#*ARC:LIONESS OF A QUEEN

[ofvaliancy-a]

@ruinsbuilt

           coronations should be happy affairs, yet it seems that whenever went to one they were always shrouded in grief  ---  to become monarch, one must first lose a monarch, after all. the jubilation of her own coronation, lucy was learning, was a rare thing.

with tiberius and julia, her lion guards, at her heels, lucy approaches the new queen and smiles.  “ your majesty, i am sorry for your loss. ”  everyone else, lucy has overheard, was offering thea congratulations, and something about doing that didn’t sit well with her.

         starter call ( still accepting )  

[ofvaliancy-a]

@treesprung

         LUCY ALWAYS FELT MORE AT HOME IN THE WOODS.  cair paravel is  lovely, but there is always a curtain of obligation in the air that tainted any sense of freedom home should supply. it’s the same reason why she loves sailing so much, but even sailing gets dull after spending too long on a boat. lucy loves the woods, dirt between her toes, and leaves tangling in her loose golden curls.

“ daphne! ”  lucy calls toward her new friend ( for that’s what all narnians are --- friends, cousins as peter says ), a smile etching the words, laughter bubbling.  “ what hides in these woods? will you show me everything? i want to see everything !! ”  she’s young, she’s a queen, she wants to explore her kingdom.  

       starter call ( still accepting )  

[ofvaliancy-a]

LUCY NEVER HAD ANY DESIRE TO COURT PEOPLE,  it all seemed silly, pointless, and boring. peter assured her that he’d never make her marry unless she wanted to, so she rarely ever gave the matter thought. just because SHE didn’t want to court people, however, doesn’t mean that other people didn’t want to court her. it’s one thing if the offer came via letter and that was that --- peter would dismiss it, and life would go on ( usually lucy didn’t even know it happened which was...well...she’d like to know, but she’d have said ‘no’ anyway so it didn’t really matter, did it? ) but when the person was here in cair paravel, it was rude to ignore them completely, wasn’t it?

so that was how lucy ended up entertaining a prince from the seven isles.

he was older than her, but not by much, and tall, but seemed kind. his name was ragnar, and lucy thought that, under any other circumstance, they’d be best friends, but because this was a ‘courtship’ and, at some point, lucy was going to have to upset him and say no, sullied the whole meeting for her.

the fact that she had to wear SHOES just made the whole thing even worse.

ragnar handed her a red flower with some romantic sentiment that ordinarily would’ve had lucy laughing, rushing to tell edmund. she squeaked out a polite thank you that thankfully hid how she really wanted to chuckle ( because people actually said these things? actually said these things and thought they sounded nice? she couldn’t believe it ! this whole thing had to be an elaborate jest ). once ragnar turns his back, lucy shoots a PANICKED LOOK toward susan, who was chaperoning the whole disaster ( lucy’s guard and handmaiden would usually work, but lucy wanted her sister nearby ), a look that said: HELP ME !!! and PLEASE END THIS I HATE IT !!!! all at once.

@wasgentle ( plotted )            

[ofvaliancy-a]

         “ COME ON HEIDI !! ”     it was an unnecessary command, as her handmaiden was close behind her. lucy darted down the rest of the hill and then sat down, deciding it was time for a respite. they were in ettinsmoor, the giant’s country, hoping to track down the seasons, thinking that if they were discovered and set free, then things would finally CALM  in narnia. lucy wasn’t as important as her siblings, so it was finally decided that she would be the one to go ( she was also the best at sneaking, the fastest too, so really lucy tried to not be annoyed at how long it took for them to agree to let her go because of course they’d agree soon enough ).

 “ so jadis used ettin giants to chop down the tree of protection; that’s how she was able to finally get into narnia,” lucy explained. this was previously known information, but lucy liked to review.  “ she sort-of ruled over ettinsmoor for a bit, SO i think it’s fairly likely that she imprisoned the seasons there. if she kept them in narnia, then people would’ve found out and tried to free them, and she couldn’t risk that.” father christmas was one thing, the seasons were quite another.

“ so all we have to do is go in there.” she pointed toward harfang castle, the capital of ettinsmoor. even from this distance, she could see the giants going about their day. lucy smiled, utterly unafraid and completely determined. “ it shouldn’t be hard --- we’re so small they probably won’t even notice us, if we keep to the shadows. ”         

@heillagr

[ofvaliancy-a]

           SHE WAITS UNTIL THERE IS NO ONE AROUND,  no stupid king uther ( she shouldn’t judge so, she knows, but she can’t help but not like him at all ), or advisers, or anyone else. she CLASPS arthur’s hand and whispers:  “ you should come back to narnia with me. ”  arthur reminded her of her brothers --- he was a mixture of edmund’s tenacity, and peter’s earnestness and deep, innate golden goodness ( arthur’s was just deeply buried beneath his pride ).  “ my brothers would love you, and everyone always likes susan. you could meet the centaurs and the dwarfs and the dryads. and i think seeing some good magic would do you good --- i know everyone thinks it’s evil here, but it’s not, not when people use it correctly. ” she doesn’t know why she was the to come here --- edmund was more level-headed than her, he’d have done better than she did with anything --- but she supposes it was because this was a social visit, not a formal one. “ oh please say you will !!! please, please, please. ”      

@destinycrowned [ starter call --- accepting ]

[ofvaliancy-a]

@ircnbcrn   (x)

                                            though her voice is  gentle  &  her words are  KIND,   asha finds herself unable to lift her gaze from her toes.     PRAISE  of this kind is odd  &  unfamiliar  to her.     she is not  –  has never been  –  a hero.       ‘  please,  m’lady,  ‘   she says,   voice  SOFT  in spite of herself.   (  it almost sounds as though she is  pleading,    but for what ???  )     ‘  it was no  honor.   i did only what was  RIGHT.  ‘

                            ‘   sometimes people have trouble doing what’s right even though it’s what should be done.  it was honorable  ---  trust me.  ’   she grins, wide and full, her golden youth evident in the sparkle of her eyes despite the fresh cut on her cheek.   ‘   so thank you for your help   ---   i would’ve lost so many more sailors if it weren’t for you.  if there’s anything i can do to repay you please, please let me know!!  ’

[ofvaliancy-a]

@battleruin

       “ . . . . are you really the best knight in these seven kingdoms?”  lucy inquires, looking up at the white cloaked figure. thus far, lucy has ( slowly ) begun to regret her insistence on accompanying peter to this far off westeros. it was boring, it smelled, and everyone was so stiff, not knowing the first thing about having an adventure, or any fun at all. peter had warned her that westeros was mightily different from narnia, but most places were so she thought nothing of it until now. it’s not that lucy wants to go home ( though she is missing susan and edmund something fierce ) but she certainly doesn’t want to stay here any longer. but, seeing as she couldn’t ( wouldn’t ) leave peter behind to go explore on her own, she decided to make due with making friends, even if all of these people were so cowardly and stupid, they barely knew that her queensguard are lions ( what sort-of place doesn’t have proper lions? ).  “ do you think you could beat a centaur in battle  -----  my brother can. he once wrestled a fully grown gorilla. another time he even slayed a giant all on his own. do you think you could do that?”

starter call ( still accepting )                

[ofvaliancy-a]

        “ HAPPY CHRISTMAS HEIDI !!!  ”  lucy smiled and clasped her friend’s hands, twirling them in a small circle. all around them cair paravel was decorated in honor of the holiday, the air smelled of hot chocolate, cinnamon, and spices. soft music played as everyone in the castle traded gifts.  “ i have a gift for you!!  but it’s in my chambers. come on!! ”  and she kept a tight told of her handmaiden’s hand as she began to lead her through the castle.

@heillagr       HOLIDAY-BASED STARTER CALL

[ofvaliancy-a]

@wasgentle  (x)

“oof!” unladylike, perhaps, yet unavoidable, sister’s bright exuberance steals air from susan’s lungs & sends young queen stumbling, footing lost - - she falls.

       “LU…!”

exasperation in single word, and in her sigh (but a smile dances hidden, mixed joy and sweet relief at sister’s presence cause for more delight, no WITCH’S SOLDIER has won yet.) slender arms encircle sister’s shoulders, brief but tight.

“oh, lu, do be more careful next time! see how you’ve mussed my dress?             now i shall have to change again before dinner.”

in standing, fingers brush at wrinkled skirt, tug at bodice, arrange her hair, then reach for sister’s hand to help her up.

                                        “but i am glad to see you, too.”

so excited was she to see her sister, to be back in cair paravel, to be away from the wounded, the sick, and the dying from battle, that any reproach susan had for her less than proper behavior flew straight over the young lioness’s head.

“oh no one cares about your dress, silly.” the remark is punctuated by a giggle. indeed lucy’s own outfit was too-big trousers ( stolen from clothes edmund tossed aside ) and a grimy, blood-stained tunic ( given to her by a dwarf when her old one ripped ). she had yet to visit her chambers to wash and change as she ought ( there was rarely enough time to do such things when there were the dying to tend to. one day she’ll be able to fight, to stop the dying from getting to that point, one day she’ll be able to unleash her claws, but for now she was content with this; she was young as peter so often said ) as she had first wished to see her sister. 

but then:  “ we can go change together!! and you can tell me everything that i’ve missed while away.” she doubted susan wished to hear the details of battle.

[ofvaliancy-a]

“  MY SISTER IS LIKE THAT and she does just fine,  and i’m sure you could too !!!  you just need to try.  ”    lucy crossed her arms and tried to look stern.   “   and there’s no good going around saying that you’re not suited for your life  ---  it’s your life,  it wouldn’t be what it is if you weren’t built for it somewhere deep inside. ”

@fadedrosepetals   (  continued from x )

[ofvaliancy-a]

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