Nimueh re-entered the Stone Table chamber to find Peter and Lucy silently staring up at the carving of Aslan. At the soft echo of her footsteps, Lucy's head whirled around. She smiled at her, stood, and circled the Table to meet her.
"Have you come to talk to Peter?"
Nimueh only answered with a small smile. Lucy bowed her head low and left the chamber. Once more, she and Peter were alone.
Peter had not moved an inch since she had come into the cavern. He continued to stare intensely at the depiction of the Lion, as if his life depended on it, even as she sat down on the stone next to him. Only when she spoke did his eyes shift, angling away from her at the floor.
"I'm sorry I got so angry before. I didn't know that you had been suffering."
"It's alright." His reply was quiet.
"No, it's not. Yes, mistakes were made, but you were doing the best you could. And I don't follow you because some prophecy said that I had to. I follow you because I...want to."
Peter was silent for a minute or two, then said, "Going from a respected King back to a kid, it just makes you feel so helpless. It's like you work so hard to become the best you can be at what you do, and then suddenly it's all taken away from you and you realise that you aren't really that good at anything else."
"You can't really believe that." Nimueh brushed the tips of her fingers over the pad over her thumb. "Susan told me that you've been getting into fights. Did you miss the battlefield that much?"
"I might have to have a word with her about how much she's been telling you."
Nimueh smiled silently. "You can't let other people get to you, because the people who really matter, they believe in you. You don't have to prove anything to them." Though hesitantly, Nimueh reached out to touch Peter's hands which were clasped over one knee, but retracted at the last moment, just as he had done. "I stand by what I said before; you will always be my King."
Finally, Peter turned to look at her face. His blue eyes were laced with something so familiar, but in the couple of years that had passed, she had forgotten what it was. Taking her hand, he threaded his fingers between hers. It was a gesture so alien, inappropriate for a King to make towards his subordinate, but Nimueh couldn't pull away. She remembered the one time he had done it before, and how she'd wanted nothing more than to hold his hands for the rest of her life.
"There were moments, back at home in England, when I didn't let myself believe that you were real. I had myself convinced that I would never see you again, so it would just be better if I forgot all about you. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. The first time you leave, you wonder if any of it was real. I suppose, had I not remained so distant, you wouldn't have thought that I didn't-"
"I love you." The words slipped from his lips so suddenly, as though he had been holding them back for an eternity, as though they had spent every second fighting to break free.
Nimueh felt her heartbeat cease. Pulling her hand away from Peter's, she stood and moved a couple of steps away from him. With her back turned, she placed one hand where the ring lay under her shirt, and wrapped her other arm around herself. When Yvaine had given the ring to her and told her that the King loved her and wanted to marry her, she had believed it. Even since they had been reunited, she had wanted to think it was still true. But now, hearing it from his own mouth, she could hardly entertain the idea.
"I'm sorry if that upsets you," he said, softly. "But I won't take it back."
"But you're the High King, and I'm just-"
"You're not just anyone," Peter cut her off, coming to stand in front of her, taking hold of her upper arms so that she couldn't move away again. "If I am your King, that makes you a Queen. My Queen. No matter what anyone else says, if that's what you want, it's done."
Now it was Nimueh's turn to fail in finding a reply. She couldn't even lift her eyes to meet his.
"I know that it isn't right for me to unload all of this onto you. And with everything that's going on, it really isn't the right time for me to tell you. But after you got injured, I couldn't stand the thought that one of us might not survive and you would never have known. I understand if you don't feel that same way. I know I haven't exactly been-"
"I do." Her cheeks flushed as the words left her mouth before she could stop them. Her heart began to pound in her ears, but with the thought that neither of them may live for much longer, she fought against all of her instincts and stood where she was. At last, she looked up. "I do," she said again. "I still love you."
"Still?" His voice was little more than a whisper.
"Do you think I would have kept the ring if I hadn't loved you back then?"
"How long?" Peter moved closer to her with each question. Nimueh unfolded her arms but, despite all that had been said, feared that touching him might be overstepping the mark.
"Perhaps a few years after the coronation, once I had gotten to know you. You treated me like no one else had, like I was your equal. And I was more than grateful for that."
"I told you, didn't I? I told you that you would never be made to feel less than anyone else."
"You remember that?"
"How could I forget it? Of all promises I made during my reign, that was the one I was most determined to keep."
"You should be glad none of the other members of the court are here to hear you say that." They shared a silent chuckle and Peter brought his head down until his fringe brushed her forehead.
"Can I?"
She bit her bottom lip and nodded twice. Peter leant ever so slowly downward. Nimueh fluttered her eyelids shut as he touched her nose with his lips, before moving over to her cheeks. She felt a little of his breath brush over them, Peter still hesitant. But he didn't kiss them as she thought, instead went straight to her lips, closing his gently over them.
Nimueh had never been kissed before, only on the forehead and very few times. She had seen the Elites kiss each other, but it was nothing like this. It was so cold, so unfeeling, a fight for who had the most power, just like everything else was with them. And it was nothing like this.
This was warm and soft and she couldn't tell whether it was the heat from the torches, but her cheeks were on fire. Peter moved his arm down to her waist, clasping them behind, and pulling her body up towards him. Nimueh, once she had overcome the initial shock of it all, reached up to touch his face. Brushing a few hairs from his forehead, she brought her hand to rest at the base of his neck.
Both pulling away, keeping their foreheads together. Nimueh opened her eyes and looked up. Peter was looking down, a quiet smile on his lips. For a minute, it was like there was no war, no fighting to be done. Just them, and peace.
"Pete-oh?" The echo of surprise caused the couple to spring apart, Nimueh forcefully pushing Peter away from her. Licking her lips, she pierced them tightly and cleared her throat. Though she refused to look at the intruder, she didn't miss the small smirk on the High King's face before it straightened into a serious expression.
"What is it, Ed?"
"If you're not too busy," Nimueh could hear Edmund trying not to smile. "There is something you should probably see."
"I'll be right there." The two of them waited for Edmund's footsteps to disappear before they spoke again. "You're looking a little pink," Peter said, brushing the knuckle of his index finger over her cheek, his frown filled with mockery.
"Shut up, Peter." Nimueh instantly regretted it, as a pang of guilt pulled in her chest.
"Oh?" he chuckled. "Not only are we using 'Peter' now, but we're getting 'shut up' as well. What happened to 'Your Majesty'?"
She tried to suppress a smile, though still not looking at him. "I thought I was a Queen? I can say what I want now, can't I?" Then, gathering herself, she said, "You should go. It sounded urgent."
"Aren't you coming with me?"
"Well, I- I just thought maybe, after all of this, you might not want me to come with you."
Peter laughed, stepping up to her, and pulled her towards him. "Were you not listening to anything I've just said?"
"Of course I was, but I-"
"You're never leaving my side again, do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Stop it," he said assertively, kissing her temple. Taking her hand, he attempted to lead her away, but she stood still for a moment. "I'll carry you if I have to."
Nimueh smiled brightly, almost teary-eyed. "I would have said 'yes', you know." Peter cocked his head, momentarily confused. "White Stag or not, I would have said 'yes'."
A broad grin spread across the young King's face. He practically dragged her back into his arms and placed another kiss firmly on her lips. "I'll remember that," he said, still grinning.
And they left the chamber, hand in hand.