Hello! I have returned, and this time with my story about Peter and Annalia during the Golden Age! This story is a companion to Misdirected Anger. It doesn't matter which you read first, since there aren't any spoilers. By the way, I don't own anything about Narnia, except for my story, so leave it! Thanks!

One more thing. I would like to give a special thank you to Tiva-McAbby-Densi-Neric-4ever, for the support and eagerness for this story!

The King and the Duchess

Chapter 1

Peter sighed in frustration as he watched the Galman ship dock at the pier. The last thing that he wanted to do was meet these ladies, especially when he had to delay a visit to King Lune to accommodate them.

"Oh, lighten up, Pete," started Edmund. "You don't know that you'll hate them. I mean, yeah, you probably will, especially since you've decided that you will, but give them a chance."

"Let's see if you feel the same way when the council starts thrusting all of these ladies at you," he replied.

"Don't worry, Pete, that's never ever going to happen!"

"Oh really," asked Susan. "And what makes you so sure?"

"Because I'll threaten them. I'll say that I'll move to Telmar!" he smiled.

"Ed, I'd be careful if I were you. If you tell them that, they'll probably be throwing ladies at you!"

"Gee, isn't it wonderful to have such a supportive family! It makes me feel all fuzzy and warm inside! They'll be throwing ladies at me? Ha! You're just jealous because I'm not being bombarded with prospective spouses yet, unlike some people."

"Yes, Ed," started Lucy. "Everyone wants to be exactly like you!"

"Well, duh!"

Rolling his eyes, Peter watched as the plank came out from the ship, and a very...unattractive woman approached him.

"Buck up, here we go," he thought, and plastered a very big (and very fake) smile on his face.

A short, stout man followed her, and said, "Presenting, her ladyship, Amelia Christiana, Countess of Galma."

Peter shot his siblings a look, as he took the countess' hand and kissed it.

"Your majesty," the countess said, "It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

"Yeah," Edmund whispered to Susan. "For her, maybe!"

Susan cuffed him up the side of the head.

"The pleasure is all mine, Countess," Peter replied.

Edmund started to gag, when he noticed another woman coming off of the ship. She tripped on the plank, and started to fall. Edmund ran over and caught her just in time to break her fall.

"Thanks," she muttered, righting herself.

"Oh, Annalia!" exclaimed the countess. "When will you ever learn? Never, I suppose. Thank Aslan I am here! What would you do if I was not here to guide you?"

"There is no cause for you to reprimand her, Countess!" reasoned Susan. "Those planks are always very uneven. Both my royal sister and myself have tripped on them on more than one occasion."

"Who is she?" asked Lucy, hoping that this other girl would become a friend to have tea parties with.

"This," started the countess, with contempt in her voice, "Is my cousin, Annalia, the duchess of Galma."

"Forgive me, your majesties, for not bowing," Annalia apologized, nervously. "But I am still suffering from a bit of sea-sickness, and I am afraid that if I attempted to bow, I would fall flat on my face!"

"Annalia! You should not speak to royalty like that! You sound like one of those Terebinthian pirates! And a lady curtseys, not bows!"

"Do not be so hard on her," said Peter. "You should have seen us when we first started learning royal protocol!"

"Yeah," laughed Edmund. "Pete tried to do a bow, and ended up doing a somersault! It was one of the top 10 funniest things that ever happened in Cair Paravel!"

"Oh. How...interesting," the countess sniffed, obviously thinking herself much better than the royals.

Sensing that an argument would erupt soon, Lucy suggested, "Why don't we go up to the castle?"

"Yes," agreed Susan. "That way you can rest, Countess, before dinner. Duchess, unfortunately, your room isn't quite ready yet. Please forgive our tardiness!"

"Don't go to too much trouble for her, your majesty. She is only here because she wouldn't stay home alone," interrupted the countess. "I was originally the only one who was to come."

"Actually, your majesty, I will be perfectly comfortable sleeping on our ship," said Annalia.

"But we've got, like, 5,000 guest rooms!" exclaimed Edmund.

"Not that many, Ed," giggled Lucy.

"Fine, we have 4,999. Anyway, my point is that we have tons of extra room! Come on! There's no reason why you should sleep on a boat!"

Then, the royals started leading their guests up to Cair Paravel. On the way, Annalia pulled her cousin back, and whispered, "Perhaps being so nasty to me in front of the man who you're trying to impress - and eventually are hoping to marry - isn't the best idea."

"I will be the judge of that," exclaimed the countess. She then walked up ahead to where Peter was, and said, "Your majesty, please let me apologize for my behavior earlier at the dock. I am greatly ashamed. I should have waited until a more suitable time to correct my cousin."

"Countess, the person who you should be apologizing to is your cousin, not me. Otherwise, you are completely right, and I'm sure that your cousin is feeling very humiliated at present," replied Peter, and he quickened his pace.

The countess starred after him in shock. That was most definitely not the answer that she had expected!

Hearing snickering behind her, the countess turned to find Annalia laughing at her.

"Shut up!" the countess grumbles as she scurried up into the palace behind Peter.

"Eh, how do you live with an old battle axe like that?" asked Edmund.

Annalia laughed. "She's not that bad. At least, once you get to know her. Besides, I don't live with her all the time."

"I just had a fabulous idea!" he smiled.

"Oh no," started Susan. "What now?"

Edmund turned to Annalia. "Let's ditch the countess and keep you instead!"

"As flattered as I am, I have a feeling that you're not saying that to make me feel better, but because you are one of the many people who hate my cousin. Join the club," Annalia smirked.

"I don't think that you have anything to worry about, Ed," started Susan, as she saw Peter come running back towards them. "If Pete has his way, she'll be gone tonight."

"That woman is going to drive me insane!" yelled Peter. He pointed at Annalia as he continued. "This woman deserves a medal for living with that moron!"

"Will my medal be silver or bronze?" Annalia joked.

"Gold," answered Peter, shaking his head.

"Where's Lu?" asked Susan.

"Showing the countess around. There's another girl who deserves a medal!"

"What about me, Pete? What do I deserve, dear brother of mine?" asked Edmund.

"Look at it this way," started Peter. "If you weren't already king, I would have made you the royal bus boy."

"Wow, thanks," muttered Edmund. "I'll treasure that knowledge always!"

As Peter and Edmund started bickering, Susan laughed, and asked, "Are you sure that you want to stay here with us? We're a pretty rowdy bunch."

"I can tell," smiled Annalia.

"Oh, no," sighed Susan. "No, what you're seeing now is calm."

"It'll be a welcome change to what I'm used to!" smiled Annalia, as she followed Susan into the castle.

What do you think? Would you like to see it continued? Please review!

Thanks for reading, and God bless,

R12Fizzy