Big Bang Fic: Between Golden Worlds, Chapter 4
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 4
May 31, 1529
Today was the day everything could change.
It had been so many years since they’d arrived here; she could barely remember a moment that they hadn’t been at court. The first few years, Susan remembered it well, had been fun; she’d loved it here. But ever since the king told his wife, on that June day almost two years ago, that he wanted to divorce her everything had gone from bad to worse. First, the Princess Mary and Lucy barely came to court anymore, they wrote letters but Susan agreed with Queen Catherine on this one it wasn’t the same. But the king wouldn’t send for his daughter to come to court; Susan was sure that he was using it against his wife; he was just waiting for her to crack. He’d never succeed; Susan was sure of it, because the more he used her daughter against her the more he reminded her of what she was fighting for.
Today could be the beginning of the end.
The court was assembling today and both the King, and the Queen were being called before it. She had been there when Cardinal Campeggio had called on the queen and almost begged her to join the convent, but Catherine had refused. Privately, Susan thought it might have been better for her if she had just relented, but she never said it out loud, who was she (after all) to give advice to a queen. (Years ago when she had first arrived she had hated that, hated being reminded that she was nothing; but since that moment a lot had changed, and she had noticed that there was a lot she could learn from a queen like Catherine). So here they were getting their queen ready for what could amount to the most important moment of her live. Susan herself would have been dying from nerves, but you would never be able to tell something different was happening by the looks of their queen.
When she left Susan offered to go with her, but the queen opted to take older ladies with her.
And so she stayed behind waiting for the verdict, even if they all already knew what was going to happen next.
****
It had been stupid; he admitted it.
One of the most important days in the King’s life, the one day that could make the difference, and he decided to get into a fight today, of all days. It wasn’t him; it had been the other guy who started it, not that anyone would believe him. There were fights all the time and nobody really paid attention to it, except that he had decided to have an argument with one of the men of the entourage of the Duke of Suffolk. His father had noticed and after apologizing on his behalf had spent an entire hour of his life screaming at his oldest son, Peter could see the disappointment in his eyes. He’d done nothing in his time at court; nobody wanted him, and nobody needed him. Even Edmund, his own brother, barely paid attention to him anymore.
It might be because he told him he was being stupid walking away from Wolsey.
That had been a huge fight as well, though since they were brothers nobody really paid attention to it; all families after all have quarrels.
‘I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I need you to get your act together. So I’ve decided to send you home, for the time being.’
‘But father…’
‘Silence! You’ve caused nothing but trouble, so I am sending you home. Use this time to think about your options because if I call you back, and that is a big if, your behavior must be much improved. Do you understand?’
‘Yes father.’
‘Now get out of my sight, I don’t want to see you again’
He’d wanted to argue; he had a dozen different things to stay; starting with the fact that for once he hadn’t started the fight, but he knew it wouldn’t help him. He hated going home right now; the king was after all finally starting to learn his name, but there was nothing he could do.
Perhaps he should have listened to Edmund when he told him to think before he acted.
****
He’s not sure how it happened but More had decided to make him his new protégée.
He liked More, liked him more than he liked Wolsey; Wolsey was all about the king; he was capable of sacrificing his own son to please the king. Just as long as he too could stay in power, there were times that he thought that Peter was a lot like him, though he sincerely hoped he was wrong. However, More was different, More had integrity; and from the moment they met by accident years ago, Edmund had been intrigued by this man. Strong-willed, full of faith and smart; the kind of man Edmund wanted to be when he grew up, and he hoped that he would reach his goal.
More had noticed one day during a conversation how smart he was.
The next thing he knew his father called him to his office, told him that More had stopped by earlier and for a moment, Edmund had wondered if he had said something wrong. But that wasn’t the case; it wasn’t the case at all; More, his father told him, had noticed how smart he was, and he wanted to make sure he had the proper education. He was offering to pay for tutors or college, and his father had accepted on his behalf; he was to leave his post with Wolsey and go with More; from him. He could learn everything he needed to learn.
When More asked him what he wanted to be he thought of his time in Narnia and ended up choosing the law as a career.
Since that moment, three years ago, he’d been close to More. They’d had conversations and More had read some of his briefs and essays. In those few years Edmund felt closer to him than his father, and he’d ended up wishing that More was his father.
However, the world was changing; he could sense it, and they were all in danger of saying the wrong thing.
And siding with the queen was definitely the wrong thing.
August 1529
She could hear the screams coming from outside.
The smell of vinegar was everywhere, while the king was getting closer and closer to his divorce; everything was being put on hold now. The sweating sickness, after managing to miss it the last few years, had finally come to London. Susan had to admit she feared the illness as well, though she admitted that if one had to die fast was probably the way to go (and the sweating sickness was fast). It was strange; the king did not love the queen anymore and was doing his best to be rid of her, but when the illness came to London, she was the first on his mind. He came to her chambers and told her to leave, to go to Ludlow castle and stay with Mary until all was safe again; she should not take too many ladies with her since it might be dangerous.
Susan could see that the Queen loved how worried he was, but Susan did not think it truly mattered.
The queen had turned, after he’d left and decided that she should go with her; she could hear the other ladies talking, after all it would be much safer over there, but Susan didn’t say a word. She was glad, not just because she’d be saved, but because for she would be seeing her sister again. She hadn’t seen Lucy since Christmas, and she missed her dearly; she'd begun to wonder lately if they ever returned to Narnia, if Narnia had actually been there and she hadn’t dreamed it. Lucy was the person to talk to when one thought that, her love for Narnia assured that she would never doubt it, and she’d know what to say to make Susan believe again.
They’d left so fast that Susan was sure they forgot half of the stuff they needed.
She didn’t realize she hadn’t said goodbye to Edmund until they were already long gone.
****
The court was in uproar.
He returned only a few days ago, but he’d already noticed that everything was different, Anne Boleyn was queen in all but name and Catherine was being ignored most of the time. Edmund had to agree with everyone when they said that it was only a matter of time before she was gone. He also knew that More didn’t agree with it and truthfully neither did he, but there was nothing they could do about it. Henry was the king, and if he wanted his wife gone so he could get a new one that was his choice. He, unlike everyone around him, actually felt for Anne Boleyn; now she was having the time of her life, now she had the king on her side. But not too long ago that had been both Wolsey and Catherine, and now they were both in disgrace. If she did not give him a son on her first try, the king would lose his patience with her, much sooner than he had with his first wife. But now in this moment none of it mattered, all that mattered was the cries in the streets and the deaths in the houses, the sweating sickness had finally reached London.
It was. More who decided that he should send home.
His father wanted him to stay here; or better yet go with the king; ever since More had taken him under his wing, the king had started to notice him more. Sir Thomas More was full of praise about him and the king liked smart people, even if they were young and just growing into their part. So his father wanted him to go with the king, since he’d be one of the only people there, but More decided against it. A few years ago, it wouldn’t have mattered, but since the moment that More had decided to take care of him his word was law. His father had no more pull over him and More said he was to go home. He wasn’t sure how he felt about going there; he could not really remember ever being there, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing Peter again (they had after all not parted on very good terms).
More blessed him and promised him he would pray for him before he left. (Edmund promised he would pray as well though he wasn’t sure anyone, not even Aslan, could hear him).
****
Six months, six long months since she had last seen her mother, and now she was there.
Princess Mary, now 13, had missed her mother so much that she forgot all about protocol, for the moment. Lucy, next to her, was just as excited as she was; though she was more excited about her sister than about the queen. She was grateful that her friend was there; she doesn’t think she would have been able to make it through the last few years without someone by her side who listened and helped her trough everything. As she clung to her mother, she watched as Lucy was also hugged by her older sister, and she vowed she would make sure that they too could spend some time together.
Lucy was the best thing that ever happened to her, especially since she had lost her mother.
She hadn’t really lost her, but it sure felt that way and in her worst nights (when the darkness almost suffocated her) Lucy had told her the most beautiful stories. And when the first rumors of her parents’ divorce finally reached Ludlow, she’d assured her that everything would be alright; the king would never put her aside and her mother would never allow it to happen. She’d reminded Mary about all the rumors that had come before, all the women they spoke of, there were always rumors but that was all they were. There was nothing to it, in a few weeks it would be forgotten, and they would be talking about something else; and she had been right; she hadn’t heard anything else about it since that afternoon.
(She didn’t know, though she would one day find out, that Lucy had gone to her governess, and she had scared the staff so much that nobody dared to speak of it anymore. But they all knew, even Lucy, that the court had assembled, and it was really only a matter of time.)
***
Peter was waiting for him when he arrived.
It had only been a few months but his brother looked different, or perhaps he’d always looked like this, but he hadn’t paid attention. He wondered if that look was on his face as well, the memories of Narnia sometimes so close to the surface that it seemed like they could touch them, that wishful look. He wondered, briefly, if Peter was still angry at him, if they were still fighting. He ought not to have worried, when he got there, was to give him a big (manly) hug. He was relieved. he told him that he was already; he'd heard the sweating sickness reached the city, and he’d been so worried that he would lose him. He asked for the girls, but Edmund didn’t know, all he knew was that Susan had left with the Queen towards Ludlow castle so the assumption was that they were safe.
It was a few hours later, after dinner, that they felt it; Edmund would never be able to forget that pull. Magic and love all wrapped into one, one look at Peter’s face, and he knew it was not in his imagination. The next thing he knew the world around him, which a few moments ago had been a simple room, changed, and suddenly they were standing on a beach; he didn’t need anyone to tell him anything; he knew he was finally home.
***
Lucy didn't really realize how much she’d missed Susan until she saw her again.
She’d been so busy with all her lessons and making sure that Mary felt up to her everyday events and that no word of gossip ever got to her again; that she didn't notice the ache in her heart. At night, she’d been so tired that she didn't stop to think about it, she’d assumed it was mostly Narnia, but now she realized it was all about her sister. She was sure that it was the same thing Mary felt too, for since she’d never had a mother Susan had been the closest thing to it, and she couldn’t imagine a live where they were separated. She couldn’t understand how she had managed to live the last few years without her. She only felt whole when Susan was holding her in her arms, and she would have gladly given up anything, even her friendship with Mary, to get back to where they were before.
She knew Mary understood because after dinner she told her they could spend some time together (though Lucy assumed it was also because Mary wanted to spend some time with her mother).
They’d been talking about everything that was going on at court; Susan was attempting to describe Anne Boleyn without making her sound too awful, when she felt it. She grabbed a hold of Susan’s hand, but before any word could leave her mouth the world around them shifted and the next thing she knew she was standing on a beach, the ocean to their left beckoning to them almost daring them to jump in.
And in the far distance two boys, Edmund and Peter, and finally, the realization that she was in the one place she never thought she’d see again.
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 4
May 31, 1529
Today was the day everything could change.
It had been so many years since they’d arrived here; she could barely remember a moment that they hadn’t been at court. The first few years, Susan remembered it well, had been fun; she’d loved it here. But ever since the king told his wife, on that June day almost two years ago, that he wanted to divorce her everything had gone from bad to worse. First, the Princess Mary and Lucy barely came to court anymore, they wrote letters but Susan agreed with Queen Catherine on this one it wasn’t the same. But the king wouldn’t send for his daughter to come to court; Susan was sure that he was using it against his wife; he was just waiting for her to crack. He’d never succeed; Susan was sure of it, because the more he used her daughter against her the more he reminded her of what she was fighting for.
Today could be the beginning of the end.
The court was assembling today and both the King, and the Queen were being called before it. She had been there when Cardinal Campeggio had called on the queen and almost begged her to join the convent, but Catherine had refused. Privately, Susan thought it might have been better for her if she had just relented, but she never said it out loud, who was she (after all) to give advice to a queen. (Years ago when she had first arrived she had hated that, hated being reminded that she was nothing; but since that moment a lot had changed, and she had noticed that there was a lot she could learn from a queen like Catherine). So here they were getting their queen ready for what could amount to the most important moment of her live. Susan herself would have been dying from nerves, but you would never be able to tell something different was happening by the looks of their queen.
When she left Susan offered to go with her, but the queen opted to take older ladies with her.
And so she stayed behind waiting for the verdict, even if they all already knew what was going to happen next.
****
It had been stupid; he admitted it.
One of the most important days in the King’s life, the one day that could make the difference, and he decided to get into a fight today, of all days. It wasn’t him; it had been the other guy who started it, not that anyone would believe him. There were fights all the time and nobody really paid attention to it, except that he had decided to have an argument with one of the men of the entourage of the Duke of Suffolk. His father had noticed and after apologizing on his behalf had spent an entire hour of his life screaming at his oldest son, Peter could see the disappointment in his eyes. He’d done nothing in his time at court; nobody wanted him, and nobody needed him. Even Edmund, his own brother, barely paid attention to him anymore.
It might be because he told him he was being stupid walking away from Wolsey.
That had been a huge fight as well, though since they were brothers nobody really paid attention to it; all families after all have quarrels.
‘I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I need you to get your act together. So I’ve decided to send you home, for the time being.’
‘But father…’
‘Silence! You’ve caused nothing but trouble, so I am sending you home. Use this time to think about your options because if I call you back, and that is a big if, your behavior must be much improved. Do you understand?’
‘Yes father.’
‘Now get out of my sight, I don’t want to see you again’
He’d wanted to argue; he had a dozen different things to stay; starting with the fact that for once he hadn’t started the fight, but he knew it wouldn’t help him. He hated going home right now; the king was after all finally starting to learn his name, but there was nothing he could do.
Perhaps he should have listened to Edmund when he told him to think before he acted.
****
He’s not sure how it happened but More had decided to make him his new protégée.
He liked More, liked him more than he liked Wolsey; Wolsey was all about the king; he was capable of sacrificing his own son to please the king. Just as long as he too could stay in power, there were times that he thought that Peter was a lot like him, though he sincerely hoped he was wrong. However, More was different, More had integrity; and from the moment they met by accident years ago, Edmund had been intrigued by this man. Strong-willed, full of faith and smart; the kind of man Edmund wanted to be when he grew up, and he hoped that he would reach his goal.
More had noticed one day during a conversation how smart he was.
The next thing he knew his father called him to his office, told him that More had stopped by earlier and for a moment, Edmund had wondered if he had said something wrong. But that wasn’t the case; it wasn’t the case at all; More, his father told him, had noticed how smart he was, and he wanted to make sure he had the proper education. He was offering to pay for tutors or college, and his father had accepted on his behalf; he was to leave his post with Wolsey and go with More; from him. He could learn everything he needed to learn.
When More asked him what he wanted to be he thought of his time in Narnia and ended up choosing the law as a career.
Since that moment, three years ago, he’d been close to More. They’d had conversations and More had read some of his briefs and essays. In those few years Edmund felt closer to him than his father, and he’d ended up wishing that More was his father.
However, the world was changing; he could sense it, and they were all in danger of saying the wrong thing.
And siding with the queen was definitely the wrong thing.
August 1529
She could hear the screams coming from outside.
The smell of vinegar was everywhere, while the king was getting closer and closer to his divorce; everything was being put on hold now. The sweating sickness, after managing to miss it the last few years, had finally come to London. Susan had to admit she feared the illness as well, though she admitted that if one had to die fast was probably the way to go (and the sweating sickness was fast). It was strange; the king did not love the queen anymore and was doing his best to be rid of her, but when the illness came to London, she was the first on his mind. He came to her chambers and told her to leave, to go to Ludlow castle and stay with Mary until all was safe again; she should not take too many ladies with her since it might be dangerous.
Susan could see that the Queen loved how worried he was, but Susan did not think it truly mattered.
The queen had turned, after he’d left and decided that she should go with her; she could hear the other ladies talking, after all it would be much safer over there, but Susan didn’t say a word. She was glad, not just because she’d be saved, but because for she would be seeing her sister again. She hadn’t seen Lucy since Christmas, and she missed her dearly; she'd begun to wonder lately if they ever returned to Narnia, if Narnia had actually been there and she hadn’t dreamed it. Lucy was the person to talk to when one thought that, her love for Narnia assured that she would never doubt it, and she’d know what to say to make Susan believe again.
They’d left so fast that Susan was sure they forgot half of the stuff they needed.
She didn’t realize she hadn’t said goodbye to Edmund until they were already long gone.
****
The court was in uproar.
He returned only a few days ago, but he’d already noticed that everything was different, Anne Boleyn was queen in all but name and Catherine was being ignored most of the time. Edmund had to agree with everyone when they said that it was only a matter of time before she was gone. He also knew that More didn’t agree with it and truthfully neither did he, but there was nothing they could do about it. Henry was the king, and if he wanted his wife gone so he could get a new one that was his choice. He, unlike everyone around him, actually felt for Anne Boleyn; now she was having the time of her life, now she had the king on her side. But not too long ago that had been both Wolsey and Catherine, and now they were both in disgrace. If she did not give him a son on her first try, the king would lose his patience with her, much sooner than he had with his first wife. But now in this moment none of it mattered, all that mattered was the cries in the streets and the deaths in the houses, the sweating sickness had finally reached London.
It was. More who decided that he should send home.
His father wanted him to stay here; or better yet go with the king; ever since More had taken him under his wing, the king had started to notice him more. Sir Thomas More was full of praise about him and the king liked smart people, even if they were young and just growing into their part. So his father wanted him to go with the king, since he’d be one of the only people there, but More decided against it. A few years ago, it wouldn’t have mattered, but since the moment that More had decided to take care of him his word was law. His father had no more pull over him and More said he was to go home. He wasn’t sure how he felt about going there; he could not really remember ever being there, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about seeing Peter again (they had after all not parted on very good terms).
More blessed him and promised him he would pray for him before he left. (Edmund promised he would pray as well though he wasn’t sure anyone, not even Aslan, could hear him).
****
Six months, six long months since she had last seen her mother, and now she was there.
Princess Mary, now 13, had missed her mother so much that she forgot all about protocol, for the moment. Lucy, next to her, was just as excited as she was; though she was more excited about her sister than about the queen. She was grateful that her friend was there; she doesn’t think she would have been able to make it through the last few years without someone by her side who listened and helped her trough everything. As she clung to her mother, she watched as Lucy was also hugged by her older sister, and she vowed she would make sure that they too could spend some time together.
Lucy was the best thing that ever happened to her, especially since she had lost her mother.
She hadn’t really lost her, but it sure felt that way and in her worst nights (when the darkness almost suffocated her) Lucy had told her the most beautiful stories. And when the first rumors of her parents’ divorce finally reached Ludlow, she’d assured her that everything would be alright; the king would never put her aside and her mother would never allow it to happen. She’d reminded Mary about all the rumors that had come before, all the women they spoke of, there were always rumors but that was all they were. There was nothing to it, in a few weeks it would be forgotten, and they would be talking about something else; and she had been right; she hadn’t heard anything else about it since that afternoon.
(She didn’t know, though she would one day find out, that Lucy had gone to her governess, and she had scared the staff so much that nobody dared to speak of it anymore. But they all knew, even Lucy, that the court had assembled, and it was really only a matter of time.)
***
Peter was waiting for him when he arrived.
It had only been a few months but his brother looked different, or perhaps he’d always looked like this, but he hadn’t paid attention. He wondered if that look was on his face as well, the memories of Narnia sometimes so close to the surface that it seemed like they could touch them, that wishful look. He wondered, briefly, if Peter was still angry at him, if they were still fighting. He ought not to have worried, when he got there, was to give him a big (manly) hug. He was relieved. he told him that he was already; he'd heard the sweating sickness reached the city, and he’d been so worried that he would lose him. He asked for the girls, but Edmund didn’t know, all he knew was that Susan had left with the Queen towards Ludlow castle so the assumption was that they were safe.
It was a few hours later, after dinner, that they felt it; Edmund would never be able to forget that pull. Magic and love all wrapped into one, one look at Peter’s face, and he knew it was not in his imagination. The next thing he knew the world around him, which a few moments ago had been a simple room, changed, and suddenly they were standing on a beach; he didn’t need anyone to tell him anything; he knew he was finally home.
***
Lucy didn't really realize how much she’d missed Susan until she saw her again.
She’d been so busy with all her lessons and making sure that Mary felt up to her everyday events and that no word of gossip ever got to her again; that she didn't notice the ache in her heart. At night, she’d been so tired that she didn't stop to think about it, she’d assumed it was mostly Narnia, but now she realized it was all about her sister. She was sure that it was the same thing Mary felt too, for since she’d never had a mother Susan had been the closest thing to it, and she couldn’t imagine a live where they were separated. She couldn’t understand how she had managed to live the last few years without her. She only felt whole when Susan was holding her in her arms, and she would have gladly given up anything, even her friendship with Mary, to get back to where they were before.
She knew Mary understood because after dinner she told her they could spend some time together (though Lucy assumed it was also because Mary wanted to spend some time with her mother).
They’d been talking about everything that was going on at court; Susan was attempting to describe Anne Boleyn without making her sound too awful, when she felt it. She grabbed a hold of Susan’s hand, but before any word could leave her mouth the world around them shifted and the next thing she knew she was standing on a beach, the ocean to their left beckoning to them almost daring them to jump in.
And in the far distance two boys, Edmund and Peter, and finally, the realization that she was in the one place she never thought she’d see again.
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