Chapter One
"We can't just stop now!" Edmund said, looking into Caspian's eyes. "There's already too much at stake!"
Peter stepped in. "Edmund's right." He paused and licked his lips. "For now." Before Edmund could argue against anyone else's words, a swishing of a cloak came from the hallway. Everyone paused, listening. When they couldn't hear anything more, they continued talking.
"We really don't stand a chance." Caspian said, his voice hushed. "Narnians are very scarce. How are we supposed to gather and army that wants to defeat Mraz?"
"I'm not sure. But…" Peter began.
"But all we can do is try." Thadian, a centaur, said, puffing out his chest.
"That's not…"
"It would do you all well just to shut up and think for once." Everyone in the room stopped and peered into the shadows of the doorway. A small person with a midnight blue cloak came out into the light of the torches. "Maybe you would have already won." It took off its hood and they could see it was a girl. "Caspian." She nodded towards the prince, and he looked stunned.
"Lara?" He said, his voice barely a whisper.
She nodded. "Yes. It has been long."
"Quite certainly." He looked at her face a moment before running to her and embracing her. "What did they do to you?"
"Nothing." She said, rubbing his back. "I escaped shortly after imprisonment. However it took longer to get here than I thought."
"Three years?"
"Or more." She pulled away. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You're here, and that's all that should matter." He took her hand in his and led her to the table in the center of the room. "I would like you all to meet Lara. She is my friend. She used to live at the castle until they found out she was…a Narnian."
"But she looks like a daughter of Eve to me." Thadian said.
"I'm an elf. The last of me kind."
They just stared blankly. Nothing, not even a hint of remembrance on the Narnians faces. Peter was staring at a stone on the ground. He picked it up and stared at it.
"How? How would you know? With your education?" This was Susan, and she was talking to Caspian.
He looked straight into her eyes. "I did not know until later, when I found out about Narnians. I didn't know what she was."
Lara looked a tad perturbed. They were all looking at her but they just looked at her with a look one might give a puzzling math problem. "No doubt any of you would recognize an elf. There weren't many left when even you were the Kings and Queens. My people lived in the mountains. When you left, and the Telmerains came, they tried to kill us all off. I was the only one that survived. No one much liked us."
"Why wouldn't they?" Edmund asked.
"Because. We looked so much like Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. But we weren't. They felt we were mocking them, or trying to trick them into giving the thrown to us. In truth, we were just Narnians, trying to save the country from the White Witch. And the thanks I get from Caspian the ninth is being thrown into a prison."
"Prince Caspian the ninth threw you into prison for being a Narnian?"
"No. But his advisors did on his behalf. I spent many months feeling hostility. But it was all in vain when I realized that he was dead."
"Then what have you come for?" Peter asked. "What use are you to us?" He glanced back down at the piece of stone he was holding. His brow furrowed.
"High King Peter, it is a pleasure." She bowed. "But truly as a king of old you would've realized that elves are gifted with…certain powers."
"Like, magic?" Lucy asked, her head appearing behind Peter's elbow.
Lara looked directly at Lucy, a small smile playing on her lips. "Yeah. Like magic." She flicked her wrist and all the torches went out, not emitting even a single wisp of smoke. There wasn't any noise, only the small feeling of magic in the air. Then, as quick as they went out, they went back on, each small fire brighter than it had been before.
Susan stepped forward and held out her hand. Lara shook it. Susan looked, in a sense, stunned when Lara stepped up to shake her hand, unlike other Narnians. "How did you…"
"I've been to your world, yes."
"How?"
"There's more than one 'door' in Narnia. Many ways in and many ways out."
"That's…"
"Not entirely impossible." Peter said, stepping up to Lara. "I'm honored to be in the presence of one of the Elves of Old to serve in my army."
"It's all my pleasure, High King."
"Call me Peter."
"Peter."
Susan gave her older brother a skeptical look. "The Elves of Old? Do you really remember?"
"Of course." Peter said, nodding his head, handing Susan the stone that he had been holding. She looked at it, turned it clockwise, looked at it, then turned it around again. Her brow furrowed, then sky rocketed almost to her hairline.
"You were right, for once." She said, laughing slightly. She handed the stone to Lara and nodded knowingly. Lara took it and stared at it. Instantly, it started to glow and tremble beneath her hands. The script on the stone looked old, and almost unreadable. But she knew it to be the old language of the Narnians from the Golden Age. And in the time of most dire need, call upon the Elves of Old, who will stand by you with sword and bow and keep you safe from whatever not lay bare to your eye. Let them use the magic to set free the bonds that hold the Deep Magic in place. In deed and truth and honor, let them withstand the tests of time, and come to rest upon the shelves. When thing may seem out of place, call upon the Elves of Old. Their knowledge of the Old World and their magic will keep you bold. And in the time of danger and sacrifice, or should the world perish in cold, call upon the Elves of Old.
She traced the words with her finger and smiled to herself. So maybe her people had not been forgotten. Someone shuffled their feet in front of her. She looked up into Edmund's brown eyes. She felt her face warm and the tip of her ears felt warm as well. He held out his hand and she shook it, careful to remember what it felt like: soft, warm, and slightly sweaty. She felt a small spark of her magic, well, spark. He jumped back, a pinprick of surprise in his eyes. "Sorry." She said quietly.
Lucy was the last of them to shake her hand. When Lara's skin touched Lucy's, a surge of energy went through both girls. Everyone in the room could feel the energy pulsing as well. They all knew then that both Lara and Lucy were exceptionally gifted and talented, and powerful. Lucy smiled and giggled. Lara smiled and laughed a little. She looked up to the group of Narnians standing before her. Her eyes glowed.
She held up the piece of stone. "This is a reminder that Narnia is not dead. This is a reminder that not just the Elves of Old are still around, but all Narnians are still around and waiting for their chance to strike. And when we do, we will strike back hard. Listen all, we've got a lot of work to do." She set the stone down in the middle of the table and pulled out a chair. She took off her cloak and flung it over the back of the chair, showing her chain mail and armor. She nodded to Peter and Caspian, and the rest of the Pevensies, and they took their places.
Lara took a drink from her cup. She looked over the golden brim into the forest that lay beyond her. It was the same forest that she had been wandering through for almost two years. She breathed out gently, the air turning white in the slight chill. The rock beneath her was cold, but at least it wasn't too uncomfortable.
Edmund came and sat down beside her. He handed her a piece of warm bread. She took it and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly and savoring the familiar taste. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she had good Narnian food. "So you're really an elf?" He asked innocently.
She turned her head to look at him. "Yes." She smiled, and lifted her auburn hair to show him her ear. The end was pointed, the skin paler than that on her face. "That enough proof for you?"
"Yeah." He smiled and turned back to the forest. "So this is where you lived? Here in Narnia?"
"Mmhmm. I lived here, in these woods and those mountains," She pointed to the white capped peaks not too far off in the distance. Edmund nodded his head. "and then the Telmerains came."
"And we left." He looked sad, disappointed, and useless.
"You didn't mean to." He looked up at her, and smiled.
"Ed." Susan came up through the opening in the stone wall. "Pete wants to see you."
"Right." He shifted himself, and got up, accidentally brushing Lara on his way up. He walked behind Susan to the opening. Before he went though, he looked back. Lara nodded for him to go. He blinked and went with Susan.
"We've got a problem." Peter looked up at Edmund through some papers he was going through. "It seems…" He paused, pulling Ed aside, so no one else could hear him. "It seems that Caspian has put most of his trust in this…Lara. How should we know what to do with her? We barely know her."
Ed looked down at his feet, then met Peter's eyes. "I just talked to her. She seemed really…real. Like she was telling the truth. I think we should trust her."
Peter looked annoyed. "Oh, Ed. So simple now. Listen to me. We don't know her."
"That didn't stop us from trusting Caspian when we first met him."
"True. But how do we learn to?"
"I'd say…that's difficult to answer."
Susan touched Peter's arm, coming into the conversation. "Challenge her to a duel. If she wins, we let her stay."
"That's awfully unfair. Just because you've never heard of an elf before." Edmund said. "But let me do it."
"No. You'll go easy on her." Peter said.
"No, I won't. Even though I may not think it's fair, doesn't mean I won't play fair." Edmund nodded to Susan and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"You handled that nicely." Susan said, mocking her brother. "Just like the last few times."
"Oh, so you're saying that we should just trust her?"
"Not exactly. But we trusted Caspian. So why can't we trust her?"
"Because I said so. Go get Ed geared up, please." He ran a hand though his hair as Susan left the room, giving her brother a menacing glance before following her younger brother to the weapons room.
"They don't trust me." Lara said, pulling the chain mail over her head.
"No, they do. They just want you to prove your wit." Caspian said while touching the blade of her sword to his fingertip.
"Caspian." She stopped putting armor on and looked at him fiercely, a spark of annoyance flitting about her face. "Stop dawdling on the edge. You need to start choosing which side you're on."
He looked up at her, his brown eyes filled with sadness and confusion. "So you're asking me to choose between them, the Narnians, and you. That's quite a selfish proposition you're…well…proposing."
She looked down at the ground. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I meant only to say that…never mind." She busied herself with attaching the hard metal bodice to herself. "Damn thing won't fit."
"Here." Caspian said, walking over to attach the notches together. He pressed them all so that the tips were touching. Then he pressed on her sides, letting the gears lock into place. "How long has it been since you last wore this?"
"Too long." She said, gasping for breath. She winced as she tried to let it out. She waved her hand over the bodice, and it widened and elongated. "That's better." Caspian noticed this and laughed slightly. "What's so funny?" She asked, turning around to face him. Her freckled face was flat, no emotion whatsoever. This made him laugh a little louder. She had always been a little too serious.
"You need to lighten up a little." He hugged her and she began to laugh as well.
"I know." She slipped on the leather pants over her legged chain mail. "They won't be expecting me to be wearing pants." She slid on her scabbard and tucked her sword inside. She gathered her midnight blue cloak around her armor and fastened the clasp. She let her hair hang loose for the moment. She picked up the shield with the willow tree on it and flipped it over, running her finger along the inside rim, staring intently at the figures and symbols etched upon the surface. "To think that this is the last remaining elven shield from the Golden Age." She began to whisper the words to herself, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.
"Lara, Caspian." A centaur said from the doorway. Lara's head snapped up and she nodded, letting Caspian lead her out of the room. Before she left, she snatched up the helmet and her metal ringlet, then headed out the door.
Lara stepped out into the sunlight. The grass on the field shimmered gold. A little way past the group of Narnians shrouding the doorway, she could see the Pevensies. A little smirk played across her face. This is going to be too easy. She said silently to herself, hoping that what she thought was actually true.
Caspian looked at her and nodded. She walked past him, her cape billowing out slightly behind her. She stepped up onto the stone and tapped the toes of her metal boots. They made a harsh ring and she stopped. It reminded her too much of the sound of Telmerain swords being made; a sound she never wanted to remember. She set the helmet down on the small stool placed at her end of the square. She quickly mapped out the area, looking for the best places to lead her opponent into, the best places to jump off of.
Peter and Edmund walked over to her, both dressed in warfare uniform, then stopped. Her eyebrows twitched, and she walked the few paces it took to get to where they stood.
"You will be fighting Edmund." Peter said, nodding to the boy at his side.
"Nice uniform then, Peter." Lara said a little too begrudgingly.
He stiffened, but then relaxed, trying not to let someone younger than him get his goat. "I'm here for moral support."
"Of course."
"Do not be patronizing."
"Whatever you say, High King." Lara said, accenting the High King part.
Peter tried to look unfazed, but it wasn't quite working. "You may begin shortly, and only one respite is given."
"Sounds only fair." She looked up into Peter's blue eyes, which turned stony at her comment. Even if he did trust her, he still didn't like her. So he walked off the platform and stood with his two sisters. Lara looked back and saw Caspian standing there, looking impatient. She turned on her heel and walked towards him.
"What are you so impatient about?"
"I…I don't think this is fair. It's not tradition."
"Well, it's strange. Give Peter a break though, he's only trying to make sure I'm trust worthy, and am a wit to my worth."
"But giving tactless comments is not the way to prove anything." He said through gritted teeth."
"Too bad for him if he isn't strong enough to take words from an unkindly elf." She turned around and caught Edmund's eye. She swallowed once, feeling a tinge nervous. She steadied herself, then gently undid the clasp, keeping her cape on for a moment. Then, in one sweep of her arm, took it off and laid it on the bench. She could see Susan's eyes widen and little and whisper to her brothers. Lara ignored this, and swept back her hair as well. She wound it around the back of her head, and then tucked the remaining piece into the bun. She took the metal ringlet off her wrist and placed it around the bun on her head. She pushed it into her hair, making sure that it was tight, and making sure that her hair would not fall out in the middle of battle. She then took the helmet and placed it over her head, the bun slipping into the nook at the back. She then walked out into the sun and onto the stone.
Edmund walked over to her. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes."
"Listen, I could talk Peter into giving you another respite."
"No thank you. Now's not the time to be chivalrous. Because you will receive no act of charity from me." She flipped the face protector down over her face. Her breath and voice became eerily metallic. "I only wish I would have given you a better chance to prepare." Before Edmund had even gotten his helmet on, Lara knocked it from his fingertips. She swung her sword through the air and tried to bring it down on his shoulder. He blocked her blow with his shield.
"ONE MOMENT!" He said, stopping to pick up his helmet and put it on his head. She watched him, and waited until he looked good to go, then sent her foot up through the air, aiming for his kneed.
He brought the blunt end of his sword on top of her head. For a moment, her vision blurred. But she was back on full alert again. She pulled back her elbow and leaned forward, aiming for the weak spot of his armor, right between the shoulder and chest piece. She hesitated for too long because Ed pushed his sword toward her shoulder. She hit him with her fist and hooked her leg around his calf. She brought him down to the ground. He shuffled backwards and hacked away with his sword. She fought off every attack with her shield, his sword not even making a dent. She spun around as his foot collided with her back. She fell backwards and on top of him. She felt pain as the tip of his sword touched the base of her neck. She flipped around, pulling his shoulders along with her. She moved her arm so that it was gripping the back of his neck. She took her sword and aimed for his leg. He spun around and was back on his feet. She gripped the stone behind and jumped up. He was six feet away from her, his shoulders heaving slightly. She crouched a little, waiting for his next move. When he didn't, she ran towards him, veered left, put her foot on a rock then charged at him, gaining speed. She shoved her shield into his chest, blocking his arm from moving. He bashed his shield into her head, sending her helmet flying, and the chain mail was knocked off her head. She backed away quickly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Shit. She thought inside her head.
This is the way it went on for about three more minutes. Lara felt that she had finally met her match. He had many advantages over her, the best factor being the fact that he was about seven inches taller than her.
The clang of a sword very near her ear woke her up out of her thoughts. She pushed Edmund back with her feet and reached his helmet. She tore it off and flung it onto the ground. He jabbed his sword near her chest. She knocked it aside with her forearm armor. She sent her swords whistling through the air towards his face. His sword came back up, and they met together. She spun her sword in a circle, trying to throw his off. She moved her feet, and tried to break away, but couldn't. Her elbow collided with his shoulder, and she shoved harder. He grunted a little, but she didn't care. She took her sword and twisted it. Right, left, right, left, right. Then she clanged it against his a few times. One, two, three, four, one, two.
His sword flew through the air and landed on the grass. Her sword was pointed in his face, right at his nose. He was on his knees looking up at him. She smiled and slid her sword into her scabbard. She held out her hand, and he took it, getting up.
"You're…a great fighter." He said, stuttering, a little out of breath.
"Thanks. You are too." She touched her forehead, and she knew she was sweating. Caspian came over and touched her back. She looked behind her and he smiled knowingly. When she turned back around, however, Peter was standing beside his brother, face red and ears flushed a shade of purple.
"You…you…must have cheated."
She looked at him, any trace of her previous smile now gone. "No, I didn't."
"You had to have!"
"No, I didn't 'had to have.'" She said, using his words against him.
"Magic. That's the only way you could have beat him!"
"I think its high time Peter, you accept the fact that someone can beat you." Caspian said, coming in for Lara's defense.
"There's no way. She must have used magic."
"Peter, no I didn't. You would have felt it. Hell, you would have seen me use it."
"Your arms were moving all over the place! Those could have been little spell moves."
"But they weren't."
"Peter…" Susan said warningly, touching her brother's arm. "Don't get so wound up."
"No. She cheated."
"I did not." She looked at Edmund, who seemed to be at a loss for words. "Edmund, I sure hope that you don't end up being a," She turned back to Peter, "a belligerent puerile nonsensical yeasty codpiece, like your brother here." She paused, shifting her wait to her other foot. "And I thought you said we would play fair." And with that, she walked away, only glancing back to see Edmund's eyes on her. She turned back around, and undid the metal ringlet from her hair. She murmured thanks to Caspian for coming to her aid. She wanted to be happy about her victory, but she found that her mind was elsewhere. She figured that Peter didn't like her very much, and he would continue to not like her. She knew that he didn't trust her, she just couldn't understand exactly why. She also felt bad for a causing a rift when she was just trying to help with their war. Maybe she was getting in the way. Maybe she should leave.