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... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.
Summary: Don't judge a book by its cover...or a knight by their rumors... A lesson Peridan and his family learned as they adjusted to their new life in Narnia.
A/N: This is part of my A Light in the Darkness universe. I recommend reading the main story arc (Awakening, Shadowed, and Revealed) first, but you can give this one a whirl on its own too.
Chapter One
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15 Quickening 1005
Peridan took care to keep his steps light as he moved around the room gathering his sword and selecting one of his heavier leather jerkins. He crept out of the bedroom and carefully closed the door so his movement through the parlor wouldn't disturb Marsalla. His wife still hadn't completely recovered from the journey to Narnia from their former home in Archenland. Peridan closed his eyes and prayed that the change in climate would prove helpful in strengthening Marsalla's weaker constitution. She had been ill ever since she had been expecting Maisee and she hadn't begun to truly improve until a scarce two months ago. The best healers in Anvard had theorized that a somewhat milder climate would help her recovery...but then they had also told Peridan and Marsalla that Marsalla wouldn't be able to have any more children before they had Maisee. He hoped their theory about the climate proved more correct.
Peridan set his sword on the settee for a moment as he tugged his boots on and slipped his jerkin over his head. Having been in Narnia for a week, he was restless for something to do that required more action than playing chess. Belting his sword on, Peridan left his and Marsalla's quarters only to immediately sneak into the nursery to check on Maisee. Fortunately, the nine-month-old was sleeping soundly after being surprisingly fussy the night before and Peridan held his sword still, preventing any unnecessary noise, as he slipped back out of the nursery. Walking down the hall, he paused at another door and, cracking it open, he whispered, "Tarrin, are you awake?"
His eldest immediately joined him in the hall, fully dressed in his own leather jerkin and with his new sword belted around his waist. "Yes, Father, and ready to train."
Peridan chuckled, "So I see. Well then let us go find the training grounds." Tarrin's excitement was nearly palpable but the fourteen-year-old just nodded. Peridan barely resisted the urge to ruffle his son's light brown hair; instead, he led the way down the hall, stopping only to acquire directions to the training grounds from a Leopard.
Reaching the training grounds, Peridan wondered if he looked as wide-eyed as his son did as they took in the sight of different creatures sparring with each other either on their own or under supervision. Living in Narnia, and more specifically living in Cair Paravel, was a true change from the all-human court of Anvard. Placing a hand on Tarrin's shoulder, Peridan steered him to an unoccupied area of one of the smaller training yards. He would seek out the General later, but first he needed to give Tarrin his lesson in swordsmanship.
Father and son sparred for just over two hours, going over the basic moves before Peridan added a new defensive tactic. He nodded in approval when they stopped and Tarrin looked at him, breathing hard from the exertion as he waited for Peridan's final say on the lesson. "Good, though you are still tilting your blade too far on that last strike. It's throwing you off balance and leaving your right side completely open to attack. We'll work on that some more tomorrow. Now go clean up for breakfast with your mother and siblings."
Tarrin swiped the sweat from his brow and gave a quick nod, "Yes, Father."
Peridan watched as his son darted off before he glanced around, trying to decide who he might inquire as to the General's whereabouts. A Fox was perched on a low bench and he inclined his head as soon as Peridan looked at him. Peridan inclined his head in return and walked over to the Fox, "Good morning, sir."
The Fox smiled, "Good morn, Lord Peridan formerly of Archenland and now of Narnia. I am Sir Rupert Grefftus Fox. I couldn't help but notice you seem to be looking for someone. Perhaps our illustrious General?"
Peridan nodded, trying to hide his surprise at the way the Fox, or rather the way Sir Rupert addressed him, though he doubted he was very successful based on Sir Rupert's amused look. "Yes, I've need to speak with General Oreius about several matters. Might you tell me the best place to seek him out?"
Sir Rupert tilted his head, "Hmm, well I do believe he has finished training Sir Wolfsbane and Sir How for the morn. In all likelihood, the best place to seek the General out would be to go to the armory or to his study if he is not in the armory. Shall I show you the way?"
Peridan nodded again, "That would be most helpful, Sir Rupert. I also wonder if you might-" Peridan cut himself off as Tarrin suddenly ran up to them. "Tarrin, what's wrong? Is it your mother?"
Sir Rupert looked on with undisguised interest as Tarrin panted, "No Father. It's... It's Thane and Shane, we can't find them anywhere. Mother said to tell you right...right away, and Raisa said she heard them talking about finding a new hideout."
In spite of his best efforts, Peridan groaned. Sir Rupert looked even more interested as he queried, "What is wrong, Lord Peridan?"
Peridan sighed, "It seems my twin sons have pulled another one of their disappearing acts." He didn't protest when Sir Rupert offered his help in searching out the twins, in fact, he was struggling to keep from showing just how welcome the Fox's help was...he prayed to Aslan that they found the twins before they got hurt or left the Cair in shambles.
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A/N: Please Read and Review! And, I'm back with the all important interlude between Revealed and the upcoming Concealed. For those of you who have been patiently waiting for Concealed, I assure you I am hard at work on it and shall begin posting as soon as I finish with this story. Leave a review and let me know what y'all think about this initial introduction of Peridan and his family. Also, if you have any requests for what you would like to see in this story, include them in your review or send them via PM.
A/N2: To Storm Fire, I apologize for not answering your question sooner, but I pulled up your review so I would remember this time. I pull my original names from many different sources for the most part. For example, Chrysaor came from Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen where it is the name of the fantastic golden sword of Sir Artegal, the Knight of Justice, Ptah gets his name from Egyptian mythology (as do most of the Leopards), Tuulea is a variation of the Finnish name Tuuli which means Wind. However, I did make up Sherket's name as well as any of the nature names for Centaurs (Stonebrook, Briarwind, etc) and the name of one Marsh-wiggle. I pull from different mythologies, Arthurian legends, and name books to find the names of my original characters. Thank you for the review and I'm glad you're enjoying my stories. If you have any other questions, I shall endeavor to answer to the best of my ability (and a bit faster than this last time). :)