The soil was strewn with gold, red, and brown leaves and a light crisp autumn breeze gently stirred the air as the horses entered the tree-lined forest avenue. Somewhere up ahead was the excitement, joy, and festivity of the main parade route, where Humans and Talking Beasts alike waited to celebrate the new king’s progress to Cair Paravel, and his crowning under the approving eyes of the ancient tetrarchs and the Great Lion. But for now, the only sounds to be heard was the crunching of leaves under hooves, the soft jingle of bridle and bit, gentle horsey noises, the creaking of saddles, and an occasional bird calling out from the trees.
High King Peter rode beside King Caspian, quietly counselling him about various matters of state and all the Narnian traditions that the new king’s Telmarine relations hadn’t bothered to teach him. The countenance of both men was relaxed but serious and the vibe around them crackled with authority. For his part, Peter was thankful that his beloved nation was going to be able to get back on its feet under the right leadership of a Lion-fearing man and Caspian was grateful to be given a chance to soak in all the wisdom that the High King could give him.
Queen Susan and King Edmund rode beside each other a little ways behind and were in a much more lighthearted mood. Both were delighted to see such an earnest young man take his place on their thrones and they were confident that Caspian would, with Aslan’s help, soon restore Narnia to glory. Therefore, their chatter was joyous and their merry laughter echoed through the trees as they cracked jokes together.
But where was Queen Lucy?
The youngest tetrarch had yet to mount her horse. She was still at the edge of the trees, trying to braid her chestnut mare’s mane and tail perfectly.
“Done,” she muttered, hastily tying the last green ribbon into the silky reddish-brown mane before stepping back to inspect her handiwork a final time.
With a loud groan, she realized that it was all wrong and resigned herself to starting the whole painstaking process over. Then, just as she finished round two, Susan and Edmund appeared.
“What are you doing?” they called, riding towards her.
“Trying to get this mane and tail perfect for the parade.” Lucy answered, pouting for a moment as she recalled her vexation, “I just finished redoing the whole thing! What are you doing back here? I thought—”
“We came back to get you.” Edmund interrupted, “You think we’d parade without you or something?”
“It looks fine, Lu.” Susan added, “Hurry up. We need to catch up with Peter and Caspian.”
So, Lucy mounted and the three rode off together, chatting and laughing happily about the good times to come.