The Other Princess
Saedra awoke with a start, heart pounding and clothing sticking to her sweaty skin. She sat up, looking around wildly in the dark.
The dream that had been tormenting her a moment before dissipated as she took in the truth: she was in Harden.
She freed herself of the tangled bed-sheets and stepped onto the cool carpet. The air was chilly to her wet skin, as the fire had died out long before. She wrapped her arms around herself and went over to the northern-facing window. The moon and stars were bright, illuminating the courtyard and the forest beyond the fortress.
She couldn't remember what she dreamed, but it had seemed so real. So terrifying.
Her hands slid down to rest on her still-flat stomach. A baby was in there.
It was still so hard to believe. She had believed Mrs. Quigley so willingly that she was unable to have more children! If she had known the truth, things would have been so different…right?
Now what am I going to do? she was asking herself. She had been asking herself ever since she had spoken with Mrs. Quigley the day before. Yet no answer came to her.
There was no question that she had to keep it a secret. If Peter ever found out, the result would be absolutely disastrous. He would be devastated, and if he ever found out just who the father was…
If was unfathomable. She couldn't begin to imagine what would ensue. All she knew was that she had to avoid it at all costs.
What if she went down to Calormen to visit Abrastan for a while, just long enough that her last months would be kept secret and she could give birth? And then—what? She couldn't just leave her own child with Abrastan. Could she pretend to adopt the baby, and bring it back with her to Narnia and Harden?
There were so many things that could go wrong with the plan, but it was the only one she could see. She couldn't give birth in Harden without word getting out. Going to Narnia wasn't even an option.
Saedra shivered, becoming cool as her sweat dried.
Going to Calormen as soon as the trial was over was the only way: It was the only way to save Saedra from humiliation, save Peter from despair, and save Edmund from having to know. It would also the save the child, whoever it was, from knowing what treachery had brought it into the world.
That afternoon, an exhausted Saedra met in the study with Abrastan and Stamprin: the time to plan Saedra's defense had officially begun.
"Before we can get anywhere, I need to know what you know, Stamprin," Saedra began, quill in hand and poised to take notes. "I cooperated with you, now I expect your cooperation as you promised."
The White Dwarf nodded. "You gladly have it. You may not believe this, but I am on your side, my Lady. It would look bad for the High King's wife to be proven to be an inept leader."
Saedra waited, and Abrastan crossed his legs silently.
"It is another long tale I have to tell, my Lady," Stamprin continued. "And once again, not one that brings back the best of memories. But because this information is relevant, I give it.
"This tale begins before you ever married the High King. Five year before, to be precise. You may know this already, but the King Meridian and Queen Bria of Telmar paid a diplomatic visit to the Four that summer. They brought along their daughter, Princess Priyah, who was just leaving her teen years at that time. She was a very pretty and vivacious little thing, and High King Peter, who was still young himself, was quickly enamored with her. After a brief romance that summer, he proposed marriage to her."
"So why didn't they marry?" Abrastan asked.
"I discouraged the High King from it," Stamprin replied. "I overheard King Meridian pressuring Princess Priyah to win the High King over, and I suspected that the Princess did not love the High King the way that he loved her. I told this to his Majesty, and he reacted as you might expect: He was hurt and angry, and even more so because he still had the passions of youth. He immediately went to the Princess and demanded to know if it was true that King Meridian was pressuring her to marry him.
"To her credit, she didn't deny what I had overheard, but she tried to convince the High King that she did indeed love him and that it didn't matter what her father wanted. His Majesty was in the heat of the moment and still furious, and said some terrible things, prompting her to also say terrible things. The engagement ended that day, and the Telmarines left Cair Paravel for good."
"Peter listened to you over the woman he loved?" Saedra asked, feeling sympathetic for Priyah.
"Princess Priyah didn't deny anything I claimed," Stamprin frowned. "And his Majesty was young and trusted my judgment. But I am sure that you have noted how the High King doesn't take nearly as much interest in what I say now as he did then."
Things were starting to make sense in Saedra's mind: So that was the explanation for Priyah's strange comments at Susan's wedding? This is what Saedra had been wondering about ever since Priyah's unconventionally-worded note?
"This is all very interesting, I assure you," Abrastan said, "but what does this have to do with Lord Reine?"
"What I haven't mentioned is that Lord Reine has had a close relationship with the Telmarine court for years. It was how he had access to the Telmarine poison, Marrina Felcar, when your own mother Lalevis killed herself with it."
Saedra's face grew hard. "I can't believe my mother listened to Reine! If she had just talked to Dane, everything could have been sorted out! Dane knew what she'd done!"
"Lord Reine is a crafty man. He made sure they never had the chance to work it out. Lady Lalevis probably didn't have a choice, knowing how Lord Reine operates."
Abrastan and Saedra looked at each other. Lalevis' death was very meaningful to the both of them, and Reine had effectively been the cause of it. The desire to beat Reine in this fight once again rose up in Saedra's chest.
Abrastan leaned forward. "And Saedra's attempted murder was with this very same poison, if I'm not mistaken."
"You are correct, Tarkaan," Stamprin nodded.
"So does that mean that this Reine was behind Saedra's death as well?" Abrastan asked.
"Yes."
Saedra asked, "How did he manage to do that, anyway? He wasn't around-"
"Don't be so naive, your Ladyship," Stamprin said. "He has people here, even now, who are working for him."
"Do you know who they are?" she asked.
"Unfortunately not. I couldn't ask without looking too interested in the details. But somehow, whoever it was, they were able to poison your drink and make sure that it was delivered straight to you—no one else."
"And does this mean that King Meridian was interested in having me dead as well since Marrina Felcar is from Telmar?" Saedra asked. "Is that why you told me about the engagement?"
Stamprin shook his white head. "Not Meridian. Priyah."
"Priyah?"
Saedra couldn't believe it. Priyah had looked her in the eye at Susan's wedding, and had seemed so friendly! It was impossible, no matter what hard feelings there might have been because Saedra was now married to Priyah's old lover, that Priyah would have been party to her murder.
"Never underestimate Lord Reine," Stamprin emphasized. "Never. He played into Priyah's love for the High King. I don't know the particulars, but I don't believe that Priyah is capable of such a bold and treacherous act. Time has allowed me to see what I couldn't see then, which is that there is not a treacherous bone in her body."
Saedra acutely felt the accusation in the words: Priyah would never have done the acts that Saedra had managed to do.
Stamprin continued: "Reine likely told her grand stories of how your Ladyship was ruining Narnia or making the High King miserable—anything that would prompt Princess Priyah to hand over something as rare and precious as the poison Marrina Felcar. I have no doubt that Priyah was party to your death with the noblest intentions, and not merely out of jealously."
"So here we have that someone within the Telmarine court has contributed to an assassination attempt of a Narnian Princess," Abrastan concluded. "Are we to be so bold as to present this to King Lune in public? This is no simple matter: this could become an international incident. Telmar will, of course, deny it and pretend to take offense at the accusation."
"We don't have to present this in court publically," Saedra said, "at least not the part about Telmar. We can implicate Reine in my murder and give Stamprin's written testimony about all this to King Lune privately. King Lune is wise and knows better than to have such information public. Besides, it doesn't matter in the end what the spectators think, since King Lune will be the one making the final decision."
"So now we have a testimony that Lord Reine is a murderer," Abrastan surmised. "That's a good start. We will have a ways to go, however..."
The rest of the winter passed much too quickly as the three of them investigated and planned for the court date that spring. They planned for every possible attack that they could think of, and planned strong defenses just in case. They scoured the libraries in search of information about Lalevis and Dane, and of Archenlander laws. They traversed the countryside, speaking with the peasants and gathering useful information.
Meanwhile, Saedra pulled out the old dresses she had used to conceal her last pregnancy. Thankfully, this pregnancy probably wasn't twins, because she wasn't nearly as big as she was last time. After things settled down, she would go down to Calormen to hide until the child was born. No one had noticed she was slowly gaining weight, or dismissed it as due to the stress upon her.
As the trial date neared, the three of them travelled to Anvard, once again leaving Harden in the faithful hands of Lord Darrin. When they arrived at Anvard, Saedra was struck by how many people were there—the place was swarming with people!
When she commented on this to Stamprin, he merely said, "What did you expect, my Lady? The High King's wife is going against a Lord who is claiming that she is an illegitimate child. This is not a spectacle to be missed."
It had been arranged that Saedra and Reine and their respective people would be situated in opposite ends of the castle, as far away from each other as possible to avoid confrontation or sabotage. Guards followed Saedra everywhere to make sure there was no foul play, and Saedra was sure that Reine was being treated in a similar fashion.
Reine and Saedra both had their evidence and written testimonies for their sides submitted, and Lune would be spending the time leading up to the trial gathering information on his own.
The day before the court date, Peter, Talia, and Lucy arrived at Anvard. Saedra had been relaxing and speaking to Aravis when she had been warned of their approach by an attendant. The two women rushed down to the front entrance to greet Saedra's family.
Lucy hugged Saedra warmly like always. Saedra was shocked by Talia, who was now fourteen years old and quite as tall as Saedra was! Peter hugged and kissed Saedra while Aravis hugged the rest.
"Su sends her love!" Lucy said. "She wishes she could come, but we're not taking any chances with her pregnancy!"
Saedra looked around Peter, then asked, "Where's Caulitha?"
Peter grimaced. "She's unwell. She caught a nasty cold this winter, and she hasn't been able to shake it yet. Remanda advised that we better not travel with her."
Saedra's face fell.
"I'm sorry, Sae," Peter said, squeezing her shoulder. "Cauli really misses her mother. But at least you'll be able to see her when this is all over."
Saedra pursed her lips and nodded disappointedly.
"Now where should have I have my things sent?" he asked.
It took Saedra a moment to realize that Peter was referring to her room—or now, their room.
"Oh, it's the third door to the left on the fourth floor in the south wing," she replied, and Peter relayed the information to the Satyr that was holding his things.
The Satyr hurried off, and Peter grinned at Saedra, putting his arm around her. They followed Talia, Lucy, and Aravis, who were all chattering loudly and going off to find Cor and Corin.
That evening they all had a good time catching up over a light dinner in a private chamber, but Saedra couldn't help feeling apprehensive. The next day was one that would define the future of her life forever; it was hard to be jolly.
Peter seemed to notice her mood, and he excused the both of them early, with a round of hearty goodnights and assurances that everything would turn out all right following them as they left.
When in their room, Saedra immediately went to the vanity and started to take out her hairpins. It was to keep herself busy; she knew what Peter was probably thinking about, but she certainly did not want him to see her without her concealing dress on.
He came up behind her and looped his arms around her stomach. Saedra froze up, worried that he might feel the bump, but he wasn't paying attention. He leaned over and kissed her neck sensuously.
Saedra didn't have to pretend to be weary. She sighed, "Not tonight, Peter. I'm sorry, but I'm too tired and worried."
Peter chuckled and kissed her again in the same spot. "It might help you unwind."
Saedra unclasped his hands and walked away. "Things still aren't okay, Peter. You promised that we'd talk about what happened since Willem—died."
He nodded seriously. "You're right."
He walked to the bed and sat upon it, indicating that she should join him. She sat and looked up at him.
"I suppose I owe you an explanation for last spring," he said.
She simply watched him, curious, and yet scared to make things right with him again. It would make the secret she carried all the worse if he opened himself up to her again.
He looked down. "It was...I misplaced my anger. I was angry at someone else, and I implicated you in it. As usual, I now see that I was hasty."
"What was it?"
He paused and studied her. "When you died...Edmund was with you at the time, and I was in the next room watching Cauli. He called out, and I ran over. He had—he had your blood on his lips."
Saedra tilted her head, frowning. "My blood on his lips."
The time between her death and being in Aslan's forest was very hazy to her.
"Yes. It was obvious from the blood on your face that he'd been kissing you. You had just died moments before, and I assumed that you had been alive, and at the very least aware of the kisses. I—I couldn't handle it."
"Oh, Peter," she said sadly, resting her hand on his shoulder.
"You remember when I told you why I pulled back that time so long ago that first time you were in Narnia? Because of Edmund?"
She nodded.
"All those worries came back. But this time, I began to fear that it wasn't just Edmund, but that you also loved him that way. I couldn't…I couldn't even look at you. I was so hurt and betrayed…"
"I'm sorry, Peter," she whispered.
"No, I'm sorry!" he protested. "I pushed you away with some deluded thoughts of being noble and letting you live your own life without feeling bound to me, but I only resulted in making the both of us miserable. You have no need to defend yourself. I knew soon after Susan's wedding that I had done a terrible thing, and that you were no happier than I was. I could see the misery on your face—you pulled back from everyone a little bit, and you hardly ate. I was too proud to mend things until the very last moment, when you were about to leave."
It was a horrible feeling, having Peter apologize to her, thinking he was in the wrong when he had been right all along. But what could she do? Tell him that he was right and ruin everything? No. All she could do was mend her relationship with him, give birth in secret, and give their family another chance.
"I'm desperately sorry, Sae. I wasted so much time. It didn't just affect us, it affected Tal too. It was my pride getting the best of me in all aspects."
She squeezed his shoulder. "It's all right, Peter. It's just great to have you back. Just please, promise me that this is our last big fight."
He grinned. "You know I can't do that, Sae. But I promise that I'll never push you away like that again."
Saedra entered King Lune's court on Peter's arm, with Lucy and Talia following. The spectators were already there, talking excitedly. At the end of the center aisle was King Lune's empty throne, and on each side were stands where the crowds sat. Two podiums facing the throne were set up on each side in front of the throne, one for Reine and one for Saedra. It was obvious which side each person in the crowd was rooting for, because they sat on the side of the podium of the person they supported.
Saedra was surprised to see how many people were sitting behind Reine's side; there was about the same number of people on his as on hers. There were many older Lords on his side, ones who had opposed her reigning Harden on account of her being female. There were also peasants of Harden on his side, and also on her side. Abrastan and Stamprin were hidden in the stands on Saedra's side.
Reine soon entered, followed by his lap-dog, Lord Leren. They smirked confidently at the sight of Saedra, but she just coolly nodded her head in their direction before looking away. Not long after, an attendant announced the arrival of King Lune, and all rose and bowed as he made his way to the throne.
"Be seated," King Lune said gravely. His normally sparkling eyes were all business. "Even though I have already thoroughly looked at the previously-submitted evidence, we are here today to finally resolve the matter of the rulership of the Province of Harden. Lord Reine has challenged Lady Saedra's right to be Duchess of Harden, and will be presenting further evidence to support his claim. Lady Saedra will be given the opportunity to defend herself after each claim, and will be given the opportunity to make a counterclaim. At any time I may interrupt and ask a question. I will ask the crowd to please remain silent."
Lune looked at Reine. "Lord Reine, thou may begin."
Reine cleared his throat and walked to his podium, carrying his notes. When ready, he began:
"As in my formal declaration, I am claiming myself rightful Duke of Harden, and declare that Lady Saedra is unfit, unworthy, and usurper to the position of Duchess. I will show how she has been a horrible ruler, how she is not the child of my old friend Duke Dane and has no right to his place, and how, worst of all, she is a person of bad character and is not fit to the title of 'Lady,' let alone 'Duchess.' Thank you."
Murmuring started as Reine took his seat.
Saedra took in a shaky breath, and Peter squeezed her hand as she got up and walked to the podium slowly. She was terribly nervous: not only was Reine trying to take her position, he was trying to destroy her reputation-not doubt for the purpose of revenge.
She swallowed and started:
"I am here to counter Lord Reine's claims and show how these claims are not only unfounded, but they are malicious, cruel, and unbefitting someone with the title of 'Archenlander Lord.' I will prove that my step-father, Duke Dane, did know that I was not his child, but did choose to leave the rulership to me. As well, I will show the vast evidence that I have been a good and fair ruler in my nine of years serving Harden."
Saedra sat down, and Reine began his attack:
"And so I begin my first point, which is that Lady Saedra is an unfit ruler. All in attendance here surely know the issues that arose nine years ago when dear Duke Dane passed away: that there was great consternation about the fact that Lady Saedra was too young for the role of Duchess, and not only that, but she was a girl, refusing to be guided by the wisdom of her father's closet ally, namely myself."
Saedra took notes as he spoke in order to remember every point he made.
Reine continued. "Lady Saedra has shown to be a short-tempered, impulsive leader who was comfortable leaving the affairs of the province in the hands of an untrained governess who knew nothing about leading. This governess was allowed to be Regent for months and months, during which time numerous unprecedented crimes took place. Old Man Wiser, a respected man in the community, was attacked. Grain from the mill was stolen. People were afraid to go out at night.
"To add insult to injury, when I tried to step in and guide the governess' hand, Lady Saedra became angry with me and reversed all of the progress I had made. Not only that, but she claimed that the governess would be her heir to the position of Duchess in the case of her death, and if the governess ever died, then a slave girl from Tashbaan—that Lady Saedra stole from Prince Rabadash himself—would be next in line to inherit one of the oldest, most revered, and high titles in all of Archenland! Feeling threatened by my aid, Lady Saedra threw me out of the castle, with no regard to my high station or friendship with her father.
"Not only is Lady Saedra impetuous and stubborn, but she is hardly ever at Harden to reign! For the past four years, she has been gone from Harden a majority of the time, leaving it to others. Her apparent devotion to Narnia is understandable, but the people of Archenland should not suffer for this new loyalty."
He stepped down.
Lune nodded to Saedra. "Duchess?"
Saedra took in a shaky breath and glanced at her notes.
"Lord Reine has made many accusations of me, all of which are unfair and manipulative. I will address each one by one to ensure the circumstances of each are clear to his Majesty, King Lune.
"I believe that the first accusation was that I am irresponsible for leaving Gilda as my replacement when I travelled. This is a correct observation, but grossly misconstrued. Gilda was a more than adequate replacement, being very versed in politics and law. She is the one who trained me, and even my step-father Dane would ask her for her opinion on certain matters.
"Gilda was very capable, and she did her job well—despite your interference, Lord Reine. You had the foolish idea of building a wall on the same side of the castle where there is already a cliff, which is, at the very least, a very misinformed idea. It is a pointless location for a wall, for nothing could scale the cliff on that side of the castle. You also interfered by raising the fee for selling goods in the market, which made it unaffordable for farmers.
"In effect, you shut down the marketplace, ending the commerce for the whole province. For another province it might not have been so serious, but Harden has always struggled. The people have fewer resources than in other parts of Archenland because of the attack of the Calormene pirates many years ago. The decision to shut down the market was foolish, and Gilda was against it, but you and your men intimidated her and made her fear for her safety so she would hand over my seal.
"You mentioned the attack on Old Man Wiser and the theft from the mill that summer." She smirked and raised her eyebrow. "Do you really think you should be bringing those up, Lord Reine? I did investigation into both those matters, and I have witnesses who claim that Lord Leren here and his men were the cause of both of these incidents—and any others that happened."
Lord Leren stood up angrily. "How dare you accuse me? You pay off some 'witness' and expect his Majesty to believe that somehow I was the cause of this?"
Saedra said, "All of their stories are verified and none contradict each other. The names are confidential, and only King Lune has been able to see their transcribed testimonies. None have been coerced into testifying."
"This is outrageous!"
"What is more outrageous is trying to instill fear in the community by beating up one of its oldest members!" Saedra snapped.
"You have no proof! I have one who can vouch for my whereabouts that evening, and it was nowhere near Old Man Wiser! Besides, no one knows who did those crimes because they were done on cloudy nights so it would be impossible to see who was doing what in the case that someone did happen upon the perpetrators!"
"I have no doubt that the person vouching for you is also one of those that the witnesses have implicated," Saedra replied. "And I find it highly interesting that you have such a sharp memory as to remember that each of the crimes took place on a cloudy night. I doubt anyone not included in the crime would remember those evenings with such clarity."
Whispering in the crowds began.
"That's enough," King Lune interjected. "Lady Saedra, has thou more to say?"
"Yes, but I will make it brief. In regard to my next of line, I have already established that Gilda was a learned woman who was more than capable to lead Harden in my absence. If she could lead Harden then, it is more than reasonable to expect that she could lead Harden in the case of my death.
"In regard to the 'slave girl' that I 'stole' from Prince Rabadash, it is fairly obvious to any compassionate person that that accusation is flawed within itself. Talia came north of her own free will, and it more than obvious that she will be a great leader when she is older.
"Finally, the assertion that I was only a 'girl' at the time of my father's death and therefore unfit to rule is ridiculous. For a comparison, I point you to Queens Susan and Lucy of Narnia. I know there are many in this room that balk at the idea of a woman ruling over men, but the fair citizens of Narnia have no problem respecting their Queens. On top of that, though I was seventeen years of age, I was of marital age and fully grown. I again point to the Queens, who were much younger than seventeen when they began to reign—and Narnia is a much bigger land than Harden is."
Saedra stepped down.
"I am satisfied on this first point. For the sake of keeping this as prompt as possible, I ask thee to move on to thy second point, Lord Reine," King Lune said.
"Of course, your Majesty," the Lord nodded. "My second point is of greater importance to the first, and that is of Lady Saedra's heritage. Lalevis, Duke Dane's Calormene wife, had an affair with some no-good Calormene while she was supposed to be visiting her ailing father, and came back soon enough in the pregnancy that no one suspected anything. Lalevis never told my friend Dane, and he never knew the truth. By rights, Lady Saedra is not a 'Lady' at all: she is the bastard daughter of an unfaithful Tarkheena. Even she makes no attempt to deny it, calling Duke Dane her 'step-father.' This alone should reassure us all that Lady Saedra does not have the right to rule Harden. If Duke Dane had known the truth, he would never have allowed her to be Duchess."
Next was Saedra's turn.
"If you were correct in your premise that Duke Dane had not known about my heritage, you would have won your case. Unfortunately for your Lordship, my step-father did know. My esteemed husband, High King Peter, once made a comment about this situation, and it was a wise one: He said that any husband would know if his wife was unfaithful. And Dane did know. For proof, I will pull out one of his many journals, which I was able to locate this winter within his vast libraries and records. Since you knew my father so well, Lord Reine, surely you know what a meticulous record-keeper he was. Surely you didn't think he wouldn't write about the most important part of his life, namely his wife and daughter?"
Reine's face reddened, and he looked furious. Murmurs once again started.
Saedra spoke over the noise. "Evidence has already been submitted to King Lune outlining how Duke Dane knew that I was not his true daughter, but out of love for my mother, he decided to raise me as his own. He even mentions how he knew no one that he would rather name as heir than the bastard baby of his wife, which is a commentary on how highly Duke Dane thought of your abilities to lead, Lord Reine."
The murmurings continued, and Reine looked like he wanted to kill her. Saedra couldn't help but smile; this had been far too easy.
"I will have to look at that evidence and make sure it isn't forged," Reine declared.
"It isn't," King Lune said. "The evidence is true, Lord Reine. I suggest that thou move to thy final point, for it looks like this trial has been a waste of time."
Reine composed himself, and his confidence returned.
"My final point, and it is greater than both of the first two put together: It that of Saedra's character. Every leader should be known as a person of good will and good decisions, but must also be respected for their personal decisions, or that person's judgment is called into question and their leadership is undermined."
Reine paused dramatically.
"I declare—and have witnesses who attest to it, that Lady Saedra, as Princess of Narnia, has not been faithful to the High King Peter, and has engaged in an affair right underneath his nose."
The crowds erupted, and all were now on their feet.
Saedra felt like she'd been punched in the chest—how did he know? She knew Peridan was a man of his word. He wouldn't betray her like this. But then who had?
"This is ridiculous!" Lucy exclaimed, and Peter looked ready to pull out Rhindon and slay Reine right there and then.
King Lune himself was on his feet, looking shocked and furious. "How dare thee make such an accusation, Reine?"
"I beg your Majesty to let me finish," Reine called over the noise. "This information has been verified by Princess Rahai herself, wife of King Edmund."
The crowd became silent as his words sank in.
Saedra's jaw dropped. She glanced over at her family, and they all wore disbelieving expressions. Even if Rahai had found out the truth, she wouldn't betray them. She couldn't!
"I see I finally have your attention," Reine said, grinning maliciously. "Yes, that information comes directly from Saedra's cousin and sister-in-law, Princess Rahai, a very trustworthy source by any standard. But several other sources have told me what I have no doubt is the truth: that Lady Saedra is due to have the child of her lover."