༄ ⍴һ᥆ᥱᥒі᥊ ᥕᥲrrі᥆r sһ᥆r𝗍 s𝗍᥆rіᥱs ༄

Arrival in Tashbaan

Summary: The Narnians set sail for Calormen. Ana wonders just how much trouble the young Archenlandian Prince can get into.

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~Part Two of The Horse and His Boy~

As soon as Edmund departed, Ana went to work carefully putting everything back where they belonged. Some clothes she set aside to pack into a trunk to go aboard the Splendour Hyaline. She knew she wouldn't wear any of the clothes she set aside and decided to pack them to keep her busy. Throughout the week she would add things such as a spare pair of shoes and some maps of Calormen she had on hand.

Ana wouldn't risk packing her bow and arrows away so soon, but she made sure there was room to bury them in the trunk later. But she did find a small dagger that she could conceal on her person while in Tashbaan—another was already packed. There was no way she was going into Calormen completely unarmed. She doubted Edmund would be either.

By the end of the week, it was determined that the Valiant Queen would be staying in Cair Paravel for this trip. Ana as almost tempted to stay as well, not wanting to leave Lucy alone. But the youngest Queen assuaged any unspoken worries she might have had. Lucy had grown to become a more than capable warrior and had also volunteered to stay behind—she thought Calormen would be too stingy. She was a bit of a free-spirit. Besides, Peter had only taken about half their warriors so the Valiant Queen would have them, as well as the entire Navy, to defend the castle. She would be more than prepared for an attack. Narnia was at peace so such an act was unlikely, but they had to be prepared.

Ana felt relieved by this knowledge and the fact that Edmund didn't even think to leave her behind. Yes, he sometimes treated her like a child but with him it was mostly a slip-of-the-tongue. He tried hard to look past her physical appearance, but some days—when the pressures of being King were a bit too much—Ana would take the brunt of it. If she didn't approach him carefully, there was no advice she could offer him. All he would see was a child.

But he always apologized afterwards and Ana forgave him every time, even though the words still stung a bit. She was able to brush them off a lot easier since they were just the words of a frustrated King. She tried to forgive Peter and Susan as well, but their treatment of her didn't change. It didn't happen on occasion either and neither ever apologized for calling her a child or treating her like one. That alone made it harder to feel anything besides bitterness at being sidelined.

However, unlike his brother, the Just King was actually allowing Ana to do her duty. With Lucy safe in the castle, she could protect the other two royals while they were in potential enemy lands. The Calormenes' dislike of "the white barbarians of the North" was not unknown. She knew it would prove to be a little difficult if she couldn't go everywhere with them. Not without seeming suspicious and causing the Calormenes to ask questions. Prince Rabadash would likely want to have some private moments with Susan, but she often had a shadow of some kind—for the royal's own protection. Ana wondered if she would be the one to follow the Queen or if one of the others would be selected.

Ana could only hope that the trip would be peaceful and that the Gentle Queen would finally see the Prince for what he was. A proud, self-pleasing tyrant and frankly quite a scoundrel. He would do anything to have Narnia's throne. She seemed a lot more interested in this particular Prince than any of her other suitors. But she was the only one he seemed to have fooled.

Edmund never cared for him, but was always cordial and polite when speaking with the Prince. If you didn't know him—and Ana did—one wouldn't know Edmund disliked him either. Both Lucy and Ana doubted his affection for Queen Susan, but Ana wasn't sure how much of that was because he seemed distrustful. Prince Rabadash was the kind of person who would assassinate the Kings to rule. Who was to stop him from doing the same to Susan if she outlived her usefulness to the Prince? Ana shuddered at the thought and prayed Aslan would open the Queen's eyes.