Christening of Princess Susan
The christening of Her Royal Highness Susan Marguerite Ingress Calpurnia Rosemary Katharine Anne, the Princess Royal, of Ambergeldar is the first Royal Event in the Cathedral of St. Michael's and All Angels since her father's coronation fifteen years earlier. And as far as her mother can tell, they've been saving up the pomp and circumstance ever since. But the christening of a Royal Highness is, after all, unavoidably grand, and Amy can quite understand wanting to make a fuss over Susan, so it isn't too hard to keep a proper sort of smile on her face.
After the terribly formal christening, there's a terribly formal reception, with the Protocol Officer flitting about like a nervous bumblebee (but more annoying), while Amy sits at the far end of the throne room and watches the pile of useless presents grow and tries not to convert them into hours spent writing thank you notes.
The crowd drifts easily from room to room, and occasionally Amy catches glimpses of her friends. Susan Pevensie, aglow since the christening ceremony, is surrounded or trailed or watched by half the eligible men in whatever room she graces. Door and Tom chat easily with various courtiers, and Door navigates carefully away from anyone who could be Lady Marina. Henry and Logan give each other a great deal of space by unspoken mutual agreement, because discretion is the better part of valor (and because neither wants to find out what Amy would do if they caused a scene). Meg is still not sure what this godmothering thing is going to involve, but she cheerfully chatters away with Lady Rosalind, while Andrew falls into a long "shop talk" sort of converastion Lady Rosalind's father, Lord Terence, who is Perry's Court Magician. And Caspian, who turns to smile at his sister while he catches up with her parents.
It would be hard to find a guest enjoying herself more than Anne, storing away notes and details for her stories, soaking up the experience in all its wonderful, royal, fairy tale glory. Unless, of course, it is Gilbert, who will remember this day in the vaugely unreal way one remembers a dream, except for Anne, smile as bright as the emeralds in her hair, who he will see as clearly as he sees her now when he is forty, or sixty, or eighty.
It would be hard to find a guest getting more attention than the one who is followed by both a murmur of whispers and a footman with rum in a crystal decanter hung with a small golden label reading "Captain Jack Sparrow." Captain Sparrow has found this trip to be more profitable than he expected, picking up a few lovely little odds and ends off tables and shelves and out of the pockets of other guests. The crystal decanter will also vanish before the day is out, and Perry learns over to his wife and whispers, amused, "Interesting friends you have, darling."
The formal reception goes on for hours and hours, but at last it ends, and the lords and ladies and courtiers depart for their homes or lodgings. And the Royal Family slips away to one of the larger parlors, where their personal friends have gathered. Here the presents tend towards hand-carved boats and hand-sewn monogrammed blankets (with all seven of Susan's initials), the things Susan will remember when she looks back on her childhood as an adult. But she won't remember this day at all, for she dozes in her cradle, oblivious to the fuss and the chatter, and Ingress stays near the cradle keeping an eye on the baby, like a proper Official Big Sister should.
There's a moment of excitement when Crustacea arrives, uninvited but not unexpected, and if Susan's Mama holds her breath a little while her Godmama looks over her daughter, it's nothing compared to what Susan's Grandmama does. But Crustacea graces her god-granddaugher with a somewhat vague "Merry Heart," which seems to please everyone, even though no one is entirely sure what it means. But it doesn't sound like it involves freckles, which is all that matters to Susan's grandmother. (Though it still slightly disappoints Susan's father.)
The arrival of Amy's seaweed-clad Godmama has not escaped Captain Sparrow, nor does the fact that said Godmama seems to be talking a great deal to Professor Lyon. So he breaks into the conversation, grinning and unapologetic, and Crustacea is rather charmed in spite of herself. But then, the fairy-in-charge-of-water has always had a place in her heart for those who travel upon it, no matter how many times they call her "luv." It's a little harder to tell just what Professor Lyon makes of the interruption.
All in all, it's a most cheerful gathering of friends, and it stretches long into the night. And when, at last, it finally does break up, Perry puts his arms around his wife and says again, in a rather different tone, "Interesting friends you have, darling."
After the terribly formal christening, there's a terribly formal reception, with the Protocol Officer flitting about like a nervous bumblebee (but more annoying), while Amy sits at the far end of the throne room and watches the pile of useless presents grow and tries not to convert them into hours spent writing thank you notes.
The crowd drifts easily from room to room, and occasionally Amy catches glimpses of her friends. Susan Pevensie, aglow since the christening ceremony, is surrounded or trailed or watched by half the eligible men in whatever room she graces. Door and Tom chat easily with various courtiers, and Door navigates carefully away from anyone who could be Lady Marina. Henry and Logan give each other a great deal of space by unspoken mutual agreement, because discretion is the better part of valor (and because neither wants to find out what Amy would do if they caused a scene). Meg is still not sure what this godmothering thing is going to involve, but she cheerfully chatters away with Lady Rosalind, while Andrew falls into a long "shop talk" sort of converastion Lady Rosalind's father, Lord Terence, who is Perry's Court Magician. And Caspian, who turns to smile at his sister while he catches up with her parents.
It would be hard to find a guest enjoying herself more than Anne, storing away notes and details for her stories, soaking up the experience in all its wonderful, royal, fairy tale glory. Unless, of course, it is Gilbert, who will remember this day in the vaugely unreal way one remembers a dream, except for Anne, smile as bright as the emeralds in her hair, who he will see as clearly as he sees her now when he is forty, or sixty, or eighty.
It would be hard to find a guest getting more attention than the one who is followed by both a murmur of whispers and a footman with rum in a crystal decanter hung with a small golden label reading "Captain Jack Sparrow." Captain Sparrow has found this trip to be more profitable than he expected, picking up a few lovely little odds and ends off tables and shelves and out of the pockets of other guests. The crystal decanter will also vanish before the day is out, and Perry learns over to his wife and whispers, amused, "Interesting friends you have, darling."
The formal reception goes on for hours and hours, but at last it ends, and the lords and ladies and courtiers depart for their homes or lodgings. And the Royal Family slips away to one of the larger parlors, where their personal friends have gathered. Here the presents tend towards hand-carved boats and hand-sewn monogrammed blankets (with all seven of Susan's initials), the things Susan will remember when she looks back on her childhood as an adult. But she won't remember this day at all, for she dozes in her cradle, oblivious to the fuss and the chatter, and Ingress stays near the cradle keeping an eye on the baby, like a proper Official Big Sister should.
There's a moment of excitement when Crustacea arrives, uninvited but not unexpected, and if Susan's Mama holds her breath a little while her Godmama looks over her daughter, it's nothing compared to what Susan's Grandmama does. But Crustacea graces her god-granddaugher with a somewhat vague "Merry Heart," which seems to please everyone, even though no one is entirely sure what it means. But it doesn't sound like it involves freckles, which is all that matters to Susan's grandmother. (Though it still slightly disappoints Susan's father.)
The arrival of Amy's seaweed-clad Godmama has not escaped Captain Sparrow, nor does the fact that said Godmama seems to be talking a great deal to Professor Lyon. So he breaks into the conversation, grinning and unapologetic, and Crustacea is rather charmed in spite of herself. But then, the fairy-in-charge-of-water has always had a place in her heart for those who travel upon it, no matter how many times they call her "luv." It's a little harder to tell just what Professor Lyon makes of the interruption.
All in all, it's a most cheerful gathering of friends, and it stretches long into the night. And when, at last, it finally does break up, Perry puts his arms around his wife and says again, in a rather different tone, "Interesting friends you have, darling."