I was at the Spring Feast and I honestly could not believe my eyes. I tugged nervously at my midnight blue dress and adjusted my silver necklace and neatly combed hair. The Queen and I had entered several minutes ago, but I was still standing frozen at the doorway. The hall was enormous with a ceiling that could have scraped the sky. There was one long table on which food was placed, delicious, sweet-smelling food. I wondered how much was eaten and how much was wasted, but decided not to let it trouble me.

There were hundreds of people in all styles of clothing and of all nationalities. I recognised several as Calormene, from their dark skin, as well as a fair number of Telmarines. To one side, a group of instrumentalists was setting up, ready to play. Out of nowhere, a young man appeared before me, smiling. I blinked, several times. He was the same man from my vision.

"Hello. I haven't seen you before. What is your name?"

I opened my mouth to tell him of my status and job, but thought better of it. Where was the fun it that? Besides, he had only asked for my name.

"Adalia," I replied.

The gentleman smiled, bowed and offered his hand, just as I had seen him do before. It was all so confusing, but it was what he said that frightened me the most. "Lady Adalia, would you care to dance?"

Dumbfounded, I instantly had several answers in mind. I don't dance, I'm not a lady, I'm an orphan of no rank, people will laugh at me. Instead I found myself returning his smile and replying with, "I'd love to."

He led me out into the middle of the floor just as the music began to play. It was my good fortune that the dance was a call and response, that is, the male partner executed moves and then the female repeated it. My heart raced and I blushed many times at the weakness of my moves. At one stage I actually tripped but the gentleman stepped forward and caught me and guided me in a graceful circle. I seethed for a moment at being treated as the helpless damsel but the feeling quickly faded as I was swept away in the moment. The music ended with a long note and the man bowed once more, thanked me for the dance and departed. I walked to the table to get myself some water and the Queen came to my side. I curtseyed, winced, and said "You Majesty."

"Are you enjoying yourself, child?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I see my son is enjoying himself too."

"You son is here?" I had only ever seen Crown Prince Ram once, many years ago at a distance. I looked around, searching for a man wearing a crown.

The Queen gave me an odd look. "Of course he is here. You just danced with him."

My heart skipped a beat. A prince dancing with the stable girl? Surely there had to be some rule against that. "Oh Your Majesty, I am so sorry, I didn't –"

"Don't apologise girl. My son is quite the – womaniser. See, he is now dancing with the Countess from Calormene."

I looked in the direction the Queen was gesturing and sure enough, the Prince was now dancing with a dark haired, heavily made up Carlormene girl. I studied him for a moment. Had I felt anything? That flush of heat, the spark of a connection?

No. The Prince did not hold any charm for me.

I bowed to the queen and made for the tables laden with food. True, as a stable hand I had never starved, but I had never known the feeling of being contently full either. I sampled a small amount of everything I could lay my hands. I in between samplings I talked with an array of nobility, none of whom even contemplated my rank. I wished that the feast could go on forever.

As I danced a few more dances with various Archenland lords, I did pick up on the abnormal levels of tension in the room. It seemed that all was not well between the Archenlanders and the visiting Telmarine ambassadors and nobility. On more than one occasion I overheard harsh words pass between a Terlmarine and a member of the King and Queen's court. I had already noted how arrogant the Telmarines acted, how they held their heads high. I actually saw one look at the food on the banquet table with disdain, before selecting a single piece of fruit, examining it and replacing it, apparently disgusted. Curiosity got the better of me and I wondered over to see what the fuss was about. To me, the fruit was perfect and many a hungry child would have got down on bended knee to simply taste it.

The most extravagantly dressed Telmarine was in a deep conversation with King Corin. You could tell by the looks on their faces that neither was enjoying this particular chat. Indeed, Prince Cor stood to his brother's side and I noticed his hand was lightly resting on the hilt of his sword.

And suddenly, the discussion became a loud argument.

"I do not need your permission, your Majesty! I merely ask for it to be courteous!"

King Corin took a determined step forward the room hushed, waiting to see how their King would respond. When Corin spoke, it was a threatening whisper that cut the silence like a knife.

"But, my Lord Helsar, indeed you do require my permission to take a large number of your men through my country in order to access Narnia. And I ask you once again, why is that you seek to enter Narnia?"

The Lord's hands were clenched at his sides, but he held his grounds. "We are merely curious of how Narnia is fairing."

King Corin shook his head. "Do not lie to me. I know what you seek. Do not think for a moment we will allow you to simply waltz in and take control!"

All around the room, Archenlanders were nodding while Telmarines were scowling. Already, the hall had seemingly been divided, each race taking a side and those who belonged to neither quietly seeking refuge in a corner.

"It is not your country!" Lord Helsar spat.

"Nor is it yours!" King Corin retorted. "It belongs to the Kings and Queens of Narnia and is being ruled by the Talking Beasts in their absence."

"Are you as foolish as you look?"

A gasp went up from the Archenlanders. There was the sound of metal on metal as Prince Cor and Prince Ram drew their swords. The Telmarine Lord took an unsteady step backward. "You dare?"

"My Lord it is you who dared address my brother in that manner," Prince Cor said quietly. "You have gone too far."

"Leave," King Corin finished, as if reading his twin brother's mind.

Lord Helsar began retreating, but continued to speaking as he went. "It been thirteen years and the Kings and Queens have not returned. They will never return!"

With that, the Lord Helsar swept from the room, followed by all of the Telmarine guests.

"Father," Prince Ram said. "Don't let his words get to you. You have told me many times that you knew the Kings and Queens personally and they would never abandon Narnia."

King Corin sighed. "No, but I believe for whatever reason they had no choice but to leave. That Telmarine dog is right though, and we can't keep pretending otherwise. King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund and Queen Lucy are never coming back."

Prince Cor sheathed his sword. "Then Narnia is in danger."

I had faint memories of visiting Narnia with Delilah. I could still see images, faint but real, of winding rivers, snow-capped mountains and a great castle on a cliff over-looking the sea. Narnia was beautiful and peaceful, and I had always known that one day I wanted to live there, amongst the Talking Beasts and the tree and water nymphs. I knew my real home was the Wild Lands of the North, but that was a barbaric, harsh area to which I could never truly return, so Narnia was the closest thing I had.

Queen Aravis came to my side and ordered me and all of the other ladies in the room to retire. I left, very unwillingly, but not before I saw King Corin nod in agreement with his brother's statement.

"Narnia is in grave danger."