Mayblossom 12, 856

“Momma?” Bremton asked as I helped him get dressed.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Why I gotta wear these? Me like my other ones betta.” The “these” Bremton was referring to were his dressy Prince clothes.

“Because, Brem, you, Daddy, and I are going to meet some people who are going to visit Narnia. Now, please sit down so I can get your shoes on.”

My Prince did as he was told and sat quietly as I tied his shoes. When I finished, he piped up again. “Will Petra be coming with us?”

“Of course, sweetie. It’s her duty to protect you. Riker, Shream, and Famina will be coming as well,” I said, smiling. “Now, I’ve got to finish getting ready.” I offered my hand to my four-year-old son, and we walked to my room.

“What will Camsha and Sema and Mintia and Mesha do?” Bremton quizzed while I brushed my hair into a half ponytail and clipped it in place with my hair dagger.

“Camsheer will probably be snatched by Petra to help protect you and our guests’ daughter. Sema, Mintier, and Mesha are in Narnia’s Army, so they will be training with the rest of the soldiers,” I answered, putting my crown on my head.

Bremton wore a face of disgust when I turned back around. “Their daughter? A girl?”

I smiled at him with a chuckle. “Yes, Brem. You will keep the girl company while Daddy and I talk to her parents.”

“But I don’t wanna, Mommy!” he whined.

I knelt in front of my son and took his hands in mine. “Will you do it for me?”

He pouted and looked down. “But what if I don’t like her?” he asked softly.

I let go of one of his hands and tilted his head up so I could look him in the eye. “Then I need you to do your best to be a gentleman.”

“Yes, Momma.”

“Good. Now…” I stood up, and Bremton followed. “Shall we go meet Daddy?”

The Prince of Narnia nodded his head vigorously and started dragging me towards the door. We opened the door together, and Bremton continued to drag me to the stairs. I glanced behind me and smiled at Famina, Petra, and Camsheer jogging to keep up.

We met Amesh, Shream, and Riker at the bottom of the stairs. Amesh got on his knees, and Bremton jumped into his arms. They both laughed. My King got to his feet, our son in his arms.

“Have you been a good Prince, Bremton?” Amesh asked as we made our way to Cair’s gates.

“Yes, Daddy.”

My husband gave me a questioning glance to verify Brem’s answer. 

“Yes, he’s been a very good Prince.”

“Good.” Amesh nuzzled our son’s face. “We don’t want a naughty Prince, do we?”

“No, Daddy!” Bremton said with a laugh.

On our walk down to the dock, Bremton was quiet – for once. Ever since he learned to talk, Bremton hardly kept quiet; always asking questions. The frequently asked question was when he would start weapons training! I shuddered at the thought.

We arrived at the dock early, as normal. The Terebinthian ship was visible, but it would be a while before they docked. Amesh and I used the time to go over how to bow with Brem. It took him a few tries before he got it down.

“Why do I have ta know how to bow, Momma?”

“Because the people coming to visit us are the King, Queen, and Princess of a small country called Terebinthia,” I explained. “And bowing is a way to show respect for them.”

“When do I bow?”

“After we say, ‘and this is our son, Prince Bremton,’” Amesh told Brem.

“How many times do I bow?”

“Only once, sweetie.”

“Aren’t you friends with Queen Laudine, Swan?” Amesh asked me in hopes of quieting Bremton again.

“Yes. We became friends when Dad and I went to Terebinthia about ten years ago. She was a Princess as I was, so I’m eager to see her again and to meet her husband.”

“Have you kept in touch with her?”

“We send each other letters every few months. Come along, the ship is docking now. We ought to greet them.”

The ship took a few minutes to dock, and I grew excited as it did so. Soon the plank was down, and I ran to greet Laudine – who was the first to disembark – with Amesh and Bremton following behind me.

“Laudy!”

“Swan!”

We hugged each other and started in on questions all friends have to ask. 

“How are you, Laudy? You look fantastic.”

“Why, thank you. I’m doing fine. How are you?”

“Great.” I indirectly watched as Laudine’s husband and daughter joined us. I changed my speech into a formal greeting and to include the others. “Monarchs of Terebinthia, I welcome you to Narnia. I am Queen Swanwhite,” I said as I curtsied. “This is my husband, King Amesh and our son, Prince Bremton.” 

Both bowed on their cues. I was so proud of Bremton for his welcoming bow.

Laudine also changed her speech. “We are grateful to be here, Queen Swanwhite. Thank you. I am Queen Laudine of Terebinthia,” she said with a curtsy. “And this is my husband, King Frartin and our daughter, Princess Olwen.” They also bowed and curtsied on cue.

“May you, your family, and your crew be welcomed,” Amesh said.

“Let us go up to Cair Paravel and eat before we renew the trade agreement between our two countries,” I suggested.

“That would be terrific,” Laudy responded.

Both of us girls scooped up our children before we started up to Cair. The two of us chatted about when we were teenagers, while our husbands hung back to talk and the children stayed quiet. The Wolves split up to accommodate our separated number, and walked silently near us (I only noticed because I’d had Wolves for guards for so long). It was nice to reminisce about times when we had less responsibility and time to be the young people we were.

“How long have the two of you been married, Swan?”

“Let’s see, five years this Greenroof. And Bremton was born the Quickening the same year. How about you?”

“Four years in Fairdawn. Olwen was born the Sunbend, the following year.”

“Though I see you’ve been keeping up with your training. You look wonderful!”

“You, too! You look like you did ten years ago.”

“Oh come now, I do not.”

“Yes you do!”

“Well, fine.” We giggled at our girlish antics.

I turned my attention to Princess Olwen as we walked through the gates. “So Olwen, do you mind playing with Bremton while the four of us adults talk?”

With her thumb in her mouth, the three-year-old shook her head. 

“Oh, stop that, darling,” Laudine chided, taking her daughter’s thumb from her mouth. “Now answer Queen Swanwhite.”

“Me no mind,” said Olwen.

I smiled at her. “Good.”

“Where will the children be playing?” Laudy asked.

“They’ll be playing in a room near the library. Brem and Olwen will be under Wolves Petra and Camsheer’s supervision.”

“Wolf guards, eh?” she said with a wink.

I gave her an easy going ‘you-dare-to-question-me’ look, and then I laughed. “They’re Famina and Shream’s pups. Petra is Brem’s guard, and Camsheer wants to be a ‘royal child’ guard if we have more children – which I hope we do.”

“How many pups did they have?”

“They had a total of six. Mesh Mintier and Sema are all in Narnia’s Army. Riker is learning how to be a King and Queen guard, and then Petra and Camsheer will be the Prince and Princess guards.”

“Hoping for a girl now, are we?” Laudy teased.

“Well, yes. What mother wouldn’t want a girl?”

“True, true. Where should I have Olwen sit?” my friend asked, for we had arrived at the Royal Dining Hall.

“Pick a side; I have cushions on two chairs for the children.”

“Alright.”

We sat down to a dinner of chicken salad, bowls of fruit, and iced tea. 

I immediately started the conversation. “Frartin…weren’t you the gardener at the castle when I visited?”

The Terebinthian King ducked his head in embarrassment. Raising his head again with blushed cheeks, he said, “Yes, Swanwhite. It certainly made it easy to court Laudine.”

“So were you courting when Dad and I visited?”

“No. We began courting after you left,” Laudy replied.

“That’s because I didn’t think it appropriate to ask while you and your father were about to visit. Though it was nice to see Laudine have some fun with another girl her age.”

I frowned in confusion. 

Amesh asked the question that was on the tip of my tongue. “The other girls didn’t want to be friends with Laudine?”

“No,” Laudy interjected. “Mother didn’t allow me to be with any girl below my rank, save the servants.”

“Not much of a childhood,” I commented.

“No kidding,” Laudy said. “Now, how’d you two meet?”

“It started with a trade agreement meeting between Calormen and Narnia nine years ago…” Amesh and I told our story to them in as much detail as we could. Frartin and Laudy enjoyed it very much. I took a peek at the sun and called for the children to be escorted to the play room so we adults could go to the library to work.

-x-x-x-x-x-

The trade negotiations took three hours to work out, and both countries were happy with the end result. Amesh left in the middle of the negotiations to attend court, and then came back after he dismissed it.

Though we were tired after the ordeal, Laudine and I went to get Bremton and Olwen. When we arrived at the play room, they were playing a game of tag. Olwen squealed in delight as Camsheer chased her. Bremton stood laughing at the Princess, but his expression swiftly changed and he started running because Camsheer had changed targets. I noticed that Petra was watching from the side, saving her energy so she could spell Camsheer.

Petra turned her head to us after catching our scent and immediately got to her feet and bowed. “Your Majesties.” 

Her brother stopped chasing the children and bowed to us also. Olwen and Bremton ran for us and jumped into our arms.

“Momma!”

“Mommy!”

“Did you have fun, Brem?” I asked my son. I heard Laudy asking her daughter the same.

He nodded. “Yes, Momma.”

“What’d you play?”

“Hide‘n’seek, freeze-tag, Momma-may-I (Petra was ‘Momma’), and tag.”

“Wow, that’s a lot.”

“Yep!”

“Are you tired?”

“No!”

I sighed as we walked into the corridor. “Oh, dear.”

“Ladies,” Amesh said to get our attention. 

“What do you think about the two of us taking the children down to the beach? To allow you two some time to yourselves,” Frartin proposed. They had obviously been talking about this for a bit.

Laudy and I looked at the children in our arms. There were excited smiles on both their faces. 

“Well, you two?” Laudy asked. “Do you want to go to the beach?”

“Yes! Yes! Please!” they both shouted.

“Alright, alright.” We let them down, and their fathers chased them to the beach with the Wolves on their tails. Famina and Riker stayed back with Laudine and me.

“So, what do you want to do now that we’ve been freed of the youngsters?” I asked Laudine.

The Terebinthian Queen put her hand on her chin in thought. “How about a walk around the gardens? I’d like to see them, and I want to talk about both of us becoming Queens.” She nudged me with her elbow at the last part.

I laughed. “Alright, we can go through the Dining Hall.”

We walked through the Northern Gardens, and I told Laudine about the various plants that were there. We also greeted many Talking Animals that were either taking care of the gardens or enjoying a stroll among the flowers.

“So, Swan,” Laudy started quietly as we walked down a path, “how did your parents die?”

I gave her a confused look. “Your parents didn’t tell you?”

She shook her head. “No. Mother and Father only told me that they had died and that you were Queen.”

Nodding understandingly, I told her about their deaths. “A few weeks before my twenty-second birthday, Mum and Dad went to the border with troops to fight off Jadis’ largest attack. Dad was killed near the end of the battle, and Mum was badly wounded – they arrived home just in time for me to say ‘good-bye’ to her.”

Laudine placed her hand on my shoulder. “Oh Swan, I’m sorry.”

I clasped her hand with my own. “It’s alright. I’ve lived seven years without them, though I do miss them.” I squeezed her hand, and we dropped our arms back to our sides. “Anyway, how are your parents? I heard something about them retiring? Can they do that?”

Laudine smiled, and we continued walking. “It’s permitted by Terebinthian law. The first King and Queen grew old and wanted to see their oldest son be King. So they retired, made it law, and every King and Queen since have retired when their eldest child is a certain age.”

“Interesting custom.”

“You’re telling me. I’m the one who has to follow it.”

“At least you didn’t come to be Queen sorrowful because your parents died.”

“True, true.”

“Anyway, how are they doing?”

She turned to look at me. “Who?”

“Your parents, silly!” I said with a laugh.

“Oh!” Laudy exclaimed, smacking her forehead with her palm. “They’re fine. And wondering when you’re coming back to visit.”

“When would I have time?!”

“Oh, come now! Frartin and I managed to come to Narnia, didn’t we? You could manage to spend a month in Terebinthia.”

“No, I couldn’t. I have Jadis to contend with. She sends her troops monthly – sometimes twice a month – to try to invade Narnia and destroy the Tree of Protection. And a perfect time for her to do that would be when Amesh and I were away. Granted, my Army can go into battle by themselves, but as Queen I have a duty to be the first to charge into battle with them and the last to leave at retreat.”

Laudine nodded. “I see your point. Maybe my parents can come here, then. They haven’t seen Narnia recently, and they should see you in your home.”

“Yes, they should,” I said with mock arrogance, which sent us into a fit of giggles. We recovered and decided to head down to the beach to see the condition of our husbands and children.

“How long are you staying, Laudy?” I asked on our way down.

“Only a couple of days. Then we have to get going.”

“Aww,” I whined. “At least we got to see each other.”

“Yes,” my friend agreed. “Uh-oh.”

“Oh my.” 

We had gotten to the beach to find husbands and children wet and covered in sand. The Wolves had managed to stay dry and somewhat clean. The two of us girls exchanged a glance, and we went to retrieve our dirty families – who were going to be thoroughly cleaned before supper.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The two days flew by quickly. I was sad to see my friend go, but nothing could last forever. Besides, Jadis usually attacked around this time of month, and General Kaymen and I needed to plan our defense strategy. Before I met the General to do so, I thought about how Aslan told us that Amesh and I were to be the last monarchs of Narnia for quite some time. It made me wonder what would happen to Bremton and any other children we would have. It also worried me because I was concerned for my good friends and subjects. Questions ran through my head such as: What would become of them under Jadis’ rule? Would the Narnians keep their faith in Aslan strong? Will any commit treason? The last question troubled me the most. It would break my heart if any Narnian defected to her. I tried to push the thoughts aside as I walked into the library to prepare for battle.

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