The Two Proposals

The next morning when Saedra woke up, it took her a moment to remember where she was. She was so used to travelling and sleeping in strange beds that it was a surprise to her when she looked around the spacious bedroom to find that she was…home. The vanity sat in front of the wood-paneled wall as it always had, the ancient carpet with the intricate design still rested on the floor, and her bed (which creaked if you went over certain spots) was still the comfy, pillow-covered bed that she had grown up with.

After looking around, she realized that she was sprawled out on the left side of her four-poster bed facing the high ceiling, in the exact same position she had gone to sleep in when she had thrown herself onto it in the wee hours of the morning. She turned her head towards the window that faced the North and saw that it was about noon already. Remembering Talia, she looked to her right and saw that the bed beside her was empty.

She groggily sat up and rubbed her face as the previous night's events came back to her. She had stayed up past three o'clock in the morning reversing Reine's changes and trying to set things right. She still hadn't decided what to do with Reine himself; she had left that nasty chore for the next day.

Saedra went over to her closet and smiled when she saw her rows of dresses hanging there, just as they had when she had packed her best ones into her trunk for the trip up to Narnia. Now all of those dresses were either in Tashbaan or ruined, but Saedra didn't have any use for them anymore. She had needed them in order to look pretty for the foreign dignitaries, but now that she was home, no one would look twice if she was dressed simply. Who was she going to impress, anyway? Gilda and Talia accepted her for who she was and not how she looked. She put on a plain blue-grey dress, cleaned herself up, and went down to the kitchen on the first floor.

When she pushed open the heavy wooden door and went into the kitchen, Gilda, Talia, and Nina were in there already. Gilda and Talia were sitting at the table, eating and chatting amicably, while Nina cleaned the dishes that were still left over from breakfast.

"Morning," Saedra said, pulling out a chair and plopping into it.

"Afternoon is more like it," Gilda chided.

Talia giggled at Gilda's reply.

"Would you like something to eat, my Lady?" Nina said, drying her hands on her apron.

"Yes, I would, thank you. Anything is fine. I didn't know you could cook!"

The servant looked uneasy, as if she was afraid that she would get Saedra angry again. "I've been learning ever since Reine fired the chefs. I'm not very good yet."

"Wasn't your sister one of the cooks?" Saedra asked.

Nina nodded. "Yes, your Ladyship. She has moved back home with our mother since."

"Well, whenever you get the chance, be sure to let her know that—if she wants to—she can come back at her earliest convenience and have her job back," Saedra said. "And please make sure she knows that it was not my idea that she was let go."

Nina look relieved. "Thank you, Duchess. I'll tell her when I have a spare moment."

Saedra shrugged. "You can leave the dishes. Why don't you tell her now?"

"Now?" Nina stared at her with wide eyes as if unsure it wasn't a joke. When Saedra nodded, she said, "Thank you again, my Lady!" She untied her apron and went out the kitchen's back door in a hurry.

"Now that we're getting one of our cooks back, on to other business," Saedra said, getting up and looking through the cupboards for something to eat. "We need to find a proper bedroom for Talia. What do you think, Talia?"

"That—that would be wonderful," Talia said eagerly.

"I was thinking one of the guest rooms on the second floor could be converted quite nicely, wouldn't you say, Gilda?"

"That's an excellent idea. If you have other plans today, I could help Talia with that."

Saedra grimaced as she put a roll and some fruit onto a plate. She wanted to be there with Talia as she moved in, but she had duties that could not wait. "Yes, that'd be great. I'll be very busy today."

She set the plate on the table and sat down. "I want to visit the servants that were fired and personally ask them to come back. I think it'll go a long way to restore a good opinion of me once the word spreads." She looked at Talia and said, "I hope you don't mind. If you want to come, you can, but it'll be a long day and I figured you must be tired from yesterday."

"I am tired—and sore," Talia admitted. "But could I come with you another day?"

"Yes," Saedra promised. "I'd love that. Gilda, have you seen Reine today?"

"That reminds me!" Gilda said, pulling out a note out of her pocket and handing it to Saedra. "Lord Leren gave this to me to give to you."

Saedra hastily opened the seal and read the note, then slumped back in her chair. "Reine has gone to Anvard for a 'vacation.' He said he may stay there until the Winter Festival and then come back with us afterwards. Well, that solves the problem of what to do with him, at least for now!"

"Don't you worry that he might spread rumors about you?" Gilda asked.

Saedra shrugged. "Who would listen? Everyone knows how he feels about me since the debacle when he tried to prove I wasn't fit to be Duchess. Anyway, I can't be in two places at once and need to set things right around here before I focus on anything else."

"Spoken like a true noblewoman," Gilda nodded.

After lunch, the three of them went up to the second floor and separated. Saedra went back to the bedroom fetch her cloak and to pretty herself up, while the other two went to pick out Talia's bedroom. Afterwards, Saedra went down through the empty castle and to the stables that were inside the grounds next to the west wall. Talan saddled her horse for her, and soon she was riding down the steep road that she had come up the previous day. After half an hour of riding through the forest, she came to her first destination: Tina's home.

The house rested in a valley between two tree-covered hills, and had a stream that ran near it through the valley. A large brown barn was behind the house and a couple of skinny, scruffy-looking dogs were stiffing around or chewing unidentifiable objects. The beautiful terrain was in sharp contrast with the poverty displayed by the small, worn-down house and barn.

Saedra tied her horse to a tree, picked her way through the muddy front yard, and knocked on the door before stepping back down off of the unsteady front step to wait.

She heard muffled voices behind the door before she heard the latch being undone. The door opened an inch, revealing a sliver of a face. The person looked her over and then threw the door wide open, saying, "Lady Saedra!"

The woman was very thin and her clothes hung about her loosely. She wore a filthy apron atop her brown dress and a grey fluffy cap was perched atop her grey-haired head.

"Hello, Mrs. Quigley," Saedra said. "I've come to see Tina. Is she here?"

Mrs. Quigley looked over her shoulder and yelled, "Tina! Lady Saedra is here to see you!" then she turned around and gestured furiously for Saedra to enter the house. "Come in, come in!"

Saedra followed Mrs. Quigley into the small kitchen and pushed her hood off her head.

"Be seated, be seated, my Lady! Tina!"

Saedra sat down just as Tina rushed in front the back room. Tina's fair hair was falling out of a long braid, and her green eyes went wide when she spotted Saedra.

"My Lady!" she exclaimed while stopping to curtsy.

Saedra stood up and walked around the table, holding out her arms. "Tina, dear! How have you been?" She was the same age as Saedra, but since she was uneducated she acted younger.

"I've been well, my Lady," Tina said, but Saedra didn't quite believe her. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I want you to come back and work at the castle again. Lord Reine shouldn't have fired you in the first place, but what's done is done. I want you back."

Tina's eyes bulged. "You want me back? Lord Reine said that it was under your order that I was fired!"

"Do let's be seated," Mrs. Quigley said. "I'll get some tea." She went behind the counter to put some water on the rusty stove.

As she and Tina sat down across from each other, Saedra said, "No Tina, Lord Reine was most certainly not taking orders from me, and if he had been, firing you would have been the last thing I'd have suggested."

"I admit that I was surprised, my Lady," Tina said. "I didn't think you were displeased with my work."

"Quite the contrary. Your assistance has been irreplaceable, and that is why I had to come here first thing."

"The water is heating," Mrs. Quigley said, coming over and sitting at the table. "I must say, Lady Saedra, I'm glad that you're back. Things haven't been the same since you left, what with the robberies and-"

"The robberies!" Saedra exclaimed, shocked. "No one has mentioned any robberies!"

Harden Province was the poorest area of Archenland ever since it had been decimated by the Calormenes, but it had had as few crimes as the rest of the provinces in the country-and that was very few considering the people of Archenland were generally very decent.

"Oh, yes. You know the mill down on the river?" Mrs. Quigley asked.

Saedra nodded.

"Whole bags of grain were stolen about a month ago, and no one has any idea who it was. Also, Old Man Wiser was beat up last week, but since it was dark he couldn't identify who it was."

Saedra gasped. "Is he alright?"

"Yes, yes. His neighbors found him within the hour when they were walking down the lane. He's recovering nicely, but the whole province is astir."

"What did Lord Reine do to find the villains?" Saedra asked.

"What can be done?" Mrs. Quigley asked. "We've no idea who's been doing these things and if they're related. All we can do is keep a close eye out and to lock our doors."

Saedra stayed with them long enough to drink their watered-down tea, and after securing Tina's promise that she would resume work at the castle the very next day, she left. She had taken the list of the servants that had been fired with her in her cloak pocket, and she pulled it out and examined it. After refreshing her memory, she went off to do the same thing at the next farmstead that she had at the Quigley's-explain the real situation.

That is how the rest of her day was spent, going from farm to farm and explaining what had been going on. At some of the places the people were not very happy to see her at first, but when things were sorted out, they did become friendly again.

The day was very enlightening to Saedra. Not only did she learn about the robberies and beating from the Quigleys, but she learned that the reason the castle's market was empty was because Reine had greatly raised the fee to sell one's wares there-no doubt to finance the wall he was so keen on building. The farmers could no longer make a good enough profit selling there, and so they didn't. Saedra promised them all that the fee would be lowered to its original reasonable level; that declaration was as advantageous to her as it was to the sellers, for the market was the main source of income for the castle.

It was nearly completely black out when she got back to the castle. Talan took her horse for her, and she went upstairs to find Gilda and Talia. They were in one of the guest rooms hanging up a curtain when she came in.

"Saedra!" Talia exclaimed. "How do you like my room?"

"It's lovely," Saedra smiled, looking around. The large room had been scrubbed clean, and the old musty curtains and beddings had been taken down and laid on a pile on the floor. There was a nicer bedspread atop the bed and the curtains they were hanging up matched it.

"Guess where we got these?" Gilda asked Saedra, smiling.

"Those used to be mine!" Saedra exclaimed, going over to touch the curtains. "They hung in my room when I was a girl."

"We found them in a trunk in the attic," Talia said. "That place is a like a pirate's cave! There's so much up there."

"Well you're welcome to anything you want up there," Saedra promised. "Aslan knows it'll all go to waste otherwise. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sure is," Gilda said. "Could you hold up that side of the curtain for a second?"

The rest of the evening was spent making Talia's room pretty, and by the time they were done they were all thoroughly exhausted. When Saedra and Gilda tucked Talia in, she fell asleep almost instantly. Too tired to even get a decent dinner, Saedra bade Gilda goodnight, went into her own bedroom, and flopped onto the bed.

The next few months at Harden Castle flew by as things were brought back to normal. All of the servants were relieved to be back in their old jobs, and the market was packed with farmers selling their wares, so the castle was soon back to the way Saedra remembered it, bustling with people. Autumn brought the largest crowds, so there was hardly a dull moment at the castle.

Talia adjusted to life there as well as can be expected. She was still shy around strangers, but as all sons of Adam and daughters of Eve do, she soon got used to being served instead of serving others as she had as a slave, though she wasn't spoiled. She also lost the gaunt look she had from being malnourished and began to fill out nicely. She became good friends with Gilda, who became her governess since Saedra was determined that Talia be educated.

As for things between Talia and Saedra, they became very close, and after a few months of living at Harden, Talia hesitantly asked Saedra if she could call her "Mother." Saedra was dumbfounded but deeply touched, and consented even though she didn't feel worthy to be called that.

Saedra spent an hour a day corresponding to the countless letters from her friends from afar. She wrote to Aravis at Anvard (who wrote to Talia as well and was enjoying being away from Calormen); Susan, Edmund, and Lucy (who told Saedra that Peter's conquest against the Giants had gone well); and finally, Tarkheena Lasaraleen and Saedra's cousin Rahai (she learned that Lasaraleen had actually helped Aravis escape Tashbaan!).

As for Lord Reine, he stayed in Anvard as he had planned. When asked, Aravis assured Saedra that he hadn't been trying to get back at her for cancelling his plans, and Saedra pushed him to the back of her mind.

Autumn was nearly over when one night, Saedra sat at her desk in her bedroom answering mail. She came across a letter that shattered the happy, relatively uneventful bliss they had entered. The letter was from King Lune.

My Dear Duchess,

Thou may be surprised that I have written to thee personally, for I know that thou and thy daughter Talia are in close correspondence with Lady Aravis and my dear sons. However, this matter that I am bringing to thy attention is not something that I would want Lady Aravis to convey to thee, as it is a most delicate and serious matter.

Enclosed is a letter that I received a few days ago from Ahoshta Tarkaan, Grand Vizier of Calormen. Thou can read the details for thyself, but the point is that the Grand Vizier has asked me for thy hand in marriage. Aravis has assured me that this fellow is not pleasing and that thou would not care to marry him, but I wanted to make absolutely sure.

Read the letter and tell me for thyself, my Lady, whether thou would accept or reject this man. The ramifications of rejecting him could be dire, since this is an obvious attempt on the Tisroc's part to build a bridge between our two countries that was so thoughtlessly torn down by the foolish Prince Rabadash. But if thou truly wishest not to marry the Grand Vizier, I will find a way that harm will not be done and that we may continue to mend the relations between our two countries.

I await thy word, my Lady.

Sincerely,

Lune, King of Archenland

After scanning Ahoshta's exceedingly tedious letter, Saedra looked up and shook her head, saying, "Well, this is certainly the last thing I expected!"

Talia, who had been doing her lessons quietly on the bed, looked up and said, "What is it, Mother?"

Saedra looked over at her with a dazed expression. "Ahoshta Tarkaan wants to marry me!"

Talia sat up and put down her quill. "You jest!"

"Sadly, I do not. King Lune just wrote to me himself and forwarded Ahoshta's letter." She got up and walked over to the bed. "Here, see it for yourself."

Talia, who had begun to learn to read, read the letter out loud while Saedra corrected her on words she didn't know. When she was done, she looked up at her step-mother with wide eyes. "You aren't thinking of accepting him, are you?"

"No, of course not!" Saedra said, sitting on the bed. "But I know that it puts King Lune in a tough position. If we outright refuse Ahoshta with the excuse that I simply don't want to marry, the Calormenes will be offended, since they wouldn't be able to comprehend a woman not wishing to be married."

"Then what can we do?"

"The only way to avoid marriage with Ahoshta would be for me to enter into an engagement with someone else."

"Would you do that?"

"It depends on the man," Saedra said. "I've always known that I would marry someday, and I'm too jaded to hope that it might be for love. If it is a decent chap who doesn't repulse me, who would be a good father to you, I would do it—but only if you agree to him as well."

Talia paused, thinking. "It'd be very different having a man around. Though it could be nice…"

Saedra patted her shoulder. "Well, all of this talk may be for nothing. King Lune may come up with a solution yet."

A few weeks later, she got word from the King again.

I am working on a solution as I write. He is a good man, the best of men, but nothing is certain yet. I hope thou art still planning to come up for the Winter Festival, for I am sure I will have the answer by then.

About a month after that, she received a letter from Lucy:

I have such exciting news! Peter and I will be coming down for the Winter Festival! I'm so excited, I can hardly write legibly. It seems like forever since I've seen you; it's been almost half a year. I cannot wait to see you, and I'll tell you all my news then.

When Saedra read that letter, she was excited and apprehensive at the same time. What will happen when I see Peter again? I hope we can try to be civil…

A letter from Aravis came not long after:

As the Winter Festival approaches, everything is astir. There are murmurings that High King Peter of Narnia is coming down, and that he is looking for a wife! This is all of great interest to the women—of course, I don't care, because I'm much too young to marry in Archenland as you know, but it is all so very exciting…

Good, Saedra thought. If Peter is coming to be engaged, there'll be no more tension between us. We can meet as friends and nothing more.

As the festival approached, Talia became impossible to live with. She was bursting with excitement all the time, always talking about Aravis, Cor, and Corin. To make matters worse, she had gotten a new haircut and new dresses that only added to her excitement.

The journey to Anvard was split into two days, because it took longer to travel when there was snow covering the ground. They stopped about half-way at Lord Dar's castle and spent the night there. The next day they set off, this time with Lord Dar and Darrin and their people with them. They arrived at Anvard late that evening, and to Saedra's surprise, Lune came out to greet her in the main entranceway.

"Duchess Saedra!" he said warmly, "I've solved our dilemma. The solution to the problem is sitting in my study upstairs."

She thought his wording rather odd, but then figured that he must have found someone who was willing to marry her. Anxious to see who it was, she handed her cloak to the attendant and said, "I'm ready now."

"But thou art wet from snow, my Lady! Surely we can wait so that thou dost not catch cold."

"No, I am fine, your Majesty. I'm eager to meet your solution."

Lune saw that she was determined, and held out his arm for her. She took it, and they walked up to the study together, Lune chattering the whole way. As he opened the door, he was saying, "Thou will be most pleased when thou see-est who I've gotten for thee. There's no finer man in the world."

When the door was opened, she saw that there was a man sitting in the chair in front of the fireplace, staring into it thoughtfully. He was wearing very fine navy blue royal clothes and had blonde, wavy hair that framed his handsome face. Atop his head was a golden crown. His face was in profile; there was no doubt in the world who he was.

Saedra's faced paled and her stomach clenched as the man stood up and locked eyes with her.

Impossible...Lune wouldn't...Peter?

Lune, however, took no notice of her sickly appearance, walked over to Peter, and clapped his hand on the High King's broad back.

"My Lady, I have found thee thy husband!"