Chapter 4

A changed Melanie rejoined Taurin in the hallway outside His Lordship's bedchamber. He wondered at her smile when she had been weeping inconsolably only ten minutes previously. Her face glowed with a mysterious light as she declared, "I am ready to accept."

Taurin acknowledged this and led her back into the bedchamber, and gestured for her to come near His Lordship's bedside.

"She is ready, Milord," Taurin told the elderly ruler.

Lord Fausberg's face brightened. "Then you will consent to be my heir?"

Melanie nodded, "Yes, Milord."

"Ring the bell for Brannock, Taurin," Fausberg instructed. Taurin pulled the bell-rope next to him, and Brannock, a portly man with thick, curly grey hair and a dark face, entered the chamber. "Melanie," Fausberg continued, "this is my chief legal advisor, Brannock. Brannock, this is Melanie; she will be my heir. Bring the document."

From some mysterious pocket on his person Brannock produced a scroll and laid it before Melanie. The expression on his face was a strange mixture of revulsion, perplexity, and obeisance. Regardless, he said nothing against His Lordship, who was his master in all things in spite of Brannock's position as Chief Legal Advisor. Melanie glanced over the document before taking up the pen Brannock offered her.

It appeared to be some sort of petition to Lord Protector Landon, informing him of Lord Fausberg's acquisition of an heir. The petition reminded Lord Landon that, according to Telmarine law, the Lord Protector could no longer assure Gatling of the lordship, because there now existed someone in line for the lordship. As a result, Melanie—as the heir—had prerogative over Gatling in spite of the Lord Protector's promise, and any heir she produced also had the same precedence over him. Gatling had two choices: yield, or bide his time until Melanie's line ended. Melanie inscribed her name on the designated line, and Brannock took up the scroll and re-rolled it. "I will send this letter to his Highness the Lord Protector at once."

Lord Fausberg nodded and said, "First be witness to the bequest; you too, Taurin." He took Melanie's hand. "Kneel, child." Melanie obeyed. Lord Fausberg placed a hand on her head and said officiously, "I hereby bestow my abode, estate, position, and title upon Melanie, daughter of Marven" (here Melanie blushed) "that she might inherit it upon the hour of my death. Bear ye witness!"

"I, Taurin, bear witness!"

"I, Brannock, bear witness!"

Lord Fausberg lifted his hand, "Rise, Lady Melanie, heiress of Nast!" Melanie stood. "You have much to learn about the ways and laws of Nast," Fausberg continued, "but I am confident you will learn them well, and become a great leader for this province and its people!"

Melanie bowed, accepting this praise. With Aslan's help, she'd be ready.

The next eight weeks flew by in a flurry of legal, cultural, and governmental lessons for Melanie. An overjoyed Taurin reopened his school after his long hiatus, but he dependably visited the castle at least once a week.

Melanie found herself under the tutelage of a young woman named Leif. Melanie wondered at the odd name, but Leif waved her confusion off good-naturedly.

"It happened that I was the only child of my mother," she explained. "My father wanted a son so badly that he named me a boy's name and taught me as if I were a son, making me do a boy's work around the farm and such. It was hard," she sighed, "but I've gotten over it. Now, let us return to our review of yesterday's lesson: Telmarine Governmental Policies and Practices Concerning the Hierarchy of Authority." Melanie forthwith immersed herself in her studies, and thought no more on Leif's history.

Leif, background aside, was truly an adequate and capable teacher for Melanie. In addition to instructing her by the use of books, Leif occasionally accompanied Melanie on excursions around the province, provided for Melanie to increase her familiarity with the terrain and the inhabitants of the land she would rule.

It was on one of these outings, not two weeks since Melanie's lessons began, that Leif suddenly turned to Melanie with a very serious expression on her face. "Melanie, we have become close friends, and I would be honored if you would tell me truly the answer to the question that has been on my mind ever since I first heard about you: where are you from?"

Melanie, who had been expecting something much worse, laughed lightly at the question. "Well, I'm from England," she said.

Leif continued to stare at her strangely. "But where is England? Is it in Narnia? Is it an island in the Northern Sea?"

An odd fear clutched at Melanie's throat; what was her friend and teacher insinuating? "Well, it is an island," she answered vaguely, "and it is to the north . . ."

Leif had her cornered, and the woman was very well aware of that fact. "But it's not off the coast of Narnia, is it? It's not anywhere in the whole Great Sea."

Melanie grew very flustered. "And what if it isn't? Why are you so curious about my origins?"

Leif sighed and cocked her head sympathetically. "Now, please don't be angry with me; I am merely curious. As one who has been many places, and seen many things, I have quite a store of knowledge about geography and demographics. But you, Melanie, are quite unlike anyone I've seen in all the world. Come now," she smiled playfully, like a fellow conspirator, "we are alone in this carriage, and no one can hear us. I can be trusted with secrets. Please answer me truthfully, Melanie, for I greatly desire to know: are you from this world or not?"

Melanie hesitated, but only for a minute. "All right, I'll tell you," she sighed. "I—I'm from a different world, Leif. My world is called Earth, and England is a country there."

Leif, contrary to the confidence and knowledgeableness she displayed earlier, was still shocked and a bit scared. "You mean you are from a different world?" she gasped. "You're not even from one of the Narnian stars! How did you come to Telmar?"

So in the secrecy of the carriage, Leif became the first Telmarine to know the whole truth of Melanie's origins. Melanie told her about England, about the house, about the door, and about New Telmar. This last location proved especially intriguing to the woman. Leif asked many questions, all about the kind of people living there: how rich were the richest, how poor the poorest, who was the most important, how the community was arranged on the island, and the like. Melanie derived from answering these questions the sort of satisfaction that comes out of being able to teach the teacher.

In spite of having to remember all about New Telmar to be able to answer Leif's questions, Melanie, whose sight was very quick on account of not being able to speak or hear for most of her life, carefully and astutely observed the country around her.

Nast was not very large. Fifty individual properties surrounded the central city, which itself covered the area of about ten average-sized farms. Nearly twice as many people lived in the central village, called the City. Yet in such a small province, Melanie saw many problems.

The merchant guilds constituted the largest of these problems. These shifty traders were constantly finding ways to circumvent the laws and taxes of Nast, and they maintained a firm stranglehold on Nastian commerce. So complex was their control that Lord Fausberg enacted little against them, and though the most obvious solution was to ban their kind entirely, he could never do so, for fear of destroying the economy of Nast. Melanie thought long about how she would solve this problem, should she be called upon to do so.

Her opportunity came sooner than she expected.

Lord Fausberg had been incrementally improving over the first month since Melanie returned, but after this time his health took a fatal turn. Melanie was deeply saddened. As she became better acquainted with the old Lord, she came to consider him a grandfather to her, so wise and caring was he.

On his last day, Lord Fausberg summoned everyone into his bedchamber, including Taurin.

"I am very sorry to leave you all like this," he rasped slowly, frequently pausing for breath between words, "but . . . rest assured . . . I am dest- . . . des-destined for a better place." A coughing fit shook his frail body. "Melanie, come here." Melanie knelt at his bedside, tears filling her eyes. He grasped her hands in his. "I leave Nast in good, capable hands," he said, but then—to Melanie's surprise—he leaned forward till his wheezing breath tickled her ear and whispered that only she might hear, "This I know, for you have the breath of the Lion upon you."

Melanie looked at him in surprise. Did Fausberg know Aslan, then? How was that possible? She had little time to wonder, for Lord Fausberg raised his hand as if to speak.

"I—I . . . I-" Another coughing fit overtook him, but this time he had more difficulty recovering. Lord Fausberg suddenly relaxed. "I . . . leave . . ." he said finally, and gently sighed his last breath. Peacefully, Lord Fausberg died.