Chapter 22
As the early morning light steamed in through the windows Ayron opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a large, black squirrel perched on the windowsill.
"You're awake!" Juniper squeaked excitedly. "Princess Lilliana, Prince Reuel, King Araven, Sparke—everyone in the whole castle was worried about you!"
The squirrel's tail flashed back-and-forth in a blur–a habit of his whenever he got excited. Ayron smiled at him. Juniper had been a loyal friend of his for many years.
The door opened then, and the princess and one of the healers entered. They paused in the doorway at the unexpected sight.
"Hello," Juniper greeted them. "Ayron's awake!"
A confused look crossed Lilliana's face. "Ayron?" she repeated.
Ayron frowned at the squirrel who, sensing that he had done something wrong, buried his face in his tail.
"Yes," Ayron sighed. "That is my true name. Some of the…places that I have been were too dangerous for me to openly use my real name," he explained.
Lilliana gave him a small smile. She understood why he would do such a thing–being the kind of person he was.
"If you will allow me to call you Ayron," she said, "then you may just call me 'Lilliana', or just 'Lily'."
He grinned at her. "Lily," he said, "I like that name."
~o~o~
Ayron had been asleep for some time when he suddenly awoke. There was something he had been trying to remember throughout the course of the day and now, when it was nearly dusk, he remembered.
Getting out of bed he walked toward the window and looked north and east. Somewhere out there was an army–possibly making its way toward Cair Paravel. Aslan had given him the task of defending Narnia against this enemy, and he intended to fulfill that task to the best of his ability.