Author's Note- I own any characters that are not C.S. Lewis's. Enjoy! Read and Review, please! =]

Chapter One

I stirred, feeling a cold, crisp breeze pass over me. I turned over. I must be imagining things, for I was sleeping in Cair Paravel. There weren't any breezes. Well, not if there weren't any windows open, and I was most certain that the windows in my spacious room were closed. I huddled down into my covers, only to find that there weren't any covers. What? I lifted myself up and opened my eyes. Pushing hair out of my face, I discovered that I was I was in a wood. Startled, I jumped to my feet. I took in my surroundings. Tall, trees loomed above me. They weren't the trees of Narnia, though. How did I know this? Well, I guess you just know these things when you live in a certain place. Plus, I noticed that they had a golden tint to them. Narnia definitely did not have gold tinted trees. Leaves crunched under my feet, and shrub bushes were scattered about. How did I get to this strange place? And more importantly, where was I? I decided to explore. I had to find a way to get back to Narnia. I wandered for quite a while, when I found some berries. They were bright red, the most colorful thing I had seen the entire time I had been here. I reached hungrily for them, because my stomach had begun to growl. I stopped myself though, realizing that they could be poisonous. I sighed, and continued on. I would have to find my breakfast somewhere else.

After what seemed like an eternity, I was beginning to think I was hopelessly lost. Then I saw a small spiral of smoke rising up into the sky. Maybe some kind person would tell me where I was and perhaps could spare some breakfast. Or perhaps lunch; for the sun was now well into its journey across the sky. I came to a clearing, and spotted a small, shabby cabin. I walked closer, and then heard loud, rough voices coming from inside the cabin. They were angry voices, so I crouched down into some tall grass. I tried to hear what the voices were saying, but it was all jargon, because I was about ten yards away from it.

After a few minutes, the shouting stopped, and two soldiers wearing strange armor emerged and walked down a path to my left. I waited until they were out of sight, and then cautiously approached the cabin. As I moved closer, I could hear a girl crying. I peeked into a window and saw the girl on a small cot. You could hardly call it a cot, though. It was more like a wide bench shoved up against a wall with a dirty, torn sheet bunched up at the end. The rest of the cabin wasn't much better. The fireplace was crumbling, the chimney was lopsided, and it looked like it would topple over at any second. The walls had huge gaps in-between the boards, and sunlight filtered through. There were a few gaping holes in the roof, too. I was amazed that the cabin (you could actually call it a shack) was still standing. I decided to see why the girl was crying. I knocked once on the door and it fell over with a crash. I jumped back, startled. I looked at the girl apologetically. The girl looked up with wide, scared, green eyes. She had raven black hair that went down her back, and she looked disheveled. She wore what looked like a very fancy gown, but the deep emerald silk was smudged with dirt, and the once beautiful gold trim was torn in places.

"Who are y-you?" she asked, hurriedly wiping her eyes.

"I am Lucy," I said. "Sorry for knocking your door down. Who are you?" I decided against telling her I was a queen, considering I didn't know where I was.

"I am P-Princess Charlotta of Chrystan. What are you doing here?" she replied.

"Well...I was wandering through the woods, and I came into the meadow and saw your cabin. So I am in Chrystan, you say?" I answered.

She nodded; then sat down on the "cot". We were silent for a few minutes and then she spoke.

"I suppose you are wondering what a princess is doing in a rundown shack," she said bitterly. "And why two soldiers were yelling at her."

"That came to mind," I said. "But I didn't want to be nosy. Plus, I don't even know you. So you don't really have to tell me anything. But I was wondering...Can I help you somehow?"

"Thank you, but I'm most certain that a more...Well, a more able help will come." She said, waving her hand as if to dismiss my invitation. "But I can tell you why I am here, if you are interested."

"I would like that very much," I replied, my curiosity piqued.

"Well, Chrystan is on the brink of a war. You see, Chrystan is split into two regions. There is the East region and the West region. Each region has a king. My father is king of the West region. The king of the East region is Gollmere Hallenburg. Anyway, I have an older sister, Cornelia. Gollmere has a son whose name is Reginald." She paused. "Are you sure you wish to hear my troubles?"

"Yes, please, do go on, that is, if you don't mind telling a stranger your troubles." I said, hoping she wouldn't mind, because I was now intrigued.

"Oh, I don't mind. I haven't talked to someone for such a long time. Well, except for those rotten soldiers. Anyway, Reginald arrived at our palace one evening a few years ago and wanted to court Cornelia. Cornelia agreed, as did my father, and they went to a ball together and did a few other things. After awhile, Cornelia seemed to become bored of him. You see, Reginald is a stuck up brat. Not to mention that he is a drop dead bore. I don't see why she ever even bothered with him. If it were me, I would have said no right on the spot. She is just to kind and polite for her own good." She paused, a glower on her face.

"What does this have to do with your dilemma?" I asked, wondering why she was telling me about her sister's suitor. I could definitely tell that this girl had strong opinions and wasn't afraid to tell people about them.

She smiled a small, sad smile, and continued on.

"Sorry. Sometimes I get carried away. It does have to do with my story, though. So eventually he asked my father if he could have Cornelia's hand in marriage. My Father said no. He was smart enough to realize that Cornelia did not want to marry him, and was no longer interested in him. Plus, he didn't have much respect for the Hallenburgs. One of the last things he wanted was for Cornelia to become part of the Hallenburg family. Reginald was infuriated and stormed out of Father's chambers. The next day, he left and began the journey home. He had been staying at our palace. When he returned home, I suppose that he told his father and his father was enraged that Father had turned down Reginald's offer. He said my father had "insulted" Reginald, and the Hallenburg family, and therefore made a personal appearance to Father." "That was only the beginning of all sorts of different disputes. The last straw for Father was when Gollmere gave Cornelius, the General in his army, orders to kill Father's best friend and head advisor, Samuel. He ordered this because he said Samuel had supposedly tried to poison him. After he was killed, they found out that it was the cook, and Gollmere didn't show even a bit of remorse. Father was outraged and sad at the same time. After he grieved, he immediately declared war on the East Region. Gollmere somehow found out that I knew Father's battle plans, and had his men drag me here and force me to tell." She cleared her throat, and continued. "I refused to tell them. They beat me, and left me. I tried to escape that night, but they had left guards around the entire clearing, so they dragged me back here once again, and I was beaten again. That's pretty much the end of the story." She finished, her eyes now looking at her feet.

I stood there for a second, stunned. How terrible! How could anyone do this? But I did know how someone could do it. I had experienced evil before. "How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm not sure how long. But I do know it has been a long time, because the leaves have started changing colors. I am sure it has at least been a few months."

"Oh, that's horrid! Do they even feed you?" I inquired. "You look terribly paIe. I think I also have something to help your wounds," I said, reaching for the fire flower cordial around my waist.

"Yes, they give me bread and water once a day. Something for my wounds would be wonderful. They hurt horribly." Charlotta replied.

"Okay, open your mouth. All you need is one drop." I instructed.

She looked rather confused, but she obeyed anyway. I carefully poured one drop in, and instantly she relaxed.

Astonished, Charlotta asked, "The pain is gone! Completely! It feels as if the wounds disappeared! Did they?"

I looked at her back, and sure enough, there was no trace of the wounds. The back of her dress was shredded and covered in dried blood though. Of course, I wasn't surprised by what the cordial had done.

"Yes, they are gone. Would you like to wear my cloak, though? Your dress is torn very badly in the back." I offered, holding out my cloak.

Still amazed, Charlotta took the cloak, and put it on. "The only thing that can do that is the fire flower! Wherever did you get it? I have only read about them in legends. They are supposed to be extinct!"

I smiled, fondly remembering the memory of meeting Father Christmas.

"From Father Christmas some time ago. Anyway, how can I help you escape?" I asked.

Charlotta sat down again. She just ignored my offer to help. I was perplexed. She had dismissed my offer before, but I thought it was just because she didn't know me. Now she at least knew me a bit better, and she certainly needed some help. So why was she refusing?

"He said help would come, and you are definitely not the help. I mean, you are about my age, and you are a girl. I have to wait." She said.

"Who is 'he'"? I inquired.

"The lion that came to me in a dream. His name is Aslan. He said that help would come soon, and I have been waiting." Charlotta replied. "Look, I even made a carving of him." She held out a small, wooden lion.

Aslan! He had come to her in a dream? And he had told her help would come? Maybe that was why I had somehow magically come to Chrystan! To help Charlotta!

"Did you ever think that maybe.....maybe I am the help he said would come?" I asked softly.

I know this first chapter is sort of slow, but I had to get my story rolling! Please keep reading!