Chapter 5

Dear Edmund,

I miss you and Su terribly. I wish you could be here. Peter, Lucy, and I are having a lovely time. We're still travelling, but Peter says that we'll reach a town by the end of the day. There, we should find someone to carry these letters back to you. I've got about ten of them stored up, so make sure you read them in order. I think one of them might be to Susan, so make sure you give that one to her.

Yesterday, Lucy told me she saw Aslan, moving among the trees. No one else in our travelling group saw him (and there are a lot of us) but I believe her completely. Would you? I only have to wonder about it, though. Aslan only comes when Narnia is in danger. Are you and Susan okay? You're not being brutally murdered by rogue giants, are you? I sure hope not. That would be pretty bad. I'm thinking about the story again, and you know what? I don't think that he's here because something is happening now. I think he's here because something is happening soon. It's a warning. Of course, I could be wrong. How am I to know what Aslan is thinking? He's not a tame lion. Could you be careful, anyway? And tell Su to do the same. Just be ready for whatever happens. Oh, and don't die.

Lots of Love,

Anna

"You're up early," Peter said, sitting down across the makeshift table from her.

"So are you," Anna replied.

Peter glanced down at the folded paper she had in her hands. "Writing to Edmund again?"

"Yes."

"You write to him more than you talk to me," Peter teased, "I think I'm jealous."

Anna grinned and tucked the letter into the envelope. "If you were at Cair Paravel instead of Edmund, you'd be the one getting letters."

"But I'm here," Peter said, "So what do I get for that?"

"This." Anna leaned across the table and gave him a quick kiss.

"I think I'm happy being here," Peter said. He stood up and tucked the chair back under the table. "We're going to get going soon, so make sure you pack everything up, okay?"

"Okay," Anna said.

Peter kissed her cheek, then left to join Pholus the centaur at the front of the travelling party.

Lucy skipped out of the tent behind Anna and plopped down in the chair next to her. "Are you and Peter going to get married?" she asked.

Anna laughed. "Lucy, I'm only fourteen."

"I know, but when you're old enough, will you marry him?" Lucy asked.

Anna's expression turned confused and a little troubled. "I don't know, Lu."

"Do you want to?"

"That's the thing. I like Peter very much, but I can never picture a future with him." She exchanged glances with Lucy. "Is that odd?"

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know, I've never been in love. Don't worry, everything will turn out like it's supposed to. Aslan knows what he's doing."

Anna smiled at her. "Thanks, Lu. You always know how to make me feel better."

Lucy grinned and put her hand over Anna's reassuringly. "That's what I'm here for."

They reached the town Peter had mentioned in early afternoon. Anna and Lucy performed their usual town-visiting ritual of gathering up all the letters everyone in the party had written, and then going to find someone to deliver them. The Queen and Lady wandered through the small village, asking for someone to deliver their messages. The Pevensies had set up a postal system during their years as rulers, but it was still developing. Most towns ran it through a town hall or country store instead of a post office, and some towns weren't even connected to the system at all. Anna and Lucy hoped that this would not be one of those villages.

Soon, they were directed to a small shop in the center of the town. The door opened with a ding.

The man behind the counter seemed to be of Archenlandish decent, like most others in the village. That was to be expected. Most Narnians lived in forests or mountains. Those who lived in towns tended to be human immigrants from one of the other countries.

"Hello," Lucy greeted the shopkeeper, "We were told we could send letters from here, is that correct?"

"Yes, your highness," he said, "I can just take them now."

Anna and Lucy both lifted their arms and simultaneously dropped their large piles of letters onto the counter.

The man looked startled at the sheer numbers of them.

"You two wrote all of these?" he asked.

"Oh, no, I only wrote these two," Lucy said, indicating one addressed to Edmund and one to Susan. "She wrote half of the rest, though."

"Oh, shut up," Anna said with a laugh. "I only wrote these ones." She pointed to a group which was very nearly half of the rest.

"Hers are all to King Edmund," Lucy told the man.

"No, I think one of them's to Susan." Anna dug through the pile, looking for the one letter to the Gentle Queen.

"You must be Lady Anna, then," the shopkeeper said.

"Mmhm," Anna replied, still looking through the envelopes.

"King Edmund's betrothed?"

Anna looked up sharply. "King Edmund's betrothed?" She exchanged glances with Lucy. "When did Edmund and I get together?"

"When did he propose?" she asked.

The man cleared his throat awkwardly. "I guess that's only a rumor, then. I'll just take these." He picked up the letters and carried them into back room.

"Why would there be a rumor that Edmund and I are engaged?" Anna asked Lucy once he disappeared.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. It probably didn't start out that way. It's probably an exaggeration of a simpler rumor, like one that said Edmund was courting you."

"But Edmund isn't courting me. Peter is."

"I know that," Lucy said, "But no one else does. You two have been keeping it pretty secret, haven't you? And they see you and Edmund out together all the time. I can see how they would think you were romantically involved. You two are just so... natural around each other."

"But I'm not marrying Edmund."

Lucy sighed. "Yes, Anna. I know. Usually you wouldn't let this bother you. How many times have people asked if you and Edmund were together?"

"Seventy-two, I think. Edmund's last count was seventy-four."

"And then, you always just laughed. What's different? Is it because you're with Peter?"

"I don't think so," Anna said. "I'm not sure what's different."

Lucy studied her friend for a long moment before saying, "You know what's odd?"

"What?"

"You're acting like you're trying to prove something. Like you're trying to convince someone you're not involved with him. No - like you're trying to convince yourself."

"But we're not together. There's nothing to convince."

"That's why it's odd."

Anna looked at Lucy for a moment. "When did you get all grown up?" she asked eventually.

The Valiant Queen just laughed.

The man reentered, this time with another pile of letters. "These came in for you." He handed a big stack of envelopes to Lucy, and a slightly larger stack to Anna.

"Thank you," the Queen said. "Also, can you see if any letters came in for the people that have been travelling with us?"

The shopkeeper said he could, and Lucy listed off the names. Anna, meanwhile, sat down on a bench against the wall and opened one of Edmund's letters.

Dear Anna,

Miss you, Lu, and Pete very much. Fencing practice is no fun without you. I have to fight the instructor, and I actually have to try now. (I know what you're thinking, and yes, I did just insult your fencing skills. But jokingly.)

I had a nightmare last night. It was awful not having you here. I needed to see that you were alive. I suppose that I should explain.

The dream started out with me with the Witch. We were in her sleigh, leaving the battle of Beruna. She was congratulating me on killing - oh, Aslan, this is hard to write - on killing Peter. And then she said that it was genius of me to yell for Lucy to come cure him, because that provided the opportunity for her dwarf to shoot her down with his bow and arrows. And then we reached her castle and we went inside. If you remember, (which I assume you do, very well) the first room was her statuary. And the first statue I saw was Susan, frozen with a look of terror on her face. The Witch called for me to move farther in, and I followed her. Then I passed you. Your statue, I mean. It seemed like your eyes were following me. The Witch told me to come up to the throne, and she placed a crown on my head and called me Prince, and there was a big ceremony, but all I could see was your frozen face, looking at me like you were disappointed. I couldn't take it anymore, so I shouted, and that's when I woke up.

I waited for you to come, but you never did. Then I remembered that you were travelling with Peter and Lucy. I wish you hadn't left, because I wanted to see you alive. I ended up going to Susan's room, just to see that she was okay. I was just going to glance in and then leave, but I accidentally woke her up. She sat up with me, but it wasn't the same. I didn't let her sit in your spot under the window.

I do hope that you're having a marvelous time travelling. With any luck, I can convince Susan to let us leave early and I will see you all soon. Tell Peter that he'd better not forget to practice fencing while he's gone, because if not then I'm going to be beating him before he knows it.

With Love,

Edmund

"Anna?" Lucy asked, seeing her friend's tear-stained face, "Is everything alright?" Seeing the letter in her hands, Lucy's face became pale. "Everyone is alright, aren't they? No one is hurt? Please say no one is hurt."

Anna shook her head. "Don't worry, they're all fine."

"Then what's wrong?" Lucy asked.

Anna showed her the letter.

"Oh," Lucy said, after reading it, "How horrible it must have been for him to have to go through that dream! Can you imagine it?"

"I can," Anna said, "Vividly."

"How long have we been travelling, Peter?" Lucy asked a few days later.

"About two weeks," the High King replied.

"That's a long time."

"I know."

"We've been to Anvard before. It only took us a few days."

"It was only the four of us then," Peter said.

"Five of us. I was there too," Anna corrected.

"Oh yeah, you were. How did I forget that?"

"Because that was before you liked me," Anna told him.

"Could be. I know I wouldn't forget you now," he said, kissing her chastely.

"Do you have to do that?" Lucy groaned.

"Yes," Anna said, kissing Peter again, then laughing on the expression on Lucy's face.

"Anyway," Peter said, "That time there was only five of us, and we all travelled on horseback with not much luggage. Now, we're mostly walking, there's many more of us, and we have to stop early every night and start late every morning because of putting up and taking down the tents."

"When do you think we'll arrive?" Lucy asked.

"Pholus says the day after tomorrow."

"Good," Lucy said, "This travelling is becoming quite tiresome."

Mary had called the window seat. Anna was reading in the chair next to her, but Mary wasn't a book person. She passed her time by staring at the world rushing by outside the train. The window was down, and the breeze blew a strand of her perfect auburn hair around her beautiful face. She looked away from the window for a minute to survey the other passengers in the train car.

"That boy is staring at us," Mary whispered to Anna.

Anna looked up from her book to find the boy Mary was referring to. Mary advised her not to look at him directly, so Anna searched for him out of the corner of her eye. The young man was was sitting a few rows in front of them, in one of the chairs that faced toward the back of the train car.

"He's staring at you," Anna corrected.

Mary shrugged. "You're sitting next to me." She went back to gazing out the window.

"Well, aren't you going to do something about it?" Anna asked.

In response, Mary met the offending boy's gaze, and raised an eyebrow. He turned bright red and looked quickly away.

Mary turned back to the window. "When do you think we'll arrive?" she asked Anna.

"The conductor says within the hour."

"Good," Mary said, "This travelling is becoming quite tiresome. And I want to meet these cousins of yours. Are they handsome?"

"I'm nervous," Anna told Peter. In only a few moments, they were to make their formal entrance to Anvard. The whole Narnian party was gathered around in the hall outside of the throne room, readying themselves for the occasion.

"Don't worry," Peter said, "All you have to do is walk through the doors while they call your name. Then you curtsey before King Lune and move aside. You'll be one of the last people announced, so just follow the person in front of you. You'll do just fine."

"But what if I don't?" Anna asked, "What if I trip?"

"No one will notice because they'll be too enchanted by your stunning beauty."

"Lies," Anna said, playfully hitting his arm, "I'm not Susan or Mary."

"Mary?"

"I'm not Susan," Anna rephrased, still keeping her playful air. She found herself thinking of her life in England even more and more recently, and sometimes brought it up by accident. When she did, she tried to just pretend she hadn't said anything. "But points for the compliment."

Peter kissed her on the forehead and said, "Don't worry. You'll be fine." Then he left to get to his place in line.

It didn't seem long before she heard the announcer yell, "Pholus, the centaur!"

I'm next, she thought. She counted to fifteen, then strode through the open doors, trying her best to look confident.

"Lady Anna of Narnia!"

Anna curtsied before the King and quickly moved to stand next to the other Narnians. She breathed a sigh of relief. A blonde-haired girl in a chair next to King Lune caught her eye and smiled reassuringly. Anna returned the grin.

"Queen Lucy the Valiant!"

Lucy bounded into the room, practically skipping. A large smile on her face lit up her face and the room. No one seemed to keep from grinning along with her.

Peter, by contrast, made his entrance solemnly and confidently. Anna could tell it was real confidence, not faked like hers. He shook King Lune's hand, and the two exchanged greetings. Then Peter moved to stand between Lucy and Anna.

"Greetings to all of our friends from Narnia!" King Lune said. The Archenlanders applauded. "Now I feel some introductions are in order. We already know your names, so I'll just tell you who we are. I am King Lune. This," he lifted up an adorable toddler who had been running around the throne room thoughout the ceremony, "This is my son, Corin. In the chair next to me is my niece, Cada." The blonde-haired girl who had exchanged glances with Anna earlier gave a small wave to the crowd of Narnians. "And that over there is my nephew Cadin." A handsome dark-haired boy nodded at them from across the room.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Lucy said sincerely.

King Lune clapped his hands. "And now, let us adjourn to the courtyard for tea."

The Narnian party bowed and exited.

Peter put his arm around Anna's shoulders as soon as they were out the door. "You see?" he said, "That wasn't so bad."

"No, it wasn't," Anna said, sounding mildly surprised.

Peter laughed.

They reached the courtyard, and Lucy waved the two of them over from one of the tables. A few minutes later, Cada, Cadin, and King Lune joined them. Little Corin ran around the courtyard, playing happily in the nice weather.

"It is a pleasure to have you here," King Lune said.

"It's a pleasure to be here," Peter replied.

"Archenland is such a lovely country," Lucy said, "I do hope that a treaty is established. I'd like to spend more time here."

King Lune laughed jovially. "Worry not, lass, we would like to have a treaty established as well. That is why you were invited down here, after all."

"Should we start working on it?" Peter asked.

"Today! No! It is your first day after your long travels, and you should be allowed to relax. There is plenty of time for those things later. Now for tea."

There was a lovely meal, during which they all talked amiably. Afterward, Peter dismissed himself, saying that he wanted to practice fencing for a few hours before dinner (Anna had passed along Edmund's threat, and the High King was determined not to lose to his younger brother.)

"Cada can give you a tour of the castle grounds, if you so wish it," King Lune told Lucy and Anna.

"Sure!" said Lucy.

Cada stood and motioned for them to follow her. "Come on," she said. The Narnian girls rose and went with her.

"Corin!" Cada cooed, picking up her cousin as they passed him. "Are you being a good boy today?"

"Yes," Corin said in his little voice.

"Awww," Lucy said, "Can I hold him?"

"Sure," Cada said, handing the young queen the younger prince.

"You'we pwetty," he told Lucy.

"Ohhhh, he's adorable!" the queen cooed.

Cada laughed. "Don't let him fool you; he's a troublemaker, that one." She tickled Corin's stomach, causing the young prince to giggle. "Aren't you Corin, aren't you a troublemaker?" Cada took her cousin back from Lucy, kissed his head and set him down. She told him to be good, and motioned for Anna and Lucy to follow her. They left the courtyard and began walking around the outside of the castle.

"Your little cousin is the cutest thing I've ever seen," Lucy told Cada.

Cada laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty adorable."

"I just wish there was another one of him so that I could adopt it," Lucy said.

Cada's grin faltered. "Actually, there was another one of him."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"His twin," Cada said, "Cor. Corin is actually the younger of the two."

"Where's Cor?" Lucy asked.

Cada shook her head. "If only we knew."

Lucy and Anna exchanged glances.

"Do you mean to say that Prince Cor is missing?" said Lucy.

Cada nodded. "He went missing two years ago, shortly after his birth. My uncle and aunt (this was when she was still alive) took the twins to Narnia to be blessed by a centaur. The centaur foresaw that Cor would one day save Archenland from a great danger. One of my uncle's advisors happened to be working for the Tisroc of Calormen at the time. When he heard the prophecy, he stole Cor away in the middle of the night. My uncle pursued them out to sea, eventually overtaking their ship, but Cor was never found." Cada ended her story, a look of sadness etched on her face.

"That's awful," Anna said.

Lucy, who had always been better at comforting people, squeezed Cada's hand and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Cada said, brightening some. "That was a while ago; we're over it. Do you have any family?"

Lucy nodded. "Oh, yes! You know my brother Peter. I have another brother Edmund, and a sister named Susan."

"The other king and queen," Cada said, her voice showing recognition. She turned to Anna. "What about you? Who is your family?"

Anna was unsure how to answer that. "The kings and queens are my family," she said eventually. Lucy grinned at her.

"Cousins?" Cada asked.

Anna shook her head. "No, no blood relation. But you could say I was the equivalent of their cousin."

"Not to Peter," Lucy teased. Anna gently elbowed her in the side.

"Peter seems really nice," Cada said.

"He is," Lucy replied.

"My uncle hopes that I will marry him," Cada confided.

"Really?" Anna asked, looking amused.

"Yes," Cada said. "I think it's a splendid idea. I know I haven't known Peter very long, but I've heard stories about him. He's brave, and he's smart, and very, very handsome..."

Anna laughed. "Yeah. He's also mine."

Cada blushed. "I apologize, your highness."

"Don't," Anna said, "And call me Anna."

"And call me Lucy," the Valiant Queen added.

"Well then, Lucy and Anna," Cada said, linking arms with both of them, "I promise not to make advances toward your beau or brother. Come along, I'm supposed to be showing you around. Let's go. And welcome to Archenland."