Hey awesome readers! Lol, sorry about the cliff-hanger in the last chapter! I love doing those (in case you can't tell) ;) Thank you so much for reviewing, guys – it means so much to me and encourages me to keep writing Anyway, the storyline is going to move along a little more quickly after this chapter. Enjoy!
"It's beautiful," I whispered in awe. In front of me was a stretch of smooth water and then a large drawbridge led to the large castle rising up in front of me. It was nothing like the castles in England that I'd seen on the occasional field trip – this was gorgeous. I caught a glimpse of gold pillars and delicate carvings through the great gate in front.
Edmund smiled proudly. "Glad you approve of it," he said, winking at me.
"Wait, what?" I looked at the beautiful building in front of me and back at Edmund. "This isn't where you live?"
Edmund shrugged. "'Fraid so," he said, then laughed as I nudged him. "You little stinker, not telling me you were king of all this," I teased. He threw his head back and laughed, a short loud laugh. Then he leaned over. "We'd better get inside before someone sees us and thinks we're spies or something."
"Wait…" I hesitated. Edmund stopped.
"What is it?"
I looked down at my school dress. It had looked fine before, but now contrasting against the splendour before me, it appeared more grey and drab than ever. Edmund sensed what I was thinking. "We'll find a servant and get changed before we meet my siblings," he assured me. Grabbing my hand, he led me up to the gate and spoke to the guard standing there. The stocky man immediately opened it with a respectful bow. I smiled at him as we passed through.
I could get used to this.
Edmund led me quickly to the right, pushing aside a little tapestry to disclose a door behind it. He opened it and waved his hand. "Beauty before age," he said with a tiny bow. I laughed. Yeah, I could get used to that, too.
As we raced through the passage, it became darker and darker until there was very little visible light. I was following Edmund blindly, clutching onto his coat. I felt him grab my hand. "There's nothing to trip over," he said in a low voice. I nodded, even though he couldn't see it. He squeezed my hand a little bit tighter. His skin was warm against mine, and his grip was strong. I shyly squeezed back, and I heard his warm chuckle. Suddenly, I didn't want this passage to end.
But ahead I could see a patch of lighter grey, and it kept getting lighter until Edmund stopped in front of what looked like a door. He undid a bolt and gently eased it open. It creaked a little and he cursed under his breath. Poking his head out, he looked both ways then swung me out into the light. We were in what looked like a meeting room. Tall, carved chairs lined the walls, and in the middle of the room was a table made out of dark wood. It was dimly lit by a large curtain-covered window on the east side.
"C'mon," Edmund whispered. He led me to the large double doors and we slipped through into yet another passage. This one was huge, and covered in beautiful carvings and tapestries. Suddenly, we heard a gentle voice humming a melody. It seemed to be coming from behind one of the doors. Edmund looked at me. "It'll be a servant cleaning or something, just what we want," he whispered. He strode over to the door but before he could move his hand to the doorknob, it flung open and a girl stepped out, then stopped short in astonishment.
"Is that you, Ed?" she whispered. Then, to my surprise, she flung her arms around his neck and laughed, a merry rippling laugh that bounced off the walls and echoed through the hall.
Wow, friendly servants around here, I muttered. I felt awkward standing there. But then Edmund remembered. "Wait, you need to meet someone," he said, prying the girl's arms from his neck and smiling down into her face. He turned her around so she was facing me.
"Lucy, this is Eloise," Edmund said. The girl smiled sweetly. I smiled back. "Hello," I said. Suddenly I realized what he'd said. Lucy. Oh crap, this must be the…
"I beg your pardon, your Majesty," I said, trying to curtsey and failing miserably. She laughed. "Call me Lucy," she said with another sweet smile. She turned to Edmund excitedly "She's from England?" He nodded, and then whispered something in her ear. Lucy grinned and came over to me. "Welcome to Narnia," she said, her eyes sparkling. "I am so happy to finally meet you. Come, we must get you another dress to wear – traveling between worlds tends to make packing awkward." She laughed again and I found myself laughing with her. She was nothing like I imagined a queen to be. I had a feeling we were going to be good friends.
Edmund bowed low to me and then disappeared into another door. "He's gone to change," Lucy said, noticing my surprise. She led me into the room she'd just come out of. "You're about my size," she said, looking me up and down thoughtfully. She went over to the large wardrobe and threw the doors open. "Take your pick."
I stared at the rows of beautiful dresses. I'd never seen anything like them. They were all different colours, but each made stylishly and tailored. At home, mum could never afford anything other than the bare necessities, and so I'd grown used to hand-me-downs and wearing the same clothes for two years straight. Lucy thumbed through the racks, humming. "Hey, what about this one?" she asked, pulling out a deep azure blue dress that fell in soft folds to the ground. I'd never seen a colour like that – something between the colour of the sea and a forget-me-not. I rarely wore dresses, but as Lucy held it up to me, I liked it. A lot.
I put it on, and she made me twirl in front of the mirror so she could see what it looked like. "You look like a princess," she said, giggling.
"I wish," I said, holding up the hem of the dress to look at my old muddy gym shoes. She pursed her lips and looked at her own shoes. "Your feet are so much smaller than mine," she said thoughtfully. "And I don't have any of my old shoes here." She hummed a few notes and closed the wardrobe doors. "We'll have some made up for you."
"You really don't have to do that," I protested.
"We wouldn't dare think of doing less," she said teasingly. She held out her hand. "C'mon, you need to meet Peter and Susan. It's almost dinner."
The high king and queen. I really didn't want to meet them. They might hate me, or think I'm just trying to leech off their hospitality. I looked down at my blue dress. It was prettier than anything I'd ever worn, and it made me feel different. I turned slightly so I could see myself in the mirror. I'd never thought of myself as pretty. My eyes were a problem, for one thing. They were the colour of the sea on a stormy day and rather oversized. But as I stared at my reflection, I liked what I saw.
"Okay," I said, turning back to Lucy. She reached for my hand. "Let's go."
As we walked along different passageways and up a flight of stairs, Lucy explained the rules of etiquette to me. Inwardly, I groaned. I was not a coordinated person by any means, and putting me in a room full of priceless china and elegant crystal didn't sound like a good idea. But I can manage, I argued within. It's not like I am completely lacking in social graces. There was no time to warn Lucy, anyway. We'd reached the dining room.
She pushed open the door and walked in, pulling me after her. "Wow," I whispered under my breath. The dining room was one of the nicest rooms I'd ever seen. High ceilinged and elegant, it also had a warm and cosy atmosphere to it. There was a crackling fire at one end of the room, and in front of it were two high backed armchairs facing the flames. Out of one of them rose an extremely good-looking, but serious faced guy. That has to be Peter. He grinned when he saw Lucy and walked swiftly over to her. "Hey Lu," he said, giving her a little pinch on her cheek. His eye fell on me and I almost laughed when I saw his face.
"Awfully sorry," he said, looking from Lucy to me. She smiled. "This is Eloise," she said, motioning toward me. "From England."
He smiled, a warm smile that made the corners of his eyes turn into smile wrinkles. "It's my pleasure," he said with a sweeping bow. I stifled a giggle as I tried to return a curtsey. I looked more like a chicken getting off a haystack but Peter didn't laugh. He merely smiled politely and motioned toward the table. "Ladies, please be seated."
Behind us, there was the soft noise of a door being pushed open and I looked over my shoulder. It was Edmund, washed and changed. He'd even brushed his hair. He looked just as he should; a king in his palace. He looked at me and a smile swept his face. He stared at me for just a second too long, then wrenched his gaze away. I felt the butterflies creep up in my stomach. Does Edmund like me? I knew I liked him. Maybe even a little more than I should.
We all sat down at the table, except Susan. "She's not feeling well," Peter said gravely. There was a little awkward silence before Peter picked up his silver spoon. "Dig in," he said, lapsing from his dignified voice and sounding like a good hearty Englishman for a moment. I looked at all the cutlery surrounding my plate.
Crap. How am I supposed to know which spoon to use?
I heard Edmund cough slightly opposite me and I glanced up. He looked at me, then down at his plate. Slowly and deliberately, he reached for the spoon that was furthest from him and looked at me meaningfully, hiding his smile. I nodded thankfully. This might be not be as easy as I thought.