When you believe

Chapter VI: "A queen and a castle"

Fevian had stocked on some food while in Tediaren while Bridget had been changing into the olive dress. He'd bought simple things such as bread, cheese, a couple of apples. Basics for a ride back home. The instant the prince heard her stomach grumble, he reached into his saddled bag and passed a small bundle to the girl.

She had been so lost in thought for a couple of minutes that he startled her back to reality when he passed the package wrapped in cloth. She removed the cloth and revealed a piece of cheese. She bit on it, glad to have some food. For a while she'd been able to push the notion of hunger aside, her thoughts had been keeping her busy.

Narnia had a queen named Susan once.

Those words really hammered her ears as Bridget heard them and they had continued to repeat themselves over and over again inside her head. It didn't make it any easier to digest what the prince had told her.

The moment she started eating, Fevian had made his horse diminish its speed. They were riding rather slow after that so she could allow herself to eat comfortably on the horse instead of running the risk of choking with the food if they were galloping. She thought the prince could be annoying sometimes and too cheeky for her comfort, but she had to admit he was quickly becoming the most thoughtful person she had ever met.

"Thank you for the food" Bridget said, after she finished what was probably the best cheese she had ever eaten "And the dress... I'm sorry you had to spend your money on me. You should know that if I had any chance to get money here, I would pay you right back."

"It is quite alright. Do not worry, it was a pleasure" he simply answered, looking over his shoulder to smile at her.

After some hesitation on whether or not she should bring up the topic she had in mind, she just whispered "Fevian..."

"Yes?"

"Before, when we were in Tediaren, and we were talking about the unusual names of my... land... you said that Susan was a normal name here in Narnia, becau-"

"Because there was a queen named Susan once. Yes, I said that" he then turned his head a little to see her straight into the eyes "You sound concerned about it. What is the matter?"

"Tell me about this queen, please" she spoke with a bit of hesitation. The prince gave her a somewhat puzzled look for it before looking ahead again.

"All right" he said, and then continued talking. "Queen Susan reigned over many, many years ago, more than I can even know. She was one of the Queens of Old. She is almost a lost and antique legend, but we all Narnians know she was real."

Bridget listened intently to the prince's words and without even trying, it was her mother's face she imagined when he spoke of Queen Susan.

"She was know here as the Gentle queen. She was a fierce woman in times of war, but her benevolence is for which all her subjects loved and respected her. Queen Susan was also very famous because it is told she was the most beautiful woman, not only in Narnia, but in the whole world. There was even a war against the Calormene because Rabadash, the son of the Tisroc, wanted to force her to marry him."

"The Tisroc...?" she asked, unsure of what Fevian meant by that "What is a Tisroc?"

"The Tisroc is the ruler of the Calormene. You do not know Calormen?"

"No, it doesn't ring a bell" she answered honestly, trying to recall if that place was somewhere in her mother's stories. If her mom ever talked to her about this land, Bee forgot. "But go on, please."

"Legend tells that Queen Susan was not a native of Narnia, but a foreigner from the land of Spare Oom. She and her other three siblings, High King Peter, King Edmund and Queen Lucy saved our land from the White Witch and brought spring back to Narnia."