"Peter! Susan! Anyone!" Lydia's attempts at a cry for help came out at a wheeze as she ran up the palace steps, clutching the stitch in her side.

Oreius came running up to her, "Miss Lydia, what are you doing back here?"

"We were attacked by Calormen troops, around twenty of them, all armed. Silorn is…" she closed her eyes, "Silorn is dead. He bought me enough time to get back."

She suddenly felt her knees begin to give way and she grabbed onto the centaur for support.

He beckoned to a nearby squirrel, "Go get the Kings and Queens. Now!" he yelled when the small animal hesitated.

Lydia sank to the ground and leant against the cool stone steps, she could feel her vision blackening around the edges and focused on the patch of ground in front of her. Inhale. Exhale.

"Lydia! What's going on? Why are you here?"

She looked up to see the Pevensies looking down at her, worry written across their faces.

"I, I can't…" she looked helplessly towards Oreius who smoothly filled the others in.

"It appears Miss Lydia and her bodyguard were attacked by Calormen troops" he said his eyes solemn.

"And where's Silorn?" Peter asked harshly and his shoulders visibly sagged when Oreius just shook his head.

The four Pevensies exchanged glances and then stood up straighter

Peter turned to Oreius, "Send out your best riders immediately and see if we can get a closer look at these troops."

"Yes my king" The centaur bowed and galloped back up towards the castle.

"Lucy can you go send a messenger to Archenland and ask if they were aware of Calormens in their land. If they got into Narnia, they had to go through there." Peter's voice was cold and commanding and Lydia could sense the fury in his words.

She slowly dragged herself to her feet, "I can help if you need anything." She tried to take a step but her vision swam and she felt arms wrap around her.

"You're suffering from shock dear" Susan's voice sounded faint, "Ed grab her other arm, help me get her to her chamber."

Lydia felt a strong arm wrap around hers and the two siblings almost half-carried her up the castle steps.

"I'm sorry about Silorn" she got out in between gasps for air as they climbed the grand staircase

"Shhh it's not your fault Lydia" Susan said soothingly, "We're just glad you made it back yourself."

"Yes, you could have just left and you didn't, that means a lot." Edmund's voice sounded different, almost pained but Lydia couldn't make out what he was trying to say.

Was he surprised that she came back?

"Well I wasn't going to leave you all in the dark, I'm not completely heartless." She said irritably and she felt Edmund tense up beside her.

"I didn't mean it like that" he said quickly

"Well all that matters now is that Lydia rests" Susan said firmly. They had reached her old chamber and Susan and Edmund helped Lydia onto the bed.

"We'll take care of everything Lydia" Susan said with a sad smile and Lydia nodded and watched them leave.

She waited until they'd shut the door before standing up, ignoring the stabbing pains in her head.

She took a deep breath and stood unsure for a moment, realising that she hadn't planned her next move.

She shut her eyes "Come on Aslan" she growled, her hands curling into fists. "If this isn't an emergency, I don't know what is."

She was just realising how stupid it was to expect Aslan to appear on demand and was about to open her eyes when, she felt the air shift around her and when she opened her eyes, she was face to face with the lion.

Lydia laughed, "I can't believe that worked", her surprise meaning it took a few moments for her to realise that the lion looked angry.

"Daughter of Eve, I am surprised to find you still in this world" Aslan's voice was cool

Lydia sighed, "I couldn't leave after that attack, I had to warn Cair Pavarel." she said trying to hide her frustration - did everyone really think she was that selfish?

Aslan nodded, "And Narnia thanks you for it. Does this mean your plans to leave have changed?"

"Well I,"

The word 'yes' was on the tip of Lydia's tongue, she wanted to say yes, nothing had changed.

She paused

"I don't know"

There was silence. Lydia held her breath. For some reason she felt unwelcome this time, like the mood had shifted. Maybe Aslan could sense that she didn't have a clue what she felt

"You must decide Daughter of Eve" the lion's voice brought her back into the moment.

"Why?" she asked sharply, "Why must I decide? Because you know best? Because I have to do what you want?"

Lydia could feel herself begin to shake, "You brought me here and haven't given any answers since I arrived. If you know everything, then you must know I have a family to get back to.

She stared at the lion, "You didn't give me a choice."

She realised at once that this was a mistake.

Aslan's eyes hardened, "We always have a choice."

He turned round and walked away.

"Aslan, wait," Lydia made to go after him but suddenly a loud roar hit her like a gust of wind and knocked her off her feet, she tried to get up but all she could see was black.

"Ah you're awake."

Lydia stifled a groan and slowly opened her eyes.

"Where am I?"

"Your chamber of course, you've been asleep for a while." The voice sounded sympathetic and through Lydia's sleep filled vision, it was Glendan's face that swam into view.

"Why are you here?" she asked weakly, attempting to raise her head.

"The others are all so busy with this business with the Calormenes. Someone had to be here when you woke up."

Lydia flopped her head back down on the pillow, "I don't know how you cope with all this." She said, "Surely things were more peaceful in Redhaven."

Glendan shrugged, "Me and Susan won't be here forever, we'll go back to Redhaven eventually." He smiled to himself, "Besides, Susan is worth a lifetime of living here. She was born to rule. They all were."

Lydia turned away from him, "Whereas I definitely wasn't."

Images of Aslan flooded her mind and she groaned again. There was no hiding her visions this time, she would have to tell the Pevensies.

She threw back the covers and attempted to get up but Glendan was immediately there, pushing her back down.

"You need to rest Lydia."

She struggled against him, "No I need to speak to Peter urgently. I need to warn him about something."

Glendan shook his head, obviously confused, "No you don't need to do anything. You've already done enough by giving Narnia the warning that it needed." He forced a blanket over her and Lydia, sensing she would not win this argument allowed herself to be put back into bed.

Glendan stood up, seemingly satisfied that she was not going to try and leap out of bed. He walked away quietly but when he reached the door he turned back,

"You're a hero Lydia, people won't forget that even if you do leave." He said softly before closing the door.

"Not for much longer" Lydia muttered to herself before shutting her eyes and letting sleep take her once more.

#

"Knock knock!" Edmund poked his head round the door of Lydia's chamber wearing a cheery grin that attempted to hide the lines of worry on his face.

Lydia sat up to face him, "Do I need to get up?" she asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"If you feel up to it, we're all about to head over to lunch now."

She stretched, her headache was all but gone and everything felt a little clearer after a rest.

She felt ready to deal with what was coming.

"Well stay behind the door then, I need to change" she said tossing a sheet at him. Edmund blushed and then ducked behind the door as Lydia got up and headed to her wardrobe.

"Any news on those soldiers who attacked us?" she asked as she rifled through her dresses. She could hear her voice shaking slightly at Edmund's presence but determinedly ignored it.

"Nothing much" Edmund called out through the door. "We've doubled the guard round the border and attempted to contact the king of Archenland to ask if they'll support us."

"Is that likely?"

"Not really, it's more likely they'll stay neutral, what with being the buffer between both lands. We're just making the necessary precautions and waiting to see what happens" Lydia could hear the frustration in Edmund's voice and quickly pulled a dress over her head. It was slightly too short, probably one of Lucy's.

She opened the door to find Edmund leaning against the wall casually – he didn't look like someone who cared that they'd kissed only a day ago. He smiled when he saw her.

"I'm guessing that dress used to be Lucy's?" he said looking at her bare ankles.

Lydia sighed, "Well it's not as if I was going to need any dresses made, considering I wasn't staying."

Edmund raised his eyebrows at that but she chose to ignore him and marched off down the corridor.

He hurried to catch up with her, "And what about now? Are you still leaving?"

Lydia stopped suddenly and turned round to face him. This was Edmund, she thought. The only person here that you've managed to open up to. If there was anyone she could talk to about this, it was him. The conversation with Aslan re-entered her thoughts but she pushed it away.

"I haven't decided yet." She said slowly, watching his reaction carefully in case she suddenly said too much.

"In the short term, yes I'm staying because I want to be here. I care about you all and I want you to be safe." She swallowed, choosing her next words carefully. "But I can't deny that I still can't see myself living here, can't see myself fitting in anytime soon."

Edmund huffed in disbelief, "You honestly don't think you fit in? Really? You know how much you mean to us all." The emphasis on the word 'us' hung in the air.

He sighed, "I know you have to do what you think is best but I honestly thought that you wouldn't want to forget us. That I might be able to change your mind."

Lydia's heart sank. She'd known this was coming but even now she didn't know how she felt about it. It was only another complication. "Why did you think that?"

Edmund looked at her incredulously, "You honestly don't know?"

"I, I think I know" She turned away, "I just don't know how to deal with that yet."

Edmund shook his head, "Why can't you just be honest with yourself about what you want?" He gave her one last fleeting look and walked off.

"Edmund! What am I going to tell the others?" she considered following him but there wasn't anything else for her to say.

She walked to lunch alone.

The others were already seated when she arrived and she gave them brief smiles before slipping into her place.

"Lydia how are you feeling?" Peter was the epitome of concerned and Lydia found herself blushing. She still had to tell him about her dream with Aslan.

Everyone was still waiting for a reply so she stammered out a "Fine thanks" then turned to the bowl of soup in front of her.

She barely lifted the spoon to her mouth when Lucy turned to her and asked "Where's Edmund? I thought he was the one who went to wake you?"

"Err he was but then he got held up, not sure why" She busied herself with rearranging her napkin so as to not have to look the Pevensies in the eye.

"That's a shame, we could have done with him here to discuss our next move." Peter said, frowning.

"Peter, what have we said about not discussing politics at the dinner table?" Susan chided him gently.

"I know but this one feels different. We seem to spend all our energy planning without getting anywhere." He suddenly leant towards Lydia, his eyes hard. "Lydia maybe you could ask Aslan for us."

"Ah," Lydia started, "That might not be so easy"

"Well why not, we need his help."

She frowned, she had hoped to break the news to Peter in her own time, not over lunch.

"I may have already spoken with him."

"You saw Aslan!" Lucy interjected, her voice was full of excitement.

Lydia hung her head, "I spoke with him and he basically implied he was unable to help, that it was down to us."

Peter groaned, "What if we need him? Did you not think to tell him we might have needed his help for strategy in the upcoming weeks?"

"I'm sorry Peter" she whispered.

"No no it's not your fault" Peter said dismissing her apology but it was clear that he didn't fully believe his own words.

Lydia put her spoon down, "I'm sorry I'll just go" she mumbled before fleeing the room. If anyone had called her back, she didn't hear them.

She intended to wander around the castle aimlessly but she found her feet leading her towards the stables.

Celer seemed to know something was wrong and for once she made no comment as Lydia tacked her up and led her out the stable.

"Just take me somewhere to be alone." She whispered in the horse's ear as she mounted and Celer nodded and then took off.

They were flying through the woods and Lydia had no idea where they were going but for once she didn't care. For once she wasn't going to be plagued about future decisions, a war for a country that wasn't her own, her reasons to stay.

She shook her head at that. Her reason to stay wasn't strong enough, wasn't permanent enough.

Suddenly she heard a thundering of hooves behind her, probably Peter or Susan running after her to interrogate her some more.

"We've got to lose them Celer." She whispered and the horse's ears pricked up as they raced on through the trees.

The rider behind her was relentless though and eventually she could feel Celer begin to flag. Lydia turned round to try and identify her pursuer and felt a pang when she saw familiar black curls.

"Whoa slow down." She pulled Celer to a trot allowing the other rider to catch up.

"Edmund" she panted, "What are you doing here?"

Edmund came up beside her and dismounted, motioning for her to do the same. Lydia tumbled off Celer and found that they were face to face. She scowled

"I wanted to be alone"

Edmund rolled his eyes, "Yes well so did I but I saw you race past and was forced to come and get you." He looked round warily, "The forest isn't safe right now."

Lydia was stunned, "I thought you were still angry at me." She said and watched as Edmund's brown eyes narrowed and then seemed to lose their sparkle in defeat.

"I am a little, you're so stubborn refusing to see what's staring you in the face."

"You act as if I'm making up excuses as to why I should leave." Lydia began to pace in front of him, up and down, up and down. She stopped and pointed an accusing finger, "You have no idea what this is like."

Edmund looked at her for a moment, then flopped down onto the grass. "You're right" he said dully, "I never considered going back to England, none of us did. But that's because we knew we were needed here so we adapted. You're in exactly the same position as we were but you refuse to see it."

"What are you saying exactly?"

"I'm saying you've got reasons to stay, reasons beyond Aslan" he said impatiently when Lydia began to open her mouth angrily. "There must be something else here that you don't want to forget, that is worth staying for, at least for a little while."

He looked up at her hopefully and suddenly all those moments of doubt she'd had seemed to fall into place.

She took a deep breath

"I'll stay. For now. Just until Narnia is at peace again."