MILLION WORDS | ❝There's a million words I should've said, I remember you were standing in my doorway and the words were on my lips, that you never looked so beautiful. Oh just to be near you, don't you know how good that feels? These are all the th...
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♚♚♚
Peter and I stumbled into the castle, dripping wet and leaving a trail of puddles in our wake. Our boots squelched loudly against the polished stone, and I was half-laughing, half-shivering when we nearly collided with Susan at the end of the corridor.
She stood there with her arms folded, her expression as sharp as the edge of a sword. One elegant eyebrow arched, and I could practically hear the reprimand forming before she even opened her mouth.
"What happened to you two?" she demanded, her voice cool as a winter's breeze.
A centaur attendant hurried over with a pair of thick towels, which we gratefully accepted.
"We fell," I said with a grin, rubbing my hair dry.
Peter laughed at Susan's unimpressed glare. "Why do you always look like that, Su?"
Her eyes narrowed further. Despite being called Queen Susan the Gentle, there was nothing gentle in the way she scolded Peter and me.
"Stop making such messes. Stop fooling around. We are kings and queens of Narnia, not careless children rolling about in the mud. Our people look to us for guidance, for dignity, for—"
"Oh, Susan," I cut in with a sigh, wrapping the towel around my shoulders. "Just because we sit on thrones doesn't mean we can't enjoy ourselves now and then. I'm sorry, but you can't treat Peter and me like your subjects. We're your equals, not your soldiers to order around."
Before Susan could respond, I clasped Peter's hand and tugged him down the corridor. He let out a soft chuckle as I pulled him along, leaving his sister fuming in the hall.
We didn't stop until we reached the door of my chambers. My breath left me in a long sigh, and I turned to him. "I'm sorry. I know I was harsh. But she just... gets under my skin sometimes."
Peter's smile was warm, his eyes gentle. He brushed a damp lock of hair from my face, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead. "It's all right. I get it. Susan only worries because she cares, though she has a rather dreadful way of showing it." He squeezed my hand, leaning close, and I could feel the quiet intensity in his gaze. "I'll see you later. I love you."
"I love you too," I whispered. His smile lingered in my mind long after he disappeared down the corridor.
♚♚♚
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the high windows of the throne room, casting golden rays across the marble floor. When I entered, the others were already gathered in conversation with Mr. Tumnus.
"What's going on here?" I asked, my voice echoing lightly through the grand chamber.
"Nothing, love," Peter said quickly, reaching for my hand with a smile that almost looked too casual. "Just talking to Mr. Tumnus."
Something in his tone made me pause, but before I could question it, the faun gave us a polite bow.
"Well, good day, Your Majesties. I must be on my way." With that, he departed, his hooves clicking softly against the stone until the doors shut behind him.
We settled into our thrones, awaiting the line of Narnians who came each day seeking guidance. A badger approached first, requesting protection for a grove of talking trees from lumbering giants in the north. Then a family of dwarfs asked for aid in building a new school. Each request reminded me of how much we had grown as rulers over the past four years — and how much responsibility rested on our shoulders.
It was tiring work, but rewarding. And though Susan had become more rigid in her expectations, I had grown to cherish the balance of the six of us ruling together. Still, I couldn't help thinking her sharp words toward Peter and me stemmed from something more than duty. She had no one who made her laugh the way Peter made me laugh. No one whose hand she could hold at the end of a long day.
When the last petitioner bowed and departed, Lucy was already skipping from the hall, chattering happily with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. That left only Peter, Susan, Edmund, Ivory, and me.
"Peter," Susan said suddenly, her tone brisk.
He looked at me, eyebrows raised in the faintest shrug, before following her as she tugged him aside. Their voices dropped to a hushed murmur, too low for me to hear. A flicker of curiosity twisted in my chest.
I turned to Edmund and Ivory, who had been whispering to one another all morning. "Are you going to tell me what you were really discussing with Mr. Tumnus earlier?"
The pair froze, glancing at each other like guilty children.
"He was just... sharing more stories," Ivory said, her smile a little too quick. "About Narnia before my mother ruled it. You know — the usual."
Then, before I could press further, she grabbed Edmund's hand and whisked him out of the chamber, their laughter trailing behind them.
I remained in the throne room, the vast silence pressing in around me. I glanced toward the doors where Peter and Susan had vanished. Something was stirring — secrets whispered in corners, conversations cut short when I entered.
Peter's eyes had been brighter than usual this morning, a quiet excitement simmering beneath his calm demeanor. He was hiding something, but not the kind of secret that weighed heavy with dread. No, his secret seemed to make him glow.
For a moment, a strange thought crossed my mind — that he was planning something for me. My heart quickened at the idea, though I quickly brushed it aside, convincing myself I was imagining it.
