Anna was tired. So very tired because dreams kept waking her up for the past two nights. So much so that she stayed up much later than usual. Roan had gone on a late night walk with her to help clear her mind. The cool air had been nice but it hadn't helped enough to last long. She had fallen asleep after midnight and had woken not long after. She had dreamed of a vast green meadow, filled with colorful tents and creatures of all sorts. But it had turned dark as a fierce figure was carried into the camp by all sorts of dark creatures. The figure – a woman – left Anna feeling cold and fearful. She was unsure and shaken, though she wasn't sure why. A dread filled her and she felt the need to hold onto the young boy by her side. The lady strode with power and when she looked in their direction, Anna felt a shiver run down her spine. Anna froze, almost as still as stone.

Then a strong roar ripped through the air and Anna was awake.

She decided to get up to get a drink of water. She wouldn't be able to fall asleep anytime soon anyways. And she needed to stretch the stiffness out of her limbs. Anna forced herself to breathe easy and to not think of the cruel woman from her dream as she quietly drifted down the hall and stairs. It was very late and the house was all darkness and silver moonlight. It felt lonely. But that wasn't anything new. Anna had been feeling very lonely the past few days since she decided to stop spending time with the Pevensies. She missed them but she kept reminding herself that she had to let them go. She kept herself busy with chores but would catch glimpses of them every now and then. Each time, they all looked like they wanted to speak to her. And they tried to over and over. But Anna quickly found a way out of it, telling Edmund and Lucy that she had too much to do, and Peter that she had already said everything she needed to to him. But it didn't help that Roan had seemed a little distant. He said he had much work to get done and that he was sorry. But every evening he stayed with her until she went to bed. Regardless, Anna was feeling very homesick.

She tried her best to not think on that or her dream as she made her way down another set of stairs. Gliding past a vast window that looked over the back lawn, Anna swore she saw movement in the darkness. She stopped short and stared hard, forcing her eyes to see into the black night. But then she realized the wind was blowing and the trees were shaking, all the while leaves were falling off and being sent flying across the grass. She let out a deep breath. She could have laughed at herself for allowing her mind to think someone was out there.

She moved along, careful to tread on the thick rug that ran down the bottom floor hall towards the kitchen. It muffled her steps but also made it all the easier for her to hear a voice. Anna stilled, but only partly out of fright. She was curious and slowed her steps as she rounded the corner and realized that the voice was very familiar. Her shoulders slouched. It was just Roan in one of the back offices. But who was he talking to? Surely, he would have been in bed long before now. Anna glanced at the grandfather clock nearby. It was three in the morning. Too late for anyone to still be doing any work and too early for the staff to be waking.

Anna padded forward and then stopped abruptly, breath hitching, as a figure appeared up ahead coming out of the kitchen. Another one followed. Anna shied towards the wall. They weren't from the Estate.

They were brutish looking. Both were cloaked but one clearly had the face of a man, though his gait was off, more clopped. He had dark stubble covering his chin and small horns poking out of his black locks on the top of his head. The other was much worse. Anna couldn't see his full shape because of the cloak but he was much larger than the one in front. He stood on his hind legs, but his hands were more like paws, covered in dark fur with sharp claws. Peeking out of his hood was a snout – no doubt a snout. A cord of panic ran through Anna. She knew, though she was unsure of how, what that creature was. A werewolf.

She watched as they both pushed open the office door, causing the faint glow of the fire to filter out. The walked in as Anna crouched closer off to the side. Her mind reeled. She pinched herself thinking she must still be dreaming. It didn't work. She tried to think of the best thing to do. If she could get out to the guest houses the Narnian soldiers were in...But she stopped her thinking when she heard Roan speak again. There was something about his tone, though he was quiet, he sounded more annoyed than fearful.

"We had a deal. It is not my fault if you failed in getting out of it what you wanted. And you do not need to keep bringing in more of your...colleagues, to try to scare me."

"Who said anything about scaring? No, we just like witnesses to our business dealings. A smart move really. I'm sure you know all about it, working in the government like you do. But my colleagues were also interested in hearing your side of this. To see if you were going to hold up to your end of the bargain." Said a rough, deep voice.

"My end!" Roan nearly yelled, then paused to clear his throat. When he spoke again, he was quiet but he hissed through his teeth. "You had your chance – you were the first step of the plan. You had them outnumber and yet you still couldn't keep a handle on it-"

Outnumbered? Anna wondered. What was he talking about? Anna ever so slowly started taking steps closer to the door.

"-And your letter said it would only be three of you here. This is my house; you have no right to be making your way in here as you please. What if someone sees you?"

Their letter. The image of Roan looking distressed, clutching a letter, popped into Anna's mind. He said he had issues to take care of. Things he thought were already handled.

The deep voice spoke again. "Oh, don't worry. No one is going to see us in a house this size. And even if they do, we'll take care of it." The deep voice laughed quietly. Others joined in but it came out sounding more like growls than anything else.

Roan groaned like he was much too tired to mess with their semantics. "You will leave. Now. I have a small army on this property and two kings who I believe would very much enjoy having something to swing at. It will do you well to leave while you still can."

"I think those kings would find it very interesting to learn that you had us here to begin with. Watch yourself young lord, and remember you have just as much to lose as we do. Maybe more. That pretty young lady isn't yours yet, though you'd be happy to make her that. The way I see it, we can ensure that you get all you want, while still getting what we bargained for."

Are they talking about me? What had they bargained? Anna questioned. She was growing more and more confused about the whole thing. She tried piecing it together as she listened on, now almost to the door of the office. Their voices were still quiet, but she didn't have to strain to make out their words.

"I don't take well to threats. And say you did tell the Narnians. Do you think they're going to believe you over me? I've been helping them for weeks and have quite the alibi for the time before they got here. Meanwhile I've also been helping you by keeping them off your tracks. At least until your men so stupidly attacked the people the High King cares about most, giving him more credence not to trust you. So the way I see it, I'm safe and you owe me. You had your chance and you failed. I did the leg work by giving you the information in the first place. It is not my fault if you can't keep a hold on your assets. And because you didn't, there was no end for me to hold up. But I am feeling kind and will let you off easy. I will forgive your debt now and forever by letting you leave and be on your way. I don't think I'll have the need for any more dealings with you in the future."

"You hear that boys? He forgives us. Well ain't that sweet. But I don't think you'd be sitting as pretty as you are right now if it wasn't for us in the first place. It's not like your information about when and where she' be coming from was useful to you before you made our deal. You wouldn't have had the guts to do our part on your own. You much prefer the sniveling little mind games instead of action. So here's the new deal. We're going to start this bargain over again. She comes with us. We get our ransom, and then you can sweep in to save her, pretending to be the knight in shining armor and reap whatever rewards you think will come of it. All while we sneak off into the woods. Really ain't much different than the original plan now is it?"

There was a sliver of a crack where the door hadn't been shut fully. Anna took a deep breath, questioning whether or not she should look in. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she were caught. But this situation was serious and confusing and she had a growing suspicion as to who Roan was speaking to. If she could just see in...

First, she saw Roan. Off in the far corner, looking rather vicious as the firelight threw shadows on half of his face. But he was nothing compared to what she saw next. The voice that had been speaking was a minotaur, large and dark and intimidating. He sauntered closer to Roan. Next to him was a wolf, bigger than the one she met in the woods with Edmund. The two she had seen walk in were on either side of the door, well out of her sight. But she knew they had to be there somewhere.

Roan looked fuming. "Absolutely not. We are not going to return to a plan you botched in the first place. There is no way –" Roan was silenced as a meaty arm slung at him and nearly knocked him over. The minotaur stepped forward in a flash and clutched Roan's shirt, lifting him off the ground.

"I'm done talking. It would be wise for you to do the same. You're in no position to be giving orders." He looked over his shoulder to the others and added, "Go find her."

Anna stumbled backwards just as Roan started to shout out. But he was silenced as another swing connected to his face. Had Anna still been watching, she'd have seen his head fall limp. But she didn't because she took off for help. The closest room was the kitchen and that lead outside to where she could wake the soldiers.

She skidded around the corner into the kitchen, slamming into a side table and chair in her haste, making more noise than she intended. She prayed it didn't alert the intruders. Her heart pounded. Thoughts ran wild through her mind but were broken up as a low growl echoed behind her down the hall. She reached the back door and was twisting the knob when a voice rasped out, "It's best to stop now, missy."

But she didn't. She pulled the door open and flung herself out into the cold air. The grass and leaves were slick underfoot, making it hard to not fall. She opened her mouth to scream for help. She only got half the word out before a tight grip wrapped itself around her wrist and flung her around. A heavy paw with long claws covered her mouth while a long snout forced itself into her face. The werewolf's coal dark eyes stared at her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not if you don't want to be responsible for his guts being splattered on the ground." The werewolf yanked her to see behind them, paw still over her mouth. Roan laid halfway unconscious, strewn over the minotaur's shoulder as the creature pointed a knife in his direction. Anna saw the rest of those she had seen before file out of the house. She jerked to try to release herself from the werewolf's grasped but he held firm, reaching one of his long claws out to her neck. She didn't dare scream.

...

Anna's hands had been bound and her mouth gagged as they forced her to march through the woods. Her mind was still reeling and a fresh new headache bloomed at the base of her skull. She forced her terror down as she took in deep gulps of air through her nose and tried to clear her mind to keep calm. After meandering for half an hour, the Minotaur let Roan fall to the ground and muttered something about their deal starting in the morning as he balled something into Roan's fist.

What deal had he made with these people? What had he been thinking! How could Roan do something like this?

Anna tried her hardest to think through all she had heard earlier. She didn't want to believe Roan had done anything bad but how could she not? Surely these were the bandits – that was obvious enough as Roan made it clear he was keeping the Narnian's off their trail. But why was she involved? Had he told them she was the Queen? Did they think she was Susan? The dwarf Racor and his companions certainly had. But if that were true, what had actually happened to Susan? Unless...

Surely, I can't be -

A sudden increase in pain hit Anna and caused her to clutch at her head. Her vison swayed for a moment and she slowed her pace. Memories of waking up weeks ago in the woods flashed through her mind.

"Keep it up – walk faster!" A voice snapped at her, shoving her forward.

Anna increased her speed but her breathing hitched. Fear coiled around her. She felt as nauseous as she had when she had brought Peter and the other Narnian's into the woods. Oh, Aslan give me peace, she thought.

As they walked on, they veered off and back onto multiple paths, only to stray from them again. Anna found herself breathing better, her panic releasing its grip slightly. She had to keep calm, in order to come up with a plan to get away. She had been trying her best to map out in her mind the way they were going, but found it difficult in the dark. She couldn't see her surroundings well enough to make mental markers. Nevertheless, she tried, noting a distinctive change when they walked along the edge of a clearing, and again when the forest started to appear denser. It didn't seem like much, but it was better than nothing. But then, as the trudged on, she heard something that gave her hope. There was gentle rushing in the distance. A sound clear and constant. Running water. They were near the river still. If she managed to get away, she could try to find the river. And if she found the river, she could find her way out of the woods.

They walked on for over an hour, never once seeing the river, but Anna kept straining her ears for the sound of it. At times, it quieted to where it was barely a whisper. Other times, it disappeared completely. But it always showed back up again. Anna found it odd, and thought surely they were either trying to disorient her, or trying very hard to not easily be followed. Probably both.

Eventually, the group came upon a small camp, a fire burning with three creatures around it. Another three were sleeping under a small wooden overhang. While at least two that Anna could see were up in the trees, no doubt serving as lookouts.

Those that were sleeping were quickly woken up and Anna was thrown down to sit where they got up. Her ankles were tied like her wrist were and one of the creatures, a satyr, was charged with staying by her to make sure she didn't get away. The Minotaur lead the rest of them away towards the fire as they spoke too low for her to hear.

...

Peter was deep in sleep when he was suddenly jolted awake. Someone was calling his name and grabbing hold of him. It was still dark out, too dark to realize who was there at first. He instantly reached out and gripped the wrist of the person in a mode of defense.

"Peter! It's me!"

Edmund's dark eyes stared back at him. His hair was a mess and he was still in his night shirt. But by his posture and the look in his eye, Peter could tell he was wide awake.

Peter relaxed a bit and asked groggily, "What is it, Ed? Why are you waking me?"

His brother stared back with a panicked look. "It's Susan. She's gone. They've taken her."

Peter froze for a moment, sleep still heavy in his eyes. He was unsure if he was dreaming this or not, if he even heard Edmund right. It didn't feel real. But then a flicker of a candle came into view, standing in the open doorway. Roan's nervous face peeked into the dim light and Peter knew he wasn't dreaming.

"What are you talking about, Ed?"

"The bandits. They've got her. They got into the house somehow and kidnapped Roan and Susan. Roan got away but they have Susan."

Peter sat up quickly. He stared hard at Edmund and thought over his brother's words before turning to look at Roan.

Roan took a step into the room. "It's true, your Majesty. We were attack–"

Peter whipped out of his bed and suddenly had the young lord pinned to the wall, his right forearm pressing hard against Roan's throat.

"What did you do to her?!"

Well there is Chapter 17! I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for reading!