Chapter 1: Cair Paravel
(Pov: Edmund)
Still half asleep, I hear loud sound coming from my door. Who dares to wake me up this early in the morning? Does no one have mercy on me? After attending the third ball in one week, a man needs his sleep. "Edmund, if you don't get up within three minutes, then I will personally drag you out of your bed to breakfast!" Susan's pleasant voice screamed from the other side of the door. After trying unsuccessfully to get back to sleep, I reluctantly got up and walked into the bathroom. Let me tell you, getting dressed while you are still tired is not very nice. I must look like a zombie after going to bed so late. Still half asleep, I walk out of my room only to find Susan standing in the corridor with a disapproving look on her face. "Took you long enough", was her only command. Deciding that I'm still too tired to start an argument, I just walk after her to the dining room. Everyone was already there. Peter and Lucy look our way when we descended the stairs to the dining room and immediately turn their attention elsewhere, sensing my bad mood. I am so tired right now that I am not even able to eat breakfast. I should really change my sleeping habits. " We got a letter today.", Peter says, sitting opposite to me, "King Romolo is inviting us over to his new estate in Archenland. He's having a ball in 3 weeks and invited us to come 2 weeks before the big event." Peter looks at us to see any objection. "Well, I'm all for going there. I heard he has 3 children. Two boys one girl. Since I've never met any of them, it would be nice to get to know them. " Lucy looks at Susan and me with excited eyes. Honestly, I was as excited as Lucy. I've never met anyone of the Romolo family but I heard a lot about the king's and his children's kindness. Peter met him once and said that king Romolo is easy to talk to. They fought together in a battle and are quite good friends since then. After sensing no protest, Peter writes a letter back, announcing our coming within the next two days.
(Pov: Peter)
I'm actually surprised that king Romolo wrote me. After I found out about his wife's death I visited him and found him sitting in his throne with dead and empty eyes. Emilia, his daughter, had already warned me that he wasn't behaving like himself but I never expected him to be that bad. Back then I tried to engage him in conversations but nothing helped. Hopefully he feels better by now. I remember meeting his wife once. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. Now when I think about it, Emilia resembles her a lot. I don't know much about her but she seems to be a decent person. The only time I really spoke with her, was the day I visited her father Guiseppe. I still remember our little talk, word by word.
Arriving at the castle of Guiseppe, I got off my horse and made my way over to the young woman standing at the entrance of the castle. "Hello, I'm High King Peter. You must be Guiseppe's daughter Emilia." She tried to smile but ended making a grimace. She curtsied and spoke up "I'm very thankful for your coming, your highness. My father has not been acting like himself these last few days and I'm worried about his well being. He barely eats or talks, so I thought that I should call a good friend of his for help. Maybe he will listen to you. It's worth a try." She looked in my direction with a worried look on her face. " I will try my best princess Emilia. Maybe talking to a friend is exactly what he needs." I gave her a reassuring look and patted her arm gently. "Thank you, your majesty. I really appreciate your coming. And please call me Emilia." " Only if you call me Peter." I smiled at her and she smiled back. With that I bid her goodbye and made my to Guiseppe.
I don't know why but thinking about her makes my heart skip a beat. She definitely is a special girl. I hope she still remembers me when we come.
Back in Archenland:
"Father you asked for me?" Emilia asks, sounding confused. "Yes my child. I wanted to let you know that we will have guests coming over in two days. High King Peter and his siblings. I invited them to come earlier, so I can catch up with my dear friend and you and your siblings will get know the Queens and Kings of Narnia." I smile up at him and am able to see his eyes alive and happy. He is starting to recover. Everyone around me is starting to get better. They seem to forget mom's death so easily. It is so unfair… I miss her so much and they just move in after some time. I was the one that was there for them, the one holding them when they cried. All this time I held back but I don`t think that I'm able to hold back any longer. The walls I built around my feelings are starting to crack. But I will never let them break. "That was a good idea father. Now if you will excuse me, I have some things to do." Ready to walk out of my father's study, I turn around, only to walk into a servant that just came in. "Watch where you're going!" I bark at him and storm out of the room. I feel bad about my behaviour but there's nothing that I can change, or else people will see how weak I really am. That's what I've become since my mother's death. I became weak and vulnerable. I lost my spirit…