Summer, Year I of the Golden Age

Susan was stuck.

It was wholly embarrassing and quite unfit for a queen, but she was, and it was mostly her fault and just slightly her little sister's. She crept to the edge of the rock again, looking over in the hope that it might have grown a little shorter or the waters rose a little since last she looked, but to no avail. The outcropping was just half a mile southwest of the castle, but it lay hidden behind a sharp turn in the path, destroying all hope that a passerby might see her. She sighed, and sat back on her heels, wishing with all her heart that she had never come up with this idea in the first place.

It had just been a small gesture, she'd thought, a nice thought that would make Lucy happy. A smile came to her lips at the thought of her sister; opening herself to trust in Lucy, not just as innocent child but as steadfast confidante and sister queen, had opened them to a relationship she'd thought lost long ago, a hazy memory of the time when they were both too young to particularly care who was older and who younger, two little girls running around a house playing... but that companionship had faded over time, until they were sisters in name only, loved but not truly trusted and known. But now she found herself constantly caught up in astonishment at the brilliance of her sister's suggestions, the simple faith of her heart.

Which, she thought with a sigh, was how she'd ended up here. Lucy had been wanting some kelp from these high rocks for days, eager to offer them to the playful, enigmatic Mer-people (who were quite able to dance and sing at their parties but quite unable to hold conversations of more than a single syllable) in the hopes of eliciting conversation. Sometimes Susan thought Lucy would not rest till she had made friends with every creature in this blessed land, and she was thankful for it.

She'd just wanted to give Lu a little help, get the kelp since Lu was so occupied with the new litter of kittens now tumbling all over the stables. They were the first litter born after the long winter, and portents of hope for all who saw them, not least the youngest queen, who had fallen head over heels in love upon setting eyes on them. Which was why Susan, not Lucy, had walked down to these rocks this sunny afternoon, thinking it a simple thing to pick some kelp and return- not even an errand in need of an escort.

She hadn't counted on the fragile stack slipping, knocked off balance by her light step, and the moment she'd made it to the outermost rock, the middle section had fallen through, crumbling into the sea. Now she was stuck- quite safe, she thought, for the outermost stone sat upon solid foundations, but unable to get off - strong swimmer she might be, but she did not know how deep the water below was, and she was not going to crack her head on the seabed from an ill-advised dive. At least it wasn't raining.

She let out a soft groan. She was in no great danger, she knew, but the long, uncertain wait was wearing on her. Would anyone notice she was gone? But with the many duties the four now shouldered, it was common that they would not know one another's exact schedules, and often the first time they could all meet together in certainty was the evening meal. She and Lucy were often together during the day, it was true, but over the past week Lucy had been playing with the kittens while drafting a plan for accommodating the rapidly expanding population - all the spring babies were growing, and space seemed to always be running out - while Susan was stuck in the library laboriously researching Narnian education (her siblings had groaned in concert when she asked if Narnia had a dictionary, but they all acknowledged the importance of knowledge). In fact, it was too much dust and old texts that had driven her out into the sunshine on this ill-begotten quest in the first place, and now it seemed no one would miss her until evening.

The thought made her sigh again, before she sat up straight, firmly shaking her head. No indeed, she was Queen Susan of Cair Paravel and she was certainly not going to stay stuck on a rock barely a stone's throw from aforementioned castle!

But what was she to do? Calling out had not worked, for the path was not well travelled, and few would frequent it at the height of summer's heat. She rubbed sweat from her eyes and frowned, eyes falling onto the kelp she had managed to gather. A thought formed, and she almost laughed at her own foolishness.

Kelp was treasured among the Mer-people precisely because it grew well on high rocks, which they could not reach from the water. But drawn by the promise of it, they often swam around the areas, and though they need not break the surface, they might indeed be beneath it. All she needed... was to call them.

She had called to the road, but not to the waters, and now she laid on her front, head just sticking out over the edge.

"Good Mer-people!"

Silence reigned for a while, but then a telltale bubble rose to the surface, and she smiled.

"Your queen calls you forth!"

Barely had the words left her mouth when the waters parted, revealing three identical, laughing faces. They were young, she noted, and pretty, their hair streaming behind them.

She opened her mouth, then paused, and considered. Here, perhaps, was as chance to speak with these strange people, and learn more of them. "What are your names?"

A stream of bubbling noises ensued, their own language unable to withstand air. She sighed. This was the reason for the deeply limited conversations - either they marshalled their efforts, getting out one word at a time, or the humans ducked underwater to hear, able only to catch phrases before they came up for air. And yet...

She pursed her lips. And pointed.

The rightmost Mermaid looked startled for a moment, the laughter fading.

"You first," Susan announced. "Then you. Then you." She swung round to the others. "Just- imitate the noises, one at a time, all right? Please try." It was a strange idea, but a solution had to be found. It wasn't just Lucy's friendliness being thwarted - treaties of the seas needed to formed as well, and it was difficult enough to find Fish who were willing to come to the surface. They had hoped for Mer-people to be their go-betweens, even unto the deep seas, but unless they themselves could communicate well, it would not work.

The young Mermaids exchanged looks, evidently bewildered by this command, but nodded.

"El..." The rightmost mermaid pointed at herself, then trailed off, elbowing the next.

"Sa..."

"Ya..."

"Elsaia?" Susan tried, fervently hoping she wasn't mispronouncing too badly. A shock ran through the three, then the right one- Elsaia! - leapt clear out of the water, laughing in delight. A disbelieving smile burst across Susan's face.

Beaming, too, the Mermaids pressed closer. Eager now, the second one's name - Pearl - was a little harder, if only because they couldn't tell if it was one syllable or not, and Susan tried 'Purr', 'Peer' and 'Pale' before she got it. Practiced now, the third's was easy - Shae - and the three were clearly delighted with this new idea, and positively overflowing with things to say. They were extraordinarily synchronised, in mind and body, Susan thought, as she watched them rippling back and forth, thoughts flowing from one to the other as easily as water. No other Species could have done this - but the Mer-people, in being one with the waves, were one with each other as well, and they were very able to speak their thoughts together.

"What does our queen command?" The question came easier than she'd have thought, and their voices sounded almost like water, Susan thought, rushing against the rocks. But she hesitated over this.

"Fetch someone from the beach east of here," she decided finally. "Tell them I am... well... unable to get off this rock, and to please send a Gryphon, if they can."

The three ducked beneath the waters, murmuring, and she wondered if they had gone for a moment, when they surfaced again, smiling and laughing as always.

"Does the queen trust her people?" they called, or sang, as the waters lapped the shores. "Will she let them bear her hence?"

The strange rhythm of their voices lulled Susan, but she shook herself. "I... Good Mermaids, I cannot leave this rock. It is too high - though dearly would I like to be carried by your waves."

Laughter greeted her statement, and when they replied, they sounded more than ever entities of the sea, extensions of the ocean. "The waters are the Lion's, as much as we, lady queen. It will not harm you, and our arms will catch you. May we bear you?"

Susan swallowed, hands grasping the rough rock. It seemed a terribly long way down. And the Mermaids were young, if enthusiastic. Did they know what they were doing? Was it true? Suppose she leapt and crushed them all!

"The song of the Sea quickens our blood, majesty!" She looked down, into three suddenly serious faces. "In these our waters, none shall come to harm if not by our leave." Their arms opened, outstretched, beckoning.

Susan took a deep breath. What was Narnia, but a long series of taking chances, and leaping on faith?

"Your queen trusts your word, given in the Lion's name!"

And she jumped.

For a split second she was hurtling through empty air, her heart thunderous, her stomach turning over. Then, inexplicably gently, she came to a stop- or not a complete stop, for she was still swaying slightly, moving with the waves. She slowly relaxed, tension leeching from her body, and laughed incredulously. She wasn't even wet. Three strong pairs of arms bore her up, and she could hear laughter from below her.

So it was that in the first year after the long winter, at the height of summer, activities near the East Coast of Cair Paravel were brought to a sudden halt, all eyes on the seas as her Majesty the Queen Susan arrived, gliding serenely atop the waters, not a hair out of place.

This discovery, of course, sparked a new and lasting friendship between the Mer-people and the Royals, and Queen Susan was established as the favourite of the ocean's children. I just wanted to end this chapter with the image of everyone on the beach stopping to gape at Susan arriving in state, though!