Prologue
Seven Isles, Gebony, year 1000
A small family walked along a rocky, otherwise deserted path toward a very small ship which was docked at the end of a small, but wide pier. The sky surrounding them was a myriad of colors; gold, pink, purple, and dark blue for the sun was setting. It was a very peaceful setting, a direct opposite of what the day had been.
"Remind me to never bring one of our daughters here again, no matter how much they beg us to," whispered the man to his wife, as he gently nudged his nearly-sleeping daughter that was resting on top of his wide shoulders. He spoke calmly, with only his eyes showing how furious he was.
"Yes well… next time, remind me to not join you when you are planning on coming to Gebony," said the woman firmly; "I don't think I'd be able to make it through the entire time without strangling someone."
The man smiled slightly, amused because he knew that his wife wasn't exaggerating.
"Well, I think it's safe to say that you did better than I thought you would. Needless to say I was impressed, you kept your temper in check and everything," said the man.
"There are plenty of things about me you'd be impressed by," said the woman with a small smirk.
"I don't doubt that," said the man quietly, with a small chuckle. They walking in compatible silence, with only their footsteps making any noise.
"On the up side," said the man suddenly; "I think Agatha had a good time with the other kids."
The woman smiled fondly as she looked at her eldest daughter.
"Daddy…" said the eight-year-old sleepily, as she rubbed her left eye with her fist; "Are we home yet?"
The parents laughed quietly, as the father reached up, and gently padded the child's bent back.
"Almost sweetheart," said the woman soothingly.
"Is Asana going to be okay?" The child asked nervously.
"Your sister's going to be fine; she just has a slight head cold," said the woman.
"Besides, Tristan's hasn't failed us yet," said the man; "Don't worry, you'll see her once we get home."
After a brief silence, the man turned toward his wife and asked;
"Did you hear about Narnia?"
The woman's brow creased.
"That never-ending winter place... what about it? Did the snow finally start melting?" She asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"No… it didn't start; it finished. Spring has finally arrived there," said the man.
"What?"
"Do you recall the prophecy of Narnia?"
"Yes, I've heard it once or twice, but what of it?" The woman asked.
"It's been fulfilled," answered the man solemnly, as the woman gapped.
"By who?"
"Four siblings… young; the youngest around our girls' age."
"And the eldest?"
"Not much older… fourteen, thirteen, around there."
The woman gave a low whistle.
"I hope they know what they're doing," she said earnestly.
"I don't think Aslan would have crowned them otherwise," said the man thoughtfully; "Besides all the skepticism and prejudice I'm sure they'll, unfortunately, have to face , I'm sure they'll perform admirably. Though people like to believe otherwise, children usually make wondrous leaders. Their innocence, and kind ways help them make the most fair and moral decisions possible. Then when they grow they'll be so used to acting in such a manner that they won't change a bit."
"I could do that," said the girl unexpectedly, as she bent over to look at her father, who laughed.
"Yes you probably could, but you won't have to for quite some time," he said; "And anyway, I thought you were sleeping."
"You two talk loudly; it woke me up," she said bluntly.
Both parents laughed, as the father set the young girl on the ground. She grabbed hold of her father's hand with both of her own.
"We should meet them," said the woman suddenly.
"Meet who?"
"Meet who he says," the woman sighed; "The new Narnian monarchs of course, you great old buffoon! It would be in their best interest to know that they have at least one country ready to help them if need be."
"Seven technically," corrected her husband.
"Pardon?"
"Well… there are seven isles, so technically, they have seven countries ready for their aid if need be," explained the man.
"Yes well… all seven islands are known as one, so I think it would be only --"
A loud snapping sound cut her off -- a snapping sound too loud to be an animals.
"What was that?" The little girl asked, as she stood on her tiptoes to look. The man picked up his daughter, and handed her to his wife. He placed a hand on his sword hilt, ready to take it out at a moments notice. His brown eyes narrowed toward the large forest on the other side of the path. As he looked, he felt cold dread and fear fill his heart that would have made the hundred year winter in Narnia feel like summer. He had been afraid something like this would happen; out of all of the Seven Isles, Gebony was the least trusted.
"You two go back to the ship -- quickly!" He whispered fiercely, suddenly grateful his youngest child was ill.
"Ben--"
"Now!" He drew his sword swiftly, and dared to look at his wife again. She was wearing a defiant, fierce look that caused her cheeks to flush. The same look that made him fall in love with her in the first place.
"Hermia… go," he whispered.
"Mommy… what's going on?" The little girl asked her mother, while looking at her father with wide, frightened eyes.
At the sound of her daughter's voice, the woman tightened her grip on the little girl, turned around, and started running toward the ship. Her concern and love for her daughter were the only things that kept her running forward, even when she started hearing the sounds of metal against metal, she continue running.
Finally they reached the ship, the woman fumbled, as she raced down the ladder. She kicked opened the door to the cabin, and set her daughter down on top of the bed. The small girl stared at her mother with very wide, frightened, unblinking hazel eyes. The woman ran about the room picking up her husband's dagger, and her own rapier, cursing herself for not bringing it to the meeting.
"Mommy!" The little girl shouted, nearly screamed; "Mommy! Where are you going? What's going on!"
The woman knelt down in front of her daughter, and looked her straight in the eye.
"Agatha I need you to stay here --"
"Don't leave me! What's happening to Daddy?" The small girl interrupted, tears starting to gather in her eyes.
The woman took a deep breath, trying to composing herself for her daughter's sake.
"I'm going to get your father, and we'll both come back," she said firmly, perhaps a tad bit too firmly. She was saying it as much for her sake as for her daughter's; "But in order to do that, I have to leave; okay? You'll be fine here." I hope, the woman added silently.
The little girl nodded, trying to be as brave as she thought her parents were.
"Take this," said the woman as she handed her daughter her husband's green-hilted dagger.
The small girl took it carefully, and placed it cautiously in her lap.
"Isn't Daddy going to want this back?" The girl asked innocently, knowing how much the dagger meant to her father. It had been a gift from the Dragons.
"Of course he is. I….I just want you to hold on to it until we get back," said her mother.
The girl nodded, as her mother stood up.
"Mommy!" The girl screamed, as she noticed her mother pick up the rapier.
The woman bent down and kissed her daughter's brow. She wasn't the world's most affectionate mother (she had never been good at showing how she felt), and she tried to place all of her love and devotion for her daughter into the simple kiss.
"I'll be right back," she said; "Stay. Here."
The girl nodded, tears forming in her eyes again, as her mother ran from the cabin shutting (and from what she heard -- locking) the door behind. She had no idea what was going on, but she knew it wasn't good. Only something really horrible would cause her mother to leave her father.
Panic started crawling up her spine, as her heart starting beating painfully fast -- so fast that she was certain that it would leap right out of her chest and onto the floor in front of her. Her breaths starting coming out in fast gasps, as her grip on the dagger tightened.
"Daddy, and Mommy are coming back," she whispered aloud to herself; "Everything's going to be fine. Mommy and Daddy are coming back."
She continued whispering this to herself for a long time, until she heard a loud crash from above her. She jumped at the unexpected noise, and stood up. Relief flooded through her like water-- Mommy and Daddy are back! She thought, as her heart slowed down.
The sound of footsteps filled the air, and got steadily louder as they came closer to the cabin. The girl heard someone try to open the door.
"Damn bitch locked it," a husky voice swore.
"Must be something valuable in there," another, deeper, voice said.
Panic pierced the girl like a knife; that wasn't either of her parents' voices. She whimpered in fright, as she back up to the far wall, and curled up in the corner, with the dagger clenched in her hands. She held on to it so tightly that her small fists were snow white.
The door was suddenly kicked open so hard that it flew off its hinges. The girl buried her face in her arms so no dust or tiny wood chips would get in her eyes.
"Or not," said the deeper voice.
The girl looked up cautiously, and saw that there was three men in the room, all of which were staring at her as if she was a disease-infested rat. She whimpered, and tried to move back further, as one of the men walked toward her. His black boots stomped loudly against the floor, and he stopped right in front of her. He knelt down, and looked at her with a critical eye. The girl whimpered, and gripped her father's dagger even tighter.
The man noticed this.
"You might be in luck after all Quemoy," he said, as the girl flinched, and he snatched the dagger out of her hands; "This looks Dragon made."
He tossed the dagger toward the deeper voiced man, who caught it, looked at it for a brief second, before flicking the blade, and biting -- yes biting -- the hilt. The girl's rage drove out most of her fear, as she stood up and shouted fiercely;
"Stop that! Give it back! It's not yours!"
The three men simultaneously looked at her, each wearing similar expression that made it seem like they were surprised that the girl could actually talk. Under their gaze, the girl's fear returned, and she started trembling slightly, but she continued to glare at them.
"You heard the young lady give her back her dagger," said the man with the boots in a slightly mocking tone.
"Really, a lady? How can you be sure?" The husky voiced man asked in a sneering way; "She doesn't look very lady like to me? Perhaps we should check."
The girl had no idea what they were talking about -- of course she was a girl! Why else would she be wearing a dress? The way the husky voiced man and the man with the boots looked at her now, made her want scream and run away. New tears formed in her eyes, as she started trembling again; Where was Mommy and Daddy?
"Enough you two!" The man with her dagger and the deeper voice said fiercely, looking at his two companions as if he couldn't believe his ears; "Let's just take whatever's valuable -- which probably won't be that much, and leave."
He set the dagger down on the floor, gave his companions a warning type of look, and then left. The girl crawled slowly forward and was about to pick up the dagger, when she felt a sharp kick in her stomach. She cried out, as tears poured down her face, and the spot of impact started pounding. What had she done to deserve being kicked? She stared at the men in disbelief, and pain, wanting Mommy… and Daddy. Where are they? Mommy said she would be right back.
"Aw… the little princess wants her Mommy," sneered the husky voiced.
The girl bit her lip; she hadn't realized she had spoken aloud.
"Well… let me tell you something princess," continued the man relentlessly, as he knelt down to look at her full in the face. The girl flinched; "Your Mommy isn't ever coming back."
"Yes she is!" The girl insisted. Her mom had said she would come back, and she never broke her promises. Where was she?
The girl reached for the dagger, but the men noticed. One of them (she didn't see who) stepped on her hand very hardly, and bent down to pick up the dagger for themselves. The girl screamed louder than she ever had before. She screamed so loud out of pain, and also out of the faint hope someone -- anyone -- would hear her and help. Where was Daddy -- Dad her constant savior; a hero in her eyes. What happened to him? What happened to Mommy…? Why weren't they coming?
She started crying so hard that she got hiccups. She couldn't breath!
"Will you shut that damn girl up!" One of the men hissed.
One of the men -- the one with the shiny boots -- bent down to pick her up, but she started screaming even louder, and kicking. But somehow the man ended up picking her up anyway. She pounded on his back with her good hand, and tried to kick him.
"Let's get out of here," said the husky-voiced man.
They started running out toward the pier. Panic filled the girl's heart again; where were they taking her? WHY were they taking her? What did she do wrong? Even more tears starting pouring down her face. She was so scared, and so worried about her parents.
They were out on the pier now; the girl could see the stars in the sky. She suddenly wished she wasn't crying so much, so she could yell for help. But the harder she tried to stop, the more tears came.
A light was suddenly shined in front of her face, by the man that wasn't carrying her.
"Quemoy's still in there," said the man with the boots tonelessly.
"Does it matter?" The other asked.
"Not really."
The husky-voiced man suddenly threw the lantern onto the ship, causing the glass around it to break, and the flame inside of it to spread and set the ship on fire.
"NO!" The girl shouted. Her Dad, and few of his friends had spent months building the ship!
"Shut up!" Both men snapped angrily.
They started walking off the pier, the only sound around them was the girl's sobbing.
Where was Mommy and Daddy!
The girl looked around, and her heart nearly stopped. There right at the end of the pier was a curly haired woman laying on the ground.
"Mommy!" The girl shouted, as she struggled as hard as she could to get out of the man's grip. Finally she somehow managed to escape the cruel man's grip, and she sprinted toward her mom.
As soon as she looked at her mother's face, she knew something was wrong. Her face was too pale, her eyes glazed over, and half-closed, and there was blood…. She screamed out in complete horror, shock, and complete pain; she would rather have all of her bones broken than have to feel this. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed….
The next thing she would remember was waking up on the ground, covered in blood, her clothes in a bloody pile next to her, her father's dagger next to her also covered in blood, and with every inch of her body aching. She would notice that the sun was just starting to rise….
Miles away in a different country, a ten-year-old king would be asleep in a castle's library using a thick book as a pillow. Not knowing what just happened to the poor girl, not knowing that someday about nine years from then the girl would enter his life in the most unexpected way….