CHAPTER 22
POSTED 10/05/19
"Would you like the sky blue one, Lady Mary?"
"Or perhaps the red? It compliments your hair."
"We have the royal purple gown as well."
Mary grew flustered at all the attention. Caspian had set her and the Pevensies appointments with the finest dressmakers for their coronation day. Naturally, Caspian, Peter, and Edmund were in one room while Mary, Susan, and Lucy were in another just across the hall.
The Pevensies had it easier; they were already Kings and Queens of Narnia and did not need clothing as extravagant for the event. Meanwhile, this was Mary's coronation and she was being asked to pick among the most expensive looking dresses she had ever seen in her entire life. The fanciest dress she had probably ever worn was for one of her aunt's wedding, and it couldn't even come remotely close to the gowns she was now staring at. She then vaguely remembered her Saint Finbar's uniform from when she first arrived in Narnia and wondered where it went.
"Uhhh..." She looked to the two Pevensie girls for help. "What do you think?"
"Honestly, I liked the white one from earlier," Susan said.
"Really? The emerald one was pretty too, though," Lucy said thoughtfully.
Mary sighed for they had only added to her indecisiveness.
"Not helping," she groaned, causing Lucy to giggle.
"Sorry."
"While Mary goes through this dilemma, I need to go to the bathroom," Susan announced, standing up. "I'll be back in a while and hopefully, we'll help you choose a final dress."
Susan excused herself from the room, leaving Mary to go through her dilemma with Lucy. She walked down the hall, her steps slowing down when she saw her brothers came out from another room down the hall.
"Oh, Susan," they greeted.
"Done with fitting already?" she asked them.
"Of course. We already look good in everything," Edmund said as he and Peter grinned proudly. Susan rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"The only time you two will look good is when I'm blind."
Edmund and Peter chuckled at her comeback.
"I suppose you're done, too?" Peter then asked.
"Lucy and I are. Mary's having a bit of trouble choosing her dress," she clarified when an idea popped into her mind. "Actually, why don't you go over there right now? She might need a second — well, third — opinion. I think we've been making things worse because Lucy and I have different tastes."
"I would, but Caspian just asked if I could help him by meeting up with the coronation organizers in his place," Peter said apologetically. "I'll see you all at dinner."
Peter left for the meeting while Susan went on her way as well, leaving Edmund alone. He decided to do as his sister said and headed for the room the girls were in.
Back inside the room, Lucy had just suggested that Mary try on the dresses all over again. Though Mary enjoyed dressing up every now and then and the gowns were undoubtedly gorgeous, it was becoming a tedious task. However, she complied anyway, knowing this could help her in finally deciding which one to wear on her coronation day.
She had just removed the upper part of her dress and was about to pull it all the way down when the door swung open.
"Hey, Mary, I — bloody hell."
"Oh my god!" Mary screeched, covering herself.
"Edmund!" Lucy scolded, running over to her brother who had shown up announced without so much as a knock. She hurriedly pushed him out of the room with a disapproving look.
"Sorry, sorry!" the boy spluttered.
"Why didn't you knock?" Mary yelled after him, beet red.
"I didn't know you were —"
"You fool!" Lucy hit her brother followed by an "Ow!" from him just as the door shut closed once more.
The seamstresses and ladies in waiting inside the room also apologized to Mary. She told them it was fine, but she was still extremely rattled from Edmund walking in on her while she was changing. She was fuming, too. She would've been ready to attack him if she wasn't so embarrassed.
Later that day, Mary eventually had to face Edmund. She managed to avoid him for most of the day, but she soon crossed paths with him on the way to dinner. They had come from the opposite corridors and stopped dead upon seeing one another.
"Look, Mary, I'm really sorry about... that," Edmund said, too shy to say it out loud as he walked up to her.
She avoided his eyes and grumbled, "Why in the world didn't you knock?"
"Susan said you needed help picking a dress so I assumed —"
"Stop assuming, then, you idiot!" She hit his arm.
"Hey! Why's everyone hitting me today?" He rubbed the spot on his arm where she had slapped him.
"Because you deserve it," Mary said, turning on her heel to walk away from him. He hurried to fall into step next to her.
"I said I was sorry. Come on, you'll forgive me, right?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No way."
Edmund sighed but continued to follow Mary. She still didn't say a word even as he did, making him uncomfortable because she was usually talkative around him. He soon noticed her free hand swinging back and forth and grinned mischievously, catching it with his own hand and intertwining their fingers. Mary tensed but still didn't speak.
"Now do you forgive me?" he tried, rubbing his thumb on her hand.
"N-No."
✧ ✧ ✧
The day of Mary and Caspian's coronation had finally arrived. Mary felt nervous, not wanting to mess up even though she technically didn't have to do much. The Pevensies told her that all she had to do was walk up to the throne, get crowned, and converse with the Narnians afterwards, so she had nothing to worry about. She still worried, though, hoping to be as composed and approachable as possible in front of the Narnians.
There were two hours left until the official ceremony began. Mary was to meet up with some of the servants to prepare in a few minutes, and she spent the little time left she had on her own sitting quietly in her room.
A few knocks to her door brought her out of her thoughts.
"It's open," she said.
Edmund cracked the door open carefully before pushing it wide open.
"Glad to see you're fully dressed, this time."
Mary scoffed at his words. "You're the one who entered without warning last time."
The boy grinned sheepishly before taking a seat next to Mary. She was still clad in a simple beige dress that Caspian's servants supplied for her.
"Aren't you going to get ready?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Then what are you doing here?"
"Just thinking."
"Don't get too sentimental now," Edmund teased and nudged her. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion."
Mary rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about that. I was just thinking about how annoying you are."
"Good to know you're constantly thinking about me."
Mary wanted to make a sarcastic reply, but there was yet another knock on the door. After a second, it swung open to reveal one of the ladies in waiting.
"Lady Mary, I —" she paused upon seeing that King Edmund was sitting there with her on the bed. "Oh, pardon me. I'll come back later."
Mary and Edmund shared puzzled looks before realization dawned on them.
"No, no, we weren't doing anything," Mary reassured with a nervous laugh. She cleared her throat and straightened up. "What is it?"
"We're ready for you. Your gown is prepared and the ladies are waiting for you."
"I'll be there in a minute. Thank you," Mary smiled. The woman nodded and closed the door behind her.
"You better get going," said Edmund, standing up and offering her hand. She sighed and took it, getting to her feet as well.
"I'll see you later, then?" Mary said. "Please pray that I won't trip later."
"No, thanks. I actually want to see that." Mary shoved him playfully. "Just kidding. You'll be fine."
Mary smiled as Edmund leaned down to press a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Now go before they still think we're doing something indecent."
✧ ✧ ✧
"Lady Mary, it's time."
Mary turned away from the full length mirror and almost didn't realize who was speaking until she looked down. She chuckled and bent down to the level of Reepicheep with a smile.
"I must say that you are looking dashing," Reepicheep complimented with a bow. "The Narnians will be glad to have yet another queen with both beauty and brains."
"And brawn," Mary reminded the mouse jokingly.
"Without a doubt."
After Reepicheep left to take his place in the throne room, Mary met up with Caspian and Aslan outside the venue. Caspian's attire consisted of a mixture of white and royal red colors, and his hair had been styled a little differently for the special occasion. Both he and Aslan smiled kindly upon seeing Mary.
"Are you ready?" the lion asked her.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Mary replied.
The three walked quietly to their destination and Mary could hear the chatter from the inside even from afar. She gulped, the nervousness seeping back into her. She was to be coronated first and she prayed she wouldn't mess up.
The trumpets were blown and two guards opened the doors for her. This was the first time Mary had seen the hall fully decorated and packed with guests consisting of both Telmarines and Narnians alike. All eyes turned to her and she fought the urge to shrink back into the shadows. Eventually, she took her first step with Aslan until she found herself walking up to the front.
She saw some of the centaurs she battled with near the door as well as a few Telmarines who Mary assumed were close to Caspian. Doctor Cornelius was there and so was Trufflehunter, too. A little closer to the front were Trumpkin and Reepicheep and the other mice. Finally, the Pevensies were stationed right next to the throne. They all smiled encouragingly at her which comforted her even the slightest bit. She briefly wondered if this was more or less how the coronation of the Pevensies looked and felt like years ago.
Edmund couldn't believe his eyes. Mary had always been pretty to him despite her common brown hair and eyes because she always held this bright smile and had certain sparkle in her eyes that always got to him. But in her cream and gold gown, the baby blue cape billowing behind her, and her hair pinned back with soft curls that framed her face, he was speechless. She was stunning. His jaw would've stayed dropped if Mary hadn't made eye contact with him and smiled, which he returned quickly.
Aslan and Mary walked up the steps before turning to face the crowd. Reepicheep and his fellow mice came scurrying up to them with the silver crown on a velvet pillow, causing her to break out in a grin. Trumpkin followed next, dressed in a fresh new tunic and pants and with his hair and beard combed neatly. Mary kneeled on one leg and bowed her head down as Trumpkin carefully placed the crown on her head. Aslan smiled proudly before turning to the Telmarines and Narnians watching.
"To the Vast Lands," he boomed. "I give you Queen Mary the Zealous."
A/N: Quite a long note but I hope y'all read this HAHA
Imma be honest here: I have no idea what the "Vast Lands" are LMAO I made that up to give Mary's coronation sound fancy ya know :> I checked Narnia's map and the Pevensies pretty much rule over most of the locations and I didn't want to take anything away from that, so there you go! The Pevensies' coronation and titles are so beautiful as well and I can only hope the one I made for Mary is, too.
And if you guys remember, I posted some pics of the dresses I pictured Mary in. I went with the first one in my head but feel free to picture her in whatever you like the most!
Another concern: do any of you have any thoughts/guesses on what Mary will end up doing at the end of the book (aka leave or stay)? I think I mentioned this before + I already have a plot in mind, but it's always fun to hear what you guys have to say :>
Lastly, we only have three more chapters left (if I stick to my original plot) + an epilogue, so stay tuned for that ☻ My updates will still probably be inconsistent because of college + my position in my organization keeps me hella busy, so I'm sorry for that :(