Watching the Stars

The years in Telmar did not pass like those of years on Earth. For one, the summers were long and hot and balmy, and the women usually cooked good feasts because food was good in the summer. The winters were never harsh, and spring and autumn, the in-between seasons, weren’t so bad as well.

Also, the people in Telmar knew not of the land of Earth. They only knew of their kingdom Telmar, the soil that they slept on, and perhaps other lands in Narnia, like Archenland or Calormen, if they were lucky to have learned.

Now was the summer of when Caspian would turn 19, and it was past the spring when Estella turned 17.

Caspian was now used to handling swords, wearing armor and keeping his hair a little long, brown waves flying in the wind when he rode his horse Destrier. He could successfully beat someone in a duel, because his confidence was quite high for a future king.

However, Estella did not learn to ride horses, or be brave. She learned to cook and clean from her mother. She learned nothing else, or so it appeared to everyone else.

Late at night, Caspian and Estella would meet secretly by the castle gates and travel up to the towers where Doctor Cornelius had shown Caspian the stars. There, Caspian would tell her all the lessons that he knew, even though it was dangerous for a commoner to be inside the castle, especially late at night with the prince.

Estella’s personality was one not best kept cleaning and cooking all the time. She had a sense of adventure to her, and after hearing the tales about Narnia from Caspian, she knew that she wanted to go there. Caspian promised that one day, he’d put her on a horse and he would bring her to see what was left of Narnia, because it both fascinated them.

Now was the middle of the day, and Estella had just finished off hanging laundry in the midday sun. Her long, dark brown hair hung out of her face, folded into thick braids reaching the middle of her back. It wasn’t long before Caspian arrived on his horse, panting from the heat of the sun.

“Estella,” Caspian grinned, his dark eyes meeting her dark eyes as well. “There is good news!”

There was always some form of good news from Caspian. It was because he was prince and never worried about his chores, unlike Estella, who would probably do chores for the rest of her life.

“What is it, Caspian?” Estella groaned. Her back ached from reaching down to the laundry basket, and reaching back up to the clothing lines.

“I’m going to have a festival, for my birthday,” Caspian replied, jumping off of his horse. “The people from other lands are invited. There’s going to be music and food all night long, so we can all watch the stars!”

Estella didn’t know what was the reason for Caspian’s infatuation (and obsession) with the stars. He would complain all day long about the sun being too hot, and not being able to see the twinkling beauties. But at night, sometimes during Estella’s secret lessons, Caspian would point something out in the sky that didn’t interest her.

But she was afraid that if she insulted his stars, he would not like to be her friend anymore. She didn’t have many friends, just some of the other Telmarine girls who worked all day long as well.

“Good for you,” Estella muttered, picking up her laundry basket. “Any other reason you stopped by? Lunch, maybe? I’m making your favourite.”

“Good,” Caspian breathed. “I guess I’ll stay. I was riding near the forest today, maybe trying to catch a glimpse of the creatures that the professor told me about—”

“Caspian!” Estella scolded, like she was older and wiser than he. “You shouldn’t go near there! There are ghosts, and I won’t lose my best friend to ghosts!”

Caspian blushed and laughed a little when she said that, but Estella didn’t notice, for her back was turned. She set up a few plates for lunch.

“Do not interrupt your prince!” Caspian garbled in his joking royal voice, one that he used to make Estella laugh. It was also a way of secretly letting out that he was prince, as a reminder. “Anyways, I was riding down there, and my horse jumped at the slightest ruffle of a bush. My horse is too scared for that. Besides, I was also trying to see if there were any ruins of that... that Cair Paravel place, where the old kings and queens were.”

“Caspian, you’re crazy,” Estella shook her head at him. “The kings and queens are gone, you told me that. They aren’t going to appear again. The place is ruins, Caspian. Do you forget your heritage?”

Sometimes that was Estella’s way of relieving the fact that Caspian came from a line of leaders who destroyed anything in their path to get what they wanted. Estella hoped that Caspian was not like that.

“Oh, don’t play that game with me,” Caspian laughed. “I’m starved.”

“Don’t say that,” Estella warned playfully as she set down a plate of toasted bread with a foreign type of jam, “You’ll never be starving. They won’t let you.”

Caspian gave her a funny look, and then stuffed the toast into his mouth. “This gets better every time you make it, I honestly have to steal that recipe from you and give it to the castle cook.”

“You aren’t stealing my mother’s recipes,” Estella joked as she sat across the table from Caspian with her own plate of toast with jam, and some cool water. “And gosh, don’t you learn manners from Cornelius? Or does he not teach you at all? Don’t talk with your mouth full!”

Caspian feigned a glare, and then opened his mouth, half-crumbled toast still being half chewed.

“Honestly, Caspian!” Estella cried, shielding her eyes. “That’s disgusting! Do that again and you’re not welcome in my house.”

“I’ll come in if I want, you know your mother likes me,” Caspian chuckled. And then he whispered under his breath, “Because I’m prince.”

It had gotten to his head, but Caspian didn’t want to admit that. He loved the thrill that he might rule his kingdom next, and be Caspian the tenth, King of Telmar. The title made him giddy like a little girl, and while he did giggle on his own sometimes, he kept to his ‘princely duties’, as Estella usually called them.

As Caspian wiped his mouth with a napkin, he asked himself out loud (which was a bad habit), “Why did I even come here again?”

“I don’t know, to annoy me maybe?” Estella suggested. Caspian smiled.

“Oh, right. You’re invited to my grand old birthday party.” Caspian announced in between bites of toast, “So wear your best outfit and tell your mom that you probably won’t be home for 4 in the morning chores, or whatever you do at 4 in the morning.”

Estella nearly choked. “Caspian! I can’t go to your party. This is my best outfit. I can’t go when a bunch of people who are... never mind. I do have chores to do at 4 in the morning.”

“People who are what?” Caspian set down his toast. “People who are rich? Royal? Why would it matter?”

“I don’t want to be seen with you. Not when you’re you and I’m me. What if they laugh because you invited someone who wasn’t rich or royal?” Estella was embarrassed. She hid her blushing face from Caspian.

“But... you’ve been my friend for years! I’m not going to let you...” Caspian sat back and then looked at Estella once again. “Wait, you don’t have 4 in the morning chores! And you came to my party last...”

Caspian realized that she’d never actually showed up at the parties. They’d just get together and have a party on their own, like walking outside of Telmar, chit-chatting away. It hadn’t really struck Caspian that hard. But this year, Miraz and his wife were going to be away because of the baby coming soon, and the castle was to be locked and supervised.

“Estella!” Caspian cried. “You have to come. In fact, as prince, I make it an order for you to come. There.” Caspian almost put his feet up on the table, but he remembered that Estella hated cleaning things that she’d already cleaned. And she’d probably mention that a prince like him should have good manners.

“Caspian...” But Estella was speechless. She couldn’t say no, or else if she disobeyed an order of the prince (no matter how stupid the order) she’d be banned from Telmar, or something worse like that. Caspian probably wouldn’t force it on her, but there was always a chance that he might...

Caspian leaned forward, using his taunting voice, “I’ll buy you a gown so that you can wear it to the festival.”

“I can’t pay for that—”

“I’ll pay for it for you! Besides, I think that the birthday gift that I gave you isn’t working out.” Caspian cast a glance at the window, where a plant lay in a pot. It was some foreign plant from when Caspian had been brave enough to travel into the woods (hardly stepping in, but grabbing a beautiful flower). Estella had just admired his bravery, and knew that the flower would die off in a while because Telmar’s weather conditions weren’t quite like the forest.

“Caspian, I hate you,” Estella groaned. Her eyes narrowed at him, “I guess I’ll let my mother do my 4 in the morning chores.”

“Great,” Caspian clapped his hands together. “I guess I have to leave. Cornelius will probably be waiting for me—”

“You’re still playing that childish game of skipping lessons?”

“Well, no, he just thinks I’ve been out...” Caspian murmured as he stacked his empty plate on Estella’s, “Well. Thanks for lunch! And don’t forget, my party is a few days from now...”

“I can’t forget it, Caspian, your orders,” Estella replied, rolling her eyes. “Go before you get in trouble with your uncle.”

“All right, I’ll see you later!”

“Yeah, right, Caspian,” Estella breathed as he rode away on his horse.