Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: After almost a year of conflict in both the North and the South, Narnia's borders are secured once more. Hope brightens as Narnia prepares for a year of peace. Yet, when shadows from the past threaten, will the light be smothered or shine all the brighter?

A/N: If you have not read the first eleven stories in the A Light in the Darkness main story arc (Awakened, Shadowed, Revealed, Concealed, Rekindled, Refracted, Reflected, Veiled, Unveiled, Eclipsed, and Obscured), I highly recommend you do so for the full experience. However, I have included a quick summary of the previous stories so if you want to give this one a whirl on its own, you can.

Chapter Forty-Four: Hope

28 Quickening 1014

Three days. They had been searching for three days since returning to Narnia. They were heading south from Cauldron Pool, drawing ever closer to Centaur lands, but still there was nothing to help in the search. Oreius looked up as thunder rumbled overhead. If there were any tracks not already destroyed, he feared the coming storm would sweep them all away.

Aslan, please. Please show me something. Show me where to go or where she is, please, Great Lion. Have mercy on my wife. Let me find her before it is too late. He let out a slow breath as he once more scanned the ground for something useful. They had met a patrol shortly after crossing the border but those soldiers had been heading for the northern edge of the Lantern Waste and they had seen nothing of help.

"Oreius, over here!"

He galloped toward his cousin's call. Ducking beneath low-hanging branches, he rushed through the woods until he found Stormwind. But his cousin was not alone. Oreius felt alarm war with hope when he caught sight of the second Centaur. One he had only met twice in his adult life. The Centaur bowed his head, temporarily hiding the scars ravaging the left side of his face. "General Oreius."

"Pholus." Oreius glanced at his cousin and knew from his puzzled look that the other Stallion had not clarified who he was. He met Pholus' solemn gaze as he asked, "Do you know who we seek?"

"Your wife," came the hoarse answer.

"We have searched all the old haunts and have found nothing. Do you know anything? Have you seen anything?"

Pholus raised his right hand and pointed east. "I have been following Fell creatures. Their tracks vanished that way." He paused then added, "In that direction lies an old dungeon. Jadis used it to hold the youngest prince when she captured him in the days before the Long Winter."

The hope that had grown feeble and wasted began to stir, growing in breadth and strength, as Oreius stepped toward Pholus. "Where is this dungeon? How do you know of it?"

"I found Leith there," he stated simply. Then he tapped his left shoulder, where his arm should have been, and added, "It is where I was imprisoned before she turned me to stone."

Oreius frowned. "She built a dungeon in our lands?"

"While we built her castle in the north," Pholus murmured. "Come."

The sky was completely overcast but no rain fell as Pholus led them to a place deeper in Centaur lands than Oreius had ever suspected. The entrance Pholus indicated was a cave mouth and there was no sign of any Fell. Despite his own training screaming at him, Oreius still lunged forward only to be caught by both arms. Stormwind shook his head at him but it was Pholus who whispered harshly, "Don't be a fool. It is an ambush. You will die and so will your mate if you do not use your head."

Oreius yanked free of their hold. He rested both hands on his sword hilts, breathing heavily. He could not look away from the cave entrance. "I will gladly take that risk if it means saving her," the hot words fell from his lips despite knowing the truth in the older Centaur's words.

Pholus smacked his arm then raised a finger. "I know another way. There is a second entrance and I can show it to you. But first we need a plan. A distraction to draw their attention to the front entrance."

"I can provide that," Stormwind murmured.

"And I will help you." Pholus turned back to Oreius and added, "The distraction will allow you to enter. If the tunnels have not been changed, I can also offer a guess as to where they are holding her. However, you must wait until we have drawn the guards away before you attempt entering otherwise all of this will be for naught."

Everything in him yearned to charge into the heart of the cave and find Alambiel. But he knew better. He knew Alambiel's life would be forfeit if he did not proceed wisely. Knowing he had no other choice, Oreius gave a curt nod.

Pholus nodded. "Good. We will need the cover of both nightfall and that storm to ensure our distraction works. So there is still time to show you where to go. Come with me." He glanced at Stormwind and added, "Stay out of sight until I return, young one."

Oreius and Stormwind exchanged looks before his cousin nodded. Then Oreius followed Pholus away from the cave entrance. The act tore at him but there was barely an hour remaining before the sun would set. He was so close to finding her. He prayed she would be able to hold on just a little while longer. Please, Aslan, let me not be too late.

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Agony seared across her back, jerking her to wakefulness as a hoarse scream escaped her parched lips. She could feel him rubbing a salt solution into her wounds, the salt stinging so much it felt more like burning irons had been placed in her. The man slapped her, making her ears ring.

Alambiel closed her eyes briefly then opened them again as he came close to her again. He shoved a lantern in front of her face. "Do you know your god?"

"Aslan is here," she sighed.

The man scoffed. "Here? In the dark hole where none will ever hear your screams or pleas for your baby's life?"

"Yes," she whispered. She tasted blood but still she smiled. "He is here. He knows and He sees and He hears everything that happens. He has not abandoned me just as He still sees you and all that you do."

"I will never let you live," he hissed as he crouched down next to her. He twisted his hand in her hair and yanked her head up. "Your life is in my hands!"

"You are wrong. Again." Alambiel swallowed hard and then whispered, "My life is where it has always been. In Aslan's paws. And not even my death will change that fact for you cannot remove me from His care because the power over my life rests with Him and Him alone. What you do to my body in this life, you control. But my life is His and He can stop this even now."

"How?"

"I don't know. But even if He allows this to happen, He has not abandoned me. He merely calls me home." She smiled at the thought. "And I will see my son, my children, and my family. I will not be alone. That is something you can never take from me even if you take my life."

His face contorted with rage and his grip on her hair trembled. He shoved her down and yanked the dagger from his belt. Grasping her by the shoulder, he shoved her flat against the cell floor. But the knife never touched her.

Instead, the pressure against her shoulder vanished as he scrambled to his feet. Alambiel turned her head in time to see him bolt out of the cell. The lantern was left flickering and the door itself did not shut entirely. She needed to get up. She needed to get out.

She reached up, fingers groping for the chain. Sticky metal met her seeking touch and she traced up to touch the collar. But the chain attached to her wrists pulled taut, stopping her from reaching further to the lock on the back of her collar. "No," came the faint whisper.

She yanked on the chain that kept her in place but it didn't give. She wasn't strong enough. Warm, salty liquid touched her lips and she drew a shaky breath. She tried to crawl toward the door but she wasn't even strong enough to move. It had become too much. By the light of the lantern, she realized there was more blood on the ground. But she didn't know if it was from her wounds or if she was losing the baby. She feared it was both.

Alambiel closed her eyes against the tears. "I'm sorry, Oreius." She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, fighting against the pain that threatened to overwhelm her once more. "Aslan, into Your paws."

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A/N: Please Read and Review! The end is nigh and more family secrets are emerging. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.