king's temptation | narnia

chapter 3: the prince

The next day, Kate and Lucy put on the dresses and shoes that had been laid out for them (emerald green for Kate and pale yellow for Lucy) and trudged out of their conjoined suite. While they knew they were to go straight to greet the Prince of Calormen down at the port, the girls stopped to get some breakfast.

They were served a platter of Narnian fruits, most of which you would never find in the world where the Pevensies and Kate came from, and some light porridge, which gave them the energy to walk down to the port.

Well, the girls didn't really walk. In fact, once they realized they were late, they ran down the hill towards the East port, causing them to appear in an unseemly manner.

By the time they had arrived, the Kings and Queen were in a line, waiting for Prince Rabadash to debark his ship. They swiftly got into line next to Edmund and tried to fix up their hair and wipe their sweaty faces. Susan was glaring at them, but Edmund and Peter merely smiled.

Prince Rabadash is the eldest son of the Tisroc of Calormen. He is twenty-four years old and eager to inherit the throne from his father. From the many times that Peter and Susan had met Rabadash, they have found him to be very agreeable.

As soon as Rabadash stepped foot on Narnian soil, Peter strode forwards and went to greet him. They both bowed and then embraced in a handshake.

"Rabadash, it's so marvelous that you were able to visit Cair Paravel. The weather is lovely this time of year!" Peter said with an exuberant smile while leading the prince over to the rest of Narnia Court.

"Thank you, High King Peter. I'm very happy to be here to be apart of the festivities!" he exclaimed excitedly. "And I'm sure that Narnia is beautiful all times of the year!" he added as they approached the others.

Rabadash's eyes met Susan's and a pink blush went straight to her cheeks. Susan curtsied and Rabadash bowed while the Court watched.

"Queen Susan, you look breathtaking, as usual," Rabadash said while taking her hand. Susan gave him a sweet smile and seemed to get lost in his eyes. Finally, she remembered what she was going to say and spoke.

"Rabadash, thank you for coming to Cair Paravel for this very special occasion," she squeezed his hand tighter. "Speaking of which, have you met the birthday girl?" Susan spun around in the direction of Kate and Lucy who were giggling in the middle of the crowd. She gave them a "come here" look, and they obeyed, fixing their tiaras as they did so.

Rabadash looked at the two queens while they were approaching and was blown away by the beauty of the two queens, the ginger one in particular. They didn't have many red-headed women where he came from.

"I think these two might've been hiding during your last visit, so you've never gotten to meet them. Prince Rabadash, this is my sister, Queen Lucy the Valient, and her friend Queen Katelyn the Victorious." Susan finished, smiling in an introductory manner.

The girls arrived in front of him and the rest of the Narnian Court and curtsied low. While Kate didn't know it, her new corset made her breasts look unbearably perky and creamy white, something of which Prince Rabadash had noticed. He quickly cleared his throat and bowed to the pair of Queens. Peter looked oddly at Rabadash before returning back to his normal self.

"Hello, it's very nice to meet you," Lucy said in a gentle voice. Kate nodded along with what she was saying.

"Yes, very nice. It's not every day you get to meet a Prince of Calormen!" She said with enthusiasm, then giggled with Lucy. Rabadash slightly smirked and looked at Kate.

"Well, it's not every day I get to be in the presence of such lovely Narnian Queens," he said, admiring the three girls. "And Kings!" he added, laughing at Peter and Edmund's puzzled expressions. The girls simply laughed.