Disclaimer: I am not C.S. Lewis. I do not own Frank, Helen, Baachus (who Lewis borrowed, too), or any other part of Narnia.

"To everything there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down, a time to build up;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time of war and a time of peace."

-Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

"A cheer for the King Frank! A cheer for his fair Queen!" cried a Bear who was far in his cups that night. In the fair light of the moon, Bacchus made the rounds of the celebrators, filling the golden cups of the Narnians full of the sweet, syrupy stuff that was closer to a divine nectar than any sort of wine anyone had tasted. Giddy nymphs flitted between the trees like wraiths, calling the fauns to them and moving to the most achingly wonderful music either Frank or Helen had ever heard.

In the moonlit clearing, the newly-created Narnians celebrated for no further reason than their creation. The Lion had awakened them from what seemed to all like a long slumber, giving these new Narnians the great energy one always feels when waking up from a particularly wonderful nap. Although this was the eve of the second day, no one had even thought of sleep. The world had been too busy to be stopped by such a bland need.

In the midst of it all, the royal pair sat in their finery on makeshift thrones of rather large stumps, surveying this new land and their new subjects. The lights in their eyes shone as brightly as the fire before them as they watched the Narnians celebrate. Laughter rang to the clear night sky, and even the trees swayed in a happy sort of way.

"My fair Queen, you must dance!" cried a nearby faun as he broke from the circle. In a moment, his plea was echoed by all those in earshot. Helen blushed, and although it was a ruddy sort of blush, it was charming from her.

"Come, Nel!" Frank encouraged his young wife. "You are a splendid dancer! Remember how we would dance each other breathless at your aunt's parties?" he added with a grin.

Helen could only blush further at that memory as she accepted the faun's proffered hand and letting him drag her up into the glow of the firelight as he began to teach her the steps.

It was notably more difficult to follow a pair of hooves than a pair of feet, as she had been used to as a girl. Yet the music seemed to fill in the gaps, and in short order the Queen of Narnia was dancing around the clearing barefoot, her mousey brown hair transformed by the firelight and the Narnian air.

Frank watched with wonder as his wife began to dance with a particularly exuberant nymph. For the hundredth time, he wondered at how he had been determined by his almighty creator as worthy for this great honor. His life now was so drastically different than any life he may have hoped for in his former home. Even as he thought of the noisy streets of London (for, that was what it was called, wasn't it?), he found that he could not remember exactly how it was. The din outside the window, he remembered, had disrupted many a night's attempts at sleep. How different it could be here! Frank had a strange sort of feeling when he looked about that he had seen this place in a dream once before, only the dream had been the kind of lovely one which one never desired to wake from. Now, it seemed, he should never have to awaken.

"Frank, join me! It's just like the reels we would dance!" Helen called gaily. Her golden crown, wrought to resemble the strong branches of the elder tree and the delicate leaves of the first spring buds, had since fallen quite lopsided upon her head. Rather than making her look foolish, though, it only made her look more right, in a way, as Queen of such a place as Narnia.

With little effort, Frank joined his wife as she undertook to teach him the dance of the land. Although Frank had always been a rather good-sized fellow, he felt a certain lightness about him now that he had not felt since he was a chap in the country. The steps came more quickly under his wife's tutelage than her own had come, and soon the fauns clapped gaily along with those Beasts who stomped and voiced their approval to see their rulers enjoying themselves.

In the shadows of the forest stood the Great Lion, calmly surveying his creations. It seemed to him that of all those who may have been, the two he had crowned that day would produce a great and worthy line of rulers. To them he had shown a glimpse of what would be, and gave them the necessary knowledge of any ruler. Neither had needed a lesson in fairness. Seeing the earnest looks and even the fear in their eyes had been enough to convince Aslan of their suitability for such a position. They were, from the first, honest people who put their faith in him before they even knew for certain who he was. With that knowledge, and each other, these two would do things that would earn them a spot in the books of history.

With a silent turn, the lion left as suddenly as he appeared, unknown to all the revelers. The time came at last that evening when all those in the clearing could feel their eyelids droop dangerously low with the prospect of sleep, no matter how they fought. Bacchus had long since taken respite in sleep, his golden ewer still clutched in his meaty fingers as he snored happily. Slowly but surely, the dogs began to circle to decide upon their spot, and the bears found their cave, where they would share with the mice for that night.

Stifling a yawn, Frank gave his wife a sidelong glance. Her gray eyes still sparkled with merriment (and no small amount of the god's wine, no doubt), yet her eyelids grew heavy. With all the care he could muster, he gently picked his wife up, holding her gingerly as though she were some precious china doll who was liable to break at any moment. He looked about and saw a faun, older than the rest, looking towards him, and with a nod the king summoned him.

"Might we have the use of a cave, good Faun?" Frank asked in a hushed voice. "My wife is tired and we seek shelter for the night."

With a sage nod, the faun indicated a natural curtain of boughs which, when swept aside, revealed a cave of enough size to comfortably fit the King and Queen. "My quarters, majesties, are at your disposal," intoned the faun with his melodic voice.

"We do not seek to put you from your home-" the King began quickly, only to be halted midsentence by a laugh.

"What need have I to a cave on such a night as this? The grass is superior to any bed I could devise," the faun said with a mischievous smile as he showed the royals to the bed of sweet smelling heather and the contributions of any number of fowl which had somehow appeared at the back of the cave.

"As you wish, Elphus," the King replied, proud to remember a name at last.

With a bow, the faun left, letting the curtain fall back over the entrance. With a little grunt, Frank laid Helen upon the bed, tucking her under a freshly tanned hide of the buck which they had eaten at the feast. He sat upon the bed beside her, watching her fall quickly to sleep while he thought. Ought he stand guard, he wondered. A crease began to form on his brow as he considered the implications of such a plan. He would surely not last the day tomorrow were he not to sleep tonight. Yet, what choice did he have with only a bunch of tree limbs to protect him?

From outside the cave he heard the sounds of rustling and the footfalls of some large beast. With a gulp, Frank's baser instincts began to take hold as he anxiously grabbed for a branch which had fallen into the cave In order to offer himself some protection, however pathetic it was. With cautious steps, he approached the entrance and peered between the leaves.

What he saw astounded him. Outside the entrance the pair of Leopards, as well as the Jaguars and even Fledge had taken up residence, spreading themselves like an impenetrable wall before the entrance, ensuring the safety of its inhabitants.

"Sleep well, Majesty. We shall guard your sleep," came the almost growling voice of the He-Leopard. Frank could only nod, although he knew those outside could not clearly see him, and after a rather strangled-sounding "good night" to all those who had assembled, the King of Narnia fell into bed and slumber at last.

A/N: A huge thanks to Metonomia and rthstewart for their support, and not letting me give up on this idea altogether. :)