𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 ✯ 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑒 ✓

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

'Rose, wait.'

She halted in her steps, almost frozen as she tried to decide what to do but she glanced over her shoulder back at the door opening when she sensed his presence in it.

'Please wait,' he added softly and despite their fallout last evening, concern bubbled up in her chest when she noticed how tired and stressed he looked. She hadn't spotted the dark bags under his eyes yesterday or maybe she had refused to see it at that moment, but with the bright daylight falling on the sharp features of his face now, there was no denying it.

'Can we talk, in private?' Peter asked. Rosaleen bit her lip but then she nodded, walking past him as he turned a bit sideways to let her through and he closed the door behind her.

Near his desk in the middle of the oval-shaped room, she turned around to face him, the skirt of her lavender coloured dress whirling around her legs as well and the soft fabric landed on her skin again as gentle as flowing water.

Peter took a few steps closer towards her but she crossed her arms in a warning before he could get too close and he stopped at an arm-lengths distance.

'I want to apologise for all the things I said last night,' he began, his blue eyes swimming with guilt. 'I didn't mean them.'

She looked up to meet his gaze. 'They really did hurt, Peter,' she said, struggling to keep the tears out of her voice.

'I know, I'm so sorry.' The apology tumbled from his lips and a short silence fell until he added, 'It frustrated me to see you showing off to all the nobles in that dress. Clearly you have already moved past us.'

Rosaleen let out a humourless laugh in disbelief, uncrossing her arms to put her hands in her side although she wanted to jab an accusing finger at him. 'By the mane, Peter. You're the one who's already engaged.'

'Not by free will.'

'What?' she breathed out, his words ringing between her ears and her anger wavered for a moment. 'What does that mean?'

Peter shook his head, as if he regretted saying it in the first place, and then he set his jaw, preparing to turn away from her until he felt Rosaleen's slender fingers wrapping around his wrist. She pleaded him to tell her the truth with just a touch and her eyes, like she had done many times before in their years together and he gave in, like he had done many times before as well.

'Telmar is a colony of Calormene Empire, Rose. It's what I had to do, for the good of the kingdom.'

Rosaleen's mind connected the dots and she strengthened her grip on his wrist; Peter had ended their relationship just when the truce between Calormen and Narnia was being negotiated.

'Oh Peter,' she whispered. 'What did you do?'

'What I had to,' Peter repeated, but his posture broke and he laced his fingers between hers. He rested both of their hands against his chest, his eyes fixated on their intertwined fingers as he finally explained why he had broken up with her. 'I talked it over with Oreius and Tumnus, but a royal marriage was one of the Tisroc's demands, he wouldn't consider peace without it. One of us had to marry either Prince Rabadash of Calormen or Princess Estrella of Telmar. I couldn't force Susan or Lucy nor Edmund into a marriage with a stranger. I am the High King, it was my sacrifice to make.'

Rosaleen's anger washed back over her by those last words. 'And mine apparently. You sacrificed us, Peter, our love. But please, don't pretend as if you're too upset about it. Estrella is beautiful, the perfect princess. The whole court loves her, I've seen it. She's so much more than I could ever be. I understand it now, you couldn't wait to get rid of me.' Her voice grew higher and louder by every word until she was screaming at him and the pain flashed visible over his face when she withdrew her hand with a jolt out of his.