GLIMPSES OF THE GOLDEN AGE
Part Five
Once again, Lady Alambiel and I got together to do a Golden Age Random Word Challenge. I hope you like them. Make sure to read hers too, and let us know what you think..
BLOSSOM
Joy returned to Narnia as the spring bloomed warm and golden over the land. Aslan's chosen sat upon their thrones, bright crowns upon their heads, wonder and love shining on their young faces as, from far and wide, their people came to welcome them.
By the time the sun set on the day of their coronation, the throne room was filled with rich gifts beyond compare, but last to come was a little Mouseling bearing just one pink cherry blossom.
"I'll keep this one," the High King said, his blue eyes very kind. "Just for me."
The Mouseling always remembered.
FORGOTTEN
Peter gave Edmund the envelope sealed with the royal seal of Narnia's High King.
"This is important, Ed. I wouldn't trust it to anybody else."
Edmund slid the envelope inside his tunic next to his shirt and turned to go. Then he turned back.
"Why?"
Peter looked up questioningly.
"Why would you ever trust me? How can you forgive what happened when– "
"When what?" Peter's brow furrowed.
"When we first came to Narnia."
Peter's face relaxed into a smile. "Oh, that. I'd forgotten."
Edmund let out the tight breath in his lungs and smiled back, knowing that somehow he had.
DUKE
Darreth studied his floor-length mirror. He wore a doublet of midnight-blue velvet with silver trim, sleeves slashed to show the crisp linen of his shirt beneath. His boots were polished to a high gloss, laced to the knee with the tops turned down just so. His hair, dark and with only the slightest curl, was neatly tied at the nape of his neck, hiding the clasp of the medallion that had been presented by the King of Terebinthia to his great-grandsire. On his finger was the great seal ring that proclaimed him as Duke.
But would it impress a Queen?
HEARTBEAT
Edmund threw aside rocks and debris, digging with bloodied fingers, scraped hands, digging through dirt and roots and bits of splintered wood. Peter had shoved him out just as the old Dwarf mine fell in on itself with a groan and a roar. Now the only sound was the thud of each stone Edmund tossed into the grass behind him and his own gasping breaths.
Finally, he unearthed a hand, an arm, a shoulder, then Peter's still face covered with dirt, one cheek bleeding. With a low cry, Edmund laid his ear against his chest.
And he heard a heartbeat.
BRANCH
Lucy walked faster, remembering what Oreius had taught her about moving swift and silent through the trees. If her brothers didn't kill her for walking out unarmed and without a guard, the General surely would. Could she never have a moment just to be a girl and not a Queen? Not a commodity to be guarded from thieves and political intrigue?
There was another little rustle behind her, someone had snapped a twig or stepped on some dead leaves, obviously someone who hadn't gone through Oreius's rigorous training. She picked up a heavy branch, raised it and then froze.
"Darreth?"
FLICKER
Peter thought the sound was from his dream, a hint of a giggle somewhere far off, but he was awake. Edmund snored near the campfire, his Wolves snuggled beside him, and Peter could see the silhouettes of his Tigers keeping watch. Had they heard?
He stood up and crept a little way into the forest, seeing the faintest flicker of light, white and clear, from the very center of a circle of trees. Unable to resist, he went towards it, towards the sly-faced Pixie who beckoned him on.
At the sound of a Lion's roar, the Pixie scowled and vanished.
HAND
Darreth held up one hand. "Wait! Queen Lucy."
With an exasperated huff, she lowered the branch she was wielding. "You're lucky I didn't knock your head off. Were you following me?"
His face turned hot. "Well, Oreius was worried, knowing you had gone out unguarded. I saw you come this way earlier, and I thought if you came back with an escort, you might not get into trouble."
"So you want him to think I was out here with you? Alone?" She took his arm, a hint of mischief in her grin. "Now you're the one who'll be in trouble."
STIR
She woke at the first light of dawn. For a moment she tried to cling to her dream, for it was a pleasant one, but then she remembered her reality was even better. She shifted slightly under the coverlet, not so much she would wake him, but enough so she could study him. He lay close to her with one arm twined about her waist, hair tousled, face flushed with sleep, lips slightly parted and soft, beckoning her to kiss them yet again.
When he began to stir, she leaned up to touch her lips to his.
"Good morning, husband."
SORE
Susan took a steadying breath. Such an endeavor was dangerous enough as it was. She hadn't realized just how dangerous until she had made her first attempt. She'd know better this time.
It wasn't enough to be physically prepared, even though she was careful this time to wear the right protective gear. No, it was the mental preparation that was important. She had to be clever, tenacious and even a bit wily if she was going to make it through this.
Well, they could tread on her toes until they were sore, but she would teach her brothers to dance.
RULES
"Here's the rules," the pirate said, his dagger at Susan's throat. "You do what I say, when I say, whatever I say, and I let you live."
She glanced at the unmoving heap at her feet. "And my brother?"
"His Royal Magnificence? I got no use for him."
Keeping bruising hold on Susan's arm, he prodded Peter with his boot. In a trice, Peter grabbed his ankle and threw him onto his back.
Susan seized the dagger and stood over the pirate, one velvet slipper pressing on his windpipe. "Now, about those rules."
The pirate blinked. "They're really just guidelines . . . "
Author's Note: Do let me know what you think. And, no, I haven't forgotten "Wind's Harvest" either. I hope to have a new chapter very soon.