When you believe

Chapter XI: "The royal ball"

"Are you sure this is what you want, my boy?" the king asked, looking sternly at his son.

King Tavian didn't doubt his son's reasons for deciding what he just had, but he was well aware that the prince sometimes acted on impulses rather than truly thinking things through. Fevian was, after all, his own son and the boy had inherited that part from him.

"Yes, I am sure of it, father" the prince answered with a smile, accompanying his words with a nod. "If there is someone I would like to share the rest of my life with, it is Cara. I love her."

Fevian's eyer travelled over to his mother. It didn't escape his notice the way she was smiling. It even looked like she approved of his decision, which wasn't something Queen Alva did all that often. It was excellent news to hear her son finally wanted to get married, and to the beautiful young lady she'd always hoped would become his wife.

The prince bowed his head to his parents in respectful manner before he turned around to leave the throne room. The doors were closed behind him by the guards after he stepped out. Cara was still waiting for him there, quitting her pacing around to approach him. She seemed as poised as ever, but her subtle fiddling with her bracelets was the give-away of her nervousness. Her whole future depended on the king and the queen's decision, after all.

"What did they say?" the lady asked, wide eyes meeting his before they drifted down to her hands. "Did they approve?"

Fevian took her hands in his before he lifted her chin with a finger, holding her gaze "Of course they approved. Who else would be more perfect than you are to be a future queen of Narnia?"

A sheepish smile graced her lips. It was the gleam in her eyes that let him know she was truly happy to hear him say that.

"Which only leaves one thing left to do" the prince continued, slipping his hand into his pocket. Cara's gesture shifted to one of surprise, the way she looked at him nothing short of adoration as he dropped on one knee. In his hand Fevian was holding a delicate ring of white gold that was decorated with several tiny diamonds and finely detailed carvings. Fevian's lips curved into a soft smile before he spoke "Lady Isicara, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

Cara was at loss of words for a moment. She knew that Fevian was planning to marry her, she knew that sooner or later he was bound to ask her that. Seeing it actually happen made her heart stop in her chest. This moment was something she had dared to dream about for a couple of years now, it was a fantasy she hoped one day would turn to reality, even more so when her mother told her that she was likely to marry another man.

"Yes!" Cara spoke with a grin settling on her lips.

The prince returned the smile, feeling his own heart burst with joy over hearing that simple word. It held more meaning than any single word ever had before. Fevian placed the ring in her finger and leapt to quickly pull her into a hug.

Both smiled and laughed, becoming the living image of joy at its purest form. When they broke apart, the prince brushed a strand of her dark hair away from her face, placing it behind her ear. His hand lingered there for a moment, caressing her cheek. He gently moved it to the back of her neck as he leaned forward to kiss his bride-to-be.

- - - - - -

Bridget had never attended a ball before in her entire life, let alone a royal ball held in honor of the prince of a magical land. The prince's twenty-first birthday was apparently a very important event.

Dina had explained to her that the ball was not only organized because it was Fevian's birthday, it was also because of an old Telmarine tradition. Turning twenty-one years of age was a big event, a turning point even, in every boy's lives. It meant they were reaching a new stage in their lives, it meant they were finally adults. It wasn't all that different from how things were in her own world. However, in the case of the prince it meant that from this moment on he could become the king. If something were to happen to King Tavian, if the man were to die, the throne would immediately go to Prince Fevian. It no longer would pass on to some foreign relative old enough to take throne.