𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕝𝕕𝕖𝕟 𝔸𝕘𝕖 - ᵖᵉᵗᵉʳ ᵖᵉᵛᵉⁿˢⁱᵉ

꧁Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 4 - Nᴀʀɴɪᴀ꧂

It had been a week since the night Katherine came into Peter's room. The two had still been friendly afterwards but the underlying tension was there even if the both of them pretended it did not exist. The two were now walking to Peter's study to discuss upcoming events in other countries and in Narnia.

Peridan had come to Cair Paravel the day after she had arrived and he had tried his best to arrange some alone time with Katherine, but to his dismay wherever they went someone was always with them and most times that someone was Peter.

Through the course of the week they went on three hunting trips all of which Peter and Edmund attended. Then when he decided to take her into the market to go and look at some new paints Lucy and Peter accompanied them as Lucy wanted some new art supplies.

Peridan could not refuse what their Royal Highnesses requested and Peter often got more alone time with Katherine on their excursions which frustrated him to no end.

Eventually he had stopped arranging private meetings and just gone with the flow of the castle as he had grown tired of coming up with excuses to try and meet with Katherine alone.

Peter and Katherine both had their slightly awkward moments together but years could not change the bond they had possessed when they were younger. The two had genuinely gotten along which raised a lot of rumors in the court.

Peter who was above all this and never seemed to care about what others said never seemed to get the nasty end of them. As the Golden King he was above all this. Katherine however received glares and whispers in the hallways and did her best to ignore them. She was just glad that Lady Acantha was still at Beaversdam and not in the castle at the moment.

The more she thought about it the more she realized she actually had not heard one mention of Lady Acantha her whole stay. A small frown creased in her brow and she subconsciously slowed down her walking as she was in deep thought. Peter turned around when he realized he had left her a few paces behind him.

Noticing the crease in her brow he walked back towards her and flicked her forehead lightly. She snapped out of her trance and looked up at his smirking face.

"What's up with you dummy, what are you thinking about?" she glared at his nickname but breathed in deeply before replying.

"I was just thinking, well, I haven't seen Lady Acantha around the castle which is strange because she usually enjoys coming over the most when I am back for some reason" She cringed internally because she knew exactly why Lady Acantha loved making her visits coincide with hers.

Peter's face hardened and he looked away. Katherine waited for a reply but he just began walking off instead. His pace had quickened and Katherine had to jog slightly to keep up.

"Peter!" she called called out slightly frustrated and stopped again in the hallway with her hand on her hips, "Did I say something wrong? Just tell me if I did because-"

"Acantha is not a Lady anymore" he cut in as he turned around to face her.

Katherine felt she had been slapped in the face, she had never heard of someone not being a Lady anymore, she was so surprised she just stood stunned in the hallway with her mouth half open like a fish. Peter sighed at her expression and continued.

"Did you really think after what she did to you last year I would let her still be a part of the court? She was a disgrace to her fellow Ladies and she made a mockery of the court and therefore me. Those lack of manners are intolerable in the court of Narnia"

Katherine was still stunned but now at the fact Peter had gone so far as to strip Acacia's title due to what happened at the ball. Memories of the ball began to hit hard and she recalled how the night had gone so wrong.