Hey all! So this is for my friends at the Narniafans forum who hated wading through spam and reviews to get to the story. Enjoy, guys!

If you want to see what music I listened to while I wrote each part, visit the forum at Narnifans. Name of the fanfic is Another(yes, another!) fanfic!

If not, then just sit back and enjoy. I'd love to get some reviews, even if you're not overly fond of it. :)

Edit: Gah, forget the whole sifting through to look for music. Go to this link here for the fanmix. I know, I'm a nerd. Get over it. .?p=1781356&postcount=931

Ch 1: Confounded Trees

He wouldn't be able to find her here. He couldn't! Not after all of the changes and running she had gone through. He probably wouldn't even recognize her. Would he? She had to risk it. She didn't want to go back there. Shuddering in the cold night wind, she wrapped the thin cloak around her tighter. The lion...the lion had said that she was safe now. Yes...safe. But she certainly didn't feel like it. All of what the lion had said was blurring together now. Something about kings...and children...and a castle that started with...a 'C'...but that's about all she could remember. She was too tired to think any more. Her vision blurred as she stumbled along the dark path. Being human was so...foreign to her. And so...uncomfortable. She had no idea that humans felt so much pain! But it had been the only way. Now she went searching for who knows what. Oh, she was so tired! How could humans put up with the confinement of feet? She lay down against a tree a little bit off from the road, and closed her eyes. She breathed in the scent of the woods, and stroked the tree's rough bark. It had never felt so good before. And so she drifted off.........

BANG!!! Jerking up, she looked around. Nothing. How long had she been laying there? Getting up, she looked around cautiously. Still nothing. Maybe it had been the dream...yes! The dream! It had seemed so real...and yet...not. The dream was fading fast, but she remembered one face. It was a boy, not much older than herself, and he was dressed like a king. He had the bluest eyes...it reminded her of what the lion had said about the children and the castle. She rested her aching head in her hands as she sat back down. Now where to?

A rustle of leaves had her up on her feet again. Someone or something was most definitely there, watching her. She found a large stick, and walked towards the road. Eyes darting all around, she hid the branch in her cloak, in hopes of startling her follower. Another rustle to the left... now to the right.

She slowly walked over to a bush and crouched down. She waited for what seemed like hours, though it was only a few seconds. Then, right by her ear, she heard another rustle. She jumped up and spun to face the bush, and hit it with all her might.

"OUCH!" cried the bush, and out rolled a young, brown-haired teenage boy. She stared at him and the large welt on his forehead. She couldn't have done that, could she?

"You had it coming, Ed," said a voice from behind her. She spun around to face the voice, and nearly gasped. The boy from her dream! Could it really be?

"I did not! Whatever could I have done to deserve that?" said the boy on the ground as he tried to stand up, still holding his head. "There should be a law against girls carrying and whacking people with sticks! Peter, why don't we have that law?" demanded the boy as he leaned against a tree.

"You hadn't thought of it yet, Ed," said the other, rolling his eyes. He turned to the girl and said, "I'm terribly sorry that we frightened you, it wasn't done intentionally. You weren't the one to give Ed that welt. You see, he ran into a tree a few minutes ago, and the tree gave him a little present to remember it by." He was trying very hard not to laugh, but he had that mischievous look in his eye that showed that he was laughing inside.

"That tree hit me!" protested the boy named Ed. "There should be a law against that too! Confound girls with sticks! Confound trees that jump!" he mumbled as he rubbed his head gently.

"Confound is his new word of the day," said the older boy to her. She was still staring in shock at him. He was wearing the same clothes, even! He finally noticed her look, and his face changed a bit.

"Are you all right?" the boy named Peter asked her as he took a step towards her. She backed up and held up her stick again. He quickly put his hands in the air and stepped back. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just wondered if I could help. You look very tired and hungry, that's all," he said gently.

"I…I'm fine," she responded, surprised at the sound of her own voice. She lowered her stick a little.

"Where are you headed?" asked Peter.

"I'm trying to find the castle, and…" her voice trailed off. What was she looking for?

"We live in a castle!" said Ed, who forgot about his head for a moment. "It's not too far from here!"

"What he says is true," said Peter. "I have a feeling that our castle is the one you are looking for. But why do you seek it?"

"I'm…I'm in search of a job, and a place to stay," she said, tilting her chin upward. Her confidence shocked her, as did her words. What was she getting herself into?

Peter and Ed looked at each other. "Well… we just happen to be some of the residents," said Ed, looking a little too proud. Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm sure we can supply that for you," he said. "If you'd like, we'll walk back with you and show you where to go and who you can report to for work."

She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "I'd like that," she said in a quiet voice. She had to take some chances. Taking a deep breath she lowered the stick all the way.

Peter smiled. "You won't need that anymore, I promise," he said, looking straight into her eyes.

She looked at him warily, and shook her head.

Peter looked disappointed, but didn't argue with her. "What is your name?" he asked as they started walking.

"Katriana."

"That's a pretty name," Peter said, looking at her. "Where do you come from?"

Silence. Peter looked ahead of him. This was one of the most awkward conversations he'd had in a while. She didn't trust him, and that bothered him to no extent. He usually protected people, not harmed them! He could feel his face heating up. This was embarrassing, but he really couldn't blame the girl. He wondered what she had gone through to not trust people this way. He looked over at Ed, who, even though he had been the one whacked, didn't seem to mind at all. Peter wished that he didn't care so much sometimes.

"All right, um, what do you know how to do?" Peter asked.

Katriana looked at him, obviously confused. Peter understood, and rephrased his question, "I mean, what would you do in the castle? Do you cook, clean, sew…?"

"I…" she was at a loss for words. She'd never done anything like that before. She started to sweat. "Um, well, I've never exactly done…that is to say…" she looked at Peter, completely bewildered. He finally understood, and said, "Well, I'm sure that we'll be able to find a good fit for you."

She was so relieved! He was being so nice to her, but why?

"Peter, do you remember the last time we were by here? We were on our way to meet King Lune about that whole ordeal involving the talking bear falling into someone's roof?" said Ed, trying to start a lighter conversation.

As she walked with Peter into the castle Cair Paravel, she stood in awe of the place. He had updated her on how they came to be living there, and a little bit of history of the castle. It was beautiful, and she felt ashamed to walk through its halls. They suddenly turned a corner, went down a flight of stairs, and she found herself in a bustling kitchen.

"Mrs. Beaver!" called Peter over the noise. A beaver turned and then came waddling over to them.

"Yes, King Peter?" said the beaver in a very kind, motherly voice.

"This is Katriana. She's come to work in the castle. Would you see that she gets a room and gets cleaned up? She's been traveling for quite some time."

"Oh, certainly! This way, dear!" said Mrs. Beaver as she waddled down the hall.

Peter turned to Katriana, "I'll come check on you later, but right now I have to go. You'll do just fine!" he said as he started walking back up the stairs.

Katriana ran to catch up with Mrs. Beaver, who was talking to herself.

"Now, we are in need of more seamstresses, so if I put you next to Alia, she could talk to you about what she does, but then you'd be next to Grimmel, and she snores, so we'd have to put you on the other side of Alia, so then you'd be next to an empty room. Yes! That should do the trick," said Mrs. Beaver said. Looking up at Katriana, she smiled and added, "The queens like to have new dresses, especially Susan. You're going to like it here very much, I think. Ah! Here we are!"

Mrs. Beaver opened a door on the left side of the hallway, to reveal a very cozy room. There was a loft bed, with a table underneath, and a large chest on the other side of the room. Next to the chest, was a tall, narrow window that looked out into the courtyard.

"This'll be your room, dearie. Here are your bath things; you share a bathroom with Alia. She's a sweetie, and I'm sure you'll get along just wonderfully with her," said Mrs. Beaver as she moved around the room, tucking and grabbing things as she went. "Now," she said as she handed Katriana a large towel and smiled up at her, "wash up."