Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: A first meeting between a Centaur and a Princess of Narnia...

A/N: This One-Shot was requested multiple times by Lady Firewing and I finally wrote it up for her after being informed of the following: "You are simply EVIL to your characters! Couldn't you be nice and give them a one-shot where nothing BAD actually happens? Maybe one where Alambiel and Orieus meet (really meet) before she's kidnapped?" So, this one is for Lady Firewing. :)

First Meeting

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33 Greenroof 895

Cadfael surveyed the bustling lower courtyard out of habit as he led his family through the crowd of soldiers and civilians who lived at Cair Paravel. Even though he was one of the senior officers of the personal guard for the royal family, he had not been within the Cair itself for just over three months between visiting his family, the royals staying at the western hunting lodge, and, most recently, yet another battle to prevent Narnia's enemies from harming the Tree of Protection. Of course, that battle had rendered the unexpected result of King Lew promoting him to the rank of Captain after he saved the two eldest princes from being crushed by a giant. He glanced over at Selene who smiled and he could easily read her excitement at being back in Cair Paravel after leaving eighteen months beforehand so she could have their son at their family home in the southwest. At the thought of their son, Cadfael glanced down to see the fifteen-month-old colt was looking around with wide eyes from where he was safely ensconced between his parents. Cadfael hid a smirk as he noticed that Oreius was spending most of his time peeking around Selene since his head came up to just below his mother's withers now, but he just barely reached the underside of his father's belly.

They were supposed to meet his father, Cadeyrn, in an hour before they would go before the King and every member of the royal family currently in Cair Paravel to formally introduce their son. Cadfael glanced down at Oreius who was completely preoccupied with trying to look at everything and still keep up with his parents' naturally longer stride. It would be easier on the colt if he could take a better look at his surroundings before they went before the King. With that in mind, Cadfael changed their course so the little family entered one of the many gardens surrounding the main palace.

The garden was near deserted in comparison with the courtyard and the two Nymphs who had been tending some of the flowerbeds disappeared towards the far end of the garden with a parting wave as soon as they saw the Centaur family. As soon as his parents stopped and motioned for him to take a look around, Oreius quickly skittered from between them to explore the garden though he did not wander too far from them. Cadfael exchanged an amused look with Selene as they continued to watch their son as he picked his way between a pair of cherry trees before wandering over to a small brook, which he hopped over with a laugh. Selene shook her head and followed their son, probably to remind him to stay clean even though he was exploring. Cadfael was about to join them when he heard the sound of someone small running into the garden.

Out of habit, he lowered his hand to the pommel of his claymore as he shifted until he was completely between his family and whoever was running towards them. A moment later, Cadfael released his grip on his claymore as a small body bounced off his left foreleg and raised an eyebrow at the fair-haired girl who gazed up at him with wide blue eyes before she scrambled back to her feet. "Cadfael, you're back!"

He grinned down at her for a moment, and then he realized that she was the only one who entered the garden. Cadfael shook his head at the young girl, "My Lady, who among your guard knows you are out here?"

He watched as her eyes darkened a moment then lightened as she smiled up at him, "You do!"

Cadfael shook his head at her, refusing to be charmed. "No, I mean other than myself...and my family doesn't count either." Her eyes darkened several shades as she frowned in thought and tapped her finger against her chin, unconsciously copying her father. Cadfael sighed as he looked down at the most precocious of his charges, "My Lady, am I to understand that your inability to answer means no one knows where you are?"

She gave a little shrug, "Depends."

Cadfael raised both eyebrows, "Depends? On what?"

She blinked up at him then tilted her head in thought, "What was the question?"

Cadfael shook his head and decided this time it would be better for his sanity to avoid questioning her any further, especially since the six-year-old had already been distracted when she spotted Selene. "Good morn, Selene!"

Selene smiled at Cadfael before she answered the small child, "Good morn, Princess."

Cadfael found a Robin and quietly sent word to the palace that the princess was safe under his watch. Coming back, he was amused to see the two children were quietly eyeing each other from their positions on either side of Selene. He circled around the three of them to come up on the other side of his son, and, laying his hand on his son's small shoulder, he gave him a little push forward so neither child could use Selene as a barrier. "Princess Alambiel, allow me to introduce you to my son, Oreius. Oreius, this is Princess Alambiel, King Lew's daughter."

For a moment it looked like Alambiel would remain shyly silent, but then the princess bounced back with a pretty smile and curtsied, "It is an honor to meet you, Oreius son of Cadfael." She hesitated then glanced at the adults, "Did I do that right?"

Cadfael coughed as he tried not to laugh, which caused Selene to elbow him in the ribs before she nodded. Obviously, the princess had been receiving many, many lectures about proper etiquette. Oreius glanced up at his parents, then turned back to the princess and offered a somewhat shaky imitation of the bows he had seen older Centaurs give, "It is an honor to meet you, Princess Alambiel."

The princess tilted her head to the side then she cheerfully announced, "I like you."

Both Cadfael and Selene had to smother their laughter as Oreius raised his eyebrows then peeked up at them, silently asking them if this was normal behavior. Cadfael folded his arms as he looked from Oreius to Alambiel, "My Lady, who was tasked with watching you this morn?"

Alambiel shrugged, "Leb was supposed to be teaching me reto-ricky because Master Seiyr went home last week."

Cadfael frowned slightly at the news that the Satyr Seiyr had left Cair Paravel after faithfully serving the royal family for nearly a century, but he filed the information away for later as he focused on what subject Prince Leb would have been allowed to teach his sister. "'Reto-ricky'? Do you mean rhetoric?" Alambiel nodded and Cadfael moved on to the more important question, "Then why are you not with your brother now?"

If she had been any older, Cadfael would have suspected her innocent look was faked as part of her cheeky plan as she simply answered, "Because I'm with you right now."

Cadfael stared at the pair of innocent blue eyes gazing up at him and suppressed a sigh, "What I meant, my Lady, is why did you leave your lesson?"

"Oh...I left 'cause it was boring and Leb wasn't even paying attention."

Oreius asked the next question before either of his parents could and in a tone that said he couldn't imagine why the other child would be ignored, "Well, why not?"

Alambiel sounded perfectly aggrieved as she waved her arms in the air, "Because Leb was too busy making eyes at Calla when he wasn't kissing her! They completely forget about me being in the room, so I left! They probably haven't even noticed I'm gone yet." She scowled up at Cadfael, "I thought you said they would quit doing that by now. They've been married forever!"

Cadfael chuckled, "I said they would eventually be less…enthusiastic…in demonstrating their affection when you were in the room, and your brother and Calla have only been married for a year and a half, which is quite a bit shorter than forever."

Alambiel made a face, and then both she and Oreius jumped as a new voice joined their conversation. "What have I told you about making that face, Child? And, obviously I shall have to enlist Asbolus to speak with Leb about what the word 'watching' actually entails. Cadfael, I hope she has not caused you grief while you are free of your duties."

Cadfael answered in the negative before he inclined his head to the Black Elder Nymph as she came to stand behind Alambiel. The princess looked up at the Nymph then turned to Oreius, "That's Tuulea. She knows everything, right, Tuulea?"

Tuulea brushed her inky black hair back as she gazed down at the two young ones, "As far as you are concerned, at least. Such as the fact that you have missed your etiquette lesson as well as your rhetoric lesson, so you need to bid Cadfael and his family farewell before you miss your history lesson with Stonebrook."

Alambiel's eyes lit up at the mention of her history lessons, which were simply stories at the moment, and she bobbed a curtsy to Cadfael and Selene. Tuulea gently caught Alambiel and bent down to whisper in her ear before she gave her a push towards Oreius. Alambiel made a careful curtsy, "It was an honor to meet you, Oreius. I hope you enjoy your time here in Cair Paravel and I thank you for spending some of your time with me this morn." Alambiel paused then sent Tuulea a pleading gaze, "Do I have to?" Tuulea nodded and the young princess heaved a put-upon sigh before she turned back to Oreius. She rose on the tips of her toes and pressed a quick kiss against the stunned Centaur colt's cheek.

The three adults barely stifled their laughter at the look of affront on each child's face. Tuulea had to catch Alambiel as the girl tripped over her feet in an attempt to put distance between herself and the Centaurs. As Tuulea led the princess back to the palace, Cadfael grinned at the sight of Oreius scrubbing his cheek with a thoroughly disgusted look on his face. "It was not that terrible, my son."

Oreius scowled as he grumbled, "She kissed me!"

Cadfael struggled to keep a straight face as he asked, "And, what was so terrible about that?"

His son gave him a look that clearly said Cadfael should know why it was terrible, and his tone was one of childish indignation as he retorted, "She's a filly!"

Cadfael looked away for a moment in a desperate attempt to control his laughter before he replied, "You kiss your mother and let her kiss you."

Oreius stamped one small hoof and folded his arms as he muttered, "That's different."

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Lew watched in mild bemusement as Alambiel followed Tuulea into the meeting room with a huge frown on the child's face. He had thought that Leb was watching her that morn, but then again Leb was not the most observant of his children in the best of times and he had gotten worse after he fell for Calla. Lew glanced at Asbolus and received a slight shrug in reply before the huge Centaur called his granddaughter. The frown disappeared as Alambiel scampered over to her grandfather and leaped up into his embrace with a laugh. Lew only half-listened as Alambiel chattered at her grandfather until Asbolus asked her the reason behind her frown and the absolute disgust in her tone made him look up to see his six-year-old daughter was giving her grandfather a very affronted look. "Tuulea made me kiss Oreius!"

Lew frowned and turned to Tuulea only to find the Nymph in question was struggling not to laugh as she partially hid behind her husband, Stonebrook. He looked back at Asbolus who raised an eyebrow, "Who is Oreius?"

"Cadfael's son."

"And, why was kissing him so terrible, my little star?"

Alambiel sounded as offended as possible, "He's a boy!"

Lew chuckled in spite of himself as Asbolus pointed out, "You kiss me, your father, your brothers, and all your uncles and male cousins, little one, and you let us kiss you."

Alambiel crossed her arms with a disgruntled huff, "That's different."

Asbolus' deep laugh rumbled through the room as he gently lowered Alambiel to the floor, "I'm sure it is, now off with you. You've kept Stonebrook waiting long enough."

As Alambiel ran out of the room just ahead of Tuulea and Stonebrook, Lew shook his head with a laugh only to have Asbolus give him an assessing look. "You laugh now, Lew, but just wait a few years from now and your daughter will not be treating boys or the thought of kissing them like she tasted a sour treat." Lew abruptly sat down at the realization that his little star was going to grow up one day and not only like kissing boys, but she would also one day marry. He glanced at his father-in-law and sighed, at least he had between eight and ten years before he had to start dealing with that stage of life. Until then, he would just enjoy the fact that his Alambiel was at the age where boys were good playmates but otherwise disgusting, no matter what species they were. Thank Aslan that little girls could like little boys but deem kissing them was just gross...apparently, Leb managed to teach his sister something after all.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! So, we made it to the end and look nothing BAD happened! See, Lady Firewing, I CAN write a fluffy one-shot...with cooties. Click the little review button below and let me know what y'all think about this one.