Author's note: Hey! Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! (I might update before January, but with family and exams around, you might have to wait a bit for the next chapter. I will admit that the only reason you get this one as a Christmas present is that this was written before the last one where I was kind of stuck.) Yuy, the first Peter chapter! Oh, yes, Edmund was unable to contact Peter, so how will our favourite High King take everything that is going on? I hope you will enjoy it! The next chapter will be in Peter's point of view as well.
As always, thank you for reading, following and favouriting my story. Special thanks to those who have reviewed the last chapter: LizCraft, obsessive360, BlueRosette23, AllisonReader, Guest(I), random123games, Guest(II) and Dragons-Twilight1992.
"Life takes us by surprise and orders us to move toward the unknown - even when we don't want to and when we think we don't need to." ― Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
VII. The Officer
He was sitting on his throne in the Great Hall, in his beloved palace. "Consorts?" His voice echoed when he noticed that his siblings were not sitting on either side of him, only his throne was inhibited. He quickly looked around and noticed that while neither his brother nor his sisters were in attendance he was not in fact alone. About half a dozen human noblemen were standing in a half circle in right before him in fine clothing. He was sure that only a moment ago he was alone. Where were the real, the Old Narnians of the council? Every once in a while a human from Earth found his or her way to Narnia, a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve, but surely not this many. Then there were the human population of the other countries – that would most certainly make sense, but what were they doing there without any of the Narnian royal council in attendance?
"What is happening in Ettinsmoor and on our border is once again inadmissible, my lords," he started the discussion with some uncertainty in his tone. If these were foreign dignitaries then maybe this wasn't the topic that had to be dealt with. However, his consorts would most probably arrive shortly and knowing how long these conversations usually took, he was sure that they would not miss out on much.
"Pevensie, keep your mouth shut," one of the lords suddenly spoke up. The man looked familiar with his goat-like dark beard and curly short and pepper hair, but Peter couldn't name the man which unnerved him as he knew everyone in the court, even all of Su's and Lu's ladies in waiting. Foreign dignitary then. However, the High King felt that the tone and the words of the gentleman were unacceptable. To his surprise none of the other members of the royal council or whatever these men were, spoke up against the insulting utterance.
"M'lord, I ask you to keep the meeting formal and remember to address every attendant with their deserved styles," he cautioned the man.
"Who do you think you are Pevensie?" another one of the men spoke up rather harshly. This one looked older than the other with wrinkled face and gray hair and moustache, but his words rang with the same fire.
"The High King, m'lord," he answered with his temper flaring. Who did this man think he was? Even his siblings, his consorts treated the High King with utter respect. No one in Narnia dared to speak that way to their ruler and he couldn't think of any foreigner who would risk international conflicts just to say what was on his mind.
"Just shut up already!"
"You are nobody!"
"Just a boy, a commoner!" Countless similar insults were thrown and the Great Hall became louder and louder. Every one of the lords started speaking at the same time, all shouting insulting things. He felt smaller and smaller with every bad word spoken against him. One part of him believed everything these strange men were saying while another one wanted to speak up and make sure they learned their places.
"PEVENSIE!" Peter opened his eyes and for a long moment he didn't know where he was. How did he end up in bed when he was just having a quarrel with those foreign human lords at the Throne Room? Then suddenly reality came crushing on him – he was not in Cair Paravel, he was not even in his beloved Narnia. He leaned back and tried to remember the dream he just had, but as always the details were slipping away quickly. It was all just a dream. Humans were only native to Narnia after the Telmarine invasion (and even then native was a strong word), it all made sense now. Somehow the two timelines were mashed together in his dream.
"Pevensie, we slept in. Hurry up, we are LATE," he was instructed. Peter opened his mouth to remind the boy of who he was and this was not the way to speak with royalty, but then the realisation came – he was in fact nobody on Earth, just a university student exactly like his roommate. He was in no way better than him or even higher in hierarchy, probably the exact opposite was true, he supposed. From what he knew about Joe Darkwood, the boy's family had money and not only that, but some big history as well with connections and all and the only reason why he wasn't just attending Oxford or Cambridge was that he wanted to break some serious family tradition, he was rebelling this way.
Peter gripped the edge of his bed and once again tried to concentrate on the dream. He couldn't remember the faces or the voices. How many men were there? Were his siblings even with him? Were they insulted just like him? Did he answer them? How old was he? But he remembered the words, and they were echoing in his mind: Who do you think you are Pevensie? You are nobody! Just a boy, a commoner!
In this universe what those men – lords, nobles or whatever they were – said were true. It was one of those types of realisations which ruined one's whole day. Peter hardly had the will to get up from the semi-comfortable bed which was nowhere near as cosy as the one had in Narnia, but was still better than nothing. At least in his dreams he could still visit the land which was not his anymore. During his sleep he was once again the High King of Narnia instead of a penniless and nameless student. However, he knew that this was in fact reality for the rest of his life so he got ready for class slowly while Joe was milling around impatiently.
"Just go," growled Peter at him. He was already in bad mood; he was most certainly not going to run to his lecture just because his roommate wanted him to. He was a grown-up as well; he could find their lesson on his own, thank you very much, no escort was needed.
"Why the sour mood? You cannot simply wait till you hear Mr O'Reilly's three hours long lecture on the agriculture during the time of the Greek democracy?" he asked sarcastically. The question reminded Peter of his brother for a moment and he imagined seeing Edmund's fair hair and bright eyes instead of Joe's dark appearance. He shook himself, because the Edmund in his vision was older than the real one who was at the moment at his boarding school and he was wearing Narnian clothing while mocking his elder brother about his activity during one of their study sessions.
"Oh, come on Peter. If I'm going to be late then at least tell me why," Joe asked with clear annoyance in his voice while Peter was putting on his shoes. He paused for a moment trying to figure out what he could tell his new friend as he knew that he most certainly could not share the truth – it was not something that they went around telling everyone. Not that anyone would even believe them. He didn't even believe Lucy when she first found the way through the wardrobe, and she was his little sister. Homesickness, maybe? No, he has told Joe before that he has attended a boarding school and that during the war he was evacuated with only his siblings to the countryside.
"I miss my brother. While I always dearly miss my sisters, I'm used not seeing them every day during the school term, but Ed, well, he has been around all the time for the last few years," he shrugged while he picked up his notes for O'Reilly's lecture. It was somehow the truth, at least part of it, one that an English student with no knowledge of other magical universes could understand. Joe looked at him with intense dark eyes. Had Peter not seen as much as he did he wouldn't have recognized the emotions in his roommate's eyes. However, he was in reality thirty-three years old and has governed a country for fifteen years and was the lead figure in his younger siblings' life for just as long, so experience he had. Confusion. Shame. Mistrust.
"I have two younger brothers, the older is fifteen, and the younger one is thirteen. I'm mostly annoyed with them, our relationship is hardly ideal. We have attended the same school until now, but I'm quite happy that I'm alone again – and they most certainly will continue family traditions, so they won't be around in the future either." His voice was smooth, but his tone was deep and somewhat solemn. Peter stopped the packing for a moment and then he looked in the dark brown eyes of his somewhat friend. Fifteen and thirteen, just like Ed and Lu. It was hard to imagine not missing them, because his heart ached at the thought of not knowing if they were alright. Still, another part of him knew that the closeness he had with his siblings, the over-protectiveness he felt for them came from those years when he was the father they no longer had and the High King they all respected and sought out for advice. It was the four of them – four thrones, four consorts, four siblings. They had each other, but only each other, no one else.
"Every family is different," Peter shrugged not knowing what he should say. "My siblings didn't take it well when my father has left for the war, especially my brother – he went a bit rogue. Our relationship was quite bad for a while, but we made up and now it's better than ever." He was proud of himself – over the years he became rather good in telling the complete truth without ever even mentioning Narnia. They all had to learn how to speak about it without being considered mad after all.
"So, are you ready to go Darkwood?" Peter asked in annoyance as Joe was leaning against the doorframe with a faraway look obviously lost in thought. After all it was the guy who was going on and on how they had to hurry and now he was the one not going.
"Yeah sure, Pevensie," the dark haired boy replied thoughtlessly and Peter passed him roughly. While Edmund was the worst in the family to wake, Peter was a close second. Their sisters always bickered over who was doing it when needed, because neither wanted to do it knowing the consequences – sour mood.
The corridors were empty, so obviously all the other students who ran a bit late were already in class as well. After Joe woke up from his thoughts, he once again felt the need to rush to the lecture, but Peter didn't share his views, so no matter how many times his roommate stopped and gestured for him to hurry, he continued in the pace he chose. While in this world he was nobody and he was controlled by people in upper places, he would not let others on his own level manipulate him as well. Certainly someone like Joseph Darkwood could not tell him how quick his steps should be.
"You are grumpier than usual Pevensie," Joe said when once again he stopped impatiently. Peter snorted.
"You are one to speak, Darkwood," he stated implying that during the last two minutes his roommate has gestured impatiently at least ten times. They have already left the dorms and now they were passing by the offices. The lecture hall where their Greek democracy class was held was just around the corner. Just as they were about to leave the last office, the door of it opened. Peter had to step aside to let a man and a woman out.
The woman he has seen around, though he didn't know her name. She was some sort of secretary he supposed. The man on the other hand wasn't familiar at all. He was an impressive man, Peter supposed in dark tailored clothing, obviously from fine materials. He also held himself with a posture Peter only ever saw by people of the higher circles, who knew that they were important and wanted the world to know it as well. He was a middle aged man, who obviously prided himself of his look and for his age, he was in fact a good shape.
He wasn't exactly sure why he stopped walking altogether; especially when Joe once again shooed him in the direction of their class, but there was something in the man that made Peter straighten his posture as well and at that moment he felt like he was back in Narnia meeting with a delegation of foreign dignitaries for the first time and he wanted to make a good impression on the man like the future of a whole country depended on it.
"Sir McKinley," the secretary started, but before Peter could hear more Joe once again nudged him. The blonde looked at the scene for another moment and then he followed his roommate. Whoever the man was, he most certainly was not here for Peter, his commonsense told him, but part of him ached for going into that office and being part of the obviously important conversation. A man like that was most probably not coming all the way here to speak with a secretary – was he meeting the rector maybe?
"You have obviously lost your marbles, Pevensie. What is up with you?" Joe asked just as they stopped in front of the door of the lecture hall. Officially they weren't supposed to enter once they were late, but it usually didn't stop most students. Peter opened the door and the professor, Mr O'Reilly didn't even seem to notice the pair of them as they took place on the far end of the hall.
Peter was leaning down to get his notes out of his backpack when he first noticed that something was going on. The professor was going on and on about the agriculture during the time of Pericles, but no one seemed to pay any attention to him, which was surprising, because everyone knew that Mr O'Reilly was a tough teacher who cared not what was in books and only wanted to hear the pieces of information during the exam he shared with the class, so all students usually behaved like an angel on this lecture and took notes feverishly.
Now though all around him his classmates were sitting in small groups leaning close to each other and speaking lowly but excitedly about one thing or another, no one even looking in the direction of the professor. Peter looked at Joe in confusion, who he hoped knew more about what was going on than he did, but his roommate seemed just as surprised by the obvious changes in the behaviour of the students as he did.
The closest to them a man was sitting who was a few years older than Peter himself, whose studies were abruptly suspended because of the war. Dawson was his name if Peter remembered well. Not that he was sure, because he didn't like him at all, while the older man seemed to look down on everyone who was too young to join in the war effort. (It was not like it was Peter's fault that by the time he was old enough to join the army, the war was over.) However, there was no one else close enough to get information from, so he leaned closer to the burly man.
"What's going on with everyone?" he hissed under the breath and gestured towards one group and another. Dawson looked at him with obvious disdain, but there was some type of menacing glee on his plain face.
"You really don't know?" Dawson asked with a sneer and when Peter slowly shook his head the older man started to laugh loudly. The younger one cringed when the old professor stopped speaking altogether and looked in their direction with an angry expression only to continue his speech once Dawson stopped laughing.
"Where do you live, boy?" First of all, Dawson couldn't be but five years older than Peter was supposed to be, so he found that nickname more than stupid, not to mention that in fact the blonde was a lot older than that if one counted his years on Earth and Narnia as well. Still, he wasn't about to start a fight during a lecture (of Professor O'Reilly no less) even if he dearly wished for one, and he needed to know what was going on after all the kingdom has just entered the time of peace.
"Just tell me," Peter growled, about to lose his patience which was wearing thin. This day started badly enough no need for people like Dawson to ruin it even more. With a shrug the burly man tossed a newspaper to Peter who caught it easily, but he didn't count with Joe, who was obviously just as interested in the news as he was. Joe tore the paper out of his hands and Peter could only get a glimpse of it and saw just two words of the headline: ANOTHER WORLD.
It could mean a lot of things, he knew. Another World War, maybe? But as always since he has been told that he could never go back, his mind wandered to another world, Narnia. Surely the news had nothing to do with it – but a part of him wished it did. The idea of never seeing his country again was breaking his heart all over again anytime he thought about it.
"Give me the paper," he instructed Joe, who became paler with every word he read. Not good news then, Peter concluded. He was just about to tear the paper out of the dark haired boy's hands, when the aforementioned boy looked at him with wide eyes.
"Nuts," he simply stated. "According to The Times a portal to another world was opened yesterday in a freaking boarding school. To another universe and a magical one at that." From what the professor told them most probably Narnia wasn't the only other existing universe besides Earth, but at that moment Peter was sure that the newspaper was in fact speaking about the land he loved. There was no logic behind that strong belief, but a lot of hope and a sense of belonging. Where else would a portal lead if not to the place he hoped to see again?
He quickly grabbed the paper from his friend's table and his eyes scanned the first page. With bold letters the title was: A PORTAL IN ENGLAND LEADING TO ANOTHER WORLD
A few words stood out to him: Narnia (his heart skipped a beat the moment he read that), school ground, Saint Finbar's (he was breathless by this point, because he immediately recognized the name of the school), centaur, talking hare, military, headmistress, students and evacuation.
Before he could read the article and not just scan it through, the door once again opened. He was surprised that someone was even less reluctant than he was to come to class, but to his biggest surprise it was not a student standing in the door, but two men. The first one he has just seen, the elegant middle aged man who was talking to the secretary before and the other man was someone even more surprising, the principal who he has only seen during the year opening ceremony.
Had this happened a moment ago, he would have scoffed at the idea that the reason these two (obviously) important people were in the room was him, but the school's name in the newspaper told a story two certain girls did not. His sisters attended Saint Finbar's Academy for Young Women and if he knew his youngest sibling at all then she would never just go home when a portal opened to Narnia of all places.
The professor usually was a rather calm man, but today he was most probably interrupted more times than in the last year altogether, so once again he stopped impatiently only to notice who the guests were.
"Principal," the professor stuttered. While the university was in name led by the chancellor the day-to-day operations were typically handled by the principal, and the big man in question was not usually seen during lectures. Peter remained stoic while everyone else gaped.
"Professor," the principal greeted the poor old man, while the other intruder nodded, though his attention seemed to be elsewhere. The man's eyes searched the rows of students and at the moment Peter was sure that he was the one they were looking for. What on Earth have his little siblings done now? The problem was that he had a fairly good idea what was going on and already a headache was forming. It was one thing that the girls went around telling that they knew about the other universe and another not to tell him what was going on. Lucy losing her senses when it came to Narnia he understood, but what about Susan? And Aslan, where was Edmund in this story? At that moment he remembered all too well how hard it was sometimes to govern with three younger siblings, as his consorts quite frequently meant trouble.
"What can I do for you, principal?" the professor asked with confusion. The mutters which were presented all morning grew louder. Peter caught a few words and he was not surprised that many had an idea that this surprise visit had something to do with the newspaper and its headline. People liked theories and sometimes the most extreme ones were true – after all this was a university in Scotland, it certainly did not have much in common with another universe or even the government of the country.
"We are looking for one Mr Peter Pevensie." Peter remained calm, but he slowly got up. Joe looked at him with wide eyes and muttered something along the lines, "What have you done?" The blonde easily gestured towards the front page of the newspaper knowing that if what he thought was going on his name would be soon in the papers anyway and he also knew that his roommate wouldn't understand the implications.
"What?" Joe asked, but Peter just got his stuff while everyone was calling out to him. He stopped in front of the leader of the university and the yet unidentified man who he supposed was from either the government or from the military. Though, with the war just ending, it was not uncommon for someone to belong to both categories.
"Mr Pevensie?" the principal asked and he was not surprised to be watched with hawk's eyes. Both men studied him like they have never seen anything as interesting before as he was, which was funny Peter supposed, because he most certainly didn't seem much. He was tall and broad-shouldered, but he knew that these men expected more than that, they hoped to see the High King of a magical kingdom they have only just heard about. (Though he was quite curious what their reaction would be to his baby sister then, who was in fact his consort yet she was only thirteen here and looked like a cute teen.)
"Yes, sir," he replied. The man showed him out, while Peter noted that the lecture hasn't yet continued. Once they were outside both elder men stopped walking and turned their entire attention to him.
"I assume that you know why we are here," the unknown man stated which Peter found a bit funny as he didn't even exactly know who the man was. However, this was not the moment for jokes, he knew. For the first time in his life he was supposed to be the High King in Britain. It was a rather strange idea actually as only recently he has accepted that he was no longer royalty and on Earth he never would be. Yes, until now Mr Peter Pevensie was nothing like His Majesty, High King Peter the Magnificent.
"I saw the papers. I assume it has to do with my sisters." While he had inkling what was going on, he couldn't know how much those two (or maybe even three, who knew what was up with Edmund) have shared. Obviously these men wanted to meet him about Narnia, but maybe they only knew that Peter had information about the other universe. He wasn't about to share all his cards, first these men had to offer something in exchange.
"I suppose we should continue this conversation in my office, in bigger privacy," the principal offered and after a quick agreement the other two followed the university's leader without a word. The office was just down the corridor, only a few doors away from the office where Peter first saw the other man. It was a light and big office which was in complete order. He was offered a seat, but to his surprise the other man sat besides the principal, right in front of him, so he felt like he was being interrogated, a feeling he didn't like a bit.
"The reason why we are all here today has in fact to do with today's news and your sisters." Not surprising at all (though the plural form meant that Susan was on this as well, which was somewhat strange especially considering that recently she even pretended that Narnia was not real). Peter just nodded while both men looked at him searching for more.
"I haven't read the newspaper I am afraid, so I only have a general idea of what is going on, but I believe you are interested in Narnia," he simply stated.
"Mr Pevensie, this is Sir McKinley of the Foreign Office, the department responsible for correspondence and negotiations with other states and the conduct of British foreign policy." Peter greeted the man, but he was rather sad that the exact position of the man wasn't shared with him. Not that he thought that Sir McKinley was on the end of the hierarchy, a secretary of some sort; it was rather obvious that the man had power. The Foreign Office, that caused some amusement to Peter, though he guessed Narnia was in fact a foreign land to these people and in the eye of the government.
"Are my sisters in good health and are they safe?" the youngest occupant of the room asked. He was so far treated rather fairly, but he had to know what was going on with Lu and Su. He couldn't see the government tossing them into a prison if they didn't want a war with an unknown universe, but the fact was that he didn't know the English government and their methods as well as any rulers' in Narnia. His question seemed to surprise the older gentlemen though.
"Of course, Mr Pevensie. As representative of the government and the Foreign Office I have the authority to tell you that they are in fact considered foreign dignitaries and the representatives of Narnia and they are treated according to their station." Oh, Aslan, they really did it. Peter liked battlefields more than councils or even offices, (he liked to leave that to Su and Ed) but he didn't lose it, he was a ruling monarch far too long for that. He simply nodded and thanked the officer.
"What about my brother?" he asked again. The two men shared a look.
"Mr Edmund Pevensie has just recently joined your sisters as you are expected to do as well, because they have asked for you." So, it was all the girls' doing, but Edmund was on it as well. At least he knew who he had to murder if this got out of hand. The men looked at him as if they were waiting for more, but Peter wasn't about to say to these men anything without those three rascals. They had enough problems already caused by the youngest three; he wasn't about to cause more.
The whole situation seemed impossible. Here he was sitting in the principal's office with some big guy from the ministry while his siblings were playing monarchs in England. Not to mention that everyone knew about Narnia, a world that was entirely unknown to pretty much anyone except for them until now. Maybe he didn't even wake up and this was still part of the dream, it would certainly make more sense than this being reality.
Oh, Aslan, I need your guidance, he thought bitterly cursing Lu and Su (and possibly Ed) for putting him in a situation like this without a warning. While he dearly loved his younger siblings at that moment he would have preferred to be an only child.
What was even going on?