luna | peter pevensie

chapter four

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Luna knows she shouldn't. However, if the High King himself is asking her for a dance, shouldn't she accept?  She thinks of all her father had taught her about politics, and how even something as frivolous as dancing could start a war. Maybe this wouldn't start a narnian war, but it would certainly aggravate her mother and sister. Their wrath is surely worse than any enemy Luna can think of.

But King Peter looks handsome. She shouldn't think so, because he's well above her ranking and also supposedly going to be her brother-in-law soon (at least, according to her mother.)

Still, it would be almost treason to ignore the way the king's eyes are a beautiful shade of stormy blue. They make Luna think of the torrents of waves that she's never been to. Looking into Peter's eyes makes her feel like she's already been to the sea, submerged and floating all at once. She blinks, clears her throat, and looks away. "Um, I have to decline, Your Majesty."

"Is it because of your sister?" Peter asks.

"Well, she certainly would like to marry you," Luna says, struggling to keep her voice still. How she would love to dance with him, just for the night.

"So what?" Peter leans back against the balcony railing and crosses his arms over his chest. "I've already danced with her, and it's only polite that I dance with her family as well. Right?"

Luna bites her lip worriedly. "I'm not sure Gloria would see it that way."

Peter stands up straight and slowly looks around the empty balcony. "She won't see it any way if she doesn't see it."

"What do you mean?" Luna asks.

Peter holds out his hand and smiles. "Dance with me. Out here. No one will know."

Luna starts. There's a gentleness in Peter's voice; a hesitance like he isn't quite sure how much weight his words hold. And she wants to; she really wants to take a chance and dance with a handsome king. It would only be one little dance.

No feelings or attachments involved at all. Luna can dance and feel the joy of a noble lady, and no one has to know anything about it.

"Okay," she breathes.

Peter's eyes light up in surprise. He purses his lips and turns his head. It's a familiar little "oh?" expression that makes Luna's head spin with an unresolved emotion. The king holds out his hand once again. "Then, Lady Luna, would you do me the honors of a dance?"

Luna grabs a hold of Peter's hand. It's larger than hers, and the skin is calloused from years of sword training and whatever else a king must get up to.

He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her closer. Luna wonders which narnian dance he'll pull her into, but he settles for a gentle sort of waltz, one that Luna remembers her father teaching her long ago. Peter is much faster than her at recovering his steps, but he's patient to wait for Luna's brain to catch up with the entire movement.

And then they're dancing. Luna can see the stars above her head. She can hear the faint buzz of conversation and music just beyond the balcony door. She can see that up close, the king's eyes are still a gray-ish sort of blue. She stares at them for a moment too long.

Peter clears his throat and averts his gaze to the landscape behind Luna. "Where'd you learn how to dance?"

Luna snorts. The king looks a bit surprised at her outburst, but she can't help it. She lets out another bark of laughter. "Your Majesty, are you making fun of me?"

"What?" Peter smiles nervously. An adorably flustered laugh escapes his lips and he shakes his head, laughing along with Luna. "I was serious."

He pouts, all pink lips and no trepidation. Luna wonders if the king is always this handsome, or if it's just the moonlight and the energy of spring.

"My father," she says, leveling her emotions. It doesn't last long, because Luna begins to think of her father, and a piece of her heart thumps against her chest. She smiles fondly. "Of course, it was because I begged him to teach me how to dance like a real princess. He tried to make me wait for proper dance lessons, but I annoyed him far too much." Luna furrows her brows and sighs, "He still made me wait ages."

"He was a good man," Peter says.

Luna feels it somewhere in her stomach; the release of tension. It's been a question that has hung above her head since he died. Was he a good man? "I think so," she says. Her voice is quiet and still against the night wind.

Peter seems to sense the shift in mood, so he tightens his grip on Luna's waist and dips her backward.

"Woah!" Luna shouts. She holds onto Peter's shoulders and laughs at the shock that rakes down her spine. When Peter brings her back up, she separates herself from him. "I thought you were going to drop me."

"How rude would that be of me?" Peter asks with a light laugh.

Mother always says my bones are too thick. That I should lose weight to make up for the fact. Luna smiles, though it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Very rude, indeed."

Peter opens his mouth to say something else, but he's interrupted by the balcony door opening. "There you are, Pete." Susan grabs his hand. Then, noticing Luna, she yanks Peter back towards the ballroom. "Listen, Lady Gloria is looking for–"

"Luna, what on earth are you doing out here?" Gloria pushes past the king and queen. She grabs Luna's arm, nails digging into Luna's skin, and curtsies before Peter. "My apologies, Your Highness. She can be so overly... impish. I have no idea why she would bother you when she's supposed to be serving."

Peter narrows his gaze. "I beg your pardon–"

"I came out for air, Gloria." Luna intercepts the king and her sister. "His Majesty was out here, and I shouldn't have bothered him. I'm going back to my room now."

"Good," Gloria spits. "Leave the conversations to women who are fit to talk."

Luna knows this would be the type of thing her father would chide Gloria for. He would then take Luna in his arms and squeeze her tightly. He'd sing her that song about the man in the moon. She'd forget the harsh words and fall asleep against his chest.

How she misses him.

"I'm sorry," she says again, just before running back into the ballroom.

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sorry this ends sort of abruptly and sadly (?) but i've already started on the next chapter so hopefully that will make up for it.

please let me know if you like this or don't like this
or
let me know what you'd like to see in future chapters

as always thanks for reading!!