Chapter 15: Mind Tricks

Peter's POV

"I understand you aren't very happy with these terms, but this is the best we can do."

I sighed and looked through the document once more, going over the part where it said trade prices would be doubled over and over again. I was specifically concerned about the part where it said either the conditions were met or trade between the 2 countries would cease.

The King of Calormene was next to me and currently watching me very closely. Edmund sat on my other side and was also looking through the documents, his frown deeper than mine.

"Narnia and Calormene have been trading weaponry for years now at the same price, why the sudden change?"

"I have explained the problems Calormene is currently facing to Queen Ella previously, I am a little confused as to why she is not here since she is the one we have been liaising with regarding our trade terms."

I sighed as he mentioned Ella, being already very aware of the fact, and glanced at Edmund who just kept his eyes on the documents but noticeably clenched his jaw.

Alright, act like nothing's wrong…

"Yes, we apologise about that. Due to other obligations that she has, she is unable to join us today."

"Other obligations? Does she not consider the Calormene relation important enough to keep it as a priority?"

I internally groaned, seeing as to how he was getting more worked up.

King Rufelle always had a short temper, which made him a constant headache for us.

"If she could be here, she definitely would, but she can't. Now can we please get back to the matter at hand?"

Edmund's reply was not exactly snappy or rude, but it was definitely curt. The last thing I wanted was to be between an annoyed Edmund and an angry King Rufelle.

"Alright, we can definitely consider this new treaty but after we go over some conditions."

Thankfully, my attempt to diffuse the situation worked as neither party protested. We spent the next hour or so just going through the treaty meticulously, at the end of which we were finally able to reach a compromise.

Once we shook hands with King Rufelle and sent him off with his party to his guest chambers, I sighed heavily and rubbed my forehead, dreading the migraine that was already starting to come on.

"Pete…"

I turned to Ed who looked like he wanted to say or ask something, but then hesitated and rubbed the back of his neck.

"What?"

"How long are we going to keep Ella on suspension? There are a lot of matters that she-"

"You already know how long, until we find Lucy."

I knew sooner or later Ed would give in to his soft spot for Ella and start coercing me to forgive her and reinstate her responsibilities.

But I could not simply forgive her like that.

Until Lucy was found safe and sound, I could not even bring myself to look at Ella properly. All I felt was betrayal and anxiety, and even though I knew Ella would never willingly hurt any of us, she really did hurt me with her callous actions and naïve thinking.

That is not to say I made the decision to suspend her because of my own anger. As High King, I knew better than to let my emotions control my ruling. But what Ella did was as good as sabotage at best, and for any other individual under Narnian Law, that would mean imprisonment at least.

I couldn't imprison a royal of Narnia, more importantly a family member. Neither did I want to. But I also could not just let the matter pass, for my own conscience.

Ella did something gravely wrong, and she had to be punished in some form.

This was the only option I had.

"Don't get me wrong Pete, I haven't forgiven her either. What she did was stupid and wrong, but she was also involved in too many important diplomacy matters previously to just cut her off easily now. There are going to be many repeats of King Rufelle-"

"We'll deal with it. We ruled Narnia long before Ella came along, we can do it now without her as well."

I felt a pang of regret the moment those words left my mouth. Edmund's face turned darker but he said nothing. While I knew I sounded impertinently harsh and cold, it was still the truth at the end of the day.

"I'm sorry Ed, but I can't just let this slide. She needs to serve her punishment. On top of that, I can't just go back to normal with her. Having her involved in court matters would mean all of us needing to be on the same page. With this ongoing conflict, it would just make things worse."

Edmund still remained silent, just giving a small nod and looking down before sighing and walking away.

As I watched his back, I knew he was hurting a lot on the inside but was trying his best to put up a façade. He was still not even on proper talking terms with Ella.

Of course all of us were upset, including me since I loved Ella as well, but none of us loved her as much as he did.

Between Lucy and Ella, this whole situation must have been utter hell for him.

I massaged the bridge of my nose, praying for the throbbing nerve in my head to calm down as I made my way back to my chamber.

A quick nap was what I needed right now…

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind me which made me freeze in my tracks.

"Peter."

It was an undeniably recognizable voice which made my heart stop for a moment. I spun around and fell speechless.

"Aslan?!"

The majestic lion, who always managed to make me slightly nervous whenever he was before me, was currently standing right in the middle of the corridor.

While he looked exactly the same, there was still something off about his appearance which I simply could not pinpoint exactly.

Perhaps it was just the shock from his very sudden and unexpected show-up.

"Wh-What…what are you doing here?"

While I honestly had no idea what he was going to say next, what he did say was something which confused me greatly.

"Oh Peter, what a disappointment you are."

I felt my throat go dry as my speaking abilities seemed to be inhabited at that moment. I did not know what to say or make of what he said. His golden eyes that were normally so warm were now filled with disgust as he just continued looking at me.

"What?"

"I thought you were fit enough to be High King, clearly I was wrong."

His voice was deep and low as usual but his tone was painfully spiteful, making my heart plummet. It felt like I was glass that had just been shattered. My mind went blank and no words were able to make their way past my lips. All I could do was stare at the lion in front of me, an indescribable feeling of fear and shame washing over me.

"Pete?"

A hand touched my shoulder which made me jolt in surprise. I turned to find Serena looking up at me in worry, her eyebrows knitted together.

I turned back to where Aslan was standing, but this time I saw nothing but the outstretched corridor, currently empty.

"Peter, what's wrong?"

"Aslan…Aslan was just here."

Serena followed my line of sight, but just like me, found no lion standing ahead.

"I was walking down the corridor towards you when I saw you turn around. But there was nothing there then and nothing there now as well."

His stinging words returned to my mind, making my heart twist painfully. Never had he spoken to harshly to me before, and never had he looked at me with so much disappointment and disgust.

It made me feel like a worm.

From my peripheral vision I knew Serena was looking at me with concern, but I simply could not take my eyes off the spot where Aslan stood just a few seconds earlier and insulted me so coldly.

"He was here, and he…he said I was not fit to be a king."

Saying those words out aloud made it even more painful and for a moment I wished I did not share that with Serena.

Even though she was my wife, it was still utterly mortifying and degrading.

"Oh Pete, it was probably just your imagination. Aslan was never here, and even if he was he would never say something like that to you."

Serena held my arm and looked up at me reassuringly, but I knew there was no way it was just my imagination. He looked too real, his words were too sharp for it all to just be in my mind.

"You know what I think? I think you are too stressed out. You need to just lie down and rest that frazzled brain of yours. Come on, I'll give you a head massage. I know how much you like them."

Serena started tugging me towards our chamber, but I still could not stop looking at the empty spot where Aslan previously stood not 5 minutes earlier.

Maybe Serena was right, maybe it was just my imagination.

Maybe it was from everything with Lucy and Ella that I felt like an incompetent King.

Then again, how frazzled could my mind be to imagine such a harsh scenario? And how could it feel so real?

Something wasn't adding up, and while I was still in shock and confusion over what had just happened, I knew one thing for sure.

That was more than just my mind playing tricks on me.

A/N: Sorry for the gap and the rather short chapter! I'll make it up with the future chapter that will come soon ;) As always, don't forget to review!