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Part I Chapter IV
"My name is Hustis"
Lucy looked stupidly up at the man. He face was quite handsome, but his attitude crushed his appeal. Lucy's face was wet from the crying she had done when she and her kidnapper stopped to set up camp after traveling through the north for half a day. She was crumpled up with her knees to her neck and arms wrapped around her legs.
"What?"
"My name is Hustis. I am a soldier of my Queen, Queen Biedej," said the man. "I know who you are, you are the immortal Queen Lucy who seems to be aging quite slow over the course of a thousand years."
"I don't age slow, I'm growing quite fast" Lucy yelled at Hustis.
Hustis looked at Lucy with a mean eye. "I was born when you ruled the lands, how is it that I am a grown person now and you look like you were plucked off a tree of one of the hamadryads?"
Lucy was silent at the question. It wasn't that she had no answer, but she wished not to speak to her kidnapper. Lucy observed her kidnapper from afar. He couldn't be a Telmarine could he? But he did not look like he came from those lands.
"What are you?" Lucy asked, she kept her distance and hid her face from him.
Hustis looked at Lucy with his black eyes. "I told you, I am a soldier of Queen Biedej of Maltrin"
"No, what are you?" Lucy didn't feel the need to be any more specific to Hustis. Since she had already started loathing him. "And…who is Queen Biedej?"
"My name is Hustis. I am a soldier of my Queen…"
Lucy began to roll her eyes and ready to give up trying to explain what she really wanted to know until-
"I am from Maltrin, west to the Ettinmoors and northwest to Narnia. Therefore I am Maltrinese, I am a descendent of the many witches and warlock that dwell in that povertish country"
"So, you're a warlock?" Lucy asked she still hid her face from him. "From a country I've never heard of before?"
"Yes, and no one has ever heard of Maltrin, it is a poor and small country. Our connections with other countries parliaments were quite lazy, that was until King Forian married our Princess Meirdej, the only girl among the Princes in the land"
"Why are you telling me this?" Lucy scoffed at him, she was going to make any attempt to make rude remarks to him.
"Did you not ask who Queen Biedej is? I am trying to be polite as I can be just to answer silly questions from a silly girl"
"I am not a silly gi-"
Hustis got up with his giant sword in his giant hands. Lucy stopped talking immediately. Her heart began to beat faster than ever. 'Am I going to die?' she thought.
Hustis had started to cut the branches of trees near the area, still able to keep a close eye on Lucy and continue to talk to her.
"It was then, our Queen Biedej was born and took the throne to Maltrin."
"Then why am I here?" Lucy felt a sense of relief knowing that she wasn't going to die…yet.
"Because-" Hustis stopped. Lucy looked straight at Hustis. Hustis face looked hot and nervous, Lucy was certain he felt a presence nearby, because she could feel it to. Lucy let go of her legs and started fidgeting around and looking over her soldiers.
"Don't move you silly girl!" Hustis yelled
"That's quite a rude remark to a lady"
The voice was had come out of the woods. The sun still shone through in the afternoon. Lucy thought it would be quite clear to see the person in pure daylight.
"Who is this speaking! Speak your name!" Hustis yelled.
"My name, is not worth it to your mind capacity" It was a sly voice, a female's voice.
Suddenly Lucy overcomes a shadow figure over her own shadow. Lucy's heart begins to pound faster then ever. And then she could hear the woman's voice clearly.
"Well, we meet again Hustis. I guess you beat me to my prize" She said
Lucy gulped and looked above her head. "Prize?"
Hustis quickly turned around with his sword pointed straight at her. From Lucy's point of view, she couldn't tell if the sword was pointing to the woman or if it was too heavy and sagging down to Lucy's face.
"You!" said Hustis
"The present for your Queen I presume? My prize?"
"She'll soon be your Queen too!"
"I'm sure, how about if I take this little girl off your hands Hustis? And I'll give you half my sack of jewels?" said the woman. Her gloved hands came down to comb Lucy's brown hair. Her touch was soft and gentle. Lucy looked up and saw that the woman had a black cloth mask covered her face from the bridge of her nose and down. She carried all her weapons on her back. A long sword, it's hilt was gold and white, her arrows were not decorated with bird feathers like Susan's were, but with single peacock feathers, and her arrow was as elegant as Susan's.
"How about it Hustis? It's a win/win situation"
"Never shall I!" Hustis raised his sword
"Hustis!" The woman shouted, her voice was so dark when she yelled his name that Hustis stopped in his tracks. She drew her hand up to her throated and cleared it, returning to her normal voice "I'm sure that this can be negotiated without violence."
Lucy couldn't believe it, she was being treated like she was a bag of gold. Negotiate? Bargain?
"Excuse me? But who are you to treat me like I am treasure?" Lucy exclaimed
"My Queen, you are treasure to this land" said the woman, she picked her hand off Lucy's head.
Hustis became impatient and raised his sword higher. "I will not let the Queen's plan fail because of your hands!" Hustis began to charge at the woman. Lucy witness the woman's quick hands on the hilt of her sword that hung over her back, when she pulled it, the sun had reflected off the shiny blade that Lucy's eyes were blinded for a moment. Lucy got up and hid near the nearest tree witnessing every moves and blows the woman took.
Hustis had swung the sword across attempting to cut off the woman's head, but she quickly dodged. The fight was slow of Hustis' heavy weapon, which bored Lucy quite much, but she kept watching in amazement.
The woman was not the most perfect and swiftest fighter herself, but she was indeed smarter and quicker than Hustis. Her feet did more tricks than her hand on the sword did, she was more defense than offense. Hustis impatience quickly made the best of him, he swung his sword over his head, leaving an opening for the woman, and indeed she took it. She had slit Hustis' throat. The blood gushed quickly and sprayed the woman who held her arm over her eyes for a shield. Lucy stopped watching at the point and hid behind the tree.
Lucy returned to her previous position and closed her eyes tightly. She only heard the sound of Hustis' body hitting the ground with a thud.
"It's all a nightmare, it's all a nightmare" she repeated to herself. She heard footsteps coming and a voice so close to her ear.
"Nightmares are only what you make of it my Queen," said the woman
Lucy quickly opened her eyes and turned to the woman, whose mask was still on her and drops of Hustis' blood were on her face too. Lucy quickly crab-walked away from her. The woman only laughed and stood up.
"…Other than that, they're only dreams."
Lucy became unsure if the woman is about to kidnap her or rescue her. Tears began to stream her face once more. "Who are you!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but this all isn't a dream" said the woman
A/N: Maltrin is not a made up country. It is not part of the Narnian World
Pronunciation of Names:
Beyuth Bay-youth
Biedej Bee-A-Dee-J
Hustis H-you-stis
Forian For-ee-in
Meirdej M-air-dee-j
if there are questions, just ask!