𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 || peter pevensie [1]

chapter twelve ~ crowned

Nimueh stood in the doorway frame of the girls' dressing chambers. "Both of you look beautiful."

The Queens-to-be turned towards her. The Dryads had dressed them in graceful velvet gowns, embroidered and perfect for the coronation ceremony. Elijah, Jonah, and a couple of their friends bowed and walked towards the door.

"We'll leave you three to finish getting ready," Elijah smiled. She stopped beside Nimueh, reaching up to brush her cheek, then rested her hands on her bare shoulders. "You are radiant, my dear. I'm so proud of you, and I know Asher would be too if she were here." Nimueh nodded, smiling sadly. Elijah and the other Dryads left, closing the doors softly behind them.

"I never thought you would be one for dresses," Lucy cocked her head to one side, gazing at Nimueh.

"On the contrary," Nimueh swept over to a mannequin stand and slipped a red clock off it. "Where I come from, everyone wears dresses all of the time. I wore one the other night after the battle and I'm quite fond of them actually, but they aren't practical when it comes to fighting."

"Everyone wears them?" asked Susan. "Even the men?"

"Oh yes. Everyone strives to look beautiful every day. Of course, we have different styles for different occasions, but all of the Elites always look like royalty, and even the People can end up looking pretty spectacular." Nimueh placed the cloak over Lucy's shoulders and carefully fastened the broach at the front. "It may not be obvious, but getting all dressed up is a huge part of the culture there. It is the only thing that I miss."

"I don't think you'll ever cease to surprise me, Nimueh," Susan laughed.

She shrugged. "I suppose I've just had different priorities since we met. Here, let me help you with that." She fastened Susan's broach and pulled some of her hair over her shoulder, straightening her cloak over her arms.

"Don't you...miss your friends?" Lucy's words seemed hesitant. "Don't you miss getting dressed up and going out with them?"

Nimueh shook her head. "I don't have any friends, not really. And dressing up extravagantly has never been an option for me, but I liked watching others enjoy themselves." She looked up and broke into an embarrassed smile. "That sounds really sad, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean you haven't any friends? You have us! Right," Susan dragged her in front of one of the floor-length mirrors. "It's your turn."

"Oh no! It's fine."

But Susan wasn't having any of her bashful protests. Nimueh found it difficult to look at her reflection; having been raised in a land that had taught her to hate the ugliness of her hair and eyes, it was never easy to see herself as anything other than hideous. But this was a different girl to the one who had arrived in Narnia just a few weeks before, a different girl to the one who lived on the island. Her cheeks were less hollow, her body less painfully thin and willowy. Narnia had changed her once again. The dress she wore was a midnight-blue velvet, long and heavy. The cuff of her off-the-shoulder draped bell sleeves and dress hem was embroidered with silver curls. Susan had begun fiddling with her hair, which Nimueh left down in its natural waves. She pinned back the front parts, giving the copper curls a little more control and revealing more of her face.

"Now do you see how beautiful you are?" Lucy grinned.

"Oh, I don't know. You think?"

"Yes. Peter's going to love it."

"What?"

"Nothing." The two Pevensie girls laughed. Nimueh frowned, not understanding their meaning.