The Golden Witch || Peter Pevensie x OC

66. Childhood

Lunch had been nothing short of exquisite.

A three-course meal consisting of some of Valera's favourite delicacies.

Creamy tomato soup with some warm fresh bread rolls and salted butter to start.

Perfectly seasoned chicken with a variety of steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes, and warm gravy for the main dish.

Strawberries and cream as dessert.

Not a crumb of food had been left on anyone's plates, leaving them all feeling rather full and lethargic by the end.

The conversation had been just as spectacular as the meal itself.

Valera discovered that Helen Pevensie had an affinity for gardening, historical literature, and painting.

All three of those things were shared by Valera's own interests, thus the two babbled on for what seemed like hours about the topics.

It was quite hard for Valera to not bring up anything that related to Narnia in that time.

Keeping herself from talking about the historical texts of her own land, the way she could once point her finger and an entire garden would be grown in a second, and that her own paintings resembled the wonderous world she had once lived in.

But she had managed it with the help of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy who all kept the conversation running smoothly.

The main thing Valera enjoyed most over the meal was hearing Helen's stories about her children when they were all younger.

Some particular favourites included a memory of Lucy finding a discarded doll in their attic, naming her Judy, and refusing to part with her, even at bathtime.

Or perhaps when Susan and Edmund got into a heated argument over who could ride their bikes the fastest, resulting in a competition being held and them drawing. The draw could obviously not be accepted by either party, and they demanded a rematch. Before they raced again, they spent hours training profusely, Helen even claiming to have caught Edmund circling his legs round and round in his sleep.

But most of all, there was a story of when Peter was a boy, and the family had gone to a local park for a walk.

Apparently, he had picked up a twig as soon as they entered, and walked around the entire day swinging it around, proclaiming that he was a knight and had to practice his sword-fighting.

The irony of what Peter had become years later, a Knight of Narnia who was very well versed in the art of sword-fighting, was not lost on everyone sat at the table apart from the woman telling the story.

Valera could have heard hundreds of those stories, and never be tired of them.

But, eventually, the meal and stories had to come to an end.

"You really outdid yourself, mum", Peter exhaled, leaning back in his chair, swinging an arm behind Valera sat beside him.

"It's true, Helen. It was delicious", Valera agreed.

"The chicken was a tad dry", Edmund teased, earning a smack with a napkin by Susan.

"I'm glad our guest liked it", Helen said, her tone warning her youngest son to behave.

From her point of view, Valera was fairly unfamiliar and new to her children, and she wanted all of them to make a good impression.

Whereas, in truth, Valera had been around Edmund and his mischievous comments for years.

She was very used to the Pevensie's dynamics, the good and the bad.

"I have a solution to the dryness", Lucy chimed in. "Perhaps we could wash it down with some port?"