A Surprise

She was sitting near the water staring at her own reflection when it all happened pretty suddenly.

Verity had silver hair which was up till her knee and big grey eyes. She had a small mouth, pointed chin and a pale face. She was very tall and certainly striking to look at. To her, life was only living on her father's island, roaming in those woods and occasionally staring at her own reflection quite miserably 'night by night'.

Specifically because her father Ramandu was a 'retired star'. I mean an actual star that is seen in the night sky. A star about to die. Verity was his one and only daughter but she felt pretty lonely staying there with only her father to talk to her. She had never lived in a community but she longed to live in one and have friends.

After all a beautiful and kind girl like her deserved better.

That evening or maybe twilight, she was sitting on a rock braiding her hair, her feet dangling in the sea-water waiting for the cold night to come. The trees behind her had their branches drooping over the water in some kind of a shelter. It was all pretty peaceful, actually, a little too peaceful to be true.

Verity shuddered when this peace was disturbed by a sudden boom somewhere near her. She got up and began walking towards the sound, which led her further up along the coastline to a place where the long branches of trees had made a kind of hollow shape big enough for a person to walk through it. But this was not a novelty for her. But what was happening now was certainly a novelty or rather pretty life changing. Something like the shape of a door was burned at that exact spot and it was slowly opening! She shivered as a blinding light streamed through it. Before she could even react properly, she felt as if the door was pulling her towards it like a magnet.

After that whatever happened made her feel dizzy which she rarely felt. Verity felt as if someone was trying to drown her but she didn't feel wet. Her body felt weightless and helpless. Her stomach knotted and the next thing she knew was that her feet hit wooden flooring and with a sudden jolt she fell face first on the floor.

A second boom rang and a door directly above her head shut with it. Verity sat up coughing and massaging her forehead. Her head ached and a bitter taste filled her mouth. She got up dusting herself, trying to get bearing of her surroundings. She was standing in the middle of a long, beautiful, high-ceilinged room with tall, French windows bringing in bright light. The long velvet draperies looked rich and so was the carpet on floor which seemed to have been woven from an artist's hand. There was a big fireplace in front of her and a very cosy armchair besides it.

The only occupants of this rich and beautiful room were Verity and a white cat. This all seemed strange but dazzling. She had never seen such a huge room before and certainly not been in one. Though, she wondered why the room was so dusty and covered with cobwebs. Her father had told her plenty of stories of the kings and queens of Cair Paravel in Narnia. Of course she still couldn't tell where she was but she had an odd feeling in her stomach. She remembered those stories now and that also reminded her of her father. She quickly pushed the sad thought away and concentrated on the stories.

He had explained with details how magnificent those palaces had been. Chandeliers and rich draperies, skillfully woven carpets, huge windows, towers and turrets, crowns studded with gemstones had all been a part of it but standing in that almost empty room made her shiver. Yet she certainly felt curious to find-out where she was. She felt as if it was a dream come true or possibly it was still a dream….

She wanted to visit a palace see how kings and queens lived. She wanted to see the prosperity of castles. She wanted to roam around with royal folk and noblemen. She simply craved to see the outside world with its splendours and charm. She hated wandering on the island every day. She felt totally eerie. It was as if she did not belong there.

Verity had no surname which made her feel awkward for no particular reason. She had not even met a person with a proper surname in her land. Everyone was either a Narnian or an Archenlander or a Star like her father or a member of some other race or land. No one had a surname but still…..

She turned to face the other end of the room where a set of large double-doors could be seen firmly shut. She began walking first slowly, then briskly and by the time she reached the doors she realized that she had been running. What she hadn't noticed before was that the door was locked from outside. She suddenly felt stupid to have run across the room for nothing. She was about to turn away from the door in dismay when she heard something which quickened her pulse – voices.

Her first reaction was to try and listen what they were saying but then she realized that they were nearing the room so she must hide. If she was unwelcome there, which she most probably was, then she had to make sure no one saw her. Besides, the door was so thick that the voices were barely audible.

When she looked around for a place to cover herself, she felt helpless to know something which had been pretty obvious to her before. The room was too empty for her to get a hiding place. Panic rose up into her mind and her heartbeats quickened. Her mind began racing. It somehow always did when she was in trouble which was rare. She decided that the best way to hide her from the immediate danger was to hide behind the thick draperies.

She ran towards the nearest window and snatched the drapery. Shaking and fumbling with thick cloth she finally managed to get behind it and cover herself with it. When she finally got behind it, did she realize something with horror and dismay. The sunlight hit her back which made her almost crumple to the ground and before she could stop herself, she blacked out.

Then two things happened simultaneously. The large double-doors of the room flew open as the bolt on the other side was pulled aside by whoever the voices belonged to and at the same time Verity's limp, pale body fell out of the curtains!