A/N: Caspian is finally introduced!

Great Woods

Near the Dancing Lawn

Glenstorm, followed closely by his three sons, led the Narnian group over the small rise in the earth. Tempestra stood to the side of the centaurs, closely studying the scene. Her eyes roamed over the badger, black dwarf, sword-wielding mouse, and anxious-looking young man splayed on the ground. She did not miss the elegant sword lying by his head, or the white ivory horn tied to his belt. The end of the horn was carved into the head of a lion.

"This is the reason we have gathered," Glenstorm declared. "Who is this horn-caller?" He grimly stared down at the young man, and Tempestra realized with a jolt that he was a Telmarine. He fit the description perfectly – tall, dark-haired, with swarthy skin.

Reluctantly, Reepicheep hopped off the young Telmarine, though he kept his small sword at the ready. The young man – the first human Tempestra had seen in Narnia – got to his feet, dusting his clothes off self-consciously as he gazed up at Glenstorm.

"I am Prince Caspian the Tenth," the Telmarine announced, his accent vaguely Mediterranean. "I escaped from my uncle, Lord Miraz, just a fortnight ago. I-I used Queen Susan's horn to call for help."

The Narnians who had followed Glenstorm began to mutter among themselves. Tempestra narrowed her eyes. She was right, then – the ivory horn that he wore at his hip was the infamous horn that the Narnians claimed could summon the ancient kings and queens. Why a Telmarine – a Telmarine prince, no less – would know about Narnian legends was a surprise in itself. Why he would use the horn, if he knew what it could do, was another mystery.

"We must convene to discuss this matter," Glenstorm proclaimed, bowing his head in acknowledgement. "Come. We shall call a meeting at the Dancing Lawn."

The centaur general turned to leave, signaling that the conversation was over. He and the other Narnians divided into groups: some to follow his lead and make their way towards the Dancing Lawn, and others to alert the rest of the camp about the new developments. Tempestra chose to follow Glenstorm. She turned to go, already analyzing the news.

The Narnians had informed her of the Telmarine royalty, though little was known about Prince Caspian besides the fact that he was heir to the throne. His father had died in his sleep years ago, leaving the throne ready for his son as soon as he turned the proper age to rule. His uncle, Lord Miraz, was part of the Telmarine High Council which served as the governing body under the king. If Caspian was running from his uncle, then it seemed that some political developments and shakeups had taken place within the castle.

Tempestra inwardly smiled. Political instability in the enemy camp was always a good thing

She had walked for a mere minute before she heard the sound of Prince Caspian walking quickly to catch up to her. Unlike the Narnians, who moved through the woods quietly and with stealth, the young Telmarine seemed to crash through the undergrowth.

"Excuse me, my lady?"

Stopping, Tempestra turned to get a good look at the prince. Caspian the Tenth was the epitome of a striking young man: tall, dark, and handsome. His hair was wavy, thick, and long, framing a long clean-shaven face with a strong nose, full lips, and a square cleft chin. He could've been any Telmarine. But it was his eyes that gave him away. Although they had the look of one startled by recent unexpected events, they held a strong look of pride and stubbornness.

Tempestra adopted a cool demeanor.

"Yes?" She wasn't exactly sure how to address Caspian, so she decided to drop titles. Caspian didn't seem bothered by this.

"I noticed that you are the only, well-"

"Human?" Tempestra supplied. Caspian nodded.

"Yes. Yet you are not Telmarine."

The young woman snorted and resumed her stride. The Narnians had already left them at the back, and those who passed them gave Caspian looks ranging from cold to outwardly hostile.

"No shit, Sherlock." Caspian, who was easily matching her hurried stride, frowned in confusion, and Tempestra rolled her eyes. She something forgot that her references went over everyone's heads. "I'm from another world," she explained curtly. "Earth, where the old kings and queens came from."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Caspian look her up and down, not to check her out but to take in her appearance. After all, if Narnia was around the time period of Earth's Medieval Age or Renaissance, then women did not walk around so heavily armed or in pants.

"But how did you come to be here?" the prince asked curiously, entirely unfazed by her animosity. "Magic has not been done in over a thousand years."

Tempestra smiled. It still amused her that the people and creatures in Narnia were so rudimentary that they still used swords and crossbows for weapons, and had no idea what real technology or magic was. It had consistently provided her with a sense of amusement, up until she realized that Narnia lacked important things like toilets, toothbrushes, and deodorant.

"If what everyone says is true, and that horn-" she nodded to the object strapped to his belt "-can summon people from anywhere, then you called me here." At Caspian's puzzled expression, she continued, "The Narnians told me that I was close to the old rulers. So you must've brought me here with them."

"But you are not Queen Susan or Queen Lucy," Caspian clarified. When Tempestra just gave him a patronizing look, he shrugged. He was fiddling distractedly with the ivory horn. "My professor told me stories about Narnia, but he did not tell me about many youths of the royal court."

"She was not a courtier."

Startled, Tempestra and Caspian turned at the sound of Glenstorm's deep voice. The centaur was trotting over from the side. He gave a brief respectful nod to Tempestra – which Caspian observed curiously – then fell into step beside them. "She is the Lady Lightning."

At this, Caspian turned to gaze, awed, at the young woman.

"The legendary Lady Lightning?" he paused, incredulous. "But you are too young!"

Tempestra raised her eyebrows.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she demanded. Caspian shrugged.

"Well, you're a girl. Can you fight? Do you know anything? Do you have any experience?"

Tempestra shot the prince a withering look. Glenstorm, who had been around her enough to know that it was the expression that she gave before an argument, smiled wryly in anticipation of the inevitable chastisement.

"Let me ask you something, Your Highness," the young woman began, her voice falsely pleasant. "How old are you again? 18? 19?" Caspian did not reply, and she continued, her voice becoming hard, "How many people have you fought, outside of practice? How many of your opponents intended to actually injure or kill you? I expect your practice opponents were lenient towards you because they didn't want to injure the prince and fall out of royal favor." When Caspian pursed his lips, silent, she tapped the weapons strapped to her belt and continued, "I used these to fight five of your soldiers the other day, and I won. They were willing to kill me, but I let them live because I wanted to."

Caspian was looking away now, clearly uncomfortable. Tempestra went on anyway. "As for my intelligence – let me guess what's going on in your court, and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong. You, Caspian the Tenth, are heir to the throne because your father, Caspian the Ninth, died. Your father's brother is Lord Miraz, who has been acting as regent and steadily filling the political vacuum that your father left. Now you've escaped from your own uncle, who presumably tried to kill you. I bet the reason he hasn't killed you before now, is because he didn't have his own heir. But since you're here now, it looks like he just had a son. Am I right?"

Caspian's jaw clenched, and the young woman smiled. "So tell me: is age or gender really an indicator of ability?"

Glenstorm was smiling, but Tempestra was watching for the prince's reaction. He swallowed hard, then met her gaze once more, shaking his head. This time, he looked apologetic.

"You are right," he admitted evenly, "though you are the first to explain it to me this way." He swallowed again, then added, "I apologize for any disrespect I have shown. I was wrong."

Tempestra studied the prince's expression, searching for insincerity. He did not seem insincere, though it looked as though granting an apology was difficult for him. However, she nodded, accepting it. At least he was humble enough to know when to apologize.

Caspian hesitated.

"The Lady Lightning was said to have the magic of light," he told her cautiously. "Do you?"

The young woman sighed heavily, though inside she was amused. It was surprising how much the people and creatures here were impressed by magic or anything paranormal, especially since there were legends of magic people in the past. Raising one hand, she summoned a thread of lightning to it. In a trice, a thin crackling bolt was jumping between her fingers.

Glenstorm bowed his head again in respect, though Caspian looked downright reverential.

"It's lightning," Tempestra explained. Clenching her fist, she pulled the lightning back into her. "And don't stand on ceremony," she added dryly. "It doesn't fit me. Just 'Tempestra' is fine."

"And you may call me 'Caspian'," the young Telmarine replied, solemnly. "Though I believe that 'Tempestra' is not your true name."

For the first time, Tempestra was startled by the prince.

"What makes you say that?" she demanded. None of the Narnians had ever doubted it.

Caspian smiled, a hint of humor in his features.

"I may not have magic, but I am a prince," he told her. "I have learned when to notice such things."

Tempestra nodded grudgingly.

"I guess so." She glanced sideways at him. "Though I'd rather not say my real name, if that's all right with you…Caspian."

She didn't really expect the Narnians or Telmarines to meet some villain from Earth and spill her secret, but she wanted to be safe, just in case. After all, if this was all an illusion – though she highly doubted it at the moment – then she could accidentally give away her identity to a malevolent illusionist or mind manipulator.

However, the prince nodded, understanding.

"I respect your wishes, Tempestra. Though I hope that one day, you will have earned my trust enough to tell me your true name."

Glenstorm, who had been silent for some time, spoke up.

"It is unlikely, Your Highness," he remarked evenly. When Tempestra and Caspian looked at him, the centaur continued, "Only one has learned of the Lady Lightning's true name. With luck, we will meet him soon."

Great Woods

Dancing Lawn

The meeting that Glenstorm had called, Tempestra thought wryly, was more like a protest. Though the small pocket of land was luxurious, with plush green grass and small waterfalls, the darkening sky had cast a grim shadow on the large group of Narnians gathered on the slopes. They were clustered around the small circular space in the center, where a frightened Caspian stood alone.

So far, the meeting wasn't going well for the Telmarine prince. Many of the Narnians had been shouting accusations and spiteful insults at the young man, and to top it off, Nikabrik had somehow become the representative of all who opposed Caspian. Clearly, the fact that the prince had tried to help the black dwarf had not made him any more of a friend to the Narnian.

Yet right when it seemed that Caspian's cause had lost all hope and the Narnians were starting to think about attacking the young man, Reepicheep (despite almost having killed the Telmarine) and Trufflehunter came to the prince's rescue. They both interjected with good points to support Caspian, who seemed to gain courage from the defense. After that, talk turned from punishing the prince to making him king.

Throughout the debate, Tempestra kept out of the way, silent as she observed everyone. From her perch on one of the small boulders in the back of the group, she could examine each Narnian's expression and hear everything at the same time. This was, technically, not her fight to fight. Narnia and Telmarine had been in conflict for many years – centuries, even. Tempestra had arrived less than three weeks ago. She had no right to persuade anyone with so little experience and knowledge. However, she could show her allegiance.

So when Glenstorm unsheathed his giant broadsword and pledged that he and his sons would fight on Caspian's side, Tempestra knew it was time. Glenstorm, with his astral prophecy and sheer power in the group, had tipped the scales in the prince's favor. One by one, the Narnians vowed to back Caspian. As they lifted their swords, axes, bows, daggers, and spears into the air, Tempestra – still in the back – stood and raised one knife in salute. Caspian, looking around at the demonstrations of support, caught her eye and nodded almost imperceptibly.

To win his throne back, he would need the Lady Lightning on his side.

A/N:This is another chapter that I've edited. Tempestra and Caspian's conversation is very different, though the Dancing Lawn scene is the same. I decided that it was too easy for Tempestra and Caspian to get along right away, so I made Caspian skeptical at first when he meets Tempestra. Their friendship starts from grudging respect, not instant compatibility. I also get to show how Tempestra has a very analytical mind.

The Pevensies are introduced in the next chapter!