Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters or fictional land/lands; I am not C.S. Lewis, sadly. I only own the plot and characters not featured in the original books.
It was quite early in the morning, the Kings and Queens of Narnia were gathered in the throne room, awaiting King Sergio arrival. Edmund was pacing the length of the room repeatedly, looking very worried, and this then caused his siblings to worry too.
They had spent the last three days covering up the existence of Ryder and ordering their whole kingdom to not speak a word of the mysterious girl. It wasn't that hard, the people were dedicated to their Kings and Queens; they had brought peace and friendship to Narnia in their twelve year rule and the future looked even brighter with them on the throne. So, they were to keep quiet until Sergio had given enough evidence that his niece was Ryder.
"I wish you'd sit down Edmund," Susan sighed. "I'm as worried as you are now."
"I'm sorry." Edmund said stopping in his tracks and wondering back over to his chair.
"We have nothing to worry about. Sergio's niece could be anywhere and anyone. Ryder could just be some lost girl from Telmar, not his niece." Peter said calmly, though his insides were twisting.
"I hope so." Edmund mumbled.
Meanwhile, far away from the throne room, Ryder was also awake and like Edmund was pacing back and forth the length of her room; her nails were bitten down to her skin with anxiously biting them. She had the same reason to be worried as the Kings and Queens; if in anyway King Sergio found out about Ryder, they knew at the snap of his fingers a war would start. Though the monarchs were unsure if Ryder was who Sergio was looking for, she knew that her past was somehow connected to Sergio but for what reasons, she did not know, all she knew was that she hate that man with pure loathing and he could not be in anyway related to her.
Suddenly, there was he sounds of loud horns announcing the arrival of the Telmarine King and his knights; Narnians who were gathered in the courtyard bowed their heads slightly to show respect as Sergio strolled along on his horse. He was a handsome but old man, with long black hair with strands of grey accompanied by a long grey beard. He had a very menacing and nasty face, a cruel smile on the corners of his mouth and dark, almost black eyes. Alongside him rode his son who was probably what Sergio looked like when he was younger. The same deep dark eyes and cruel smile, who rode with his head held high as if he was better than anyone else.
Once they had arrived at Cair Paravel grand doors, they jumped down off their horses and swaggered into the throne room, lead in by Jason.
"I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant, King Edmund the Just, Queen Susan the Gentle and High King Peter, the Magnificent." Jason announced to Sergio. The four siblings rose from their thrones and Sergio knights, though reluctant, bowed. "Your majesties, King Sergio I of Telmar and Prince Sergio II."
"It is so good to see you again, you majesties." Sergio bowed his head slightly.
"And it is good to see you too Sergio. Now shall we talk of the matter you came here to discuss?"
"Ah yes, of course King Peter." Sergio swept into the room and stood in front of the monarchs, his son trailing behind. "I'm sure from my brief letter that you know my niece has been kidnapped. By whom you may ask? Well it has come to my knowledge that there is still Telmarine rebels, from that of the old war, trying to bring the end of my rule and replace my son with my brother's son, Favino III. They kidnapped her but she has managed to escape and is believed to be lost in Lantern Waste, your highness."
Peter nodded and paced back and forth. Edmund eyed Prince Sergio as he leered at Queen Susan. "Yes, well you have known there have been rebels for a while, it is to be expected is it not?" Peter looked at Sergio and Sergio frowned slightly. "But how did they kidnap your niece? I would have thought it was impossible to attack your castle."
"My niece is an avid rider and they took her while she was out riding."
"I see, and she escaped. But how could she have ended up in our woods? It I must say is very far from your castle." Edmund butted in.
"Well, we think they are hiding out on the outskirts of Telmar, along the line of Lantern Waste."
"Have you searched along there?" Peter asked.
"Yes but nothing has been found. That is why I have come to ask whether it would be possible to search through Lantern Waste; for my niece and the rebels. I have no doubt they are searching for her too."
"I am sorry to say but the Wolves search those woods every week and can sniff out any human or animal, and we haven't found anyone." Edmund rose from his seat.
"I don't doubt that, King Edmund but are you sure? I mean Lantern Waste is a large forest."
"I am quite sure and have you ever thought that whoever told you all this hasn't got his facts straight; that she could be anywhere in Telmar? How do you even know she escaped?"
"We have stopped receiving ransoms off of the rebels. When they took her they left a letter with instructions to give up the throne or else they would harm her. And then others demanding for me to hurry up my decision or they'd kill my niece"
"And why didn't you follow these instructions?" Edmund asked.
"Because King Edmund, she is merely my niece. That is not something to lose a kingdom over."
"Ah so you do not care for you niece."
"I did not say that, at all! I care deeply for her but what is the use giving up my kingdom, my son's future, for a woman who they'll probably kill anyway."
"That is true; Telmarines aren't very true on their word." Edmund snarled.
"You have crossed a line King Edmund!" Sergio snarled back.
"Enough!" Peter shouted. "I understand that it is important to find your niece but Edmund is right. Your niece could be anywhere in Telmar or in the other surrounding countries, so it is most unlikely she got to Narnia. I think maybe you should concentrate more on looking through your own country before you search through ours."
King Sergio frowned deepened. "I am sorry then to have bothered you, your majesties. Though I am sure you would act in the same way as I would have if one of your siblings had been kidnapped." And then he turned from the room and left, his son and knights trailing after him.
Once they were clear of the room and out of earshot, Edmund turned to Peter and said, "Well that was pleasant."
"I wish you wouldn't butt in like that, you and Sergio have the same temper and we don't want to start another war do we?"
"Sorry Peter but I can't trust him. Did you notice how he always called her 'my niece', never Catherine? I find that highly suspicious don't you?"
"Yes I do. And he gave us nothing to go on, what she looked like? So we still cannot be sure whether or not Ryder is his niece."
"I don't remember Favino having a daughter, just a son." Lucy finally spoke.
"Yes but Favino and Sergio had a younger sister. It is probably her daughter." Susan said to Lucy.
"Oh yes, but I thought she sided with Favino not Sergio. That's why it would be weird for Sergio to think of her as his niece." Lucy said.
"She did and that's why he killed his sister." Peter mumbled.
They sat in silence for awhile until Edmund rose from his seat. "Yes, well we do not know a lot about Telmar history but we do know one thing, Sergio can't be trusted. If he didn't spare his sister, he isn't going to spare anyone else."
"Oh this is all so depressing!" Lucy moaned. "I'm going to see Ryder. She is aloud out now, isn't she?"
"Wait until tomorrow, then she can go back to her normal wanders of the castle and garden." Peter told her. "Just to be on the safe side, in case any of Sergio men have lingered behind."
Ryder was lying flat out on her bed, her arms and legs stretched out, with her eyes closed and her hair flowing around her. When Lucy entered her room she didn't open her eyes just lay still, her chest rising up and down with each intake and outtake of breath.
"You look like an angel." Lucy finally spoke.
Ryder opened her eyes and looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the way you were laying looked like you were an angel with wings. And only someone as beautiful as you could be an angel."
"I'm not an angel, Lucy. There is nothing 'heavenly' about me."
"I can disagree there. You are so perfect, with your dark glossy hair and those sparkling ocean blue eyes and pretty mouth. I've heard all the knights talking about you; you're just as beautiful as Susan they say."
"Now that's just silly. No one is as beautiful as you and Susan. I see how everyone adores you both. And anyway, I'm just some poor, lost girl, you are Queen of Narnia, your people call you Queen Lucy the Valiant and Queen Susan the Gentle. I just have some manly name, Ryder."
"Now you are being silly. You are free to fall in love, not be proposed to by every noble man just so he can get the throne."
"You can fall in love Lucy. You just need to get out more, talk to normal men. Anyway, who needs love? Is it really necessary?"
"How can you say that? Imagine falling in love, you have this one special someone, your soul mate, who loves you for who you are and that include your flaws. I think anyone without any form of love, would kind of be lost in the world."
"Shut up Lucy." Ryder laughed. "I thought you'd come to tell me important news. Am I being whisked away to Telmar?"
Lucy smile faded. "No, luckily. We aren't sure if Sergio lying or not about his niece but we've sent him away. He has gone to look for her in the rest of his country."
"That's good then, isn't it?"
"Well, I guess but Sergio doesn't need a reason to start a war. Luckily Edmund didn't do that much damage."
"What did Edmund do?"
"It was what he said really; his whole not trusting a Telmarine, right in front of Sergio."
"Oh, well that's not that bad."
"No could have been a lot worse though." Lucy shivered. "Urgh and his son kept leering at Susan with that cruel smile. He is just vile."
"Did he even mention anything on a description of his niece? Is she even real?" Ryder said after a pause of silence.
"No he didn't. He didn't even use her name." Lucy told Ryder. "And I think she is. Favino and Sergio had a younger sister, so we think it's her daughter."
"One second, Favino rings a bell. Who is he?"
"Oh I forgot you probably don't remember that much of your own history. But I don't either so this is just what I read." Lucy sat beside Ryder on her bed. "I think about 3 years into our rule, there was a great war in Narnia between Favino and Sergio, you see Favino and Sergio father had just died and Favino, being the oldest, was to take the throne but Sergio wasn't happy with this and so fought against his brother. He killed his brother but Favino son escaped and hasn't been seen since, but there were still thousands of Telmarines who wanted Favino's son on the throne so they rebelled, along with Sergio's sister and he killed her and defeated the rebels and has since been ruling Telmar."
"So, his niece's mother is dead?"
"Well, that if his niece is real. But yes his sister is dead."
"That's horrible."
"I wonder if there are any books in Ed's library about the war or Telmarine royalty." Lucy got up and wondered to the door. "Come on, let's check."
"Are you sure I'm aloud out?"
"You're only going to Ed's library; it's only a floor up."
So Ryder and Lucy snuck up to the floor above Ryder's and into Edmunds library. It was a large room, every wall filled with rows and rows of books, it even smelt like pine wood. Lucy ran her fingers along the titles, mumbling to herself. Ryder copied Lucy and on the opposite shelf ran her finger along the covers looking for anything to do with Telmar.
They had been looking for at least two hours as they already looked through 4 bookcase between them and Ryder was now on a ladder looking at the higher books when suddenly Edmund strolled into the room and shouted when he saw that the two young women had made a mess of his library, books scattered the floor that they had thought were useful but when they read them they weren't.
"What are you two doing?" Edmund shouted.
At the sound of his voice Ryder shouted out in surprise and jumped, letting go of the ladder and falling backwards. Edmund reacted quickly and stretched his arms out as Ryder fell into his arms. She stared at him in surprise, her breath short and shallow.
"Are you alright Ryder?" Lucy asked running over.
Edmund set her down on her feet and Ryder looked at Lucy. "Yes, I'm fine. He just surprised me." She glared at Edmund.
"Well, you shouldn't be in here." He turned to Lucy. "I thought Peter told you she wasn't aloud out."
"Oh for Aslan sake Edmund, she left her room, came up a flight of stairs and into your library, I doubt anyone even saw her or at least noticed her."
"Yes well what are you doing in here in the first place?" Edmund asked.
"We were looking for the Telmar Royal family tree."
"Well, it should be on that shelf at the back, anything with the Telmarines or Telmar is."
Edmund walked over to the back shelf, Lucy and Ryder trailing behind. He grabbed a ladder and climbed up, glancing over the book titles. They stood in silence for a few minutes, when finally Edmund exclaimed, "I found it!"
He clambered down from the ladder and wonder over to the table that sat in the middle of the room. He placed the small book on the table and Lucy began flicking through. It didn't take long to find the right era.
"Favino the First, King of Telmar married Princess Katrina of Calormen, who then became Queen; they had Favino II, Sergio I and Katrina. They did have a sister! She married Lord Draco, Head Knight of Telmar and they had a daughter and son; another Katrina and Lucas!" Lucy exclaimed.
"But I thought he said her name is Catherine." Edmund asked.
"Katrina in translates to Catherine, so they probably called her Catherine so she was not confused with her mother." Ryder said. Lucy and Edmund looked at her in surprise. "I guess that some useless information I remembered."
"Oh this is brilliant! Now all we have to do is find Lord Draco and ask him about her." Lucy began flicking through the pages again but froze.
"What? What is it?" Edmund asked.
Lucy spun the book around to face Edmund and Ryder and pointed to the page she had stopped on. It was a portrait of a beautiful woman, with dark brown hair and bright brown eyes, an oval face with strong features and a button nose. Along the bottom it read Princess Katrina of Telmar.
"But that's Ryder!" Edmund exclaim, grabbing the book and holding it up to Ryder's face.
And it was. The curve of her mouth, the shape of her eyes, the small straight button nose, everything about the woman was Ryder, though Ryder had blue eyes like the ocean, other than that it could have been Ryder's double.
"It's her mother." Lucy mumbled.
Ryder stared at the portrait and then lifted her hand and stroked the picture, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "She's dead." That was all that Ryder could say or think, that her mother was dead and that she truly was Sergio niece.
Ryder swayed slightly and Edmund threw the book to the table, then he looped his arm around Ryder's waist, holding her against him. She closed her eyes and rested her head against Edmund's chest.
"I'll get Galena." Lucy said and ran quickly out of the room.
Edmund, still supporting Ryder, pulled out a chair and set her down on it. He knelt in front of her and stared up at her face. The colour had gone from her face and her lips were white. She looked like a ghost, with white translucent skin. Edmund reached his hand out and stroked Ryder's cheek; Ryder inclined her head slightly and let it rest on his hand. After a few minutes of silence Ryder eyes fluttered open and focused on Edmund's face.
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, you're just in shock." Edmund said.
"No, I mean for arguing with you. I'm sorry for saying all those horrible things, but I know now."
"What do you know now?"
"I know what happened with the White Witch."
Edmund froze and a frown appeared. "Who told you that?"
"I said I wouldn't say because they weren't meant to tell me."
"Well they were right. They had no right at all to tell you, it isn't any of your business." Edmund let go of Ryder and stood up.
Ryder leant back in the chair and stared at Edmund. "But now I know why you don't trust me. I understand now. It's better for me to know, that way we get along better."
"You don't understand."
"I think I understand perfectly well."
Edmund knelt back down in front of her and rested his forehead against hers; he took a deep breath and smelt the flowery fragrance that was embedded in Ryder's skin. Ryder wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in the nook of his neck. They sat like for a few minutes till they heard the sound of voices. Edmund placed a kiss upon her forehead and stood up, taking a step back but never letting his eyes leave hers. It was like a silent agreement, she understood now.
Author's Notes: This is quite a short chapter but King Sergio visit wasn't meant to be long and then the second half wasn't planned really, it just came to my mind and it actually fitted with the story and everything. And also it took me awhile because I decided to watch Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader again and all the behind the scenes on all the DVD's and then I watch The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe with the Director and actor's commentary, so I only once again finished it today. What are you going to do with me!
But this next chapter I might update early though I'm hoping it will be longer than most chapters so just check your emails during the week in case I do update early, hope you liked this one!
Review if you like it, review it if you hate it.
I appreciate the criticism or praise.