•King Caspian: A New Dawn•

Chapter Nine

As promised, Melioralee showed Caspian all her favorite spots around the city: the bell tower, Luster Fountain, the arch memorial and Garden of the Fairies.

"So why do they call this 'Garden of the Fairies'?" Caspian asked as he and Melioralee exited the city gardens.

"Well," Melioralee began with a tone of suspense in her voice, "as the story goes, when Archenland was established as a country and the capitol of Anvard was built, beings of magic dwelt within the land. Tales of fairies and spirit creatures fill the fables and storybooks – but all fiction finds it's roots in some form of reality. The tales say that one of Archenland's early kings, King Col, discovered and made friends with the fairies of this garden, promising to protect them. In return, the fairies grew the most beautiful flowers and greenery in all the land, becoming the pride of Anvard. True to King Col's promise, the fairies lived free and protected for many years. Yet his promise could not be kept forever. During the reign of King Lune, Calormene attacked Anvard, much as they did during the recent war, setting fire to the city. The garden was consumed by the blaze; and the fairies lost with it. Rumor has it that one, who is only known as "The Great Lion," took pity on their souls and transformed the fairies into nymphs, though they were never to be seen or heard from by an Archenlandian again. This garden was replanted by King Lune after Archenland's victory and he named it "Garden of the Fairies" as a memorial to their lives."

Caspian's heart raced as he heard Melioralee speak of Archenland's past.

"I never realized how intertwined the histories of our two kingdoms were..." he breathed in awe as they took one last look at the garden behind them.

"Indeed... well, up until the rule of Jadis that is. The relationship between Narnia and Archenland became stagnant during that time. Generations passed having nothing but stories of the magic of days gone by to tell their children. Many forgot. The accounts of old became nothing but fairy tales and bedtime stories."

"That was true for me as well. My people weren't even told the stories of Narnia. The only reason I even knew them as stories was because of my professor, who kept his identity as a Narnian secret. He'd tell the tales and recount the stories. Never, did I imagine them not only being real, but one day being King of such a place."

Melioralee smiled at Caspian musings, realizing he was speaking to himself more so than to her.

"Well, Archenland may no longer possess the magic of Narnia, but we do hold some magic of our own."

"Oh?" Caspian asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Would you like to see?"

"Lead the way."

~

Caspian and Melioralee made their way past the markets, eventually reaching the outskirts of the city.

"Where are we going?" Caspian inquired, beyond curious about their destination.

"Just up ahead." Melioralee replied coyly, a grin playing at her lips.

Rounding a corner, they stopped outside of an old, elaborate courthouse.

"You've brought me to the old courthouse? Certainly the fairies haven't taken up residence inside there?"

Melioralee let out a bubbling laugh, the sweet sound bouncing off the stone walls of the building before them.

"Well, the inhabitants of this old courthouse may be small, but they're not that small. Come!"

Picking up her skirts, Melioralee scurried up the stairs and rapped at the door. Right away the heavy doors creaked open and two boys, who looked to be somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10, appeared; their eyes lighting up at the sight of their guest.