The war is over; winter has ended.
The Pevensies have been crowned Kings and Queens of Narnia; finally allowed to enjoy their magical world the way the youngest Queen might have wished they had been able to from the beginning. It is here where they...
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It was sunny enough within that Christmas Eve morning that it didn't take a lot of effort for Juliet Capulet to choose to visit the stables where her beloved horse, Isabella, rested. She carried a bunch of apples, carrots, oats, and sugar cubes within a little basket in her elbow as she went, and perhaps for it, or simply for the joy many found with Juliet's presence, the guards she walked past smiled and greeted her with a little bow.
She didn't even think twice about smiling back, she simply did it; completely unaware that her pretty smile ignited each of their hearts. Because of it, both female and male creatures guarding the castle's gardens and fields understood perfectly well how she could have taken hold of Edmund Pevensie's heart. They understood how it had led him to ask her to be his wife.
What they didn't know, of course, was not only that she hardly believed her situation, but had not exactly had a lot of time to process it. Yes, many months had passed, but hardly any time had been left free for anyone to think. In fact, with everything that been going on with Archenland—be it the war, the formal welcoming of Juno, Corin and Lark into the castle to live in as a home of their own, or the possible retaliation of King Lune regardless of the strong defeat of his army—Juliet had barely had time to breathe, let alone let her mind wrap itself entirely around the reality that she was, against all odds, truly engaged to be married for the second time in her existence.
Everything had simply happened too fast. One night she'd been unexpectedly asked to marry Edmund, and almost exactly the next all hell had broken loose by the arrival of Juno and her disastrous announcement.
After that, every single second that had passed had been about preparing for war. From training every possible second of the day with Athena Ashdown, to making sure that her commissioned armour fit, her daggers were sharp, and Isabella was up for accompanying her into battle. And then, before she knew how many days had passed, the battle had started, and all she had been able to think about had been Lucy and Edmund's well being as much as her own until the battle ended.
It was like one of the stories in her favourite books. Joy and some semblance of peace had come into her world again when Peter and Athena kissed, yet no sooner had Juliet thought all was well before all hint of mirth faded into worry with the arrival of Lark Moor. Then, all her time had suddenly become focused on getting him settled.
She'd had simply had no other option than spending every second, day and week making sure the castle was well protected, well cared for, and in perfect working order for the safety of the permanent residents from Archenland. And now it was Christmas Eve, and still, she had barely had time to stop and think about the fate that awaited her after however long it took Susan to prepare a wedding ceremony and feast.
Of course, it was not to say that she was regretting ever having said yes. If anything, there was nothing else in the whole world she was more convinced of than the fact that her decision to accept Edmund's proposal had been the right one. Yet, some insecure part of her worried about what the marriage itself would mean.
