Author's Note: Peter and Ace might find new loves. I haven't really decided yet. Don't worry, they'll get back together eventually. And if you're interested into what Aceline was thinking, listen to "Listen to Your Heart" by D.H.T. (That was something I forgot to include in the last update.) And thanks for the reviews! Sorry this so long. I'll make the next chapter longer.

Quote from Chapter: "Is Her Majesty feeling ill?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Duke of Terebinthia

"Observing the stars again, Your Majesty?" the Lord Tynan said knowingly. Aceline tore away her eyes from the night sky and looked behind her. She smiled at the approaching lord.

"Yes. The stars here are much different from the ones from where I come from," she said, looking back up.

"How so?" The Lord Tynan was standing next to her by now.

"Well, for one thing, here, they're much closer. For another, you can actually see them." The lord nodded and joined her in watching the stars. Then Aceline asked-

"Lord Tynan, what's that star called?" She was pointing at a bright, golden one that was quite close to them.

"That is Tarva, the Lord of Victory. And that is Aeron, the Lady of War," he added, pointing to a dark red one next to Tarva.

"Victory and war," she said. "How appropriate for our journey." The Lord Tynan chuckled and pointed at a shining purple star a short distance from Tarva.

"And that is Alambil, the Lady of Peace." The lord watched as a smile spread out on the Princess's face.

"I like Alambil better than Aeron," she said. Her tone made the lord chuckle again.

"Everyone does, Your Majesty, everyone does," he said. Her smile grew wider.

"I'm sure they do," she said. A yawn escaped her lips just then.

"I think Her Majesty should go to bed," the Lord Tynan said in a brotherly tone. She nodded, but said, "I'll go if you go."

"Please, Your Majesty, don't you want to be rested for arrival to Terebinthia?"

"I do. Don't you?" The Archenlander looked surprised at her sly question. (The surprise came more from the fact that there was a seven-year age difference between them.)

"So do I. But-"

"But nothing. Come along, my lord," she said, lightly tugging on his sleeve before walking away.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said meekly. Aceline laughed, but she stopped when she heard a soft thump below her feet.

"Did you hear that?" she asked quietly. The lord nodded and gestured for her to follow him. They went quietly, the Princess keeping close to him. They entered the galley, the noise sounding a bit more louder, if not more muffled. The Lord Tynan walked forward and stopped next to a barrel of rum, looking at whatever was there with wide eyes. The girl ran forward and clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from yelling in surprise.

There, hunched up together, were the Ladies Keitra and Kendell.

"What are you doing here?" the lord hissed.

"How did you sneak on board?" she whispered, amazed. They helped the redheads stand up and brought them up to the deck. They sat under the stars as they told their story.

Keitra and Kendell had snuck onto the ship during the morning of the departure; just after everything had been brought on board. They had stretched out their legs when the ships had docked in Galma. Then the cousins (because that's what they were) had gone back to their hiding place. When anyone came to look for food, they would simply choose a new spot to hide if anyone went to close to theirs.

"This is unbelievable," the Lord Tynan said, burying his face into his hands. He looked back at the redheads. "And exactly why did you stow away?"

"We wanted some adventure in our lives," Kendell said.

"You would, too, if you were seventeen and spent most of your time being cooped up in a castle," Keitra added. Aceline nodded, remembering how she had been cooped up at Cair.

"Does anyone else know?" she asked, looking at them. They nodded.

"We left a letter back at Cair Paravel. It should have been read by now," Keitra said. There was a dreadful silence as the two looked at the stowaways.

"Do you two have any idea of the gravity of this?" the Lord Tynan finally asked. The girls looked at each other and nodded.

"It's enough to get our heads cut off, maybe?" they guessed. The Narnian (for Aceline considered herself a Narnian now) had to bite her lip, so could keep from roaring with laughter at the look on the man's face.

"Erm," she began, but a giggle managed to escape from her steady lips, and she had to clear her throat. "I think we should go to bed."

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"Terebinthia's amazing!" Aceline exclaimed. Keitra and Kendell nodded in agreement. The three girls had been doing a little bit of shopping. (The cousins certainly needed new clothes.) The Princess was busy watching her surroundings, so it was no surprise when she crashed into someone and her packages dropped to the ground.

"I'm sorry," said a girl's voice.

"No, it's my fault," she said, picking up the packages. She looked up and saw a decent-looking girl with gold hair and indigo eyes. She looked no older than sixteen.

"I'm Blair Praine," the Lady Blair said, curtseying.

"Kendell Carnee."

"Keitra Nyramis."

"Aceline Hethers." Keitra and Kendell looked at her, both asking the question "Why didn't you say you were the Princess?" with their eyes. (Aceline wasn't wearing her crown.) She merely gave them a look and turned to Lady Blair.

"It's nice to meet all of you," the blonde said. "Are you from around here?" In unison, they shook their heads.

"We're from Archenland," the cousins said together.

"I'm from Narnia." The girls continued like this for a good ten minutes. (I won't write it because you would probably be snoring in six seconds.) It ended with the Lady Blair inviting them back to where she lived. The blonde's escort appeared and led the girls to a grand-looking carriage.

"Oh, won't Tynan mind?" Kendell said, a worried frown on her tan face.

"He won't," Aceline reassured her lazily. "He was supposed to meet someone here." The rest of the journey passed on silence.

The interesting part came when they saw the Lord Tynan coming out of the castle, conversing with a man with a gold beard. The Archenlander looked shocked to see the four females climb out of the carriage.

"What are you doing here?" The lord forgot his good manners and simply stood dumbstruck. He blinked and suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Lady Kendell, Lady Keitra, Your Majesty, this is Reynard, Duke of Terebinthia," he said, gesturing towards the bearded mind. The girls curtseyed. Well, the Lady Blair didn't.

"It seems that you already have met my daughter, Blair," the duke said, smiling at the blonde. She ignored her father and instead turned to Aceline.

"'Your Majesty?'" The color rose in her cheeks as everyone stared at her.

"Well, you didn't tell us you were the duke's daughter," she replied.

--------

The duke threw a celebration that night. Aceline had persuaded the Lord Tynan to invite some of the ships's crew to the castle. (With Reynard's permission, of course.) Keitra and Kendell then took to teasing Tynan. (Mainly about how the lord was persuaded by a young teen.) The girl reprimanded them and they teased her for standing up for the Archenland native. As such, she had a headache during the feast.

"Is Her Majesty feeling ill?" the Duke Reynard asked. The Princess forced a smile.

"I think I am," she replied. "I have a bit of a headache." He gave her a sympathetic smile. They stood in silence, she staring at him and he staring at the dancing lords and ladies.

"Does Her Majesty like these feasts?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"These feasts, this dancing, this travelling - do you like them?" Her brow furrowed as she thought about the question.

"I neither like or dislike them. I like dancing and the feasts. You always meet new people, but you always have to act a certain way around them." She realized what she said and promptly turned red. She looked at the duke with wide eyes, but he was grinning at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't rea - "

"That is quite alright. Pray, continue." And so, she went on. The words poured out of her mouth and the duke looked at her attentively. It was the first time she had ever been allowed to speak freely in her regular, young girlish voice. She forgot about being proper, forgot about everything. The Lord Tynan appeared and he, too, seemed entranced by her bold speech. She stopped, breathless.

"Please go on," the Archenlander encouraged her. Her headache had disappeared as soon as it had come. The three soon talked together, making their opinions known. Aceline found herself being treated as a diplomatic equal by the other two. A yawn reluctantly escaped her lips.

"Shall I escort Her Majesty to bed?" Tynan asked her, a smile on his handsome face. She nodded and without even giving it a thought, she hugged the Duke Reynard as a daughter would hug her father. The man grinned at her and patted her on the back.

--------

They left Terebinthia three days later. There was handshaking and hugging on both sides. Keitra and Kendell, who had become close to Blair, were hugging the blonde. Aceline faced the Duke and hugged him tightly.

"I hope to see you again, Duke Reynard," she said.

"As do I," he said. "As do I."

They boarded the Blaze of Glory, her anchor being raised by two Archenlandian sailors. The coast of the island began to fade and Aceline waved wildly. The last thing she saw was Blair's golden hair and Reynard's gold beard.

"Tynan?"

"Yes?"

"That night, during the feast - how did my headache disappear?" The lord smiled at her.

"There is a Terebinthian cure to relieve headaches, one that doesn't require medicine. If you relieve your thoughts from your mind, the pressure will go away from your head." She stared at him in astonishment.

"Does it work?" she asked.

"It does," he said, looking out towards the sea. "You're proof of it."

I've decided to speed things along. Next up, we have Aceline at the Lone Islands. I'm certainly going to have fun with that chapter.

Just a random note: I was just watching Drake & Josh and I think if they ever made my story into a movie, I would ask Miranda Cosgrove (Megan) to play Aceline.

OCs Used:
Lady Keitra Nyrams - Lady-Mystique
Lady Kendell Carnee - airnchik 128
Lady Blair Praine - airnchik 128