Vyrina was quite happy when she returned to the castle. Her plan was foolproof and she knew that she would be able to get away with it. Although she intended to take over from behind the scenes, she still felt that it would be best to plan for the worst. Vyrina thought the best thing to do would be to learn to defend herself. She never liked being the helpless princess who needed someone else to come in to save her.

After putting the poisonous teabags away in her room she headed down to the knights training quarters, hoping to find someone to teach her how to use a sword. Before she entered the training area she could already hear the clashing of swords. She walked in quietly to see two mice dueling and quickly noticed that one of them was Reepicheep. Vyrina watched in awe of the small knight’s speed as he took down his adversary.

“You must work on your speed, Hazeltree,” said Reepicheep, sheathing his sword.

Vyrina clapped, startling all of the animals in the room.

“Oh, Your Highness,” said Reepicheep, bowing.

“What brings you to our humble quarters?”

“I thought I would stop by to see the knights in action,” said Vyrina. “You are a very talented warrior, Reepicheep.”

“I thank you, Your Highness,” said Reepicheep, bowing again. “It is always a pleasure to see you take interest in our work.”

“You don’t have to bow every time you talk to me,” said Vyrina, laughing.

“Oh, well it is a bit of a habit, Your Highness,” Reepicheep replied.

“Do you think you could teach me how to use a sword?” Vyrina asked, sweetly. 

“You wish to learn the art of swordsmanship, Your Highness?” Reepicheep asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yes, I do,” Vyrina replied.

“It would be an honor to teach you everything I know, Your Highness,” Reepicheep said, bowing even lower than he had before, making Vyrina laugh.

After a few hours with Reepicheep Vyrina was very sore, but she knew that it would be worth it in the end. She had set up to do training everyday for two hours and she looked forward to another training session. Vyrina decided now would be the best time to go see her mother, Queen Lillian. She headed back to her room and made some of the tea before going to her mother’s room. Vyrina opened her mother’s door slowly, not wanting to wake her if she was sleeping.

“Come in, Vyrina,” said Queen Lillian, smiling at her daughter. “Your father said you would be coming to see me today.”

“I brought you some chamomile tea,” said Vyrina, holding up the teacup.

“How did you know?” Queen Lillian asked, smiling.

“Reepicheep told me you would always drink chamomile tea before you had me,” Vyrina explained, setting the cup of tea on the bedside table.

“A habit I never got rid of,” Lillian replied.

“How are you feeling, Mother?” Vyrina asked, kissing her mother on the head.

“Wonderful,” Lillian replied, picking up the cup of tea. “You know I have always wanted a big family.”

“I know,” said Vyrina, watching her mother take a sip from the tea cup. “It looks like you will finally get your wish. I am excited to have a new brother or sister.”

“I am glad to hear it,” said Lillian, setting the tea back on the table. “Where did you get this tea? It’s delicious.”

“I bought it in town today,” said Vyrina, “at that old country store that is owned by Sangria.”

“She was always one to make great teas,” said Lillian, yawning.

“You look tired, Mother,” Vyrina stated. “Perhaps I should leave you to get your rest.”

“It has been quite an exciting day,” her mother replied.

“That it has,” said Vyrina, kissing her mother goodbye. “Enjoy your tea.” 

“Thank you, dear,” Lillian said, smiling as her daughter left the room.

Vyrina smiled evilly as she closed the door behind her. Everything went as planned and, as always, she was going to get her way. The best part is that nobody suspected anything. After all, why would they. She is the princess and had always appeared to love her family and friends. It would not be likely that such a kind girl would go through such trouble to gain the throne. That is the thing with appearance though, it can be deceiving. The princess had kept up the nice appearance all her life so that if anything like this happened, she would not be a likely suspect.

Vyrina headed back to her room to take a nap. The lesson with Reepicheep had taken a toll and she wanted to be well rested the next time she met with him. Vyrina seriously doubted that anything would go wrong with her plan. Her parents would be out of the picture before long and there was nobody else that would go against her. Nobody in Narnia would suspect her and the kingdom would easily be hers.

What she didn’t know was that there was a creature lurking in the shadows. He was a dwarf who had been watching the princess’ every move. Not everybody was convinced by the princess’ act and there was something that could stop her if the time came. The dwarf ran off out of sight to tell his friends of the plan he suspected the princess had. There was a way to stop her, but he had hoped that it would not come to that. It would be dangerous to fight against the fate of those who had saved them before, but if they were the only ones who could help then he would risk it.