New graphics and new title! Formerly entitled Cuore, now entitled The Telmarine Wife.

I'mmmmm back... :) With a whole new story for your entertainment. And this will be a different story from anything I've done before. So I want to give you a few warnings first...

-This story is rated T with a few brief references of past sexual/physical abuse and sexual content.

-There will be some aspects of Narnia that will be more mature, or darker than the books/movies portrayed.

-This story does feature a character suffering from a terminal illness.

-This story will jump between multiple locations and years, but the location and year will always be notated with each new section. The Narnian timeline will be consistently progressive as will the 1958 timeline, all others may skip around.

-This story is AU. You can assume that everything in the books/movies happened up through the final book. With one exception, the Pevensies did not die in the train crash. Instead they lived, had careers, fell in love, got married and well...You'll see what happens next. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: The Pevensies, Cair Paravel, and Narnia are the property of C. S. Lewis. I just like to play in it.

The Telmarine Wife

He was a Narnian King. She was a Telmarine mistress. What should have been impossible saved their lives. But when she returns to the Golden Age, before he knew her, can their love become transcendent?

Chapter 1

1958, London

"I'm sorry, Sir. There's nothing more we can do for her but make her as comfortable as we can. If there's anything, you and your family need, please don't hesitate to ask us."

Narnia

Lena had the sensation of something very warm and very bright bearing down upon her. She opened her eyes to find the sun shining through a break in the leafy canopy above her. She realized she must have dozed off. Lena found it curious because she couldn't recall lying down for a nap; it was made more curious because her surroundings were unfamiliar to her.

Lena slowly pushed herself into an upright position. The weariness and soreness that usually permeated her every muscle was slowly fading into nothing. It was a rather curious thing as well, but one she could give little thought to as something else took precedence.

"Mamma?"

Lena heard Meri's voice calling out to her and she whipped around trying to find her.

"Merina? Merina, where are you?" she called back to her.

"Mamma!"

Another voice joined hers and Lena's heart beat wildly. Rising to her feet took a little more effort than sitting, but even that was much easier than it should have been. She braced herself against the trunk of a tree and called out to Meri a little louder.

Then, at last, Meri came into view rounding a large bush. Merina, Lena's eldest daughter at sixteen, and with her, her sister, Sarina, of only five years with a smile as bright as the sun and a head full of bouncy curls.

"Sara, no!" Meri called out as Sarina ran towards Lena.

"It's alright, Meri; let her come," Lena said.

Tears came to her eyes when, for the first time in nearly a year, Lena had strength enough to hold Sara on her own. Securing Sara with one arm Lena wrapped the other around Meri's neck. She held them close, showered them with love, and drowned in their affection.

"My daughters. Oh, my beautiful daughters! *Amore mio, cuore mio, vita mia!" Lena said kissing the tops of each of their heads. Sara giggled.

"Mamma, where are we?" Meri asked as she pulled back.

Lena finally took a moment to truly assess their surroundings. They were in a lightly packed forest with a well-trodden road not far from them. The road was only wide enough for a single cart or possibly two horses side by side. There were no street signs or road markers though, and the road round seamlessly through the forest in both directions. Lena had absolutely no idea where they were, but she knew they weren't in West London anymore.

"I…I don't know, *Topa."

"What are we going to do?"

"We…are going to figure it out and then we will find a way home, but we won't do that by just standing here. We'll have to walk, find the nearest town. Do you remember your lessons with Babbo?"

Meri gave her an incredulous look that screamed *Dio mio, Mamma!

Not knowing where they were, there was nothing Lena could do but pick a direction and start walking. Two things quickly became clear to Lena on their walk. 1) All her old strength had not completely returned as evidenced by Sara becoming too heavy to carry for very long; that, or she had grown more than Lena realized since the last time she was able to properly hold her. Lena resolved the issue by putting Sara down and simply holding her hand as they walked. 2) Neither their dresses nor their shoes were made for long walks in a forest. There was nothing they could do about that since it would be improper to strip to their undergarments and far worse of a walk for them to go without their shoes.

They walked for an hour, maybe more maybe less—it's hard to say—before stopping to rest their weary feet. Meri had picked up the track of a little stream. The water was just cool enough to be pleasantly refreshing as they drank. While they rested though, Lena couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched.

The old myths and fables that Nurse used to tell Lena to warn against the dangers of venturing into the woods, the ones of monstrous beasts and life-leeching ghosts, came back to her. Of course, she never believed in the old myths; she thought they were stupid tales boys said to one another in an attempt to see who among them was bravest. But when she was Meri's age, Lena learned the hard way that there was a fraction of truth to those myths and that monstrous men were as real as the beasts.

"We shouldn't tarry long. Come now, Topas," she said, rising to her feet once more and stirring Sara into motion.

"Mamma, wait!" Meri called. "Do you hear that?"

Lena paused and listened. It was distant and faint but fast approaching: the sound of horses' hooves.

"Quick! Meri, take your sister and hide!"

"Mamma, I can…"

"Hide!" she ordered. "There, behind that bush."

Thankfully, Meri didn't argue further but instead took her sister as instructed. Once they were safely hidden, Lena stepped away so she wouldn't draw attention to their hiding spot. They were far enough away from the road that they shouldn't be noticed, but she didn't want to take any chances…

However, Lena didn't take into account who, or rather what, was in the approaching party. It wasn't just horses but all manner of other beasts and creatures as well. There were birds that flew, great cats and wolves that ran, and some strange creatures with the bodies of horses and torsos of men, others with goat-like legs and curved horns on their head. Lena's mouth suddenly ran as dry as the Great Desert; her stomach turned to lead.

Not here. Anywhere but here.

She tried to shrink away into the shadows, but it was too late. One of the beasts had spotted her and the whole party came to a stop. Some of the larger beasts closed ranks around a horse and its rider she could not see clearly.

"State your name and business here," the nearest creature demanded. He, she supposed it was a he at least, was one of the creatures who looked like a man from the waist up, but his legs looked like they belonged to a goat. He held a long spear in one hand and though he wasn't holding it in a threatening manner, Lena somehow knew it would take nothing to change that. The creature cast a wary eye to his comrade when she didn't answer him.

"You were asked to state your name and business in these parts," the creature said again.

"My…my name is my own and my business…I just want to go home," Lena replied.

"And where is home?"

"Not here," she said plainly.

There was movement from behind the blockade; the rider was getting off his horse. Lena still couldn't see him clearly, but that was mostly because she didn't want to take her eyes off the strange creatures, the very sight of whom made her feel like she had ants crawling on her skin. Then the rider spoke and his voice was so familiar to her that it pushed everything else to the side.

Lena turned to look at him as he stepped out from behind his guard. He was dressed in simple, yet somehow elegant, riding clothes. He looked battle drawn and weary, and yet, as always, he seemed carefree and full of life. His crown of golden hair was a bit longer than when she last saw him, and his persistent stubble was now a full beard. The most surprising thing though was the simple fact that he was here, now, standing before her and he looked as though he didn't know her at all, when in fact, he'd seen her only yesterday.

"Peter?" Lena asked before she could stop herself. He continued to look at her without any recognition in his eyes. Lena took a step towards him only to have his guard rush her, their various weapons at arms.

"Peter, what is this? What are you doing here? How…how is this even possible? Where are we?"

"You are in Narnia, and you are speaking with the High King. You will address him as such," the creature said.

"*Scemo più scemo! I know we're in Narnia, but this…this isn't possible. We're not supposed to be here."

Lena could feel the cold grip of panic begin to set in; it took hold of her lungs and slowly began to squeeze. She tried to recall her breathing techniques. It worked, but only a little and she knew it wouldn't last.

"Peter, please. It's me; it's Ileana."

XXX

"Sire, do you know this lady?" Orieus asked softly.

Peter shook his head slowly and stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, Ileana, did you say? There must be some mistake; we haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet," Peter said.

Lena shook her head. Even from a distance, Peter could tell there were tears in her eyes. "No. No, don't do this, Peter." She looked away and bit her lip. "Ed! Where's your brother? He'll put an end to this. Is he here too? Please, I…I need to see him."

Lena's words were becoming more frantic and her accent heavier. She muttered a few things in a language Peter didn't know but he thought sounded strangely familiar. He glanced sideways at Orieus. While he tried to figure out why the language was familiar to him, he noticed the Narnians around him were growing nervous. The language must sound really strange to them, so he stepped closer to Lena; his Cheetah guard followed.

"My good, Lady, you are making my friends uneasy. Please, speak only our common tongue," he said gently but with authority.

Lena looked at him with big brown eyes. Her long dark hair fell loosely around her oval face. She stood maybe four inches shorter than him. She could be pretty, he thought, but she was thin, too thin. Her eyes were set into deep sockets. Her cheeks were hollow, her pale skin pulled tightly over them. And her dress, a very strange dress, likely wouldn't fit the smallest of his Sisters. Lena gave one the impression of death.

"You…You really have no idea who I am, do you?" she asked sadly.

"I'm sorry; I don't."

She wiped her eyes. "Tell me this then, how many times have you been to this world?"

"How many times…?" Peter was confused by the question. "This is the thirteenth year of Our reign."

"What year does that make this?"

"Year? The year is 1013, why?"

"Ten… Tha—that's not possible. How is this possible?"

She was beginning to panic again, but several things happened at once to distract her. First, something moved in a bush behind her. She whipped around to look, shouting something in that foreign language as she did. One Faun grabbed her arms while another leapt around her to inspect the bush and two more pushed Peter back behind their spears. Two young girls emerged from the bush and tried to run for Lena, but the Fauns stopped them.

"They are my daughters! You will release me!" she demanded of the Faun, with cold hatred in her voice.

The Faun looked to Peter, waiting for his command. Peter nodded his head slightly; he wasn't in the business of separating a mother from her daughters. Peter watched as they rushed together. Lena scooped up the littlest one and again spoke in that other language. It occurred to Peter then that it was familiar to him because it was from that other place, the place they were before. If that was the case, then Lena and her daughters must be from the other place too. That would certainly explain their odd clothing a bit more.

"What do you smell, Jagar?" Peter asked quietly. His Cheetah guard sniffed the air around them.

"Fear, my King. Confusion, a touch of excitement, but mostly…fear."

"Do you sense any threat from them?"

"From the kittens, no. But the oldest is a mother and she is frightened; that is a dangerous combination."

"She is not from here, my Friend. I believe, she is from that other place. What does Tumnus call it? Spare Oom? Would you not also be frightened if you found yourself far from home and someone was threatening your kittens?"

"If I had any, my King, I would maul the creature who threatened them."

"Precisely, my Friend."

"Precisely, my King," Jagar repeated. Peter sighed but he would not relent.

"We are duty-bound to help them in whatever way we can. We will take them back to the Cair with us. We will consult with our Brother and Sisters on the matter. Have one of the carts prepared so that they may ride in it."

"As you command, my King." The Cheetah turned to give the order but a brush of wind brought a new scent.

"What is it, Jagar?" Peter asked.

"It is a curious thing, my King, but I smell your brother."

"Ed's nearby?"

"No. I smell him…on them." Jagar turned to look at Lena and her daughters. Peter looked over at them too, just as the Fauns before him cleared away. The oldest daughter caught sight of Peter and cried out with great joy.

"Uncle Peter!"

*Translations

Amore mio, cuore mio, vita mia: My love, my heart, my life.

Topa/s, short for Toppalina: Little mouse/mice

Dio mio, Mamma: Oh my God, mom!

Scemo più scemo: Most stupid fool