𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 ✯ 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑒 ✓

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

'Lucy!' Rosaleen exclaimed again, almost dying in embarrassment although she couldn't help but to burst out in fits of laughter as well. Their laughs echoed throughout the chamber, their stomachs and cheeks hurting from it in a good way and it took a few minutes for the two to compose themselves.

Rosaleen pushed herself in a sitting position and let out a happy sigh as she ran a hand through her blonde hair that fell over her shoulders and back in tousled curls from the night.

'I'm happy for you, Rose,' Lucy said, rolling onto her side and sitting up straight as well. 'Now, get dressed. We're going on a picnic.'

Rosaleen gave her a curious look. 'We are?'

'Yes.' Lucy jumped up from the bed, her auburn locks shimmering like fire in the light of the sun and her faint yellow dress, almost cream coloured, danced around her by the movements. 'Estrella prepared one and she said she found a secret meadow not far away from the castle. I already knew about it but she was so ecstatic.'

Rosaleen almost wanted to drop back in bed by those words but Lucy sensed the reluctance and quickly added, 'No, I meant just the two of us. She's not coming, I promise, although you should get to know her someday. She's really nice.'

'Maybe someday,' Rosaleen grumbled before shrugging it off and getting out of bed. 'Alright, a picnic sounds fun, I have so much to tell you.'

'Do you think you can meet me at the courtyard in twenty minutes?'

'I'm not that slow, of course I can.'

Lucy stuck out her tongue and skipped towards the door, her dress fluttering behind her. 'I'll get the horses ready then.'

✶••━━━━━━••✶

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 the meadow like an evergreen wall, the dense branches reaching far and wide as they even hung close by the earth. A small and shallow pond was located in the middle of the grass field, and the slightly moving water glittered as if diamonds hid just below the surface. The sunlight fell in small spots on the soil since the light broke in patterns due the vibrant canopy and the two horses munched peacefully on the grass while Rosaleen and Lucy sat near the pond.

The bread, fruit and cheese were already long eaten but the water in the glass bottles could still quench their thirst caused by the continuously shining sun that only slowly lowered towards the horizon again.

'The Tisroc's Palace sounds beautiful,' Lucy said as a response to Rosaleen's eight months long adventure in Calormen. 'But also scary, it doesn't sound like a female friendly-place at all.'

'It's very different compared to Narnia or Archenland,' Rosaleen agreed. 'I had to watch my every step, but it did take my mind off things. I'm very happy to be back home though.'

'And you're staying now, right? No more─.' Lucy searched for a better word than the one laying on the tip of her tongue until she concluded with, 'unexpexted departures?'

Rosaleen gave her a faint smile before dropping her gaze to the skirt of her blue dress, and she readjusted the soft fabric around her legs that she had folded sideways under her. 'You can say it, Lu. I fled the castle; I ran away. I couldn't bear being near Peter after he ended our relationship and Calormen was as far as I could get. I grabbed that opportunity of becoming an emissary with both hands. I was a bit childish.'

Lucy took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, her blue eyes resembling the peaceful sky above them and the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves above them filled their ears.