The Heirs

Chapter 14- Mother, Amma, Mumma

music, when soft voices die,
vibrates in the memory—
odours, when sweet violets sicken,
live within the sense they quicken.
rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
are heaped for the belovèd's bed;
and so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
love itself shall slumber on.
-

Jem was lying to every single person in life.

Except for her.

Except for Jade.

He’d known her exactly twenty-five hours, yet he’d spoken more openly with her than he remembered speaking with anyone.

He told her about how he’d been found by his parents, how his birth mother had asked his mother to raise him as her own, and that his parents had lied to him for most of his life about his heritage.

She told him about being born in the Faerie Realm, and how beautiful it was- ‘beautiful and remote, just like the Faerie Queen’- and that she’d left the realm to come to Narnia, where she hoped life would be happier.

He told her about his sisters, and how he worried about them, and about his people, and how they hated him, and that he felt the hate might be justified.

She told him that she had no family, that they’d abandoned her when she’d chosen to leave Neráida, and that sometimes she thought that being alone was what she deserved.

They sat in the balcony in Jem's room, talking and talking through the night, as the sun set and the stars came out, and as the stars dimmed because of the sunrise, all till noon the next day.
“I need to go.” Jem said, suddenly realising that the sky was darkening, which meant it was evening. He’d lost track of time hours ago- he’d barely even noticed when dusk had settled or dawn had risen. He’d just been lost- he’d made a friend, and he was lost in that warmth.

“No, you don’t.” Jade laughed, tugging at his sleeve to make sure he stayed sitting. “There’s still a lot to speak of, and I am not sleepy in the slightest.” She lowered her voice and he instinctively leaned closer. “It’s a fae feature. We don’t feel tired when we’re invigorated.”

“It’s not because I’m sleepy that I need to go.” He laughed along with her, leaning back against the railing. “My Mum's to come soon, and I’m afraid of what will happen if it’s only my sisters there to greet her.”

Her slate green eyes twinkled. “A battle?”

“A war.” He corrected, and she giggled- it was a wonder no one had heard them, they’d been laughing almost non-stop. “It gives me no joy, but I have to be the mediator.”

“Well, well. I suppose I need to go back to my common life too.” She spoke with a grin, getting to her feet and holding out her hand for him to stand. “Joking with the High King is fun, but it doesn’t pay rent.”

She lived in a little inn in one of the villages nearest to the castle, and despite Jem’s urging that she move into the castle, she’d refused. There was a time for work and there was a time for play, she'd said with a wink and he’d burst into raucous chuckles.
“I’d say that I’d pay you to spend time with me, but that makes you sound like a bought whore and makes me seem like a pathetic twat who can't make friends.”

“Take it from me, Jem,” She leaned up on tip-toes and kissed his cheek. “You certainly can make a friend.”

“The charmspeak comes in handy!” He called after her retreating figure, and she turned, her mouth open in another laugh- before leaving, the door closing behind her.
-

Jem had just managed to have a bath and wear something he hadn’t worn to a forest, when Perrin burst into his room with the announcement that his mother’s carriage was at the gates.