I am very excited by the wonderful reviews to the first chapter! You are all wonderful! Unfortunately midterms are fast approaching for me, my university is on the quarter system, so updates may be fewer and further between in the next two weeks. I will still try to post frequently, but it probably won't be daily for awhile. I still don't own Narnia...bummer.
The weather was beautiful the morning of their departure. The sun rose, glistening from the Eastern Sea, and the air, though brisk, was not unpleasantly cold. Peter was the first of his siblings to arrive in the courtyard, though he found Orieus already present and waiting for him with a very grim look.
"Orieus," he nodded in greeting to his general. The centaur stamped his hooves, a sure sign of some impending doom.
"Your royal brother has informed me that I am to be left behind, I trust you have no part in this foolishness, your majesty?"
Peter winced and wished he could honestly say he had no part in it. "On the contrary, Orieus, it was at my command that Edmund told you to remain behind. Someone must be here to guard Cair Paravel and offer assistance to our royal sister if needed."
"High King, I must beg your leave to speak my mind plainly." The Centaur shifted his weight uneasily, eyes blazing.
Peter sighed. "How many times must I tell you; please speak your mind plainly in all things. I value your honest opinion above any formality you feel you owe me as your king."
"Then, High King, I must tell you that this is the epitome of foolishness. To leave me behind not only endangers you and your royal siblings, but places a great burden of guilt upon me should any harm befall you in my absence. Have I caused you offense, High King, that I should be left behind like a common guard?"
Peter smiled fondly, wishing, not for the first time, that all his guards shared his general's dedication. "Orieus, take it not as a sign of offense that I entrust you with the protection of that which is most dear to me. There is no one else I would trust to guard Queen Susan and aid her in the protection of Narnia in my absence and that of my royal siblings."
Orieus inclined his head but still appeared uneasy. "Forgive me, King Peter, but what of your own protection? Who shall guard three of the four most precious to Narnia and her people?"
"Don't worry, Orieus," Edmund called, startling Peter who had failed to notice his presence. "I'll keep him out of trouble." He clapped Peter on the back rather more forcefully than seemed necessary and grinned, seeming uncharacteristically cheerful for so early in the morning.
Orieus' mouth twitched with the faintest hint of a smile as he inclined his head to the other king. "King Edmund, I do not doubt your ability to protect your brother, merely the reach of your arm should the giants prove traitorous."
Edmund responded with a rather undignified snort and Peter bit his lip to keep from laughing at his expression of annoyance. Whatever response he wished to make they were saved from by the arrival of Lucy, Susan and a score of guards. Susan looked distinctly annoyed, Lucy was positively radiant, and the guards were giving both queens a wide berth.
"Lucy, please! You need to consider more carefully, surely it is not wise to leave all your ladies in waiting behind."
Lucy smiled radiantly at her two brothers, and ducked around Susan as the older queen attempted to tidy Lucy's messy golden curls. "Peter, please tell Susan it's ridiculous to bring ladies in waiting on an expedition across Ettinsmoor in autumn!"
Orieus quietly excused himself to speak with the captain of the guards, a satyr named Trebonius, and Edmund stifled a laugh. Peter threw his brother a desperate look. "You're the diplomat, Ed."
Edmund shook his head, still laughing silently. "You're the High King, Pete," he shot back, rather breathlessly. Peter turned to Susan with a feeling of doom.
"Look here Su, Lucy's right. They would only slow us down, and we'll want to be quick, especially to outrun the snowstorms on the way back. I'm certain we can manage without ladies in waiting." What do ladies in waiting do? He wondered silently and made up his mind to ask Lucy at the first opportunity.
"Very well," Susan pursed her lips in annoyance. "But if you let her run wild you'll be the one I hold accountable. Lucy, you are a queen, not a wild ruffian, I trust you will behave with some semblance of decorum." She fixed a very fierce look upon her sister and Lucy had the good sense to look very serious as she nodded.
"Of course, I will, Susan, you needn't worry so much." Reluctantly she let her sister pull her hair up into a graceful knot at the base of her neck and allowed her to straighten her cloak. At last deeming her presentable Susan kissed her on the forehead and stepped back.
"Please do be careful, all of you." She smiled a little sadly, and Peter put an arm around her shoulders.
"Cheer up Su, it's not as if we're riding to war." He kissed her upon the brow and called for the guards to move out as a faun brought him his horse. Edmund whistled for Philip and was about to follow Peter when Susan pulled him aside and spoke quietly with him. Even straining his ears Peter could not hear what words passed between them but he saw Edmund's expression darken briefly before he nodded and rejoined the rest of the group.
"Everything alright Edmund?" Peter asked as the column began moving slowly through the gathering crowd of creatures towards the gates. Edmund nodded but offered no explanation and Peter thought it better not press the issue.
A very old faun joined them at the gates and fell into step beside Philip. Peter recognized him vaguely as Metelus, Edmund's tutor and nodded to him in greeting. As they made their slow way through the gates Peter could hear the old faun discussing something with Edmund in a low, serious tone and Edmund responded in kind. Curious Peter pulled his horse closer to Philip and leaned in to listen.
"What epitaph did the current king's predecessor cause to be cut into the stones above his tomb?" The old faun was asking.
Edmund seemed lost in thought for a moment before reciting; "Though under Earth and throneless now I be, yet while I lived, all the Earth was under me." Peter shivered despite the warmth of the sun. It was hardly a pleasant epitaph.
"Very good," Metelus praised and Edmund's face flushed, obviously pleased. "And how do these Giants regard themselves in comparison with their Southern cousins in Ettinsmoor, and with those in Narnia?"
Peter nudged his horse to the front of the column and Edmund's answer was lost in the clatter of hooves. He was glad beyond measure that it was Edmund and not he who had been placed in charge of diplomatic relations. It was too beautiful of a day to be spent in answering questions on the finer points of Giantish culture.
Lucy smiled at him as his horse fell into step beside hers, her hair already working itself free of Susan's graceful twist. "Lucy, what exactly do ladies in waiting do?"
His sister laughed. "You know, I haven't the faintest idea! Susan says they are here to help her and me, but I really don't need the help. We both managed quite well without them before Narnia." She urged her horse forward almost into a gallop and called back over her shoulder, "Come on Peter! Race you to the ford!"
He laughed and followed, later remembering that moment as the last he could recall being so completely carefree and happy for a very long time.
By the third day of their journey tempers were beginning to flare. The weather steadily worsened the further north they traveled and the strain began to show. The guards were restless and easily frightened by every movement or shadow beyond the ring of light thrown by their campfire at night. Edmund grew even more silent, speaking only in response to direct questions or to Metelus, and every morning dawned with him appearing more worn and haunted. Peter's heart went out to him; he knew his brother's grim mood came from the increasing cold and the flurries of snow that fell daily when they crossed into Ettinsmoor, but he feared insulting Edmund by inquiring after his health.
Only Lucy seemed unaffected by the change in weather and the moods of her companions. Her bright smile and quick laugh served to greatly cheer all in her presence and even Edmund smiled when Lucy rode next to him and spoke quietly of dances with the fauns in the woods and midnight explorations of the deep mines with the dwarves. Still, Peter found that as they traveled further into Ettinsmoor his worry for Edmund increased.
On the fourth day he pulled the tutor, Metelus aside, startling the old faun greatly. "High King, your majesty, have I offended you in some manner?" The poor tutor asked, shuffling his hooves and wringing his hands in distress. "His majesty, King Edmund, requested my presence on this journey, I hope I am not here against your wishes."
Peter sighed, frustrated as he always was by the fear many of Narnia's creatures still harboured from their days under the Witch's reign. "Not at all, Metelus, I am glad of your presence and merely hope to seek your counsel. It's Edmund you see, I'm rather worried for him and I had hoped he might speak to you of matters he does not wish to trouble me with."
The faun nodded gravely, still shuffling his hooves uncertainly. "Indeed, High King, I too worry for King Edmund's health. I fear he pushes himself too far, though it is scarcely my place to say so. These four days of our journey he has scarcely spoken save to request further information concerning these giants we go to visit. I fear he is uneasy about the nature of their invitation."
Peter nodded, unsurprised, and not finding the information particularly helpful save to confirm his own suspicions. He was prevented from speaking with Metelus further when one of the Talking Dogs bayed a sharp warning which was taken up by the rest of his pack. Covering his ears against the sudden din Peter pushed his way through the guards to the Dog's side.
"Peace, good cousin, what is it you have scented?" It took several moments but the Dogs quieted eventually, at least enough for Peter to hear what their leader had to say.
"Good King, there is a rider near!" The leader panted, tongue lolling to the side of his mouth.
"And that is cause for such alarm?" Aslan grant me patience when dealing with those of Your creatures possessed of such excitable natures!
The hound hung his head slightly. "Your majesty, the scent is very odd. I have smelled nothing like it in all of Narnia!"
Peter shook his head in frustration. "Do you not think that perhaps next time you should be less vocal in your warning? If this rider means us harm then they certainly now know our precise location."
The Dog looked so dejected by this statement that Peter almost felt guilty for his words. "It is well, good cousin, one rider can hardly pose much of a threat against so large a company." In fact, as Peter looked up towards the next hill he failed to see how this particular rider could do any harm at all.
A white horse was coming towards them across the moor and upon its back rode a great lady. Her long hair was the colour of polished copper and her dress was green as spring leaves. As she drew nearer and Peter looked upon her face he felt she must be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"Good day, travelers!" She called, and the beauty of her voice matched that of her face. "It is a merry party for such a dull and lifeless place!"
"Greetings to you, Lady!" Peter called, certain his face must be burning red. "Have you traveled far?" Idiot! He berated himself silently.
The lady laughed and it as a lovely sound, like water running through a clear stream, or like a strain of music. "Not far, dear King, but swiftly! And I must travel swiftly onward, for I have business to the south. Go you and your fair companions to the feast in the Giants' city?"
"Aye, my lady." Peter could not help feeling disappointed that she was traveling south even as they traveled north.
The lady smiled at him and turned her horse's head southward. "Good day and safe travels, fair friends! May we meet again soon!" She called back as she continued her journey. Peter stared after her, a queer, fluttery feeling in his chest.
"By the Lion, I hope we may," he said quietly, unaware of Edmund and Lucy's confused expressions as they stopped beside him.
"Who was she?" Lucy asked curiously.
"I don't know, but I wish that we may meet again soon." Peter watched the white horse and the Green Lady disappear into the distance.
Edmund shivered, his expression uneasy. "I rather hope we don't, Pete. She gave me the queerest feeling of unease; something about her seemed terribly familiar." But Peter scarcely heard him and his expression remained fixed and distant even as they continued northward.
I'm sure everyone knows who the lady is now! If you don't that's fine too, but hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter! Leave me a review and let me know what you think so far! Also, this story is probably going to be my longest yet! Whoohoo!
Cheers,
A