Enna Aldenthew had never seen mountains before. Having grown up on the sandy, sunny shores of Galma, an island somewhat southeast of Narnia, she was used to rolling dunes and the occasional wave-worn cliff. But these, the northeastern end of the blue Archen Mountains, rose formidably up into the sky, their distant peaks swathed with misty clouds that periodically blew aside to reveal snow-covered, craggy rock.

Are we going to try and travel through those monstrous things? she thought in dismay. It will surely be the death of us if we do!

But the young woman looked about at her traveling companions who were so calmly gazing across the wide plains at the impending peaks. There was King Edmund, no older than she, on the horse nearest hers: his dark head was unadorned but shone in the sunshine, his face striking with the kind of dignity that comes from sudden responsibility. He was the high king Peter's second in command, as well as his brother, and had been charged with sole authority over the small contingent of shining-armored Narnian soldiers that traveled with them.

Next to him was his sister, the irrepressible Queen Lucy, seated on a high-stepping palomino pony. She was merely seventeen, but had already won the hearts of princes from dozens of surrounding kingdoms with her good nature and sparkling eyes. Her long brown hair caught the wind and drifted whimsically about her head, but Enna had witnessed firsthand just how bloody-minded the girl was about being allowed to fight in battles.

Then there was Aramir Ealion, the sailor-turned-Narnian knight. He was hard to see, this far away, but his characteristic expression of utmost placidness with a hint of jocularity was unmistakable. In all the messes Enna had found herself in in the past, he had been there to help her out of them, pointing out some unpleasant truths along the way. (Little did he know, but Lucy's innocent heart had quite fixed itself on his.)

They were all very dear to Enna, but she could not help but notice how unperturbed they all looked! The band was mere days away from the snowy mountains, and no one had said anything about how they were going to get through them.

But Enna decided to keep her mouth shut, at least for the moment. It was a bright spring afternoon in late April, the sun was warm, and the plains through which they had been traveling were growing greener and greener with each passing day. To her mind, as unknowing about Narnia's geography as it was, it seemed as though they were making great progress—why, merely two weeks ago, she had bidden farewell to King Peter, her husband, no more than a league from the shores of the Great River, and already they were in sight of the mountains that delineated the border between the two great kingdoms of Narnia and Archenland. If the city of Anvard was as close as Edmund's maps made it seem, they could be there within the next two fortnights.

And time was of the essence. Even as their mounts steadily neared the intimidating peaks, the Galmanian hosts were streaming across the mainland, fractioned three times: a third gone west across the Archen River, intending to drive further into Narnia, a third gone west and through the Archen Mountains, surging into remote southwestern Archenland, and the third gone south to drive right into the vast but thinly populated kingdom. Peter, with the great lion Aslan as his guide, had sent Enna and the three others east, to ride to Anvard with all haste to warn their king of the impending military danger. He hoped to head off any potentially international conflict—if they could remind King Lune of Narnia and Archenland's intimate alliance, convincing him to refuse Galma's tempting advances and take up arms against them, the rebels might be forced back into Narnia, where their indignant high king awaited their punishment.

"Do you think we'll reach them before nightfall?" asked Lucy, her clear voice breaking the distracted silence.

"Reach what, Lu?"

"Well, the mountains, of course! What else would I be speaking of?"

"I apologize—my mind was occupied with other things. I think we will reach them tonight, but it will be late, and we shall have to camp in their shadows."

"I am excited to see Prince Corin again."

"Oh, Lucy, don't be silly. He's a beastly boy!"

"You're just saying that because he knocked you down the last time we met."

"Aye! Who dares knock down a king!"

"I think it was good for you."

"He is quite the naughty fellow."

"I believe you're just jealous because an eight-year-old managed to knock you over, a sixteen-year-old!"

"Imagine what he will be like now, at nearly eleven."

"I doubt much worse. Probably better!"

"Hardly."

"Enna, what do you think?"

Enna laughed. "I do not know Prince Corin, Lucy, and so can hardly be called upon to predict his behavior."

"Well, what do you think, Aramir?"

"I would naturally agree with both of Your Majesties, but as you have given such different testimonials, I can't even begin to decide whose to pick."

Lucy giggled. "Pick mine—I guarantee, it is the better one."

"Time will be your judge, my lady," Aramir said grandly, sending Lucy into more giggles.

Edmund did not look very pleased with his sister's behavior, but Enna could hardly blame him. "It has been very long since we were last in Archenland."

"Aye, and Aramir and Enna have never been at all!"

"Aramir was born there," Enna corrected.

"Aye—but it has been many years since I stood on Archenlandian soil."

"It is not much different from Narnian soil," Edmund said with a dry wink.

Lucy laughed again, tossing her long brown hair. "That we shall soon see, my dear brother—that we shall soon see."

--

A/N: Haha, Sushi here! Welcome to "Taming the Tides"! If I had a definite idea of where this story is going, I'd take the time about now to say that you could read it without having read or at least knowing the plot of "Sea Rat," but I guess we'll all have to find out whether or not that's true. XD

A lot of you who reviewed "Sea Rat"'s epilogue noted how much more of a cliffhanger than an epilogue it was, and I just wanted to say that I did that purposefully. ;D I hope you enjoy "Taming the Tides," and it answers any questions the epilogue might've raised!

PS: Sorry it's so short, but it just didn't seem right to jump immediately into the plot action. So there you have it! Shiny button right below is beckoning, isn't it?