Frostmoon 2, 881; Archenland
“Granma!”
I knelt to the ground and opened my arms to receive the four-year-old Prince.
“Hello, Liam.” I pulled back from the hug a little bit to see his face. “How have you been?’
“Good. Missed you,” he said cutely.
“I have missed you, too. Now, where is your mother?” I asked, letting go of my grandson.
Liam took hold of my hand and began leading me inside Anvard, the castle home of Archenland’s rulers. “She inside. Mamma didn’t wanna come out… AH-hahaha!”
Liam squealed when Mezinda suddenly picked him up. She had been hiding in the courtyard to play a trick on her son. “I gotcha!” she said to him.
My daughter smiled at the laughing Prince and then turned to me. “Hello, Mother. Are you well?”
“That I am. And you?”
“I am well. I am sorry about Famina and Shream.”
“Thank you, darling, though perhaps this is something that should not be discussed in your son’s presence.”
Mezinda nodded in acknowledgement. We were at the archway leading into the castle when we heard the horrid growling and snarling of Wolves. Mezinda and I quickly turned around, expecting our guards to be prepared to attack something, and we were surprised to see Camsheer and Riker wrestling. We relaxed. My guess would be that Camsheer must have pounced on the other in a brotherly fight. We watched until our Wolf guards decided that they had had enough – throughout the “fight,” Mezinda needed to reassure Liam that Camsheer and Riker were only playing.
We entered the castle, and Mezinda handed Prince Liam off to a servant so that he would attend his lessons. It was extremely odd to see humans everywhere. I was so used to being in the presence of Talking Animals, Dryads, Fauns, Satyrs, and Centaurs. The only nonhuman I saw wandering about the castle was a she-Wolf. And I could tell she was Narnian because of her larger size. It made me wonder how she and Camsheer were getting along, for he would be the only reason why she was there.
My daughter led me to a medium-sized sitting room, and her ladies-in-waiting attended to my rather small luggage. There were two tall-backed, cushiony chairs with a table holding tea and biscuits between them. There was a small fire in the fireplace in front of the chairs, and rugs covered the floor. Large windows let in Frostmoon’s cloud-shine.
I sat in one of the chairs and waited for Mezzie to join me. I didn’t have to wait long. Mezinda plopped down in the other chair and teasingly asked, “Mother, you never take a holiday? I swear ruling Narnia and fighting Jadis has turned your lovely brown hair silver!”
I gave my daughter an ‘in-fun’ pointed look. “Are you sure my hair turned silver from that and not old age?” I asked in return.
“Old age? No. You, Mother, are not old,” she answered.
“Well I’m no spring chicken,” I countered.
We paused in our witty remarks long enough to burst out laughing. It felt so good to laugh with my daughter. Ever since she fell in love and married Prince – now King – Leesum of Archenland, I had not been able to see Mezinda as often as I liked. Which was one of the reasons why I was taking the holiday. Mezinda had sent me a letter saying how she missed me, and how she wished I’d visit. I had hesitated at first, for I was concerned with the constant threat of Jadis on the Western Border. It took two days of Bremton coaxing me to go before I decided to visit the Queen of Narnia’s closest ally.
We calmed down from our silliness, and Mezinda’s expression became one of sadness. “I’m sorry for your loss of Shream and Famina, Mother.”
I gave her a sympathetic smile, and I reached over to hold her hand. “Aslan blessed them with very long lives, Buttercup. They were probably two of the longest living Wolves… It was only a matter of time before Aslan called them Home.”
“I know, Mother. But I also know you were quite attached to them.”
“Just as are you to Camsheer. By the way, who is the lovely she-Wolf I saw in the castle?” I asked, changing the subject to a happier one. I turned around in my chair to wink at Camsheer, and he looked to the floor in embarrassment.
My daughter perked up, and I turned back to her. “Her name is Sarin. Cam met her on the journey back to Anvard after we visited you last year.”
I turned to face Mezzie’s guard again. “Talking about puppies yet, good Wolf?”
Raising his head, Camsheer said, “We haven’t gotten that far yet, Queen Swanwhite.”
“Yes he has, he doesn’t want to admit it,” Riker piped in.
“Oh? And how can you tell?” I asked.
“I can smell it, Majesty,” my guard replied with the equivalent of a smirk across his face. Camsheer glared at his brother. Riker snickered.
“And what about you and Amber, Riker?” Mezinda asked, hoping to corner Riker in the same spot as Camsheer.
“Waiting to have them, Queen Mezinda,” he said proudly.
“So Amber’s pregnant?”
“Yes, Majesty.”
My daughter then turned to me. “Is that why you did not pack many clothes? Because Amber is due to have her puppies soon?”
I nodded. “I would like to be home to help deliver the pups, and I’m sure Riker would like to be there, too.”
“I’m glad. Tell Amber that I said congratulations,” Mezinda told Riker.
“I shall, Majesty.”
Mezinda and I continued to chat until Prince Liam was done with his lessons. From the time his lessons finished until dinner time, I took the liberty of playing with my grandson. Mezinda took leave of us to attend her duties, which was alright with me. Liam and I played in his room. First we played with his blocks, and we built many a tower. Next we got Riker to join us in a game of tag. And the last game we played before dinner was hide-and-seek.
Around noontime, a servant came to take us to the private dining hall. I picked Liam up, and we walked on down. On the way, I told the Prince the story of Alambil, for he asked who the Lady on my necklace was. When we arrived at the hall, I set my grandson on the floor, and he ran to his mother to tell her about the story.
As Mezinda listened to her son, I said hello to my son-in-law. “Why, Leesum, you’re looking energized today.”
“Thank you, Queen Swanwhite. And you look as beautiful as the first time I set foot in Cair Paravel.”
“That was some time ago, and you were a young boy then. You are sure I haven’t changed?”
“Only in the slightest bit. You have aged wonderfully.”
“Well thank you, Leesum. How have you been this past year? Liam hasn’t been a hassle to raise, has he?” I asked teasingly as we all sat down to eat.
The King of Archenland gave a chuckle and smiled. “Not too much of a hassle. He’s been very good about listening to his elders.”
“Speaking of which, Liam tells me that you told him the story of Alambil,” Mezinda said.
“Good story!” Liam chimed.
I smiled at my grandson and then looked to my daughter. “Reminds me of a similar answer of another young person I know.”
“This sounds like a story,” Leesum commented. “One I’d like to hear.’
“As long as it’s alright with Mezinda,” I said, looking at my daughter.
She smiled. “Oh, go ahead. I love hearing you tell stories.”
And so the storytelling began.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
I stayed at Anvard three more days. The first day I spent mostly playing with Liam. The second day I spent with Leesum, and the last day I committed to Mezinda. During dinner and supper time, I would tell stories about when I was younger, about Bremton and Mezinda, and about the Wolves. Everyone enjoyed the stories.
I departed the morning of my fifth day in Archenland, after my morning training, of course. Mezinda complained that I should not be training so rigorously. I told her that as long as Jadis threatened Narnia, I would train hard every day to be sure I could fight. I hugged my family and said farewell, and mounted my horse Shema junior (the granddaughter of my former mount).
“Take care, my family! May Aslan and His helpers protect you all!” I called to the three.
“And you!” Leesum yelled back.
“Farewell, Mother!”
“Bye, Granma!”
I waved to them, and they waved back. My small guard surrounded me, and we headed for Narnia at a trot. I knew it was going to be a while before I saw my daughter again.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Frostmoon 9, 881
We arrived back at Cair Paravel just in time to hear that Riker and Amber’s first pup was about to be born. Riker was so excited that he wanted to hurry to Amber’s side, but I told him to stay with me.
“She will not be in a very good mood until after all the pups are born – I should know. Your mother was not very happy until afterwards,” I told my guard with a bit of a smile.
“Yes, my Queen,” he answered a bit sadly. I knew he wanted to be with her, but I also knew what was best for both of them.
Together, we walked up to their castle den. By the time we got there, Riker was the father of five children – three boys and two girls. The healer who had delivered the pups said that it was alright for us to visit Amber. When we entered, the pups were nursing, and Amber had a motherly glow about her.
“How are you doing, Amber?” I asked.
“Tired, Majesty. But very happy.”
Riker sniffed the pups and licked each one, giving them an idea of who their father was. He then lay down next to Amber so she could lean on him. I smiled at the two.
“I best go talk to Prince Bremton to see what happened while I was gone,” I said, excusing myself. “And Riker, you may have the rest of the day off. I will ask Sema to take over your guard duties for today.”
“Thank you, Queen Swanwhite.”
“You are welcome.”
I crawled out of the den, and I checked the angle of the sun to give me an idea of where Bremton was in his routine. The sun’s position showed that it was noon hour – dinner hour. The place to nab him was the Royal Dining Hall, and the thought of the hall made me hungry.
At the Dining Hall, Bremton rose from his seat to greet me. “Mother, I was told you arrived. I’m sorry I could not meet you.”
“That’s alright, Bremton. I went to see Amber just after we came, for she was having her pups.”
“Oh, she did? How many?”
“Five. Three boys and two girls. I gave Riker the rest of the day off.”
“Who will be your guard then?” my son asked as we sat down to dinner.
“I was going to ask Sema,” I answered.
“I can ask her for you after dinner, Mother,” Bremton offered.
“Thank you, Bremton, but I was going to ask her before I tour the villages around Cair Paravel.”
“Singing to the children again, Mother?”
“And talking to the villagers,” I said with a smile. Bremton returned the smile. “Anything important happen while I was gone?”
“No. There were a few disputes over food supplies for winter, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“What about reports of Jadis’ troop movements?”
“There’s no movement towards Cauldron Pool as of yet. They are camped about a week’s worth of travel from the border. So we would arrive about two to three days before them… should the need arise.”
“The need will arise, Bremton. The question is when. And when it happens, we should pray to Aslan, Alambil, and Tarva to help us hold the foul creatures off again.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Silence fell between us as we continued our dinner. After a few minutes, Bremton broke the silence.
“I am never going to be King.”
The statement startled me. I had never told the children that Amesh and I were to be the final monarchs before Jadis conquered Narnia. Amesh and I had agreed never to tell them, unless they said something pertaining to who was going to rule Narnia next. And it had seemed to work. Bremton was thirty and Mezinda was twenty-two, and I still had not told them of what was to happen. Now, Bremton’s words made me worry about how he figured it out.
“Why do you say that, Brem?”
“Because, Mother, you said we should pray so we could hold Jadis’ ‘foul creatures off again.’ And the music books you and Father had made for the Narnians – many of the songs speak of keeping faith in hard times.” Bremton fell silent for a moment before adding, “And I’ve never felt like I was to be King. I am now thirty years old, with no wife. Why? Because I have put my heart and soul into being a warrior of Narnia. That’s what I am. I was not made to be King, but to fight and die in battle.”
I sat in awe of my son. Once I got over my shock, I said, “You are right, Bremton. You will never be King.”
“How long have you known, Mother?” he asked gently.
I sat back in my chair to think. “Oh, I believe I’ve known for thirty-one years.”
“Thirty-one years? And you never told us?”
I nodded. “Your father and I made an agreement not to tell the two of you, unless it somehow came up. We didn’t want you to be scared to live life just because Amesh and I were to be the last monarchs.”
“Will Narnia cease to exist?”
“No. Jadis will conquer and rule Narnia for one hundred years.”
“How do you know this?”
I smiled at my son’s questions. It was like he was a child again. “Aslan told us a few days before our wedding. He decided to tell us so we could be somewhat prepared for the end, and so we could give the Narnians something to help them through the hard time that is fast approaching.”
“The music?” my son asked quietly. I nodded in return. “How many books were made?”
“One is being made for each village in Narnia. By the time my reign ends, every village should have their song book.”
I looked at the sun’s angle and rose from my seat; Bremton rose with me. “I must be on my way to the villages.”
“Alright, Mother. I shall handle court.”
“Thank you, Bremton.” I went over and gave him a hug and a kiss before I headed for the doors.
Just as I got to the doors, the Prince called out, “What song are you going to sing?”
I smiled. Bremton always enjoyed the songs when he was growing up. “Glory and Praise to Aslan,” I told him.
Bremton smiled and nodded. “That’s a good one.”
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