Where the Sidewalk Ends

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Kristen, my very own, customize as you wish character.

Chapter Seven: Introducing Queen Kristen

((Thank you so much for all the reviews, it really means a lot. It keeps me writing, even though I should be studying for my high school exams :p You guys rock))

"Where is she? KRISTEN?" Susan shouted. The dance floor had been cleared off and quickly, chairs were put in neat rows across the hall, a golden throne sitting at the head of hall. A crown sat on a marble pedestal a few yards away, covered by red velvet. The 4 other thrones were placed behind it and Lucy, Susan and Edmund were already perched on their's, craning their necks to try and find Kristen. It was finally her time to shine.

The hall had changed drastically from the dance. There was now one thick strip of purple carpet in which Kristen would walk down. The entire party were sitting on individual chairs with plush fabrics and golden accents. The walls now had intricate details of former Narnia royalty. Everything was etched in gold, including the Narnia Emblem which was stenciled hugely on the ceiling. A beautiful crystal and gold chandelier hung from the ceiling as it cascaded light throughout the hall. There were huge bouquets of flowers all over the hall. Everyone was sitting intently in their seats whispering gently to each other. Everyone was itching with curiosity on who the new Queen would be.

Kristen kept on smelling her rose in the moonlight in the rose garden. Peter had stopped crying. Now, it was time to be a man. He for the first time was going to initiated someone into the Narnia Government. As Susan's voice floated out to them and she stood up to see what was up, Peter's mind started churning. Why was Kristen here? Aslan never explained his intentions, but then again he rarely does. Peter got up as well and followed the soon to be Queen out of the rose gardens and up the hall steps. Kristen began to get a little uneasy as she peered into the hall. Everyone was sitting on chairs. 3 out of the 4 Pevensie children were perched on thrones, one available for Peter. But there was a single golden throne placed infront and lower then the rest, a white marble pedestal sitting right beside it. Her heart started to be fast. Her head started to spin.

Looks like a future Queen of Narnia has some self-esteem issues.

Peter saw the throne and Susan's hasty look. In true gentlemen status, he bowed down to her and shakily she gave a curtsey back before taking his arm in her's. He lead her slowly down the hall as a light applause rounded for her. All this attention was making her nervous. No one had ever paid any attention to her back in her old life. Yet here, it was like she was the centre of the whole night. They walked slowly and Peter gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. It didn't help. They finally reached the end of the hallway and everyone sat down, Peter leading her to the throne slightly infront of the others. She sat down and he bowed again before going off to sit in his own throne. Her breathing settled and she regained her composure, knowing that if anything happened she had 4 of the coolest kids on the world there to help her out. She smiled graciously over her shoulder to Peter and saw a huge, yellow lion gently walk out from the shadows. The crowd let out a collective gasp before breaking out into another round of applause. The lion walked over to Kristen and smiled at her, as well as a lion could smile. She recognized the large cat from this morning, when she had first be brought into the hall. She had remembered that he talked, but maybe she had been hallucinating from everything.

"My friends, welcome to Cair Paravel. Tonight we are here to celebrate the introduction of a new member into the Narnia Royal Family. She is bright, she's witty, and she will nonetheless help Narnia in its desperate times when needed. Just like when the prophecy was fulfilled when our 4 royals arrived, it is a joyous occasion to be celebrating the coronation of a new member. Centaurs, Fawns, Witches, Dwarves and Elves, please help me in introducing Kristen Phoenix, Queen of Narnia," Aslan said finally. The crowd stood up again and applauded.

She was beginning to think she might have a heart problem. Her heart started to beat faster then it ever had before. What did the lion just say? Queen of Narnia? Ok I did not sign up for this when I dropped in here! What the hell! I can't be Queen! I have to go to school tomorrow! Mom's probably looking for me right now! Then it hit her. No one had ever mentioned leaving. No one had said that it was even possible to leave. What if she couldn't leave? What if she was stuck here forever?

In the midst of all her thought, Peter rose from his throne and stood infront of her. He motioned for her to stand and her throne was pulled back, aligned with the other's.

"Please kneel," he asked as Mr. Tumnus the fawn scampered over and brought him a long, silver sword sheathed in a green leather case. Kristen obliged to the request and kneeled down on one knee. She had no idea what she was doing. But some how, even though she hardly knew Peter, she believed that he'd never do anything to hurt her. Why would he anyways? She hadn't done anything to him. She shakily bent down on one knee but kept her eyes up, not taking them off the sword. Peter pulled it out of it's casing and it glistened in the light as people in the crowd gasped. He gave her a reassuring nod before speaking.

"Kristen Phoenix. I hereby recognize you," he started, lifting the sword and gently tapping it on her right shoulder. He brought the sword down and finished, his blue eyes flickering for a second on her brown ones. He noticed they were full of fear and at the same time full of excitement. She was scared yet anxious; petrified but lively. He smiled at her.

"As Queen Kristen. Queen of all of Narnia," he finished as he brought the sword up and gently tapped her left shoulder. A round of applause rang out again and Peter tucked his sword away, holding out a hand to help her up. She took it gratefully and got up, following him back to their thrones which were sitting next to each other. He let go of her hand once she was sitting down and went to the pedestal, taking in his hand the contents of what was under the red velvet. He sat back down with it in his hand and waited for Aslan to speak.

"My friends, I give you the Royal family. To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy, the Valiant,." Aslan spoke. Lucy hopped out of her throne and curtseyed for the crowed, waving a few times before sitting back down again. The onlookers applauded loudly for her, her adorable childish face painted over with excitement. She loved being Queen Lucy.

"To the great western wood, King Edmund the Just," Aslan said as the crowd applauded loudly again, Edmund getting up and bowing just low enough that his crowd wouldn't fall off. He smiled and sat back down, turning all of his attention back to Aslan, the talking lion.

"To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle," Aslan said again. On cue, the crowd applauded and Susan got out of her throne, curtseying once and then sitting back down. She loved being Queen, but didn't like the attention that went along with it.

"To the clear northern skies, King Peter the Magnificent," Aslan spoke as this time the crowd gave an even bigger applause. Peter waved from his seat but stayed in his throne, his eyes flickering from the crowd to Kristen who was applauding politely from her throne right next to him. She still looked very shaken up.

"And finally, to the strong wind that goes north, south, east and west, Queen Kristen the Brilliant," Aslan said finally. Kristen was too shocked by everything to be hit even more by his words. Queen Kristen the Brilliant. I like the sound of that, she said to herself, letting herself toy with the idea of actually staying and being Queen. Deep down she knew that she'd have to go back tomorrow. But why not play along and see how things fan out, right?

The crowd gave her a standing ovation out of politeness and Peter got up, the red velvet clothed item in his hand. He pulled the fabric away and revealed a gorgeous silver crown that was made up of several pieces of silver pulled together to look methodical like the wind. The crown was small yet gorgeous, blue and white diamonds encrusted throughout the silver masterpiece. It was amazing.

"May I?" Peter said as he held the crown out to her. She was still in too much of a daze to care what he was talking about as she nodded lazily, looking up at his face. He smiled down at her and gently took the crown, placing it delicately on her head. It was a perfect fit.

"Perfect," he said finally as he stepped back and took a good look at the crown. It made her face seem brighter and Kristen seemed to be sitting with a different sort of 'oophm' now. His blue eyes looked at her brown ones for a few seconds as he bowed to her, walking over and then sitting down next to her in his throne.

Everything was a whirl wind. She brushed some of her waves out of her face and took a deep breath. She was Queen. She was Queen of a country that she'd never been to before. She had a gorgeous crown sitting on her head. She was Queen Kristen the Brilliant. Not Kristen the dork. Not Kristen the geek. Not Kristen the bookworm. She finally meant something. But she had to go back home. She had to go back to Canada and explain to her mother where she had been all day. She couldn't stay in Narnia. She had obligations and things she had to do back home. There's no way she could stay, right?

Wrong.

((Author's Note: I dreaded writing this chapter because I knew it would be sort of boring. In the next 3 chapters Kristen's reasons on coming to Narnia will become more clear and we will finally learn why Aslan brought her there. Thanks for everything. Read and Review))