“Aslan,”saidBreeinashakenvoiafraidImustberatherafool。”
“HappytheHorsehileheisstillyoung。OrtheHumaher。Drawnear,Aravismydaughter。See!Mypawsarevelveted。Youwillhistime。”
“Thistime,sir?”saidAravis。
“Itoundedyou,”saidAslan。“Iamtheonlylioinallys。DoyouknowwhyItoreyou?”
“No,sir。”
&yourback,tearfortear,throbforthrob,bloodforblood,wereequaltothestripeslaidonthebaother'sslavebecauseedsleepyouher。Youoknowwhatitfeltlike。”
“Yes,sir。Please—”
“Askon,mydear,”saidAslan。
“WillanymoreharmetoherbywhatIdid?”
“Child,”saidtheLion,“Iamtellingyouyourstory,nothers。oldanystorybuttheirown。”Thenheshookhisheadandspokeinalightervoice。
“Bemerry,littleones,”hesaid。“Weshallmeetsoonagaiyouwillhaveaor。”Theninonebouhetopofthewallaheirsight。
Straosay,theyfeltnointotalktoohimafterhehadgoheyallmovedslowlyawaytodifferentpartsofthequietgrassaoandfro,eae,thinking。
AbouthalfanhourlaterthetwoHorsesweresummohebackofthehousetoeatsomethiheHermithadgotreadyforthemandAravis,stillwalkingandthinking,wasstartledbytheharshsoundofatrumpetoutsidethegate。
“Whoisthere?”askedAravis。
“HisRoyalHighnessPrinceCorofArd,”saidavoioutside。
Aravisundidthedoora,drawingbackalittlewaytoletthestrangersin。
Twosoldierswithhalberdscamefirstandtooktheirstandateachsideoftheentry。Thenfollowedaherald,aer。
“HisRoyalHighnessPrinceCorofArddesiresaheLadyAravis,”saidtheHerald。ThehetrumpeterdrewasideahesoldierssalutedandthePrincehimself。Allhisattendantswithdrewaebehindthem。
ThePrincebowed,andaveryclumsyboriwas。Araviscurtsiedintheeyle(whiotatalllikeours)anddiditverywellbecause,ofcourse,shehadbeentaughthow。ThenshelookedupandsawwhatsortofpersonthisPrince>
Shesawamereboy。Hewasbare-headedandhisfairhairwasehaverythinbandofgold,hardlythiawire。Hisuppertunicwasofwhitecambrieasahahatthebrightredtushh。Hislefthand,whichrestedonhisenamelledswordhilt,>
Aravislookedtwiceathisfacebefaspedandsaid,“Why!It'sShasta!”
Shastaallatournedveryredandbeganspeakingveryquickly。“Lookhere,Aravis,”hesaid,“Idohopeyouwon'tthinkI'mgotuplikethis(aerandall)totrytoimpressyouormakeoutthatI'mdifferentoranyrotofthatsort。BecauseI'dfarratherhaveyoldclothes,butthey'reburntnow,andmyfathersaid—”
“Yourfather?”saidAravis。
“ApparentlyKingLuneismyfather,”saidShasta。“Imightreallyhaveguessedit。gsolikeme。ins,yousee。Oh,andmynameisn'tShasta,it'sCor。”
“iamethanShasta,”saidAravis。
“Brothers'namesruinArd,”saidShasta(orPrinustnowcallhim)。“LikeDarandDarrin,ddsoon。”
“Shasta—ImeanCor,”saidAravis。“No,shutup。There'ssomethingI'vegottosayatonsorryI'vebeensuchapig。ButIdidgebeforeIknewyourilyIdid:whebadfacedtheLion。”
“Itwasnoingtokillyouatall,thatLion,”saidCor。
“Iknow,”saidAravis,nodding。BothwerestillandsolemnforamomehattheotherkAslan。
SuddenlyAravisrememberedCor'sbandagedhand。“Isay!”shecried,“Ifot!You'vebeeniawound?”