Always || Edmund Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia) [1]

Chapter 25

"Queen Mary," a Telmarine architect named Nicolas first acknowledged her. "Have you come to see the progress of Cair Paravel again?"

"I have," she said with a small smile, hopping off the horse with Reepicheep doing the same. "Sorry we came unannounced. We were supposed to cancel this inspection, but I decided to go through with it while Caspian meets up with our Archenland neighbors."

"No need to worry, Your Majesty."

"How is it going?"

"Construction of the main tower is going quite well." At his words, Mary looked at the stable-looking structure and was impressed by how quickly they had progressed in the last few months. "It will be done soon thanks to the Narnians."

A bear passed by and patted the old man's shoulder. Mary guessed it was supposed to be a light and friendly one, but with the strength of the bear, Nicolas still stumbled. She fought the urge to giggle as the man regained his composure.

"The centaurs suggested bringing back the stained glass ceiling and windows as well. They claimed that it would be desirable for a number of things: watching the stars, telling the weather, and tracking the seasons."

"That's an amazing idea," Mary said, thinking back to how drafty the Telmarine castle's throne room and main hall were since most of it were just stone walls and ceilings or plain windows. "It would be beneficial and helpful for a lot of reasons."

"I'll inform them of your confirmation when they return here next week, then," Nicolas said with a polite smile. "With that, we were wondering what design you would prefer. Of course, Astrid and Joseph have designs for the windows on hand, but it is all up to you."

Mary paused, pondering his question. She knew Astrid and Joseph, two of the designers, were extremely talented and would create beautifully designed stained glass windows, but she wanted to add something personal to the castle. After all, this was a castle built on where both the Pevensies made so many memories, and where she would one day do the same.

"For starters, I'd like to put the Kings and Queens of Old in the design," Mary started off.

"We must include you and King Caspian, too, of course," Nicolas interrupted. Mary laughed and nodded at his eagerness.

"Sure. But, I would also like to depict the Narnian Revolution."

Nicolas raised his eyebrows in surprise but nodded determinedly.

"That would mean hiring more workers, but I give you my word that it will be done beautifully."

9 months after the War of Deliverance, Narnian Year 2303

Though Caspian was a Telmarine by blood, he had never been there in his whole life — yet. With the war between the Telmarines and Narnians now over, Caspian, who was now associated with the latter group, wanted to form a peace treaty and alliance with his home country.

He and Mary were finally on the ship on the way to Telmar. It wasn't that long of a voyage, so they only had a small crew with them. But because they weren't sure how Telmar would react to their terms and agreements, they brought the best advisors and and fighters. Trumpkin had to stay behind as the king and queen's regent, but Reepicheep and his fellow mice tagged along.

Orion, a centaur that worked as one of the top advisors, was currently speaking to Mary.

"The stars have told me over the last few weeks that this alliance will be successful, Your Majesty," he said, glancing at the clear morning sky.

Trusting the wise man, Mary nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, Orion. That's a relief to hear."

"We should be looking at facts, not the stars," someone muttered in passing.