Ok, so this is a new story I thought of a few days ago! My first chapters are never very good but the story does get better! (I like to think). Please read and review this, and if you like it, then maybe take a look at my other stories, Fluttering and I Couldn't Leave Her (the second one is my personal favourite). Anyway, enjoyyyyyyy.....

"We're too late." Peter groaned as he and his soldiers surveyed the surrounding area. They were in a small village North of Cair Paravel that bordered Archenland. The occupants of the village were Archenlanders, but upon hearing of the attack Peter had determined that Cair Paravel was much closer to the village then Anvard and decided that if anyone were to help the villagers, they would be there fastest. It had been home to around a hundred and fifty people, the bodies of whom lay scattered on the grass, their limbs at awkward angles and blood blooming on their clothes.

Peter and Edmund took of their helmets in respect for those who had died. Men. Women. Children. It seemed no-one had been spared in this attack. Doors hung of their frames and windows were smashed.

Although they had only been kings of Narnia for less than a year, Peter had already turned fifteen and Edmund was nearly thirteen. The two were keen to defend their new country, even if it was just a small village that didn't even belong to them.

The day was unbelievably nice. If it hadn't been for the tragedy before them that is. The sun was shining as it so frequently did in Narnia now and a slight breeze blew through the village, cooling everyone down. But they didn't need to be cooled, not even the creatures that had been running for hours noticed how hot they were as the feeling of dread made them feel cold inside.

"Search for survivors." Peter told his soldiers, watching as the five big cats, three wolves and twelve dogs raced away. He and Edmund sat on the backs of centaurs, Orieus and his son, Arion. The group they had chosen was one of speed, designed so that they could reach the village in less than a tenth of the time it would have taken foot soldiers. But it hadn't been enough.

"No survivors." One of the dogs reported after five minutes of searching, coming up to the two kings.

"This is awful." Peter said sadly. "This wasn't an attack, it was a slaughter."

"Come on." Edmund called out, inclining his head slightly to show that it was time to leave.

The small group started to file back through the village, passing the ransacked houses.

"Wait." The youngest wolf near the back of the group called out, pricking up his ears and turning one slightly so he could hear more clearly. "I hear breathing." He told the now stationary group. Edmund jumped of Arion and followed the wolf, closely followed by Peter.

The wolf trotted back the way they'd come, stopping with one paw raised to listen some more, finally running towards a house that'd had its door ripped completely off. He ran straight over to a large cupboard and sniffed at the floor before it. "In here." He called, nuzzling at the partially opened door until it swung open. Edmund and Peter ran in after him, stopping to look at the mess. Glasses, plates and everything breakable had been broken. Chairs and tables were overturned, one chair lay in shattered pieces of wood near a dent in the wall where it had obviously been thrown. The curtains had been pulled down, the delicate shade of blue was covered in boot prints of mud, manure and blood. Food lay scattered about, apples lay stationary among the debris and juicy pears had splattered, making the floor slippery. Worst of all, the body of a young woman, about twenty or thirty years old, was lying on the floor, blood covering her clothes where she had been stabbed with a sword.

Averting their eyes in sadness, Peter looked through the door, it seemed to be a cloak cupboard, though someone had recently shifted through the belongings, making several of the cloaks fall to the floor.

Peter picked the clothes of the floor, checking there wasn't someone underneath them. He and Edmund looked at each other as the wolf stuck his nose in and smelt around the poky area.

"Wait a minute." Edmund said, noticing one of the floorboards. The gap between that and its neighbours were much wider and cleaner and it had a small hole at one end, big enough to fit one finger through. The wolf stepped back out of the cupboard and Edmund crawled in. He knelt to the side and pushed his finger into the hole, lifting up the floorboard with ease. Then the grasped the one on the other side and pulled that up as well. As the daylight fell into the newly created hole they saw a young girl, about nine or ten sitting there. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and a small knife was clutched in her right hand while her left was balled into a fist that she had hiding her mouth. She was looking up at them, her face tear streaked and her eyes wide. There was such silence that her breathing was the only thing anyone could hear, it was uneven and ragged and seemed so loud it was almost deafening.

None of them seemed to know what to do and simply stared at her. Her gaze flickered between them, her eyes had a distant-like quality, taking on the slight look of someone who has seen things they should never have to witness.

"Hello." Peter said slowly. She flinched away from the sound of his voice, her eyes fixed on him as though he was going to do something to her.

When he didn't move she looked straight ahead, seemingly at nothing.

"You try." Peter mouthed above her head.

"Why me??" Edmund mouthed back.

"You're closer to her age!" Peter replied. He wasn't sure that Edmund had managed to decipher all of what he said, but his message was clear.

"Come on." Edmund said to the girl gently, trying not to wince as she flinched away from his voice too. "It's safe now." He said, holding out his hand for her.

Edmund wasn't known for his gentleness, that was Susan, but now he was discovering qualities he didn't know he had.

The girl looked at him, her breathing was still funny, but he thought that was from shock and fright. She twitched her left hand towards him, keeping her right hand and the knife securely to her chest. Her hand stopped, then slowly inched towards him again until she finally, hesitantly, placed her hand in his. He pulled her up and she easily fitted through the floorboards. She didn't seem capable of doing much so Edmund slowly put his hands on her waist and lifted her out of the hole. Once she was firmly on the ground again, her hands went back to exactly the same place they'd been before; clutched to her chest.

Now she was standing, she began to shake uncontrollably, her muscles all tensed as she tried to stop shaking, but the shaking only seemed to intensify. Her dress looked as though it was a light blue colour, but a layer of dust had settled all over her, making her dark brown hair mousey and causing her tears to leave streaks down her cheeks.

"Can you walk?" Peter asked her, uncertain. She didn't look at any of them, just looked vacantly straight ahead into the wall. Edmund followed her gaze. There was nothing special about that patch of wall, it was just the same as everywhere else.

"Pete. Maybe we shouldn't let her walk..." Edmund said, inclining his head to the left slightly towards the body of her mother.

"Right." Peter said in understanding. "I'll carry her." He picked her up bridal style with her back turned to the body of her dead mother. She didn't seem to notice, her body remained rigid and shaking and the knife remained clasped in her unsteady hand. Edmund went out of the house first, then the wolf and then Peter with the girl.

"Oreius, do you mind carrying two?" Edmund asked the older centaur as they neared the group.

"Not at all your majesty, but I will have to go slower."

"That's fine."

"Is the young girl ok?"

"We're not entirely sure. She doesn't speak." Edmund neared Orieus and his son and told them quietly as Peter still walked closer. "I think she saw things. She definitely heard things."

The centaurs nodded, glancing at each other. "So young." Said Arion, bowing his head in sadness.

Peter put the girl down and jumped onto Orieus, leaving Edmund to lift her up to him with some difficulty. His body hadn't developed much muscle yet.

Peter wrapped an arm around the girl and used his thighs to tightly grip Orieus as the centaur trotted of, he and his son leading the small group.

"What about all the body's?" Edmund asked quietly from beside him with a furtive glance at the girl who appeared not to hear him.

"We'll leave it to the Archenlanders. They may want to honour them with a traditional Archenland burial."

Edmund nodded and looked at the girl again. "What's her name?"

"Excuse me, what is your name?" Peter asked her gently, bowing his head slightly to try and look into her face. Her eyes remained downcast and as before, she appeared not to hear them. The brothers shrugged at each other before Peter thought of something. "Maybe she's deaf..."

"No, I think she's fine physically."

"It's just mentally that's the problem then?"

"Yeah...maybe Su will be able to get something out of her." Edmund said sceptically, ending the conversation. The rest of the journey was in silence between the two brothers. The wolves, dogs and big cats behind them talked amongst themselves quietly but the centaurs and brothers remained subdued.