A/N: Let's pretend the Pevensie siblings didn't return to England after the battle in Prince Caspian.
DISCLAIMER: I only own the stuffs I created my own.
Jamie watched as the centaurs presented the human they had found in the woods to Kings Peter and Edmund in the courtyard that morning. Just a moment ago, they were playfully fencing with the talking mouse — Reepicheep, and some Telmarine soldiers before being interrupted by two centaurs and a screaming girl. Jamie had sighed and shook her head the moment she saw this. It had always been easier having found human boys instead. Girls talk and scream a lot. Queens Susan and Lucy were humans themselves but she was pretty sure neither of them had acted like this the moment they found themselves in Narnia.
Not that all Daughters of Eve who had magically come here were all whiny and disrespectful. A few were nice, actually. Mostly the shy ones. Jamie liked them because it seemed funny to her how they could never look at Kings Peter and Edmund's faces whenever these boys talked to them. It wasn't their fault, really. Blame it to the lads for carrying such immeasurable great looks — Peter being blond and Edmund with his jet black hair. It wasn't much of a surprise when some of these humans — whose boring world held no magic — would delude themselves into thinking this was their fairytale at last. And so they'd try to get the kings' attention in all sort of pathetic tactics they could come up with.
Jamie hated most those arrogant girls who would act so tough and challenge Edmund in a sparring match or whatnot which was very stupid considering the king was a great warrior and the best swordsman in all Narnia. And like Edmund would want to waste his time sparring with a lousy opponent. Peter, on the other hand, was too much of a gentleman to ever fight a girl even if it was just for sports. He would most likely let the girl win.
But because Edmund was known for having such a short temper, it made that more than easy for those girls to act like they hated him and talk to him with no manners. The guts, really... They thought that kind of personality would impress Narnians and the hatred between them and the king would grow into romance...
How ridiculous.
Just what kind of books do these humans read back in their land? Jamie had thought one time. She wasn't sure if they really hated Edmund for real but it was pretty obvious they fancied him. Otherwise, they would pay no attention at all.
But what could these ordinary humans compete with the princesses in other lands, anyway? Princesses who were actually skilled in fighting their whole lives? These princesses themselves had been battling whom the kings of Narnia would fall for and later on marry. But being a princess didn't do a different effect on Peter at all for he treated women all the same — kindly and gently. Edmund, however, treated them in accordance to his mood. He still struggled to hide his hostility sometimes. He hated annoying and mouthy girls, may she be a princess or not. And he certainly hated how his siblings treated every random human to land in Narnia as "guests". Although he was the King of Just, he could be really mean and childish.
And this one was getting into his nerves.
"Bloody hell, will you shut up?!" he shouted as the girl continued to scream and fight so hard to get away from the centaurs holding her arms.
"Language, Ed, " Peter, being the High King, reprimanded in a calm tone.
"Oh, honestly, brother. It matters not now. This one's a beast!"
"I'm no beast!" blurted the girl, her face wet with tears and sweat. "You're the one sending off monsters to kill me!"
Edmund arched his eyebrows at that, then gave the girl a once-over. Her long blonde hair was wild from running and was sticking out in every direction, covering most parts of her face. She was only wearing a nightgown and this thin piece of white material had been torn in places revealing several cuts on her skin all the way down to her bare feet. Well, she was alive so he said, "I see they have failed."
Peter turned to him in disbelief. "Edmund!" Whereas Jamie stifled a laughter.
The blonde girls' eyes grew wide open as her jaw dropped in horror. And just like that, she began screaming and shaking her body off from the centaurs' grip again. This made Peter threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Oh, thanks a lot, Your Majesty!" he said to Edmund in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
But the younger king simply smiled and said, "Anytime, brother. Why don't you hug her? That always works."
Just when Peter thought Edmund couldn't say anything worse, he really had to go and say that. Though the younger lad was right (and true, a lot of girls had calmed down in the High King's embrace), Peter didn't particularly enjoy making that necessary to about every girl who needed comforting. And none of those girls had cried like this.
When Edmund kept waiting and gave the High King a "Well?" look, Peter rolled his eyes. His younger brother was enjoying this. Not to mention he really loved teasing him "Miracle Hugger the Magnificent" on a good day to ruin his mood. Or on a bad day to worsen it even.
"Please, let me go! I wanna go home! My dad's a billionaire, he could give you all the money you want!"
"He can keep his money. We're kings. We got more treasures than he can count." Most of the time, Edmund didn't know how to empathize.
"Favor, Ed? Don't open your mouth for five minutes," spoke Peter.
Edmund just arched his brows and shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly, while Peter began to step closer towards the girl.
"Hey, hey. It's alright. Calm down. I'm King Pe— Ow!" He just had his hands placed on the girl's shoulders when this very lady kicked him hard on the shin, sending him staggering backwards.
Some of the creatures gasped while Edmund laughed, watching his brother hopping in pain. "Nice, King Pe Ow. So much for being a miracle hugger."
"Now, now! You don't do that to the High King, girlie. That wasn't very nice!" Reepicheep spoke, drawing his little sword out, ready to charge.
"Please, Reepicheep," begged Peter, stretching his hand out to the mouse's direction as a gesture to stop while his other hand clasped on his aching shin. "Don't scare her more than necessary now."
But the girl had already found the mouse. At first, she couldn't speak — which was a short peaceful moment for everyone around, but when she finally found her voice, the birds in the forest flew out.
By that time, Edmund was already covering his ears, looking more annoyed than ever. "By the name of the Lion, are you some kind of banshee?!"
But his voice was drowned out by the girl's screaming which was still going on.
"My God, this girl's unbelievable. Good luck, brother. You can do it." He gave Peter a pat on the back.
"Wha...?" Peter turned and Edmund was already walking away. He grunted. Ugh, he'd worsen things, anyway. And so he didn't stop him to stay.
"Let's go, Jim," Edmund said as he passed a red-headed girl and dragged her by the elbow.
The girl scowled and pulled her elbow out as soon as they were away from the crowd. "For the millionth time, it's Jamie!" she exclaimed, sounding annoyed.
"Jim for short," Edmund insisted, grinning down at her. He loved making names for people and teasing them for it. In return, he earned an elbow on the rib. "Ow!" Edmund cried, covering his rib. "Must you be so violent?!"
"Must you be a baby?"
"I'm no baby!"
"Off to hunt the White Stag again, Your Majesties?"
They heard a voice from behind and when they stopped to turn around, they saw a martial mouse much larger than a common one on the ground.
"Yes, Reepicheep. Want to come?" Jamie offered.
"I sure want, Your Highness. I can't stand that girl's weeping." He looked behind to where Queens Susan and Lucy had appeared now to walk the girl inside the castle. She was no longer fighting to get away now that she was in the arms of the queens but she continued to cry hysterically and beg not to be killed.
"How they managed to stop her from fighting, I'm amazed," Edmund was saying, staring ahead at the entrance of the castle.
Jamie's eyes burned onto the girl's back. "None of the others have cried that much," she observed. "Centaurs aren't so scary."
"Nor talking mice!" hooted Reepicheep in an indignant voice.
Edmund tried not to laugh.
They continued to watch the little crowd disappear into the castle before the mouse spoke with a hint of curiosity in his voice. "She said a monster tried to kill her in the woods..."
"Hmm." Jamie had to admit she was a little intrigued. "Weren't they all disposed in the Golden Age?" She turned to Edmund knowing all too well he and his siblings reigned those times. Reepicheep had turned around to look at him, too.
"They were. But weren't Narnians had thought to be extinct just three years ago but showed up to be just actually hiding?"
Jamie stared at him for a few seconds before considering what he said. "True."
"So you're saying there could be monsters from the White Witch still lurking around?" Reepicheep had walked nearer to them now.
"Could be."
"That's crazy," said Jamie. "It's been a hundred years. They ought to be dead by now."
"Some creatures take hundreds of years to die, Milady," Reepicheep informed.
"Oh..." escaped Jamie's mouth, then her expression turned annoyed. "I wish I had that lifespan."
Edmund chuckled. "What she saw could probably be just a minotaur she thought was attacking her when it really meant helping. Minotaurs in our world are monsters." He was saying this being a human himself and having lived in the human world.
Jamie's face suddenly brightened. "That, or there could really be a monster lurking about." She said more like to herself in an air of mystery and adventure that her green eyes dangerously sparkled. "Old or new, it's yet to be found." Then her lips twitched into a smirk as she turned to walk on.
"You're making meanings of the girl's appearance," Edmund called after her. Reepicheep followed. "For what we know, she's just one of those random girls appearing and disappearing all of a sudden. They don't last for a month. They just vanish."
Jamie stopped so suddenly that Edmund almost bumped onto her back. When she turned around to tell him something she just thought, she could've sworn the tips of their noses touched.
"Ow!" Edmund cried once again, backing away and throwing his palm on his cheek.
Jamie blinked and saw her hand was held, slowly realizing she had slapped him.
Edmund's mouth hang open in utter surprise. That was the second time she hit him. And knowing Jamie, she didn't hit like a girl. "For heaven's sake, what was that for?!" he demanded.
Was there something wrong with what he said?
Jamie was wide-eyed. "I don't know." Quickly, she put her hand down and hid it behind her back. "My hand did that by itself," she added quickly.
"Why?!" Edmund was impatient, massaging his cheek and moving his jaw to check if it still worked. He had had enough of that girl's lunatic wildness and now Jamie was slapping him for reasons only Aslan knew what.
"No idea, it just did."
"What?!"
"You almost kissed, your Majesties," Reepicheep piped in.
Jamie had swept her head quickly to the mouse. Edmund glanced at him, too, palm still on his slapped cheek. Then back to Jamie, he asked. "Is this what's it all about?" His face was incredulous.
"Of course not. Your face shocked me."
"Oh, really. This incredibly handsome face." He pointed at his face with his spare hand.
"Conceited now, are we? You should know it looks scary up close with all those freckles..."
Edmund's lips parted in disbelief. "What in the bloody hell are you talking about? Everybody loves my freckles. You said you envy my freckles. "
"I was just being nice because you're a king."
Edmund just stared at her. He swore they had been friends for two years now but there were times when he couldn't stop himself from thinking of strangling her. After a few seconds, he decided to relax and finally spoke. "Ahh, Jamie. Sometimes I think you have feelings for me."
Now it was Jamie's turn to open her mouth, looking at the handsome young man before her as though he was mental. But then she closed it into a teasing smile and said, "What if I have?"
Edmund had raised his eyebrows at that and not long enough, his face broke into a radiant smile as though he hadn't just been slapped. "Now we're talking." He draped an arm around the girl's shoulders as he made the way towards the stables. "Glad you finally confessed. But don't get too excited just yet. I don't accept your feelings. I'm still not sure whether you're really a girl, see." With this, he received another elbow on the rib. "Exactly what I'm talking about," he yelped. "And two, you really need to fix your anger issues."
"You're one to talk about anger issues," Jamie retorted.
Behind them, Reepicheep was silently laughing. He was used to hearing their playful banter now. Their closeness had people often mistaken they were a couple but whenever someone would point that out, the pair would just laugh so hard to the point of looking improper.
Meanwhile inside the castle, High King Peter and the queens were attending the shaken girl in one of the guest rooms. She was seated on the bed with Queens Susan and Lucy on each of her side. Her lips were quivering and her tears continued to flow but her crying was silent now. She had her arms wrapped around herself, wrists swollen red from the centaurs' grip but more from her nonstop fighting to get away. Peter put a blanket around her upon noticing she was shivering. Well, aside from being scared, she was only wearing a thin material stained with dirt and blood.
"Can you tell us your name?" Lucy asked, smiling.
The girl didn't make eye contact. Her eyes were fixed on the floor and she let her messy blonde hair curtain her face. But she slowly licked her lips and responded in a low, quiet voice. "Ranien."
"Where are you from, Ranien?" Susan asked, gently tucking the girl's hair behind her ear.
"California."
"Can you tell us how you got here?" added Peter, kneeling down in front of her to look at her face.
"I..." Ranien began, then fear took over her face at once, having recalled something very, very... unpleasant. Taking an unsteady breath, she managed to croak, "I was running into the woods and..." Another breath. "...something..." Gulp. "...attacked me." Her face twisted in pain as another tear roll down her cheek. She removed the blanket around her to show them her back. Her nightgown wasn't severely torn in that area and only held a little blood but strangely enough, remarkable little holes surrounded the cloth. When Peter slowly reached it with his hands to tear it apart, series of gasps filled the room upon seeing what lied underneath it.
"What..." Lucy couldn't believe what she was seeing. Susan had thrown her hand to her mouth. Peter froze with his mouth agape. The two badgers inside the room reacted the same. And the color on the centaurs' faces faded.