Kings & Saints ➢ Peter Pevensie [3]

Chapter XXIII - Right of Passage

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"Wherever I go, you bring me home."

Sweet Creature

Harry Styles

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Chapter XXIII - Right of Passage

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With Peter's newest declaration, Caspian's training had quadrupled. The hours of free time he once had were a thing of the past. I'd already tutored two kings in swordsmanship, I was not responsible for the third. Peter had personally taken him under his wing.

I took on a role I believed was more important and far more enjoyable for me. Willingly putting one foot back into my assassin days. The shoes still fit well. Caspian returned to the table after discussing battle strategy with his advisors, Edmund included.

He picked up a cup from the table, sipping from it. I closed my eyes, wishing he had not made my controversial tactics so simple.

"Caspian," I called out to him.

"Yes, Lady Ashton." He smiled.

I wish to preserve this memory of him. Young, naive, and full of hope. He had not yet truly seen the trials and tribulations of Kingship. A pang of disgust hit my chest knowing I would be the one to burn it from him. He trusted me, I could see it in the squint of his eyes. If King trusts no one then no one has the power to truly betray him.

"You need a tester. From here out, everything that goes into your stomach must pass through another first."

"I hardly think that is necessary." He calculated the perfect formal response, as I knew he would. He had the mouth for politics, now he needed the guts for it. "There are like a thousand cups of wine in this room. No one could predict which is mine."

"An enemy would poison every single person in this room if it meant they got to you. Men, women, and children, it doesn't matter." I insisted, adding a little caution to his eyes. Not enough. Enough to be an average knight, not enough to be a King. It was required that he question everyone's moves and everyone's motives even his own.

"That cup was poisoned twenty minutes ago."

He immediately stuck his fingers down his throat, his first smart choice of the night. He threw up the contents back into the cup.

He panted, "Why didn't you say something before I drank it?"

"Who do you think poisoned it?" I questioned. His back straightened, suspicion growing on his face. He should have looked at me like that from the beginning.

I smirked and turned my back on him, done with his lessons in harsh realities for the day. "And Susan returns to England when this is all over. Either make a move that is worth it or move on. Your first days were king should not be heartbroken ones. Peter and I already have an epic love story. And trust me. I wish I hadn't wasted so much. Maybe he would have married me by now."