This is a new story I thought of the other day and I immediately wrote down the idea and made a start on the first chapter! Just to give you an idea of the standard of my writing; I'm the author of Entwined, I Couldn't Leave Her, Fluttering, Shards Of A Haunted Mind, Lavender Moon and a few other fics that aren't Narnian...
Obviously this is only the first chapter and the first one's never very good, but please stick with me and leave reviews; I like to know when people and really happy with my work and when you feel it's not quite right...I'm always open to suggestions! Enjoy!
The sun beamed down brighter than it had all year, injecting all the Narnians with a new-found sense of joy. In one corner of the country a group of friends, badgers, fauns, foxes and dwarfs were having a picnic to celebrate the sudden appearance of the sun after the last few weeks of spring rain. In another, the waves were rolling gently onto the empty beach and a few mermaids were splashing in the distance.
Only one was not happy that day; but she was unaware where she was, let alone happy. The young woman lay, discarded on the beach, half her body on the sand and half on the piece of driftwood that had saved her life. Her dark blue dress and long dark hair were soaking and clung to her body wetly. She lifted her head slightly off the sand and tried to open her eyes, but as soon as she did so sea water ran into them from her eyelashes. So she simply put her head back down and squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she tried to get rid of the stinging pain the salt water brought, falling unconscious again from sheer exhaustion in a heartbeat.
Three giggling dryads chased each other down to the sea, every now and then leaving a petal of blossom in the path behind them. With a few screams they splashed each other before noticing the motionless figure of the young woman a few metres away from them.
They fell silent, their fun ruined as they all walked cautiously forward; Narnia was not a dangerous place, but it was easy for unwanted Archenlandian and Calormene objects to wash up on the beach.
The three sisters stared down at the woman for a few seconds before the boldest crouched down and gently shook her. The woman stayed unconscious and the sister stood up again and looked to the most sensible sister for what they should do.
But that sister simply shrugged and looked back down at the woman as though waiting for her to wake up.
"I think she's from Archenland." The youngest sister suddenly said, holding back her curly hair as a light breeze picked up, sending petals flying from the three. "I recognise that dress style from when King Lune came and they brought that girl, Shasta, with them."
"Yes, I do too." The boldest sister said after a moment's scrutiny and silence.
"Well, as lovely as it is to know where she's from, what are we going to do with her?"
Silence followed the oldest sister's words as all three thought of numerous possibilities.
"We could take her to King Edmund!" The youngest sister said; a bright smile on her hopeful face.
"Oh yes, you'd like that wouldn't you?" The boldest sister teased her gently. Her younger sister's cheeks turned the same delicate shade of pink as the blossom on her tree in embarrassment.
"Good afternoon, ladies." A voice suddenly called out. The three whipped around in surprise, releasing yet more petals into the air around them. "I believe I heard my name?"
The three sisters curtseyed to King Edmund as he strode over and the youngest one kept her head ducked as she tried desperately to cool her flaming cheeks.
"It's the Thisber sister's, isn't it?" He checked with a kind smile as he reached them all. "I hope I find you all well, how is your - oh my, who's this?" He asked as he spied the woman on the floor who had remained oblivious to all of this action.
"We just found her a few moments ago, your Royal Highness." The eldest sister said quickly said, shooting her youngest sister a look of annoyance over King Edmund's head as he bent down to examine the woman.
Putting his first two fingers on the side of her exposed neck he waited momentarily before breathing a sigh of relief as he found her pulse.
"We think she's from Archenland; we recognise her style of clothing, Sir." The youngest sister added, almost tripping over her words. Having just paled to her normal colour, her blush returned.
"Mmm, I agree." Edmund said quietly, his gaze sweeping over her attire and shoe-less feet. Moving back a strand of wet hair he stared at her face for a moment before determining that he did not recognise her.
Straightening up he rubbed his jaw pensively as he considered what to do; if she was indeed Archenlandian, Susan would want the girl treated like royalty so that she'd return to Archenland with tales of how wonderful the Narnians were.
"It's fortunate I decided to come for a ride; I would hate to put any of you out of your way." He mused, half-heartedly making small talk with the sisters as the silence dragged on. "Philip?" He suddenly called over his shoulder, turning to look at his faithful horse who stood at the edge of the South East Wood where the sand and grass mixed together.
"I could carry her too." The faithful horse called back; he'd been watching and had foreseen Edmund's sensible actions.
"Are you sure? Her dress is still soaking wet, I expect she'll weigh far more than you would think to glance at her..." Edmund checked in concern; thinking of the leg Philip had strained only weeks ago. If need be, he could call for a centaur or a group of fauns to carry her.
"I'm sure I'll manage, Sire."
"Alright, but don't blame me when you have to take more of Jasper's 'cures'." Edmund retorted playfully before bending down and struggling to lift the still-unconscious woman.
He could tell that she was light, but the deadweight of her dripping dress made each movement far harder than it should be.
He inclined his head to the three sisters who all curtseyed back. "Goodbye, I hope we meet again soon." He said with his usual smile.
"Do let us know how she recovers." The eldest sister said angelically.
"Of course I will, I'll deliver the news personally." Edmund replied as he began to walk back to Philip.
"Love me..." The eldest sister said quietly to the youngest. "Next time we see him; try and act a bit brighter!"
Edmund rested the woman half in his left arm and half against Philip's flank as he hauled himself up before readjusting her in front of him, her legs dangling over Philip's side.
"Slowly please, Philip." Edmund said as the horse set off.
Once out of sight of the three waving sisters he studied the woman's face a little more, thinking of the many situations that may have led to her current situation.
Ship wrecked?
Her face was freshly tanned and hot to the touch, though her skin was sallow and unhealthy. He took the wild guess that she had been floating for days, or had at least not eaten for days. Moving the shoulder of her dress slightly he was startled at the difference in skin colour; the skin beneath the dress was almost ivory white in contrast to the extremely tanned skin on her face and neck.
After a moment he stopped his musings; he was sure she'd tell them all her story when she awoke. He instead began wiping the sand from the left side of her face and neck where she'd been resting on the sand, thinking ahead to the practical elements of having a strange shipwrecked woman in Cair Paravel.