Yay! I'm finally developing a PLOT! (Crowd: *gasps* Really!?) Yes, really!
Disclaimer: I own only my OCs and the plot. All else belongs to C.S. Lewis.
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Chapter Five
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"Adelinde?" asked Lucy, leaning over the dinner table that night, "Is it true, what the castle ladies are saying?"
"That depends," she said, picking at her food, "What piece of gossip are you referring to?"
Lucy grinned happily. "I believe you know which one I am speaking of, Ada," she said, "That you are wooing my dear brothers. In fact," she added, "I heard from Edmund himself that he is accompanying you to the Harvest Ball!"
"Aye, he is, Queen Lucy," Adelinde said with caged satisfaction in her voice.
"Ada, I believe that Ed also spoke to you about calling all of us by our names!" Lucy mock frowned.
"I apologize, Que- Lucy…" she smiled a bit. "That is going to take a bit of getting used to."
"Have you decided what you're going to wear to the Ball, then, Adelinde?" asked Susan, leaning over Edmund to join the conversation.
"Um…No, I suppose I haven't. In fact, I didn't even know it was occurring until Edmund told me."
"Oh, we must get you a proper gown!" cried the older Queen. "One tailored for you, not a cast-off from me or Lu!"
Adelinde beamed. "Thank you, Susan," she said, as Susan grinned at the use of her proper name. "And you too, Lucy! The generosity that you both have shown toward me is…overwhelming to say the least!"
"Your welcome, Ada!" said Lucy.
"Aye, welcome, Ada," said Susan, picking up on the nickname. "But our Ladies have insisted that we get you your own Ladies-in-waiting. It seems that it's not 'proper' for the Queens to be helping a 'commoner' dress for the day."
"We're quite sorry about it!" said Lucy, as though afraid Adelinde would be angry, "We did enjoy it a great deal! It's just we're a bit new at all this – we're still having difficulties getting the other nobles to accept us as fellow royalty – so we wouldn't want to do anything that anyone would find improper or scandalous."
"Lucy, I know little of the ways of nobility and royals, but I do know that it is nigh impossible to do something and not offend someone, in politics. You could be offending someone right now, and not even know it!" Adelinde smiled, Lucy laughed, and Susan seemed to not know if she was joking or not, so she contented herself with a small grin.
The dinner was ending, now, and Adelinde pushed her chair away from the table, as Lucy said, "Adelinde, tomorrow, two castle maids will assist you in dressing. After breakfast we can take you to the tailor and have your measurements taken!"
Adelinde agreed and they all went their separate ways – Susan and Lucy to the royal quarters, and Adelinde to the court's wing. (For there were several other members of the royal court that resided in the castle.)
As Adelinde approached the entrance of her wing of the castle, she heard hurried footsteps behind her, and a familiar voice cry, "Ada! Ada, wait a moment!"
She turned to see Edmund running toward her. "Hello Edmund!" she said quietly, "Aren't you supposed to be off to bed?"
"By the Mane, Ada!" laughed Edmund, "You sound like my mother!"
"Well, I am sure you didn't catch up with me to compare me to your mother," she said, grinning with him. "What can I help you with?"
"I-I just…um…wanted to say goodnight to you," Edmund said nervously, "I didn't get the chance to even speak to you during dinner – my sisters were hogging you!"
"Well, goodnight then, Edmund," said Adelinde.
"G-goodnight, Ada…" said Edmund. Then he shocked himself, Adelinde, and all the courtiers that remained in the hall. He bent down, gave her a quick hug, and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said before hurrying off toward the other side of the hall.
Adelinde grinned to herself before heading off to her room.
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The next morning, Adelinde was woken, not by the queens bursting into her room, but by a timid knock on her door.
"Ma'am?" asked a small voice, and a young dryad came into her room. She looked to be about 13 or 14, but, since Adelinde knew trees – and the dryads with them – grew far slower than humans, she knew she was probably at least three years older than her.
Adelinde smiled sweetly, trying to put the girls at ease. They seemed…frightened. "What is your name, girl?" she asked, getting up, as the girl entered and shut the door behind her.
"Aari, Ma'am," said the dryad, still looking at the floor.
"Why are you so frightened, Aari?" she said, moving toward the girl.
"I-I am not frightened, Ma'am," said Aari, not moving from her spot by the door. "I am merely nervous…" Aari reddened as if she'd said something she wasn't supposed do say.
"Why are you nervous?"
"B-because I've never been more than a kitchen girl, all my life…and now, here I am…attending to the woman that King Edmund is courting…"
Adelinde's eyes went wide. Edmund was courting her? Was this true, or was it just one of those rumors that she knew tended to circulate among the servants.
She brushed off the thought, suddenly becoming stern. "Well, enough of this gossip. Am I to understand you are to help me dress?"
"Y-yes, Ma'am," Aari said timidly before hurrying over to the closet. She rummaged for a moment, before pulling out a simple purple gown. "Does this suit you, my Lady?" she asked, holding it up.
Adelinde inspected it closely. "It is a very beautiful dress," she said slowly, "But it is so plain to be worn alone!" She too stepped forward and spotted something. "There! Girl! That blue overdress!"
"Y-you have magnificent taste, my Lady," said Aari, removing the dress from its hanger. Adelinde took the purple dress from the girl and stepped behind the partition. As she slid into the dress and pulled it into place, she heard another knock on the door.
Thinking that it was probably Susan or Lucy, she called out, "Come in!" as she came out into the open of the room. The door opened, but standing there was neither the Gentle nor Valiant Queens, but Edmund.
Adelinde gave a start and yelped as Edmund went red. As both were well aware of, she had yet to button the dress.
"I-I apologize, Ada," Edmund said, looking at the floor and shielding his eyes, "If I'd known you weren't ready yet, I would not have entered."
"It is quite alright, Edmund," said Adelinde, as Aari buttoned the back of the dress. As soon as the dryad had finished with the top button, Adelinde pulled the overdress from the girl's arm and pulled it on. Edmund kept his eyes on the floor. As she began to lace up the front of the dress, she said, "Edmund, you can look now."
He took his hand away from his face, his cheeks still a bit pink. "I-I'm sorry, Ada," he repeated, his eyes still on the floor, as Aari took over lacing her dress.
"Edmund, stop apologizing!" she laughed, stepping toward the vanity mirror. She picked up a brush, pulled the ribbon off the end of her hair, and began running the brush through the now curly strands. As soon as there were no more tangles she could find, she placed the brush down and turned to look at Edmund. "Well? How do I look?" she asked, well aware of how uncomfortable she was making him by asking him this.
He smiled kindly, the last of the red fading from his face, as he took a step toward her and said, "You look beautiful, as always, my Lady."
Adelinde smiled back. Then she turned back to the dryad. "You may leave, Aari," she said, not unkindly. The girl hurried from the room, leaving Adelinde and Edmund alone.
"Edmund," said Adelinde, taking a step toward him. But her next words were cut off by Edmund.
"You know, most people just call me Ed," he said, moving closer. They were now nearly touching.
"Ed, then…" she said, putting one hand on his chest. "You know, Ed, Aari told me something very interesting…"
"And what would that be?" he asked, taking hold of her wrist.
"She said that you intend to court me," Adelinde said, looking up at him from under her eyelashes, trying to look innocent. "Is this true?"
"It may be," Edmund said, one corner of his mouth curving upward. "Why? If I asked you, would you accept?"
"I may," she said, "But then again, I mayn't."
Edmund laughed, breaking the seriousness of the moment. "Well, that makes me so confident!" he said.
Adelinde laughed loudly, taking a step away from Edmund, and breaking the tension in the room that neither of them had realized was there. "Ed, we should go down…people will start to wonder."
"Aye," said Edmund slowly, taking back his hand, and running it through his hair. Then he held his arm out. "May I have the honour of escorting you, my Lady?" he asked.
She smiled and took the arm he offered her. "That you may, my Lord, that you may."
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Ok, so I probably should have gone on…but over four pages is enough. Reviews would be nice!