AN: Thanks guys! By the way, the character Becca (mentioned here, but not in the story yet) is dedicated to my friend, Becca. You rock, Bex!
I ran through the tunnel, gasping for air, but sprinting like my life depended on it, which, now that I thought about it, it did. My life and the lives of the Four, that is. I spotted light ahead. The end of the tunnel. Or, not. The light had disappeared. They had covered up the exit so the wolves couldn't get out. But in doing that, they had made sure that I couldn't get out as well. Well, then. I would just have to do this the hard way. Jumping up, I slammed my feet into the barrier, which turned out to be a barrel full of water. Ow. I kicked the barrel again. It didn't budge.
So, I resorted to the old standby: yelling at the top of my lungs. "BEAVER! LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU IDIOT! IT'S ME, ALEXA! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! BEAVER! ANSWER ME! BY THE LION, BEAVER! MOVE THE FREAKIN' BARREL BEFORE I MAKE YOU SORRY YOU WERE EVER BORN! I CAN DO THAT! AND I WILL! AND YOU KNOW IT!"
I was about to yell some more, when the barrel was rolled aside, and Beaver's face was silhouetted in the opening. I leaped out of the hole, performed a flip while still in mid-air, twisted around, swatted Beaver out of the way, and planted a solid kick on the barrel, making it fly into place. After that slightly showy display, I turned around and got a good look at Narnia's saviors. I'll admit it. They were pathetic. Completely and utterly pathetic.
The oldest was at least my age, and athletic looking, but other than that, the only thing you could say was kingly about him was that he was handsome. I won't deny it. I'd have to be completely blind to not notice it, but still.
The second oldest was a girl, and I knew right away that we wouldn't be besties, let alone get along very well. She had the "I'm much smarter than you and therefore you are dirt" look about her.
The younger one seemed so small. Tiny. No more than nine years old. She looked at me with the awe I've come to expect from most people who had seen what I could do for the first time.
Something was missing though. Let's see, we've got the athletic, heroic heartthrob, the know-it-all, conceited girly-girl, and the optimistic, silly little sister. Oh! That's what we were missing. The annoying, sarcastic, bratty little brother.
"Where's the Fourth?," I asked Beaver.
"What, no welcome?," he replied.
"Not after that reception."
"Okay, okay. The fourth, well. . . "
"Get on with it and tell me already or I'll go looking for it myself. And I won't be nice about it."
"He betrayed them, Alexa."
"Oh, for cryin' out loud! I gotta deal with a missing, treacherous king now? Can't you keep track of four children?"
"We have a hard enough job keeping track of you."
"I. Don't. Freaking. Care. What, may I ask, am I supposed to do now?"
"Becca, maybe?"
"Becca can't. She's wounded."
"How?"
"We don't have time. You four, up that tree. Now."
They followed orders, thankfully.
The wolves burst out of the tunnel, at the exact moment I dropped from the tree.
"Evening, gents."
"Hello, Alexa." I hate talking to Maugrim. He's an idiot who's very clever. I know, it's an oxymoron, but it's the only way to describe him. Besides evil, that is.
I will explain myself now. I'm a double agent. I seem to be on the Witch's side, but I'm really on Aslan's.
"Have you found them?"
"No, but I think they went North. Toward Her Majesty's palace. They're going to get they're brother. I don't wish them luck." We both laughed.
"Well, if you find them, tell us, and then kill them.
"Of course. The same instructions to you."
They left. Thank Aslan. I silently counted to thirty, and then signaled the Four and the Beavers down.
"Who are you?," the older boy, who I had affectionately nick-named Blondie, asked.
"We walk, and then we talk. Move."
He didn't reply, just started walking. I had hoped he would hold his ground, maybe show some backbone, but he apparently had none.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stiffen, saw his dark blue eyes flash.
Hmmm, a mind reader. He might have magic. I tried to go into his head, but found it blocked with strong walls and boundaries. No matter how hard I pushed, he wouldn't let me in. He was untrained, but very strong. That was good. A strong-minded, magical king can be just as powerful as a weak-minded, warrior one. Now, if he was both, well then. That would be very ideal.
An hour later, we were ready to hit the sack, or the ground, as we didn't have any blankets. I made the fire, while Blondie watched me. "How do you do that?," he asked.
"Do what?"
"Make the fire without even watching it. And I saw you actually start it. You didn't use a tinder box, or matches or anything like that. You just looked at it and said a funny word and your hands, it's like they glowed. They glowed green, and then there was a fire. It sounded like you said 'Avra', but I've never heard that before. What is it?"
"You ask a lot of questions." He laughed.
"I'm just so confused and amazed. What is this place? Why are we here? Why am I here? Why does everyone keep calling me 'Your Majesty'? And who are you?"
"Well, first off, what I did was magic. If you say a word, like avra-" The fire leaped up."-then I can control anything physical thing. Avra is the ancient word for 'fire'. I can control fire when I say the word. Does that make sense?"
"Not at all, but whatever. Nothing seems to make sense here, so I guess it's normal." Now it was my turn to laugh.
"For your second question: we're in Narnia. You and your siblings are here to help restore it. You will be the kings and queens. You, personally, will be High King, that is, unless your brother's older than you are."
"He isn't."
"Well, that's good. Because I'm not accustomed to bowing to men who are older than I am. In fact, I rarely bow to anyone."
"I can believe that."
"But, as for who I am, well, I'm the Lioness. That's about it. I fight, I never lose. Ever. Get used to it. But my real name is Alexa. Alexa Ride."
"My name's Peter Pevensie. Not Blondie. Wait! How the heck did I just do that?"
"I knew it! You're a mind-reader."
"Can you teach me? I don't want to be in everyone's mind for the rest of my life."
"Yes, but you never know. It might come in handy. You'll be a politician, but you better be the first honest politician, or you won't live to be eighteen." He laughed, again. "I'll teach you more in the morning. But for now, get some sleep."
"What about you?"
"I'm going to take first watch. Don't make me knock you out."
He grinned as he lay down, and was soon fast asleep. I couldn't help but notice that he looked much younger when he slept, more vulnerable, less guarded. I decided I liked Peter Pevensie. I just hoped I could get along with the other three.
AN: Alex seems really concieted in this chapter. I know, it seems like she is, but she's not a Mary Sue. She's very cinical, and wary of anyone new. Actually, ahe's scared because of some epicly bad family history, so she's scared to trust. She degrades people in her head, so she believes that she can take them if they're a threat. She's pretty insecure and not the most friendly in the beggining. I hope you understand. It's pretty complicated. Please review! 5 reviews and another chapter! Thanks so much!