Tarnished Crown

Lucian quickly proved to be better company than other members of the royal court, and Caspian was more than happy to spend time with him when the little prince insisted. It was a delightful bonus that Isabelle was the one forced to bring Lucian to the various places they chose to meet. Even if she did mostly ignore Caspian, instead reading her books and keeping an eye on Lucian.

After their art session by the creek, they then chose the sprawling fountain in the center of the village just outside Little Aveling. Lucian was "in the mood to draw people" that day. Lucian sprawled on his stomach along the fountain's edge while Isabelle sat primly near him. Caspian simply sat on the ground, not much caring if he got dust or dirt on his fine clothes.

"See? Caspian doesn't keep his clothes clean when he's drawing," Lucian said, sounding triumphant. Isabelle sighed and rolled her eyes while Caspian chuckled. He sketched people walking by while Lucian furiously smeared paint across his own paper, waiting for Caspian to finish sketching so he could paint in the faces and clothes. As soon as Caspian was done, Lucian snatched it up and studied it.

"Hey you're not so bad, for someone who doesn't use paint," he remarked. He scrunched up his face, looking from the parchment to his paints and then up at the crowd of people. Then he set to work, remarkably getting even the colors on the ladies' dresses right. Caspian leaned back against the fountain, eyeing a group of children playing nearby. Some were commoners from the villagers, others he was pretty certain were Elbian noble children.

The boys were pretending to be knights, fighting off a horde of ferocious dragons. Most of the girls screamed and his behind the boys in mock terror. But one little village girl refused to hide.

"I want to fight the dragons too!" she declared. "I want to be a knight!"

"You can't be a knight," one of the boys scoffed. "You're a girl."

"Yeah, girls can only be princesses and witches," another boy added. Caspian heard Belle snap her book shut but he was already on his feet and strolling casually over to the children.

"Who told you girls can't be knights?" he asked.

"They just...can't," the little boy said, looking puzzled by the question. Caspian knelt down so he was on their eye level.

"Let me tell you something," he said in a conspiratorial whisper. "The Queen of Aegaera can throw a knife with more accuracy than any man. And the princess can, I've heard, throw a mean punch. And another noble lady I know is smarter than anyone else you'll ever meet; she has battle strategies and combat techniques memorized better than actual knights. Don't be so quick to underestimate girls, young sir. They're capable of far more than you can imagine."

He turned to the little girl with a smile. "What's your name?"

"Sarah Kettle, sir." She curtsied politely.

"Well, Sarah Kettle, I hereby dub you an honorary knight." He solemnly took the pencil he was still holding and tapped it once on each of her shoulders. She beamed.

"Now go fight some dragons," he added with a wink. Sarah snatched one of the sticks the boys had been using as swords and darted off, the other kids shouting and following after her. Caspian strolled back to the fountain and sat down, Isabelle watching him with suspicion.

"What was all that?" she asked.

"I made Sarah Kettle a knight," Caspian replied, shrugging. Isabelle blinked in surprise.

"You what?"

"I don't think it's wise to teach children to exclude one another from things, do you?"

"No," she said slowly, still eyeing him uncertainly. "I suppose not."

"You need to come visit again," Lucian insisted when it was time to pack up and return home. "My parents are having another party, because it's the anamercery of them taking over the throne and getting married."

"Is it really?" Caspian suppressed a smile. "Well I'm afraid they haven't invited me, Lucian-"

"I'm inviting you!" Lucian said firmly. "So you can come."

"Lucian," Isabelle said in exasperation.

"Mama said Caspian can come back whenever I want," Lucian said stubbornly. "Please Caspian?"

"I will do my best to make an appearance." Caspian saluted and Lucian seemed satisfied. Caspian parted ways with them at the gate, bowing graciously.

"Thank you for the lovely afternoon," he said, shooting Isabelle an amused look as she rolled her eyes. He knew she probably didn't want him at the party, but he had promised Lucian he'd try to go. He'd already formed a soft spot for the little guy. So he changed into something that wasn't covered in dust and that evening made his way to the castle. He didn't have any problems getting in; since it was a celebration for all of Aegaera it wasn't as elite of a guest list as some of the other parties.

It didn't take long for Lucian to squirm away from his mother and hop down from the throne dais, dashing to Caspian.

"You came! They made me wear my nicest clothes so Daddy hid my paints for tonight." Lucian looked affronted by this.

"The injustice," Caspian said seriously.

"Caspian, how nice of you to attend." Queen Lily appeared before him. "I'm sorry if Lucian is running you ragged."

"Not at all. He and I have become quite good friends."

Lily scooped Lucian up into her arms, leading Caspian back to the head of the room to chat with him about what he and Lucian did. She kicked King Alec to get him to stop slouching. Isabelle sat on his other side, talking to Annemarie and Joshua, ignoring Caspian entirely. A commotion at the door drew everyone's attention.

"Out of my way, cretins. I have business to attend to."

Caspian suppressed a grin, recognizing the voice. A gorgeous young woman shoved her way through the crowd, dark eyes scanning the room. She was dressed in a sleeveless black gown that flaunted a figure that tended to make people forget she was only sixteen. She spotted Caspian and her face broke into a dazzling smile.

"Caspian!" she called, sweeping across the room. "It's been too long." She launched herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"Hello, Lara. Where's Harrison?"

"Harrison!" Lara shouted. "I found Caspian, where are you?"

A tall man with the same dark brown eyes and hair came hurrying through the crowd, muttering apologies as he went.

"I was feeding that beast you call a dog," he said, adjusting his glasses.

"Baby is not a beast," Lara said indignantly. Caspian raised his brows.

"She brought Baby? How'd you even manage that?"

"She commissioned a special carriage large enough for him to fit," Harrison muttered.

"Lara, if my memory serves correctly, aren't you supposed to be on your way back to Elbis to be courted by the illustrious Lord Ackenberry?"

"Yes. But I decided I didn't want to. So I came here to find you instead." Lara beamed. Caspian threw a look at Harrison, who raised his hands in surrender.

"I tried to stop her," he said. Caspian continued to stare at him. "Okay, well, I thought about trying to stop her," Harrison amended. "Then I remembered that you can't cage a hurricane and got the hell in the carriage when she told me to."

Caspian laughed. "You're a wise man, Harrison."

"I am starving, and the Aegaerans put out fruit platters," Lara complained, surveying the banquet table. "I mean really."

"Do you remember when I said all the Everhart's were here?" Caspian heard Annemarie mutter. "I wasn't entirely right about that."

"Oh, yes." Caspian turned to the baffled-looking Aegaeran royals. "These are my cousins, Harrison and Lara Everhart."

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesties," Harrison said, bowing. He nudged his sister.

"Oh, right. Yeah, hi." Lara gave a half-hearted curtsy and Harrison massaged his temples. Lara linked arms with him and Caspian.

"So instead of spending my summer hiding from some stuffy ignoramus old enough to be my father, I was thinking Harry and I could stay with you." She smiled innocently.

"Your mother is going to have a fit when she finds out you're here."

"I know." Her eyes twinkled. "Isn't it fantastic?"

Caspian laughed again. "All right, you can stay with me."

Lara clapped. "This is going to be the best summer ever!" She jumped and half-hid behind Caspian as Lucian toddled up to her.

"I forgot they had a...little person," Lara remarked, eyeing Lucian as though he was a strange animal.

"He's just a kid, Lara. He's not going hurt you."

"You know I'm not good with small people."

"Or regular sized people," Harrison muttered. Lara tried to edge further away from Lucian as he stared up at her in fascination. She held Caspian in front of her like some kind of shield.

"Harrison, we'd best go find Caspian's house and make ourselves at home," she said. "And find some real food."

"Lara," Harrison hissed. Lara ignored him, releasing Caspian and turning to run smack into the military boy who was always tagging along after Isabelle. He blinked, his face turning red as be stammered out an apology.

"Don't look so nervous," Lara teased. "I don't bite. Hard." She winked and sauntered from the room while Harrison rolled his eyes. The music and chatter had started back up again; Caspian heard Lara's name mentioned among the Elbian elite. He clapped Harrison on the shoulder.

"Good to see you again, cousin."