Work Text:
The first time Obi-Wan Kenobi met Susan Pevensie, he was a padawan. By coincidence, it was also the first time Susan Pevensie found herself dealing with visitors from beyond the stars (she had, of course, had stars themselves as visitors before, but that is a story for another time).
She had just been beginning to feel like she was getting the hang of being a queen, too. But then a trio of bears had lumbered through the Cair’s throne room door in a panic, insisting that a large metal bird had landed somewhere in the woods nearby.
Susan had dealt with this particular group of bears before. They were perfectly lovely creatures, she thought, though not very reliable ones. She knew it wasn’t their fault - education had fallen by the wayside under the Witch's rule, so the logic skills of Narnians their age tended to be hit or miss. Her crow friend, Sage, had suggested it was simply a failing of bears in general, but Susan felt she needed more information before she could agree to that generalization. She’d found more often than not that such often proved false, even when spouted from an otherwise wise animal.
Edmund gave her a look that said, Please don’t drag me into the woods on another wild goose chase. She gave him a smirk, knowing he had secret plans for the afternoon. He was going on a walk with Elodine, the daughter of a visiting ambassador. He didn’t think anyone knew, but he wasn’t the only one who valued spycraft in the castle. Still, she’d let him keep his secret. It seemed his right, as it was his first real crush. He’d talk to her about it when he was ready.
The bears were so distraught that something would have to be done before their minds could be set at ease, the poor dears. She offered them gentle assurances and suggested they take tea in the gardens while she went to check up on things personally. She didn’t mind a ride. Edmund looked grateful when she told him she’d go find Lucy. That was their rule - always at least take one other sibling if you didn’t know what you were walking into.
Lucy lit up at the prospect of a gallop. It had been some time since they were out riding together. In short order, they’d changed into riding dresses and hurried off to the stables with a guard of two leopards.
“What do you think it is?” Lucy asked excitedly.
Susan hesitated. Her gentle heart wanted to believe the bears had not completely made it up, but after their cries about a terrible sorceress last week (merely a friendly witch collecting herbs for remedies) and their reports of Rumblebuffin being cast into a sleeping curse the week before (he had only been napping)… well, it was difficult, to say the least. “I know they haven’t given us much reason to believe them of late,” she admitted. “But surely there’s something inspiring this particular outlandish tale.” She glanced over at her sister. “What do you suppose it might be?”
Lucy grinned mischievously. “A giant metal bird? Perhaps it’s a dragon.”
Susan found herself laughing at her sister’s hopeful tone. “You’re right, that’s just what we need right now."
“Perhaps it’s a friendly dragon.”
“Ah, yes,” Susan teased as they crested a hill. “The famed friendly dragon of yore.”
Lucy shrugged. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,”
It was a quote from Hamlet. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Susan had found a small copy in the pocket of the coat they’d taken from the wardrobe. Having by accident left it at the Beavers’, it had avoided a soaking in the frozen river. Lucy and she had found themselves saying the phrase back and forth often the past few years. Susan smiled wryly.
Suddenly, Lucy’s laugh turned to a gasp. “Susan!”
Susan turned, her gaze following Lucy’s outstretched arm to see a cloud of smoke rising above the trees. Without a word, the two women urged their horses into a gallop, leopards sprinting behind.
Obi-Wan was not having a great day. His master had been especially cryptic; all he'd gotten from Qui-Gon was something about a planet called Mortis. Obi-Wan had never heard of such a place. But that was all Qui-Gon would say before he insisted Obi-Wan focus on his daily meditation, sitting in their little cabin while his master piloted in the cockpit. So, Obi-Wan had, feeling the Force all around the ship. He frowned. Something felt… wrong.
That was when their ship seemed to fall out of space.
He ran to Qui-Gon at the controls, but by that time they were practically on the ground. Qui-Gon managed to pull up at the last minute and landed them with minimal crashing. They stumbled out to assess the damage. Qui-Gon quickly decided that it was something he could fix on his own and encouraged Obi-Wan to practice his forms in the meantime. Knowing better by this point than to explore an unfamiliar planet on his own, he followed his master’s instructions.
A pounding sound interrupted his practice and he turned to see two figures riding in on creatures he didn’t recognize. The first seemed his age, her companion several years younger. Both were dressed in fairly simple but pretty gowns, with tiaras on their heads. Such things varied from planet to planet, but tiaras were usually a dead giveaway. Then he noticed the much shorter creatures running low to the ground, spotted, and with sharp teeth and sharper claws.
“Um, master?” Obi-Wan called. The woman’s eyes went to him, moving from concern to suspicion as she took in his lightsaber and the ship behind him. Did they not approve of Jedi on this planet?
The younger's eyes lit up with wonder. “My! What is that?” She started to slide off her mount.
“Lucy!”
The girl - Lucy - turned to her companion. “What?”
The other hissed something Obi-Wan couldn’t hear.
Lucy only smiled. “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, Su. He has a nice face.” Something shifted in her companion’s eyes, but she seemed to decide on presenting a united front to the strangers. Following Lucy’s example, she dismounted.
Obi-Wan would have deactivated his lightsaber - he felt no danger in the Force from these strangers, even if he didn’t like the look of the toothy spotted beasts - but the younger one was so enthralled. If his blade would help him get on their good side, he was certainly going to use it. Lucy was approaching him on foot now. Her companion followed, although not before attaching a horn to her belt and taking hold of a bow. Obi-Wan frowned. It was far simpler than an energy bow - he’d only seen its like in plays and holos.
“What’s that?” Lucy asked.
“My lightsaber.”
Her eyes were aglow. “What happens if I touch it?”
He moved his blade away from her quickly. “It’s incredibly hot. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Where did you come by it? Do your people also make knives?”
“I made it as part of my training.” Really, where was Qui-Gon? He tried again, louder. “Master Qui-Gon!”
“Training for what-?” the woman began.
“Yes, Obi-Wan?” came Qui-Gon’s voice as he emerged from the other side of the ship. Then he saw their companions. “Ah.” He gave a respectful bow. “Your highnesses.”
The elder looked at him suspiciously. “How do you know us, sir?”
Qui-Gon gave a tired smile. She was very suspicious for so early in the morning. “By your crowns, my lady. Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn; this is my padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Suspicious, pretty eyes darted to him, but Obi-Wan managed not to shift uncomfortably. “Padawan?”
“I’m training him to be a Jedi knight.”
She seemed to relax at that. Knights must be a term they knew. “I am Queen Susan and this is my sister, Queen Lucy.” Unorthodox government, then, but they’d seen plenty of those; neither Jedi blinked. “Is Jedi the name of the country you come from, then? We are as yet unfamiliar with it.”
At this, they exchanged a glance. “… no, it is our religion.”
The queens looked confused. “From what country do you hail, then?”
Country? Obi-Wan frowned. Qui-Gon, however seemed to decide the planet was close enough.
“We are from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.”
“What planet is this?” Obi-Wan asked.
Queen Susan’s eyes fixed on him again. Really, he ought to stop thinking about how pretty those eyes were; he was a Jedi, for goodness sake. “Planet?” She asked. “You come from a different planet?”
The strange visitors didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Susan looked from one to the other, appraising. Then their odd metal contraption, large enough to hold several Horses, Bears, and Humans at once, must be their means of traveling between one planet and another. Fascinating. Edmund had to see this.
“You don’t get many interplanetary visitors, I take it?” Sir Jinn asked.
“No, not many I’m afraid,” said Susan. Part of her worries that if she admitted that they were the first, the visitors would become close-lipped. She wanted to get as much information out of these men as she could. “If I may, gentlemen, welcome to Narnia.”
“Pardon me for asking,” said the younger knight… Obi-Wan, she thought. “Is that the name of your domain or the world as a whole? We’re unfamiliar with this sector.”
“Both. Our kingdom is relatively small, but it’s where life in our world began, and where the first monarchs were.”
“What sort of life forms inhabit it?”
“Humans and Talking Beasts, as you see before you,” she nodded to their guards. The leopards dipped their heads at the strange Humans, growling soft greetings; they received nods in return, the Humans appearing surprised to hear speech, though not unused to treating with strange-looking beings. “Also tree and water spirits, dwarves, fauns, Minotaurs, centaurs, giants, merfolk…” she paused, thinking to be sure she hadn’t forgotten any.
“What is your business here?” Lucy asked politely, undertone reminding them of the queen she was, despite her age.
Sir Jinn gave a rueful smile. “Our ship was damaged and we were forced to land. I should have it up and running by nightfall.”
“Well, then, we’d best leave you to it. If you will, gentlemen, please accept our invitation to sup with us at Cair Paravel this evening,” Susan said. “We’d love to hear of your travels.”
“Though you will have to leave your wondrous blades with our knights at the gate,” Lucy interjected.
Sir Jinn bowed respectfully. “We are honored and will certainly be there.” His student followed suit.
The queens dipped their heads - queens did not bow to knights, even if they were visitors from the stars. It was something Susan had quickly learned they needed to stick to if they wanted to be respected. Then, they gave their farewells and, flanked by their guards, galloped home.
In the end, they had a very intriguing dinner. The kings were fascinated, and the visiting knights had never seen talking animals. It did them credit that they treated all the Narnians with the same courtesy. Skymount the centaur, one of their advisors, had read the stars and claimed that they told only of trustworthy allies to be met today. The Pevensies had learned to trust her advice, but remained uncertain; they were not yet enough used to star-readings to know if they were comprehensive predictions. So, in addition to taking the strange weapons at the gate as planned, Susan and Edmund had discussed the best way to learn about their visitors. In the end, they sat the strangers where they could both speak to them in turns, with the hopes that one might reveal something to one of them, if not the other.
Susan didn’t have much luck with Master Jinn, who’d laughed when she’d introduced him as Sir Jinn, despite having said he was a knight. He was perfectly friendly, but always managed to turn the conversation to Narnia. It was surprising, however, that none of his comments cast aspersions on the kings’ and queens’ ages. He didn’t even act as though he thought he might get one up on her - either because she was young or because she was female. Susan found that remarkably refreshing.
Edmund drew Jinn into a discussion on fighting styles. Obi-Wan seemed to have had enough of such things for the day, however.
He turned to her. “May I ask, how is the monarchy selected here?”
“Selected?” She supposed Aslan had selected them, but it seemed an odd choice of words for choosing kings and queens.
“Is there an election? Do you serve a certain term, or for life? Have the four of you ruled together this whole time?”
Susan considered for a moment, but the story of how they’d come to Narnia was hardly a secret. It would do no harm to share it. “Well, we actually came from another world.”
“I thought you had no space travel?”
“We don’t. We came here through a door in our home world - which, before you ask, also doesn’t have space travel - and then Aslan made us kings and queens.”
He grinned, and she found she liked it. “I hope I’m not so single-minded. It’d be far more interesting to hear how that door worked, and why he didn’t just rule Narnia himself.”
She shrugged. “Oftentimes I think it’d be better if he did. I suppose he rules beyond the sea, perhaps that puts enough on his plate. To be honest, I’ve never asked. As for us getting here…” she shrugged. “This land is quite magical.”
“Have you ever visited him beyond the sea?”
She shook her head. “It’s not quite a place one goes.”
“No?”
“Not until they die.”
“Ah, I see.” He’d taken on the air of one trying to respectfully listen to another’s beliefs.
“At least one of us does,” she grinned, and he laughed. Unfortunately, it was even more charming than his smile. “That’s what everyone says, anyway.”
He quirked a brow. “You have your doubts?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes.” But, agnosticism hardly made for lively dinner conversation. “Tell me about your religion.” Susan winced internally. Ah, yes. Religion. Totally different than agnosticism. “In my experience, religious people don’t do much traveling. Were you… searching for new converts?”
He quirked his lips, searching for words. “Not quite. We don’t really try to ‘convert’ people.”
Susan gave him a look. He laughed and she grinned, feeling she’d appropriately registered her disbelief. “What were you doing, then?”
“We travel around the galaxy, going where the Council sends us. We try to help people, keep the peace.”
Susan nodded. “Protect those who need it?”
“I suppose,” he seemed a little shy, suddenly. Humility looked good on him. “That’s the hope, anyway.”
Isn’t it always? Susan couldn’t help but think. That was what she wanted to do as queen: protect her people. Was that what history would say about them, once they were gone?
“Everything alright?”
Susan shook herself out of her musings. “Forgive me. It’s only, we try to do the same here. I hope we’re successful.”
Obi-Wan cast a glance around the room. “If I may, from your subjects I’ve seen thus far, I think you’re doing an excellent job.”
Susan grinned. “Thank you. Now, tell me of one of your adventures in the stars.”
He was less close-lipped than his mentor, something she appreciated. He wasn’t telling her anything dangerous, of course- though, what dangerous secrets could monks possibly have, she wondered. He seemed in favor of a free exchange of ideas, telling her about his training process, the planets he’d visited, and ones he hoped to. She responded in kind, telling him things that any foreign visitor would have known already or that couldn’t do any harm - Jadis and their original arrival, mythical beasts made real, silly things one or another of the Animals had done. He laughed out loud when she told him about the drainage pipe that had been discovered along the wall a few months before. When they’d set about clearing it for reuse, a cascade of shiny bits and bobs had absolutely cascaded out, covering the handful of Squirrel workers waiting below. Apparently, a local family of Crows had been using the other end to hoard their treasures. When Qui-gon joined a few conversations, she realized that he had asked so many questions of her merely out of single minded curiosity, not out of any hesitancy to tell her of his larger universe. Neither man seemed against sharing their knowledge.
In the end, Susan was almost sorry to see them go. They stood at the gate, waving as their visitors set off. As they disappeared into the distance, Lucy turned to the others. “Don’t you think Sir Jinn sounded like Aslan?”