Big Bang Fic: Between Golden Worlds, Chapter 1
Title: Between golden worlds
Author: pamymex3girl
Rating: T, just to be on the safe side
Pairings/characters: Susan, Lucy, Edmund, Peter, Mary Tudor, Thomas more; Susan/Caspian, Susan/OC, Peter/OC, all normal Tudor couples
Disclaimer: I do not own neither the narnian characters nor the historical characters, just my story.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: death, spoilers for the first three Narnia movies and three seasons of the tudors
Author's Notes: I’ve used some scenes from the series the Tudors and although I’ve tried to be historically accurate I’ve changed some things. I’ve also changed the age of the Pevensies when they went back to Narnia for the second and the third time
Summary: It is August 1524 and the Pevensies are being send to the English court. Having just lost their own world they must now learn to walk in this world. They must accept their place and live their lives, but they must be careful. For the court of Henry VIII is a dangerous place, one step in the wrong direction could prove disastrous...
Chapter 1
August 1524
At first glance, the court wasn’t that much different from the Narnian court.
There were the obvious differences of course: there was no magic in England, no centaurs, no talking animals. But when you forgot about that, Susan thought; it wasn’t that different. The entire court seemed to evolve around their king and queen, to live for them and just then; they loved them; the only real difference was of course that it wasn’t them. And she had to remember that. Here she was nothing but another maid-in-waiting to the queen, one that nobody would pay attention to for she was far too young to be of real interest to anyone. She wasn’t important here and while part of her resented that, having been queen herself, another part was strangely grateful for it, for it, there were no such differences she might end up giving herself away.
The blue dress she was wearing was simple, far simpler than anything she wore in Narnia, but beautiful.
She was grateful, that although he did not think they (her and Lucy, his daughters) were important he at least did not want them to arrive in court in ugly or old dresses. He’d presented them this morning before leaving, two almost identical blue dresses, simple but elegant (Lucy had been delighted with the gift from her father, still believing he might someday truly love her), and she wore them gladly. The court was just as big as Cair Paraval, making it extremely possible to get lost in; especially if one did not know where to go. She knew she had to go to the queen’s chambers (and they could not be hard to find ) but it did not know she knew where they were. Still despite the grandness she, unlike Lucy, is not surprised when their father leaves them behind, choosing to accompany his sons as opposed to making sure his daughters are alright.
She supposes she should be grateful he asked someone to show them the way.
Still as she walks behind the courtier - she was sure she’d learn his name later - holding Lucy’s hand (she can almost feel her fear) she makes sure that Lucy cannot tell what she is feeling. She must make sure that her little sister does not know how scared or angry she is, or how much she wishes this was Narnia and not England; but she must accept; she must be strong, for her little sister if nothing else. And so they walk through the halls, two queens in their own right, ignored by almost everyone until they finally reach the right rooms. The door opens to reveal a nice-looking woman who smiles kindly at the two girls in front of her but does not allow them to just enter.
‘You’re the two Pevensie girls?’
‘ ‘Yes my lady. I’m Susan Pevensie and this is my younger sister, Lucy.’
‘ ‘Very well, come right in. The queen is expecting you.’
She ushered them in very quickly closing the door behind them; Lucy hid half behind her as she followed the lady. She tried to listen to everything the Lady - whose name she had already forgotten - was telling her about the queen, but she was too mesmerized by the room itself. It was huge and beautiful, filled with beautiful tapestries; what amazed her. However, was that if one just imaged nymphs and narnian creatures instead of ladies, the room was an exact replica of her own room in Cair Paravel. Lucy too stopped walking and looked around, the lady (having realized that they stopped) stopped too, for a moment Susan was afraid she would reprimand them, but she just told them to keep going. One could not keep the queen waiting after all.
She was old (of course she was old Susan thought; she was much older than her after all), but she looked ‘kind.
She smiled at them motherly when she saw them, putting aside her embroidery. She looked them over quickly; they were pretty but young (too young Catherine thought to catch the attention of her husband). They made a small courtesy, not deep enough, but she did not allow Maria to reprimand them; they were young and new to court; they did not know better.
‘ ‘Welcome to court, I’m Queen Catherine. You may address me as ‘your grace’. What is your name?’
‘ ‘I’m Susan Pevensie, your grace. This is my sister Lucy, your grace.’
‘ ‘Ah yes, Lord Pevensie’s children, I was told you were coming. And you Lucy, must be my daughter’s new companion.’
She beckoned one of the guards giving them instructions to take Lucy to the Princess Mary’s chambers; Lucy looked at her once before she followed the guard and Susan could not help but want to ask the queen if she too could go. However, she couldn't; she had to be strong; strong so that her younger sister too would be strong. The Queen reached out a hand to her and let her sit down at her knees, for the next three hours Susan listened to everything she told her. She was told what she had to do and what she would learn, the queen talked about the different functions that were coming up. And Susan listened; she listened, and she forgot all about the place she had called home for years; she forgot about the Narnian court and what she had lost.
The Queen was so nice and so motherly that Susan felt happy and safe.
***
Lucy had hidden behind Susan when the queen was introduced to them.
She could not understand why she was so afraid, in Narnia, she had met dozens of new people, and she’d danced with monarchs from other countries and exchanged stories with them. She fought the white witch, but she could not meet the Queen of England without cowering behind her older sister. Perhaps it was just that it was a different world, or perhaps it was just that she was different in this world. In Narnia, everyone loved her; everyone was nice to her (other monarchs because she was the Queen, she liked to believe that the Narnians actually cared), and she knew that there if someone wasn’t nice to her or hurt her, her brothers would immediately jump up and defend her. However, they could not defend her here in England, not if it was the king or queen who disrespected her; not if it was they who made her feel bad.
But the Queen, in her beautiful grant dress, smiled so nicely that her fear disappeared like snow in the sun.
Only to reappear moments later when the Queen asked a guard to take her to the Princess Mary; she’d known it would come, of course she had her father had told her after all, but she did not think it would be this fast. She thought that maybe, just maybe; Susan could come with her, so she would not be alone. But she could not ask, and so she followed the guard through the complicated hallways. At first, she tried to remember the way, so she could get to Susan later, but there were so many turns she couldn’t even remember so she stopped trying. Then they were there, and the guard knocked on the door and then just left her there; she was ushered in by an older looking lady, just as old as the queen but not so nice-looking, at least not to her.
‘ ‘You must be Miss Pevensie. I am the Lady Salissbury, the princess governess. Her lessons have ended for the day, and she will go to visit he mother shortly. You will be her companion from now on; you will treat the princess with the respect she deserves. You will not address her, unless she asks you a question.’
‘ ‘Yes Lady Salisbury.’
Mary was smaller than her, but not by much; she was sitting at the window looking outside. She was pale, Lucy thought, much paler then her; but then she lived in the country where she played outside all the time, Mary probably had to spend most of her time inside, missing the sun completely. She turned when the Lady Salisbury called her name and looked Lucy over with an uninterested look, Lucy curtsied and while she wanted to reach out to the obviously lonely girl, she could do nothing but wait. She did not have to wait long, Mary told her she could sit down beside her, and then she sends the Lady Salisbury away.
So they talked and talked, Mary hung on her every word.
Obviously, Mary had never had any friends, at least no friends her age; Lucy was the first one she truly talked to. Lucy liked her; she hadn’t been alone in all her years (not in England and not in Narnia), and she’d had an older sister who would tell her stories and brothers who would play with her. However, she too, in all her years, lacked a friend; a friend her own age. One she could study with and laugh with, one that would listen to her stories; and so they connected, because of their loneliness, and when her governess returned a few hours later she found them sitting on the ground talking and laughing, and she smiled; her princess had needed a friend her own age; she'd always known it would do her good.
‘ ‘Princess, the Queen is expecting you.’
‘ ‘Of course, you will come too Lucy. You can see your sister.’
And Lucy who’d actually forgotten about her fears smiled. Mary held out her hand, and she took it and followed her new best friend towards the queen’s chambers.
Maybe everything would be alright.
****
Edmund wanted to stay behind and help them.
When their father told the girls, they had to stay and wait for one of the guards to take them to their location and then just walked off, he had wanted to stay. Everything in him rebelled at leaving his two sisters in a place they did not know, with people they had never met; for all they knew somebody could hurt them. He could not believe their father could just leave them behind like that, but he was far more interested in their advances, in their positions; the girls seemed almost like an afterthought. He would have stayed too, rebelled probably causing his father to get angry, but Susan had just looked at him and softly shook her head. There was no point in making a scene now, they would be okay; still for the first few minutes after they left it was all he could think about. Which is why he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings and missed how alike they were to Cair Paravel? For a minute, just a minute, he wondered why Peter had not spoken up for their sisters; but then he remembered that Peter was standing closer to Susan and probably realized it would be of no use before he did.
His father stopped in front of a room gesturing at him that this was where he needed to be.
He tried to listen to everything he said but his mind kept wondering; he did, however, get that Cardinal Wolsey was an important man, that to be his friend was to be the kings. If he Edmund good gets in the Cardinal’s good graces, he would be in the kings as well, and they would rise because of it (his father seemed to forget that he was just ten, there was no way the Cardinal would pay attention to him for many years to come), he stayed silent through the entire lecture. Then he ushered him in introducing him to the man who was obviously the Cardinal and left with Peter, probably towards the king’s chambers.
‘So, Edmund isn’t it?’
‘Yes Your grace.’
‘Can you write boy?’
‘Of course, my tutors taught me everything about reading and writing.’
He smiled (Edmund was glad that he could smile; it made him seem a little less menacing) and told him to sit down and write a few letters; his secretary it seemed to be ill, and the letters had to be written now. And so Edmund sat down and started to write, eager to make the Cardinal like him not just for his father but for himself; he had to live here after all, might as well make people like him. Who knows maybe when he was older he could use his knowledge of Narnia to help the king, to give advice; but not now, now he was too young; nobody would listen to him. The other man, dressed in black, came a few hours later; he looked nicer than the Cardinal but just as sophisticated. Later, when he asked one of the other servants, he discovered that the man was Thomas More, another of the kings trusted friends.
He didn’t notice him, just walked past him and Edmund truly could not remember thinking anything special about him that day.
(Later, many years later, he would think how strange their first meeting was. Considering how much he came to respect and love him, it seemed almost surreal that first day he thought nothing of him and forgot Sir Thomas More as soon as he walked into the Cardinal’s chambers).
****
Cair Paravel was much better.
Maybe it wasn’t so much the castle but the people in it, how they treated him, how they respected him; he was their high king after all. Here he was nothing; here he was just a servant among many; the son of a prominent courtier true, but nothing more. There were many more like him, all eager to take his place (as his father had explained to him), but he was not about to let this opportunity slip him by. He was going to be great in this world as well, eh could not stand being overlooked, being forgotten. He too was king and he would make everyone see how good a man he was, how much he could help; it would take time, but he would make it; he would.
They did not bow for him when he walked in the room.
In fact, they didn’t even look up at him; they barely noticed that he had arrived; the king was sitting on his throne wearing his beautiful clothes. For a moment, Peter had to admit that he looked magnificent, and then he wondered if that was how he looked when the Narnians saw him. The king had not noticed him either, not until his father caught his attention and introduced him. He was nice; Peter had to admit, most likely because he was younger than most other courtiers. However, he dismissed him almost immediately, leaving it to someone else to explain his job and what it entailed. Peter followed the other man but looked back just before leaving the room; the king had already forgotten about him, so had everybody else.
Peter vowed that someday he would make the king look at him like a friend. He would be magnificent in this world too.
Oh, he would not be a king like in Narnia; he knew that was impossible; Henry was his king and nothing would ever change that, but he wanted to be more than somebody that could just be forgotten in the blink of an eye. Somebody that could be told what to do and punished when he did not do it; he wanted to be more.
He wanted to walk into a room and make everyone notice he was there, not forget that he even existed.
Christmas 1524
The complete court was in uproar.
Susan thought it was hilarious and a little bit ridiculous; it wasn’t just that it was Christmas; Christmas was obviously a big deal. She agreed; she could remember clearly how it was in Narnia, how Father Christmas would show up with presents every year. However, that of course would not happen here. She’d been here for many months already, and she started to get used to how the court worked; she loved working here, yes she had to work a lot, but she was learning a lot too. She’d never had a mother, never had anyone who cared for her; she’d always been the mother to all the others, but she’d never had one; she'd died when Lucy was born. But even before that she’d never been there, always at court with their father.
However, now she thought the court looked ridiculous.
It wasn’t just the festivities; it was also the fact that the king’s illegitimate son was coming for a visit. She’d heard stories about him, from the queen herself, in fact; and she could understand why the king wanted to honor him and love him; he was his son after all, but why make the Queen? She’d heard from others how he’d celebrated as if a prince was born and how he’d made the queen listen to all of it. (Later she heard how the Queen courageously went to congratulate him; this was Susan learned the way the court worked. Always make sure the king feels good about himself and not guilty. Susan found the Queen the bravest woman she knew, she certainly could never have done that).
Still she could not understand the fuss to make everything look perfect. The boy was only five years old; it's not like he would really notice.
****
Lucy loved being at court, and she loved Christmas.
She knew it wouldn’t be as great as it had always been in Narnia, but surely it would be special? Mary too was very anxious for the festivities to start and get her presents. She couldn’t believe she’d ever been anxious about coming to court; she loved it here now; being Mary’s companion was great. They both needed a friend their own age, and now they got one, when they were alone together Lucy felt like they were equals: the princess did not make her feel worthless, instead she made her feel great.
Mary strangely enough was anxious to meet her brother, Henry Fitzroy.
She didn’t understand Lucy had talked with her many times about it; the boy wasn’t a prince; he wasn’t important. And he made her mother sad, though Mary did not completely understand why (neither did Lucy, for that matter). However, she wanted to meet him and play with him, nevertheless. Mary did not understand, but Lucy did; Lucy after all had two brothers and a sister (brothers who she hadn’t seen in a long time), and she knew what it was like to have someone who understood you. Somebody that would always be there, because they were your brother (or sister).
So when Henry Fitzroy’s nurse asked if the Princess would grand him an audience, Mary happily agreed.
When the king walked in an hour later he found his daughter and her companion playing with his son.
(It was the king thought a great scene, and it would have been perfect if Catherine had given him a son.)
****
Later, they’d watched the fireworks.
Mary had asked her mother if her brother could stay with them, and since her mother could never deny her anything he was allowed to stay; the king was downstairs with his court. But since the princess was so young she would soon be brought to bed, but for now they were watching fireworks. Mary clung to her mothers skirts while holding little Fitzroy’s hand, Susan and Lucy were standing arm in arm next to the Queen and her daughter.
It was the (almost) perfect scene of a perfect life. And Susan asked Aslan to let everything stay this way.
Let them all be happy in this world. All of them, together.
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Epilogue
Author: pamymex3girl
Rating: T, just to be on the safe side
Pairings/characters: Susan, Lucy, Edmund, Peter, Mary Tudor, Thomas more; Susan/Caspian, Susan/OC, Peter/OC, all normal Tudor couples
Disclaimer: I do not own neither the narnian characters nor the historical characters, just my story.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: death, spoilers for the first three Narnia movies and three seasons of the tudors
Author's Notes: I’ve used some scenes from the series the Tudors and although I’ve tried to be historically accurate I’ve changed some things. I’ve also changed the age of the Pevensies when they went back to Narnia for the second and the third time
Summary: It is August 1524 and the Pevensies are being send to the English court. Having just lost their own world they must now learn to walk in this world. They must accept their place and live their lives, but they must be careful. For the court of Henry VIII is a dangerous place, one step in the wrong direction could prove disastrous...
Chapter 1
August 1524
At first glance, the court wasn’t that much different from the Narnian court.
There were the obvious differences of course: there was no magic in England, no centaurs, no talking animals. But when you forgot about that, Susan thought; it wasn’t that different. The entire court seemed to evolve around their king and queen, to live for them and just then; they loved them; the only real difference was of course that it wasn’t them. And she had to remember that. Here she was nothing but another maid-in-waiting to the queen, one that nobody would pay attention to for she was far too young to be of real interest to anyone. She wasn’t important here and while part of her resented that, having been queen herself, another part was strangely grateful for it, for it, there were no such differences she might end up giving herself away.
The blue dress she was wearing was simple, far simpler than anything she wore in Narnia, but beautiful.
She was grateful, that although he did not think they (her and Lucy, his daughters) were important he at least did not want them to arrive in court in ugly or old dresses. He’d presented them this morning before leaving, two almost identical blue dresses, simple but elegant (Lucy had been delighted with the gift from her father, still believing he might someday truly love her), and she wore them gladly. The court was just as big as Cair Paraval, making it extremely possible to get lost in; especially if one did not know where to go. She knew she had to go to the queen’s chambers (and they could not be hard to find ) but it did not know she knew where they were. Still despite the grandness she, unlike Lucy, is not surprised when their father leaves them behind, choosing to accompany his sons as opposed to making sure his daughters are alright.
She supposes she should be grateful he asked someone to show them the way.
Still as she walks behind the courtier - she was sure she’d learn his name later - holding Lucy’s hand (she can almost feel her fear) she makes sure that Lucy cannot tell what she is feeling. She must make sure that her little sister does not know how scared or angry she is, or how much she wishes this was Narnia and not England; but she must accept; she must be strong, for her little sister if nothing else. And so they walk through the halls, two queens in their own right, ignored by almost everyone until they finally reach the right rooms. The door opens to reveal a nice-looking woman who smiles kindly at the two girls in front of her but does not allow them to just enter.
‘You’re the two Pevensie girls?’
‘ ‘Yes my lady. I’m Susan Pevensie and this is my younger sister, Lucy.’
‘ ‘Very well, come right in. The queen is expecting you.’
She ushered them in very quickly closing the door behind them; Lucy hid half behind her as she followed the lady. She tried to listen to everything the Lady - whose name she had already forgotten - was telling her about the queen, but she was too mesmerized by the room itself. It was huge and beautiful, filled with beautiful tapestries; what amazed her. However, was that if one just imaged nymphs and narnian creatures instead of ladies, the room was an exact replica of her own room in Cair Paravel. Lucy too stopped walking and looked around, the lady (having realized that they stopped) stopped too, for a moment Susan was afraid she would reprimand them, but she just told them to keep going. One could not keep the queen waiting after all.
She was old (of course she was old Susan thought; she was much older than her after all), but she looked ‘kind.
She smiled at them motherly when she saw them, putting aside her embroidery. She looked them over quickly; they were pretty but young (too young Catherine thought to catch the attention of her husband). They made a small courtesy, not deep enough, but she did not allow Maria to reprimand them; they were young and new to court; they did not know better.
‘ ‘Welcome to court, I’m Queen Catherine. You may address me as ‘your grace’. What is your name?’
‘ ‘I’m Susan Pevensie, your grace. This is my sister Lucy, your grace.’
‘ ‘Ah yes, Lord Pevensie’s children, I was told you were coming. And you Lucy, must be my daughter’s new companion.’
She beckoned one of the guards giving them instructions to take Lucy to the Princess Mary’s chambers; Lucy looked at her once before she followed the guard and Susan could not help but want to ask the queen if she too could go. However, she couldn't; she had to be strong; strong so that her younger sister too would be strong. The Queen reached out a hand to her and let her sit down at her knees, for the next three hours Susan listened to everything she told her. She was told what she had to do and what she would learn, the queen talked about the different functions that were coming up. And Susan listened; she listened, and she forgot all about the place she had called home for years; she forgot about the Narnian court and what she had lost.
The Queen was so nice and so motherly that Susan felt happy and safe.
***
Lucy had hidden behind Susan when the queen was introduced to them.
She could not understand why she was so afraid, in Narnia, she had met dozens of new people, and she’d danced with monarchs from other countries and exchanged stories with them. She fought the white witch, but she could not meet the Queen of England without cowering behind her older sister. Perhaps it was just that it was a different world, or perhaps it was just that she was different in this world. In Narnia, everyone loved her; everyone was nice to her (other monarchs because she was the Queen, she liked to believe that the Narnians actually cared), and she knew that there if someone wasn’t nice to her or hurt her, her brothers would immediately jump up and defend her. However, they could not defend her here in England, not if it was the king or queen who disrespected her; not if it was they who made her feel bad.
But the Queen, in her beautiful grant dress, smiled so nicely that her fear disappeared like snow in the sun.
Only to reappear moments later when the Queen asked a guard to take her to the Princess Mary; she’d known it would come, of course she had her father had told her after all, but she did not think it would be this fast. She thought that maybe, just maybe; Susan could come with her, so she would not be alone. But she could not ask, and so she followed the guard through the complicated hallways. At first, she tried to remember the way, so she could get to Susan later, but there were so many turns she couldn’t even remember so she stopped trying. Then they were there, and the guard knocked on the door and then just left her there; she was ushered in by an older looking lady, just as old as the queen but not so nice-looking, at least not to her.
‘ ‘You must be Miss Pevensie. I am the Lady Salissbury, the princess governess. Her lessons have ended for the day, and she will go to visit he mother shortly. You will be her companion from now on; you will treat the princess with the respect she deserves. You will not address her, unless she asks you a question.’
‘ ‘Yes Lady Salisbury.’
Mary was smaller than her, but not by much; she was sitting at the window looking outside. She was pale, Lucy thought, much paler then her; but then she lived in the country where she played outside all the time, Mary probably had to spend most of her time inside, missing the sun completely. She turned when the Lady Salisbury called her name and looked Lucy over with an uninterested look, Lucy curtsied and while she wanted to reach out to the obviously lonely girl, she could do nothing but wait. She did not have to wait long, Mary told her she could sit down beside her, and then she sends the Lady Salisbury away.
So they talked and talked, Mary hung on her every word.
Obviously, Mary had never had any friends, at least no friends her age; Lucy was the first one she truly talked to. Lucy liked her; she hadn’t been alone in all her years (not in England and not in Narnia), and she’d had an older sister who would tell her stories and brothers who would play with her. However, she too, in all her years, lacked a friend; a friend her own age. One she could study with and laugh with, one that would listen to her stories; and so they connected, because of their loneliness, and when her governess returned a few hours later she found them sitting on the ground talking and laughing, and she smiled; her princess had needed a friend her own age; she'd always known it would do her good.
‘ ‘Princess, the Queen is expecting you.’
‘ ‘Of course, you will come too Lucy. You can see your sister.’
And Lucy who’d actually forgotten about her fears smiled. Mary held out her hand, and she took it and followed her new best friend towards the queen’s chambers.
Maybe everything would be alright.
****
Edmund wanted to stay behind and help them.
When their father told the girls, they had to stay and wait for one of the guards to take them to their location and then just walked off, he had wanted to stay. Everything in him rebelled at leaving his two sisters in a place they did not know, with people they had never met; for all they knew somebody could hurt them. He could not believe their father could just leave them behind like that, but he was far more interested in their advances, in their positions; the girls seemed almost like an afterthought. He would have stayed too, rebelled probably causing his father to get angry, but Susan had just looked at him and softly shook her head. There was no point in making a scene now, they would be okay; still for the first few minutes after they left it was all he could think about. Which is why he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings and missed how alike they were to Cair Paravel? For a minute, just a minute, he wondered why Peter had not spoken up for their sisters; but then he remembered that Peter was standing closer to Susan and probably realized it would be of no use before he did.
His father stopped in front of a room gesturing at him that this was where he needed to be.
He tried to listen to everything he said but his mind kept wondering; he did, however, get that Cardinal Wolsey was an important man, that to be his friend was to be the kings. If he Edmund good gets in the Cardinal’s good graces, he would be in the kings as well, and they would rise because of it (his father seemed to forget that he was just ten, there was no way the Cardinal would pay attention to him for many years to come), he stayed silent through the entire lecture. Then he ushered him in introducing him to the man who was obviously the Cardinal and left with Peter, probably towards the king’s chambers.
‘So, Edmund isn’t it?’
‘Yes Your grace.’
‘Can you write boy?’
‘Of course, my tutors taught me everything about reading and writing.’
He smiled (Edmund was glad that he could smile; it made him seem a little less menacing) and told him to sit down and write a few letters; his secretary it seemed to be ill, and the letters had to be written now. And so Edmund sat down and started to write, eager to make the Cardinal like him not just for his father but for himself; he had to live here after all, might as well make people like him. Who knows maybe when he was older he could use his knowledge of Narnia to help the king, to give advice; but not now, now he was too young; nobody would listen to him. The other man, dressed in black, came a few hours later; he looked nicer than the Cardinal but just as sophisticated. Later, when he asked one of the other servants, he discovered that the man was Thomas More, another of the kings trusted friends.
He didn’t notice him, just walked past him and Edmund truly could not remember thinking anything special about him that day.
(Later, many years later, he would think how strange their first meeting was. Considering how much he came to respect and love him, it seemed almost surreal that first day he thought nothing of him and forgot Sir Thomas More as soon as he walked into the Cardinal’s chambers).
****
Cair Paravel was much better.
Maybe it wasn’t so much the castle but the people in it, how they treated him, how they respected him; he was their high king after all. Here he was nothing; here he was just a servant among many; the son of a prominent courtier true, but nothing more. There were many more like him, all eager to take his place (as his father had explained to him), but he was not about to let this opportunity slip him by. He was going to be great in this world as well, eh could not stand being overlooked, being forgotten. He too was king and he would make everyone see how good a man he was, how much he could help; it would take time, but he would make it; he would.
They did not bow for him when he walked in the room.
In fact, they didn’t even look up at him; they barely noticed that he had arrived; the king was sitting on his throne wearing his beautiful clothes. For a moment, Peter had to admit that he looked magnificent, and then he wondered if that was how he looked when the Narnians saw him. The king had not noticed him either, not until his father caught his attention and introduced him. He was nice; Peter had to admit, most likely because he was younger than most other courtiers. However, he dismissed him almost immediately, leaving it to someone else to explain his job and what it entailed. Peter followed the other man but looked back just before leaving the room; the king had already forgotten about him, so had everybody else.
Peter vowed that someday he would make the king look at him like a friend. He would be magnificent in this world too.
Oh, he would not be a king like in Narnia; he knew that was impossible; Henry was his king and nothing would ever change that, but he wanted to be more than somebody that could just be forgotten in the blink of an eye. Somebody that could be told what to do and punished when he did not do it; he wanted to be more.
He wanted to walk into a room and make everyone notice he was there, not forget that he even existed.
Christmas 1524
The complete court was in uproar.
Susan thought it was hilarious and a little bit ridiculous; it wasn’t just that it was Christmas; Christmas was obviously a big deal. She agreed; she could remember clearly how it was in Narnia, how Father Christmas would show up with presents every year. However, that of course would not happen here. She’d been here for many months already, and she started to get used to how the court worked; she loved working here, yes she had to work a lot, but she was learning a lot too. She’d never had a mother, never had anyone who cared for her; she’d always been the mother to all the others, but she’d never had one; she'd died when Lucy was born. But even before that she’d never been there, always at court with their father.
However, now she thought the court looked ridiculous.
It wasn’t just the festivities; it was also the fact that the king’s illegitimate son was coming for a visit. She’d heard stories about him, from the queen herself, in fact; and she could understand why the king wanted to honor him and love him; he was his son after all, but why make the Queen? She’d heard from others how he’d celebrated as if a prince was born and how he’d made the queen listen to all of it. (Later she heard how the Queen courageously went to congratulate him; this was Susan learned the way the court worked. Always make sure the king feels good about himself and not guilty. Susan found the Queen the bravest woman she knew, she certainly could never have done that).
Still she could not understand the fuss to make everything look perfect. The boy was only five years old; it's not like he would really notice.
****
Lucy loved being at court, and she loved Christmas.
She knew it wouldn’t be as great as it had always been in Narnia, but surely it would be special? Mary too was very anxious for the festivities to start and get her presents. She couldn’t believe she’d ever been anxious about coming to court; she loved it here now; being Mary’s companion was great. They both needed a friend their own age, and now they got one, when they were alone together Lucy felt like they were equals: the princess did not make her feel worthless, instead she made her feel great.
Mary strangely enough was anxious to meet her brother, Henry Fitzroy.
She didn’t understand Lucy had talked with her many times about it; the boy wasn’t a prince; he wasn’t important. And he made her mother sad, though Mary did not completely understand why (neither did Lucy, for that matter). However, she wanted to meet him and play with him, nevertheless. Mary did not understand, but Lucy did; Lucy after all had two brothers and a sister (brothers who she hadn’t seen in a long time), and she knew what it was like to have someone who understood you. Somebody that would always be there, because they were your brother (or sister).
So when Henry Fitzroy’s nurse asked if the Princess would grand him an audience, Mary happily agreed.
When the king walked in an hour later he found his daughter and her companion playing with his son.
(It was the king thought a great scene, and it would have been perfect if Catherine had given him a son.)
****
Later, they’d watched the fireworks.
Mary had asked her mother if her brother could stay with them, and since her mother could never deny her anything he was allowed to stay; the king was downstairs with his court. But since the princess was so young she would soon be brought to bed, but for now they were watching fireworks. Mary clung to her mothers skirts while holding little Fitzroy’s hand, Susan and Lucy were standing arm in arm next to the Queen and her daughter.
It was the (almost) perfect scene of a perfect life. And Susan asked Aslan to let everything stay this way.
Let them all be happy in this world. All of them, together.
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Epilogue