The soft snow of Christmas turned to hard ice in a few weeks. While the others suffered cold linens at night, Lena and King Edmund found ways to keep her bed warm. There were no secrets kept in Cair Paravel, unless they pertained to matters of security, so everyone knew of Lena and King Edmund's new level of intimacy, but no one commented on it. Nalsa, however, did have a very smug look about her in the days that followed.

As the weather warmed and the ice thawed, there began to be murmurs drifting around Narnia concerning her newest princesses. More Narnians began making trips to Cair Paravel in hopes of seeing or perhaps even speaking to one of the princesses for themselves. Meri and Sara were more than happy to accomodate them. Lena thought it all rather strange, after all, they'd been in Narnia for months; they were hardly "new" anymore.

"It's because of us, me and you." King Edmund tried to explain it to Lena one afternoon in a delicate way.

"What about us?" Lena asked.

"It is because you have been mating for weeks now," Nalsa said in an exasperated manner. "The Narnians have accepted you as King Edmund's mate and your pups have become his pups now."

"They were always his pups."

"Yes, but the Narnians, like I was at first, were skeptical," King Edmund said. "Many of them do not understand the concept of marriage. They mate with different partners each season. If they mate with the same partner for consecutive seasons, then they're considered a mating pair."

"You and King Edmund have been mating all winter and many Narnians are considering your autumn courtship as part of your consecutive seasons," Nalsa continued.

"So now they see us as a pair," Lena said.

"Yes," King Edmund confirmed.

"And Narnia has two new Princesses because of it."

"Yes, and about that... My Siblings and I were discussing the matter and...we'd like to make it official."

"Official how?" Lena asked suspiciously. Edmund didn't refer to his siblings as Siblings unless it was royal business, and Lena could tell by the look he was giving her that she wasn't going to like the idea very much.

XXX

"A coronation?" Meri asked.

Lena was right. She didn't like King Edmund's idea at all. He wanted to officially crown Meri and Sara as Princesses of Narnia and name Meri as heir to the throne. Lena and Meri were in Peter's study along with King Edmund and his siblings. Sara was with Lady Bea. Lena was nursing a glass of wine during the "discussion."

"Yes," Peter replied. As High King, he had taken the lead throughout the conversation.

"You're our niece; the crown is yours by right," Lucy added.

"Yes, but..." Meri paused and looked over at Lena. "I...not by blood," she said at last.

Lena took a sip of wine and looked away from them.

"You are my daughter," King Edmund said. "In the other world and in this one. That's all the Narnians care about."

"But I... I don't know the first thing about ruling a country."

"Neither did we when Aslan chose us," Susan said.

"But unlike us then, you will have a chance to shadow Us. We will instruct you in all you need to know. You will rule as an equal alongside Us. And when we leave you will assume command as Queen of Narnia."

"You're all basing this on the assumption that she stays after you leave. You don't know that." Lena had finally heard enough and thought it was time to voice her opinion on the matter.

"We don't know that I don't either," Meri said, shooting down Lena's theory rather quickly."

"Meri..."

"Babbo wouldn't have known, Mamma," Meri pushed on. "In every story they always returned at the moment they left. We didn't come the same way Babbo came or from the same place and time. There's no way he could have known."

Lena pinched the bridge of her nose; she could feel a whopper of a headache coming on. In the other world, Little King insisted on calling Meri and Sara princesses, calling them daughters of a King. Lena had always resisted the notion, wanting to keep her daughters far from the idea of kings and great lords of a castle.

"I understand the predicament you all are in," Lena said, looking at Peter and Susan moreso than King Edmund or Lucy. Since being made aware of their inevitable departure, they had all been worried about securing the line of succession. Now, Meri was the solution. "But as her mother, my only concern is for what is best for her and Sara. I have seen how power corrupts and what some will do to obtain that power. I have seen how cruelly they can treat others. I do not wish for my daughter to be in a position of power that others will covet for themselves."

"And so have we," King Edmund said. "From the White Witch..."

"To Rabadash," Susan finished.

"Lena, none of us wants to put Meri or Sara in a position where they might be harmed," said Lucy softly.

"Which is why We will ensure they have the best training possible. From overseeing Narnia on a day-to-day basis, to commanding it's army," Peter said.

"And learning it's inhabitants, what they want and need, and what sets them apart from others," Lucy added.

"We'll make sure they know the history of Narnia, how she was created, and all the rituals and festivals that go along with it," said Susan.

"And We'll instruct them in governing fairly. They will learn the laws and learn the basis behind the laws." King Edmund turned towards Meri. "It won't be an easy task. It will be a crown you will earn as much as you inherit."

Meri nodded, and again Lena noticed a level of maturity that hadn't been there a year ago. "I know, and I'm ready to learn. Mamma, I think this is what Babbo has been preparing me for since he first began telling me about Narnia."

Lena knew she was fighting a losing battle. She could end this whole ridiculous notion with one word; Peter had agreed that to go forward with the coronation, Lena would have to give the final consent. Lena also knew that if she denied Meri this opportunity, then Meri might never forgive her for it. She doubted Little King would either. Lena didn't know how much time she or Meri would have left in Narnia, but she didn't want to spend it with Meri hating her every second.

"I won't bow to you," she said to Meri.

"It would be a curtsy, actually," Meri corrected.

"I won't do that either."

"You won't have to, Mamma. You'll be Queen M..."

"NO! No titles for me. I have been called enough things in my life. I only wish to be Mamma, Mi Amore, and Lena."

"I think we can manage that," King Edmund said.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I think I need a moment alone." Lena finished off the rest of her glass before making her exit.

When King Edmund said there would be an influx of Narnians, he wasn't lying. They came by the hoards, or perhaps herds, more Narnians than Lena had ever seen. There were Talking Beasts of all varieties, Dryads and Naiads, Gryphons and Minotaurs, and all the near human ones too, Dwarfs and Centaurs, Fauns and Satyrs. Lena had become accustomed and somewhat familiar and comfortable with the Narians who worked around the castle, but with so many new Narnians arriving for the coronation Lena found herself overwhelmed.

Coronation.

Lena still couldn't believe it. Meri and Sara, of course, were ecstatic. They spent the better part of two months reviewing the details of the ceremony, fussing over what to wear and how to style their hair, and the proper way to greet their guests, both Narnian and foreign dignitaries.

"The lead carriage has just rounded the last corner," Nalsa said. "You should make your way to the front steps."

"Are you sure you want me there, Edmund?"

"It would be rude not to greet our guests, and I know your daughters will want you there," Nalsa replied.

"What she said," King Edmund added.

"You've become quite the manipulator, Lady Wolf."

"For you, it has been a necessity," Nalsa replied with a hint of bite to her voice. When Lena looked over her shoulder at the Wolf, however, she saw a grin.

"Very well then, lead the way." Lena turned from the large window overlooking the circular courtyard and took King's Edmund's arm.

"Do you have any questions about what is to happen?" King Edmund asked.

"I have greeted Royal dignitaries before."

"Yes, but I imagine those were under different circumstances."

"And in less clothing," she muttered. King Edmund's shoulders stiffened. Lena traced the back of his hand to relax him; she thought it was endearing that he still didn't like hearing about the horrors of her Narnia. "Are you sure you want me there? I am not one of the ones being crowned."

"Of course. You are their esteemed mother and the woman I love." He kissed her cheek. "King Lune is a good man, a bit boisterous and overzealous at times, but a good man and a kind King. He and his sons are nothing like the dignitaries you were used to. And not being crowned is your choice."

"I am not fit to wear a crown."

"Neither was I once," he replied solemnly. "Fortunately for us both, Aslan is the great forgiver."

"It is done, Edmund. I'll hear no more of it."

He smiled. "You know, for one who does not wish to wear a crown, you sure like to speak with the authority of one who does."

It was Lena's turn to grin. "And don't you forget it."

"I don't think you'd let me if I tried." He kissed her hand as they separated to take their places in the reception line.

Trumpets heralded the arrival of the Archenland convoy. There were two young boys riding on white stallions leading the charge, the Princes Lena presumed. A young girl on a chestnut mare rode just behind them; Lena thought this must be the Lady Aravis, formerly of Calormen, that King Edmund had mentioned. Behind all of them, amidst a circle of guards, there was a rather round, jolly looking man on a black stallion. Lena hoped, for the stallion's sake, that the large man had not ridden all the way form Archenland and had merely come in on horse for show.

The jolly man dismounted and greeted Peter with, as King Edmund had described, a very boisterous and zealous hug. This was certainly King Lune, Lena realized. His greetings progressed similarly down the line, the Princes and Lady Aravis following him, until he reached King Edmund.

"Well met, King Edmund, and after so short a time and under much better circumstances."

"Well met indeed," King Edmund replied. "And I have the great pleasure of introducing the soon-to-be Crowned Princesses of Narnia, their Royal Highness's Meri and her sister Sara."

Lena watched with a mixture of trepidation and pride as Meri and Sara both properly greeted King Lune and his sons; Sara, of course, was a little less graceful than Meri. Then the large King turned his attention to Lena.

"And who might this rare beauty be?" he asked.

"This is the Princesses' mother, Lady Ileana."

Lena curtsied and held out her hand, allowing him to kiss her knuckles.

"Mother? Surely you jest, King Edmund. For this... Goddess cannot be more than twenty and five with the beauty that radiates from her, or my aged eyes deceive me."

To her own astonishment, Lena laughed. "You aged eyes do not deceive you, good King. For Goddess of Beauty I am, but I have not been twenty and five for nearly eight years now."

"Still, very young compared to my years," Lune said.

"Well, the best wines are the aged ones, are they not?"

King Lune laughed. "Indeed they are, my Goddess. Indeed they are."

"Shall we head inside for tea now?" Susan suggested, a smile in her voice.

"A lovely idea, Queen Susan," King Lune said, briefly giving Susan his attention only to promptly return it to Lena. "Would the Goddess mind if I escorted her in?"

Lena smiled and took his proffered arm. "Keep calling me Goddess and I don't think there's much I would mind."

They left the steps and led the way as the rest of the party trickled in behind them until only King Edmund and Peter remained. Lena was smiling and laughing the whole way.

"W-w-what just happened?" Edmund asked, scratching his head.

Peter laughed and clapped him on the back. "I think Lune just poached your mate. You might want to try telling a girl she's pretty once in a while."

"Oh, bugger off, Pete." Edmund shrugged off Peter's arm. "What would you know about it, anyway?"

"Apparently I have a son in the other world."

"I pity the woman who... Ow!" Edmund rubbed his arm where Peter had punched him.

Edmund and Peter caught up to the rest of the group in one of the parlors where an array of warm foods and sweet treats awaited them. King Lune was still flirting with Ileana.

"How do you prefer your tea, my Goddess?"

"Just a touch of honey, please. I'm not much for sweets."

"Not for sweets? What a pity. If I were a younger King, I would shower you with all the sweets our small country could afford. I might still try it if I'm not careful." King Lune laughed.

"That is very kind of you, your Grace," Ileana said as she accepted her tea. "But I'm afraid it would be a waste on me. Sweets were a... rarity for me growing up, so I never developed the taste for them."

"Tastes can be learned, my dear. Surely there must be more."

Ileana smiled at the sanguine King as everyone else settled into their seats around them. Edmund took up the seat beside her and slid his arm behind her shoulders.

"There is. You see, my heart has already been claimed by another." Ileana relaxed into his arms.

"Oh!" Lune placed a hand over his chest in dramatic fashion. "And there it is: the fatal blow. King Edmund is truly a fortunate man to have won you over."

"I consider myself to be the fortunate one, to have been found and loved by him."

"Isn't that the way it is with love though? Each party seeking to claim the fortune for finding the other. I cannot compete with love such as that, but may I still call you Goddess?"

Ileana laughed. "I might take offense if you don't." She turned and looked at Edmund. "That is one title I think I could adjust to rather easily."

"Duly noted, Lady Ileana. I will see what the laws of Narnia can allow." Edmund smirked. "Goddess might even rank above High King."

"Hmm?" Peter looked up over his cup of tea. "What was that?"

He was met with laughter.