The Chronicles of Narnia: The King and The Servant

~ Chapter 19: High Queen ~

My eyes grow wide as I take in my surroundings. The hall's decorated elegantly with blue flowers and ribbons. A row of guards are lined up along a thin line of rolled out white carpet. Behind the guards are all sorts of creatures; all wearing huge grins while being squished together. At the end of the aisle are the three steps that lead up to the thrones; delightfully decorated are the steps with pretty ribbons and white carpet also. We make our way painfully slow down the long aisle. I manage to keep my smile up considering the nerves that are bouncing around in the very pits of my stomach. I look ahead and notice that my family are all standing up in front of their thrones. It's hard to think that I'll be up there with them in a few moments. My heart sinks slightly as the realisation of Bella not being here hits me. No, I can't think about it right now. Focus, Ashley.

Once we reach the end, I stand in front of my white gold throne and turn around. Peter backs away a tiny bit to go and stand next to a beaming Malina who is holding a cushion with a sparkling crown on it. I look at the crown. It's beautiful! Obviously, and to my great joy, it's mine. The crown's white gold with diamonds smartly decorated along the pretty designs of it. A bright blue gem stands bold and proud in the middle of it. My mind hardly registers when Aslan starts talking until he mentions my name. "High Queen Ashley the Majestic." I smile brightly at my new royal name. I watch Peter as he very carefully picks the crown up and smiles brightly as he strides forwards toward me.

"CRASH AND SMASH!!!" Edmund shouts at the top of his lungs as Peter carefully climbs up the three stairs. Most of the creatures in the hall are either horror struck or suddenly trying to contain enormous amounts of laughter. I shoot Edmund a glare that I hope says, 'shut up or I will kill you'. He immediately looks down and mutters something under his breath that sounds a bit like "boring sister-in-law". I ignore him and focus my attention back to Peter as he's standing right in front of me.

He places the crown gently on my head and whispers softly into my ear, "Congratulations! I love you." I smile and turn my gaze back to Aslan.

"Once a Queen of Narnia, always a Queen," he says before a chorus of, 'Long Live High Queen Ashley!' echoes loudly throughout the hall. I chuckle and sit down on my throne followed by family. There's a loud shriek of applause and cheers once I'm seated which causes me to chuckle under my breath. I hear a loud horn echo throughout the castle then, signalling the beginning of the main party. As soon as the horn echo's gone, everyone heads over to the table that is flooded with delicious treats and spiced wine.

"Can we get up now?" Edmund whines as he keeps his gaze locked on the huge banquet table. Aslan smiles and nods at him. I hear Edmund cheer before he's running at full speed towards the table. I stand up cautiously and put my hand instantly to my stomach. I feel an arm go around my waist and I look up to see my husband smiling down at my stomach. He puts his other hand over my hand at the same time.

"Congratulations again," he tells me happily. I can tell by his voice that he's excited that I will be ruling along with him.

"Thanks," I murmur softly before yawning. "I'm so tired. I feel like I could cuddle up on my throne and fall asleep there," I tell him sarcastically. He laughs and takes my hand before leading me over to the end of the banquet table. Peter pulls my chair out for me before I go to sit down and then the feast begins. To say there's a lot of food would be a huge understatement. There's too much food! Every kind of possible meat you can imagine, every kind of fish, fruit, soup, salad, and dessert. By the time the dinner is over, I'm so full that by the time I'm five minutes into dancing I feel as if I'm going to throw up. I put up with it for half an hour before deciding to sit down on my throne for a bit; better to be safe than sorry. Almost instantly I have different citizens coming up to me and talking to me. I smile and thank them as they congratulate me over and over again. I can see how the Pevensie's got over this so quickly. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep from boredom. The word "congratulations" can only be used so often. Eventually the people clear away from me to which I'm thankful. I smile weakly after the crowd until my eyes land on a little girl who's standing in front of the steps.

She can't be older than six. She has beautiful long, wavy, black hair that falls down past her waist. Her wide, blue eyes are hesitant as she looks at the three steps that lead up to the thrones. She seems very shy and nervous. She looks up at me then with a faint, quivering smile. I smile back peacefully and gesture her forward. She seems a little less hesitant once I have offered. She takes a deep breath in before walking slowly up the stairs and standing in front of me. She looks as if she has something to say, but isn't sure whether she's allowed to or not. I smile at her again encouragingly.

"My best wishes go to you, Queen Ashley. I picked you some flowers from my garden at home as a present," she tells me while producing a bunch of Green Jades. My eyes grow wide as I gently take the beautiful bunch from her hand. Green Jades are one of the rarest flowers in Narnia. For this little girl to hand me a dozen is like her giving me a million gold crescents.

"Thank you, sweetie, they're beautiful!" I thank her. She smiles at me.

"That's okay, Your Majesty. I'm glad you like them," she says with a perfect little curtsey and a small giggle. I hold back an 'aww'. She's adorable.

"Brianna, time to leave please," I hear an older faun yell over to us. The little girl, Brianna, frowns sadly. I frown as well. I'm enjoying talking to her. She hasn't used the word 'congratulations' once. It's like a dream come true.

"That's my orphanage mistress. I'm sorry, but I've got to go, Your Majesty. Bye," she apologises before curtseying again and running off to go and meet up with the rest of her group. I instantly feel guilty. I had no idea that she's an orphan, I wish I would've though. I would love to lend a hand someday at the orphanage. Mrs. Finkel (the mistress) runs the place on little money and supplies. I'm surprised they came today at all considering the fact that to attend my coronation you actually have to pay five silver crescents per person. My heart sinks as they walk out the door. I sigh longingly. I wish I didn't feel sick so that I can get up and dance again. I yawn suddenly then as I look outside the giant windows. It's pitch black outside. I can't see a thing. I take a glance at the moon dial and groan. How can it already be ten pm? I close my eyes in tiredness as my hands place themselves on my slight baby bump. I swear I'm asleep when I feel a warm hand gently shake me. I open my eyes to the dark candlelit hall. It's empty besides the few guards that are guarding every possible entry into it. I stretch my arms out and rub my eyes before looking to my left. My husband's standing there looking almost as tired as I feel.

"Ready for bed?" Peter inquires as he gently helps me stand up before kissing the back of the hand he's holding gently. I yawn again and nod.

"Yes, I am. What's the time?" I ask him as we walk hand in hand down the three steps.

"Around elven pm. You've been asleep for almost an hour now," he explains, chuckling slightly at me. Well, that's rather embarrassing. I roll my eyes at him as we begin walking up the treacherous staircase to our mini house. I hold onto the hand rail for dear life, a little bit afraid of tripping and falling down the staircase in my zombie like state. Eventually we make it up to our bedroom. I can't even be bothered to get dressed. I just simply fall onto the bed and fall asleep instantaneously. It barely registers with me when I feel myself being pulled over and lifted up until I'm curled up against my husband's chest under the sheets. I smile slightly before dreaming of my family and Aslan.