ignite me / p. pevensie

chapter eleven

Rowyn awoke with a hard jerk as she panted.

Sweat traced down her spine and down her forehead. "God . . ." She muttered and stood up to grab a cup of cold water. Her feet felt like bricks as she walked.

The nightmares—they were constant, cruel, like a never-ending reminder of what happened to her.

"Good morning, Queen Rowyn." Her maiden said as she walked into her bedroom.

Rowyn smiled up from her cup. "Good morning, Alice." The maiden smiled and moved to draw Rowyn a bath. "How is Christofer? Did he overcome his flu alright?" Rowyn questioned as she followed Alice to the bath and allowed the woman to rid her of her clothing.

"Oh yes, my Queen—after your gift he got better much faster . . . he sends his thanks." Alice said while guiding Rowyn to sit in the bath.

Rowyn sighed happily at the news and the perfectly warm water that caressed her skin. "I hope to meet your boy in person some day." Rowyn told the maiden as she carefully poured water over her head, getting her hair as wet as she could before adding the lemon and rose shampoo.

She sighed happily and leaned into Alice's touch as she massaged it in. "He would be honored to meet you . . . once he's a bit older." Alice huffed in amusement.

Rowyn chuckled softly. "I guess three is a bit young to fully understand who I am." The girls laughed softly.

Alice had been a courtesan—a slave from the age of eleven to twenty—to a man near the Lone Islands before Peter and Rowyn sailed to free as many slaves as they could and take the islands under their control. Her experience with the man brought much trauma to her life, but also gave her Christofer, whom she loved more than anything else. Rowyn admired her love for her child—she wished to experience that love for her own child one day.

"We have a meeting with the King of Calormene today . . . to speak about his son's courtship of Susan." Rowyn sighed out after a few minutes of silence while Alice scrubbed her skin with muscle soothing salts. The vanilla scent of them warmed her senses.

"You're a good leader, Queen Rowyn. You and the other Kings and Queens have brought more peace to Narnia than there ever has been . . . well almost as much as when your mother ruled." Alice told her while washing the final amount of soap from her hair. "He probably fears you more than anything—given your blood—your gift . . . men like him hate woman who hold more power than them." Rowyn bit her lip to stop a smirk.

She stood from the bath and Alice wrapped a robe around her wet naked body. "If he doesn't already fear me . . . he'll learn to."

....

Rowyn and the Pevensie siblings sat upon their thrones with their court standing beside them—which consisted of Mr. Beaver, Mrs. Beaver, Tumnus, and Oreius, who Aslan managed to bring back after his cruel death at the hands of the Witch—when Prince Rabadash and King Tisroc entered the throne room.

Rowyn kept her face stern and emotionless as the pair approached them and then bowed before the five monarchs.

"You stand before King Peter the magnificent, King Edmund the just, Queen Susan the gentle, Queen Lucy the valiant, and High Queen Rowyn the gifted." Tumnus told the men.

Rowyn nodded at Tumnus and the men rose from their crouched positions.

"Your Majesties," The Prince spoke. "It is an honor." He bowed his head softly while his father kept his eyes focused on observing the monarchs.

Rowyn cleared her throat. "Prince Rabadash . . . King Tisroc." She greeted them from her throne between the siblings.

The King smiled sweetly, almost sickeningly sweet, and adjusted his orange turban. Rowyn admired the men's beauty, with her skin of hazelnut and trimmed beards, most women would find them desirable—irresistible even . . . just as long as they don't know about the slaves that they harm daily. "High Queen Rowyn, I must say the stories were correct about your beauty." The Prince told Rowyn.

She smiled. "I thank you," She swallowed down any nerves that threatened to flutter out. "It is to my understanding that you wish to court Queen Susan, is that correct?" She held her hands in her lap, keeping her posture straight.

After she was crowned, Rowyn was never more grateful for having binged many royal tv-shows. Although they did have flaws about what it really was like, they helped her with knowing how Queens should act.

"Yes, your Majesty." The King said and then motioned to one of his men to grab something. "We have brought a gift, for the fiery-Queen. To show our peace and loyalty to your crowns." A man—no, a slave brought a large chest of gold. Rowyn bit the inside of her lip to hide her anger when she saw how much the large chains around his feet made him stumbled and struggle to carry the chest.

Peter smiled at the men. "We thank you, Lords of Calormene."

Rowyn stood from her throne and walked a few steps closer to them. The built in cloak of her deep red silk dress dragging behind her as she walked. Her hands hold each other in front of her as she walked.

She smiled down at the chest with the same sickeningly sweet expression and then met their gaze. "I have a gift for you as well—your life."

The King's eyebrows kissed with confusion. "My life?" He shifted his stance.

"If I allow for you to court the lovely Queen Susan," Rowyn began, keeping her posture straight as her fire burned in her chest. "You will release every slave you have in Calormene and pay them with as much land and gold as they can carry with their hands for all of their years in chains . . . for their time serving you." She was glad she couldn't see the expressions on the Pevensie's faces after she spoke.

The King chuckled. "I see your title of Breaker of Chains is true, but that simply will not do."

Rowyn smiled. "If you accept this offer, Narnia will be there to aid you. Our men will fight for you—die for you. We will provide all the food and land your overpopulated nation would need in order to flourish . . ." She stepped closer to them, close enough for them to feel the large fiery waves that she purposely radiated off of her skin. "Reject this gift . . . and I shall show you no mercy and I will release your slaves myself . . . either way, those human beings will be freed. It is just a matter of whether you live or not when it happens."

The King gulped hard and Rowyn forced herself to keep her stern, cold expression as their true colors were beginning to bleed through. "You must give us time to . . . think." His tone was cold and harsh. Years ago Rowyn would've flinched, but now she kept her head held high and nodded.

"We will be awaiting your decision, King Tisroc." She allowed the King to take her hand and kiss the back of it. When the King looked back up at her, faster than the speed of light, his pale icy blue eyes flashed to a deep forest green.

But it was gone before she could fully process what happened.

It took everything in her not to burn his lips when they met her skin. The King and Prince bowed in farewell and left the throne room with their slaves dragging behind them. Once they were out the door and out of ear-shot, Rowyn let out a deep, shaky breath.

"You're a bit scary at times, Ro." Edmund spoke up, now walking towards her while his siblings stood as well. "Brilliant . . . but scary."

Rowyn turned to him and smiled. "A Queen should be respected and fear—as well as loved."

Peter approached her with Susan at his side. "I must say that was a good idea—to negotiate that . . . I just hope they accept it." Rowyn smiled softly at Peter's support. The pair often butted heads when it came to ruling despite their deep love—that remain unspoken by both—for each other.

"Thank you, Peter." She breathed out and dropped her hands back to her sides. "I figured if we allow Prince Rabadash to court Susan then we should at least establish some requirements. It will allow us to know if they truly want to court her for an alliance or not."

Susan smiled gratefully at Rowyn and came up to hug her. "Thank you, Ro." She whispered into her hair.

Edmund gave Rowyn an impressed look. "That's actually kind of genius." Rowyn nodded proudly.

"Whether they refuse or accept it, we will get our answers about their intentions—as well as grant more people their freedom . . . grant them their basic human right." And with that Rowyn proudly left the throne room.