Chapter Text
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prologue
There was nothing like the view from the East Tower.
It was not the highest tower of the castle, but James always enjoyed running the narrow steps — careful to avoid the old, weak steps ever since he’d fallen from them, headfirst, when he was seven — until he reached the small room at the top of the tower and then that balcony that allowed him to watch the sun rising over the kingdom.
‘Lily, Lily,’ he called, pushing the bundle that was Lily on the floor. She blinked, waking up slowly. ‘It’s sunrise!’
She gave him a sleepy nod, yawning, but she raised to stand side-by-side with him at the balcony, hugging the blankets around her. It was cold at the top of the tower, so James always took care to pack more than enough blankets to keep her warm.
‘It’s so beautiful,’ she whispered in awe, her voice sounding girlish and dreamy, but James didn’t tease her like he would in another moment. He was just too glad by her presence.
Lily was the only one that would come with him to watch the sunrise; Peter was too afraid of the height and his father couldn’t go up all those stairs.
James felt sorry for them. The view was really amazing, with the sun rising above the hills that surrounded the kingdom, tinting the purple sky with that blazing orange until the light became too bright and strong for them to stare at.
James didn’t mind; he put his hand above his eyes, shadowing his face, and looked down. The colours in the sky were beautiful, but what he enjoyed most was watching the light shining down the castle, from the top of the highest tower until it reached the grounds of the castle and the village right in front of it, the red brick roofs glistening in the light; and then, from the East Tower, James could see nearly the entire extension of the Gryffindor Kingdom, the distant villages and farms, up to Godric's Hollow, all basked in the golden sunlight.
It was magical.
‘Do you ever think of leaving the kingdom?’ Lily asked him, and James saw she was looking in the direction of the hills, past the Forbidden Forest in the West, and then in the direction of the sea, eastward.
‘Why would I?’ James asked, confused. Gryffindor Kingdom was the best place in the world, as far as he knew. There was nothing in other kingdoms or beyond that could attract him.
Lily looked amused at him.
‘For the fun of it?’ she suggested, knowing that James could not resist an invitation to do something just for pleasure and joy.
‘There are plenty of things to do around here,’ he said, thinking that he had only explored a part of the kingdom. There were too many streets down the village, many fields and parts of the Forest that he had never been to before, and he had only travelled to a few of the most distant villages; even inside the castle, sometimes, there were rooms or halls he had never gone to before.
The Gryffindor Kingdom had still many secrets for him to unravel before he thought of ever leaving it.
‘Well, I want to travel when I grow up. See other kingdoms. Meet other people. Discover everything there is out there.’
James watched her; there was resolution written all over Lily’s face, her jaw set on a stubborn expression he knew very well—she was his friend since always. He didn’t doubt that she would do all she had said and accomplish anything she set her mind to.
‘I could go with you, my lady,’ he offered, all pompous and noble like his father told him he should be. James supposed that was one of those occasions; he couldn’t let Lily travel alone. The world outside was strange, his father also said.
‘You can’t,’ Lily told him as if it was obvious. ‘I mean, you can travel but you will always need to come back here. It’s your kingdom after all… Prince.’
James sighed; Lily usually called him Prince only when he was pestering her and she wanted to be left alone, but he didn’t think it was one of those occasions. She didn’t sound annoyed, just… truthful.
And she was right, he supposed. The kingdom was his father’s, but his father always told him he would inherit the land someday and as such, James figured he couldn’t leave Gryffindor. James wasn’t sure what being the heir to the throne meant, but he saw the way his father was greeted when he held court, the way people seemed to look at him with respect and gratitude, and he sometimes thought being king didn’t sound too bad; and then there were times his father would be holding one of those boring balls or meetings with ambassadors or, God have mercy, discussing politics . In those moments he hoped he didn’t ever have to worry about being a king.
His father told him not to. He said that James had a lot to learn still and he had many years until those worries fell on his shoulder. James was only ten, after all.
‘You can be my guide, then,’ he offered Lily, smiling at her. ‘You see what’s best out there and you come back to take me with you then.’
Lily beamed back at him, her emerald eyes sparkling as she took a step closer to him and offered her hand for him to shake it.
‘It’s a promise.’