Yesterday, all my trouble seemed so far away (Edmund Pevensie)

Kings and Queens of Narnia

Eowyn moved from one leg to the other, watching herself in the mirror in front of her with eyes shining with anticipation. The midnight blue dress she wore shimmered as she spun in circles. The dress, which had hung elegantly at her side, now popped open like a blossom and took one's breath away. Eowyn was at first thrilled at the sight of herself in the mirror, but the corners of her mouth instantly pulled down when she saw her mother's reflection. She was looking at her daughter with her lips pressed together and her eyebrows furiously arched. Eowyn had grown into a beautiful young woman and naturally had more curves, a thin waist and tanned skin covered in freckles. And her face was even more beautiful to look at. Dark brown, beautifully arched eyebrows hung over the most beautiful eyes in the kingdom. Some would call her eyes a forget-me-not blue, but the correct color was a beautiful purple, with crystal blue dots. Eowyn's lips were rosy and filled. Her cheekbones made her look far more elegant than she thought possible. Yes, her mother Madriane was envious of her daughter. More than that. She was excruciatingly angry. Why had her only child from a dishonest marriage also been given all the beauty in the world? And not only that.
She also moved gracefully and she never forgot to be kind to everyone. Her cunning also pleased her mother not a little bit. For Madriane and her other five children, Eowyn was the black sheep of the family. Even if she brought only good to the family, but her mother wanted one of her daughters from the honest, current marriage to have her beauty. Because she had everything that every girl wanted. Beauty, intimacy, elegance and charm. That's exactly why she was despised by her stepmother. As smart as Eowyn was, her kindness just wouldn't see that Madriane didn't want one bit of good for her. Not just her, but four of her stepsiblings. No, she just thought they would try to help her, even if they told her the hard truth, which of course was a completely made up lie, to her face. Madriane looked at her daughter contemptuously. "I wish they had made you a dress with sleeves, then your fat arms wouldn't have to be seen. And your fat rolls on your neck!" Whining, she grabbed her daughter's neck, but there wasn't a bit of fat there to grab between her bony fingers, so she just looked at her daughter through the mirror. Without the sleeves, everyone could see her pure soft skin, slender arms and constricted chest. "You've put on weight again, haven't you? Your belly is fatter than mine in the ninth month with the twins! You're on a diet!" Eowyn fought the rising tears that came with guilt. "I'm terribly sorry mother. I was the one who ate the third to last piece of cake." She had indeed, but only because her stomach had been aching and roaring loudly after eighteen hours without food. "I don't approve of that and you know it. I'll find a suitable punishment for that, but we can't worry about it until tomorrow. Today I will have fun. You will not. Look at yourself. No one can even look at you with your tons of flab!" With a tug on the cords that were attached to the corset around Eowyn's waist, her daughter's torso was squeezed even tighter and Eowyn gasped. "That's what you get for not sticking to your diet." She hissed in her daughter's ear, but was once again shocked that her daughter's waist could be cinched so tightly. Gasping for air didn't help Eowyn much, as the tightness around her chest meant she could only breathe shallowly. "I can barely breathe mother." She whispered, but with a dramatic sigh her mother only tied the corset tighter. "Come on. We have wasted enough time with you already. We don't want to be late." With these words, Madriane stalked outside, where a maid was already waiting for her, draping a thin scarf around her shoulders. Eowyn took one last sad look at herself in the mirror and then followed her mother outside. The maid smiled fleetingly at her and disappeared into one of the many rooms in the castle. Madriane was the wife of Edward the Fourth, the rightful heir to the throne of Archenland. If he became king, Madriane would be queen and that would make all her six children princes and princesses. Also Eowyn. But some still called her princess already. As fast as Eowyn could manage with the laced up corset, she ran along the corridors and through the entrance gate to the castle outside, where two carriages were already waiting. Edward was helping his wife and the two twins into a carriage and got right behind, while Niel, the younger of the two brothers, who had blond hair, helped the eldest daughter, Saana, get into the other carriage and got behind, followed by his bigger brother Kóran, who had reddish-black hair, which just looked ridiculous on him. Both brothers were tall and stockily built, but had unfriendly faces and crumpled noses. Saana was very tall and very thin. Her skin was covered with spots and her cheekbones and eyes were slightly sunken, which was the fault of her incurable disease.
The doctors did not know what she was suffering from. Only that she had less than a full year to live. And then there were the two twins Azrail and Azula who were both small, black-haired and chubby. Eowyn did everything she could to make Sanaa's last months the best, and that's why Saana was the only one among her siblings who didn't show her stepsister only hatred.
Quickly Eowyn ran towards the carriage in which she had disappeared and helped herself up. The two brothers sat on one side of the carriage and Saana sat on the other. She smiled briefly at Eowyn when she noticed them, then looked out the windows. Quietly, Eowyn sat down beside her and closed the carriage door. With a jerk, they moved and drove off. This one was her first ball. Not like her other step-siblings. Madriane had never told Eowyn she was invited and then had always declined the invitation for her, with excuses like she wasn't feeling well, she was sick, she had to make up lessons, or something like that. After a while, their highnesses had given up inviting her as well, but now she was already of age and also of marriageable age. In fact, Eowyn had often been sent proposals that she, of course, did not know about. Madriane had tried by all means to get the men to take one of her other daughters instead, but this request was then refused and the young men went looking for another young woman. At some point it had become known all over the area that Eowyn was not accepting acquirers and the men stopped sending her requests. But never did they stop looking at her when she walked by, or listening when someone mentioned her name. Yes, Eowyn was well known. Everyone spoke only well of her, except Madriane and her other children, of course.
Suddenly, Niel leaned over and whispered to Eowyn, "Mother told me to tell you to refuse all requests, if possible, if someone asked you to dance with them. Who would want to do that, but just to be safe, you know? Not that you'll embarrass us any more than you already do. And you're not supposed to eat. Or you'll get even fatter. Got it?" Eowyn nodded, once again on the verge of tears. She didn't want her to be a burden to her family, and yet it was made clear to her by almost everyone that she was just that. She tried to calm her breathing, which only worked with deep breaths, but didn't work because Eowyn could barely breathe through the tight corset. After a very long while they arrived at the big castle and Eowyn was the last one to get out of the carriage. Her family was standing together talking about something. She wanted to approach them, but her mother sent her a death glare, so Eowyn turned around and took a closer look at the big castle. Shortly after, both of her parents walked past her and Edward smiled at her. Happy that one person was friendly, she smiled back. Her smile was immediately wiped off her face, however, as four of her siblings ran past her and bumped into her as she walked. Quickly, Eowyn tried to regain her balance and could just see Saana running past her, flashing her a sad smile.
Silently, Eowyn sighed and then ran after her family with elegant steps. Since they had been dropped off right outside the gates, they didn't have to walk far to get to the castle and Edward showed off all their invitations, only to be let through by the guards shortly after. Eowyn smiled kindly at them and the two young men grinned right back, not without looking after her. Already in the halls people were standing and gossiping with each other in a pleasant volume. When they finally arrived in front of the wide-open double doors to a large ballroom, Eowyn felt as if all the air was being taken out of her. Not only the corset was to blame, but also the incredible beauty of the hall. For the entire room literally shone and had been richly decorated. The dancing people under the high ceilings made the room even more beautiful with the bright colors of their robes. With her head bowed, Eowyn walked after her family.
By the fact that her father Edward was the prince of Archenland, they were formally greeted and the queens and kings of Narnia came up to them, shook their hands and bowed. As Eowyn's family dispersed around the hall, Queen Susan immediately hooked up with her and walked with her around the ballroom. "I must say I am amazed that you have joined us today. The last few times we sent you an invitation, you were sick or excused. This is a pleasant surprise that you finally found the time today to join us and have some fun." Queen Susan immediately spoke up. Eowyn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I am also delighted to be with you today, but I am a little confused. As far as I know, no invitation has ever come from the kings of Narnia before." Queen Susan stopped in surprise. "Indeed not? But you've sent us a refusal every time." Eowyn quickly tried to get out of her situation. "Oh, that's probably because my mother sent them back. In fact, I have been sick many times, unfortunately. But today I am very happy to finally be here. Thank you again for inviting me." ,,You are welcome Miss Eowyn. From today on, I very much hope to see you every ball." Queen Susan winked at her. Eowyn smiled back happily. "Don't think that I will miss even one of your balls. And please call me only Eowyn. I'm not used to these formalities." With a final nod and smile, Queen Susan disappeared into the dancing crowd and Eowyn looked around for a corner where she could disappear unseen and remain for the rest of the evening. But her search was interrupted. "May I ask you to dance, madam?" A tall young man asked, holding out his hand to her. Eowyn showed an apologetic smile. "I'm very sorry, but I'm still a little dizzy from the long journey and I'm afraid a dance would only make it worse." The man withdrew his hand with a sad look, but then smiled understandingly and continued walking. This scenario continued many more times until Eowyn found herself a new place to be better invisible. With a hungry expression on her face, she walked to the long tables where many different types of food were placed. Since it had been over seven hours since Eowyn had eaten anything, her stomach instantly growled when she saw the food. "Looks like someone is hungry." Said the grinning face of Queen Lucy and took Eowyn by the hand. She showed her which food she liked best and which she should try. Every now and then she would press a small cupcake or a piece of pie into Eowyn's hand and encourage her until Eowyn ate it. Laughing, Queen Lucy told her about her siblings and some of the many stories and adventures she had had. As time went on, breathing became harder and harder for Eowyn as the food made the corset even tighter and left little room for her air to enter her body. Again Queen Lucy took her by the hand and led her through the hall of dancing people. "Come and dance with my brother before Peter makes him dance with an older lady and to be honest so you don't have to dance with Sir Whitewise because he seems to like stepping on your toes so terribly." Queen Lucy giggled the last part behind her hand and stopped in front of the young black-haired king, on whose dark mop of hair a silver crown was enthroned.
Of course, Eowyn didn't like that at all, even if she didn't show it. Her mother had told her not to dance with anyone under any circumstances, but Eowyn could not refuse a king's request, so she smiled and forced herself to breathe shallowly to get any air into her lungs. Incidentally, she noticed how not only the people passing by were looking at her, but also the dark-haired king himself was scanning her with his eyes. Instantly her cheeks flushed and she looked to the ground to hide it, unsuccessfully. "Don't worry Eowyn, Edmund won't bite or step on your toes." Queen Lucy whispered in her ear, patted her back encouragingly and then disappeared into the crowd. "May I ask you for a dance, my lady?" Startled, Eowyn looked to the side and at the person addressing her. It was definitely not King Edmund. The man in front of her had brown-gray hair, a full belly and did not look his counterpart in the eyes, but underneath. Uneasily, Eowyn tried to think of an excuse, because the man had already grabbed her arm, but was once again torn from her thoughts when someone put a hand on the man's shoulder from behind. "May I beg your pardon, sir. This is my dancing companion. I'm sure Miss Aldorea back there at the dinner table would love to dance with You, Sir." The young king pointed to an older lady in an olive green dress and white upswept hair. Her skin was dark with age spots and wrinkled from the many years she had lived. Grumpily, the man disappeared into the crowd and now Eowyn stood quite exposed before the black-haired king. "King Edmund." Breathed Eowyn in surprise, forgetting that it hardly worked through the corset. The song in the background was just coming to an end and the dancing couples bowed to each other. "May I ask you for this dance?" He extended his gloved hand to her and the hint of a smile was visible on his face. For normally, the many ball nights thrown by his sister Queen Susan were uninteresting to him and he was bored out of his mind. This one, however, had been a little bit different so far. For one thing, the women and young ladies were not so focused on getting him to dance with them, as they were much more concerned with envying the woman who now stood before him, in her incomparable beauty and elegance. On the other hand, it was this young lady herself who had made the evening less boring. Not once had she tried to talk to anyone or get them to dance with her. Not even with King Peter had she tried. And that was something new.
Eowyn briefly looked around to her right and left to make sure her mother wasn't watching her, then placed her small hand in the king's. King Edmund's smile grew a little wider and he led her with long strides to the center of the hall. Now it was obvious that Eowyn's mother would see her, because almost all eyes were on the dancing couple. King Edmund's siblings were puzzled, Queen Susan and High King Peter, except for Queen Lucy, who was in the know, and they had their eyebrows drawn together briefly in amazement and iritation, but then, both began to smile as hard as Queen Lucy and they continued at what they had been interrupted with. The orchestra had also stopped focusing on the music for a moment and now began a waltz. Instantly King Edmund brought his one hand to Eowyn's hip, where he noted with irritation how narrow it was, and the other to her hand. She in turn placed one hand on his shoulder and the other she placed in the king's hand. Evenly, they moved through the hall dancing, and the other guests also began to hurriedly get to their dance partners and join in. Eowyn's midnight blue dress blew around the two dancing bodies and one could think that she and King Edmund had been dancing together for years. Which, of course, was only thanks to all the practice. Eowyn was too shy to look the king in the face and looked into the crowd around her, only to locate her family, all of whom were glowering at her except for Edward and Saana. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she almost choked. If she could have gasped for air, she would have, but instead hardly any air entered her lungs and she struggled to calm down. Dancing, Eowyn got even more out of breath and little black dots formed in front of her eyes and she felt as if not she was spinning, but also the whole room around her. Sweating, she gripped King Edmund's hand tighter and closed her eyes for a moment. At the end of the piece, she made a shaky curtsy to the king and he bowed as well. While the other guests around her began dancing again to a new faster song, Eowyn tried to stay on her feet. King Edmund, noticing that she was not doing so well, took a step towards her and gently held her by the arm. "Hey, are you all right?" He asked, leaning forward only to see that his dancing partner had gone pale. "Air. Fresh air." She whispered to him and he then hooked up with her and led her to one of the balconies. As soon as they stepped through the thin sheets that separated the balconies from the great hall, the fresh evening air was blown into their faces. This came as a signal to Eowyn and her body went limp. Immediately King Edmund caught her, laid her carefully on the floor and squatted beside her. "Miss Eowyn. What is it? Can you hear me?" He asked anxiously, watching her features. ,,Air. The... Corset is .... so tight." She still pressed out, only to be rolled carefully by the king onto her stomach, over his knees, and hastily he tampered with the many ribbons and strings that laced the corset shut. Since this did not work with his gloves, he simply brushed them off without further ado, tossed them carelessly aside and after some time managed to untie the cords, at Eowyn's back. Again he rolled the young woman back onto her back and waited a few moments. Then Eowyn gasped for air and snapped her eyes open. With one hand turned toward King Edmund, she clutched at his arm and let the fresh evening air flood through her lungs. "How-how did you do it?" She asked after a while, while King Edmund had been quietly watching her. He tapped her back and raised a brow. "Your corset was tied very tightly. Why is that?" Eowyn looked into his chocolate brown eyes and sighed. "My mother." She then whispered, until she remembered what method King Edmund, an obvious man, had used to get her to come up for air. With flaming red cheeks, she turned away from the king's face and tried to retie the laces on her corset. A large hand came down on her two small ones and quickly she took hers off her back and turned to the king. , "Why would your mother pull your corset so tight? That's dangerous." He said and Eowyn blushed again, under the intense gaze of the black-haired young man in front of her. ,,BecauseIamtofat." She mumbled with half-closed lips. King Edmund raised a brow again. "I beg your pardon?" "I'm too fat for my mother." She whispered even more softly. "Could you please speak louder and clearer, I can't hear you!" "I'm too fat!" Eowyn shouted in his face and slapped her hand over her mouth, in shock that she had snapped at a king like that. "I'm sorry, who said that?" Instead of anger, there was only bewilderment in King Edmund's features. Now Eowyn was confused. ,,Uh... My mother. And my stepsiblings. But that's not important-" ,,I don't feel the need for you to think I'm flirting with you, but you are quite the opposite of fat. And now please straighten up, so I can tie your laces again. But not as tight as before, of course." King Edmund straightened up, helped Eowyn to her feet and, with his hands on her hips, turned her around so that her back was now facing his face. With his long fingers he tied the cords together and to break the silence, Eowyn whispered a soft 'thank you' followed by: "Also, please feel free to call me by my first name, Eowyn, Your Highness." King Edmund paused for a moment. "The same goes for you, Eowyn." Stunned once again, she turned, smiled shyly at him, blushed, and turned forward again so he could finish his work. "Come on. We better get back inside before anyone else thinks we're doing anything intimate out here." Edmund grinned and led Eowyn by the hand back into the hall, not without giving up his gloves from the floor first.