~By the Lion's Mane: See You Again~

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

“Rilian! Where have you run off to, you silly boy?” I called out, peeking under bushes and shrubs and behind statues in the garden of Cair Paravel.

I heard a giggle somewhere to my left and looked up, smiling.

“Where could he have gone?” I wondered aloud in a mock-confused voice as I pretended to look around the base of a stone fountain. “Rilian!”

Another giggle. I turned around suddenly, my skirts swishing around my legs, and caught sight of him toddling away through a low maze of rosebushes in the center of the garden.

“I’ve got you now!” I called, jogging after him. He squealed as I caught up to him and swept him up, his baby face red from running around, his mouth forming a wide grin and showing off his two new bottom teeth. His dark curls were in disarray and I picked out pieces of leaves and twigs.

“You’ve gotten all dirty, you silly boy! You’re going to need a bath now,” I pretended to scold as I carried him back inside the castle, calling to a maid to run some bath water for him.

He continued to laugh and make other baby noises as I took him up to his nursery and set him in his bath. As he squirmed and splashed in the sudsy water, I let my mind wander, and wondered at how quickly this had become routine.

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In the weeks that followed my son’s birth, I learned just how hard it was to be a mother. Rilian seemed always to be hungry, and once I was recovered, I began to nurse him myself instead of having a wet nurse from a nearby village to do it, as she had during my convalescence. This had been my choice of course, but that didn’t make it an easy task.

He woke us at all hours of the night, wailing at the top of his small lungs, for any reason. A dirty diaper, hunger, or for no apparent reason at all. His tiny face would scrunch up and turn red as he cried until I took him in my arms and nursed him or changed his diaper or rocked him back to sleep.

When he was a month old and it became clear that he was healthy and would most likely live, we had a large celebration in the Great Hall and had him christened. After the ceremony, many of the Narnian nobility and other people of importance from the nearby countries came one by one and presented gifts to the little prince. He slept through most of it, despite all of the kisses bestowed upon him and cooing that came with the gifts.

When the last present had been granted, we carried him out to the same balcony overlooking the courtyard as we had to announce our engagement. There we held him up for the Narnians to see, the deep-lunged announcer presenting him.

“Prince Rilian, future king of Narnia!”

Many people wondered at the name, but Caspian told them all with a smile that he had decided that ten kings of his name were enough.

“After all,” he said, “We should have some mercy on the future schoolchildren of Narnia. Ten Caspians are hard enough to keep track of in their history lessons.”

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The next few months flew by. First, Rilian was barely able to lift his head and did nothing but cry and sleep, but before we knew it, he was grabbing necklaces from my neck, shaking his tiny fists, and attempting to left his head and move around on his tummy. He began to smile at me and Caspian and other people he trusted, like Trumpkin and Trufflehunter and Dr. Cornelius and his plump nurse, Marie.

When he was old enough to have an interest in such things, I would lay out a blanket on the ground with several of his toys, and entice him to play. He would grab hold of a toy and shake it around, laughing and grinning at me all the while as he lay on his stomach.

As I watched him, my heart would swell with love. It seemed impossible that I could feel so much for such a tiny, helpless thing so instantaneously. I never thought it would be possible, but I loved Rilian more than I ever could love Edmund, or anyone else. He was second only, although nearly equal, to Aslan in my heart.

Indeed I spent so much time with the child that I believe Caspian grew to be a little jealous. But he spoiled Rilian just as much as I did, and also loved to sit on the blanket and dangle shiny things in front of him.

We began to feed him solid food, and he would make a mess of the mush, turning his face from the spoon or spitting it out all over himself.

When he began to crawl, we couldn’t look away for even a moment or he’d be racing away and getting into something that he shouldn’t. And before we knew it, he was pulling himself up into a standing position and could walk around by holding on to our fingers.

Rilian grew at a rapid rate, and soon he was babbling words like, “Mamama,” “Dadadadadada,” and “Andyyyy.” The unicorn was delighted by the child, and every time I took my son to the stable he would neigh excitedly and prick up his ears. He was always gentle and patient with the child, even when Rilian tugged on his nose and ears. Rilian would squeal and wave his fists around joyfully every time Andy blew hot air into his wisp of dark hair.

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Before we knew it, a year had passed and Rilian’s first birthday party was upon us, I reflected as I wrapped him in a towel after he was sufficiently clean. He squirmed and made noises until I released him, freshly clothed in a new diaper and soft baby clothes. He pattered off across the room and plopped down with some of his toys, waving them around in his balled up fists and sticking them into his mouth.

I smiled to myself as I watched my son, wishing that his father could do the same.

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A/N: Sorry for the short one; more is coming! Thanks for the comments, likes, and votes!