Ariella stood looking down the hill at the capitol. It was unlike any city she had ever seen before. This city looked like it had come straight out of the tales of King Arthur. There was an honest-to-god wall around it, and a great castle in the middle. But that wasn't the most unique thing about it. No, the most unique thing was that there were animals, all kinds of animals, coming and going and doing civilized business with each other. Sure, there were people too, but compared to the animals there were barely any.
Ariella's neck craned around as she walked through the main gate, trying to take everything in.
"First time in Narnia, lass?" a gruff voice said from behind.
Jumping, Ariella turned to find a dog looking at her with an indulgent smile.
Belatedly, she realized she had been staring at him and hurried to answer "Yes."
"Thought so. The newbies always have the same look on their faces."
Taking advantage of the chance to ask directions from a local, she turned to more fully engage in conversation.
"Pardon my asking, sir, but how would I best go about getting an audience with the king?"
"Ah missy, you don't want to see the king; you want to see his steward. He's the one who actually gets stuff done around here."
"No, I really need to talk to the king," Ariella insisted.
"And I'm telling you it won't do you any good," he huffed, "but if you're dead set on wasting your time, I won't stop ya. Your best bet for finding the king is to follow this road straight until it tees, then turn left and go until it dead ends into a bunch of construction equipment. That's all for the new castle the king is building, and he's pretty protective of it. Ask someone there where the king is, or when he'll be back. They'll know."
Thanking the dog, Ariella went on her way. The directions ended up being more convoluted in real life than they had been when explained, as usually seems to happen, but eventually she found herself among stacks of what she assumed to be marble. Finding a man who looked to be in charge, she made her way towards him.
"Excuse me sir, can you tell me what my best chance is for getting an audience with the king?"
She realized her mistake almost as the words were coming out of her mouth. Really, how many human men could there be who stood around the construction equipment for a new palace looking like they were in charge? Everyone in the vicinity turned to look at her like she had just grown a second head, and the one she did have was rapidly flooding with color. The man raised an eyebrow and seemed about to comment on her blunder, so she hurried to apologize before the situation could get any worse.
"I'm sorry, your majesty. I just wasn't expecting to see you until I had an appointment."
Luckily, the king didn't seem mad, but Ariella still wasn't sure whether the smirk on his face boded well for her or not.
In order to keep him from stopping her from being able to say her piece, she continued without letting him get a word in edgewise, "This is a message for all of Narnia from Aslan."
At this there were all kinds of murmurs and giggles from the crowd, but she persisted.
"Narnia has become negligent in its duties. Even now, the Tree of Protection wastes away while the very ambassadors of the Witch are welcomed with open arms. To the Witch you have turned, so to the Witch you will go. Unless Narnia restores the Tree and rebukes her followers, Narnia will be given over to evil until such a time as two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve have been enthroned at Cair Paravel. As it has been said, so shall it be done."
An angry uproar had started even before she had finished speaking. The only reason she hadn't been attacked yet was because she was standing next to the king. That's probably why Aslan had specified that in the first place, though His instructions in that regard hadn't made sense until now. The king did not seem unaffected buy her words, though, and Ariella decided it was time she left the scene. She slipped quietly through the mob and was almost to the gate before she heard the shouts turn to queries about where she went.
The leopards that guarded the gate bowed their heads to her as she walked out. Down the road, she turned off and headed towards the sea. Now that she was done, she was in a hurry to get home. Aslan was waiting for her.