A Narnia Tale: For King, Queen and Country

A new home

April 21, 1001 NY

Within a month, the largest pockets of resistance were crushed by Narnian arms. Sadly, I missed two weeks of it due to my injuries. I had lost my left eye for good and was forced to wear an eyepad. Luckily, life in Cair Paravel was good. During my recovery, I had long talks with Queen Susan and Lucy. They felt rather lonely in the palace. At first, I was surprised by that but you know how the saying goes: it is lonely at the top. The girls were Queens, all the men had left and were on campaign. The few ladies that lived in the palace treated them with all the respect that came with their position, making it difficult to establish a friendship. It didn't help either that they were significantly younger than most noblewoman. The few friends they had were the faun Tumnus and the Beavers. Tumnus however was busy with his job and had little time and the Beavers had returned to their home at beaverdam, near Lantern Wood. So naturally they felt rather lonely.

Susan had told me that they had found caves in the cliffs under Cair Paravel and they were eager to show me. We descended the cliffs after breakfast. This wasn't as dangerous as it sounded. Years ago, perhaps hundreds of years ago, someone had cut out stairs in the rocks. They were steep, slippery and in desperate need for renovation but they did the job. Here I encountered the problems of only having one eye. My dept view was near non existent, making me stumble a couple of times. Luckily, I arrived in one piece. The cave was dark and the entrance was almost entirely covered in ivy. Luckily, we had brought a series of torches with us.

The cave was rather unimpressive, it was large enough to not feel claustrophobic but dark and cold. The two Queens however were having a lot of fun and I enjoyed the company and conversations too. Lucy continuously told stories about England and her first trips into Narnia.

It took us half an hour to reach the end of the cave. The backwall was made of large, granite blocks with a marble plaque on it. The statue of a woman stood in front of it. 'What's on the plaque?' I asked. Lucy stepped closer. 'It isn't even covered in moss, it looks brand new,' she said. 'Its magic, Luce,' Susan replied. Lucy stared at the plaque and read it out load. "To those that are worthy: only by the hand of a true monarch of Narnia will I open and reveal my secrets. Made by Queen Swanwhite the Beautiful, 648 NY" 'Should I try?' Lucy asked. 'Of course you should, silly,' Susan said with impatience. Lucy laid her hand on the cold and dark stone. First, nothing happened. Then the stone opened like a door, revealing a treasury chamber within. The chamber wasn't overloaded with gold like one would expect but almost seemed empty. Only three objects sat in the room. A beautiful dress laying on a sarcophagus cladded with gold, a sliver necklace with a small red ruby and a bow, including a quiver with arrows. 'This must have been hers, right?' I said. The place was humbling, the walls were decorated with carvings that depicted scene's of hunting and feasts. 'I think so,' answered Susan: 'Can we take it?' 'I suppose we can,' I said while walking closer.

The sarcophagus was gilded and seemed to hold the body of the long dead Queen. Her image as portrayed on the sarcophagus paid homage to the title she had carried "the Beautiful". A small crown sat on her head, a stone sword laid on her chest and a sculpted dog rested on her feet. Both Susan and Lucy came closer as well. Lucy carefully grabbed the bow and said in surprise: 'It is in perfect condition.' She took a large breath of air: 'You can smell the magic.' Susan caressed the dress and whispered: 'It's silk.' She slowly picked the dress up and looked at the necklace. 'Lucy? I think this will be beautiful for you.' Her sister shook her head: 'No, it's too large for me. You should take it. That belongs to the dress.' Susan was silent for a while, then she picked up the necklace as well.

We left the cave soon after and climbed the cliff, reaching Cair Paravel an hour before noon.

The Chamberlain came to Queen Susan during the meal. He brought the news that a Narnian noble family had arrived from the Lone Islands. Susan immediately went to the front gates to welcome them.

About fifteen minutes later Susan came back, followed by a well dressed family. They were with five, a couple of around fifty years old and their three children who were twelve, sixteen and twenty-two . She reached the table and introduced us. I rose up and extended my hand. The old man visible shrinked back when he saw my scared face. 'I'm Erik Henderson, Advisor of High King Peter the Magnificent,' I said to him, still extending my hand. He took it hesitantly: 'And I am Lord Penagram. This is my wife Hildebrand and these are my daughters Lola, Universa and Luna.' I greeted them. 'Didn't you protect Cair Paravel? Is that were you lost your eye?' the oldest daughter, Luna, asked. 'Oh come on, Luna. I am sure the esteemed general wouldn't want to talk about that,' her father said. 'My lady, I lost my eye a week ago in Lantern Wood. At Cair Paravel I got a concussion,' I answered. 'Well, getting hit usually is a sign that one seeks to much danger, general,' I didn't understand why the man was so passively aggressive. I replied with a soft smile: 'It is my experience that a knight in shining armour is a man who never had his properly steel tested.' Having enough of it, I nodded to Susan and turned away. I went to the roof, where you could find a variety of play tables, from carts to billiards. From here the view was extraordinary. I went to one of the billiards tables and started playing on my own.

Someone came closer, I turned around and saw one of the daughters of the newly arrived family standing in front of me. 'I'm sorry about my father,' she said, I had forgotten her name. I lifted my shoulders and aimed my next shot. 'he's jealous you know?' she continued. I missed my shot: 'Why?' 'He wanted to fight against the Witch, wanted to be famous,' she said. 'Then where was he this summer, when we were fighting for our lives?' it came out a little more aggressive than I would have wanted. 'There is a difference between wanting something and actually doing it,' was her answer. I nodded. 'And now we are here, far away from home in the hope that my father gets a good position in the government,' her tone was cynical, I didn't respond. She walked over to the other side of the table and grabbed a cue: 'Come on, this isn't a game for one.' 

A rather short one, I know, but i didn't feel like making this a meaty chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a comment if you did!