Chapter Three

Ruby's POV

~OoO~

Lucy had so nicely pulled me up on her horse and the five of us had bid goodbye to the beavers, well, I had after extensive apologizing for shrieking at them. I made a mental note to apologize to the badger and bear as well.

For a little while we rode, and I felt like I was being psychoanalyzed about London. They asked me non-stop about it. Was it cold still? Who won the war? They seemed very pleased when I told them that they had. All in all, I was being put under the spotlight, which I did not like. I hated being under the spotlight. Then, as though we were in a fairytale, we passed a clearing and my eyes caught sight of the most beautiful castle I'd ever seen. Better than those in movies that was made of plaster. This was the real thing. Brick, stone, wood, it was the real deal, and so much better.

"Whoa."

Lucy look behind at me, "What is it?"

My mouth had gaped open, "This is like... Wow."

I heard a pleased laugh behind me from Susan. I looked around and pointed while laughing.

"Are you kidding me?"

She shook her head, "No, we've lived there for a while now."

I gasped, "No fair! Compared to where I live, this could be like Heaven!"

"Where did you used to live?" Susan asked.

I shrugged, "Eh, in an orphanage."

"You lived in an orphanage?" Lucy gasped from in front of me.

I cringed and nodded, giving a short laugh, "Yeah."

"Well, you're going to get the best treatment at this place." She said in a funny laugh.

I sighed, "No thankyou, like I said... I can camp out or something."

Once again, she gave a sort of huff before she urged her horse faster towards the castle. Soon, I heard the clop-clop of the horse's shoes upon the ground floor. Everything was gorgeous. Animals were everywhere, as well as people. There were so many things here and I'd only read in mythology books. My mouth literally dropped open as I saw a centaur. A freaking centaur...

"Shut your mouth. It's rude." A voice hissed beside me.

I clenched my jaw together as soon as I saw Edmund beside me. He rolled his eyes to me while I huffed back. The horses were led all the way to the stables and we all got off.

"Oh, my good gosh..." I hissed through my teeth.

Peter walked up towards me as I squatted on the floor, my elbows pressed down on my knees.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a worried voice.

Looking up at him and noticing only his golden tresses I grimaced.

"You people are nuts." I muttered as a way of an explanation.

He looked and me quizzically and then got down to my level, placing a hand on shoulder. I had to stiffen myself to stop recoiling from the physical contact. At the orphanage, we were to 'refrain' from opposite gender contact. I had to sharply intake to remember that I wasn't back in London, but in fact, in a place known as 'Narnia.'

"Do you need a doctor or something?" He asked, concerned.

I shook my head, "I need my butt to stop being numb."

His eyes widened in shock and he pressed a hand to his mouth. Unmissed by my eyes, I saw the corners of his lips lift up in amusement.

"Shut up," I hissed, "I've never ridden a horse before."

At that, he stood up and laughed. Out loud. Very loudly... like this day couldn't get worse.

"What's up?"

Edmund had seen his brother laughing and had walked over after reining his horse up. I was still squatting on the floor, denting my knees with my elbows. Peter stood up straighter.

"Ahh, here comes the Knight of Narnia."

I looked up at Edmund and gave myself a mental slap as I noticed how darkly beautiful his eyes were... the way his hair brushed over his brows and his tall, lanky almost figure... what am I thinking? I could have punched myself for thoughts like this over a guy who dropped me in a lake. Yes. Think of him like that. The jerk that dropped me in a lake... and floored me! I refrained from grinning as earlier thoughts dispersed as new, harsher ones took place. I could never find anything in common with him. Never!

"Knight of Narnia...?" I asked, slightly curious.

Peter nodded, "Yeah, Ed here is the official Knight of Narnia. He's the best blade we've got."

I looked at Edmund who rolled his eyes. Once again, he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. With a shrug, he gesticulated down to me.

"What wrong with her?"

I frowned at Peter who grinned.

"Nothing, I'm fine!" I muttered all too quickly.

Edmund raised two unamused eyebrows as Peter leaned in and whispered my problem in his ear. I sighed and rolled my eyes, shifting my weight. Then, straightening up, I winced at the pain on my rear.

"Oh, good gosh..." I spat.

Peter grinned and clapped his brother on the back. I had turned to look at Edmund. His face wasn't a mask of amusement, even slightly, like I'd predicted. No... It was actually... horrified. I frowned at his confused face. He turned his head and glared at Peter, shaking his head severely.

"No freaking way." He choked out.

Peter tilted his head, "Well, she's our guest now. Would you rather do that, or help out with kitchen duties?"

Edmund answered quickly, "Kitchen Duties."

I narrowed my eyes. Whatever the 'deed' was, it couldn't be that bad. Well, if it was me... maybe it could. Everything I'd come across in Narnia had been something I'd freaked out at, failed at, screamed at, fallen at or almost drowned at. This place was a recipe for disaster for me.

"Okay, it's decided. You're helping Ruby with her riding skills."

My head snapped up.

"WHAT?" I gasped at the same time Edmund thundered, "NO!"

Peter rubbed his hands together, "I'm glad you feel this way. It's settled, Edmund, within the next days, you'll teach Ruby how to ride properly. Anyway, see you two at dinner."

With that, he walked away, his boots clicking on the ground. I turned to face Edmund who had already stalked off... well okay. Be that way.

A hand tugged onto the sleeve of my jumper and I jumped about a mile in the air. Turning around, I saw a wide-eyed Lucy.

"Oh, sorry about that..." I muttered.

She shrugged any offense off, "It's fine. Anyway, what's wrong with Edmund? He looks like he's swallowed a cat."

I narrowed my gaze and looked towards the treacherous horses.

"High King Peter," I spat, "Is making Edmund teach me how exactly to ride."

She stared at me expectantly for a few seconds then started to laugh.

"What? It's not funny!" I hissed at her.

She snickered and held her fist to her mouth, "Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't move after the first lesson."

My eyes shot open, "What? Why?"

She shrugged, "With your attitude, he's going to dump you on your butt a lot more times than today."

I sighed and kicked a heel through the hay in the stables, "Oh joy."

She slipped her hand into mine and let me out of the stables, across the courtyard and into the beautiful castle.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room."

I smiled at her and let her lead me up a few staircases, past a corridor and down a hallway. On the way, I recieved more than a few curious stares. I hugged to myself closers, feeling somewhat self conscious about my clothes. Soon though, we reached a room and I stopped as I caught sight of an animal sitting in front of it. It was a large white snow leopard. I estimated that at standing on all fours, it would have come up to my waist. I stood there for a moment to glance at its majestic profile. The strong legs were bent in a sitting position, while its body was stiff life of regal posture. The head was dipped in respect for the figure next to me, while I shifted awkwardly on my feet.

"This is Sabu; he's going to be your personal guard."

I blinked at him for a moment, "My what?"

Lucy sighed and shrugged, "We like our guests to be safe and protected at all times."
I nodded and looked over the big cat again. It was truly breathtaking. His snow white furs with the rings of black here and there were every bit extraordinary. Its majestic head was still inclined and the beautiful silvery blue eyes were gazing curiously at me. Behind it, its rather long and fluffy tail flickered in reinforced curiosity.

"There's a dress in there, if you need any help, just call out. Other than that, I'll leave you to get settled in. If you need me, Sabu knows where to find any of us four."

I nodded as she left and stood a few feet away from the large snow leopard.

"You can go in, I won't bite."

I jumped reflexively in surprised at its extremely refined voice. I was expecting harsh growls in which I would have to drastically try to decipher. But no, it was a refined human voice. It was even more than possible that it was more refined than a human. It had the trace of a purr in it that made it seem like velvet.

"Sorry," I apologized, "I haven't gotten used to this whole animals-can-talk thing."

He inclined his head again, "You better get used to it, and it's a common thing around here."

I nodded, "Yeah, I figured."

He chuckled and moved away from the door so I could slip in. Opening the knob and just about to slip into the room, I ducked over to Sabu and ran my fingers through his soft fur. The look on his face was priceless and I couldn't help but burst out in laughter.

"Sorry, I just wanted to see how soft you were."

He blinked and gave a soft growl, "You could have warned me."

I grinned, "I will next time."

I slipped in and closed the door behind me. Turning around, I gasped as I took in the view in front of me. The room was simple and rugged here and there, but it was still beautiful. There was a large, queen-sized, cream and chocolate coloured tapestry bed. A large chest was in front of it and off to one of the walls was a large wardrobe. In the near centre of the room was a limestone table with four chairs placed with it. Someone with obvious artistic ability had placed a matching crystal vase in the middle and arranged colour coded tulips in the middle. I smiled as I swung my arms around, walking through the room, observing it. There was another room connecting to it. In there was a simple sink and a large stone tub. A small box of petals was placed next to the bath along with jars of incenses and oils. I sighed in delight and found a small room connected to the bathroom with a chamber pot in it.

"Oh dear gosh... How will I ever survive?" I muttered in clipped sarcastic tones.

Walking over to wardrobe, I felt my upper lip curling in dissatisfaction as I surveyed the only pieces of garment in my wardrobe.

Dresses...

Tons of them!

Groaning under my breath, I picked out the simplest I could fine. This time, I groaned out loud. It may have been the simplest from the batch, but it still looked more complicated than the square root of pi. It was a beautiful light sky blue and white colour. It had long trumpet sleeves hanging down and there were dozens of lacing at the back and front.

Slowly, I stripped out of my converse sneakers, jumper, t-shirt and jeans and slipped into the blue dress. It was a perfect fit. I found some blue shoes that were practically the same thing as ballet flats, and they matched the dress, so I slipped them on. Then I managed to tie up the front of my dress, but not the laces at the back.

"Oh...stupid dress with stupid lacing! Why do you have to be so annoying?" I yelled out to no-one in particular.

Behind me, I heard footsteps. Gasping in fright as I turned around, I pressed a hand to my chest as I saw it was only Sabu. His eyes were alight with amusement as my strange position of twisted arms.

"You look lovely, but try doing the back up while looking the mirror."

I glared at him, "Oh now you tell me there's a mirror."

He sighed and padded over to the side of the cupboard, where, sure enough, there was a mirror built into the side. In no time at all, with Sabu's help, I had the dress completely done up. I glanced at myself in the mirror. My long blonde tresses were hanging down and looked fine, I decided, as I brushed my fingers through them. I wasn't short either. My height was good. I gazed back at dark green orbs in the mirror and sighed. I was a hopeless mess. Nobody wanted me.

A sudden knock on the door disrupted my reverie.