There's a funny thing I've noticed about Susan when we're about to have ambassadors or an embassy or royal people/persons (circle one) or all three over: she gets a bit, ah, irritable.

"Alex! What are you doing?"

"Um, breathing?"

"You shouldn't be here just standing around! Go polish your sword or something."

I looked down at my sword. I could see my reflection in it. I told Su so.

"I don't care! Just go do something productive."

Under my breath, I muttered, "but that would be counterproductive to my better nature."

Turning around, I started walking towards the staircase that led up to my room. I would take the secret passage from there, visit Peter, and get back to my room without anyone (but Peter, that is) noticing. I hadn't had much of a chance to be with him in a while, and I wanted to see him before the Calormenes came.

Slipping through my door, I headed over to the section of wall that hid the other door, the secret one. Pushing the wall aside, which wasn't easy, even with my Gift, I opened the door. Grabbing an already lit torch from the wall (Peter and I keep it well stocked, because it's the only place we get any privacy with one another) I started walking down the narrow, dim corridor.

Half-way there, I tripped over a stone step that I hadn't seen coming, and dropped my torch. Swearing bitterly, I bent down to retrieve it. As I was too engrossed in finding the missing torch, I didn't see the other light coming towards me. I heard Peter's nearly silent tread on the stone, and straightened. He came out of the darkness, smiling. "You've got quite a large vocabulary, Sweetheart."

"Shut up," I answered, but I didn't mean it. He knew I didn't mean it, as I was grinning. He bent down, and found the torch. He lit it and then handed it back to me. He reached up, only a little, as he was about six feet tall, and set his torch in a bracket in the wall. He did the same with mine. We now had a little circle of light.

He turned back to me, and leaned against the wall, casually. I waited, watching him. "Su on your case again?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll talk to her, and I'll tell her that not everything has to be perfect for the Calormenes. If it did, we'd have to sell Ed. Don't tell him I said that though," he said, his eyes twinkling. I laughed. He took a step towards me, and then placed his hands on my shoulders. "This'll probably be the only time I'll get to do this until they leave, so –" His hands slid from my shoulders to my back, and he kissed me. I slipped my arms around his neck. When we pulled apart, he was smiling. "I'll see you tonight, Lioness." He turned, and went back to his room, grabbing a torch from the wall as he passed it.

I took the other torch, and then went back to my room.

Pulling on a full-sleeved white shirt, a black, leather vest, black pants, black leather boots, my sword belt, quiver, knives, sword, bow, and arrows, plus my other assorted weapons, I got ready. Heading over to the mirror, I brushed my long, black hair, and then put it into its usual braid.

I heard Lucy running down the corridor, banging on Peter and Edmund's doors, calling that the Calormenes were going to be here in five minutes. I stepped out before she woke the Owls in the Western Woods by pounding on my door.

"Alex! You have to hurry!"

"We're coming, Lu. Calm down. You're giving me a headache," Becca, my younger sister, said.

We started walking down the hallway, to meet Su at the Great Hall.

The four of them went and sat on their thrones. Peter lounged in his, looking for all the world like an arrogant High King, which was what the Calormenes thought of him. Lucy looked excited. Edmund looked slightly bored. Susan was the picture of a lady, sitting up straight, prim and proper. Becca and I took our places: me between Peter and Edmund, Becca between Susan and Lucy, both of us hostile and alert.

The herald, a centaur named Arcturius, stamped his hoof twice on the marble floor. "Introducing His Majesty, the Royal Prince Rabadash, Heir to the Throne of Calormen, Duke of . . . " It went on and on. The Prince came up, looking like an overgrown peacock, strutting in front of Their Majesties like he was better than them. As if. He was barely 6 feet tall. Peter topped him by about two inches, and Peter was 17!

He noticed me, and sent a look my way that he must have thought was flirtatious, but I just thought made him look dumber than he already did. I raised my eyebrows and curled my lip in a smirk. I slipped into Peter's head. By The Lion, Pete. He's flirting with me. And he's failing miserably.

I saw Peter stifle a laugh behind a yawn. A Faun came through the door on Becca's side, and whispered something in her ear. She looked at Peter for a second, probably telling him something in her head. He gave the slightest of nods, and before he had returned his attention to the parade of Calormen officials, she was gone. He snuck a look my way, knocking on the door to my mind. I let him in. Rider group's here. Go supervise. Wish I could go with you.

I was out of the room in a flash, relieved to be free of the endless stream of titles and unpronounceable names that I would have to remember. Hurrying down to one of the many side doors of Cair Paravel, I stepped out into sunshine. I watched the Rider group come through the forest. The Lion's Riders are an elite group of fighters, sorcerers, and military strategists that keep the general population safe. They patrol the borders, take care of any bandits, and hand out punishments for petty crimes, such as someone stealing their neighbor's prized recipe for apple pie.

They came, looking tired. Bandits had been attacking Beruna for a while now, and I'd decided to take care of them. Good recipes for apple pie are hard to come by.

Becca was standing by Malorn, a faun of the Lion's Riders, and their main military strategist. I overheard him talking as I walked up "-and they won't let us through. We nearly lost our best mage trying to get through it."

"Trying to get through what?" I asked.

"They have a strong magical barrier that they can't pass. It goes across Beruna," Becca answered.

"Peter and I should be able to handle it," I said calmly. "We'll go tomorrow, and get away from the Calormenes. Good work, all of you," I added. "Get some rest. We've got a ball to go to tonight, and I don't want you falling of your feet while dancing with the Calormenes. Su would never forgive us." The entire assembly relaxed, and started drifting off in different directions, back to their rooms, where they would wash and catch up on some sleep.

I heard a voice in my head. Alex! Get back here! Some of the Calormen knights want to meet you. They want to see if you're as good as people say. I told them you're better than that, but they wouldn't believe me.

Coming, Pete.

Good. Maybe you can scare some of these girls away from Ed and me.

Flirt.

The biggest, Sweetheart.

I started to walk down the corridor, with Becca following me. When we got back to the Great Hall, I saw that the procession of conceited nobles had dispersed into what was basically a mob of over-dressed, overeducated snobs. I spotted Peter near the table that held food, and walked over, my head up, alert, watchful. Stepping up next to him, I waited for the challengers of my ability to show themselves. It didn't take long. They walked up, haughty and arrogant, in overly-intricate armor that wouldn't have lasted a single battle, let alone a war. Peter turned and walked over to his sister, dispersing the crowd of admirers with a single look. The knights turned their attention back to me.

They looked me up and down, their faces smiling, but underneath was pure disdain. I hated them immediately. One looked at me, and said "If you're the Lioness, I would hate to see your sister."

My sword was out in an instant. My blade was at his throat before he knew what was happening. "Take it back. Now," I hissed.

"Lioness," Peter said, his eyes telling me to get over there, now. I ignored him.

"Take it back!" I stepped closer.

"Are you some sort of pet that can be called?" one the knights asked mockingly. I shot him a warning glare and he stepped back.

I felt a hand on my arm. Peter pulled my sword from my fingers, watching me with eyes that said don't. I looked up at him, my eyes defiant.

"Alexa," he warned. I sighed, and then held out my hand for my sword. He gave it back. I sheathed it. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

"Yes, my King," I answered. He led me to an alcove hidden from the rest of the room.

"Alex, you can't do that."

"They insulted both Becca and me!" I retorted.

"I know. I heard the whole thing. You can't let them get to you. You know that," he said, taking my hands. "You're so strong. It's one of the things I love about you, but sometimes your pride is too much." I looked down, knowing he was right, but unwilling to admit it. "Look at me, Lioness," he said softly. I did. "They've insulted your family. Challenge them. Disgrace them. Prove yourself." He turned and left. I felt a grin spread over my face. I could do that.

I walked out. Going over to the group of knights, I stopped in front of the one who had insulted me. "I, Alexa Katherine Ride, by the right given to me by Aslan, do hereby challenge you for the offence of insulting me and my family. The duel shall be with swords, and the winner shall be the one who draws first blood. The time, should you accept this challenge shall be now, here, in front of these people." I turned without waiting for a response, knowing that the knight wouldn't dare to refuse a challenge from a girl almost four years younger than he was.

He spoke. "I accept the challenge."

"Good," I said, and began to stretch, doing a few lazy back flips. The fauns had cleared a large circle in the middle of the room. People started to gather at the sidelines. I saw Peter and Edmund talking. I knew they were betting on how long it would take me to draw first blood.

The knight was in front of me. He hadn't stretched. Good. He was cocky, arrogant, incredibly stupid, and also stiff. I turned and bowed to my King. He nodded. The knight turned and bowed to Prince Rabidash. We started circling each other. I watched his chest muscles, knowing that the first sign of an attack would come from there. After a few minutes of pointless circling, I got a bit bored. I jumped, spinning as I went, and sent a wicked-fast uppercut his way. He ducked it and swiped at my legs, but I jumped, flipping over backwards as I went, my feet narrowly missing his face. He stumbled back. I shook my head. "Tsk, tsk. Didn't your Mummy ever tell you that you should never accept a challenge from someone who's better than you are?" I asked.

"I'll bet your father was a slum-born fifth-class village idiot," he returned.

"My father was a slum-born, fifth-class village idiot."

I spun, my sword whirling through the air. He barely had time to block my blows. Amateur.

"Your mother met your father while they were begging in the streets," the knight said.

I paused. "My mother's dead," I answered calmly. "My father killed her." His eyes widened.

I slipped my sword in under his armor (honestly, body armor in the Cair?), and nicked his arm. He cried out. "Oh, come on. It wasn't that deep," I said. "Delah," I called.

The Nymph hurried over. "What poor lad have you hurt now, dear?" she asked.

I jerked my head in the knight's direction. He was staring up at me with reverent eyes. "Him."

Peter turned to Edmund and held out his hand. "Ten Gold Crowns please."

Edmund sighed and dug into his pockets. "Here," he said begrudgingly, "ten Gold Crowns."

Peter took and pocketed them, giving me a wink. "He bet five minutes, and I bet two. I won by two minutes and 17 seconds. You're losing it, Lioness. You used to be able to beat Oreius in two minutes. I remember when you made it in one."

"I wasn't training you, then," I answered.

"Fair enough. Fair enough."

"You two were betting on the fight?" Susan asked.

"Of course, sister dear. I thought you would've expected it."

Susan sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling.

Rabadash walked forward, an obviously fake grin plastered on his face. "High King Peter, if I may talk to you for a moment?"

I saw Peter's back straighten, saw him holding his head higher. He was indeed magnificent, as his title said. 17 years old, and more of a King than Rabadash in all his overdone finery. In plain, simple clothes, Peter could best Rabidash in any category. I was proud to call him my King. "Of course," he answered calmly, but I knew he didn't trust Rabidash: none of us did.

He allowed himself to be led away by Rabadash, who was acting as though he owned the place. He probably wanted to. I followed, soundless and watchful, not about to let Peter out of my sight while Rabidash was with him. I could hear them talking quietly, most likely discussing the alliance that we so desperately needed.

"Peter, you must realize that we can't possibly – "

"I do realize that, Prince Rabadash. What I need is for you to make it possible." I could hear the anger in his voice at having his title dropped so casually from the Prince's sentence. He was offended, and I knew that it wouldn't end well unless something happened. I, sadly, couldn't interfere. This was Kingly talk, and I'm not Kingly. Neither is Rabadash. In fact, he's anything but, but he was of a royal family, and it's hard to argue with them.

"I'm afraid I can't, unless we add something more to the bargain . . . like your bodyguard, perhaps." Peter's head snapped up. His eyes burned with hatred, but he controlled himself.

"No." I could see he was struggling to not kill Rabadash on the spot.

I was aghast. Rabidash wanted me as part of a peace treaty? Was he more insane than we'd thought he was? Didn't he know that human trafficking is punishable by death in Narnia?

"Why not? There must be plenty of young warriors in Narnia who would kill to be the High King's bodyguard."

Peter shook his head. "I don't want to have to deal with all the complaints we'd get because of that. The people love her and she's the only thing that stands between us and invasion. None of us are eager to open that door quite yet, if ever, especially after the last time someone invaded Narnia. That resulted in the Hundred Year Winter."

"What about your army?"

"They are armed and ready for anything. But Alexa is the one who brings them together and she directs them when my royal brother and I can't."

"What of General Oreius?"

"He is her second in command. We don't want to risk either of them."

"Are you sure that your unwillingness to trade her for peace is strictly for military reasons? There's nothing personal involved, is there? I would hate find that we'd taken her and you happened to . . . ah . . . be more than friends with her, if you see what I mean."

I could see Peter's breath get shallower, and I saw Rabadash smile smugly at Peter's reaction. He knew all he needed to know now.

"I'm not sure I do know what you mean. Do enlighten me."

"It's not possible that you are . . . in love with her, is it?"

This had to stop. I beckoned to a nearby Faun. "Distract Peter. Tell him anything. Say the stable is on fire, I don't care. Just get Rabidash away from him," I whispered into his ear. He nodded at me, then hurried over to Peter.

"Sire," he said, panting slightly, as though he had just run a great distance. "Sire. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there's a problem down at the stables. Someone set them on fire!"

Peter looked up at him, startled. "What?"

"The stables, Sire. They're on fire!"

I took this as my cue and started for the door. I got out into the courtyard, and then started to run to the stables. I burst through the doors. "Horses! Out!"

They galloped out, into the meadow. I stepped back and raised my palms. "Avra!" Fire flew from my hands onto the stable roof. It was in flames in an instant. I waited, then ran up towards the Cair. I saw Peter racing towards us, hands already glowing the blue of his magic. We ran and threw our hands out in front of us, yelling "Tyra!"

Water shot from our palms, and for a moment, it enveloped the blaze. We thought that we might be able to stop it.

It wouldn't stop.

I shoved as much power as I could into the water, but it wouldn't stop. Suddenly, an explosion destroyed the stable.

Peter was thrown backwards from the blast and I saw his pant leg catch on fire. He couldn't use magic while flying through the air. He couldn't quench the flames. He screamed in agony.

He kept screaming.

I threw myself onto him, pressing my hands against his leg, trying to stop the fire. I only succeeded in burning my hands. Lucy ran up, and saw the blaze. She threw her hands out, sending water into the stable. Subjects before family. Becca and all the mages of Cair Paravel followed suit. With their combined efforts, the fire was stopped. Lucy turned towards the still screaming Peter. She instantly started running as fast as her short, little girl legs could carry her towards the castle. It wouldn't be fast enough. Becca ran and leaped onto one of the Palace Horses, and then galloped towards Lucy, swinging her up onto the mare and they almost flew towards the castle.

The Calormenes formed a circle around us. Delah, Edmund, and Susan shoved through their midst, along with several of the Lion's Riders. They ran to us. Peter had stopped screaming, but he was now staring around blankly, pain making him numb. His pant leg wasn't on fire anymore, but the piece of clothing was ruined. I could see awful burns on his leg. I was holding him, careful not to touch the leg. He looked up at me with chilling, empty eyes. "Alex?" he said quietly, and then slumped to the ground.

"Peter!" He had gone unconscious from pain. I'd only ever felt that kind of pain once, the kind that is so much that you can't feel or do anything. It's the worst kind of pain to be in.

Delah, looked closely at his leg, and then sat back and looked up at me. "I can't do anything."

I stared at her. She was Delah! What did she mean she couldn't do anything?

Lucy and Becca raced up. Lucy jumped down and ran to Peter, cordial in hand. She pulled out the stopper and tipped a drop into his mouth. I waited with baited breath. Pater didn't move. The cordial did nothing.

I looked at the stables still with smoke drifting lazily form the roof.

What had I done?

AN: OOOOhhhhh! Sorta spooky/ominous. Review! 6 reviews = another chapter! Thanks!