Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't...
Summary: "Tell me about Charlie."
A/N: This oneshot was requested by Elbereth Starkindler and is set in my A Light in the Darkness universe. Spoiler Alert: There are spoilers for A Light in the Darkness: Rekindled, but you can read it as a standalone if you so choose. Enjoy!
The Story of Charlie
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He smiled faintly, "If you wish to distract me, you may tell me a story."
She smiled, "You want me to tell you a story? About anything or anyone in particular?"
He nodded, "Tell me about Charlie."
"But, Oreius, I've already told you about Charlie."
"You have never told me how you came to be in Charlie's care."
Alambiel looked thoughtful for several long minutes before she finally nodded, "All right, I'll tell you about the day I first met Charlie..."
~ From A Light in the Darkness: Rekindled, Chapter Twenty: A Change of Plans
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I wasn't sure what had prompted the Kentauri to ask me for the story about how I first met Charlie, but in this dismal place I was glad for the distraction. Actually, I was a little surprised I hadn't told this story already. I nodded, "All right, I'll tell you about the day I first met Charlie…"
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I stared at the Professor, holding back the sudden wave of tears that threatened to break my mask, "I thought I was going back with you."
The Professor touched my shoulder and I stiffened as he quietly spoke, "Ah, lass, I would take you if I were able, but I cannot. I'm too old and I can't protect you the way you need to be protected now." I crushed the urge to shudder at the memory of the Monster and his threats. My hands ached. I pushed away the pain, real and remembered, and the fear as I latched on to my anger. The Professor ran a hand through his white hair, not that it made any difference. His hair still stood on end just like it had from the moment I first met him. He raised his unlit pipe and chewed on the stem before he pointed it at me, "I know you must be scared, but Charlie Sutton is a good man. He and his wife, Maria, can teach you a lot if you'll let them."
I didn't say a word and the Professor pointed the pipe stem at my head and then at my heart as he spoke, "You must be remembering, Katerina Alambiel, that is not what's up here that makes us who the Lord has crafted us to be, it's what you find in here. You must lower those walls you be putting up around your heart to reach your full purpose." He stared at me for a long moment, but I just gave a jerky nod. "I will be checking on you soon. Be good, lass. Now let's be off on this fine day and be thanking our Lord that it's not another soft old day."
I gave him a half-hearted smile, knowing that's what he wanted to see. But, I didn't smile as we walked into the room where this Charlie was waiting to take me away. The Professor walked over to the man and shook his hand. I stared at the man, who had to be Charlie Sutton. He wasn't tall, actually he was a little shorter than me and I was already five foot eight. He had tan, weathered skin and a distinct way of carrying himself that reminded me of the Marshals, the ones who had a military background. His brown hair was cut short and close, but his eyes seemed kind enough when he looked at me, "So this is Miss Alambiel."
I scowled, "That is not my last name."
The Professor cleared his throat, giving me a reproachful look, "This is Katerina Alambiel. She's usually called Katerina. Katerina, this is Charlie Sutton."
"Sutton is my last name."
Okay, that was almost funny. The Professor walked us to the door then waved as I reluctantly walked with Charlie Sutton to wherever we were going. The ride was long, but he didn't say much until we were surrounded by the woods. Then, I spied him watching me out of the corner of his eye, "So, Katerina, how old are you?"
"Thirteen."
He nodded but didn't say anything else until we'd stopped in front of a ranch. I nearly groaned aloud when I saw the group of men gathered in front of a barn, they were in uniform. The Professor had let the bureaucrats send me to a makeshift boot camp…or my guards had been upgraded. Ugh. But, I didn't make a sound as I followed Charlie Sutton up to the house. A dog trotted around the corner of the wraparound porch and I stopped. The dog, a collie, tilted its head then walked up to me, sniffing my shoes and pants before it sniffed my hands (which were finally without bandages) and licked my fingers. I grinned and scratched behind the collie's silky ears as I crouched in front of him, "Hi. You are such a good dog and you're handsome too." Running my fingers through his ruff, I found his collar and read the name on the tag, "Reuben, huh? Well, you don't look like a Reuben to me but don't worry about that."
Hearing voices coming close to the door, I quickly stood up and walked into the house with Reuben following me. Charlie Sutton grinned and introduced me to a petite woman with tan skin and big brown eyes, "Katerina Alambiel, this is my wife, Maria, and I see you've met Reuben already. Now, you don't have to call us Mr. and Mrs. Sutton. In fact, we'd prefer it if you called us Charlie and Maria."
Maria nodded, smiling widely, "Yes, now you come with me and we'll get you settled in your room. Don't worry about Reuben bothering you; he usually sticks with Charlie or me when he chooses not to harass the horses." I followed her, carrying my single bag of clothing and the tote bag that held my drawing implements and a couple of books the Professor had given me, okay, ten books and all but one of them were in the languages he had been teaching me. The room was nice…it was certainly better than being stuck in a hospital room. Maria smiled at me again, "Now, you can fix this up however you like, it's yours for as long as you're with us. Oh, and don't worry about the boys, they're all Charlie's men and most of them work here in addition to being part of his unit."
I nodded and she left. Later that night after a rather awkward dinner, Reuben stuck his head in the door of what was now my room then trotted in. I got off the bed in order to close the door again, only when I turned around the collie was stretched out on my bed. "Hey, you're not supposed to be up there."
He raised his head just long enough to look at me and then dropped his head back down (on one of the pillows no less) and groaned, wagging his tail once. "You're unbelievable. Move over." I pushed Reuben so he was more on the other side of the bed then moved my books to the nightstand before crawling into the bed. The collie shifted until his head was draped over my shoulder but it didn't bother me.
I bolted up in bed, gasping for breath, as a blaring noise jolted me from my sleep. Reuben jumped off the bed and scampered out the open door. I blinked at the sight of Charlie blowing on a blasted bugle. A glance at the clock made me hiss. It was barely four in the morning. What is wrong with him?
Charlie finally stopped making that infernal noise and I hissed at him, "Are you bloody insane?"
He chuckled then barked, "You've ten minutes to make yourself presentable and come outside for a run."
"A run?"
"To start with and then we will see how you are at self-defense and then we will finish up with suicides." The stupid running exercise that evil coaches used to make their teams work together and build up stamina, really? Was this guy serious? He smiled and added, "Hurry up, you've only nine minutes left."
I stared as he left then Maria poked her head in, "I'm afraid Charlie was serious, hun. Best hurry." Deciding I'd been dropped in a nuthouse, I finally got out of bed and dressed for a run. Joining Charlie, I saw the group of men from yesterday were also arranged in a troop. Oh joy, a group activity. I glared at Charlie but didn't say a word as he called for us to start running (although I did stick my tongue out when he called over his shoulder that they were going to start slow for the newbie).
I finished the run first (and yes, I did enjoy the surprised looks on their faces), but then Charlie proceeded to wipe the floor with me during self-defense…but not until I'd held him off for a good ten minutes, thanks to the Professor arranging for all the kids in the orphanage to receive basic self-defense lessons. Suicides…ugh, I never wanted to do those again (unfortunately, judging by Charlie's talk at dinner, I was going to be achingly familiar with them). Maria had rescued me that afternoon and coaxed me into helping her prepare the dessert, a cake with lots of chocolate). That night as I lay in bed with Reuben sprawled across my legs (the dog snored too), I realized that the Professor was right. I could learn a lot from Charlie and Maria and I was going to learn everything I could for as long as it lasted.
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The Kentauri gave me an unfathomable look then he grinned, "I would have liked to meet Charlie. He sounds very proficient."
I shook my head, laughing softly, "Charlie would have liked you."
He was quiet for several minutes then mused, "Perhaps I should use a trumpet to rouse the kings and Tarrin Peridanson out of their beds for training from now on."
Oh that would go over so well with them…not. "Oreius, if you do that, don't you dare tell them where you got the idea from…and if you try to do it with me, I will throw something sharp at you."
He chuckled and I leaned my head back against his arm, smiling in spite of the fact that we both knew there was a good possibility that we were not going to survive our change of plans for tomorrow. I was still thankful for Charlie's initial training and I was grateful for Oreius' own contributions to my fighting skills. But, most of all, I was glad I wasn't alone. If I were truly brave, I'd tell the Kentauri the truth that had been weighing on me since our last night in Zelaia. But, I wasn't brave enough. Instead, I prayed that we'd survive tomorrow. Aslan with us, we would escape this horrible place and return home to Narnia.
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A/N: Please Read and Review!