A/N: prologue is short, the other chapters will be much longer, I promise.

This story is based on an RPG plot that hasn't really gotten off the ground yet. It will get dark. It will get violent. There will be betrayal, there will be bloodshed, and not everyone will survive. Things don't always have a happy ending. But it's also a story about what's good in life, and love, and what's worth fighting for. About taking up responsibilities and doing your duty. It's about the bond between siblings and what it is to be a king or queen. 3 years post-LWW, AU, movie/book.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters. They belong to the fabulous C. S. Lewis. I DO own this plot and my original characters, whom I'm too lazy to list, namely Reilus and Kusam. Lady Medea belongs to my friend Mandy ("Kat"), and she kindly let me use her villain XD


12 June 2006

I N F E C T I O N

Overture

Narnia was in winter once more. The rivers were capped with ice. Trees wore alabaster cloaks, which at any moment they could choose to shake off and dump on an unsuspecting passerby. The ground had a foot of snow on it. From dens and beaver dams and from the towers of Cair Paravel came smoke from comforting fires. Fauns wore their scarves, centaurs bundled up tightly. Narnia felt at peace now that it had returned to its natural cycles of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The damage of the White Witch had been repaired. Wounds had been healed and wrongs had been righted. Her stone prisoners had long since been freed. Satisfied, Aslan had rejoined his father across the great ocean.

And High King Peter Pevensie slept soundly in his warm and cozy fortress. Unaware of the forces that were already at work against him.

Kusam the wraith moved through the forest, and the trees groaned at his passing. He was shrouded in black that undermined the deepest, darkest shadows in all of Narnia. He was silent, gliding like a mist through the lands of the Great Lion. But the birds and beasts around him could feel his presence, and they drew away. An echo of the evils of Jadis, he was. He could feel the White Witch's power rising up again, even if those foolish children Aslan had left behind could not.

Indeed, he brought Jadis' power with him. Solid ice became brittle as he glided past. Twigs snapped without being touched, and the trees creaked and the forest shuddered. The air became hollow, and the sun's light seemed to fade as though hindered by a dark storm cloud.

Kusam did not see as mortals saw. He saw fear. He felt fear coming from others. He could smell it like a wolf could smell blood from miles away, and he relished in its negative energy. Though he had once been a man, no visage could be seen. He was disembodied, a spirit only that could not be seen unless clothed. Ragged black robes hung from his indistinguishable form, flowing about him. Long ago his true name had been lost. But Kusam was what the dark ones called him, and Kusam was what he answered to (if he answered to anyone at all).

At the moment Kusam was pleased. Already he was at work, continuing what Jadis had failed to complete. And his ally would soon make their move as well. Narnia was slowly…ever so slowly…bending to his will. It could take a lifetime if it had to. Kusam was a patient creature. When Jadis fell three years prior, Kusam had emerged. Her evil had opened the door for the wraith, and he was getting down to business. He was launching his silent attack, and no one knew. No one even suspected. Kusam had the high ground, he had the advantage, the head start.

And soon that fool Peter Pevensie would know that his kingdom was going to fall, and even those he loved would eventually put him to the knife.