||3||

✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩👑Kings & Queens of Old👑✩.･*:｡≻───── ⋆♡⋆ ─────.•*:｡✩

"You were rulers of Narnia," Charlotte stated knowingly.

"That's right," Lucy nodded with a grin, "I'm Queen Lucy, the Valiant."

"And I'm Queen Susan, the Gentle," Susan introduced herself with a curtsy.

"Careful though, she could take anyone out with a bow and arrow," Peter warned, before introducing himself formally, "High King Peter, the Magnificent."

"King Edmund," Edmund said proudly, with his head held high, "the Just."

"That's brilliant," Charlotte complimented, particularly intrigued by his title the most of them all, then bowing her head in respect when it hit her that she was in the presence of royalty, "your Majesties."

The four of them chuckled at her change in attitude.

"Please, we're just ordinary children from Finchley back on Earth," Susan insisted.

Then, their smiles dropped, and they appeared sullen. Charlotte noticed it, and then it dawned upon her that their castle was now destroyed somehow, and she felt her heart sink for them.

"I'm sorry that this happened," Charlotte apologised, taking another long look around the ruins, "it must have been a very beautiful castle."

"It was," Edmund agreed with a sigh, "and now it's all gone."

"Weren't there anyone else in this castle?" Charlotte enquired curiously, "it looks like everyone's left this place now."

"There used to be," Susan revealed, trailing off, "but..." 

"I'm not sure what happened here," she confessed, surveying the debris surrounding them.

"We have to find answers," Edmund prompted, "come on."

They continued walking on, and Edmund soon came to a stop, examining the ruins further. He kneeled down, his hands sliding over rocks, and his eyes full of concentration.

"Catapults," he thought aloud.

"Catapults?" Charlotte repeatedly worriedly, placing her hands over her mouth, with her eyes scanning all over the place for similar evidence.

"That's right, this didn't just happen," he reported, turning to his siblings, "Cair Paravel was attacked."

"Come on," Peter urged, walking forward to a thick wall.

He and Edmund collaborated to push and pull a thick wall which revealed a door. As he broke the door open, the door almost fell apart, causing Edmund to instinctively place a hand protectively in front of Charlotte. Noticing the darkness ahead of them, Peter started tearing off the hem of his uniform without hesitation.

"What are you doing, Peter?" Charlotte asked, perplexed.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Peter retorted, wrapping it around a wooden branch, "I'm creating a torch, of course."

"Now, I don't suppose you have any matches, do you?" He questioned Edmund.

"No, but," Edmund answered, flipping his bag open to reveal a brand new torchlight, "would this help?"

Peter's mouth fell open as he stared at Edmund. Edmund himself looked back at Peter with a cheeky grin.

Then, his brother broke into a smile, "you might have mentioned that a bit sooner!"

The five of them broke into grins before Edmund then took the lead to walk through the darkness.

"Careful, now," he warned, "there are steps."

Charlotte let the ladies walk first and followed behind them when she realised that Peter, being the gentleman he was, was not going to allow her to walk in last. For a first impression, Narnia seemed to be unfolding a lot of mysterious settings that did not quite meet her expectations. They then arrived in a small room where four chests were placed at the ends of the room, with statues resembling the Pevensie siblings as adults.

"I can't believe it," Peter said, mesmerised by the chests laid in front of their view, "it's all still here."

"You actually grew up here," Charlotte remarked, observing them as they opened their respective chests.

"Yeah, we did," Susan sighed.

"I was so tall!" Lucy exclaimed, showing a fancy medieval dress.

"Well, you were older then," Susan agreed.

"Yeah, as opposed to a hundred years later, when you're younger," Edmund ironically remarked, with his adult helmet placed over his tiny head.

Charlotte then noticed another passageway that led even further into the underground. She wandered off into the passageway.

"Hang on, Charlotte," Edmund called, "we've never really been down there. It's where they kept the chests of ancient rulers. They've all got locks so, it would be impossible to open one anyway."

"Oh, I see," Charlotte remarked, ignoring his words and taking each step cautiously down the stairway.

The Pevensie siblings looked at each other oddly.

"How did she get in with us?" Susan enquired, frowning at the rest of them.

"I noticed that she saw what was happening at the train station," Edmund explained, "so I held her hand."

"You dimwit! You brought her into this," Peter jabbed a finger at him.

"Hey!" Edmund threw his hands up in defence, "she already knew about Narnia! Don't you think she meant to come here with us?"

"Edmund's right," Lucy spoke calmly, "she said her mother told her stories. Her parents have been here. They ruled here before us. We've learned Narnia's history."

"My horn," Susan remarked, abruptly shifting the topic, "I must have left it on my saddle the day we got back."

The passageway led to an untouched room. Shortly after, Charlotte found what Edmund said to be true. There were several chests, each named after a king or queen for centuries.

"Oh my," Charlotte whispered softly, walking around the room, her eyes examining the names written on each chest, "they must have been Kings and Queens of the past."

King Frank

Queen Helen

Her eyes then landed on one with two familiar names that caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks and kneeled down, examining the two names.

King Simon

Queen Audrey

"Mum, Dad..." She sighed, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She traced the carvings on the respective chests, realising that Edmund was right. The chests were locked, but there was no particular key hole in sight. Charlotte frowned to herself, examining the opening of her mother's chest lock, that was uniquely shaped like a circle. She compared it to her father's chest lock, which had a rather large hole shaped like a circle. It seemed like it was missing some sort of bangle or a big hoop.

She held up her wrist, comparing the size of her bracelet. Then, she decided to try something out. Fumbling to remove her bracelet anxiously, she inserted the complementary bracelet to her father's lock, and heard a click the moment she fit it in. She swung the chest open, much to her delight. She repeated the steps on her mother's chest, and eagerly opened it.

Blimey, she thought to herself, Mum must have really known I would come here.

In her father's chest, she found weaponry like swords, shields, and helmets. There was armour, and useful knick knacks like telescopes. She then caught a glimpse of a polished, gleaming gold. She dug through, eventually pulling out a crown, with oak tree leaves carved in its pattern. It was just so surreal, that she found their items, safely preserved in Narnia, particularly at the Cair Paravel where the Pevensie siblings used to rule. In her mother's chest, she found daggers and bows and arrows, with astonished her greatly. It also revealed a golden tiara, one with primroses on it.

I forgot that they learned how to fight, she thought to herself.

"Whoa," a deep voice behind her spoke, and she jumped in surprise almost instantly.

"Oh sorry," Edmund cleared his throat, "didn't mean to give you a fright."

"No, it's quite alright," Charlotte replied calmly.

"How'd you manage to open them?" Edmund asked curiously, approaching her side, "they must have been locked for centuries here."

Charlotte said nothing, and merely revealed her bracelet that was used as a key.

"They belonged to, your parents," he realised, putting two and two together.

"King Simon the Sagacious, and Queen Audrey the Graceful," he finished, "they are your parents, aren't they?"

"How'd you know?" Charlotte gasped, widening her eyes in shock.

"Well, we weren't the first humans to rule Narnia," Edmund explained, "we learned of the kings and queens of the past, who were also humans. It's all written in the history of Narnia."

Charlotte laid her eyes on him, giving him her undivided attention. She was at a loss for words, and her lips parted slightly. He knew about her parents, and it made her curious to know more.

"I never would have guessed," Edmund thought aloud, "that, you know, you're related to them."

Charlotte nodded, "They settled down in London and had me."

"They... They knew how to fight," she pointed out, rummaging and collecting the bows and arrows and daggers and swords, all too hurriedly and clumsily at once.

"Whoa, slow down, Charlotte," Edmund held a hand out, immediately reaching for the falling weapons, "they aren't exactly toys to play with. Thought you would know."

"But yes, they knew how to fight. As all kings and queens of Narnia did," he shared, "I know, it's a lot to take in."

Ignoring his sarcastic remark earlier on, Charlotte continued.

"No, I remember," she began, "I remember from their stories... But why... Why couldn't my father, well.."

She fell silent, and Edmund took a moment to process her words. She pursed her lips tightly, turning her body posture back to the chest. Edmund's eyes widened, and his breathing quickened as he put two and two together.

"I'm sorry," Edmund apologised.

"It's not your doing," Charlotte assured him quickly, but avoided meeting his face, "it just doesn't make sense."

"Charlotte, I'm really sorry," he apologised once more, "but none of these skills would have been useful in the war. I mean, they use guns, which is technologically advanced."

Instantly, he forced himself to shut up because he realised that he was not making it any easier for her. However, she inhaled and exhaled deeply, recollecting herself by closing her eyes calmly.

"They made the wrong choice to leave Narnia," she shrugged, "it's no big deal. Sorry to break the mood."

Edmund was taken aback by her sudden change in attitude, but was unsure what to say next. Her eyes gleamed with tears, but she blinked repetitively to get rid of them and refused to make eye contact with him. Edmund himself was uncertain if he was close enough an acquaintance to try to comfort her, especially since he did not fully understand her experiences. All he could decipher was that she probably felt alone and miserable. He knew he would be just the same if he ever received terrible news of his father.

He cleared his throat, "well, we best get changed. It's not possible to continue walking the lands of Narnia in our uniform."

He heaved a small sigh of relief that she seemed to forget their earlier conversation, abruptly returning to her normal self.

"But what would I wear?" She asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"Um," Edmund scratched the back of his head, "there must be something your mother might have worn back then. Here, let me have a look."

She scooted over to allow him space in front of her mother's chest, and he rummaged through taking out knick knacks here and there.

"I think blue suits you," a smirk tugged on his lips as he pulled out a gorgeous steel blue medieval dress.

"Oh wow, it's very..." She was at a loss for words, hesitating to gather her thoughts, "I've never really seen medieval dresses. It's lovely."

"I admit that outfits here are much more sophisticated than the ones in our world," he agreed with a chuckle to further lighten the mood, "another reason to appreciate Narnia. Some of them itch, though. But otherwise, most of them are made with fine material."

"Well, I'll let you get changed, I have to sort out my own chest," he handed the dress cautiously to her, and picked himself off the ground.

"You know, you could pick a weapon to bring along too. It might be useful to learn how to fight during your stay here," Edmund gestured towards the pile of weapons.

"Do you have any expertise in fighting?" Charlotte asked, straining her neck to look up at him.

"I might have forgotten a few tricks, but I can do with a sword and crossbow. I was the best sword fighter in Narnia," he said proudly with a smirk.

"Was that supposed to impress me?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I hoped it would," he grinned cheekily, "was worth a shot."

With that, he left the room. She sat there, shaking her head at his direction.

"Goodness," Charlotte mumbled to herself, placing a hand over her fluttering heart, "what a cheeky lad."