"Peter, we have a visitor," Lucy cried excitedly, running into her eldest brother's bedchamber, "And she is most unusual; unusual but also lovely."
Peter smiled ruefully at his sister from where he sat on a finely shaped wooded chair beside a window overlooking the sea. "You still sound like an overexcited nine year old, Lu, but I'm not sure I would want you any different."
Lucy rolled her eyes, trotted over to her brother and pulled eagerly at his sleeve. "Do hurry. We won't be told anything until you meet her."
"Alright, alright," Peter chuckled, "I'll be down in a moment. Just let me make myself look presentable." By this Peter meant putting on a clean shirt and fixing his tousled hair.
"Okay," Lucy said turning towards the door, "But do hurry, Peter."
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The first that Peter noticed about the young woman before him was the beautiful white wings that grew from her shoulder blades. They were slightly transparent so that one could see the fine bones that made them sturdy, but the sunlight that filtered through them was faint rainbows. Her wings were also the only part of the young woman that was not covered in a fine layer of dust. Her hair was in knots and the clothing she had on was ripped, patched and dirty. She looked unsure what to do and dropped her eyes as Peter entered the great hall where she stood with his siblings, a Centaur guard and Tumnus the Faun. Peter felt a pang of surprise and sympathy for the young women who looked so close to his eldest sister's age and had obviously been through so much to arrive at his castle.
"What is your name?" Peter asked gently when he was standing in front of her. The women's eyes darted up to him for a moment, then back to the ground.
"Ena," She told him softly, "I have no other name, nor title, nor does my family. Though I would like it known that we have and always will be loyal followers of first Aslan and then the royal family and Narnia, Sir." She looked at Peter when she said the last statement and he noticed her eyes were a bright honey brown that made everything else in the room dull by comparison.
"All loyal followers are most welcome," He told her with a kind smile, "And whatever your purpose for coming to us is it can wait until you have bathed and we are seated around tonight's dinner." As Peter said these words he looked into her soft hazel eyes. He looked closer, but this must have caused her some discomfort because she again dropped her eyes.
Peter cleared his throat and looked at a faun chambermaid who had wondered into the hall to see the newcomer. "Can you help Lady Ena to a proper bath and a suitable dress?" he asked the maid, who nodded cheerfully.
As the stocky faun led her off Ena turned to Peter, "Sir, I have no title to grant me being called a Lady."
Peter smiled at her, "In Narnia you do."
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About an hour later Ena descended the stairs of the Grand dining hall of Cair Paravel after a warm bathe and change into the most beautiful and comfortable dress she had ever seen. Queen Susan had chosen it for her since Ena had admitted to not knowing what to choose. The result was a dark maroon dress that was cut low enough in the back to accommodate for her wings.
The centre of the dining hall was filled with an elegant table long enough to seat a hundred diners. On this night, however, there were only six seated on the side near to the door Ena would enter through. Peter sat at the head of the table with Edmund to his left and Susan and Lucy to his right in that order. Tumnus sat beside Lucy and an empty seat down from Edmund a lovely willowy driad was seated. Ena stepped so quietly that only the driad heard her footfalls before Ena entered the room. The driad turned her head slightly to one side and glanced towards the door. Peter, who had been sitting rather solemnly compared with the lively conversation of his friends and siblings, noticed the driad's movements, so was among the first to notice Ena.
Peter scrambled to stand up when Ena entered and the others followed his suit. She looked completely different from the dirty, scared young woman that had stood in front of him earlier. The maid must have told her some of the traditions also for Ena made a clumsy attempt to curtsy when she entered. A moment later she tried to curtsy again, but this time opened her wings and fluttered them lightly, lifting her a few inches off of the floor. She curtsied again in midair much more gracefully. Lucy grinned joyfully and clapped her hands together once, which made her look a few years younger than sixteen, "Oh that was the most beautiful curtsy I have ever seen!"
Ena blushed and, upon Edmund's motion to the seat between him and the driad, took her seat, the others sitting along with her. Peter noticed, with some amusement, Ena glancing curiously at the driad beside her and wondered if she had ever seen such a creation before. The cooks brought their dinner in right then so for several moments everyone was busy passing the plates around and getting their servings.
"Ena, May I ask a question without fear of offending you?" Susan asked looking up from cutting a piece of wild boar. Ena swallowed her mouthful of greens before she answered.
"I cannot promise that I will not be offended for I don't know what you are going to ask me," Ena replied, "But I will not be angry and will answer your question in full honesty, your Highness."
Susan smiled, "Queen Susan will do nicely enough. And my question is what exactly are you? In our years in Narnia we have not seen any being such as you. And also where do you come from?"
"I am half fairy and half human," Ena replied, "Do you know about fairies, Queen Susan, or should I explain the traits of my race?"
Edmund interrupted with a smile, "The only fairies we know of are from the stories of our own world and I doubt that they are completely true."
"Fairies are immortal beings who die only thru murder and the call of Aslan. Our wings, though they appear fragile, are stronger than any forged metal, but flexible and lighter than a bird's. The best fairies can control the weak minded thru their songs." Ena glanced at Peter with a small smile, "The eyes of a fairy turn different shades depending on our emotions, a trait, I believe, was noticed by High King Peter earlier."
Peter nodded to acknowledge the truth of her statement, "I thought it may have been my imagination. Being half fairy how many of these traits do you possess besides your lovely wings and your eyes?"
Ena smiled "Thank you, your majesty. Those are the only traits that I posses, though my wings are not quite as strong as a full fairy." She shook her head ruefully, "They can bruise if hit with enough force and keep me from flying."
"It must be wonderful to fly," Lucy mused outloud.
Ena nodded slowly, "It is. To be kept from flight is almost equal to not being able to walk."
"To answer the second question that was asked of me," Ena continued after a moment, glancing at each of the royal family for a brief moment, "My family is originally from Narnia. I, however, have never lived in this country."
Ena paused. She put down her fork and twisted her hands together. "When the White Witch took over Narnia my parents, as well as most of the other fairies and part fairies, fled to Archenland. However we weren't safe from there as we supposed. The Calormen attacked the country and captured my race. I have lived my whole life in slavery."
Tears filled Ena's dark blue eyes and she looked down for a moment. Edmund put his hand on her shoulder while the others looked at each other with worry. After a few moments and a couple deep breaths Ena offered Edmund a small grateful smile.
"I have much more that needs to be told, but I would rather finish it later," Ena said, turning her gaze towards Peter, "if your majesties would not mind."
They all assured her that she could tell the rest of her story when she felt able and the royal family and their friends continued with their meal.
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The following morning Peter walked out of Cair Paravel toward the stable just after the sun rose over Narnia. He was usually the only person who was awake at such an early hour so he was surprised to see Ena patting the nose of Susan's elegant black mare. Peter smiled at her disheveled appearance. Her dark brown hair was braided loosely so that some wavy strands fell around her face and her light blue dress was slightly wrinkled. "Good morning," Peter greeted her.
She jumped back and her wings which had been folded neatly against her back flung open. The horse shied away and eyed Ena and Peter suspiciously, trotting a few paces away from the paddock fence. Ena fumbled through a curtsy, "Good morning, Your Majesty," She greeted him stumbling over the words in her surprise, "I hope you don't mind me being here. I find horses so comforting." Her wide eyes were a very bright green.
Peter grinned, "That's perfectly fine, Ena," he assured her, "And you don't have to curtsy every time we meet. It's a bit tiresome."
"Thank you, your majesty," Ena said, with obvious relief, "I'm not used to having to curtsy."
"And, please call me King Peter," Still looking at her Peter leaned comfortably against the paddock fence, "That sounds more personable. After all, my brothers and sistersare called the same." He grinned at her boyishly, the corners of his blue eyes crinkling.
Ena returned the smile, if a bit shyly. Susan's horse stepped back to the paddock fence and pushed her finely shaped head against Ena's shoulder. Ena fell back a step, but good-naturally rubbed the mare's ears.
"Do you know how to ride?" Peter asked, "I take my horse out every morning and was going to head out soon."
"Yes, I can ride," Ena answered, "Taking care of and training my master's horses was one of my chief chores."
"Perhaps, than you would like to join me?"
Ena grinned and her eyes lightened to clear amber, "I would like that very much, King Peter."
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Less than an hour later Peter and Ena were mounted on a large bay stallion and a lean gray stallion. Peter led them through a path in the thick forest that surrounded Cair Paravel at an easy walk to let the horses stretch and warm up. At first Peter had kept glancing back to be sure that Ena wasn't having any problems. After a few glances, though, he realized that while Ena may not have known how to curtsy properly, she did know how to ride a horse. Ena was glancing curiously around the forest, her body moving easily with her mount. The horse snorted playfully at a leaf that was drifting past his nose and Ena smiled and patted his arched neck.
When they reached a wide, flower dotted meadow on the other side of the woods Peter pulled his horse to a halt and waited for Ena to pause beside him. "How about a race to that big oak tree in the corner?" He asked with a challenging grin. Ena returned the smile, "As long as you don't mind losing, King Peter."
As one both riders heeled their horses into a full gallop, raising out of their saddles and leaning forward to get their weight off of the horses' backs. The only sounds were the horse's hoof beats and rhythmic snorts. Peter drew well ahead of Ena and her mount for several strides. He laughed with pure joy and looked straight between his horse's well-shaped ears. I'm going to win this race. Just a few more minutes.
A moment later Ena's mount shot past him to his right, a blur of gray and blue. Peter pushed his horse into a higher gear and drew even to the other horse's hindquarters, then side, then shoulders. By the time the two riders came passed the large oak tree Peter was ahead by half a neck.
"Oh, that was wonderful!" Ena exclaimed after both horses changed to a high stepping walk, patting her mount's neck. Peter agreed with a wide grin. For several long minutes Ena and Peter were silent, catching their breathes and enjoying the warm sunshine. A rabbit called hello to them as they walked by and a badger waved grandly. They passed by three driad dancing elegantly amid the trees, their long arms and wispy hair swirling around them. To Peter, who knew all those who called out to them and had seen many driad dances these were everyday occurrences; to Ena they were like the remains of a dream, still drifting around her.
"This is exactly how I imagined Narnia being," Ena commented with a long sigh, "I could so easily go on with this dream forever, but I cannot waste anymore time on my own pleasures. It's time that you knew why I am here."