A/N Here we are, back to our current timeline (the one we started this story off with)! We're just starting to get into some of the best parts of the story that I have planned out now, and I am super excited to continue this. I think that within the next few chapters, you're going to start to get a better feel for which characters you like, and who you trust or don't trust.

Also partially revealed in this chapter is the reason why Zebulan and Vivian have come to seek aid from the Kings and Queens of Narnia...

Chapter 11

Restless Hosts

"There is no way that baiting and trapping works better than stalking." Nyra said as her and Edmund walked through the corridors towards the Dining Hall. "There is no telling of how long it will take to trap the animal you're looking for- what if you end up trapping a mole when you're trying to get a rabbit?"

"Than you're using the wrong bait." Edmund said rather matter-of-factly, leading the way down the stairs. "Besides, you're more likely to be caught stalking your prey."

"Says the human." Nyra chuckled. "Us wolves hardly ever step on a twig or give our scent away." Edmund placed his hand over his heart and shot Nyra a wounded look, slightly offended that she would suggest he did such a thing.

"Are you saying that my human hunting abilities are inferior to your own?"

"Well, when you put it like that it sounds a little harsh." Edmund snorted and gave his friend a small shove with his leg.

"I thought that was the way you always sound." He teased.

Nyra let out a playful growl and nipped at the King's boots, sending the boy jumping away with a cry of surprise. Edmund laughed and rested his hand on the wolf's head, scratching behind her ear before shoving her head away. On mornings like this, it was hard to remember how bad of a situation they were actually in. Nyra and Edmund's playful banters were a common sight around the castle, even if they tried as hard as they could to make their relationship look as professional as they could. After all, Edmund had practically raised Nyra.

"Try being a wolf for one day, and I guarantee that you will agree with my method." Nyra said as they approached the doors to the Dining Hall.

"One day as a wolf?" Edmund responded. "No thank you, I'm perfectly happy without the fleas."

"I don't have fleas!" Nyra snapped lightheartedly as the doors to the Dining Hall were opened. Their playful demeanor immediately vanished as the two caught sight of the twin Encantados sitting at the table with Susan and Lucy.

Edmund paused in his step, slightly taken aback by the presence of Zebulan and Vivian. They were the last people he would expect to be joining him and his siblings for breakfast- especially after what he and Lucy had just learned in the library the other day. The King and the wolf stood by the doors for several moments, taking in the scene before them. Edmund was backtracking, trying to figure out a way to get out of having breakfast with them (which was difficult, since they had all seen him enter). Nyra, on the other hand, already had her escape plan in action.

"I have other business to attend to now, my lord." Nyra said, stiffly backing up towards the door as Edmund turned to glare at her. "Enjoy your breakfast."

Part of Edmund couldn't believe that Nyra would abandon him so quickly like that, while another admired her quick thinking. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be finding her breakfast in the kitchen this morning. As the wolf made a swift exit from the Dining Hall, Edmund was inclined to follow her out and make up some ridiculous excuse. However, he could feel his sisters' glares on the back of his head as he watched his friend go. Not only would their guests be offended by his absence, but his sisters would undoubtedly chew him out for it later. Edmund did note, though, that it seemed that Peter had failed to show up to breakfast. Smart sod.

"Edmund, I'm glad you could finally join us."

Edmund turned to look at Susan, trying his hardest not to look like he'd just been abandoned in a fight. Internally grumbling, he made his way over to the table, plopping down in the seat between Lucy and Zebulan. The Encantado nodded politely at Edmund, who respectfully returned the gesture before grabbing a piece of bread off of the platter in the middle of the table.

"And where, pray tell, is High King Peter this morning?" Vivian asked, picking through the lukewarm eggs on her plate.

"I'm afraid that Peter is far too busy to join us for breakfast right now." Susan said apologetically, flashing the Encantado a small smile. Edmund smirked into his glass- the day Peter was too busy to eat breakfast was the day Nyra and Carperwel would get along.

"Peter must be a very busy man." Vivian said, smiling back at Susan.

Edmund couldn't help but clench his glass tighter at the look in her eye. It was the same look a hungry bear would give a deer moments before attacking- one that Edmund had seen far too many times to overlook it. Something about Vivian made Edmund want to lock her in a room and set it on fire.

"So, Vivian, Zebulan, did you sleep well?" Edmund asked, wanting nothing more than to change the topic to something less personal, especially when it was Encantados they were talking to. Zebulan opened his mouth to answer, but his sister beat him to the punch.

"It was a bit hot for my taste." Vivian responded, carefully placing her fork beside her plate and leaning back in her seat.

'Perhaps the temperature of the dungeon would be more her taste.' Edmund thought to himself as he picked at the eggs that had been brought to him. Zebulan's eyes narrowed as he stared at his sister.

"But nothing we couldn't handle." He said, glaring at her as though it would keep her from talking anymore. Zebulan turned to look at Edmund, his gaze somewhat kinder than his sister's. "Our quarters were very nice. Thank you for accommodating us on such short notice- we had nowhere else to go."

"It was the least we could do." Susan said politely, but Edmund saw hesitation in his sister's eyes. She trusted the Encantados no more than he did.

"When do you think we will meet with your council again to discuss the matter at hand?" Zebulan asked, helping himself to another slice of bread.

"Our scout should return within a matter of days." Edmund took a bite of his apple, not wanting give away any more information than he had to. As soon as Honza came back, they would know whether or not the Encantados were telling the truth. If they weren't, Edmund was sure that plenty of Narnians wouldn't oppose to the twins being thrown in the dungeon. If they were… well, that was something that would be handled when their scout returned.

"Of course, until then, you are welcome to stay in the castle." Lucy finally spoke up, placing her napkin on her plate.

"You are all so kind." Somehow, Edmund didn't find Vivian's tone gracious at all.

Conversation had found itself absent at the table, replaced by the scraping of silverware on plates. Edmund's gaze slipped over to Lucy, who caught his eye. There was an unspoken agreement between the both of them; Zebulan and Vivian were digging for information. Edmund wouldn't be surprised if they had somehow managed to slip out of their room during the night to do some "exploring" around Cair Paravel. He made a mental note to debrief Pavel the next time he spotted the weasel sneaking around the castle.

The silence in the room had inflated rather uncomfortably as everyone stared down at their plates, unsure of what to talk about. Everyone except for their resident female Encantado, as it seemed. Edmund tried his hardest to keep his gaze on the corner of his plate, determined to make it seem as though he was concentrating on eating, but Vivian's eyes bore into the top of his head like a dagger. The boy king clenched his jaw and slowly lifted his gaze to meet the Encantado's.

A sly smirk was spread across her lips, eyes narrowed, and one finger combing through the end of her blonde hair. Edmund could decide whether she was trying to intimidate or seduce him, but he wasn't about to put up with either one. Thankfully, neither was Zebulan, who Edmund just barely caught glaring at his sister. Vivian gave one small look at her brother and rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair with a sigh of defeat.

"So tell us a little about your people." Susan said, eager to break the tense silence. "You said that you have land in the Wild Lands of the North?"

The shared look between the siblings didn't go unnoticed by the Pevensies, and Edmund couldn't help but wonder if they could read each other's minds. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing they've ever encountered, but the fact that they'd communicated in less than a second spelled out bad things. The uneasy silence went on long enough for Edmund to wonder if they were going to avoid the question, but Zebulan proved to be more willing to speak than his sister on this topic.

"Yes, our territory includes most of Eastern Noctis, right off of the coast." The Encantado said. "It had been passed down through our bloodline for generations, which is why it is of the upmost import to us that we get it back. Those lands are sacred to us."

"That is terrible." Edmund and Lucy locked eyes as Susan spoke, both wondering if they could obtain more information on what the siblings were. "Well I assure you that my siblings and I will do everything we can to help you both."

"Forgive me if I'm being rude, but what exactly was it that drove you from those lands?" Edmund knew he wasn't exactly being sneaky about it, but they needed to be aware of just how powerful these siblings were. "Surely two prevailing Encantados such yourselves would have fought back."

The king was taken aback by the look in Zebulan and Vivian's eyes, both eerily similar without them even having to communicate. It was enough to make Edmund regret asking, and he slowly sat back in his chair as he felt Susan's disapproving stare on the side of his face.

"We did." Vivian said quietly.

"My lords," Zebulan's voice was somewhat stronger than his sister's, but carried the same, ominous tone. "We were born and raised in the darkness… but this is a devilry that not even we could defeat."

Edmund looked down at his plate, feeling his appetite slip away. They weren't lying, he would bet his life on that. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zebulan rolling up the sleeve of his tattered overcoat.

"We resisted it, and now I shall pay the price." Starting at his right wrist, black tendrils seemed to be tattooed in the Encantado's skin, reaching towards his bicep.

"It cursed him." Vivan spat, looking as though she was ready to go at anyone who opposed her.

"Why didn't you show this to the council?" Edmund recognized that look in his little sister's eyes, and saw her hand inching towards her side, where she kept her gift from Father Christmas. The king shook his head in warning, not wanting the Encantados to know about the healing power that Lucy had.

"We didn't think anything of it until last night." Zebulan said, setting his arm onto the table with a small wince. "I feel no pain until it grows closer to my heart."

"Please, let our healers examine it- there may be a way to stop it." Susan insisted.

The blond haired man shook his head with a small smile. "Your kindness is greatly appreciated, Queen Susan, but there is no escaping the death this curse will bring."

"You're just going to accept your death then?" Lucy hated the idea of death, but Edmund honestly thought she was growing more comfortable with the term until now. Why did it matter to her if this shady creature died? In any other scenario, the Encantados would most definitely be the ones trying to kill them.

"Everything dies, little one." Zebulan said. "But I must not until our land has been reclaimed."

The main door to the dining hall opened, and everyone at the table turned to see who was entering. Much to their disappointment, the faun, Mr. Tumnus, appeared from behind the door. He was met with no pleasantries or even a smile from Lucy.

"Forgive me for interrupting your meal," Mr. Tumnus said, not at all missing the sullen mood in the room. "But High King Peter requests King Edmund's presence right away."

Edmund could have kissed the faun for finally giving him a way to escape this conversation. Unfortunately, it was just starting to get interesting. The dark king nodded and calmly pushed back his chair, trying to cover up how relieved he was.

"I must take my leave now, but I pray that we might continue our talk later." Edmund said, choosing to focus mostly on Zebulan rather than his sister. It seemed as though the female Encantado didn't appreciate that somehow.

"Hopefully High King Peter won't keep you from us long." Vivan's lip curled up into a smirk, and Edmund had never been happier to leave breakfast early.

The king quickly made his way out of the dining hall, and Mr. Tumnus closed the door after him. With a small sigh of relief, Edmund turned to the faun and nodded in appreciation.

"You don't know how grateful I am to be out of there." Edmund said as the two began to walk down the hall.

"Glad I could help, sire." No matter how many times he requested not to be addressed formally by the family friend, Mr. Tumnus just wouldn't give it up. Edmund was fairly certain that Lucy was the only one the faun called by name. "Your brother is at the stables, shall I accompany you there?"

"There's no need, but thank you." Edmund patted the faun's shoulder lightly, before veering off towards the entrance to the stables. He sincerely hoped that this conversation would be about situating the Encantados in the deepest and darkest cell in Cair Paravel.

When Edmund finally approached the open stable doors, he was only slightly surprised to find Peter saddling up on of his horses. The younger brother slowed, leaning against the door as he attempted to figure out if Peter was coming back from a ride or planning on taking one. Was that where he'd been all morning? Before Edmund even opened his mouth, a warm body pressed against his legs.

"You summoned me?" Nyra asked, looking between the two kings as if she was unsure of who actually wanted her there. Peter didn't look up from where he was tightening the saddle on a painted mare they called Atlas.

"I wanted to talk to the both of you in private."

"Well, here we are." Edmund wasn't a big fan of being blatantly ignored. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Peter shot Edmund one of his disapproving looks from across the stable.

"Let's take a ride."

I know, you guys probably don't like that I cut off this chapter so short, but my first draft ended up running past 9 pages so I decided to separate it. With that being said, the next chapter will probably be posted very soon. What do you think Peter wants to talk about?

Because I know some of you readers caught it; yes, I borrowed the curse idea from the amazing movie Princess Mononoke. It's a beautifully animated and written cinematic masterpiece that I truly believe everyone should watch (along with a variety of other Studio Ghibli movies).

Any questions, comments, or life threatening concerns don't hesitate to pm me!

Charlii