The Telmarine Wife

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Narnia, year 2014

Lena flexed her fingers with a grimace and massaged her hand before the pain could spread up her arm. She contributed the mild tingling pain to the fact that she had been sewing for over an hour when she was long out of practice. It seemed reasonable enough to her. She couldn't explain why she felt the same tingling pain in her knees and feet, however.

"You do know that the tailor could handle that for you, don't you?" King Edmund asked, looking up from his desk and the mound of paperwork in front of him.

"I can manage. I'm almost finished anyway."

"What are you doing?"

"Letting out the hem on a few of Sara's dresses. She's grown four inches since we arrived last autumn. I think she's going to be tall like Meri."

"Four inches? Really!"

Lena nodded and held up the dress as evidence.

"We're going to have to strap some rocks to her head to stop her from growing."

"That sounds highly implausible, my King," Nalsa commented from her spot in the sun. "Does that work on human pups?"

"Not likely, no," King Edmund replied with a laugh.

"Then why would you suggest a strategy that is sure to fail? That is unlike you. Do we need to send for Lady Willa?"

"No. I am not ill. It wasn't a real suggestion, Nalsa. It's just a human phrase. My...My dad used to say it to me before he...went to the war."

Edmund grew silent and his eyes stared at the empty air before him. He'd been remembering more and more of his life in the other place lately, or trying to at least. Lena wished she could help, but she knew very little about his parents, only that they had died in a railway accident before she could meet them.

"Perhaps it works better than you think then."

There was a beat of silence that followed Nalsa's comment before King Edmund replied. "I take offense to that, She-Wolf."

"You should not, my King. It was a mere statement of observation. You are among the shorter males of your species I've seen."

King Edmund's eyes narrowed but Nalsa remained unfazed. "I don't appreciate the laughing either." He turned his attention to Lena.

"Aww, poor bambino got his feelings hurt." Lena pouted.

King Edmund put down his quill with a huff and crossed his arms. "Yes I did, and I think you should come kiss it and make it better."

Lena grinned and pushed herself off the sofa.

"Queen Lucy and Princess Meri come with their guards," Nalsa interjected.

"Later," Lena whispered.

"I'm going to hold you to that," King Emund said.

"Oh, I hope so." Lena winked before directing her attention to the library entrance. "Lucy! Meri! What can we do for you today?"

"We're not interrupting, are we?" Lucy asked.

"Not at all—"

"—Yes, go away," Lena and King Edmund replied at the same time.

"Only a little," Lena amended with a grin. King Edmund huffed again and muttered something that soundly vaguely like 'it's not so little.'

Fortunately, Lucy spoke at the same time so no one but Lena heard him. "Relax, Brother. Lena will make it up to you later."