Author Note: This will turn into Romance later.
Jade Wendelle tossed and turned in her bed, she just couldn't sleep. Quietly she got out of bed and maneuvered her way around the beds where her sisters Swift, Tasha, and Nella were sleeping peacefully. She exited the room and entered the kitchen. The cozy kitchen had a wooden table in the middle of the room, stools were stored under the table, and a small crackling fire was in a fireplace as tall as Tasha. Jade was seventeen, though her few years, she looked older than twenty. Jade had been taking care of her seven siblings since she was twelve. 'Course she had help, her twin, James, had helped her often and Swift had been eleven and had been a great help. But still, Jade had taken the brunt of the work by being older by fifteen minutes. Jade pulled a stool out from under the table and set it down near the fire. Jade sat down, and stared into the fire, thinking about her terrible past. Jade was prone to black outs though she didn't like to admit it, it was because of her past. Her mother had been a terrible person. She had held Narnia like a captive in ice and snow. Jade was even named after her in a way. Queen Jadis or the Terrible White Witch as Jade's siblings called her, was their mother. And they were not proud of it. The first twelve years of Jade's life were a nightmare. The day a lion, by the name of Aslan and two young girls had freed the captives of the witch, had been a dream come true. A faun had found James and her locked in the tallest tower (the punishment for freeing a falcon) and had set them free. James and her and had ran to the west wing of the castle and collected their father and siblings, and then had run away. Their father had found a small abandon cottage in the mountains and had settled them in. After a few months, their father told them he had always wished to travel but never been able to, for falling in love with a witch. Their father had left with a goodbyes and visited occasionally, but not often. The last they had seen of him, was on Jade and James's fifteenth birthday. The only good thing was he brought expensive gifts back from where he had visited, that they would sell after he had left to keep feeding the family. Jade shook herself from her past and stared at the fire. A lion head was staring right back from the flames, Jade almost screamed but she found herself quiet, calm, and fearful.
"Do not be afraid." The lion said softly.
"Who are you?" Jade whispered fearfully. She didn't understand it but this lion had put a fear in her heart, yet she wasn't afraid.
"I am." Was the reply.
"Who?"
"Jade, Narnia and Archenland need your help." The lion said, ignoring her question.
"Why me? My mother..." Jade's voice shook, she never told anyone who her mother was. She had always been strong, the one who never cried, never was afraid, understood pain but bore it quietly without complaint, the best swimmer, and the fastest runner. She had even learned how to fight with a sword and a knife because her mother had ordered it.
"I know who your mother is, Jade." The lion said, strangely calming Jade, "I know your pain and sorrow, you happiness and laughter. Because I will always be with you. But you still are needed, you are fearfully and wonderfully made, no matter who your mother is."
Jade felt her life's worries fade, "What do you need?"
"Go south towards Calormen, and when you reach Tashabaan you will find a girl and a boy on the south side of the city. Greet them and say 'by the name of the lion can I come with you?' you then will lead them to Archenland as fast as you can. You will protect them."
"And provisions? How will I get there and back?" Jade asked carefully, pondering over the lion's words.
"A talking horse by the name of Brynn will be waiting by your door tomorrow." And the lion's head disappeared in the crackling flames.
Jade's eyes stayed glued to the flames for awhile before she finally tore herself away and went to bed.
