A/N: So I'm not sure what I'm doing about this chap because I'm supposed to be doing other stuff. So I hope you guys won't hate me if the chapter sucks. Blame my writer's block!

Disclaimer: I don't own Regina Spektor's "The Call." Or Narnia. Or Skandar Keynes. Very sad indeed.

Lucy ran into Ella's room. "Oh, Ella! The strangest thing happened!"

Ella let Lucy sit next to her. "What's up, Lucy?"

"Well… A long time ago there was an evil witch that everyone called the White Witch. She turned Narnia into winter, but there was no Christmas and no presents. Anyway, she tricked Edmund into helping her, and then she tried to kill us! Then, Aslan helped us and we defeated her. But I suppose some people still wish she was ruling Narnia, because some of her followers have decided to attack us. Peter and Edmund and Susan will be going off to fight, but I'm scared, and they don't want me to fight anyway. So I have to stay with you." Lucy took a breath.

"Oh, my. That was quite a speech for one breath! Do you know why I'm not fighting with them? I've got a pocketknife." Ella looked at the younger girl.

"You're our guest! I'm sure we'll outnumber them, anyway. But they'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

"Edmund is going?" Ella looked out the open window. The wind dreamily blew her hair across her face.

"Why, of course he is! He's a boy, so he has to fight." Lucy grinned at Ella. "Why do you ask?"

Ella blushed and stood up. "I just think he's too much of a fool to be trusted fighting dangerous people… or animals."

"Well, now that they'll be preparing to leave, I'll be bored. So I want to find some dresses for you to wear! Come on! It will be fun!" Lucy tugged on the older girl's hand. Ella noticed that despite their age difference, she was barely taller than Lucy.

"But I don't like dresses! They're for feminine people, like you and your sister. I dress like a boy." Ella protested.

"Oh, hush! Let's go! I promise I won't pick anything too girly. Okay?" Lucy grinned at Ella.

"Fine. But I'm not going to promise that I'll wear them."

Lucy led her down countless halls and up and down multiple staircases. Ella laughed at how tired she was getting. "Lucy, how can you live here? It's too much work to simply find a dress!"

"Don't worry, Ella, we're finally here!" Lucy brought her into a small room. A large chest sat in a corner. "Susan and I found these dresses a long time ago, but they were too small for her and too large for me! Which ones would you like?"

"Lucy, I couldn't just take these. They're not even mine."

"Well, they're not ours, either. I'll pick the first one myself!" Lucy pulled out a velvety- looking black dress. "It has no beading, embroidery, or bows, but it's lovely. Like you!" Lucy draped the dress over Ella's shoulder and continued looking.

"Oh, goodness. Not that one. You can't make me wear that!" Ella gasped. Lucy was holding out a light green dress with off the shoulder sleeves. The back of the dress plunged downward. "It's…um… indecent! Yes, that's it! I couldn't possibly wear that in front of royalty." Ella turned to leave, but Lucy grabbed the back of her cardigan.

"Just take the dress Ella. Please? I'm sure Edmund will adore you in it." Lucy copied Ella's trademark smirk.

"What are you implying? I don't like Edmund! He's rude, and inconsiderate, and…" Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Oh, of course you don't like him. Please take the dress anyway. Sooner or later there will be a ball or something that you'll have to look nice for." Lucy placed the other dress firmly in Ella's hands.

Ella let out an exasperated sigh. She looked at the black dress and couldn't help feeling a flutter of excitement in her stomach. Maybe it wasn't so bad being a girly girl after all.

The next day……

Edmund and Peter finished putting on their armor and went to get Susan. As usual, Peter was going through his "I'm a confident king but I'm worried about our people" routine. Edmund picked at his fingernail.

"Is something the matter, Ed? You're awfully quiet."

"Nothing, Peter. I'm worried about the people of Narnia, too." Edmund lied.

Susan was waiting for her brothers. They were always a bit slow. "Lucy, you know you're staying with Ella while we're gone, right? Make sure she eats. I know she feels like she's being a burden, but she's not." Susan hugged her younger sister before she turned and left the room.

Ella looked down from her balcony. Peter, Susan, and Edmund were getting ready to leave, checking armor, and putting saddles on horses. Lucy ran out to say goodbye to them. She watched Edmund and felt a tinge of worry in her heart. He looked up at her and she looked away.

"Just because everything's changing

Doesn't mean it's never been this way before

All you can do is try to know who your friends are

As you head off to the war."

Outside of Cair Paravel……

Edmund looked up at Ella's balcony and did a double take. She was wearing a dress?! And not just any dress; a black, form-fitting dress. She noticed him looking and gave him a weary look. She muttered something, and Edmund realized she was singing. When she had finished, she looked back at him once more and went inside. Edmund scratched his head. "What a strange girl…"

"Ed! We're leaving!" Peter called. Edmund looked at his brother, then at the balcony. He turned away and got on his horse. "Let's go, then."

Ella scoffed. "What was he looking at? Gosh, he is so rude. He didn't say goodbye, but Peter and Susan did."

"Ella? Who are you talking to?" Lucy came in and sat down at the vanity. "Well, whoever you were talking to, it doesn't matter. Would you like to eat dinner?"

"Lucy, I've already told you that I refuse to take up your time. I'm already living in your home."

"If you insist. Shall we talk, then? It will be quite boring without the others here, won't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it will," Ella flicked a piece of hair from her face, "Well, at least without Peter and Susan. I don't want to offend you, Lucy, but I don't plan on missing your brother Edmund one bit."

Lucy gave Ella an unnerving stare. "You know, Edmund talks about you quite a bit, and he blushes whenever someone mentions your name."

Ella folded her arms and walked out onto the balcony. She couldn't see the other Pevensies anymore. "Your brother is a childish fool, and I don't want anything to do with him, Lucy. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but he is absolutely repulsive."

Lucy gave an exasperated sigh and went to go get something to eat.

Ella was alone in her room. She was sitting in front of the mirror, concentrating on her reflection. Was she an attractive person? It was difficult to say. Her eyebrows were a bit mannish, and she disliked her nose. Her skin was ghostly pale. On the other hand, she had large green eyes and her long hair looked nice when it was clean.

"ELLA! Please eat something!" Lucy called up the stairs.

Ella rolled her eyes at her reflection. She stood up and glanced down at the note Edmund had written her. She felt her cheeks flush. She had to stop this! Edmund was not only a king, he was immature and rude! She jumped when she heard a voice behind her.

"Ella, I'd be offended if you didn't have something to eat," Lucy tugged on the older girl's arm. Ella sighed and followed Lucy down the stairs.

"I've been trying to cook for hours! What were you doing up in your room?" Lucy said as she continued cooking. It smelled like something was burning.

"I was…thinking. That's all." Ella sat down at a chair. "Would you like help with that?" She lifted a pan off of the flame to stop whatever was inside of it from burning. "So, Lucy, do you cook by yourself often?"

"Well, I like to do my own cooking because I feel bad making other people cook for me. I'm already 14, so I should know how to do something of some importance."

Ella laughed. "I'm 16, and I can't do anything important! I think you're trying to grow up too fast."

Lucy looked at her. "I look up to Susan, and I don't think she grew up too fast."
Ella smiled even though she disagreed with the young queen.

"So, you lived in America before you came to Narnia, right? I bet it was interesting," Lucy dumped something into a pot and the room began to smell like food.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Lu, but I never liked it. I seemed like I didn't fit in with the other girls and their perfect, pretty hair and their red lipstick. And the men were so full of themselves; they truly thought they were dapper gentlemen."

The girls finished their cooking and sat down to eat. They had light conversation about Narnia and dresses. Ella noticed that Lucy was naturally mature for her age, but she didn't need to force herself to grow up as much as she did. Suddenly, Lucy wanted to talk about Edmund. "Why do you dislike my brother so much? I thought you two would get along."

"Well, he's been rude to me since from the moment I met him. Does he always act like he's better than everyone? And he's so childish, and immature…" Ella realized she was ranting. Lucy giggled. The girls spent the night talking about silly trivial things, and Ella couldn't help but feel a stab of homesickness in her chest. What were her friends doing right now? Her parents might be home from work, or searching the city for her. Maybe they had forgotten about her and were sitting down to a nice pasta dish for dinner. What about Kevin? He had been her first serious boyfriend, and they both cared for each other deeply. Was he wondering why she had suddenly ended things with him? Were the police looking for her? Clara's father was a police officer. Clara's parents always seemed to like her, so perhaps they bothered to search for her? Ella's thoughts went to her house, muddy colored and tall. She had always loved her room. She had a sleigh bed and a wardrobe and a big bookcase all made of dark wood. There were paintings of famous music composers on the walls and a few photographs of her with friends and family. She remembered the wall in her room that she had taken hours to decorate. She had painstakingly painted music notes that formed an actual song all along the wall. Suddenly, she felt a warm, salty tear drip down her face.

"Ella, what's wrong? Are you worried? Is the food bad?" Lucy hurried to her side.

"Oh, Lu, it's nothing. I'm just feeling a bit homesick. Do you ever miss your home when you're here?"

"Oh, sure. Our house was a sweet little two-story thing, with flower boxes on the windowsills. I have a lot of memories in that house. Most of all, though, I miss my mother. Ever since the war, we went to live with this old man, who was quite kind but was never really around. He had a lovely large home, but it never really felt like home to us. I think it was because all of us missed Mother so much."

"Oh, Lucy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't even be upset. My woes in life are nothing compared to yours." Ella gave the younger girl a big smile. "Now, shall we clean this food up? I'm getting sleepy."

A/N: Oh, dear! It has been absolutely forever since I've updated! More was supposed to happen in this chapter, but since it's been a while I decided to wrap it up with some background info on Ella. I'm going to get started on the next chapter right away. Ciao, loves!