13.
It was said to be a savage land of snow and ice, of cloaks made of fur, looking rough and rugged, but thick and hearty enough to keep the winter wind from cutting you to the marrow.
It was said that the High King was as tall as a giant, with hair like gold and eyes that would burn you through when he was angry. He rode a horse as large as a small elephant, and his sword weighed thirty pounds. Do not cross the Peter-king, they said. But ware more the crossing of his family.
It was said that his lady was a gracious queen, fairer even than Swanwhite, whose beauty outlived the rest of her character (and her story, which was lost among other things in the Hundred Year Winter). Her hair was black like ravens against the night sky, and her eyes shone like diamonds, yet they could be as cold as the Northern wind if treachery or cruelty hung in the air.
It was said that there was another—a king of shadows and mystery. He was dark like the people of the south, and children were made to stay in bed at night by warnings their parents gave in the form of the stories of how the Shadow-king had slipped into the Great City like a ghost and stolen away his sister and fifty soldiers in the dead of night, and turned the crown prince into a donkey to boot.
It was said that the last was innocent and carefree and heartless as the winter wind, and led men and wolves into battle with her icy scepter glittering and her eyes laughing at death. Her name alone was remembered—Valiant. The word did not mean bravery in the South. It meant terrifying. She could speak to the trees and summon their spirits to fight for her, and she alone knew the secrets of the Beast.
It was said that it was a Beast, anyway, which had killed the demon-witch and set the Four on their icy thrones. But after the demon-witch, the demon-Lion was a horror beyond all horrors. It was said that it shone with a fierce light, and that any who looked at it either melted in fear or went mad. Its teeth were like unbreakable icicles, and it left no paw prints in the snow. And once—it was just a rumor, which most knowledgeable and learned Calormenes dismissed as a fairy tale—once, it was said that the Lion had conquered death.
…but then, it was always said that the Calormenes leaned toward being rather superstitious about the things they did not (could not) understand.
A/N: Yes, I know you thought it was AU for a minute there. I love the hint Lewis gave us in the Horse and His Boy of all the ridiculous stories Lasaraleen (and obviously other Calormenes) knows and believe about Narnia. This would take place a bit after (or maybe a good bit after) the events of HHB. I always thought was interesting how long Calormene lasted, when Narnia got taken by the White Witch, then by Telmarines after the Pevensies left, then eventually by Caspian's line. "Under New Leadership...again".
Anyhow. I hope you enjoyed this little piece. I'm thinking for future chapters, maybe another Edmund and Peter brotherfic (in a dungeon, mayhap? If I haven't tortured them enough...), something with Bastables, and something about the Tashbaan Watch (who for some reason sound, in my head, nothing at all like anyone else from Calormen). Comments? Suggestions? I could do prompts, maybe. Like, if you have a good line of dialogue or a funny idea that can be contained in one sentence...