narnia au;

[illuminescent]

how did you get here? through a wardrobe, or through death, or maybe a portal gone terribly astray. a ring. the roar of a lion. in the bottom of a cup. because you were looking for something, or missing something. no matter how you got there, this is where you belong.

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[curlytop]

[It seems too good to be possible, for him to get out of Rabadash's service in a way that wouldn't provoke retaliation. But if he learned anything at the Academy, it was to trust his friends, and Lucy is the closest thing he's had to a friend since then.]

Thank you, your majesty. I can never repay you for this.

[illuminescent]

You do not have to.

[She says it before she slips away, her guard following her with a bare look at George, to make sure he knows that he's being watched, but he gives a smile, too. Everyone in Narnia knows that Queen Lucy has a soft heart, but that she also has a gift for loyalty.

It's not the next day, or even the one after that. There are games and dinners and hunts and the whole time Lucy pretends she does not see George at Radabash's side, she pretends she has forgotten, so the day that they go on a hunt it is a surprise when she laughs as she turns her horse around. Everyone is smiling, everyone is having a merry time, even the ones from Calormen.

It is a game when Lucy admires the horses from Calormen, when she starts a conversation about how fine they are, but they cannot match Narnian horses. That starts the game of pride, where Radabash laughs and says that is not possible, even if Narnian horses sometimes speak. Lucy is good at this game, because she's so light, because she knows that Radabash thinks she is a silly girl.

It's easy, then, to make him so proud as to agree to a race. Even more when she raises the terms, and he hesitates when he looks at George, and Lucy insists, and shows her cordial, and greed tints his eye.

Edmund is watching this impassively, and when Lucy mounts her horse he nudges her on the leg. You could have chosen someone else to fall in love with, he tells her, and Lucy shakes her head, but she looks over at George and thinks that love at first sight is a silly thing.

They race.

It's true the horses from Calormen are swift. It's true that they are the best in the world. But Lucy is truly good, and she knows the terrain, and she has nothing in the way of fear.

That, and she has far more to lose.

When she wins, it is not easy. It is only by a half-length, her horse stretching that last moment impossibly, and Lucy is laughing. She can see that Radabash is hiding his fury, that he wants to look good in front of Susan, so he claps her on the back and congratulates her, and she says to send George soon, and turns back to her tent.]

[curlytop]

[For the next few days, George thinks of little else than that he is being watched, on all sides. Rabadash keeps George close beside him, and George does his best to keep his face impassive, to do his job as he has done for a year now. It's hard not to look at Lucy, but he's taught himself not to look at any women if he doesn't have to.

On the day of the hunt, he allows himself to watch Lucy as she rides, and she's good. He doesn't know if she's good enough to beat the prince, but he's willing to bet on it, at the very least.

It's even more difficult not to look at Lucy as they haggle over terms, to pretend that it's nothing to him whether he ends the day as Rabadash's property or Lucy's. The race is agony. He's never watched a sporting event with more intensity, and for George, that's saying something.

When she wins, for a moment, what George feels is more pride at her victory than relief. She was truly amazing.

Rabadash's fury is clearly apparent to George, but for once he feels schadenfreude over it more than anything. If Susan were not standing right beside him, George might worry about what Rabadash would do before handing him over, but Rabadash's hands are tied, so he gives George a smile that is barely veiled rage, comments to Susan on sister's fondness for wild things, and sends George off with a wave of his hand.

George keeps his bearing all the way to Lucy's tent, but once he's there, he lets out a great, rushing breath of relief and doubles over, hands on his knees, until his heart stops racing and he can take a proper breath again.]

[illuminescent]

[She turns when he comes in, and she's stripping her bracers off. Her maids giggle and she sends them out, and then comes over to George and kneels next to him. The rugs are comfortable, and the tent is cool from the warmth of the day.

Her hands come to his arms.]

George.

Breathe.

[curlytop]

[He grips her forearms, dropping to his knees as well. Squeezing his eyes shut, he breathes slowly, deeply. When he opens his eyes, they're bright with tears.]

By the Angel, Lucy, you were brilliant.

[It's easy, in this moment, to forget where he is, that she's a queen.]

[illuminescent]

You must learn to say by the Lion.

[She laughs, but her arms go around his neck, she hugs him tightly, because he is not the only one to forget that she's a queen.]

I am so happy for you.

[curlytop]

[George hasn't been hugged in so, so long that he's forgotten how to react. But only for half a second. Then he's wrapping his arms around her as well, hugging her tightly.

The flood of endorphins rushing through his veins comes bubbling out in a laugh.]

[illuminescent]

[She laughs, and holds him, and presses her face against his, so they are nose to nose.]

You are free.

I promised you.

You may do whatever you wish.

[curlytop]

[He's giddy with relief, and he takes hold of her face with both hands and kisses her.

For about a second.

And then he pulls back and looks horrified with himself.]

Sorry! I'm sorry, your majesty! I didn't mean to...

[illuminescent]

[She stares at him, her eyes wide. She didn't expect that, but-

But it wasn't bad. In fact, she stays still a moment, and then she's kissing him back, fast, her hands on his face.]

Of course you meant to.

[She says it with a blush, and then she dips her head.]

Should you like to again?

[curlytop]

[On instinct, George looks around, as though Rabadash may be lurking in the shadows somewhere. Or at least Longtusk.]

I'd like to, but I don't think I should.

[illuminescent]

[There is no one. They truly are alone.]

I want you to.

I want you to kiss me again.

[She lets his face go, but she doesn't move away.]

[curlytop]

[George doesn't pull back, and he smiles just a little, corners of his mouth quirking up.]

And your brother the king? What does he want?

[illuminescent]

Why should I care?

My brother the king is not my lord. He is only my brother.

[This is Narnia, George. Peter's desires for his sisters are eclipsed by their desires for themselves.]

[curlytop]

[Where George comes from, any man would be worried about an older brother who thinks it's a lark to tame giants.]

Aye, it's the brother part I'm worried about.

[illuminescent]

He will not do anything to you.

[She smiles at him.]

I promise.

[curlytop]

[He looks at her a moment, a smile playing at his lips. He lifts his hand to touch her cheek lightly with the backs of his fingers.]

I believe you.

[He leans in to kiss her again.]

[illuminescent]

[She breathes right after, an intake of breath that feels like a miracle.]

Will you stay in Narnia?

[He is free. She meant it.]

[curlytop]

[He feels that as well, the way that breath changes things. He doesn't pull away, but he settles back more comfortably on the rugs.]

If you'll have me. If anyone's earned my loyalty, it's you, your majesty.

[illuminescent]

I would have you.

I would have you as my guard, if you wish it, as the head of it, if you so desire. I would have you as a knight, if you prefer.

Or you can be a private citizen, but I-

[She sits there with him, and this is the most tender she's been yet.]

-I should like you by my side, always.

[curlytop]

A knight?

[This is said in the tone of a boy who has always wanted to be a knight but who had a very vague notion of what being a knight entails. There's a brightness in his eyes that makes him look as young as he still is.]

I would be whatever you asked. If you need me as the head of your guard, I will do so. If you need a knight, I will happily kneel for you.

[illuminescent]

[Her smile is bright, and happy.]

Oh, I should gladly knight you, and the none can say you do not merit your place at my side.

[curlytop]

[He gives a dry laugh.]

I'm not sure there's anything you could do that would stop folks saying that, majesty.

But I'd like to be by your side, for all that. Your guard is where I'd be most use, likely.

[illuminescent]

Then let us start there.

[She will agree to that.]

Is it foolish to say that I would much relish an affair of that nature?

[A guard who loves her is, after all, the most serious and most potent kind. He would never let anything hurt her for more than one reason, and if he loves her well and keeps her happy, then all the better.]

[curlytop]

[George regards her seriously for a moment.]

It's not foolish. Only...

[He wants to make sure he says this the right way, and that's not always his forte.]

I want to say yes? Only, all I can think right now is how grateful I am, and I don't want to confuse things. I know that I kissed you, and I wanted to. I just...I don't ever want you to wonder if I'm with you because I love you or because you saved me.