Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia, Aslan, the high king, or Cair Paravel. I'm stuck with Ariella (and she's rather annoying at times)
Lady Ariella blinked several times. "You cannot be serious," she said, still blinking. This could not be happening, not to her, not to Lady Ariella the Beautiful, the Knowledgeable, the Talented. This could not be happening to Lady Ariella Thalia Raven.
"We assure you madam; We are most certainly serious," High King Peter replied without a moments hesitation.
Though taken aback for a moment, Lady Ariella was determined not to be so easily deterred from her goal—so close it was! She stepped forward slightly and tilted her head toward the king.
"I understand," she said, her voice low and almost (but not quite) seductive, "you do not wish to express your true feelings here. Come, my king, surely you must know that we are perfectly suited for each other? You are Magnificent, I am Beautiful; you are wise, I am knowledgeable. As I said before, we are both in gold and green. Your Lion has said that the Codex Consors can be eliminated. There stands nothing between us. Will you not make me your wife?"
Once again Lady Ariella placed her hand on the High King's and smiled up at him. Much to her surprise, the king pulled his hand away from hers and stepped a full pace back.
"Madam, We assure you, We have no inclination to make you Our bride. You have none of the qualities that We desire in a spouse. Lovely you may be, but you lack that which makes a true Queen, that which our Royal Sisters posses: the inward beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Morevoer, though you have invoked the name of Aslan, you do not know Him and We do not believe that you have spoken truth about what He said to you."
Thoroughly shocked, Lady Ariella could do nothing but stare. No one had ever dared to speak to her in such a manner! "Do you then call me a liar?" she hissed, latching on to the only thing that she understood.
"We must say that we do not believe that Aslan would have spoken to you in the manner that you claim. It is not the way in which We are accustomed to His speaking."
"And you then call me a liar! I do not lie! It is what he said."
"Perhaps so, perhaps not."
"I will be your queen, High King. I am the only woman in the world who could possibly come close to your magnificence. Why do you continue to deny that we were meant to be together?"
At those words the High King turned away from Lady Ariella altogether and walked toward the door by which they entered the Chapel.
"Madam," he said solemnly without looking back, "We brought you here thinking that in a place we hold sacred to Aslan, you would be loath to speak falsehoods of any nature and might accept the truth with greater grace. It seems that We were incorrect in Our assumptions." The king turned and looked at Lady Ariella at last. "You are no longer a welcome guest in Our house. You will prepare yourself to leave and be gone by noon tomorrow. We will send a detachment of soldiers to escort you to our borders should you require it."
"Surely you jest."
"Surely We do not. The captain of the detachment will arrive at your rooms precisely at noon. Should you require any assistance in packing, you have only to ask and all will willingly aid you."
Lady Ariella was fuming by now. How dare this king, High King though he may be, simply tell her to pack up and leave! It was not to be borne. "I will not leave until I am ready. You will not send soldiers to escort me out! I will not be treated in such an infamous manner!"
"Infamous? Madam, we have accorded you every comfort that an honored guest could have. It is your own conduct that causes Us to refuse you welcome."
"My own conduct! Wherein have I…"
"Ariella."
The rich golden voice was so completely unexpected that Lady Ariella shrieked and whirled around. Unfortunately, whirling around does not work very well when one is wearing a long heavy skirt and high heels. The lady ended up in a most undignified position on her posterior on the ground. Standing on the dais in front of her was the selfsame lion that had invaded her room earlier. Lady Ariella was vaguely aware that the High King had knelt somewhere behind her but the great majority of her attention was centered on the mighty beast before her.
"Must you always do that?" she squawked.
"You have not heeded my warning, Child. You already have a land to rule; why would you not be content with that? If you continue in your stubborn ways, even that land which you have will be taken away. As it is, you have already lost some of that which you cherish most. Never again will men call you "fairest" for you yourself have destroyed some of that beauty that was gifted you. Heed well this warning: If you are not gone from your room before the noon bell strikes its final note and beyond the Cair's walls before another quarter of an hour has passed, that which you fear most will come to pass. This is your final warning."
Turning away from Ariella (we dare not call her lady now) the Great Lion looked to where the High King still knelt. "Rise, Peter, Fenrisbane. You have done well and honorably as befits a king of Narnia. You need fear nothing."
"Thank you, Aslan. I am glad to see you, Sir. It has been a long time."
"And may be longer yet as you see it until we meet again. Farewell."
The Great Lion stepped forward into the light and there seemed to be no distinction between where the light began and the Lion ended. Ariella blinked and Aslan was gone leaving only her in an undignified heap and the king standing by the door.
"Do you require assistance, Madam?" he asked.
"No! I most certainly do not." Ariella scrambled clumsily to her feet and looked once more to the king. "You are resolved in your decision?" she almost pleaded.
"We are."
Her face hardened "Then I have no more to say to you."
As regally as she could, Ariella swept from the Chapel. (The effect was rather marred however by the dust scattered about her dress, her disheveled hair, and the fact that she tripped twice before she even got out the door.) Had she been looking, she would have noticed that the other three sovereigns of Narnia were waiting in a small alcove near the Chapel but her mind was bent on one thing: reaching her room. The lion had said that she was no longer as beautiful as she once was; she could not believe this to be true. She would not believe him. It was impossible. Therfore, the moment she set foot inside her room, she slammed the door behind her and practically ran to her mirror.
She stared. There was no difference at all to be seen! Her hair was rather a mess, but that could be mended easily. What caused that lion to claim that she had lost some of her beauty? She was, if anything, more beautiful in her anger than of yore. (What Ariella did not see was the hardness and coldness that filled her eyes and marred the otherwise perfect beauty of her face. There was nothing not pretty about her features, but somehow, she was no longer beautiful.) She would not heed any warnings given by that lion because he did not speak the truth. She would stay here in the Cair until she could devise some other method of winning the king's hand. Or perhaps, she should try for the younger king. Ariella shook her head. No; she would be High Queen of Narnia. She clapped her hands.
"Maids!"
A/N—Here you are. Sorry for the wait; finals are upon me and thus my writing time has drastically diminished. I do hope to finish this before the year is out. I don't expect more than a couple chapters more. But then, things change.