AN Alrighty, this is indeed the sequel to Thinking About You. To give you all a brief overview, the Pevensies left Narnia for a second time seven years ago, and Edmund was forced to leave behind Tess. The Pevensies return, and they take up the throne of Narnia so that Caspian can rule in Telmar and three other small countries that he has annexed. Yay. By the way, this doesn't follow the story line at all, even though the last story did. Why? Because I'm just snazzy like that. Please, R&R, and don't forget to enjoy!
Total Disclaimer I, MismatchedToeSocks, hereby declare Narnia NOT MINE. However, I hath declared that Tess, other original characters, and the plot be-eth mine.
Lucy was sitting in the garden. Not the one at home, though. She'd moved out just a month ago, into a cottage in Yorkshire, because her parents had left Finchley and moved to a place in America called Florida, for their retirement. No, she was in the garden of her new home. And on this particular spring day, Edmund, Susan, and Peter happened to be on their way for a visit.
Soon enough, her three siblings were walking through the gate. The siblings all shared hugs with Lucy, one by one. Peter was closely followed by his dog, who was called Cal. Cal was friendly and playful, but sometimes a little bit reckless. As Edmund stepped aside, Lucy waved to Cal. Excited, Cal jumped on to Lucy, and knocked her into the bushes, into a grove that Lucy had never been in before. Her siblings raced behind the bushes to help her up…
And, quite suddenly, they weren't in Yorkshire anymore.
"I have a feeling," said Susan, stumbling to her feet, "That we're in Narnia. Because suddenly appearing in Narnia seems to be a thing that happens to us quite a lot."
"I reckon you're right. But how, this time?" said Peter.
"Well," said Lucy, "I have had a feeling that there might be magic in that grove I fell into ever since I moved in. And Aslan did say that we'd return to Narnia…"
"So… you mean that we're back in Narnia, so that we can rule… for the rest of our lives?" asked Edmund.
"I assume so, given that Cair Paravel is over there, to the east. Aslan must have told Caspian to have it rebuilt for us." replied Lucy.
"Yes!" shouted Edmund joyfully.
Then the four siblings started on their way to Cair Paravel.
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Tess looked out her window every day, every morning. She had been a wonderful ruler, but was still unhappy. She had started to wonder if Edmund would ever come back.
In the five years since Edmund had left, Tess had grown into a graceful, beautiful, and skillful young woman, but the anger had never left her. She had been able to disguise it well enough by turning her anger into an unnerving calmness. Still, sometimes, she would take out her fierce anger on others. Her friends suggested that she try to find another suitor, but she was adamant.
That morning, she was taking her usual walk through a courtyard. Tess was wearing a royal blue dress, with gossamer, simple golden headdress (AN this outfit was based on what Padmé wears in that scene with Anakin in the Naboo countryside. If you're one of those dorksthat hasn't seen Attack of the Clones, then look it up on Google; it's the gold shoulderless one, with the little net things on either side of her head). As she was walking, her head turned as horns sounded. When she looked to see who the surprise royal guests were, she was astounded and overjoyed. Tess suddenly lost her stateliness and ran into Edmund's arms.
"Ed! At last, you're back!" she gasped.
"Back forever," he replied. He then proceeded to kiss her passionately. After a while, they broke apart, but Edmund still had his arm around Tess's waist.
"Where's Caspian, though?" asked Susan.
"He's given the throne to me, so that he can rule Telmar and three other small countries that he has annexed. Don't worry, though. He drops in frequently," said Tess with a smile.
Susan looked mollified.
"In addition to that," Tess continued, "I have received instruction from the great lion Aslan. He said that when you return, which you obviously have, you are to join me in ruling Narnia."
After this happy reunion, Tess had the each of the Pevensie's quarters refilled with royal furniture and clothing. All the Narnians were summoned to Cair Paravel to witness the prompt re-coronation of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.
The following night, the coronation ball was held. Susan danced with Caspian, but they disappeared into the garden around eleven o'clock. Peter, being a flighty romantic, danced with nearly every girl in the room (but, of course, didn't go anywhere near Tess, because even he recognized that Edmund was the better swordsman), and maybe even kissed some of them. Lucy just had fun, talking to everyone, smiling the whole time.
Tess and Edmund danced for a while, laughing and spinning. They later sat down for dinner, but hardly touched their food, because they were staring into each other's eyes and talking.
"So how have things been since I left?' asked Edmund.
"Sad. I mean, the country really has prospered, but I was angry and sad the whole time."
"Same with me. It's a miracle that I got through my examinations. Although my French grade was abysmal… but it always was, really(AN Heh, sounds like me)."
"French? What is French?"
"French? Oh, it's a language that is spoken in some parts of my world."
"Oh, I see. Here, we are schooled in languages such as Calormene, Athabrian, Shairin, and Domor."
"We had some dealings with the ruler of Domorra long ago."
"I hope they were pleasant ones."
"Not really. He was a bit of a toad."
At this, Tess burst into laughter.
"That's definitely not a good thing," she said, calm at last. "Neither is the one today. And his son, Domeres is just nasty, he's well hated. He's even hated by his own father. Anyhow, I'm only fluent in Shairin."
"That's good. Can you say something? I don't think I've ever heard Shairin before. But that's probably because Shairi broke free from Athabria just after we left."
"Mayore-la aemres taio (AN BAM. I made that up all by myself)."
"It's a pretty language. What does that mean?"
"I love you.'
"Et je t'adore aussi."
"Is that French? What does it mean?"
"Yes. And it means 'and I love you too'."
Tess smiled and kissed Edmund on the cheek.
That night, after the ball, Tess stayed in Edmund's royal quarters. She crawled into his bed as he was walking into the room.
"Aren't you going to wear pajamas?" she asked. Edmund was still wearing his day clothes.
"Oh yeah. Forgot about that, what with all my years of sleeping on the couch," he grinned. Edmund pulled off his tunic and climbed in to bed.
"Shirtless. I can deal with that," Tess laughed (and she could, because Edmund had very nice muscles).
"Haha. And they say I'm a perv."
Tess giggled and hit him over the head with her pillow.
"Anyway. I know this is an awkward question, but are we still getting married?"
Tess moved closer to him on the bed and touched his cheek gently, looking into his eyes.
"What do you think the answer is, Ed?"
"Good. I'm happy. Because you know I can't live without you."
Tess smiled, and lay back on her silken pillow, curled up close to Edmund.
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Thunder crashed. Lighting lit up the dark hallways of Ayercha (AN Pronounced eye-yair-kuh) Castle. The prince of Domorra sat in is study, reading a book intently. Suddenly, the study doors flew open.
"Prince Domeres (AN Proncounced doe-mee-reez)! The four rulers of old have again returned to Narnia! Now is our time to act," said the man at the door.
Domeres turned to him, his face bright.
"Is the king of old known as Edmund the Just among them?"
"Of course, your highness."
"Good, good," Domeres drawled wickedly. "Have there been reports of his relationships between him and the Tesaklara girl?"
"Our spy tells me that they can't be separated. In her words, 'It seems as if their lives depend on each other'."
"Excellent. Truly excellent."
"May I ask why, my liege?'
Domeres strode over to the window, gazing out across the jagged and barren Piantra Mountains.
"You see, Cyllis, once I have finished off my dear father, Eosus, I inherit the throne. I will have more power to gain the land of Narnia. The Domorran economy will burst what with all the new resources. And, more importantly, I will have control over all the magic of the blasted place. Do you know what one can do with such magic, Cyllis? Many, many things. But, the one thing I need to do to set the ball in motion is take Queen Tesaklara from King Edmund."
"I still don't see the point of separating the two."
"You said that our spy reported that their lives depended on each other. If the girl is taken away from the king, he will crumble, become useless, depressed. Maybe even dead. Anyhow, the reign of the other three will crumble as well. They simply can't do without him. He's the one responsible for the majority of the success of the country in the days of old. King Peter was always off with some girl. A good king, he was, but not very focused. So you see, Cyllis, the relationship between the king and queen is a mere convenience to us. A convenience that will be taken advantage of."
"I see," grinned Cyllis. "I must say, Prince, or King, I should say, Domeres, that is quite a plan. I daresay that it is your best, sire."
"Tell me something I don't know, Cyllis."
A/N Gasp, it's an evil, egotistical, power-hungry prince of a failing prince with a plan to bring down our lovely Narnia! Oh no! But yeah. I know this chapter wasn't my best, but I had the build the base of the story. Otherwise, you wouldn't get the rest of the story at all. Anyway, keep reading, my monkeys! And keep me posted on your thoughts. Soon, I'll need some characters. I'll try to put as many as I can in, but don't start imagining just yet. Love you all!
Thanks to QueenOfSparrabeth for not paying attention to my story but helping me through all my tough spots, you lovable chunk of annoyingness, you!