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"HORN?"
The four of them stare at me and Trumpkin in blatant confusion.
"What horn?" The older girl asks.
"Well," I smile grimly, now realizing who she is. "Yours, your highness."
Shock blooms across her face. "Mine?"
I nod, feeling strange with the Kings and Queens of Old all staring at me. "It called you here. Narnia needs your help."
The eldest two exchange knowing looks. Then the light-haired man, High King Peter, looks at me again. "What's your name?"
"Arryn, your majesty." I curtsy, never having felt more self-conscious in my life with only an oversized, wet tunic to cover myself. "At your service."
He inclines his head to me, then turns his blue eyes to Edmund — King Edmund — who still stands next to me. "Ed, would you mind taking her to the Treasure Room for proper clothes?"
The King nods, beckoning for me to follow, but I hesitate for a moment; my gaze falls on the rescued dwarf, who's now on his feet in the sand.
"Trumpkin."
He looks at me in answer.
"If you would enlighten their majesties as to what's happened since their leave, I will do the same."
He nods gruffly, and with that, I continue after King Edmund, who's stopped further up the beach to retrieve his sword belt and buckle it on.
He looks up at me, eyes squinted against the bright day. "Ready?"
I nod, giddy with the prospect of venturing through the ruins of Cair Paravel. He must notice my excitement because an amused grin spreads across his face as he watches me.
I apologize hastily. "Forgive my eagerness, your majesty. I've never visited the ruins before."
The king chuckles. "Well, it's not nearly as grand as it used to be." He stops where the sand bar ends and waves to an overgrown path winding up through the rocky cliffside. "It's a bit of a walk," he admits. "I could carry you, if you'd like."
Carry me? I manage to stop myself from openly gawking at the Narnian king.
He grins, clearly seeing through me and recognizing my alarm as the result of his unexpected offer, and starts laughing when I have nothing to say. With his lips still twisted into an amused grin, he takes one step toward me, arms held out, eyebrow arched suggestively.
