Another product of Finals Week Abroad:
She'd been set up.
She should have known meeting him in the hallway had been a coincidence. Should have known his kind words and apologies were all a show.
An emotion bordering on rage boiled underneath her skin. What she would give to step outside the wall of this bedamned castle and let lose a torment of winds throughout this Narnian air. She needed a release.
But no, Mairin McDonough was stuck sitting in a perfectly comfortable chair at a perfectly situated table with four perfectly mannered Kings and Queens.
They'd already been seated when King Edmond and she had walked in. There were no explanations of where they had come from, when she had awoken, or why anyone was awake at the same blasted early hour all dressed and ready to greet the sun.
And certainly no explanation of the gigantic talking animals waltzing about the place.
No, they were seated and waiting for them to arrive. It had all been planned, and she had been played. Smiles and warm words…as lose and insubstantial as the wind in any world, it would seem.
There had been the initial greetings, the kind questions. 'Oh hello, what should we call you then?' 'Oh, where do you come from?' 'Your clothes is fascinating, what is it made from?'
Her vague answers—truthful, but vague—were only amusing to them for so long. The silence that not struck across the table was only occasionally broken by the youngest—Queen Lucy, she recalled—chirping about the weather and how relieved she was at the newcomers recovery.
The others openly stared at her, as if trying to see into her soul and what made her tick. Was that possible here? The thought made Mairin squirm. She did not know the rules of this place…was such a power possible? If a person could control the air, why not that, too, be possible?
Fat lot of good having those abilities was doing her now.
She was uncomfortable being the center of attention to begin with, and the undivided focus directed solely at her and her being was finally too much for her to bear. She wondered when it would all be too much for her to bear.
She stared at each of the royals in turn, taking a moment to get their measure, mildly amused to see the elder King's eyes widen ever so slightly. Apparently someone was not used to defiance. Well, boy was he about to be in for a surprise.
She chose that one to look at when she spoke.
"I have had a long couple of days. So if you wouldn't mind, your Majesties, be straight with me. I am not an animal in a zoo, to be goggled at all day with only the thought of a cage to look forward to. Have you figured me out yet? If you have, please let me know what you found because I'm damned confused myself."
No one said a word. One blink, two. Mairin could have sworn the elder sister's jaw dropped.
"If not, then I will take my leave. Thank you for your kindness, but I've got some serious existential crises to sort out."
She barely got past scrapping her chair on the ground when a hand slammed down on her shoulder, guiding her back down. Glancing up, she say a man—no, a horse—a…damn a centaur. Brilliant, she grumbled to herself.
His hand did not leave her shoulder as she sighed back into the chair.
The elder King placed his head on his hands, nodding to the centaur.
"Then we shall be upfront with you, as our guest here and not a…'zoo animal in a cage'. My brother said he came upon you in the Owlwood, wherein you ran like a person of guilt. Rather than be upfront with him, then, you skirted his questions. Yet, when injured, he brought you here to be cared after by my Queen Lucy. Despite this good grace, you left your quarters and roamed the halls—looking for an escape, perhaps? A target? How are we to know you are not an assassin or some other enemy of ours?"
The younger queen made an unlady like grunt. Not everyone was in favor of what the elder was saying, it would seem.
The elder queen, her beautiful green eyes gleaming with the hint of a smile picked up where her brother ended. "What Peter means to say, is that it is very, very odd to find strangers in our lands—particularly strangers of your…nature," nodding to the large creatures still milling about the large room and the centaur still gripping her shoulder, "the last time someone dropped into Narnia with naught a clue where they were, some very big changes ended up happening." There was a chuckle throughout the room, as if she brought up an inside joke Mairin was not a part of.
Queen Susan continued, "You have given us your name, where you claim to be from, but little else. It is enough to make us weary. You convinced Ed enough to let you into our castle. What could convince us to let you stay?"
"Your Majesty," Marin began, her voice rough with truth, "I do not wish to stay. I just want to find our why I am here and how."
"That is why she should stay, Su." Queen Lucy's quiet voice carried over the table. "She's lost and alone, but she's in Our kingdom and thus is deserving of Our help."
"She is not a hurt puppy, Lucy. She could be a threat to us, a threat to Narnia." Peter, the eldest, growled out.
"Not everyone different is a threat, Pete." The young woman practically spit out.
The argument went downhill from there, the youngest and eldest going back and forth, until even Queen Susan joined in. Whatever this was about, Mairin got the sense that it was less about her and more about something they had discussed over before. An old argument, one she only added to.
She looked across the table, where her eyes accidentally met those of King Edmond. He was running his hand through his hair again, an exasperated expression lying across his face. He smiled, sending a shrug her way.
She had to remember her annoyance at being set up to stop herself from smiling back.
Edmond cleared his throat. "Peter, Lu, Susan."
The three went silent at his tone, far harder than anything Mairin had heard from him before.
"Let us discuss this in the side chamber, shall we?" He did not wait for their answers before moving towards a door across the room. The other royals followed quickly, murmurs of another argument bubbling forward before the door to the side room had even closed.
Mairin felt the centaur's hand remove itself from her shoulder, so she turned to look at the man…horse…centaur.
He was staring back, his gaze as hard as stone.
"You're a centaur." She stated, almost breathless. His stone face didn't shift.
Mairin looked about the room, where the chairs the royals had just vacated were being pushed in place by a jaguar and a badger, both larger than any of the same species she would have seen in her own world.
"They are talking animals…"
"Beasts." The centaur's face was unchanged, but there was no mistaking that the gravely voice had been his."
"Okay," Mairin nodded, "Beasts…talking Beasts."
"And those were four Kings and Queens of a land called Narnia. I came through a woods called Owlswood. I was tackled by a giant Wolf." She sank deeper into the chair.
"By far the most interesting Outing I've ever had, I suppose." She mumbled into her chest.
The minutes ticked by, but the siblings had yet to exit the side chamber and Mairin had yet to move from her miserably slumped position in the high backed chair. She was also fairly certain the large centaur hadn't moved from his position directly behind her.
She turned to him again. "What is your name?" She asked him, quietly. Perhaps it was the weariness in her voice or the sagging of her shoulders just then, but she saw the rock face of his change, just slightly, as he answered.
"Caph, my lady."
She glanced towards the door of the royal's room. "Do they do this often, Caph?"
She could have sworn she sensed a simile. "Yes, quite often. As siblings they bicker, but as leaders they come to wise decisions."
They fell into silence again. Mairin could not help but wonder what they were discussing. Clearly her desires had little to do with anything here. She wanted to leave, but she was getting the sense that "just leaving" wasn't a viable option. Though if she were honest with herself, if she truly wanted to figure out why she was in this place, the four rulers would be able to offer the greatest resources. Perhaps it would be for the best, if they did not decide she was a threat and have her executed, of course.
Mairin smiled at the thought. She'd like to see them try and execute her. She wasn't sure how this world worked just yet, between the mythical creatures and extra strength potions, but no one had outwardly shown magic. She'd be willing to bet her right hand that she'd make it out scot free with her powers and some quick thinking.
She could even leave now, if she so desired. It wouldn't be too difficult. It would even be easier than that first Outing when she had absolutely no clue what she was doing.
But they were kind to her. Perhaps the smiles were not just to give her a false sense of comfort. The siblings seemed like truly nice people, just wary. Maybe she should give them a chance, see what they decide. Then, depending on how things went, she would leave and figure it out from there.
Yes. A plan. A flimsy one, but a plan nonetheless. Stretching her arms, Mairin gently tested the air around her, careful not to disturb the giant lurking centaur behind her. Yes, it is amazing what a simple plan can do to a girl's mood.
She was just starting to play with the many tiny flames of the overhanging chandelier when the door to the side chamber creaked open.
Hope you enjoyed :) More to come soon
