A Masquerade Ball

(Image not mine)

(Exactly One Year Later)

Y/N'S POV

No one told me there was such a thing as a 'Thank You Ball'. It seems pretty extra to me, why don't you just send a thank you card? Apparently King Runas liked to be extra because he was holding a ball in thanks for ridding his kingdom of the dragons a year ago, and we were the guests of honor.

"Does this dress make me look fat?" Lucy swished her light blue gown around.

"Lucy, you could never look fat," Susan chuckled. She wore a deep purple gown that fit her perfectly. Now that she was nineteen she looked very mature in the dress.

My dress was similar to theirs, an old-fashioned forest green gown. The skirt had tons of layers so I didn't need to worry about being cold during the evening dance. The cut was very classic with a square collar and laced bodice that melted into a heavy and wide skirt that fanned out behind me. Because the bodice was so tight it made it hard for us to breathe fully so we each had a matching fan.

Lucy's hair had gotten longer over these two years and was curled beautifully with the front pieces pinned back, no doubt done by Susan. Susan's hair was in an elegant french twist that kept her crown straight on top of her head. She had also done my hair which was in the same style that it was during our coronation as it had become my signature style. Each of us had our crowns on seeing as we were going to be among many other important nobles and royals.

"Come on," Susan began walking to our carriage that had just pulled up, "Peter and Edmund are already there waiting for us."

"I still don't understand why they couldn't just wait until we were done," I pouted.

"Because we girls take far too long," Lucy rolled her eyes, imitating her brothers.

I laughed and we climbed into the small carriage, our dresses taking up most of the space. I crossed my arms and slouched back, looking at Susan and Lucy.

"I must admit, I'm not excited to see Princess Anne." I frowned.

Lucy chuckled, "I don't think Peter is either. Princess Anne has been sending letter after letter to him all year."

"She really is obsessed with him," Susan smirked, "I can't imagine why though."

I grinned, Peter was a pretty odd choice. Lucy and Susan went on to describe all of his odd tendencies as we rode and I opted to watch the forest pass through the window for the rest of the time. It was a lot faster of a journey with a carriage to King Runas's palace so we made it there right on time. As we stepped out, a soldier from the palace bowed and held out three bland silver masks that covered the top half of your face.

"Your Majesties, please remove your crowns and wear these masks, as per the King's request."

We looked at each other strangely for a moment, none of us aware that this was a masquerade ball. I took the mask from the armored woman with a smile and placed it on my face before taking off my crown and placing it back in the carriage. Susan and Lucy followed my lead and the soldier led us to the ballroom as groups of people from other carriages swarmed towards the doors. I saw many important-looking people, a few accompanied by small children in adorable gowns or suits and all wearing matching masks. We all entered through the massive doors and stepped into a grand ballroom lit by crystal chandeliers that sent candlelight dancing around the room. The marble walls were embellished in gold and beautiful paintings that matched an enormous painting on the ceiling of the room. Large doors were propped open to allow guests onto the large terrace where there were beverages and small snacks displayed on grand tables. King Runas's men walked around the floor, offering glasses of champagne to the adult guests and small juices to the children.

"Woah," Susan gaped at the lavish room.

"It was definitely not like this last year," Lucy muttered.

"Nope," I agreed.

We walked side by side into the herd of people that were socializing in the center of the room, not sure who to talk to first. That problem was solved when a tall masked man approached Susan, no doubt attracted to her, and began a polite conversation. Lucy and I smirked and continued to move through the crowd towards the refreshments on the terrace, selecting two glasses of punch. Right as we reached the edge of the crowd to return to Susan, trumpets sounded from the top of the large staircase opposite the doors we came in through. The crowd hushed and looked towards the doors at the top of the stairs.

"Please welcome, King Runas," The announcer's voice radiated from on top of the stairs.

The crowd applauded as the plump old man emerged from the doors, wearing a white suit decorated in medals. His crown was slightly tilted on his bald head but he paid it no mind as he addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending my ball this evening!" He bellowed, "I do like to spoil myself with a party or two every year, and this time it's a masquerade ball, how fun! For my enjoyment, please don't remove your masks or mention your name, as it would make this a lot less fun."

The crowd chuckled and he started again, "Now, of course, tonight our guests of honor are also masked, so it is your job to mingle and decide who the real Kings and Queens of Narnia are! Good luck to you all, and let the dancing begin!"

Lucy and I stood still in shock. We were supposed to keep our identity a secret? That explains the request to leave our crowns in the carriage, it would give us away. Before either of us could do anything, a masked man with blond hair wearing a dark red suit and a gold cape approached us and bowed to Lucy.

"Care to dance, my lady?" He asked and peered up at her with a grin.

I immediately recognized the voice and so did Lucy, "Peter!" She whisper-squealed.

He stood up straight and took her hand, leading her to the dance floor with a broad smile and leaving me alone. I smiled at the two as they disappeared behind the crowd of people in front of me. Almost as soon as they left, four people approached me, each holding a nearly empty glass of champagne. Judging by the smell, I guessed they had more drinks than just that. The only woman of the group was leaning on one of the men's shoulders to keep her balanced in her tall heels.

"You are one beautiful girl, you know that?" She cooed and took another swig out of her glass.

I stammered over my response, intimidated by the group of large men. "Th-thank you, miss. You look quite lovely as well."

The men chuckled and stepped closer, passing into the invisible bubble that I preferred to keep around me at all times. I wanted to step backward but knew that would make me appear weak so I stood my ground.

"Why don't you drink?" The man closest to me motioned to my glass of punch.

"I uh, can't handle any alcohol." I smiled.

He only grinned more and held out his glass of champagne to me, "Come on, it's not that much, you'll be fine."

"No, I don't want any, thank you."

"Drink a little, girlie," He reached forward to shove the glass up to my lips but I was suddenly yanked backward.

Strong arms pulled me back, keeping me away from the men. "She said no." The man holding me growled.

I looked up to see familiar dark hair and brown eyes under a mask. His jaw was taught as he stared down the men, watching them walk away while grumbling under their breath. Once the men were far enough away, Edmund let go of me.

"Thank you so much, Ed," I gasped, "How did you know it was me?"

"Your hair, silly," He smiled warmly, "Also, I just know what you look like, a little mask isn't going to throw me off."

"Well, I might've been thrown off with or without the mask," I gestured to his outfit, "You look so different in such fancy clothes!"

He wore a silver suit with a blue dress shirt and a matching blue cape that broadened his shoulders. Thankfully he hadn't combed his hair back like at our coronation and it was in its usual messy state, this time without a crown on his head. I had to admit, he looked very handsome.

"I could say the same," He grinned, "You look beautiful."

My face immediately grew hot and I prayed that my mask covered my raging blush. I ignored it and grabbed his hand to pull him towards the dance.

"Come on, I haven't danced yet."

"I don't think this is like any of the Narnian dances you're used to." He warned.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine."

I realized when we got to the edge of the dancefloor that I would not, in fact, be fine. There were none of the usual festive moves like in our dances, instead, the dancers glided slowly across the floor, occasionally twirling or dipping their partner. It looked incredibly boring. I heard Edmund chuckle at my reaction and grip my hand tighter, this time pulling me onto the dancefloor. We stepped into an empty space between pairs and moved with the music, Edmund leading seeing as I didn't know the dance. My arms fit perfectly in his and it felt like we were two puzzle pieces fit together. As we swayed I caught glimpses of Lucy and Peter dancing as well as Susan and the masked man from before. But we only danced for a couple of minutes before King Runas climbed the stairs to make another announcement.

"I must admit I am impatient!" He laughed, "And so, we will now bet on who our Kings and Queens are!"

The people singled out some individuals in the crowd, all of the candidates were much older than we are and definitely suited the role of ruler. Next to me, Edmund laughed quietly before King Runas spoke again.

"Ha! We have some pretty strong candidates, but unfortunately, none of them rule Narnia." He laughed, "I'll help you narrow it down, all five of them are on the dancefloor."

Chatter erupted in the crowd around the dancefloor as people pushed to get a better view and I couldn't help but feel like an animal in a zoo. They combed their eyes over me, judging my appearance and the possibility of being a Queen. I knew it would be hard to believe as I was only seventeen, but I guess Peter and maybe Susan would be believable. One by one they singled out three women and two men, Peter was the only one out of us that was in the final selected five.

"Well, well, well!" Runas peered down at the selected five "My dear guests, you have spotted a King! High King Peter, please reveal yourself!"

Peter took off his mask and faced the crowd as they gasped and cheered. The rest of the candidates filed off the dancefloor so it was just Peter basking in the attention.

"But we are still missing four of our great rulers! Let's see, where is our King Edmund? Please come forward."

I pushed him forward and he playfully glared at me over his shoulder before going to stand next to the twenty-year-old king. When he lowered his mask the crowd gasped at how young he was and I swear I heard a couple of girls squeal.

"Welcome King Edmund, but where are the Queens?"

From the corner of my vision, I saw Susan step out onto the dance floor and leave behind the man she spoke to earlier who seemed to be in complete shock. I took that as my cue to join the boys, as did Lucy who emerged from the opposite side of the dancefloor. I stood next to Edmund and Susan stood on the other side of Peter, Lucy next to her.

"And here they are!"

My, King Runas was quite the showman.

"Queen Susan, let's see your beautiful face,"

She smiled gently and pulled down her mask. "Now for the famous Summer Witch, Queen Y/n!"

I removed the bland mask from my face, hoping I didn't look as sweaty as I felt and smiled at the people staring. I caught sight of the men who harassed me earlier and threw them a glare, making them shrink back.

"Wonderful!" Runas cheered, "And now for everyone's favorite, Queen Lucy!"

I bent forward slightly to peer around the others at the young girl as she beamed at the crowd while taking off her mask. The guests erupted in the loudest cheer yet, absolutely adoring the Queen.

"Everyone, we now have our guests of honor! Treat them well."

With that, Runas stepped out of sight and people swarmed us, led by Princess Anne heading straight for Peter. Oh boy, this was going to be a long night.

---

EDMUND'S POV

"My feet hurt," Y/n complained. She sat next to me in the carriage that was taking us back to Narnia, rubbing her feet.

"Mine too," Susan groaned.

"They wouldn't if you hadn't worn heels," Peter scolded.

"Excuse me, I was wearing flats." Y/n pouted.

He shrugged, giving up. I just smiled, exhausted from the night's events and opted to just listen to the girls complain about feminine clothes. We arrived back at Cair Paravel rather quickly, most likely because I had dozed off once or twice and didn't get to see most of the journey. After grabbing our crowns we clambered out of the carriage and stumbled up the steps to the palace, smiling at the guards who were quietly laughing at our tired behavior. It was nice to see Narnians after being surrounded by so many humans in a human kingdom.

"Peterrr," Lucy whined and held her arms up to Peter, "Give me a piggyback ride, I'm so tired and my feet hurt."

I chuckled as he sighed and hoisted up the sleepy girl, climbing the rest of the stairs with her on his back. Y/n nudged my side with her elbow.

"Can you do that for me?" She gasped and held her stomach, trying to breathe through the tight bodice.

"Y/n, you're too heavy." I laughed.

She frowned, "Fine then," She turned to Susan on her right, "You'll carry me, right?"

Before Susan could answer I hoisted Y/n up by the waist and threw her over my shoulder. I heard her yelp and felt her squirm a little before going limp and letting me carry her up the stairs. Susan giggled a little and walked behind us, Y/n facing her. Susan whispered something I couldn't hear and Y/n went stiff.

"Shush, Susan." She hissed, "This is oddly comfortable."

-Hellooo! This chapter was not my favorite cuz I had so many ideas but I think I got a couple of good scenes in. Also, next chapter will have the moment I've been waiting for since I started writing this and I'm so excited, even though I have no idea how I'm going to do it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading!-

-Mocha