"I wonder if she uses her beauty to stop wars, or to start them. She's beautiful enough to do either."
~ Recalling the Cry ~ a Narnia fanfic by BrokenKestrel.
I was wandering along the seashore on a summer’s morn when I stumbled upon one of the most hauntingly beautiful scenes I have ever beheld. It was pure happenstance—a fleeting notion, a whisper in the mind—that drew me to the shores of Narnia at the break of dawn.
And there, I saw her.
No song sung in the courts, no tale spun by firelight, no rumor carried by the wind could ever capture even a glimmer of her beauty.
Under the newborn light of morning, as the sea whispered its eternal lullaby and the waves glowed with the blush of pearl and rose, the older Queen of Narnia stood still and silent upon the sands. She was robed in a simple gown of white, as modest as it was elegant. Her long black hair, which in court was always braided and bound with regal precision, now danced freely upon the breeze. The light of dawn crowned her with a purity so radiant, it stilled the breath.
Her guards lingered at a respectful distance—close enough to protect, yet far enough to grant her the solitude that a monarch might seldom know.
I had no wish to disturb that private moment. I meant to withdraw quietly, unseen. But just as I turned, the Queen stirred, as if the sea itself had whispered that her vigil was complete. She turned to face the waking world.
In that instant, my heart faltered.
Her eyes—blue as the deep sea, and no less fathomless—seized my very soul.
I bowed hastily, then—shamefully, clumsily—fled, my face aflame, my composure lost to the wind. And though years may pass, and my youth fade like mist upon the tide, I shall never forget the hush of that morning.
In that moment, I understood why princes from far-flung realms longed for the Gentle Queen of Narnia, and why her brothers, the Kings, were so fiercely protective of their sister.
♧ From the Private Journal of Lord Alves, Son of the Envoy of the Island Kingdom of Norhem, during the official visit to Cair Paravel ♧
