The Chronicles of Narnia: The King and The Servant

~ Chapter 8: Surprises ~

Peter instantly lets go of my hand and we both bow. "Rise, Peter and Ashley," he commands us gently, but firmly. We do as he says, before I look slowly up at his face. He doesn't look too angry, but he doesn't look too happy either. He looks sort of like how a person looks when they can't make up their mind on whether they want to be angry or happy with someone else. I immediately feel guilty and hope that I'm going to get all the blame instead of Peter. "Children, you have disobeyed. That room is for later in your lives, when you two are a little bit more serious about your relationship. I put that sign there to keep everyone out. That includes the two of you," he tells us sternly. We both nod.

"Sorry, Aslan. It was my fault," Peter tells Aslan. No!

"Aslan, he's lying. I swear it was my fault. I was the one that started to open the door and I was the one that convinced him to come in with me. I'm the one who's sorry." Peter nudges me in the shoulder and I turn my head a little bit so that I can look at him.

"You don't have to do that. I was trying to get you out of trouble," Peter tells me in a hushed whisper.

"It was my fault though," I argue frustrated.

"I was stopping you from getting fired," Peter retorts me in a whisper again. That shuts me up in an instant. I hear Aslan clear his throat. We both turn quickly to give him our attention again.

"Ashley, because of your truthfulness towards the problem, you and Peter will not be punished, but I do expect you to learn a lesson from this," Aslan says.

"Thank you, Aslan. I swear I will always obey mysterious signs that are put on doors," I promise. Peter nods his head in agreement next to me.

"Good. Now, Ashley, you'd better go down stairs and do your job. I can't stop Starstone from firing you since it is in her job description." I nod my head and grab Peter's hand before dragging him down the staircase. Once we are at the bottom of the castle, I pull him over to the warm, lounging area. We sit down on one of the comfy, white sofas together before I cuddle into Peter's side. He drapes an arm kindly over my shoulder.

"What would your friends do if they saw us cuddled up like this?" he asks me. I shrug.

"They would most likely squeal and jump up and down like crazy maniacs," I state matter-of-factly. He laughs.

"I could imagine your friends doing that," he says once he stops laughing.

I smile. "Yes, they can get quite crazy at times," I admit carefully.

"So where do you know them all from?" he asks, curiosity dripping from his voice. I shuffle around a little bit so that I can look him straight in the eyes.

"Where do I start?" I ask, mostly to myself. "Well, Emolise is Starstone and Oreius' daughter (I think you know that already) and my mother was really good friends with Starstone, so I've known her all my life. Mirasdean I met when I was seven, we worked here together..."

"Wait," he interrupts abruptly. "You worked here when you were seven?" I nod my head.

"My mother used to work in the castle, so I used to tag along to work with her to learn how to do everything properly, so that, when I grew up, I would be able to get a job as a servant just like her, only my mother was a lot higher ranks than what I am right now," I explain.

"Wow!" he exclaims. "Anyway, sorry to interrupt; carry on." I chuckle a little bit under my breath before continuing.

"Um, where was I, oh yes, Mirasdean is also a Calormene."

"What's a Calormene?" he asks carefully.

"A Calormene is someone who lives in Calormen, that's way south of Narnia, across the Great Desert." He looks thoughtfully off into the distance for a moment before turning his attention back to me.