Accidentally Falling | Narnia

13 | unexpected

Aslan's mane, Peter thought. She's really beautiful.

Not that he hadn't thought Susan beautiful before. That first day he met her in Lantern Waste, back to those few minutes when he was being properly introduced to her and her siblings by Mr. Tumnus, he had to admit he may have stared at the eldest Pevensie a tad longer than he would have liked.

Or these past few days, during those times he'd tutor the siblings about Narnia's history, he would sometimes get anxious by her stares. It was mostly because she was almost always correcting him, true, and he had to be really careful about his lectures (though he had no problem in countering her interruptions with a similar amount of attitude) but he would be lying if her piercing, alluring, hazel-blue gaze didn't contribute to his anxiousness.

But it was that moment, when Caspian and Susan descended the stairs, Caspian looking regal and kingly as ever in that flesh-colored tunic of his and Susan in a blue dress that matched her piercing eyes and her hair down in ringlets, that it fully sank into Peter's brain that Susan is really beautiful.

Unknowingly, the blonde-haired King's grip on his swordhilt tighten as he continued to stare at the daughter of Eve. Then he mentally slapped himself and turned away his gaze.

What was the matter with him? He should be mad at her for almost piercing his nose in a hard way a few days ago. But now, he was staring at her as if she was the goddess Venus in mortal form.

"Hello, Peter," Susan's voice brought him back to reality. When he looked up, she and Caspian were now in front of him.

"Hello, Susan," he greeted back, summoning the Peter she knew and pushing away the ridiculously smitten Peter. "You dressed up quite well."

"You don't look horrible yourself," she replied, matching his smirk.

"Remind me to thank your ladies in waiting for the amazing job they did on you."

"Thank you. Remind me also to thank your ladies in waiting for managing to make you look human."

Peter couldn't help but smile wider. "Actually, I did this myself," he countered.

"Oh, really?" her blue eyes widened. She dragged her eyes from his face down to his toes then back again. Peter had to admit he fidgeted for a while there. "Wow."

"Shocked?"

"Yes, very. Because I know for a fact that you can't properly dress yourself."

"Well, you will be more shocked--"

"Alright, cut it out," Caspian interrupted, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Geez, it's our birthday, Pete. Can't the two of you resist your urges to strangle each other just for one night?"

Peter and Susan both turned to look at him as if he was crazy. Caspian was a bit worried that Susan might forget Peter and strangle him instead.

Peter's gaze strayed from his brother and fell on the eldest Pevensie once again.

Okay, he thought. I really need to stop doing that.

"Fine," Susan said. She turned to Peter, her eyes slowly losing their sarcastic glare. "Have you seen Edmund and Lucy?"

"They're already inside." He gestured to the closed doors of the Great Hall in front of them. "They'll be introducing us any minute now."

Just as those words left Peter's mouth, a loud voice thundered from inside the Hall. Suddenly, the doors swung open, revealing the Great Hall with all the night's guests: lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses from neighboring lands, and Narnians. They formed a path from the doors to the raised dais of the thrones of the Kings of Narnia.