Hey guys. So sorry for the long update. I had finals and then I got flu so I have been in bed for the past week with no energy to write. So I apologize. For the wait we have an extra long chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

A soft scoffing could be heard across the floor of my room. I reached over and threw a pillow over my head. The maids weren't really supposed to be cleaning when I was in my room but I bet my lovely mother let them in. I wondered what time it was and why my alarm clock hadn't gone off yet. It was a school day, right? I lifted my pillow from my face and slowly opened my eyes.

I expected to see those stupid glow in the dark stars that had been on my ceiling since I was about five but instead I saw a flowing canopy above me. Whoa... so that wasn't a dream... I shot up in the bed and looked around me. Brick walls surrounded me, brick walls that I had only seen once before in my dream. I looked to the side and saw a woman faun standing before me with a dress in hand.

"My Lady, I am so sorry to have disturbed you," She smiled sweetly and laid the dress across the back of a chair. "My queen Susan requested that I bring you a change of clothing and apologizes for not bringing you some night things, last evening," Susan? The thoughts of the beautiful queen led me to remember her sweet younger sister Lucy which led me to then think of the still mysterious and serious King Edmund who had a brother... Peter. I smiled to myself. I was in Narnia, it was not a dreamland.

"Um, thank you very much...?" I trailed off not nothing what to call her. The faun saw my dilemma and smiled.

"Eve," She offered.

I crawled out of bed and went up to her. "Well thank you, Eve. It is nice to meet you," I offered her my hand and she stared at it. I quickly retracted my hand at her quizzical glance. Apparently, Narnians didn't shake hands. I opted for another smile. "If you wouldn't mind, could you tell Susan thank you for me and that she needn't worry about me? I was more than comfortable last night,"

Eve nodded before dipping into a low curtsy and exiting the room. I blew my bangs out of my face and stretched out my sore muscles. The horse riding had been killer on my legs and I knew I would have a small amount of trouble walking today but I wasn't going to complain. I went over to the chair where Eve laid out a dress and looked it over. It was as beautiful as the one I had wore last night but much more simple. A day dress, I presumed it to be. It was emerald green with gold trim. The neck line was square and high enough to make me feel comfortable enough wearing it but not too high as to make me feel like a nun. I slipped the crumpled ball gown I had slept in off and slid into the other dress. Once again, Susan's dress fit me perfectly. It didn't seem to be possible but I felt that Narnia held a magic in it that was able to do strange things such as this.

There was a full length mirror in the corner of the room. I stepped over to it and examined the explosion of curly blond hair on top of my head. I ran my fingers through my hair but not much improved. I huffed out a defeated breath of air and looked around the room, trying to find if there was anything I could use to tame my wild locks. A jack hammer maybe? Or a nice blow torch? Ah, I spotted it. A brush lay on a small end table waiting to be used. "Hair, meet your maker," I said to myself. I took up the brush and ran it a few times through the waves of my hair. The curls started to soften and lay gently on my shoulders. When I was satisfied I put the brush down and went out to the balcony.

It was a warm, sunny day with a slight breeze coming off from the clear blue sea. The clear blue faded into the white sand which then faded to the green of the forest. The colors blended together in a way that was breathtaking. I used to think the view from my penthouse was great but now it seemed almost laughable to think it pretty. Could this view get any better? A light knock came from the door. It must have been Eve coming to deliver me a message from Susan or something like that. "Come in," I called over my shoulder, not wanting to take my eyes from the scene that lay before me. I was sort of afraid that if I took my eyes off it would disappear into the dank New York skyline.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" My eyes widened and my heartbeat quickened. That masculine voice definitely did not belong to Eve. I spun around to see Peter standing before me staring off into the distance. He pulled his eyes away from the scenery and laid his blue eye on me. "Good morning, Lina," He said in a tone that almost made me blush.

"Good morning," I replied back. Keep your cool. Don't make yourself look like a complete idiot. This is a king you are talking to. Not a jock from the football team. I scowled at the voice in my head that was scolding me.

"How did you sleep?" He asked.

"Surprisingly well," I said with a smile. Peter came up beside me at the edge of the rail and turned his body toward me. The high king towered over my 5'3 frame. He had to stand at least ten inches taller than me. He tilted his head to me and let a smirk crawl across his face.

"You did not think you would?" His voice was questioning and curious. I looked up into his eyes and scrambled to find some words. Calm down, spaz. I encouraged myself. You're making this a lot harder than it has to be. Just talk to him.

"Um... Well I... I usually have a hard time sleeping but last night I was out like a light in no time,"

"Why do you have trouble?" He asked in a sincere tone. I would rather have kept that part of my life story to myself but dang Peter and his blue eyes...

"Well, I have insomnia," I admitted. No one but my parents knew about that but heck they didn't even care so let's say that was just my little secret.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"I don't know. I just have since I was a little kid. I've gotten used to my sleepless nights but here it just came so easily," I smiled at him before turning my face to the sky, letting the hot breeze warm my face. I heard Peter try to suppress a chuckle. I opened one eye and glanced at him. "What?" I prayed that I didn't have something in my teeth.

"Nothing. It's just, I find you very interesting, Lina Foster," He smiled once more and offered his arm to me. "Are you ready for breakfast?"

I nodded my head and looped my arm through his. The walk to breakfast was filled with my asking questions about Cair Paravel and Peter answering them. Supposedly this castle belonged to Aslan and the Pevensies were just using it. Now, the Pevensies had explained to me who Aslan was but I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he was a great lion instead of a man. I found him to be simply fascinating.

We arrived at the great hall that was used for the ball last night to see that Peter's three siblings were already there. Peter pulled out a chair for me next to Susan and bowed before going to his own seat at the head of the table.

"Good morning," Susan greeted me. I smiled and gave her a little nod. "How are you this morning?" She asked as she began to fill up my plate like she was my mother, well not my mother but some one else's. I smiled a little wider at the gesture. Before I knew it the plate in front of me was barely visible under the mountain of different food. It was filled with toast, eggs, and some sort of meat that I wasn't familiar with. I laughed at the enormous amount of food in front of me. Any one who knew me knew that I didn't eat much. I had one piece of pizza and I was done for. But I would attempt to eat as much as I could for Susan. I think she was happy when she watched her siblings eating their fill and knowing they weren't going hungry. So I dug in for Susan.

"What are your plans for today, Lina?" Lucy asked me from across the table. I wiped my mouth off with a napkin before answering her.

"I honestly don't know, I'd like to explore a bit if that's alright?"

"Of course, it is!" Lucy said. "I will show you around!"

"Lucy, you have lessons, remember?" Susan told her younger sister. The small girl frowned but nodded her head.

"I'll show you around Lina, if you like." Edmund piped up from across the table. I was taken aback by this. Edmund was the quietest of the royals and I thought he was a little... unsociable but I smiled at him and the chance to crack the mystery that lay in the younger kings eyes.

"I'd like that. Thank you."

He nodded and went back to his breakfast. I chatter with Susan and Lucy for the next half hour before all the Pevensies except Edmund left to go about their own tasks. Edmund and I sat in the great hall for a while in silence. I knew that neither of us were much of talkers so I didn't exactly know how well this tour thing was going to go. Edmund finally stood up and walked over to my side of the table. "Are you ready to explore?" He questioned. I simply nodded and got up from my chair. Once again we were silent as we walked to the court yard.

I didn't mind too much, I was used to the quiet but what did bother me was how Edmund was so cavalier. He was almost too cavalier with the way he acted around me. I was trying not to take his formalness personally but I really couldn't help it. I thought that since Edmund and I were the same age we might possibly become friends but I did not think that was what he wanted. He only offered to take me on this tour to be nice. That's all.

"Are you enjoying Narnia so far, Miss Lina?" He asked while we strolled through the apple orchard. He reached up to a tree, grabbed an apple, and handed it to me. I smiled my thanks.

"I like it. It'll just take some getting used to, you know?" The young king chuckled lightly.

"Yes, I do understand. It did take a while for me to get used to the idea of living here, also." I felt my eyes grow wide. Edmund sensed my uneasiness and stopped walking. "Are you alright?"

I mentally slapped myself to push me back to the present. "Yeah, I-I just assumed this wasn't permanent."

Edmund's face feel into an expression that was even more serious than normal if it was even possible. "I did not mean to slay your hopes of going home Lina. I just-"

"No, it's okay." I cut him off. A smile spread across my face. "I don't think I mind too much."

Edmund raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. "Alright. Shall we continue?"

I pursed my lips together and nodded. I hated it when he did that. Edmund Pevensie raises his eye brows at me more than any one I had ever known in my life. Why? Was I some sort of freak around here or something?

"What are you thinking?" His voice broke through my thoughts.

"I'm try to figure you out." I said honestly. Now, I had never been a blunt person before . I had always been the type of person to carefully consider every word before saying it or anything at all really but with the dark haired king that whole part of me melted away. I just hoped that my first try at being blunt would not turn around and bite me in the butt.

To my surprise, Edmund laughed. "You're trying to figure me out?" I nodded which only made him laugh more. "Why?"

"Because I can't. There is something that is intriguing about the way you walk around like a giant question mark." Edmund dropped his glance from my eyes and directed it toward his feet. Oh my gosh. Did I just say all of those things? What was wrong with me? My cheeks flushed a red color and I looked around and suddenly found a tree to be very fascinating.

"I could say the same for you," Edmund mumbled under his breath. I snapped my head around to look at him. I covered my mouth to hide the laugh trying to break out. The king just looked at me like I was nuts. "Why are you laughing?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

I swallowed down the laugh and answered. "There is nothing mysterious about me. I am who I am. What you see is what you get with me." I knew I shouldn't have laughed but it really was silly to think that I was hard to figure out. But I suppose that it is understandable considering that Edmund and I had only known each other for a short time.

"I don't believe that." He said as we started to walk again. We headed up a large hill that led to a winding path down to the forest.

"Why not?" I inquired.

Edmund shrugged. "Because I think there is something more to you than meets the eye." He said off handedly. I stopped once again and stared at him. He kept walking like he had just told me the weather was nice. I chuckled to myself and jogged a little to catch up to him.

"Well that's your choice I guess." I said.

"Tell me something, Lina. Why do you think that you are not important." I shot him a look.

"I didn't say that." I snapped.

"You didn't have to." He replied with the same even tone. I sighed and bit my lower lip.

"Well if you get told you're unimportant enough it starts to stick, I suppose." I confessed to him.

Well I had never told anyone that I felt that way before, even myself. Sure, my parents have always treated me more like a pet than a kid but I had never actually let myself believe what they said. Until now that is. I never realized how much their absence affected me until this moment. I just shrugged it off and we kept walking.

"Lina!" I heard Susan's voice float up to me. I looked further down the hill and saw the queen at the archer's practice field. She smiled and waved me down to her. I waved back and held up one finger to show I'd be there in a minute. I let out a breath and turned to say goodbye to Edmund. His big, brown were once again on me, studying me like I was a piece of art in a muesum. I had to look down for a moment at the intensity of those eyes.

"Well, thanks for the tour. It was... interesting." I looked up at him, smiled, and nodded before turning back to Susan. I took about five steps before Edmund called to me.

"Lina." I whipped around to face him. He was standing exactly where I left him on the top of the hill with one hand on the hilt of his sword. The sun light was coming up behind him and it was a beautiful scene. Just like a painting of a king from the Renaissance age or something. "You're important." He told me. I smiled before he had the chance to disappear back up the hill where we had come from. And you know what the strangest thing was? I believed him for a second.

----------------------------------

"Lina! There you are!" Susan called as I finally made it to the field full of targets. I walked down next to her. I sat down in the grass as she strung a red feathered arrow into her bow. She pulled the string back, closed one eye to get her target, and released. The arrow him the bull's eye in the dead center and I was undeniably impressed.

"Wow. You are amazing." I complemented. Susan blushed a little.

"Thank you. Have you ever handled a bow before?"

"I've taken lessons back in New York. But I'm nothing compared to you."

The queen laughed and handed me her beautiful bow. She bent down and grabbed another arrow before putting it in the string for me. "Give it a try." She prompted. I wrinkled my forehead but took up the bow none the less. I'd humor my new friend if she wished it. I put the string up to my mouth to anchor it and tried to find my spot. From the corner of my eye I could see Susan. I lowered the bow and looked to her. "You might want to back up a bit. This could get dangerous." She rolled her eyes but did what I asked.

I once again took up the bow, anchored it, and got my aim. I took a deep breath and let the arrow go. It shot from the bow with a loud swoosh before hitting the target. It wasn't a terrible shot if I do say so myself. The arrow came to rest in the middle section of the ring right outside the bull's eye. Susan nodded her approval.

"Not bad, Lina. Not bad at all. You might just want to try this." She came over to me and started cleaning up my technique. An hour later I had managed to get the arrow to land on the outskirts of the bull's eye. We would take turns with the bow and talk while the other was shooting. I got to know the high queen and I let her get to know me. I liked hanging out with Susan. She was like me in some ways. We both had a thing for books and learning but she was a much more accomplished person than I. You know, with being a queen and all.

It was my turn to shoot and I went up to the mark. I was about ready to shoot when I heard the sweetest voice in the entire planet call "Hello girls." I turned around and accidentally let go of the arrow at the sight of Peter. He ducked and the arrow missed him by about six inches.

My mouth dropped open and I ran over to him. "Oh my gosh. I am so so so sorry. I- I..." I was at a loss for words. I cannot believe what I had just done. My face grew red with the nervousness I was feeling. I could have killed him! Oh my goodness. "I-I, I'm clumsy. I'm-"

"It's okay." He said with a smile. I did not believe that it was but his eyes told me he thought it really was alright.

"Are you sure?" I asked uncertainly.

"Of course he is!" Susan said coming along side us and smacking Peter in the arm. "He knows better than to speak when a person is shooting." She set him with a glare that would put any mother to shame.

"You know, she is right. I know the rules so I apologize to both of you." The blond boy said with a slight bow. Susan smiled and grabbed my arm.

"See, I told you Lina. Now stop feeling bad and come sit with me. You too, brother." She led us over to picnic blanket that was laid out neatly a couple of yards away. There were drinks laid out for us near by. We sat down and Peter gave me and Susan each a cup filled with wine. We chatted about nothing in particular for the better part of a half an hour before a faun came down to us.

"Queen Susan!" The faun yelled out. Susan sat up straighter at the servant's approach. "Queen Susan! It is your sister my lady." He said.

"What is it? Is she alright?" The queen asked with concern. Peter's ears and my own perked up for the news of Lucy.

"Yes, yes she is fine. But she is giving her tutor some trouble that I feel you need to help resolve my lady." The faun said with a slight uneasiness in his voice.

Susan sighed and shook her head. "Alright, I will be right there." She smiled to us and let out a little chuckle before standing and heading up the hill.

So that left me alone with Peter. I looked over to him and immediately felt as if my face was glowing like the bright red of my favorite take out restaurant's neon 'open' sign. He wasn't doing anything in particular next to me. Just sitting there looking... well perfect. The sun caught his face and made his hair shine a golden color. That was it. In case I hadn't known it before I was totally crushed out on the high king. He felt my eyes on him and turned to look back at me.

I had to look down and stifle the urge for my cheeks to grow even redder. I was praying that he didn't notice once again. I felt like such an idiot for acting like this. Peter must have girls throwing themselves at him all the time and I'm sure none of them blushed like a little school girl. No, this had to stop now.

I looked back at Peter while regaining a shred of my self confidence. I smiled at him and he smiled back. He studied me for a moment then his smile grew even wider. "I have an idea of something we can do if you are interested." He said cryptically.

"I am." I told him.

"Well, I was thinking that since you were so good at archery you might want to give sword fighting a try... with me." It was his turn to looked down at his hands. I smiled at his action.

"Okay, sure." I said.

"Great!" The high king exclaimed. He shot up like a rocket and gave me his hand to help me stand. I took it gratefully and brushed off the back of my dress. I took his arm as he led us to the practice arena. We got there and Peter went to get me a sword. It was then that I noticed he kept his on his belt just like Edmund had. It was a beautiful sword with a lion (who I was guessing to be a symbol of Aslan) on the hilt. I was just hoping that my sword wouldn't be as large as his and it didn't turn out to be when he brought it. Peter came back with a small sword that looked fit for a young boy. He handed to me, looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry. This is the only one I could find that was small enough for you. It was Edmund's first sword, I hope you don't mind." I took the sword from his hand and studied it closely.

"Not if Edmund doesn't." I replied. I played with the sword for a bit, twisting it around in my hands and such. It seemed light enough and easy to handle.

"Okay. Are you ready?" He asked me.

I raised my eye brows. "I think so."

Peter nodded his head and started his instruction. It took forty five minutes before he had even let me try the motions with a sword. Now that we were ready to use the weapons I was a little weary. He might not have noticed but I am pretty uncoordinated. I could do some serious damage with a sharp, pointy object. But I had no time to voice my concerns. The sounds of metal hitting metal thrust me back to the fight afoot.

Peter swung his sword at me and I had to react. I had just enough time to shake the shock from my body and block the next attack. The metallic sound appeared again. I looked at Peter's face and it looked to me like he was taking a brisk walk around the court yard instead of engaging in a sword fight. Clearly I was not a threat or even competition in the slightest. I blocked another shot. When the swords made contact again he grabbed my wrist so we were locked there. His face was about an inch from mine and there we stood just staring at each other for a moment.

"Not bad... for a girl." He winked at me and allowed a sly smirk appear on his teasing face. I scoffed before pushing him away from me with my sword. He stumbled back several steps and his blue eyes widened in surprise.

It was my turn for attack. I swung my sword at him and of course he blocked it. I swung again at his feet but he jumped over it just like they do in the movies. I tried one more time to disarm my opponent with no luck. He blocked the blow and then swung his sword around like a mad man. I watched as the silver of the metal flew through the air... which was the point of the distraction. With his free hand, Peter grabbed the sword from my unsuspecting hands and pointed it at my neck

I let out a frustrated breath for falling for it and put my hands up in mock defeat. Okay, so I knew I was no Inigo Montoya but I wish I wasn't so darn gullible for a stupid trick like that. The fight in Peter's eyes evaporated and he dropped the sword to his side before holding out to me.

"Alright, you are... better than not bad Lina. You are actually quite good." He told me.

I chuckled. "Well, I had a good teacher." I told him in what I considered a kind of flirtatious voice but to anyone else it probably sounded like any other comment a person would make. He smiled and placed his sword back in it's holder on his belt.

He looked up to the sun and squinted his eyes. "It's about lunch time. Are you hungry?" Peter asked.

I nodded. "Starving."

"Well, alright then. Let's go." I started to walk away but he caught my wrist. "Would you like to make this interesting, my competitive lady?" The high king inquired.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What did you have in mind, magnificent king?"

Peter smiled. "A race. The last one to the castle loses."

A grin spread across my face. "Alright. You're on." I agreed.

"Okay, on the the count of three." He started the count down. "One." He said slowly. "Two."

"Three!" I shouted while he was off guard. We both laughed and we were off.

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