After the End (Narnia)

Chapter IX - A Winter's Ball

The night had finally come. Edmund stood beside the thrones in the Great Hall, observing the party through a dark purple mask. His eyes glinted as he watched the celebration, proud of his accomplishments. The whole thing had turned out significantly better than he had imagined.

The Great Hall had been cleared out to create a dance floor, save for the podium that boasted the four thrones. Twinkling lights had been hung from the roof, creating a starry ceiling for the Narnians to celebrate under. Tables to the left of the hall were groaning with an assortment of rich food, including the bread that Caspian had finally figured out how to make. A group of musicians filled the right hand corner, playing a variety of Narnian flutes and guitars. The Narnians themselves swept around the room with the grandeur of anonymity, elegant masks covering identities only for the night.

Caspian manned the food table with a sense of pride. Alongside the typical Narnian foods were several traditional Telmarine dishes, prepared by Caspian and Caspian alone. The smell reminded him of the Telmarine parties that the whole night had been modelled on. The sight of Narnians sweeping around the dance-floor took him back to his childhood. Edmund had made it a truly beautiful tribute to Caspian's own country. Susan swept by in a beautiful blue silk dress and a matching mask, pulling him out of his reverie. "Care for a dance, kind sir?"

"Certainly. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Caspian allowed himself to be pulled into the middle of the dance-floor by the queen who was making no attempt at anonymity. She was easily the most beautiful woman in the room. Come to think of it, she was always the most beautiful woman in the room. "What are you dreaming about, silly? You should be focusing on the dance," Susan scolded, noticing Caspian's faraway look.

"Ah, I was a little distracted. I'm sorry, I really am," Caspian replied. "My full attention will be on you from now on." Susan smiled back at him, her eyes underneath the mask revealing her identity even more than the soft timbre of her voice. I am ridiculously lucky, thought Caspian.

Eustace and Jill stood at the side of the room, drinking matching cups of punch and observing the crowd. "Something's going on between Caspian and Susan over there," Jill noted, sipping her punch with a raised eyebrow.

"Honestly, I'm not at all surprised. You should have heard how he talked about her when we were on the Dawn Treader all those years back. It was quite sickening at the time," Eustace responded.

"But not now? I never took you for a romantic, Eustace Scrubb," Jill teased.

"Well, I didn't consider myself one either. I probably don't now. You should know full well that I was an almost completely intolerable child, and therefore hated anything that anybody else called enjoyable," Eustace swallowed.

"I agree, you were completely intolerable," Jill replied.

"Hey! That's mean. You're not my friend anymore, Jill Pole," Eustace said childishly.

"I was meaning to say that you've improved significantly, dear fellow. You're almost nice to be around now. Oh, and you have finally learnt to style your hair," Jill sipped the punch again with a cheeky smile.

"That I have, Miss Pole. Care for a dance?"

The two joined the crowds on the dance-floor, alternating between stupidity and seriousness in their dancing. Eustace stared down at the girl he was dancing with. His childhood friendship had ended up blossoming into something immovable and solid. Jill had been his constant in both Narnian and real-world adventures. She looked remarkably beautiful tonight.

Jill had never cared too much for her appearance, something Eustace had admired, being a highly practical man. But tonight she had gone all out. Her eyes glittered behind her dove grey mask, and Eustace felt his heart skip a beat. Was this what love felt like?

Peter Pevensie had made his way around the room, finally joining his brother beside the thrones, noticing the several blossoming romances with disgust. Honestly, he had thought whatever Caspian and Susan had had so many years back was disgusting, but this, was just gross. Edmund seemed to notice his brother's disgusted face. "So much love in the air Peter. I think its making you sick!" he chuckled, pretending to throw rose petals over his disgruntled brother's face.

"You're probably right. I have no desire to be witnessing the love lives of my sister and cousin, thank you very much!" Peter spoke abruptly, almost sounding forced.

"Or maybe," Edmund said with a wicked smirk. "Poor Pete is jealous. He wants a love like that!"

"Oh, come on with you. You want love more than I do. I am a happy bachelor, and a young, attractive bachelor at that. I am perfectly satisfied being alone," Peter replied almost snappily. But still Edmund saw something in his brother's eyes. He knew the emotion well from the war days, when they spent their time crying together for their parents. Longing.

Edmund felt quite lonely himself. For his sister and his cousin, love had seemed to come easily. For goodness sake, something seemed to be happening between Lucy and Tumnus as well. They had all found their soulmates at a drop of a hat, a flash of lightning. But here Edmund was, having lived nineteen years on earth, and a few more in Narnian eternity, and without even someone to be interested in. Maybe he would just have to wait.

The couples twirled around the dance-floor, sweeping around the room in elegant gestures. Love, bitterness, and jealousy all existed in that room that night, three emotions in a dance of their own.

The lights faded, the sun rising in the sky. The revellers stepped away from their dance partners and their drinks. Tomorrow would be a long, long, day.