Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia and all that...

A lone girl sat on a brick wall. One small tear dripped off her chin, leaving a clean trail on the dirty face. Her green eyes searched the sky, as if looking for something. She absently pushed her waist length red hair away from her face, then hopped off the wall. The girl wasn't tall; she was just the right size for a thirteen-year-old. Suddenly a loud voice yelled, "ESTRELLA! Get over here! NOW!" Startled, Estrella tripped and fell, smacking her head on a rock that was on the ground. Pounding footsteps came closer and closer, until they stopped near her head. Fearfully, she looked up to see her stepfather. His eyes cruelly glared at her. Suddenly, without warning, he grabbed her shirt, and hoisted her in the air. "You worthless girl! I tell you to do one thing, and you do the other! I'll not have it again!" With that, he flung her into the wall, and walked away. Estrella crumpled to the ground, then blackness came.

Out of the blackness, a face swam before her. No…not a face..Or was it? Yes, it was a face. But…it..wasn't a human face. It was a lion's face. Huge unblinking green eyes stared at her gently. They were filled with something she had never felt before. What was it? It definitely wasn't the cruelty and hate she had seen so much of. No, it was something else. It was so gentle! Estrella liked the face. Wait- could it be? Was it…love? Estrella knew the word, but she had never felt it. All her life she had longed for it to be hers. She had seen others receive it, but she had never been given the gift. The lion suddenly smiled at her, and opened His mouth. What is He doing? Why..He's breathing on me! Yes, the lion was breathing on her! A warm, wonderful feeling spread through her whole body, down to her toes. Then, the lion was gone. The black haze was gone, and instead on the lion's face, she found herself looking at her Father's. No..please. Not again. She pleaded inside, willing herself not to show anything on the outside. He just stood there, staring at her. Then, he spoke. "Get up." As she got up, she barely felt the pain in her head, for she was thinking about the Lion. Anything but her father. He grabbed her arm, and hauled her to their house. Apon reaching it, he picked up a thick coiled rope that lay on the grass. Fear reined in Estrella's eyes as her stepfather bound her hands together. "No!" she kicked at him, and butted her head into his stomach. "oof!" the heavy man fell on his rear, his wind knocked out. Estrella took that small time to run away as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Run run run! Where to go? Her father knew the city as well as she, and would look everywhere. It was 18 day's journey to the next town. There wasn't really anywhere to run. What she needed was a miracle.

Estrella ran and ran. She suddenly had no sense of direction, because she was so panic filled. She ran blindly, only to find herself in an ally-in a dead end. Okay, Esta, calm yourself. You can do this. You just need to find a good place to hide. After calming herself, she sat on a large crate to think. Father known every good hiding place as well as I do, and within any minute he will find me, I have no doubt of that. I need to take some course of action. No, I can't do this on my own. Oh…I just can't think. Help me, someone, I'm so scared! The young girl looked up into the sky, tears streaming down her face. Then she spoke. "Oh, please help me, whoever's out there!" then, she remembered the Lion. The beautiful Lion that had looked at her with love and kindness. Maybe He could help. He had to help. He was…her only hope. "Please help me! I don't know who You are, but I know You are kind and loving, and that you are special. Please, please help me!" sobbing, she fell to the ground.
Meanwhile, Estella's stepfather, (Thomas) was searching high and low for his daughter. You might have guessed already that he planned to sell Estella as a slave in the market that day. It was very common to sell a family member for money in those times, (or as often as not for rum). He knew he would soon find her, so he was not that anxious to find her. He heard her sobbing as he came around the corner. His body blocked the sun as he came towards her. His hand gripped the rope tight as he came nearer. Before Estella looked up, she knew who it was. She raised her head, and looked fiercely at her father. "I won't go without a fight, Mr. Smith. Just like my mother. She wouldn't go without a fight either. And you killed her for it." Obviously, her words had slapped smith in the face. He was pale, and was sweating hard. "How..did you know about that?" He asked, stepping towards her. Estella looked up at him and was silent. "Answer me, girl!'' Still, Estella would not. The man grabbed her hair, and pulled her up. She winced. He then put his face close to hers. "I will kill you if you do not answer." Fighting the tears back, Estella looked him in the eye. "I know because I saw you kill her. It was a dark and cold night that day. You took out your knife with the silver handle, and then you hid it beneath your cloak. Then you told mother you wanted to go on a walk with her. I remember she was startled, because you had never said anything of the kind to her before. Father, I saw hope in her eyes. Hope that you would love her. But it was not to be." Here she stopped, for could not talk any more. Tom Smith dropped his daughter on the cobblestone ground, and stepped back. Fear etched his face, and memories came back. Yes, he remembered. Yes, he had killed his own wife.