EDMUND 

After Imira left, we all went inside Lord Henry's manor for some tea and to come up with a plan. Imira had shared everything with me, but I wanted to hear it all from Lord Henry himself.

It was a most suspicious story, the behaviour Henry related made no logical sense, but it reminded me a good deal of Prince Darren's. One thing was clear to me: something foul had taken place.

"Before announcing he was to marry Lady Danielle, Prince Darren shared with me his desire to leave her in favour of another," I share with them. "He spoke of it often during our venture and then again the night we returned. He said he was breaking up with her first thing the next morning, but after breakfast, he announced the exact opposite. It made no sense to me, neither his decision nor his behaviour, and now for some unknown reason, his brother and yours," I turn to look at Lady Thea for a moment, "are all acting the same. Whatever has affected them, it has to be linked to Prince Darren."

They nod in silent agreement, eating a biscuit or picking up their tea but say nothing. Only Lady Phoebe speaks up.

"Well, what do they have in common?" She asks quietly. This is the first time she has spoken all day, not counting the time she apologized to Imira and the time she offered me some tea.

Henry furrows his brow, thinking, and Thea shrugs.

"Well," it's obvious, isn't it? "they all went to her house," I say. "First Prince Darren to break up with her that morning and-"

"and then my brother to spy on her," Thea continues what I was about to say, looking at Lord Henry judgingly, though he misses the glance.

"An action I must say was most unlawful," I add, making my displeasure with it known. I understand what they were trying to accomplish, but there are other ways to go about it.

"And then Prince Dean to let her parents know things were off," Henry says, catching up with the rest of us. "She is the common element," He seems very pleased with that assertion, but there's a little problem with his logic...

"Only she wasn't there when Lord Roy snuck into her quarters," Lady Phoebe beats me to it. "Or when Prince Dean disguised himself as Darren. She was with Lady Thea, remember? She couldn't have done anything,"

I guess we now know who's the clever one in this house.

"That's right," I agree with Lady Phoebe, "It couldn't have been her. It's impossible,"

"But, Your Majesty, clearly she must have been involved somehow," Lady Thea turns to me, making her animosity towards Danielle very clear.

"Yes, she does seem to be the root of the problem, but she wasn't present, remember? You yourself said so, she was with you at Glasswater Creek all week long. Whatever or, more likely, whoever made them change their minds, it wasn't Lady Danielle,"

Thea doesn't look very pleased.

"However," I add, "seeing as this person, for I do believe it is a person behind your brother's and the Prince's affliction, had Lady Danielle's best interest at heart, why else would they bother making Prince Darren fall in love with her, I think we have a clear line of suspects,"

Lady Phoebe nods. It's all very obvious, isn't it?

"We do?" Lord Henry asks.

Apparently not as obvious as I thought. "Her parents,"

Who else but they would have done it. Whatever it is.

"Her parents?" Lord Henry asks with a raised eyebrow. He does not look very convinced.

Honestly, how is he Imira's advisor?! Lady Phoebe seems much more wiser to me.

"You said Dean went to inform her parents the engagement was off and then claimed to love her, despite not knowing her," I say to Henry. "And your brother," I turn to look at Thea, "he broke into her house. She may have not been there, but her parents were. And I'd bet my boots they were there the same morning the real Prince Darren went to break up with Lady Danielle. They have to be in on it. It's the only explanation. Someone in that house has done the same thing to the three of them. And who other than their parents would be interested in her marrying a prince? And they would have been successful if not for two minor details they ignored,"

"Of course! It all makes sense," Lady Phoebe says, so excited that she stands up. "They did not know Prince Darren wasn't actually Prince Darren, but his twin brother, Prince Dean,"

Isn't she the clever one?

"Exactly!" I stand up as well. At last, someone who understands! "They must have thought Prince Darren had backed out from the engagement and were trying to get him back on board,"

"But what does any of this have to do with my brother?" Thea asks us, visibly frustrated.

She is pretty and funny and nice to spend time with, but when it comes to things like these, well... she's not as cunning as Lady Phoebe apparently is.

"Nothing really. I believe your brother was an unexpected inconvenience," I say. "He must have stumbled on something important while he was, err, exploring the Doninger's residence, and whatever they did to him must have confused his mind and implanted him with these feelings for Lady Danielle,"

"Yes, only they did not know he does not fancy women," Lord Henry says, finally catching up, and stands as well. "They must have found him inside and panicked and done to him what they did to Prince Darren,"

"Exactly," I exclaim, clapping Henry's back.

"But what exactly did they do to them?" Thea asks.

Lord Henry turns to me for answers and Lady Phoebe gasps.

"You know, don't you?" I turn to her. Not counting me, she is clearly the brightest person in the room.

"They wouldn't, would they?" she whispers. Yup, she knows.

"Wouldn't what?" Thea asks now irritated.

"Shall I tell them or would you like to do it?" I ask her. She must be a worthy opponent in chess.

"Oh, Your Majesty should say it," Phoebe says. 

"What exactly is your majesty suggesting?" Henry asks, annoyed to be out of the loop.

"I believe something foul has taken place here. Something like..." I falter. I don't want to say it, but...

"Magic," Lady Phoebe finishes for me. "Something like magic," 

IMIRA 

I must have left my luck on the island because, despite everyone's best efforts to depart as soon as I ordered, the captain was just being polite and optimistic when he said we'd be ready to sail in an hour. I mean, he was ready to sail within the hour, just not on the vessel I desired. I needed the fastest ship to catch up with Lady Danielle and my cousin who had stolen our second fastest ship, the Golden Hind. I needed the Splendour Hyaline. But alas, all the sailors had gone home, the ship's sails had just been taken off to be mended, and all the cargo had been unloaded to give the entire ship a proper scrub. Captain Obheron had a smaller vessel ready, but it paled in comparison to our favourite galley.

If we are to sail to Galma, a land we don't possess, stop their wedding and force them back to Narnia, we need to show up in our best ship, not in the Flying Fox.

We had to wait a long while until the S.H. was ready to sail and while we waited I worried and worried and worried. What if we arrived too late? What if they chose to get married at sea! Oh, I should have never left Cair Paravel to begin with.

We missed dinner at the castle only by a couple of hours, it took that long to get the S.H. ready to depart. But on the positive side of things, we had enough time to gather two other ships and get some soldiers to sail with us. 

Just in case things turned ugly.

Unfortunately, because things had just been going so bloody well, a few hours after we started sailing the winds left us. And so here we are now, just floating, barely moving forward, slowly going mad (that may just be me).

When we departed, Captain O. said we might make it to Galma by tomorrow morning. If we're lucky. I don't know about you, but I don't feel very lucky.

"How much longer?" I asked Captain O. yet again. I was growing anxious at the slow progress we were making.

Captain O. sighed. I'm pretty sure he hates me now. Or at the very least finds me annoying. "The weather was perfect this morning," he said as politely as he could manage. "Had your majesties given us timely notice, we would have made it to Galma by noon," Noon?! "Had you agreed to sail on the vessel I proposed," he said a bit more grumpily this time, "we could have made it by midnight, but with this weather... not even the S.H. can make it to Galma by the end of the day,"

The news just keeps getting better by the hour.

"You do not think they could have made it by noon, could they?" I ask.

"Not by noon, no. Only the SH could get there that fast, but the winds were very favourable this morning. There is a strong possibility they may already be there. After all, they did leave at first light," Captain O. reminds me.

I turn panicked to look at Peter. The sun has already set and these puny winds are no help!

"Thank you, Captain. We'll leave you to it then," Peter says, placing a hand on my shoulder and leading me towards the main deck. "You should get some sleep. There is no point in worrying when there's nothing we can do. Look, tomorrow when you wake up we'll be there and we'll stride into the castle and stop them before they get a chance to say I do,"

"But what if we are too late? What if they've already gotten married?" It is possible.

Oh, James is going to be soo pissed. Datram is going to be in a huge mess.

"Do you really see Lady Danielle getting married in the haste of the night with no one there to see or cheer for her? Because I don't," It does sound very ridiculous when he puts it like that, she craves attention.

"She would want to make an occasion of it," I agree.

"I bet their plan is to be married tomorrow," Peter says confidently. "And by then we'll be there and stop them,"

I nod, trying to convince myself and then a huge, loud yawn escapes me.

"Now get some sleep," he laughs and places both hands on my shoulders and pushes me forward. "We have a wedding to stop tomorrow and you can't be yawning while we do it," 

EDMUND 

"Pardon me, your majesty, but that's impossible. They are not magicians. They are regular humans," Henry says.

"There are ways," Phoebe says, suddenly realizing something. Probably the same thing I already know.

After my harrowing ordeal with the White Witch, I dedicated myself to investigating more about magic. It was all I could do to come to terms with what I had done. I know it was my doing, and I take full responsibility for it, but there was something Peter mentioned, something Mr Beaver said to him, that made me rethink everything. He said I had the look of someone who had tasted the food of the Witch. I learnt a great deal from the books in the forbidden section of Cair Paravel and, although there wasn't much on the Witch, the section about potions and magical food reminded me a great deal about the turkish delight she materialized for me when I met her. I didn't realize at the moment, but it was bewitched. I suspect it amplified the negative feelings I had towards my family. If something like that could push me towards betraying them, then there must certainly be something out there to make one fall in love with another.

"Certain incantations anyone can pronounce, potions anyone can brew provided with the correct ingredients. Magic in one's blood is not the only way," Phoebe finished.

"Exactly,"

"So you think they are all under some sort of enchantment?" Henry asks concerned.

"Yes," Phoebe and I say at the same time and then smile at each other.

Now I know why Henry married her.

"How do you know so much of this?" Thea asks her.

"My mother had a book. A grimoire. I know not how she came to possess it, but it contained all sorts of incantations and remedies. It was mostly about healing. Cures for headaches, toothaches, stomachache, back pain and such. But there were also some potions that could make one forget or go to sleep or tell the truth,"

"Are you suggesting they used a love spell on them?" Thea asks with a nervous laugh.

Lady Phoebe looks at me to go on, but she seems very well versed in all this, so I gesture for her to continue.

"If you ask me, I believe this to be the work of a love potion," she tells us. "Magic is variable, but usually potions last longer than spells if the individual casting them is non-magical,"

"And if the person casting it were of magical abilities?" Thea asks.

"Then the spell, or curse, would hold longer, perhaps even forever, depending on how powerful the individual was,"

Huh, I did not know that.

"Well, they are not magicians, so it must have been a potion," I state. Lord Henry nods.

"But how would they make them drink it? They wouldn't just voluntarily do so," Thea says.

Of course they wouldn't. I bet Lady Phoebe knows. She seems to know everything.

"Say you wanted to give me a love potion," I turn to Lady Phoebe, "How would you go on about it?"

"Just as my mother did, I'd slip it in your tea and mix it with lots of sugar to mask the bitter taste of magic," Phoebe says.

"And what is the one thing we are all offered when entering someone's home?"

"Tea," Thea and Henry say at the same time. Thea holding hers in her hand. 

IMIRA 

How very thoughtful for Peter to have gone to borrow some of Edmund's sleeping drops (he sometimes has nightmares about the White Witch and needs a little help sleeping) before we left Cair Paravel. I certainly did not think of it. Thanks to those, I slept like a rock all night and when I awoke, terribly late as usual, it wasn't too long after that the long-awaited cry of land-ho was heard.

We were having breakfast when it happened and, since our cabin is in the stern where we can't see a thing, Peter headed out.

I finished eating without him and by the time he returned the ship was at a point where I could see Galma out our window. He caught me staring out it and leaned on the taffrail beside me.

When Peter finally returned I had already finished and was staring out a window, trying to catch a glimpse of Galma.

"The captain said the sea was as still as a plater all night long, we barely made any progress, but we caught wind on first light. We should be docking at noon,"

I could feel his gaze on me.

"That's perfect," I said, still looking at the island.

The port looked busy and the bells were ringing and I spotted the ship they took docked on the west side of the port, the Golden Hind.

"There," I point towards it, "with the green sail, that one's ours,"

"Where?" Peter asked, squinting his eyes and leaning forward.

"Over there, look," I moved closer, between him and the taffrail, and pointed at the ship.

"Huh," He goes inside and returns with a spyglass.

"The Golden Hind," he says through gritted teeth and then hands me the spyglass.

Bring it to my eye and locate the ship. It doesn't look very busy.

"So what do you want to charge them with?" Peter asks and I follow him back inside, placing the spyglass down on my way. "Apart from the theft of a Royal Vessel, of course,"

My eyes widened in panic. I did not think this through.

"You didn't think of charges?" He raises an eyebrow at me.

"Well, she left her post as my Lady without a warning," I know it's not a crime, but it's a place to begin.

"That's not a crime," Peter says sitting down and finishes the tea he had left. "What about Darren? Did he break any of our laws? I have that warrant for his arrest, but I don't think we should use that unless we absolutely have to,"

I nod at that last bit.

Yesterday, while we waited for the ship to be ready, a raven arrived with a letter from my brother. He had read of everything that had happened from Henry's account and sent us a royal order of arrest with my cousin's name on it. But Peter and I agree it is too drastic a measure and should be avoided unless it becomes absolutely necessary. Arresting him for treason (a little extreme of a charge if you ask me) is our last resort.

"He defied my brother's orders to return to Datram," I suggest. "And he did break one of the old royal laws," 

"Well, we can't charge him for those. We're not Datramite authorities,"

"But you're the High King. You and my brother made that weird deal back when. Isn't there something you can do about it?" I ask. I don't know why, but I never asked for all the details on that. I mean, I heard the conversation, but I never bothered reading the actual document and all its clauses.

"Yeah, no, the deal was for me not to get involved in his politics as long as Datram has a ruler from your family line. So unless all your family has dropped dead," he knocks twice on the table, "I can't exercise my authority,"

"Wait, you're saying that if my brother and Hayley die," I knock twice on the table as well, "we get to rule Datram?"

"Don't sound so excited," he chuckles sarcastically.

"I'm not, I just didn't know about this. Huh, I guess this explains why my brother was so panicky after we got married," Yes, this explains EVERYTHING.

"Can we get back to the problem at hand?" Peter asks.

"Yes. Charges," I get sidetracked sometimes.

"Charges," He agrees.

"What will we charge them with?" I ask.

"Since you don't have any good ideas, theft of a royal vessel," Peter said.

"I gave you two ideas," I protest.

"We can't charge your cousin for breaking your brother's laws. Unless you want to use this," he says, slapping his order of arrest on the table.

"Not if we can avoid it. Are you sure we can't arrest her for running off? There has to be a way, she can't just abandon her duties. She made a commitment and then broke it,"

There has to be a way.

"I suppose we can arrest her for neglecting her duties at court and see where it goes from there," Peter concedes. "It is a minor offence, but added to the theft charges I think it could work,"

"Lovely," I beam up with a smile and rise to my feet. "Let's go arrest them then. We have a wedding to stop,"