[ He has actually looked, though not with any great efficacy. ]
I know Athos would be more comfortable with that. Neither of us are used to lifting things off racks.
[ He says that as though it's an entirely foreign concept, which of course to him it is. Pre-made clothes, none of which fit terribly well and are so thin they must need replacing every couple of months? He can't believe this is what people prefer. ]
Shall I saddle your horse? Until I get my hands on one of those cars they have here, it's the fastest way we have.
I did not know you were interested in cars! Did Athos tell you I saved him from being killed by one, his first day here?
[She should focus on getting ready, but she can't help it, it's a funny story, considering how they've all become friends. Considering how she already thinks of them as her family, here.]
[Her smile is slow, but she's trying not to laugh, really. Not because he doesn't know that, but because the memory of it is very sweet.]
Well, there are the owls, too, not the small manner of owl that live here but enormous ones, but they would not easily carry a man of your stature. You should have to befriend a griffon, and ask it quite politely, although in times of war they are quite good at accepting a rider.
[Or, you know, if you're Lucy, and you befriend and charm everyone.]
There are other flying creatures as well, but none so friendly to ride as a griffon.
[ For a moment d'Artagnan doesn't say anything; he merely smiles at her, quite awed. Then he shakes himself, and leans back. ]
You know that in my world, nothing like that exists at all. Well, owls do. But only the small ones, not big enough to ride, and certainly not griffons. Not unless you're reading a fairytale.
What else is different in Narnia, my Lady? [ Another, smaller pause. ] You don't have fairies, do you?
Your world sounds very sad, if it lacks such a thing. Like this one. As if part of the heart of the world is missing.
[She thinks about it for a minute.]
No, no fairies. There are the Frost Giants, in the north, they wage war with us whenever they can. And the fauns, of course, there are the centaurs, although you should never ask to ride one. They take very great offense to it.
[ It genuinely sounds like a story that some indulgent mother would tell to her toddlers. It’s difficult for d’Artagnan to imagine any of that being real. He thinks about what she said, of the heart of the world being gone. ]
Perhaps it is. Giants sounds like another myth. But then everything about this world would have seemed that way to me, before I came. I wouldn’t have believed in it, and yet here I am. So perhaps I don’t know anything anymore.
[ He says that, but it’s easy to say. It’s not so easy to dispel the beliefs he still holds. Skepticism still makes it hard to believe in magic, and devils and angels, even though he has evidence of them. ]
I didn’t realise you attended at all. I think perhaps the house will be very quiet without you.
[ Not that she makes an undue amount of noise, of course. He’s just used to the sounds of life that are Lucy, and he’s never really thought about what that means before. Lucy always speaks of her loneliness, away from her brothers. Perhaps it’s she who is keeping d’Artagnan company, and not the other way around. ]
[ But he looks at her closely then. It's not what she said, but the effect that her own words seemed to have on her. He doesn't know why it would have surprised her like that. Perhaps the memory is vague. ]
It's not unusual for the children of royalty to be sent for schooling elsewhere. Perhaps that is what happened. Don't you remember it?
[She doesn't really remember her own parents, really. She knows she has them, she remembers small things - her mother's embrace, her father's laugh, but she doesn't remember much else.]
I do not know why I have such trouble recalling the time before the war, but I do. Peter - ah, the High King, he must remember more, but no matter.
[ D'Artagnan frowns a little. Perhaps the war had been more traumatic than he yet understands. Perhaps something else had happened. Regardless, it strikes him as strange, and he shakes his head. ]
Perhaps you'll be able to ask him, some day.
That must be strange, remembering so little of those days. When was the war, my Lady?
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[ He has actually looked, though not with any great efficacy. ]
I know Athos would be more comfortable with that. Neither of us are used to lifting things off racks.
[ He says that as though it's an entirely foreign concept, which of course to him it is. Pre-made clothes, none of which fit terribly well and are so thin they must need replacing every couple of months? He can't believe this is what people prefer. ]
Shall I saddle your horse? Until I get my hands on one of those cars they have here, it's the fastest way we have.
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[She considers it and nods-]
Yes, please, but oh-
I did not know you were interested in cars! Did Athos tell you I saved him from being killed by one, his first day here?
[She should focus on getting ready, but she can't help it, it's a funny story, considering how they've all become friends. Considering how she already thinks of them as her family, here.]
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Athos doesn’t. [ Which is not surprising, considering what Lucy’s telling him now. ] He told me half of that story. Is that how you met?
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[She says that as though she's saying you've never gone horseback riding, but then she realizes-]
Oh! There are no flying creatures in France?
[She looks genuinely surprised, because here, where there's so little of home, but-]
Have they all been hunted away?
[She's so distracted she doesn't even think of her half of Athos' rescue.]
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There are birds. It's not as if they can take you flying with them.
[ So what does that mean, that there's something that could take her flying? He leans forward, interest suddenly morphing its way onto his face. ]
Why? What do they have in Cair Paravel?
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[Her smile is slow, but she's trying not to laugh, really. Not because he doesn't know that, but because the memory of it is very sweet.]
Well, there are the owls, too, not the small manner of owl that live here but enormous ones, but they would not easily carry a man of your stature. You should have to befriend a griffon, and ask it quite politely, although in times of war they are quite good at accepting a rider.
[Or, you know, if you're Lucy, and you befriend and charm everyone.]
There are other flying creatures as well, but none so friendly to ride as a griffon.
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You know that in my world, nothing like that exists at all. Well, owls do. But only the small ones, not big enough to ride, and certainly not griffons. Not unless you're reading a fairytale.
What else is different in Narnia, my Lady? [ Another, smaller pause. ] You don't have fairies, do you?
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[She thinks about it for a minute.]
No, no fairies. There are the Frost Giants, in the north, they wage war with us whenever they can. And the fauns, of course, there are the centaurs, although you should never ask to ride one. They take very great offense to it.
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Perhaps it is. Giants sounds like another myth. But then everything about this world would have seemed that way to me, before I came. I wouldn’t have believed in it, and yet here I am. So perhaps I don’t know anything anymore.
[ He says that, but it’s easy to say. It’s not so easy to dispel the beliefs he still holds. Skepticism still makes it hard to believe in magic, and devils and angels, even though he has evidence of them. ]
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Oh, because in your land, they are!
[She answers her own question, and then she thinks about it, hard, for a long moment.]
I do wish they were but myth.
I think you know very much. I come here and I have felt very ignorant at my lessons.
[Which she actually does attend, thank you.]
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[ He's thinking about David and Goliath. Even Goliath hadn't been a Frost Giant, though. ]
You're being kind, my Lady.
Where do you take lessons? At the school I've heard talk about?
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[She pauses. It's been very strange, to go to school, but there's something familiar about it, too.]
Not now, for they have summers with no classes at all, but soon I think I may return. I do not do well with idleness.
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[ Not that she makes an undue amount of noise, of course. He’s just used to the sounds of life that are Lucy, and he’s never really thought about what that means before. Lucy always speaks of her loneliness, away from her brothers. Perhaps it’s she who is keeping d’Artagnan company, and not the other way around. ]
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Why, d'Artagnan. I'm sure I hear you telling me you are worried you will grow lonely without me here, during the day.
[She keeps talking, without thinking-]
I think I have been to school before, but I was sent away for it. Before I was crowned, when I was very little.
[-wait.
She stops, then, looks a little alarmed.]
Anyway, I am glad I do not have to be sent away for this schooling.
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[ But he looks at her closely then. It's not what she said, but the effect that her own words seemed to have on her. He doesn't know why it would have surprised her like that. Perhaps the memory is vague. ]
It's not unusual for the children of royalty to be sent for schooling elsewhere. Perhaps that is what happened. Don't you remember it?
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[She doesn't really remember her own parents, really. She knows she has them, she remembers small things - her mother's embrace, her father's laugh, but she doesn't remember much else.]
I do not know why I have such trouble recalling the time before the war, but I do. Peter - ah, the High King, he must remember more, but no matter.
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Perhaps you'll be able to ask him, some day.
That must be strange, remembering so little of those days. When was the war, my Lady?
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If he were to come here, I would ask him many things, but I think I would still avoid the subject.
[That's not a reprimand, it's simply an observation on her part.]
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Forgive me. I should not be prying.
I am sorry for your loss, my Lady.