A/N: Thanks everyone for the great response to this story! I have a lot planned for Susan - and, of course, Caspian. Hopefully a YouTube trailer will also be available soon! My plan is to post one chapter every week, but since I'm going to camp next week, I figured it wouldn't hurt to post this one early. ;) Also, happy sixteenth birthday to my writer friend A! Consider the early chapter your birthday present. :)

She slips away, unnoticed by her siblings, into the dark woods of the night. Barely a moment's hesitation passes before I hand the wood I've gathered to a minotaur and follow her.

Keeping up with the High Queen proves itself more difficult than I expected, particularly in the darkness, but I manage. The low chatter of the Narnians setting up camp fades away behind me, as does the little bit of light the moon provided in the clearing. Instead, shadows and the smell of pine envelope me, accompanied by the sound of crunching twigs underfoot and singing crickets.

I don't notice when the Queen comes to a silent stop. I nearly walk into her. She turns her head slightly to the right, acknowledging my presence without addressing me. Then she looks up at the night sky through the pine branches. Unsure of how to behave in her presence, I bow slightly.

"Your Highness."

"Why are you following me?" Her tone is not unkind. Neither is it welcoming.

I find I have no answer for her. A pause passes before I stutter, "I thought- it just seemed... well, you were alone."

"I prefer it."

How does one respond to that? I've made a mistake, overstepped my boundaries. It offended her, I'm sure. "I apologize, my lady."

Another long pause preludes her reply. "You have lived in this world all your life, but the Narnian realm is still new to you." Her tone is softer now. She is making a statement, not an accusation.

I wait quietly in hopes that she will continue. It's difficult to make out the silhouette of her face and hair here in the deep blue night. Her hair is so beautiful, long and silky and dark. I'm not quite sure how to deal with the feelings her presence today has awoken in me.

Just when I think the Queen has dismissed me entirely, her melodic voice speaks again. "What do you think of it?"

"Of what?" I hope my lack of a proper address is acceptable, considering my own position as a Crown Prince.

She turns to face me; all I can see of her is the glittering outline of her pale eyes. "Of Narnia."

The darkness emboldens me. I continue to gaze at her as I answer what first comes to mind, uncensored. "I don't know what to think. This morning it was all a nursery story. Less than a day has passed, and I'm leading an mythological army alongside the greatest legends of all."

She looks away from me, at the sky again, and a chill slips through my body when her eyes leave mine. "We're hardly legends." I'm about to protest this statement when she continues. "We were, once, I suppose. But even then we never really belonged here. Not permanently."

Her speech is a riddle to me, but then no Narnian or Telmarine could ever make complete sense of all the mysteries surrounding the Kings and Queens of old. Rather than questioning, I relate to what I can.

"I was never at home in the palace. I am the true heir to the throne, but my uncle has always held the power. Now I suppose he will take the title for himself as well, with an heir of his own. I am sure of it."

"I suppose." She sighs, a deep and sorrowful sound. I wonder at all the strange things she must know, having lived so long ago and returning now to a changed Narnia. Where was she during all those years? Sleeping? Among the stars? How did the magic call her back?

I speak the thought before it's completely formed in my mind. "What was it like - coming back? How did you do it?"

A ghost of a smile crosses her face. "It was wonderful."

She doesn't say anything else, so I ask again. "But where were you, all these years? How did you return?"

I fear she won't answer me. She's been so closed off all day, such a distant mystery to me. For whatever reason, though, she does. "That's just the thing. I'm from a different world - one you could never imagine. Time works differently there. There is no magic. When you come back to that world from Narnia, the whole place is strange. Cold. Indifferent to you, to your existence. I was a queen. I went on hunts and courted princes and fought in wars. Then I returned, and I was a child sent off to school. I couldn't go out on my own, much less fight witches or visit with royalty. Aslan never tells you these things... He never prepares you." She shifts her feet and looks down at the ground. "He never prepared me."

I clear my throat, desperately searching for words of comfort or wisdom. My short life in the palace of Telmar has not prepared me to comfort a High Queen with such depths of sorrow. In place of words I do not have to give, I find her hand lying limp against the soft skirt of her dress. Her skin is cold and smooth in my warm hand, so much larger than hers. She waits only a moment before pulling it away, as I suspected she would. I let her.

"Do not worry. I only meant to be of some comfort."

She faces away from me, into the impenetrable night forest. "I doubt you can." She inhales deeply. "Still, I have some time before going back. I suppose I'll make the most of that."

I touch her shoulder gently to get her attention. Quickly she turns her head back to me and I smile, hoping to encourage her. I offer my arm to her, but she shakes her head, turning towards the camp. I wait for her to walk a few steps ahead. She turns back to look at me.

"Are you coming?"

Holding back my smile, I catch up with her. We walk in silence, side by side, back to the quiet camp.