"Where is queen Lucy?"
"I haven't seen her; didn't she go to sleep?"
"I checked, nobody was there."
"Corin, stop following Lucy around and help me with these guest lists."
"Yes, queen Susan..."
The next night Lucy found a beautiful, thick cape lying next to the gate. Nicely folded, it revealed a piece of paper and words written with the familiar handwriting. "In case you need it again." Lucy quickly put it on, inhaling the very subtle perfume, the same one she felt in the queen's house. It was an early evening this time, she left Susan and Corin shortly after supper, excusing herself with an increasing headache. This little lie let her avoid the evening training with Corin, but, she thought with concern that soon she would have to come up with something better than that. Or to find another time for the Sanctuary.
"You really should be more careful. They will notice your absence," Jadis confirmed her worries, gazing at her over her tea cup. They were sitting in her "living room", if that was an appropriate word for the biggest room in Jadis' home. Lucy made sure the walls around them were really not made of ice (or it was a magic ice, Lucy didn't know that) for they were not cold when touched. In the house it was actually very warm, although she couldn't see any fire place. She looked at the queen, trying to guess what Jadis could have been thinking. After their last meeting Lucy had hundreds things to ask her, but as soon as she got to the palace, Jadis announced her with a firm tone that the matters spoken last night were over for the time being. And didn't ask her anything herself, except of "how is the preparation going?" Or "is Corin bothering you a lot?" Lucy wondered, what kind of question she could come up with herself, to not bring up something inappropriate.
"You really make all the food here by yourself?"
From Jadis sparkling eyes and clearly suppressed smile Lucy realized that must have sounded very childish.
"I do. Anything you feel like?" She chuckled. Lucy forgot the embarrassment.
"I like sweets." She confessed. Her cheeks reddened under Jadis' gaze, but the queen seemed to be no less enjoying this as Lucy herself. Again she thought it must have been very lonely over there. "Just not Turkish Delight, I don't like it," she added without thinking. Edmund's story about the enchanted sweets was freshly present in her mind after her brother secretly admitted he still missed them. And told her he would kill anybody who would tell that fact to Peter.
"Thank heavens for that!" Jadis laughed. "I don't understand how anybody can like it."
"Edmund does." Lucy added and opened her eyes widely at the beautiful, silver bowl filled with chocolate pudding covered with fruits. It evoked distant memories of her early childhood, more feelings than memories in fact and then Lucy realized that both, the Turkish Delight and this pudding didn't belong to Narnia's world.
"I know." Jadis stopped smiling. As soon as Lucy finished her dessert, she stood up. "You wanted my help with your trainings. How about we start, then?"
She gestured Lucy to follow her to the field. When they got to the middle of it, Lucy gasped. Before her eyes she saw a miniature version of Narnia. It was like a map, but sculptured in the snow, so precisely that she could recognize Cair Paravel, Mr. Tumnus' house, or the two villages by the Ettinsmoor border. As she stared at it, breathless, Jadis did something even more amazing. The entire "map" rose from the ground, turned towards them, floating in the air, like a huge picture. Jadis was controlling its movement with her left hand and touched the fragment with the Cair Paravel with the right. The fragment separated itself from the rest, flew a bit closer to them and grew, showing more details and eventually completely outgrew the first "map".
"It's amazing! How it... You can see what's on the other side of the gate?"
Lucy asked as her imagination showed her Jadis watching each corner of Narnia at any time she wanted, including her room in Cair Paravel and her heart beat faster at that thought.
"Not really," the queen smiled to her. "I am merely recreating the shapes as I remember them. It can be useful if you want to work on your strategy plans."
"It is wonderful!" Lucy admitted.
"Alright. Then, look here. The line between my old castle and Archenland. It's all woods and mountains, I bet none of you haven't explored those parts yet, have you? It's those mountains that should have watch towers with the eyes both, on the wild lands and on Archenland itself. At least I had. Going more to the South, Archenland..." Jadis took Lucy by the hand and directed her finger at Anvard, Corin's home. Lucy thrilled, both, under the impression of the picture growing under her hand and revealing details of the castle, and Jadis standing now very closely and embracing her, to keep her hand still. Lucy felt so warm that she wondered how the snow didn't melt.
"But we do trust Archenland," she commented.
"I know," Jadis nodded. "I don't doubt their friendship, King Lune's ancestors were basically one country with Narnia since I remember. It's not his intentions I doubt, but his defense. He has none. Living happily under your protection. Considering the strategic position of his land, it is very irresponsible.
"You really think Calormenes are our enemy?"
"They are not to be trusted. You can tell it your sister."
"I have." Lucy mused. She reminded Susan enjoying Rabadash's attention much more than she used to a couple of weeks ago.
"On this tournament," Jadis started again, turning Lucy from the map so they were facing each other now, one looking down, the other bringing her chin slightly up so they could almost touch each other's lips, "watch this Rabadash closely. Get to know him. And don't be fooled by his sweet words. Calormenes are good liars." She let go of her. Lucy took a deep breath and nodded.
"I am not afraid about being fooled myself. But my sister..."
"You have to watch her as well. If you find some time between your trainings." The queen's voice got merry, as she grabbed her hand and led Lucy deeper into the icy field. Soon they got to the line of round, wooden targets. A great supply of bows and quivers filled with arrows lay in the snow. They even had the engraved symbols of Narnia.
"They are exactly like the ones brought to Cair Paravel! How did you do it?"
Lucy took one bow to the hand and couldn't resist from trying it out. Jadis smiled modestly, but her eyes sparkled with pride.
"I sent one of my foxes to get some examples. In case you may one day want to use them on the other side, they shouldn't differ. My, my, you are not bad!" Jadis added watching with pleasure how the bunch of arrows landed in the middle of one of the targets. Lucy ran to pick them up and came back grinning happily. In the meantime, the sky got completely dark and although the snow gave them quite enough light to see clearly, after a few more shots they put everything away.
"You should rather practice at dawn. If you like, come here day after tomorrow at four or five in the morning. It will be a lot safer than sneaking out of the castle after dinner," she smiled to her and Lucy couldn't deny Jadis was right.
"But won't I cause an inconvenience for you?" Lucy asked as they approached the portal.
"On the contrary." Jadis giggled in very charming way. "I like the idea of you waking me up."
Lucy couldn't refrain a blush.
"Good night, then," she hesitated.
"Good night, little queen." Jadis took the cape from Lucy's shoulders and folded it again in the cave. She watched the girl as long as she vanished completely in the ice wall. Then she slowly turned back and looked at the double trace in the snow.
"Sweet dreams, Lucy," she whispered and headed back to the palace.
