Lu groaned and rolled over, eyes cracking open for a second before her face was smushed back into a quilted pillow. After a few minutes of dreaming she was in a strange, unfamiliar room, a light went on in her head and it flew off the pillow.

Indeed, she was in an unfamiliar room. It was too dark to see clearly, but Lu got the feeling that it was very large from the size of the bed. The thing was fricking huge.

Panic seized Lu as she remembered the events of her " introduction" to the court. After that, being in someone else's bed was definitely not a good thing. Especially when she had a feeling she knew who's bed it was...

Turning to hop off the bed and run away, she came face to face with a plump, short old man. Of course, Lu screamed.

" Holy-!" the man put his hand over her mouth, cutting off the piercing noise. Lu glared at him over the knarled hand, but calmed down enough to see that he probably wasn't a threat.

" You'd better not scream my dear, or I fear the prince will brake down the door!" He smirked at her terrified expression. " You don't seem too pleased, most girls around here would kill to be in your position." Lu scowled, thinking about what she would do to not be in her position. Pretty much anything.

" So it really happened then? I didn't just have some freakishly vivid nightmare?" The old man nodded.

" I'm sorry dear." He sounded sincere.

" He looks just like him..." Lu muttered distractedly. The old man sighed, knowing what she meant. "Are you a Telmarine too? You don't seem like one."

" My name is Dr. Cornelius, and at the moment it matters not what I am, but what I am here to do. I trust you are very confused with your situation?"

" Um, I gotta say... yeah. Yeah I am."

" Well, I feel it would be unwise to leave you in your predicament without some knowledge about it. But first I must ask, is it really you?"

" Of course I'm me. Who else would I be?"

" No, I mean, are you really Lucifer Jadis? Daughter of the elf and the Ice Witch? The girl that faced Caspian the Conqueror? That cursed the royal family of the Telmarines? Or is this just some bid for more power by Lord Miraz?"

" How do you know all that?" Lu asked suspiciously, then covered her mouth. " Damn, I just told you didn't I? Oh well, you pretty much knew anyway.." The old man glanced toward a corner of the room at the confirmation. " But I've never cursed anyone."

" Well, even so, you play a very large part in the curse itself. Many people believe that you cursed the Caspians yourself, but it is more likely that the deep magic of Narnia was just punishing the one who upset it's balance. And his offspring."

" Hmmm, well they totally deserved it. Whatever it was." grumbled Lu.

" That may be so, but without it, you wouldn't be in this situation."

" Huh, what does that- wait. What were they cursed with?" asked Lu, finally figuring something out.

" Well, no one knows exactly what it is but the Caspians. I'll tell you what I know, starting at the very beginning. After Caspian the Conqueror won the battle against the Narnians and tore down their castle, he went into a great rage. It never ended, and only grew worse with time. They say he was obsessed with the forest, and sent hundreds of men into it. None of them came out alive. Around a year after the great battle, he became so murderous that anyone who dared enter his presence was slaughtered. Eventually he himself rode into the forest, never to be seen again. Rumor has it he was muttering the name Lucifer Jadis until his dieing breath." Lu flinched, that was pretty intense.

" Alright, then what?" She asked, feigning nonchalance.

" Well, the Telmarines had captured a few Narnians during the battle. These, of course, were torchered to death by Caspian the Conqueror for information about you. All of this information was locked up after his death so no one would ever find it. Thankfully, a boy was found to be the son of Caspian the First. At eighteen, before he took the throne, he started to have dreams about a girl in the forest. A girl with fiery curls and emerald eyes. At first there were only dreams, but then all he could think about was the redheaded girl. A few years later, Caspian the Second broke into a vault and discovered all the information on you left by his father. There was a lot of it too. By torchering the Narnians, he learned that you were part elf, so you would live forever if unharmed, and that you were the daughter of the ice witch Jadis. He even had one of his more talented army commanders that saw you do a portrait. Eventually, the second Caspian rode out into the woods to search for you, and was lost forever. Rumors spread, and soon you became a legend. No one knew exactly what to believe, so many different versions of your story exist. They were all written into a book, which was locked in the vault along with anything that mentioned you. People were forbidden to speak of the red haired demoness to try and keep the new Caspian from finding out. Sadly, every prince so far has suffered the same fate, though they have been finding out about you younger and younger." Lu wondered who had been killing all of the Caspians without telling her. Strong words would be had with her archers when she finally escaped. Her foot itched to connect with someone's shin. Kings tended to make valuable prisoners, especially when slightly alive. " This Caspian, the tenth, has known about you since he was sixteen." She looked at the old man speculatively.

" Are you sure you're not making all this up?" She asked bluntly. His eyes twinkled.

" You are exactly the way the stories say you are, my dear. Yes, I'm sure. I brought the book of stories that the Telmarines tell about you. You should take a look, it might be ... enlightening." He glanced at the dark corner again, then leaned toward her. " Listen lady, I know you've been forced to be here, but I have been Caspian's tutor since he was young. He is probably the first in his line to have any compassion, and I have high hopes for the boy. But if you continue to evade him, he will become a monster, just like his predecessors." The old man whispered this to her, as if he was afraid someone very close would overhear them.

" So?"

" So, the people of Telmar are also suffering. They haven't had a stable king in centuries, though they are still extremely loyal to the Caspian line. They deserve better. And who knows, maybe the Narnian's will benefit from this arrangement (he whispered that part even quieter, but Lu still didn't notice, or realize what that statement implied). By the way, I would advise against trying to kill Caspian the Tenth. There are a number of Lords much worse than he is ready to take his place. Just saying."

" Damn." cursed Lu, the devious smile sliding off her face. She'd thought she'd had something there.

The professor got up to leave, but Lu had one more question that made her call for him to wait. He stopped by the door.

" He said "Queen" last night." her voice was suddenly tremulous with fear. " He didn't mean that, did he?" Lu closed her eyes and placed a hand over her heart, praying for the man to answer in the negative. He chuckled at her expression of desperation.

" Why don't you look at your finger, your majesty." He bowed himself out of the room, shutting the door.

Lu was suddenly aware of a foreign presence on her body. Grabbing her hand, she held it up for inspection. There on her ring finger, was the biggest, bluest bloody diamond she had ever seen. It felt like some sort of anchor, weighing down her entire hand. She fell back on the bed, letting out a high pitched, keening moan. Laughter sounded somewhere in the room, making her jump and back up against the headboard in fear. A light went on beside a chair, illuminating a tall young man with black eyes and silky hair. Lu went rigid on the bed. Oh.

That's who's room this was.

Crap! Lu threw the blankets over her head and wormed her way to the other side of the bed, sliding off the edge. Rolling over, she stood up and pushed tousled red hair out of her eyes, which connected with two black slits between her and the door. Damn.

She glared at him like she hadn't just made a pathetic attempt at escaping. His eyes pierced her's, but she didn't drop her gaze.

" I hate you." Lu growled, wrapping long fingers around the ring ant trying to tug it off. No luck.

" It won't come off." He finally spoke.

" Why not?" demanded Lu, furious.

" It's been witched." The deep voice and accent sent shivers down her spine. She turned around and walked resolutely toward the wall. Bringing her fist back, she slammed it into the stone. Her hand exploded in pain, but she ignored it and examined the ring. Not a scratch.

" I wanted to add emeralds or something, but I figured they wouldn't be able to withstand the abuse." He smirked. " Why don't you read the inscription? It's my favorite part." Lu looked at the gold band on her finger.

Mea in Aeternum Lucifer

" It means mine for eternity, just in case you ever forget." Lu, Still extremely low on blood, started to get tunnel vision. Turning around, she fell to her knees.

" You can't do this." He started toward her.

" Actually I can." Bending over, he wrapped his arms around her shaking body and lifted her up, carrying her over to the bed to lay her down gently. Lu crawled away from him as soon as he let go. He smirked when her eyes darted toward the door. " Here, you need it to replace the blood you spilled all over the floor, and my clothes." He held out a big piece of the same kind of bread she had eaten earlier. " I noticed you liked this stuff,... a lot." Lu grimaced at the reference to her obsessive behavior toward the bread she had been holding while he chased her. Glaring suspiciously at him, she reached out and grabbed the bread, scooting back to a corner of the bed to devour it within seconds while he sat between her and the door.

Lu felt much more like herself once the food had disappeared. Putting her ring finger in her mouth, she attempted to bite it off. Gnawing on her finger, her eyes traveled to Caspian, who had gone strangely silent. He was watching her, black eyes filled with hunger. Maybe he needed some food too? She looked closer.

Finger still in mouth, Lu gasped and rolled off the bed, hitting the ground hard. Wrong kind of hunger, she realized.

Peaking over the bed, she could just see Caspian smirking at her. Deciding it was safe, she stood up, still distracted by her ring finger.

" It won't come off" He repeated. " Because only I can take it off." Well damn.

" Take it off then." Lu demanded, holding out her wet finger.

" No, I don't think I will." He was smiling now. Lu scowled, this was too much. Suddenly, she made a break for the door. Scampering across the room, she only made it halfway before he leaped off the bed and had her in his arms. Again.

Lu struggled and he lifted her up so the tiny feet could find no traction on the floor. She hissed as she was thrown on the bed and pinned beneath his weight. Lu squirmed until Caspian's eyes got darker. Then she lay completely still beneath him, not daring to move a muscle. He wasn't moving either, his body tense above hers. Breathing deeply and steadily, he seemed to be trying to get control of himself. Eventually his eyes went back to normal and he rolled off her, still holding her wrist so she couldn't escape. Lu tugged at her arm, testing his grip. Didn't look like she'd be going anywhere soon.

Those darker eyes had scared her more than anything so far. As they both lay on their backs panting, Lu turned and kicked him in the side. He didn't even have the decency to flinch. She glared at the side of his face.

" Let me go."

" Are you going to run away?"

" Of course not!"

" Liar." He sat up and pulled her towards him, careful of the fresh bandage on her wrist. Lu noticed it for the first time.

" Since when has that been there?" she grumbled.

" Since I put it there. Figured it would be easier while you were unconscious" All her other wounds had been cleaned and bandaged as well. Lu realized something.

" You said I got blood all over your clothes. I don't remember that."

" Cause you were unconscious. I had to carry you up here from the throne room." He admitted. Lu looked curiously at the young man sitting on the bed beside her. He had been taking care of her while she was asleep.

Lu had no idea how to respond to that.

So of course, she decided to deal with it the only way she knew how. His grip on her wrist had gone slack, and she wrenched her arm away from him, darting for the door. Grabbing her boots by the wall, she flew out of the room.

Caspian

Caspian sat there on the bed, completely shocked, black eyes narrowed at the open door. As soon as she found out he'd done something nice for her, that he really, truly cared, she ran away. There was something seriously off about that girl.