𝙸𝚁𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴. ➪ 𝙴. 𝙿𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚎

𝚘𝚗𝚎

In the month since the ball, Elmer had begun to lose interest in Susan Pevensie. He told himself that it was because he knew she'd never feel the same way about him, but really it was because Princess Dariyah of Archenland had started attending meetings at Cair Paravel, and Peter and Edmund agreed that she was perhaps the prettiest woman they'd ever laid eyes on. To which Susan slapped Elmer's arm and told him to start respecting women.
Cobalt followed Phillis down a hall of Cair Paravel as he accompanied her to the meeting she was set to attend. She was already running late. To make matters worse, they'd changed the room in which they were to have the gathering and she'd completely forgotten which room it was.
Hoping for the best, she shoved open a heavy door and stumbled into the quiet room. In the centre, a long table sat. Everyone who was sat around the wooden table turned to look at the sudden commotion. Composing herself, Phillis closed the door after Cobalt and straightened out her blue dress, before taking a seat next to Susan. Cobalt lay at her feet, resting his head in his paws. "Sorry I'm late. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Majesties," Phillis bowed her head at the King of Archenland and his daughter, Lady Dariyah.
"I'm sure there's a good reason," Lady Dariyah raised a brow expectingly at the younger woman.
"Yes, why are you late?" Edmund asked.
"Well, I... you see," Phillis stammered.
"What Queen Phillis is trying to say is that there was a sudden room change of where this meeting would be held, and we were not informed of it," Cobalt said, sitting up.
"Well, perhaps she'd do to be better prepared next time," Dariyah said in a nasty tone, which only Phillis and Cobalt seemed to pick up on.
"Quite," Elmer nodded, before smiling sweetly at Lady Dariyah.
The meeting dragged on as Peter and the King of Archenland discussed how to improve trade between Narnia and Archenland and better ways to strengthen the alliance. Occasionally, Lady Dariyah would slip in a snarky comment about Phillis, which everyone would chuckle at before continuing the agreements. "Queen Phillis," the King of Archenland spoke up, "you've been awfully quiet. What do you suppose we do to strengthen the alliance between our two great lands?"
"Well, surely if we trust one another then the alliance can be no stronger? No matter how many precautions you each put in place, if the trust isn't there, the alliance won't work," she replied.
"Are you saying you don't trust us?" Dariyah glared at Phillis.
"Not at all. What I'm saying is you don't trust us. You called for this meeting to discuss how to strengthen the alliance, so you obviously feel it's weak in areas. So instead of making small talk, just cut to the chase about what you want to change and we can come to an agreement about it. Because we've been in this room for two hours and corsets are very painful," Phillis replied, an underlying anger to her usually soft tone.
Peter sent her a glare, warning her to mind her tone. Lucy turned away, suppressing a giggle. The rest of the monarchs looked horrified at Phillis' sudden outburst. There was a momentary lull before Cobalt spoke up. "Perhaps we ought to have this meeting at another time? I think everyone needs some time to collect their thoughts," he suggested.
The King agreed, grabbing his daughters hand and left the room, sending a harsh glare towards Phillis. When the royalty of Archenland left the room, they all turned to Phillis. Lucy snorted, before retreating to her stern tone at Susan's glare. "What was that all about?" Peter asked, raising his brow at her.
"She asked a question, and I merely answered it," Phillis shrugged.
"That was way out of line, Phillis," Elmer said, before standing to see to Lady Dariyah. The door slammed behind Elmer, and Susan ran after him to ensure he was okay. Peter stood before turning to Phillis, "Think before you speak next time."
Edmund sent her a cold glare before following his brother out of the room. "Come on, Lu," Edmund called.
Lucy sent Phillis an apologetic glance before running after her brothers.
Cobalt looked to her, seeing small tears build in her eyes. "Was it really that bad?" she muttered.
"Personally, I thought you were well within your rights to say what you said. Lady Dariyah did accuse you first," Cobalt said. "I noticed the little digs Lady Dariyah kept making at you too."
"Everyone's just blinded by her beauty," Phillis sighed.
"Maybe so. But when she betrays them, they'll learn of their mistakes too late," Cobalt smiled sadly at her.