting to search though the pile of papers on the desk before she paused. "My dear, I really am sorry that I wasn't stronger. You wouldn't have given in to the intimidation like I did."

"I don't blame you, Gilda. It wasn't smart of me to leave, I suppose. I shouldn't have put such a burden on your shoulders when you hadn't handled something like that before. But I had no idea that Reine was so ambitious! He never liked me exactly, but I didn't know that he was trying to turn the people against me."

"Do not blame yourself. There's nothing that has been done that cannot be made right," Gilda said, putting her hand on Saedra's arm.

Saedra sighed. "Let us hope that is true."