The Early Chronicles: The Story of Swanwhite

Chapter 2

"Helm, visor, gorget, pauldron..." 

"Breastplate.  Breastplate next, your highness." Sir Oliver interrupted.  Swanwhite sighed, she was reciting the parts of armor but she couldn't seem to get a perfect run.  

"I'm sorry, Oliver.  I just can't seem to focus today."  She said and slumped down in a chair.  Oliver gave her a sympathetic look.

"I understand your highness, but I'm afraid there is not much time until your coronation, and now with the situation with your uncle it is even more crucial that you learn."  He said.  Swanwhite knew this, and she thought about it every waking moment and it was beginning to be a subject that was unbearable because it weighed on her mind and shoulders.  Every piece of advice or schooling she received was about the 'issue', and Swanwhite didn't think they were concerned about helping her feel better about it at all.  And on top of it, Cygnus was having a hard time getting messages to Calormen about talking to the Tisroc.

"I know it's important that I become a ruler overnight," She said in an exasperated tone, "but just knowing that my uncle wants to kill my soldiers on sight and that the future of my home rests on my decisions and actions-"

"Forgive me, my lady."  Oliver interrupted softly. "It was insensitive of me to forget that you are still young and worried about it.  Let's break for today, you have done well."  He began putting the suit of armor back together.  Swanwhite was grateful and so she stole away to the gardens to have a moment of peace.

Swanwhite's private garden had been made especially for her by her parents when she had turned ten years old.  It cheered her immensely whenever she was there because it helped her feel closer to her parents.  To get to the gardens, there was a little door inside her chambers, and that door opened to a beautiful balcony that overlooked the green countryside that the castle was built on.  The balcony became narrower on one side and stretched almost the entire side of the castle.  A wooden cage was built over some of it that held hanging plants and flowers in it's frame.  The wooden frame created a sort of tunnel coated in green vines.  The tunnel was quiet and serene and made Swanwhite feel excited and sleepy all at once.  This morning, the sun was peeking through the ivy in the tunnel and illuminating the ground and Swanwhite like stars.  She waltzed through the tunnel thinking about anything except her uncle.  How she missed her parents, how Aslan had given them an apple from the Tree of Protection that had made them able to have a child even in old age, she thought about how she had never seen Aslan herself and how wonderful it must have been.  There were pots of flowers and bushes all around her feet so she thought about how she would pick some flowers and decorate the castle with them for her coronation.  Her throne was being constructed in the very same hall that her parents sat in, and she had made the request that their thrones be kept beside hers so she could feel like they were still there, guiding her steps.  She had also requested that a great, golden lion's head be crafted and hung above her throne, and her coat of arms below it.  It was daunting to become queen, but planning small things like thrones, crowns, dresses, and designs was great fun.  If only she could do that and be left out of major decisions.  As she pondered this, she came to the end of the tunnel and gazed upon her flower garden.  Since the garden was on a balcony, there was no ground to plant flowers in, so there were dozens of troughs that were filled with soil and now the flowers had grown so much that they had overgrown their troughs and spilling over the ground.  This created the illusion of ground and Swanwhite had never seen a more welcoming sight.  It was full of mostly roses, lilacs, and tulips, but also contained sunflowers, daisies, and peonies.  She sat down on a nearby bench and gazed at the view of the sea while breathing in the smell of her flowers and the fresh air.  

Just when she was worried she would fall asleep on the bench, she heard a soft padding of feet behind her.  She turned around quickly and saw Cygnus walking towards her with his head arched so he wouldn't hit his head on the tunnel.  Cygnus was the only one who really knew about the garden.

"Cygnus.  Was your most recent message to Calormen productive?"  Swanwhite asked, although she half-hoped it hadn't been.

"Yes it was, your majesty."  He said, bowing low.  "Your uncle has agreed to see you in two days hence.  You are to travel to Calormen to see him." 

"Calormen!  But that is several day's ride!" 

"Not if I carry you."  Said the Swan.  "I have flown the distance in a day many times, but we must move quickly.  Three more swans have agreed to take three other soldiers, and they are already assembled.  They have gathered food and weapons, so as soon as you are ready, we will depart."  Swanwhite was very shocked at his swiftness, and her heart sank at the dreaded journey being taken so soon, but it couldn't be helped.  So she thanked him, and hurried off to change into more travel-friendly clothing.