[au] Narnia and the North

[the_seafarer]

There's a chill bite to the air, these days. The horses have been growing out their winter coats, and they look shaggy and plump as Caspian turns them out into the paddocks. Behind the stables, in the makeshift woodshop he'd cobbled together, the sleigh from his drawings is starting to come together. 

He hopes he'll have it finished by Christmas. With a little luck, and maybe some assistance, he thinks it should be possible. The tack, he's largely left up to Susan's devices, though he'd commission Gimli the dwarf for the various buckles and other metal pieces they'll need.

Once the horses are turned out, he gets to his other morning chores with a will, whistling cheerfully as he does. The stable stays strangely quiet around him. It takes him the better part of an hour to realize the strangeness is because he's become accustomed to Susan's cheerful presence working alongside him, talking or humming or simply working in companionable silence. 

Caspian pauses in his task – refilling the grain chest – and looks around. Susan's nowhere to be seen, and when he later wanders through the stables, checking each stall and outside, he can't find her there, either.

Comments

[the_seafarer]

The giant looks down at her, then shakes his head. "But it's worth looking."

"It often is," Caspian agrees, and catches Susan's glance with his own merry one. "Well, Su, shall we leave them to their apple-picking and go tour the castle?"

[sai_delgado]

She beams a sweet smile at him in answer. "Aye, let's do."

[the_seafarer]

He waves farewell to the Bear and to Giant Wimbleweather, then clucks to Destrier, who lifts his head from an apple and jogs over. "We're close enough to walk," he tells Susan. "But we may want to bring the horses with us anyway."

[sai_delgado]

“He’s trained a treat,” she approves, even as she nods agreement with his suggestion. “Such a beauty!”

Susan goes to claim her mare’s rein for a lead, picking up a few more apples on the way to stash in the saddlebag.

“Which way?”

[the_seafarer]

"He had to be, for battle."

He collects the stallion's reins and follows suit with a few apples of his own, then bites into the one Susan had given him. It tastes crisp and sweet and juicy and for a moment he's transported back in time to those first harvests in Narnia after the Telmarines had been driven out. "This way," he tells her, tipping his head toward a path that leads away at an angle from the spot where they came in.

[sai_delgado]

"Aye, and he would," she agrees. "Like Boukephalos."

Susan draws the mare to one side, a little, so she can walk beside Caspian. "Yer friends are nice."

[the_seafarer]

"Aye," he agrees, affection and amusement mixed. "They weren't the most effective soldiers, but they're good folk. Both the Bear and Wimbleweather were Marshals of the List when High King Peter dueled my uncle, you know."

[sai_delgado]

She makes a curious sound, and gives him a look that's equally curious, at that. "What would'ee have marshals for, in a duel? Not that I ken duels much, save for Anthy's, and it's not - that were before--"

She's a little flustered as she tries to explain, and leaves off.

[the_seafarer]

He gives her a quizzical glance, but answers easily. "They stand at the four corners and the mid-points of the field," he tells her. "To ensure no rules are broken, and that no duelist cheats."

[sai_delgado]

"Oh." Susan considers that for a second, then gives a small shrug. "Seems practical, mayhap?"

And she catches that glance, indeed she does, and determinedly sets herself to try to explain. "As I said, I've not had knowing of such things. Except for when Anthy were the Rose Bride, and that were different, I wot. Did'ee ken all of that?"

[the_seafarer]

"Traditional, anyway," he says, and shakes his head at her question.

"Nay. I think it must have been before I arrived. I'm afraid to say I don't even know the lady in question."

[sai_delgado]

"Thee will when thee see her," Susan says, confident. "She has purple hair, and glasses."

[the_seafarer]

"I shall be certain to look for her," he promises. "But it's certainly no bad thing to be unfamiliar with duels."

[sai_delgado]

(everything the way of the Eld was not)

Her smile is a little wry, but warm. "Thee say true, and I say thankya. But that doesn't mean I'm not interested in yer stories, do'ee ken?"

[the_seafarer]

He looks over at her, a little surprised. "I never thought that, Su. We may be from different worlds and different backgrounds, but that just means there are so many more stories to share, doesn't it?"

[sai_delgado]

She reaches to catch his hand, twining her fingers with his, and smiles up at him, warm all through at his easy acceptance and how it's clearly never occurred to him to think otherwise. "Aye, it does."

[the_seafarer]

He smiles over at her, sweet and warm. "I always enjoy hearing your stories, too."

The orchard paths are beginning to widen, and above the trees they can now see the white outer wall of the citadel, gleaming in the sun.

[sai_delgado]

"Thee very dear." She squeezes his hand, then looks ahead with clear fascination. "Look how it shines! What did'ee build it with, to make it so?"

[the_seafarer]

"There's a quarry to the northwest where the stone comes from," he tells her, as they leave the trailing edges of the orchard behind and come toward the archway of the North Gate. "As for the type of stone, I'm afraid you'd have to ask the royal masons. It's harder than marble, but shines like it, doesn't it?"

A wide, graceful path leads them through the gate and into an airy courtyard, neatly manicured and vibrant with flower beds and shrubbery.

[sai_delgado]

She tugs at his hand and coaxes him to stop just inside the gate as she looks around for a place to leave the horses.

"Over there, mayhap?" she asks, nodding toward a grassy section. "Like as not they won't be a trouble to anyone there."

[the_seafarer]

"That will do nicely," he agrees, and leads Destrier over to the patch of grass. Ahead of them, the inner courtyard gives way to a graceful, shaded entryway, leading into the cool interior of the castle. Caspian takes a deep breath of the familiar salt-laced air and smiles at her.

"Let me show you the inside."

[sai_delgado]

She leaves the cloud-dappled mare with Destrier and joins Caspian. He’s happy, she thinks, truly happy and lighter than he was this morn when worry for her weighed on him, and she’s so glad she hasn’t the words for it.

“I’d love it if thee would,” she says, softly. “It’s yer home.”

[the_seafarer]

His smile shines out, and he reaches for her hand to lead her into the castle. Inside, the floors are set with beautifully cut stone, repeating patterns that lead them through high-ceilinged corridors with airy, open windows.

They step into the coolness of the Great Hall, where light plays over the colored marble floor, sturdy white walls warmed by intricate tapestries. And at the end of the Hall, four thrones stand on a dais, lit by the slanting light through windows.

[sai_delgado]

Her eyes are wide with wonder as they move through the castle’s hallways, and when they step into the throne room, Susan loses her breath entirely at how grand and glorious it is.

She’d speak, if she could, but for the moment all she’s able to manage is a sigh of amazement and delight as she takes in the sight.

[the_seafarer]

He watches her more than looks around the room, which is familiar to him from many, many days and months and years spent here. "We used the Great Hall for our most formal occasions," he murmurs, his voice clear in the enormous, airy room. "But also opened it to any who needed shelter during cold snaps in the winter, or when storms hit. This was a place of wonderful balls and grand audiences with visiting dignitaries, but also one of joy and comfort and warmth and community."