Accidentally Falling | Narnia

31 | chess pieces

"You're going down, Your Magnificence," Susan mocked, eyebrows proudly raised, and a grin playing on her full lips.

"I absolutely refuse to believe that, Your Gentleness," Peter mocked back, mimicking her.

"Believe it, Your Worshipfulness, because that--" she moved her queen piece across the chessboard, challenging Peter's own queen piece knowing there was no other square for it to move to unless devouring hers, thus securing her win. "--is your reality."

"Reality, is it?" the blonde-haired King smirked. "Checkmate!"

Susan's jaw dropped. She stared in horror at the chessboard spread in front of her and glared daggers at Peter's horse piece that cornered her king. She scanned her chess pieces frantically, looking for anything that might wipe that horse piece off the board but it was hopeless. Her king was toast. Again.

Peter laughed loudly in victory then laughed even more upon the look of utter disbelief on Susan's face. Did she actually believe she could beat him at chess?

For the past few weeks, in between swordfighting and archery practice, kingly duties on Peter's part and the now occasional history lectures on Susan's part, chess had been their favorite past time. And for the past few weeks, Susan kept losing. Which she just didn't get why. She was a decent player though not as good as Edmund. That brother of hers was just insanely good (though she could beat him sometimes when she was really concentrating and really bent on wiping the smug grin off his face.) But Peter couldn't win against Edmund. So why couldn't she beat Peter? She groaned in frustration at the thought as she continued to glare at the chessboard in front of her.

Peter loved watching her lose. Not that he was cruel, he just loved watching her face scrunched up in anger and frustration when she knew she was on the verge of winning but ended up losing. She was like that in their swordfighting matches too. He find her reaction... somehow cute. It made him fall for her all over again.

And it also made you all the more annoyingly sappy, his brain reminded him.

Still fuming at her defeat, Susan looked up at Peter. His mischievous smirk and sparkling blue irises greeted her. For a moment, her expression melted a little. Then she got even more annoyed.

Oh, how she hate it when he do that! He knew full well what that certain action of his does to her system and he does it anyway. She suspected it was to make her admit how annoyingly gorgeous he was but she'd starve herself for a week first before she'd admit that to him.

Still, the sappy part of her brain gushed. He is annoyingly gorgeous.

The thought made her want to strangle herself and this, okay, annoyingly gorgeous human being in front of her.

Peter continued to look at her, letting his eyes dance with mischief and fixing his smirk on his lips. He noticed her freckled pale cheeks flushing red and he had to fight the urge to smile even wider.

He still couldn't believe that he had this effect on her. He couldn't believe that he could make her blush under his gaze, make her squirm with his smile, make her shiver with his touch.

He still couldn't believe that she loved him, too.

It seemed only yesterday that he was cursing himself for being insane, for falling for her knowing she would never feel the same way. Because he was only this irritating blonde-haired boy who always made her day unbearable. And yet...

Susan threw a queen piece to his nose.

Peter refocused his attention to her. She was smiling smugly, as she leaned back on her hands against the floor of the council room they were in. His jaw half dropped in disbelief.