Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia.

Okay, sorry about the break. It's been a while and all, but here's the first chapter of my new story!

The Forgotten Lady

The Telmarine ships drew even closer to the Narnian shore. The catapults were readied and the Telmarines began to fire. Prince Caspian I stood on the prow of his ship and smiled cruelly.
"If Swanwhite won't consent to marriage then I will take her" he said. The Telmarines watched as the stones hit the cliff the castle was perched upon and began to crumble. The Narnian soldiers began to move people out the castle. Although part of the castle was damaged it had held up pretty well. Only one tower had fallen, crashing down the cliff into the sea below.

Queen Swanwhite II drew her generals into the council chambers.
"For three months we have held the Telmarines at bay" she said.
"Yes, but we knew they would come" Lana said.
"I do not intend to give the Narnian Throne to a selfish Prince, no matter how powerful" Swanwhite said.
"Then what do you suggest, they will raze the country to the ground to get you" Guyl said.
"We must kill them!" Kilgra shouted.
"We cannot. They are cowards and fight on ships" Swanwhite told the centaur.
"We must protect him" Kilgra said insistently.
"When I was crowned Queen, I made a solemn oath to protect him." Swanwhite said.
"What do you suggest? If the castle falls then we will all be in danger" Lana asked. "Cair Paravel has lasted for many years as a secure fortress; once the walls are breached we will have nowhere to go"
"Choose the most trusted soldiers. Take him to Aslan's How. He won't be harmed there. Aslan will protect him." Swanwhite replied decisively.
"Of course Your Majesty" Lana bowed and hurried away.
"We may die. But we will fall knowing we have kept him safe for the next generation, until he is needed again" Swanwhite said.
"But what about yourself Your Majesty?" Guyl asked.
"I will stay and buy you more time. Gather the people, give them horses, and take them to Archenland"
"But Ma'am…" Kilgra began.
"No, I chose my fate. The Great Lion will welcome me into His Country, but I will not allow the Telmarines to gain our most precious, hidden treasure."
"I salute you Your Majesty, for your bravery" Guyl said.
"As do I" Kilgra said. Other voices murmured in agreement.
"Until we meet again, my friends" Swanwhite said and the council was dismissed.

A small cart moved out the castle a mounted guard beside it. The cart was covered, kept from prying eyes. Some, those who knew what lay inside the cart, knelt as it passed, silence blew through the town, people stopped in mid step as they watched their saviour being borne away. The cart travelled many days at a slow steady pace before it came to Aslan's How. The beautiful decorations of the How were left unseen as the guard dismounted and pulled the cover off the cart. They took the ice block and hoisted it on their shoulders, carrying it through the maze of tunnels till they reached a room, laying the covered ice block down, all but one left the room. Lana touched the cold surface. She wanted to see if the tales were true. The swath of grey silk was pulled off the ice. Lying in the ice, frozen was a figure, dressed in the traditional armour of a Knight. The tunic was richly coloured, the golden lion standing out against the crimson background. The Knight's hands were holding a sword, in its black and silver sheath. This was the Knight. The legendary warrior, bound to protect all from the wrath of Narnia's enemies. No one knew the name or the appearance of this Knight, but everyone knew the tales. The man who would rise from sleep and reclaim the land once she had been lost. He would win the victorious battles for Narnia. This Knight was from the Golden Age, a fearsome warrior who, it was rumoured, could stop a giant with a glare, take on an army single-handedly and win.

Lana thought back to her home, Cair Paravel with its busy market place and cheerful inhabitants, all confined within the great walls of the city. She remembered the clear sea below her and the beautiful sky above her. She remembered the beauty of the city and the castle. Now it would be gone. The heavy rocks already meeting their targets as she led the guard out of her home, the beautiful white stone would be crumbled and broken by now. Lana imagined the Queen, the famous Swanwhite, making her final stand.

Prince Caspian I looked down at the broken remains of his future wife. His eyes then turned to the ruined castle before him and he scowled.
"See the barbarians; they will die to make sure we don't get them." The General said.
"A land without a Queen is ripe for the plucking" Caspian said, he turned to his soldiers, all waiting silently on the docks.
"Sire?" the General said.
"I take this land, in the name of my father and his father before him. The right to rule passed down to me." The Prince said.

It was a month later when the new castle was completed and the, once Prince, King Caspian looked around the ruins of the broken castle once more, for the final time. He walked down an old corridor. A sense of unease in the air, like a heavy presence watching him, unnerved him. He stopped suddenly as a figure appeared on the path in front of him.
"Swanwhite?" he asked. She shone with a pale light, looking twice as beautiful as he remembered her.
"You will not escape judgement" she said and disappeared.

Caspian looked at the spot where Queen Swanwhite had appeared; he replayed the words in his head. He turned around and ran back to his party.
"How many Narnians are dead?" he asked his General.
"Over 1000 of many different… varieties" his General said.
"Good. How many do we estimate are left in Narnia?" Caspian asked.
"Very few… They've fled" the General said.
"Good" Caspian said.

As time passed, and King Caspian I of Narnia, the first Telmarine King grew older and married a Lady who bore him a son, Caspian II, he forgot all about the encounter with the ghostly Queen Swanwhite. One day he watched as the patrol came back from the woods, a dozen fine, strong men had set off, but only nine of the men had returned.
"Where are the others?" he asked Captain Mayled.
"We were by the ruins of Cair Paravel and a white woman came towards us. She looked into our very souls and three of the men dropped down dead" Mayled said "the horses tried to bolt"
"White Woman?" Caspian asked.
"Yes, sire, she looked like the fair Queen who once ruled these lands" Mayled said hesitantly.
"I want you to issue an order for the woods to be abandoned. It seems the Narnian barbarian Queen wants her throne back. She will not kill any more of my men" Caspian said.
"Yes sire, do you want us to tell them why?" Mayled asked.
"Yes. Tell them the woods are full of ghosts" Caspian said.

Okay, so, what did we think?

I'll try and get the next one up tomorrow, but it's parents evening so I need to make sure my parent think I'm a nerd.

Jedhev