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Chapter 2 - Odd Acquaintances

"My Lady! My Lady, are you alright?"

A voice seemed to pierce through the layers of cold darkness that enveloped me. What startled me out of my deep, unnatural slumber was the way the voice was addressing me. My Lady? Since when was I a lady? Even the voice seemed hesitant to call me that, though I can hardly blame him. If it weren't for the long braid that hung down my back or the semblance of a chest I had, then it would have been impossible to tell that I was even female.

"By the Lion, please," the voice whispered, words drenched in guilt and hope. "Please please please please..."

I made an effort to twitch. I had taken tumbles before, I was used to the pain. Or so I told myself. Finally, I had clawed a hole in the fog that surrounded my mind. I blinked in the bright sunlight, groaning as the ache of my bruised bones made itself known.

"Thank Aslan," the voice murmured, before directing itself at me. "My Lady, can you hear me? Are you alright?"

I managed a nod. He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on his heels, giving me space to sit up. The process was agonizing and slow, but I tried to hide my misery from the stranger, who looked like he might pass out any minute from worry. As soon as I was fully upright and leaning heavily against the boulder I had crashed into, he started babbling like a nervous faun.

"I'm so sorry, I was just wondering what you were doing and then before I could do anything that giant gathered his wits and next thing I knew you were lying there and you weren't moving so I was afraid that maybe..."

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine," I assured him as he trailed off. I looked behind him, seeing Starwick motionless on the ground. "What about him?"

"Oh, I took care of him."

I nodded, grimacing as I tried to take a step forward. He immediately jumped to help me. The way he took my arm was a gesture foreign to the village boys I had known, though he was dressed like one. In fact, everything about him seemed noble, though at first glance he looked anything but.

"The villagers should come by shortly to bury him," I said when we stood by Starwick's dead body.

"Truly an honorable deed," he said with approval. I raised an eyebrow at the choice of words. He seemed to realize what he had said and checked himself. "I mean, good. That's good."

We took a couple slow steps out of the valley before I remembered something important. "I'm Kaleigh. Who are you?"

A flash of recognition came to his eyes at my name, but he shook it away. "Nice to meet you, Kaleigh. I'm Ed."

"Ed," I repeated, feeling the same memory being tugged as when I had first seen him. "Is it short for something?"

"Yes," he answered curtly. He obviously wasn't going to tell me what for, so I awkwardly pushed the subject away.

"Pray tell, 'Ed', what were you doing so far from Ashfall on this fine day?"

"I intended to defeat the giant I had heard rumors of, but I found a Lady - nay, a girl - had beaten me to it."

He said it with such a mischievous smile all I could manage in self defense was a weak shove. He laughed at my attempt.

"Is that all you've got? How did you manage to tame the giant with such weakness?"

I gave an embarrassed laugh, pretending what he had assumed was true. Then, once he seemed convinced I was really nothing more than a lucky peasant girl, I jumped at him. With a surprised oomph he tumbled to the grass. He attempted to get up, but he found I was indeed stronger than I looked. I giggled victoriously as he stared up at me with surprised defeat.

But he was using my own tricks to get me now. As soon as my grip loosened, he threw me off. Just as quickly as I had pinned him, I found myself trapped between the ground and the mysterious Ed I had just met.

We continued to wrestle in this way all the way down the hill to Ashfall, earning a few odd looks as we rolled into the town. We lay side by side, panting. When I finally caught my breath I couldn't stop laughing. After a moment Ed joined my hysterical giggling.

Once we had settled down, he propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at me. "Kaleigh?"

"Yes?" I sat up and tried to dust my tunic off to no avail.

"Why don't you come with me and meet my sister? I bet she has dinner. She's an amazing cook." Ed grinned at me, wiggling his eyebrows as if to tempt me. I snorted at his attempts but had to admit the offer sounded good. It had been a long time since I'd eaten something home cooked by someone who actually knew what they were doing.

"I guess so," I answered, trying not to sound too eager. "Just for a bit."

"Excellent!"

Grinning like a child that's just made a new friend, he grabbed my arm and started pulling me behind him. Already drooling at the thought of the wonderful meal that potentially awaited me, I was content to be dragged along.

Ed and his sister were staying in a small abandoned cabin in the woods near Ashfall. I had noticed it a few times, but I had never gone inside. It was actually quite clean and cozy, with delicious smells thick in the air.

"Lu!" Ed called out. "I brought company!"

A girl a few years younger than myself popped through a door, all smiles. She wiped her hands on her simple yet expensive looking dress and brushed her messy golden hair out of her eyes. Like Ed, she carried herself as if she were royal, despite all evidence to the contrary.

"I'm Kaleigh," I said, trying in vain to match her huge smile.

"Nice to meet you," the girl said, wrapping me in a warm hug. "I'm Lucy."

"Like the Queen," I observed. I thought nothing of my comment, but I noticed Ed and Lucy exchange a quick glance. Lucy raised an eyebrow and Ed answered with an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Lucy. Ed. Ed. Lucy. It all clicked. I felt my eyes widen and my jaw drop, and I noticed Ed's dismayed look when he saw my face.

"By the Mane," I whispered, then louder. "By the Mane!"

"It's not what-"

I cut him off. "Aslan help me, it's the King and Queen. King Edmund the Just and Queen Lucy the Valiant. By the Mane."

Lucy- Queen Lucy gave her brother a pointed look and a small shrug. King Edmund was holding his head in his hands and leaning heavily against the wall. He looked very disappointed. Meanwhile I was pacing around the room, babbling to myself.

"The King and Queen just invited me to dinner. Dinner! Me! In an abandoned cabin! Dinner!" Then a horrid thought came to me.

"By the Lion, I pushed the King of Narnia down a hill!"