Yet another idea I've had rattling around in my brain. Where do these ideas come from? If I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know! Also, I don't know too much about the culture of the centaurs of the forbidden forest - or any centaurs for that matter. So, back to one of my favorite pastimes! Time to go invent a culture! Maybe I'll do another one shot later on that develops this idea a little more.
Arphad stared into the shadows under a large tree, wondering why on earth one of the human foals had come so far away from the school. She was huddled at the roots of the tree, staring out at the forest and shaking slightly. At first he though that she was afraid, but he saw the determined glint in her eye and how her teeth chattered. Not afraid, then, but cold.
She looked up, and saw him standing in the shadows on the other side of the clearing. She obviously couldn't see him well, and she peered carefully in his direction.
"Oreius?" She asked softly. "Is that you?"
He resisted the urge to snort, wondering who this Oreius was. It sounded like a centaur's name, but there was none in the herd that was called by that name.
"My name is not Oreius." He informed her firmly. "Who are you, foal, and why do you wander in dark places? You may be hurt if you are not careful."
"If you are not Oreius, who are you?" The foal challenged.
"I am called Arphad." He answered slowly, seeing no harm in telling her. He would have to help her get to the hut of the half-giant. The man would return her to wherever she belonged.
"Arphad. It is a centaur's name, yes?"
"It is." He acknowledged, wondering where she was going with this.
"Oh, alright then." She stepped forward, into the moonlight. "Can you take me to Oreius?"
"Who is this Oreius?" He challenged. "It is the name of a centaur, yet none in my herd have this name."
She paused. "You do not know Oreius? How can that be? There are no longer as many centaurs as there were before the Great War. So many died in battle. Orieus told me that the herds would be great again in time, but for now there are few enough that he knows all by name. How can you not know the name of your general?"
Arphad snorted. "I answer only to one leader."
She cocked her head. "But you will help me?"
"What makes you think that I have any desire to help a human foal?"
"Oreius said that if I ever needed help, I was to go to the centaurs. He said that of all the half-peoples, his were the most trustworthy. He said that I would be protected, that I could always count on his people."
"Oreius said this, Oreius said that. I do not know this Oreius, and am not bound by his words. Why should your Oreius care if you come to harm?"
She cocked her head again. "Why wouldn't he? He is my guardian, and my friend. He protects and cares for me, without needing even my father's request. He has said often that I am like a foal of his herd. If I come to harm, he will fight for me as fiercely as he would for any of the herd. I spend as much time with the half-peoples as I do my own people, now." She added.
"Then how come you are here by yourself?" He was beginning to be truly curious in spite of himself.
"Father asked him to scout the northern borders. The giants have been giving us trouble again, and there is no one that Father trusts so much as Oreius. but it was too dangerous for me to go, so I had to remain behind. Oreius wanted me to stay with the herd, but Aunt Susan overruled him and said that I was to stay in the castle. She doesn't like that I spend so much time with the herd - she wants me to be a proper lady. What Aunt Susan considers a proper lady, however, is rather snooty and dead boring. I don't like it."
"Yes, get on with it." Arphad stamped a hoof impatiently. He was getting the picture that this child was not from here at all, though she could not be a muggle. She was too familiar with magical creatures for that. More importantly, however, he was getting the feeling that he was being watched - and in a place like the Forbidden Forest, that was never a good feeling to have.
"Well, they must have thought that it was a good time to try and kidnap me, since Oreius wasn't there to protect me. I guess they were right - but really it was Aunt Susan's fault. She was the one who took me out in the garden to lecture me, and didn't take the proper guards along. I hope that she is alright, but I expect so. They were after me, not her."
"Who are 'they', and why would they want you?" He asked.
"Well, they are the last remnants of the creatures who fought against us in the Great War. I think that they were mostly weres, but there may have been a hag or two. I am not sure. And they want me as a bargaining chip to use against Father, of course. Such are the occupational hazards of being the High King's daughter." She shrugged.
"You do not seem terribly concerned."
"I got away from my them, and this forest seems to be vast. I don't think they will find me quickly. Father will do everything that he can to find me, and Oreius will come for me soon. I do not see a lot of reasons to panic."
A growl sounded behind her, and a man slinked out of the shadows. Arphad could see the shapes of several more that had yet to show themselves.
"Think you got away so easy, girl?" He snarled. "Think again."
She whirled, and backed toward the centaur.
"I'm thinking." She said softly. "And I stand by what I said. Oreius will come for me."
"He'll come to find your bones picked clean and shining white in the moonlight!" With a howl, the man turned into a wolf and dove at her, the shapes in the shadows behind did the same.
Without even thinking, Arphad lunged forward. He shielded the foal with his body and swept her into his arms, turning and galloping away. The wolves were strong and fast, but could not hope to keep up with the centaur. He had the knowledge of the forest on his side, after all.
He glanced down at the girl in his arms, and was surprised to find her pale and clutching her arm. One of the wolves had managed to wound her before he reached her, and there were long claw marks trailing from her shoulder to her elbow.
"We will soon be with my herd." He soothed her sternly, unused to comforting foals. "We will treat your wound there."
When he galloped into the Herd Grounds, the other centaurs were all shocked. They yelled and berated him for bringing a human to their hidden home, and for kidnapping her from the magic school. He quickly put an end to the uproar, addressing his leader.
"She is merely a foal, Magorian, and she is hurt. Should I have thrown her to the wolves?"
That shut everyone up.
"She claims to be the herd-child of one named Oreius where she comes from."
"It is the name of a centaur." Magorian said gravely.
Arphad carefully set her down on the ground, and one of the mares clucked at the injury on her arm. Whether the herd approved of his bringing her here or not, they wouldn't leave her to suffer. The mares quickly set about cleaning and bandaging the wound.
"What happened?" Magorian asked, finally.
"We were attacked. They were werewolves, Magorian, but unlike any that I have ever seen. They took on their beast forms with no more than a thought, and without the light of the full moon."
Magorian looked grave.
"Oh, they always do that." The human foal piped up. "Uncle Edmund calls them rotten pests, and says it sometimes makes them hard to track down, because they can change so quickly and hide so easily. But he says that if you get close enough to smell them, you can always tell." She wrinkled her nose. "They stink." She added flatly.
Even the stern centaurs couldn't hide a small bit of mirth at the last statement.
"How old are you, foal?" Magorian questioned.
"Twelve summers." She answered, naturally listing her age the way centaurs did.
"You speak as one of our own foals." Magorian puzzled.
"Well, Oreius practically raised me. I spend more time with him than with anyone but Father. And Uncle Edmund sometimes, but that is mostly because he loves the herd as much as I do, and tries to spend all his time there. Aunt Susan gets frustrated with him, because sometimes he tries to skip meetings with the Calormene ambassadors. He says that they are boring, and he would rather be in the woods where they can't find him. All the foals love him."
Magorian was still puzzled, but found himself amused again. This foal was not like any of the human foals they had encountered before.
"Where are you from, foal? What is your name?"
"I'm Hanna. But my herd name is Cowesse. I like it better, but Aunt Susan says that not everyone understands herd names, so I should use my human name. But you understand herd names, so it's ok. And I'm from Cair Paravel, but I like Lantern Waste and Dancing Lawn better. That's where Uncle Edmund is the Duke of, and where most of the herd stays."
The centaurs only grew more and more puzzled. Magorian tried again.
"I do not know these names, foal. Where is this Cair Paravel, and Lantern Waste?"
She stared at him briefly. "In Narnia, of course. Cair Paravel is by the sea, and Lantern Waste is by the Western Wilds."
"I know of no Narnia." Magorian murmured.
Suddenly, the little girl grew thoughtful. "What is this place called then? Maybe they took me too far in the Wilds, and we passed the lantern."
"This is the Forbidden Forest, Cowesse." He told her.
She cocked her head. "But where?"
"At the edge of Hogwarts, in Scotland."
Her eyes lit up. "They did take me too far! Father talks about the lands beyond the lamp post sometimes. He said something about a place called Scotland." She smiled.
"How do we return her to her home?" Arphad asked softly. "She says that her friend Orieus will find her, but I think that maybe he will not know where to look."
Magorian deliberated for a long time, and finally sighed.
"Firenze? Take this foal to the human school. The Headmaster will know what is to be done."
Cowesse shook her head. "No. I won't go. Humans are tricky, and often can't be trusted. Oreius said that I should trust the centaurs, and most of the half-people, but never trust a son of Adam or daughter of Eve unless Father does. Or my uncle or aunts."
The centaurs exchanged glances, unsure what to do. Magorian opened his mouth to persuade her, when suddenly her eyes lit up.
"Oreius!" She cried, and flung herself across the Herd Grounds.
The centaurs all turned to see her held carefully in the arms of the tallest, sternest centaur they had ever seen. He was much bigger than their kind, and easily a great deal stronger. He stared them all down, obviously deciding if they were threats.
"You are well, little one?" He asked softly, glancing down at the child in his arms. She had her own arms wrapped around his torso in a fierce hug.
"Yes, I'm fine. The centaurs took care of me, just like you said." She turned and gestured to Arphad. "He found me, and saved me from the weres. His name is Arphad."
Orieus stared hard at Arphad, before nodding. "I thank you. Come foal. Your father and uncle and their men are near, but were not permitted to pass the lantern. They are worried for you, as is the herd."
She smiled. "Ok." Glancing back over her shoulder, she waved at Arphad. "Goodbye - thank you!"
With that, Oreius carefully carried her away into the gloom of the forest, and they were lost to sight, leaving the herd to wonder at the events of that night.
Cowesse/Hanna is cover photo
