A/N: i know, this doesn't really progress the story all that much but i wanted to put it in. R&R please :)

Mathias was troubled

Mathias was troubled. His parents were speaking to him in a manner that said they might not return from this "journey" as they so vaguely chose to put it. He had just met his true father; what a waste it would be to loose him now.

"Mathias? Are you paying attention?" Elaina asked pointedly.

"Yes, Mother," he replied, shaking himself from his morose thoughts.

He and his parents were in the sitting room of royal apartment Edmund was sharing with Elaina and their son. The prince of Telmar noticed something quite suddenly. It seemed as if his father was never far from Elaina's side and also that he never kept his hands to himself. Every second of the day, his gentle touch was upon her: holding her hand, his arm around her waist, even a soft kiss every now and then when they thought no one was looking. The young prince had never seen his mother treated with so much respect and adoration. Every look that was directed at her by the younger king of Narnia was so full of love and devotion that Mathias would have been embarrassed by it if not for the fact that he had never seen Elaina smile the way she was. Even though there were still traces of a lingering anxiety on her beautiful, tan face, Mathias had never seen her so at ease or laugh or smile quite so much. He found that he liked his mother to be happy so he refrained from making any annoyed comments about their lovey-dovey attitudes.

There was a respectful knock at the door.

"Yes?" Edmund inquired, turning his head slightly.

"Ed, can I talk to you for a moment?" Susan's voice came from the other side.

"Alright. I'll be back in a bit." He stood and was almost at the door before he stopped and turned back to give Elaina a rather passionate and lingering kiss. Mathias turned his head, his ears suddenly burning red. Finally, Edmund turned and left, leaving mother and son alone. Elaina's gaze trailed after him.

"Mother," Mathias said. "I'm glad you're happy." The expression on her face spoke volumes. She laid one hand on his face gently and affectionately stroked his hair with the other.

"I love you so much. You're my world. You're my everything. Everything I've ever done was all for you. I love you more than you could ever imagine." She had never spoken to him like this. Of course, she had told him that she loved him, but never like this. She pulled him into a tight hug. He was a little surprised but hugged her back nonetheless.

"I love you too."

At that point, Edmund reopened the door and came back in, blushing furiously.

"What is it?" Elaina asked. Susan chose to intervene in the answer and called from the opposite side of the door:

"I more or less asked him, for the sake of the kingdom's rest, if you two could keep the noise level down to a minimum at night. You sound like you're moving giant furniture." Mathias looked at his parents with an expression of embarrassment and disgust.

"I think I'll leave, if you'll excuse me. My sanity can't take much more of this." With that, he left the two lovers alone and walked through the corridors aimlessly. He was halfway to the main lobby when he felt someone tugging at the hem of his red doublet. Under his mother's suggestion, he had abandoned the flowing robes typically worn by Telmarines. He turned around and saw Maylea standing there, her big blue eyes staring up at him. She was wearing a simple green smock that was tied at the waist with a white sash. She had stuck little pink flowers in the sash like some kind of utility belt. Her dark hair was pulled back from her chocolate-colored face in a pony tail with a white ribbon tied in a bow. His little cousin was six years his junior, however she seemed to grasp a great deal of what was going on.

"You're my cousin, right?" she asked directly.

"Yes."

"Okay," she replied, taking one of the flowers and handing it to him. He accepted it with his left hand then was surprised when she grabbed his right and began dragging him down the corridor. She made a few turns as they continued to walk in silence. Finally they came to an open courtyard where two small fountains stood on opposite sides of a magnificent statue. Randomly dispersed were cherry trees in full, pink bloom. Maylea led him to the statue and stopped. Mathias was awestruck. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. She seemed so real, so life-like.

"That's my mommy," she said, her face grave and respectful. "She died when I was three. I used to cry a lot but now I just come out here when I get sad and talk to her. She can't really talk back but she's real good at listening. You met everyone else. I didn't want her to be left out. She really liked to meet people. She was a real nice queen. At least thats what everyone else says." She walked closer to the replica of her mother and curtsied. "Mommy, this is Mathias. He's the bastard son of Miss Elaina and Uncle Edmund, at least thats what I heard. He's real nice. He's my cousin." She beckoned to Mathias. "Don't be rude; come say hi." He moved to stand next to her, feeling awkward speaking to a statue.

"Hello. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty," he gave a deep bow, more so to satisfy Maylea's introduction than any real need to bow to a pretty, giant block. Callida remained silent, although the smile that was on her face seemed almost warm and welcoming. He turned to Maylea.

"Thank you for introducing us, Your Highness," he also gave her a rather flamboyant bow. She giggled quietly behind her hand. She cleared her throat imperiously and in her best monarch voice said, with a frivolous curtsy,

"The pressure was all nine, Your Highness."

Mathias even managed to keep a straight face.

That night, as Edmund lay snoring lightly next to her, Elaina let her mind wander. There was just too much too think about. She wanted to sleep, not think. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion but her mind was very much awake. For a while, her thoughts centered around the pain she would bring to Killian for taking her life from her and giving her like a trophy to that hateful tyrant who cared only for power and nothing for the lives of his people. Well, I no longer belong to him, Killian. It would have been wiser for you to kill me. She shook her head, trying to clear away the vicious thoughts. Instead of thinking about something meaningful, she thought about the dream she had last night...

They were at a ball of some kind. Everyone was dressed in white gowns and doublets and stunning brocades with white fur trim. She, Edmund, Peter, and several peasants she had known in Dimitius years ago wore battle armor. Those dressed in white laughed and giggled and spoke inanely, their mindless chatter bringing up a rage within her and her companions. Elaina looked around. There was a large orchestra playing tunes with the proficiency of a group of trolls off to one side. Giant piles of food were heaped upon hundreds of tables, causing them to bend to the floor under such weight. Thousands of silver and gold goblets were visibly clutched in the hands of the fat and slovenly nobles, goblets that were always full to the brim.

Then, Elaina realized something.

This was Dimitius! This was what it had become! Not one person cared for the lives of the less fortunate and they engorged themselves upon the labor of their citizens! People were starving and thirsting to death out in the streets! How could this have happened?

Then she looked and saw Killian, enthroned on a gleaming white throne and trying to look regal. He looked exactly the same as she remembered, except now, his once gray eyes were a ferocious and blazing red. He had given himself to his evil side and now was consumed by it.

Her rage began to boil dangerously.

She felt someone touch her sword arm. She looked and saw the young faun, Jonas, looking up at her with those big, innocent brown eyes.

"Now, my queen, take what is yours and make things right again," his words came simply but were so powerful that they almost knocked her off her feet. With a barbaric cry, she and her comrades charged on the dukes, barons, earls, marquis, courtiers, and ladies-in-waiting alike. They hacked and mangled their way through the sea of nobles howling in pain. Their bloody massacre lasted for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the only one that stood was Killian, his fiery gaze lazily fixated on her. She approached him slowly and stood before the dais.

"Elaina, why didn't you just do as you were told?" his voice was quiet and serene, almost like a simple reprimand. "If you would just stayed in Telmar, this would have never happened." At that point he stood and kicked back the alabaster throne to reveal a mountain of small, pale skulls, dried with blood. "I warned you, didn't I, Elaina?" Her eyes were transfixed on the monstrosity before her. She felt a lurch of guilt and horror at what had happened. It was all her fault.

Killian began throwing insults at her. She was frozen. For some reason, his insults disappeared and he began to say her name over and over again. She began to shout back at him, screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs, her body still immovable. Finally, her immobility gave way and she brandished her sword before her hated brother and ran him through.

Nothing happened.

He reached out and took her by the shoulders and began shaking her and shaking her and...

Elaina jumped awake and found that she was, in fact, being shaken. Edmund was gripping her shoulders. Once he saw her eyes open, he released her. She was sweating profusely. She must have fallen asleep and had the same dream again.

"You punched me in the stomach," Edmund said accusingly. He fell back onto the mattress with a thud. "That actually really hurt."

"I'm sorry."

"You were screaming at someone. Nightmare?" she turned her face toward him for a moment then rolled over onto her other side so she couldn't see him.

"Yes."

"What was it about?"

"I don't want to talk about it," came her reply after a few moments of silence.

"What's wrong, Ella?" Edmund asked after he had sidled up behind her.

"Nothing."

"What did he threaten you with?" Edmund had wondered why she had suddenly left and became engaged to someone else, but one day he realized that someone threatened her with something awful enough to make her leave. She turned her head quickly to try and look at him.

"What are you talking about?" her reply was waspish.

"I know you wouldn't have just left because someone told you to. How did Killian threaten you?" his voice was quiet and gentle. He knew that it would be hard for her to think about but he needed to know. She remained silent for some time before sitting up in bed, propping her elbows on the knees, and resting her head in her hands. Drawing a shaky breath, she told him

"He said that...for every day I refused...he'd torture and kill...a child," her voice was choked. "The first day, he'd kill one. The second, he'd kill two and so on." She turned to face him with tears in her eyes. "As much as I love you, Edmund, I could not allow that to happen." Edmund looked at her with understanding. He sat up as well and took her in his arms, wishing he could change everything that had happened to her and take away the fear.

"We'll make things right again. I swear."