Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia belong to C.S. Lewis, not me or am I making any profit with this story. I only own Alexandra and her friends/family or any other character you don't recognize.
"So…Are you going to keep stalling or actually going to tell me more about 'Mr. King of Righteousness' out there?" Robert asked his best friend as he took a seat on the couch near the fireplace of the room he had been given; being who he was, he couldn't help himself but notice every little detail of the room, and he had to admit that although it was quite rustic, it was undeniably beautifully decorated.
Alexandra sighed and plopped down on the bed. She was so tired it was a wonder how she had managed to stay on her feet that long.
"That was Edmund just being a jerk." The queen stated.
"Surprise surprise." Nina added sarcastically while rolling her eyes and Robert grimaced a little in discomfort. Alexandra had explained to him long ago that even though Ninarika was her best friend and confident indeed, she was never a human to begin with, but her talking tigress guardian. Yet, even knowing this information, it was shocking in a whole different level to actually see her purple eyes and hear her voice coming out of a feline mouth.
It was something he had to get used to, alongside the lack of a proper plumbing system in this time. He grimaced again thanks to this particular thought.
Usually, Alex would have given Nina a 'behave yourself' look, but she was still so upset about the way Edmund had treated her moments before that she even smiled a little; she understood him not trusting her, after all she had just returned and they were being more comprehensive than she had expected, but she was not going to let him treat her as an inferior because he felt like it when she had earned her place in the monarchy years ago. No way.
"I think I got that part Alex, I meant…" He started to explain but Alexandra interrupted him with a sigh.
"I know what you mean Rob, it's just…So complicated, you know? You already know he's my husband and well, they all are my family. But I came back the day before you did, and it's been like opening an old wound." She said running a hand through her hair in exasperation. She had to remind herself to take deep breath and keep calm constantly.
"I was going to ask you about that…I mean, I figured that you had somehow returned here when you suddenly disappeared from the party, but when I went looking for you just in case you were in trouble, not that I doubt your capacity to protect yourself whatsoever…" Alexandra had to smile at this part of her friend's rambling. "I wasn't really expecting to end up here. Do you really not know the reason why I am here?"
The look in Robert's eyes was one of true fear and uncertainty, he had heard and somehow believed all of Alex's stories about the magical land, but he didn't feel brave, smart, or even skillful enough to survive being in Narnia. Alex on the other hand, felt her heart breaking when she saw how scared her friend was, after all…It was pretty much her fault that he was here.
The brunette girl took a deep breath and organized the thoughts that had been running through her head since she found out Robert was the newcomer.
"My guess is that Nathan, my brother, keeps trying to make his stupid plan work. He was the one who brought us back, so it's likely that he did the same to you." She said feeling really annoyed at her brother.
"His plan?" Robert asked puzzled, that part of her explanation had definitely caught his attention.
"Yes. He's trying to…" Alexandra was going to explain Nathan's intentions when Ninarika's voice echoed in her brain making her stop talking immediately.
"Edmund's around the corner." The tigress warned and the queen just nodded and her serious and guarded expression found her way into her face once more.
"What?" Robert said confused, he obviously wasn't used to Nina and Alex communicating telepathically.
"You wanted to know more about his Royal tool and apparently you're getting your wish granted." Nina said and Alex had to smirk and shake her head a little, apparently the insult sessions between her guardian and her husband would be coming back very soon.
And as predicted, there was a knock on the door seconds after, but none of the girls moved an inch from where they were.
"It's your bedroom now Rob, it's only proper that you open the door." Alex explained to her friend, who after muttering an 'oh' rose from his spot and walked towards the door.
The blonde boy opened the wooden door and behind it stood the raven haired king in all his glory. It was quite interesting for Alex's friend looking at him from up close, he had heard Alexandra talk about him so many times it felt odd to finally meet him.
"Robert." Edmund nodded formally in recognition. "Is Alexandra here?" He asked.
"Yes, her Majesty Queen Alexandra is inside, would you like to see her?" Rob asked seriously, but Alex and Nina knew him too well to know that he was messing with Edmund, who's cheeks were a few tones redder than usual after he nodded.
Nina laughed loudly, with no shame whatsoever that Edmund could hear her clearly, on the other hand, a smirky Alex sat up slightly, leaning into the headboard of the bed. "If you don't mind him coming inside Rob?" She asked her friend who simply opened the door entirely, signaling the King that it was okay to step inside the room.
'Why is she in his bed?' Was Edmund's first thought when he walked inside the room, and he had to clench his fists to restrain himself from making any comments. He was there to apologize, not to create World War three.
"Alexandra, can I talk to you?" The king asked eying briefly the tigress in the room who was obviously giving him a dirty look.
"As long as you refrain from making degrading comments, then yes, we may certainly have a conversation." She said formally, looking indifferent to the fact he was standing in front of her trying to be civilized.
Edmund sighed. "That's precisely one of the reasons why I'm here Alex…" He said looking straight into her eyes. "I wanted to apologize." He was being awfully sincere, Alex could tell from the look in his eyes.
The queen wanted to tell him it was all forgiven before he said anything else, because just by looking at her like he was, he had her at his feet. But she couldn't do that, not before obtaining a proper explanation of who the hell Lady Cassandra was and why she seemed to be so close to him.
"Nina, can you stay with Robert and keep explaining him how things work around here?" Alex turned to the tigress and gave her a look that made her understand what she actually wanted her to explain further to her friend.
The tigress just nodded solemnly, not feeling very happy about having to be away from Alex, especially if she was to talk to the hot tempered king in private. "Wonderful, thank you. You can come find me after you're done." She smiled thankfully towards her friend and looked at Robert while she stood up.
"I hope you can have that bath and rest a little, I'll come by to see you later, if you need anything don't hesitate to let me know, okay?" Alex said, she truly wanted Robert to feel as comfortable as he could with the whole situation.
"I will, Queen Alexandra." He said the last bit with a small smirk making Alex roll her eyes, his friend had told him how much she hated to be addressed by her title when it was people she was around very often, and yet her husband insisted he referred to her by it, so he had decided to humor the guy by following his instruction.
Alexandra pondered about how refreshing it would be to have Robert around, although it would be certainly interesting to see how his relationship with Edmund would develop, she truly hoped it wouldn't turn as bad as his with Ninarika had…Because if it was hard to maintain peace between those two all the time, the headache of doing it with another person would be way too much.
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