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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗

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𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐍𝐒 that supported the glass dome and their flowery scent spread all through the throne room. The dryads of Narnia had sung their songs to the rose stems in preparation for the wedding ─ to make sure the decorations would fit the ambiance ─ but the flowers would possibly need another magical push before that day arrived; seven sunrises from now.

At the moment, the throne room was empty apart from Peter and Rosaleen, and the rays of the late-morning sun fell like a curtain of light through the glass. They stood in front of the stairs that lead with seven steps up to the thrones' platform and Peter removed Rosaleen's blindfold, gently untying the knot of the red silk fabric to make sure he didn't tug at her blonde waves. He stuffed the blindfold between his belt and his trousers before wrapping his arms around her waist from standing behind her.

'What do you think?' Peter asked, leaning his lips against the back of her head and the scent of vanilla and melons of her soap filled his nose. It was a fragrance he'd never get enough of.

Rosaleen blinked a few times, her eyesight adjusting to the change between darkness and light, and her gaze fell upon the fifth throne on the platform.

The throne was wrapped in fiery colours thanks to the sunlight that fell through the gigantic stained glass window, rising up at the back of the platform, and it was sculpted out of the same kind of stones as the other four thrones. Its backrest wasn't as tall as the others but in the top was carved an emblem as well: Rosaleen's twin swords crossed in front of the petals of a blooming rose. The new throne stood next to Peter's, at his right side if they sat down in them.

'The red dwarves have been working without a break when I asked them to make it three days ago,' Peter said, the proud timbre sounding through his voice.

'It's beautiful,' Rosaleen said in awe, but she paused for a moment as she searched for the right words. Her hand moved up to touch the scars at the back of her neck that reached above the hem of her red dress. It was a habit of uncertainty she had picked up after the battle with the Silver Reflections one year ago, but Peter caught her hand before she could do so. He laced his fingers between hers and rested both of their hands on her stomach.

'But?' he asked as he could hear the unspoken word in her voice.

'But,' she repeated, 'it doesn't feel right to see it standing there. Cair Paravel is the citadel of the four thrones, not five. You're ruling Narnia with your siblings.'

Peter turned her around in his arms so that they faced each other and he placed his hands at the sides of her face, softly stroking her cheeks with his thumbs as he forced her to look up at him. 'You're becoming my Queen, Rose, and a Queen of the Narnians. You deserve your own throne.'

A wide smile broke through on Rosaleen's face when he called her his Queen, a warm feeling of happiness spreading all through her body and colouring her cheeks to a shade of pink roses. 'Alright, but why there? You could have placed it a bit behind the others.'

Peter chuckled as he moved his face a bit closer down towards hers. 'Because I want you at my side,' he mumbled against her lips before closing the last remaining distance and kissing her somewhat longer than he had intended.

They broke apart when a knock sounded through the spacious room and the doors swung open inwards, revealing Mr Tumnus. The faun walked inside, carrying several scrolls between his arms and he stopped in front of the pair as he bowed in respect.

'Your Majesty, My Lady,' Tumnus greeted them, a happy twinkle shimmering in his blue eyes. 'I have the replies to the wedding invitations, and some other, exciting news.'

Peter nodded, still holding Rosaleen close with one arm wrapped around her waist. 'Go on.'

'Most Lord and Ladies have accepted the invitations. King Lune and Queen Lavinia will come as well, they're looking forward to the wedding,' Tumnus summed up, but before he could move on to the other news, Rosaleen interrupted him.

'What about Seren?' she asked, her blood rushing loudly between her ears as her heartbeat increased. She had thought about it long and hard, wondering if they should invite him too, but it had been a year. Perhaps she could face him now and it had felt weird to not send him an invitation.

Mr Tumnus though, slowly shook his head, his goat ears dropping a bit. 'He declined. He sent you and Peter his best wishes and he thanks you for the invitation. He also wrote that if it appears you're not ready yet, he might be the cause of a horrible experience on something that should be the most joyous day of your life. He doesn't want to take that risk.'

Rosaleen nodded, not sure if she should feel relieved or sad and she glanced up at Peter when he rubbed her side in a comforting way.

'What's the other news?' he wondered and Tumnus' ears perked up again.

'The white stag has been spotted in the Western Woods.'

Peter's eyes lit up. 'That is indeed exciting news. Inform my siblings and Alexander, we'll track down that stag.'

Tumnus bowed once more before speeding out of the throne room while Rosaleen gave Peter a look in disbelief.

Peter's smile disappeared a bit when he noticed her stare, but it disappeared all completely when she smacked his upper arm.

'What's wrong?' he asked, rubbing the sore spot through the fabric of his red blouse.

'Our wedding is in seven days and you want to chase the white stag now?' Rosaleen answered while crossing her arms. 'It's a two day's ride to the Western Woods.'

'That'll give us plenty of time, Rose. I promise we'll be back in time before the wedding, but we cannot miss this opportunity. The white stag is mythical, it grants your every wish upon capturing it,' Peter said, trying to reassure her.

'And what would you do with that one wish if you captured it?'

'It wouldn't be for me,' he answered. 'It would be for you. The wish could give you a peace of mind with what happened between you and the Reflections.'

Rosaleen uncrossed her arms, dropping them next to her side as her face softened.

'There are still times when you wake up in the middle of the night, screaming. It breaks my heart,' Peter continued. 'That the stag shows up this close to our wedding cannot be a coincidence. Narnia wants you to heal too. Please, and I promise we'll be back in time.'

Rosaleen threw her arms around his neck. 'Alright,' she whispered before pressing a feather-like kiss on his lips.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐍 in this seasonal time of summer and an ambiance of serenity hung between the branches of the pine trees. The birds hiding within the trees chirped happily to each other, but some flew up from their spot in shock when the Kings, Queens and Guardians of Narnia thundered over the wild paths of the forest.

The six horses they sat on jumped effortlessly over the trunk of a fallen tree and a joyful giggle left Lucy's mouth as she savoured in the sensation of the wind blowing through her hair. The skirt of her dress billowed out with the wind as well and the blissful sense of freedom made her wish this chase would last forever. She knew it couldn't though, as Peter's and Rosaleen's wedding was in four days and if they hadn't captured the white stag at the end of this day, they would have to return to Cair Paravel.

'This way,' Peter said with a loud voice, pointing at the few broken branches farther up ahead and he steered his dappled grey stallion Atlas towards it. He led the others, with Rosaleen and her chestnut mare quick on his heels, but when Lucy and Susan noticed that Edmund fell a bit behind, they pulled their steeds to a stop. Alexander cast a curious look over his shoulder and redirected his horse as well, circling back towards them.

'Come on, guys,' Alexander said. 'We're so close, we cannot take a break now.'

'My apologies,' Edmund's horse Philip said between heavy breaths. Its legs trembled from exhaustion as the white foam was plastered on its flanks. 'I'm not as young as I used to be.'

Edmund was the only one who had the honours of riding onto a talking horse and he patted Philip's neck. 'It's alright, Philip. We'll catch up with them later. You guys go ahead, don't let that white stag slip to your fingers.'

Peter and Rosaleen appeared back on the wild path as well, their horses hastily trotting over the forest's soil until they ordered them to a stop.

'What are you doing?' Peter asked, curiously looking between his siblings and Alexander. 'We have to make haste.'

'Just catching our breath,' Edmund said, giving Philip another reassuring pat but then something strange in the corner of his eyes caught his attention and everyone followed his gaze.

At the edge of the path, almost completely covered by an untameable ivy, stood an iron pillar with a lantern placed on top of it. The smudged glass of the lantern barely let the light of a flickering flame through, but it was undoubtedly lit.

'What's this?' Peter wondered quietly as a strange yet familiar feeling spread through his veins and the chase on the stag was momentarily driven back to everyone's mind as they dismounted their horses. The lantern seemed to be calling at them.

'What a curious location to place a lantern,' Rosaleen said, tilting her head a bit as she stood next to Peter.

'It's like something from a dream,' Lucy began, 'or a dream of a dream.' Her blue eyes glazed over as she tried to remember something, but it was hidden far under layers of years of memories. 'Spare Oom,' she mumbled, her eyes lighting up again and she dashed towards the dense bushes at her right.

'Lucy,' Peter called after her but they saw no other choice but to follow her as well.

Lucy looked over her shoulder as she pushed a few branches of the overgrown bushes away. 'Come on.'

All of their surroundings felt strangely familiar and somehow, Lucy knew exactly which way she had to go, even though she couldn't quite remember the last time she had been in this part of the Western Woods. Lucy pushed another pair of branches away but then they started to disform as something curious hung between them.

Peter let his hand slide over the soft surface, sputtering a bit as he walked right through it; it was fur. 'These aren't branches,' he said, and the soil of the forest beneath their boots became more solid, like timber even.

The forest had disappeared around the six humans and the daylight was cut off by the fur coats hanging all around them. They stumbled upon a dead end, but Peter felt a handle as soon as he reached out his hand and he lifted it up. The wooden door swung open and one by one, the humans tumbled out of the opening, onto the wooden flooring of the spare room with the wardrobe.

The time had magically turned back as none of them looked like the people they had been mere moments ago and the memories of what they had thought had been from a dream of dream, streamed back into their minds. Everything came back to them: the War, being evacuated to the countryside, and hiding from the furiously wicked housekeeper of professor Kirke's mansion.

Everyone stared a bit disorientated at their own hands as they still laid upon the floor, casting glances at the others' younger faces as well, but they startled when the door at the other side of the room opened. They expected it to be Mrs Macready, but to their surprise they were met with the face of professor Kirke: Alexander's and Rosaleen's grandfather.

The old professor carried a red ball in his hands, the very same one the Pevensies and the Summers had used to play cricket with eight years ago, although apparently, it hadn't been more than a few minutes.

'What were you all doing in the wardrobe?' professor Kirke asked, his eyes twinkling with a knowing glint behind his glasses.

The teenagers crossed eyes until Alexander spoke up, the confusion still sounding through his voice. 'We found Narnia in the wardrobe, sir.'

Rosaleen sat up, striking some blonde hairs out of her face before taking the small, handwritten notebook out the pocket of her dark blue skirt. 'The same magical world you wrote in this notebook.'

Professor Kirke tossed the ball towards Peter who caught it in a reflex, and the old man smiled widely. 'I always knew that one day another opening would show itself. What was it like?'

'Magically marvellous,' Rosaleen said with an equally wide smile as her grandfather's, although hers faltered a bit when she looked at Peter. She was a sixteen year old again and he a seventeen year old, a marriage seemed out of the question now.

Peter however, smiled and he pushed himself in a sitting position too. He gently cupped her chin and pressed a sweet kiss on her lips. 'Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you,' he said as he leaned back again. 'I promise.'

Rosaleen smiled, realising that this only meant that they had even more years to spend together.

'Do you think we will ever be able to go back, sir?' Lucy asked, glancing over her shoulder at the wardrobe and the professor nodded slowly.

'Of course, but it probably won't happen if you go looking for it. It will happen coincidentally, at a moment you won't expect. It might be tomorrow, it might be years from now, but I do believe it will happen as I still believe that one day, I will get called back as well. Now, tell me all that has happened, I do love a good fairy tale.'

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑬𝑵𝑫. . .

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