Hey…sorry it took so long to update… it was exams at school but now it's summer so I'll be working on the story more... I'll try to update sooner. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3

Alexa stood in the room frozen for a moment, at the mention of her mother her heart skipped a beat. She wanted to ask Karida what she meant when she said 'It's time you know about your mother' and 'her destiny', yet she knew asking these questions would be pointless, she knew Karida would tell her soon. Yet as Alexa stood there it felt like hours until Karida found her voice again.

"I know this will be a lot for you to hear today but you need to know. Your mother did not die giving birth to you, she was murdered." Alexa gasped as Karida told her this. She didn't understand, who would want to murder her mother? It took Alexa a while until she pulled herself together and found her voice again.

"Who did this? Why doesn't anybody else know about the..the..mur..murder" Alexa said as tears ran down her cheek at the thought of her mother being murdered.

"It was, Ophira." said Karida as she told Alexa about how Ophira would of killed anyone who blabbered to anyone about the murder she had committed. Alexa tried to listen attentively but Karida had to stop sometimes to tend to Alexa and tried to calm her down. "Poor soul" muttered Karida. She knew this must have been hard for Alexa yet she had no choice. She must continue and inform Alexa of her destiny, of course in the end it would be Alexa's choice as to fulfill her destiny or to ignore it.

"Here, this belongs to you." Karida said as she pulled out a envelope. Alexa took the envelope and opened it, inside there was a letter addressed to her.

"I don't understand." Alexa said and looked at Karida, but Karida just told her to read it, and so she did.

Dearest Daughter, Tears formed behind her eyes as she read those words knowing that her mother wrote this letter. She knew that she had to keep reading. If you are reading this then I presume Karida has kept her promise to me. There is a lot to tell you, and very little time for me. The day before your birth I have been blessed by a visit from Aslan. He told me that I was to have a beautiful baby girl and that he wished for you to go on a journey and return Telmar's dragons. He also gave me a large diamond and told me of its power. You see Alexa, he gave me Telmar's diamond, it has such great power that it was made from an old king to destroy all of Telmar's dragons. It is unclear if the king feared dragons but Aslan told me that the king hated them. The king forced all of the dragons to leave Telmar and never return.

Aslan says the dragons were afraid to become extinct therefore they left and 'till this day are being hunted for dragon dust (used in many spells and healings) and they travel everyday for nowhere is safe for them anymore.' Aslan wants them to return to Telmar so they can live peacefully in Telmar's mountains, their homeland. The dragons refuse to come back because of the king's rudeness and in fear of the diamond.

My duty was to hide the diamond away from its predators, such as my sister Ophira, who wishes the dragons dead.

I am not permitted to tell you of the location of the diamond for that is part of a test that Aslan wishes to put you through. I am however, aloud to help you find the key to the chest containing the diamond.

Here is the clue, solve this riddle and your journey shall really begin:

'Round like an apple, deep like a cup,

Yet all the kings horses can't pull it up.

Follow the tunnel and there you will find;

What force and strength cannot get through

In with a gentle touch can do,

And many in the street would stand

Were I not a friend in hand.'

Once you find the chest containing the diamond it will have instructions on how to summon the dragons. You must convince them to stay, good luck Alexa. I know you will make me proud, thus I commit you to Aslan's good protection and guidance.

Love, your mother,

Queen Alexia of Telmar

"I can't believe this is all real, I never expected this sort of thing to happen to me." Said Alexa, she looked over at Karida who was sitting next to her on her bed.

"I know it's a lot of information for a day Alexa, but I need to know, are you going to try and fulfill your destiny?" asked Karida.

"I have too, Aslan wants me too and my mother believes in me." She replied

"Don't forget, it's not only Aslan who is counting on you to bring back the dragons safely. Even though they don't seem to want to come back, the dragons must secretly wish they could come back home. Yet the power of fear can overtake a lot if not for courage or bravery." Karida told Alexa

"I suppose, speeking of Aslan, exactly who is he?" she asked because Aslan was the great king of Narnia and of all talking beasts, but Telmar did not have many talking beast, only a few in which they came from Narnia.

"He is indeed the true king of Narnia, I myself don't know much about him, perhaps the library will have more information about him." Karida suggested

"I'll try to find something, I was going to go there anyways to try and solve this riddle." She said as she got up from her bed and hid the letter in her silk belt on her dress. That way she can be sure no one, especially Ophira, can find it.

"Remember Alexa, you cannot get aid from anyone else, you must solve the riddle on your own. Good Luck." Karida said before Alexa left.

On her way to the library, which was not that far from her chambers, Alexa hoped that she could solve this riddle. True she read a lot and was smart, yet as soon as she read that riddle it seemed so complicated. She had no ideal of what to research that could help her solve this riddle. Perhaps dragons, she thought, she wanted to know about dragons seeing as she was about to save them. Also the riddle might be related to dragons, perhaps it's a special dragon riddle, she thought. She turned another corner and was about to enter the library. Alexa opened the great doors and looked for books about Aslan and dragons. After looking for about fifteen minutes she had settled with the ones she had. She had about five books, one about Aslan and four on dragons. She opened the book 'Rulers of Narnia' and started to read. She had to skip a few parts about other rulers such as the King Frank and Queen Helen. Alexa just wanted to get to the part about Aslan.

'Aslan is the son of the "Emperor-over-the-sea"; he is the king of all kings and the king of beasts. He created Narnia and protects it and everyone in it with love. Although he is a lion he is kind and treats those who are good kindly, he understands when someone makes a mistake and is fair with his decisions.' She read as she turned the page, yet there was nothing more about the great lion. It talked more about King Frank and Queen Helen and their children who also ruled over Narnia and also Archenland. There was also some talked of a evil White Witch who ruled over Narnia for a hundred years, and during her time did not let Christmas in her long lasting winter.

Poor Narnia, thought Alexa, she could not imagine no Christmas during winter. The book did not mention her defeat nor the four royals of Narnia because it was an old book. Alexa was a little disappointed that it did not mention any more royals after The White Witch. She would of liked to learn more about the young Kings and Queens that ruled today and what happened to Narnia after the witch. She knew it was a good change in Narnia, yet she would have liked the story.

She then opened the second book, this one was about dragons and was called 'Serpents and Dragons' and she flipped through some pages until she found a chapter titled 'Differences Between Serpents And Dragons'. She found that title interesting, it might come in handy to know the difference between a serpent and dragon.

Serpents do not breathe fire and cannot fly; they are commonly found deep in the waters of the sea and are attracted to wooden ships.

Dragons may breathe fire and are found flying over the sea or in mountains. They can fly and are attracted to treasure, especially gems such as: Ruby's, Emerald's, Amethyst's and diamonds.

Alexa also found a very old book called: 'Telmar's lost dragon's'. This book helped her a lot for it had a lot of information about the dragons.

'Telmar's dragons had bat like wings, thick spines, arrowhead tail, horns, fanged teeth and a adult dragon would usually be four feet long and thirteen to seventeen feet high. There scales are usually in dark colors such as: red, green, black, and occasionally gold. Dragons have the best eyesight compared to any other animal; they could also live up to 300 years. They usually eat cattle and sheep but in event of scarce food, dragons will eat any other animal.'

Alexa kept on reading the books she found until she knew enough information to begin her journey, she also looked for something to help her solve the riddle yet nothing seemed to help.

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"How long do you think he will take before he comes to his decision?" asked Edmund getting a little frustrated at how long the King was taking to decide whether or not to create an alliance.

"I'm not sure Ed, however we must be patient. We don't want to upset the king, I wrote to the girls and they sent a response saying to enjoy our time in Telmar. They also hope we have a safe journey back home." Peter replied as he looked out his window. They were both in the chamber that was given to Peter while they stayed here in Telmar. Edmund was tired of being bored and got off the bed to go explore some more.

"I'm going out for a walk." he said

"Just don't get lost again, although I'm sure you would just love to run into that princess again, wouldn't you." Peter replied with a chuckle, finally he got his payback in teasing Ed about becoming sweet on a girl. He still remembered when Ed used to always tease him, every chance he got, about Peter and Stella.

Stella was the princess of Archenland when Peter met her, after a year they got married and now Stella is Queen of Narnia.

"Oh, shut up." Replied Ed as he hurriedly made his way out of the chamber so Peter could not tease him.

'She is beautiful' thought Edmund, yet he did not like her in that sense, Edmund didn't even know Alexa. He knew that he could be shy, yet Alexa seemed to keep her personal life to herself, which made her even more mysterious.

"Your Highness!" Edmund heard as he turned around to see who was calling out to him. It was King Hagan.

"Good day King Hagan" replied Edmund

"I need to speak with you King Edmund, it's about my decision of the alliance."

"Shall I go and get King Peter, he's just in his chamber and- "

"That would not be necessary" King Hagan said, "You met my daughter, Princess Alexa."

"Oh, yes, I have." said Edmund a little confused at what the King was getting at.

"She is beautiful, is she not?"

"She is, I suppose." Edmund was now starting to get uncomfortable, " Pardon my asking, yet I don't understand what your daughter has to do with the alliance?"

"You see, King Edmund, perhaps we can come to some sort of a compromise."

"What did you have in mind?" Edmund asked feeling regret, he didn't like where this conversation was leading.

"I was thinking that I could agree to the alliance with Narnia, if I was certain that my daughter was happy. Say you and my daughter were to become, more of a acquaintance-"

King Hagan couldn't finish his sentence because Edmund cut him off.

"Surely you aren't suggesting marriage!" Edmund nearly shouted. He had heard of situations such as this happening before. A king would usually give his daughter to another as a way to make peace in event of war or even as to create an alliance. Edmund was now getting furious. 'How dare he blackmail me! He knows I can't say no for the alliance would be called off. Peter and even Narnia are expecting an alliance between Telmar.' He thought

"Oh, heavens no. I was just simply suggesting you spend some time with her, say for tea, tomorrow afternoon?"

'It's just tea, what harm can come of it?' he thought

"If it would please you and your daughter, I will be happy to accompany her for some tea." Edmund said trying not to look too angry. He couldn't believe the nerve that King Hagan had! 'Blackmailing me! All for an alliance! He's almost as bad as those Calormens!' he thought.

"I'm glad to hear it! I shall go and inform Alexa right now, she'll meet you at the balcony near the gardens tomorrow at noon. Good day King Edmund." King Hagan said as he left to go and find his daughter.

Edmund was furious at the King's horrible trick. 'Blackmail! Probably planned this from the start!' he thought.

"I see, so you say that with an alliance, Narnia would be able to help with Telmar's food shortage?" mimicked Edmund, "Should of known that wasn't enough to please him! He also needed to find a mate for his daughter!" he said as he walked back to Peter's chamber. He had to be warned of King Hagan's tricks! Apparently the king has other plans for this alliance, who knows how far he will go before coming to a decision!

He entered the chamber and found Peter reading a book at his desk. Peter turned around to see Edmund entering his room.

"Have fun exploring?" he asked

"No!" Edmund replied

"What's the matter?"

"It's that King Hagan!-"

"Come on Ed, I'm sure he won't take that long just be patient."

"Oh, I know why he's taking so long! He was planning to set me up with his daughter, Alexa! He already asked me to have tea with her tomorrow!" shouted Edmund

"Calm down Ed, your over reacting! This has nothing to do with the alliance, besides you could of said no."

"You don't get it Peter. He told me that he wanted to 'compromise', if I don't spend time with his daughter he is going to call off the alliance!"

"Are you absolutely sure this is related to the alliance, did he say that?"

"Yes! He came up to me in the hallways to talk about the alliance and I was going to get you but he stopped me. Next thing I know he's asking if I found his daughter beautiful and said he would agree to the alliance if I was more than a acquaintance with her." Edmund said trying his best to explain. Technically King Hagan didn't say it was related to the alliance, yet it was implied.

"You don't mean marriage!" Peter nearly shouted also for, even though he was married, Peter did not like the ideal of an arranged marriage. He and Stella married because of love and not because it was arranged by her father.

"I thought so too at first, yet he said no, just spend time of her. I don't mind spending time with her Peter, that's not the point. The problem is that King Hagan is just using this alliance in favor for himself and who knows how far he will push us!"

"I understand Ed. You know you can call it off, even if it does have a impact on his decision." Peter said. He always put his siblings before politics, and this was Edmunds decision.

"You don't get it Peter, we need this alliance. The chances of us winning a war against the Calormens are very slim. They have more men and even more weapons. We will need Telmar incase of war."

Peter knew Edmund was right, he hated to admit it but they would definitely lose in war against the Calormens.

"Ed-" Peter started before Edmund cut him off.

"It's ok Peter, I'll spend time with her if that's what it takes. But if there's any possible way to speed up King Hagan's decision, it would be appreciated."

"I'll do what I can, Ed." Peter said as he went to go sit on his bed. He couldn't believe this was happening, never had he expected King Hagan to do something like this.

"It's getting late, I should go to bed." Edmund said as he went to go leave to his chamber.

"Good night Ed" Peter said

"Good Night Peter" Ed said and left.

Peter felt so helpless, here his brother was 'taking one for the team', all for an alliance. Peter knew that tomorrow he would have to try and get King Hagan's decision. It was the only thing he could do right now.

As Edmund walked into his chambers he changed his clothes and then went to bed, after talking to King Hagan, he felt as if he was being used and there was nothing he can do so far except whatever King Hagan said. Before he went to sleep he started to wonder if Alexa was in on his plans. 'She couldn't of, King Hagan said that he was going to go and inform her.' He reasoned, yet he still had doubt.

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Alexa nearly dosed off as she read her last book, out of all four books about dragons nearly everyone said the same thing. Sure there was a little more information that she learned every time she would change books, yet after a while she was starting to get bored. 'Perhaps I'm just tired, it is getting late' she thought.

Even though there was no specific time limit on this task, Alexa knew that Aslan would want her to get the dragons back as soon as possible. Yet that was going to be very difficult seeing as she didn't even figure out the riddle. At that moment the library door opened, Alexa saw her father come in.

"There you are Alexa, I've been looking all over for you." He said

"Why were you looking for me?"

"I wanted to inform you that you will be having tea tomorrow at noon by the balcony near the gardens with King Edmund."

She found this a bit queer, since when did she have tea with a King alone, she was never asked for when they visited so she just stayed out of the way.

"How come?"

"Because he wishes to see you again. Now I trust you will be there at noon?"

"Of course, father"

"Good, oh and ask your servant to find something decent for you to wear tomorrow. Good night, Alexa" he said as he left the library before Alexa could say Good Night.

'I wonder what's wrong with my dress?' she wondered as she looked at the green dress she was wearing.

'Perhaps one wears a specific dress for having tea with a King.' She thought 'Oh well, I'm sure Karida will know.' She thought as she made her way back to her chambers, Alexa had enough studying for the night. Tomorrow she decided to get up early to try and figure out the riddle, and then she'll get ready to have tea with Edmund at noon.

"Oh no" she said as she realized she is having tea with him tomorrow alone! 'How awkward this would be, what am I even going to say?' she wondered 'Ah, I don't have time to think of such foolishness, I need to concentrate on the task.'

Alexa entered her chambers and was glad to see Karida closing the curtains. "Karida, I must speak with you."

"Alexa, your back. Did you find something?"

"Only information about Aslan and the dragons, but I need to talk to you about other matters." She said as she took the letter out of her belt and placed it on her bed. Karida went to go and help Alexa out of her dress.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked as she handed Alexa her nightgown.

"Father came to see me tonight, he said that Edmund and I were to have tea tomorrow at noon. I was wondering what king of dress one wears at this event, is there a certain one?" she asked.

"I don't think there's a certain one, but I do have the perfect one for meeting the King tomorrow." She said as she went to Alexa's wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful royal blue dress that had sleeves that hanged a bit and also would need a corset to wear (Alexa hated the corsets! It was hard to do anything in them, especially breathe!)

"It's beautiful" Alexa said

"I'm glad you like it, now, go and get some sleep, you have an important event tomorrow and I'll come and wake you up."

"Good, because I was hoping to get up early so I can try and solve the riddle."

"I'm glad that you are taking your task so seriously, your mother would be proud." Karida said with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you Karida" Alexa said, even though thinking of her mother still hurt.