Rayla awoke to noise outside the cave. She shrank back into the shadows of the small cave and kept as silent as she could. She looked and saw what was making all of the noise. The raiders were right outside of the cave she was in. She hoped that they didn't discover her horse. Then they would know that someone was there. She listened in to their conversation.

"I am tired of hitting small homes of poor people. We don't get enough to make it worth the risk," one said.

"We get a lot of food when we hit farms," another said.

"That's true. That at least is worth something," the first said.

"I agree with you, though. I think that instead of splitting up and hitting a few homes, we should stick together and hit something that will gain us a profit. I want to get more than food. I did this to get rich." They both laughed.

Rayla listened in to more conversations, but most of them were boring and didn't give her any more information about their plans. She did find out that this was just a break; they were not setting up a camp or anything. She was grateful for that, because if they did stay here, she was sure to be found out. She crept back to the back of the small cave and waited for them to head out from their water break. She was a little upset. This was slowing her down. She wanted to get to the castle as soon as possible. She needed to get help back home before the raiders hit the Johansen farm.

After another twenty minutes, they headed out and Rayla let out a sigh of relief. They headed in the opposite direction than she was going so as soon as they were out of sight, she hurried to gather up her things and mount her horse. She started out at a faster pace, but slowed back down knowing that she had a long ride ahead of her and she couldn't wear out her horse or she would take forever to get to the castle. She rode through Dunlan. It was a noisy, dirty city and she didn't care for it. She had a bad feeling as she rode through. She wondered if there was a reason, but unable to think of one, she pushed the thought aside and continued. She turned north towards Chaylin. She planned to go around the city, though, because it was more crowded making it actually faster to go around.

Rayla liked riding. She was good at it, even more so than most people in her home town, especially for a girl. What she didn't like was the endless hours of silence that invited in all of the thoughts that she had suppressed. It also allowed for worries about Faylen. She passed Chaylin before noon and stopped on the other side to eat lunch. She ate quickly, but had to rest her horse some, so she sat under a tree. She breathed deeply. She couldn't believe that everything that had happened had really happened. She had finally adjusted to her new life and accepted that she would not remember or return to whatever her past was. It almost made her despair, but she could not. Everything would be alright. It had to be. She just had to trust Aslan. He would protect her. He may not be tame, but he is good.

"I could use some help now, Aslan," she thought. "I have no idea what I am going to tell the court once I get there. How can I convince them to help us?"

She knew that he would help her when the time came. First things first, though. She had to get there. She stood up and dusted off her dress. She mounted again and headed north east, to Cair Paravel.

The next day, she stopped by a market to buy some more food. The further she got from her home near the border to Archenland, the more Narnian creatures she saw. Dwarves, centaurs, dryads, fauns, talking animals, it was all so exciting and interesting. Rayla wished that she had time to enjoy all of the new sights on her journey, but she was on a mission. The villagers of Aldeia were counting on her and she would not fail them. She pressed on, riding for long hours until she could no longer see her way. Reluctantly, she looked for a place to stay the night. There were no caves around here. She looked around, but all she saw were trees. She rested under a large oak tree. Tomorrow she would reach the castle. Tomorrow, she would have to approach the court and its rulers to get aid for her friends and family. They were all counting on her, whether they knew it yet or not. She thought of Miralen, Gerald, Faylen, the Johansens, and all of her other neighbors. The thought of them in peril gave her courage. If there was one thing that Rayla was, it was loyal. She let the thought of them give her courage and peace about tomorrow and drifted off to sleep.

xxxxx

Rayla woke up. This was the day. She got out the last of her food. The bread was starting to get hard, but she finished it and the cheese. She saddled her horse and was off once again. She had to hurry to get there while they were holding court so that she could bring her appeal before them. Court was held from 2:00 to 4:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today was Wednesday and if she missed it, she would have to wait another two days. She quickened her pace a little at the thought. She was pretty sure that she could make it without any problems. She would likely make it by 3:00. She rode for hours without stopping. The closer she got, the more crowded the streets got. She maneuvered through the crowds as quickly as she could. It was 2:00 now. The crowds had slowed her more than she expected, but no matter, she would still make it. Then she felt a drop fall on her arm. She looked up and it started to pour. She reached down into the saddle bags and grabbed the cloak that Mrs. Johansen had sent with her. She pulled the hood up over her head and hunched down over her horse. This couldn't be happening. This would slow her down even more. She couldn't go as fast as she wanted to because she couldn't risk her horse slipping in the mud and getting injured. Then she would never make it. She continued down the road as quickly as she dared. The clouds hid the sun from sight, so she couldn't tell what time it was, but she knew that it was getting late. She urged her horse, Dania, a little faster. He slipped once, but didn't hurt himself. She was forced to slow once again. She could see it in the distance, getting closer, the castle. It was even more beautiful than she had imagined. It filled her with feelings that she couldn't explain. She had a feeling that she had ridden into this city before. She didn't know what would await her there. She hoped that she would make it. She reached the city and made her way slowly through the crowds. The sun was starting to peek through the clouds, but it was still raining. She tugged on her cloak hood, trying to use it to block the rains so she could see where she was going. She couldn't tell for sure if she had missed it yet, but if not it was getting close. At last she reached the gates of the castle. She made it through and dropped the reigns to her horse. She ran up the stairs and made her way to the throne room. People were walking out of the room.

"No," she thought. She had not come this far to miss it by mere minutes. She pushed through the small crowd leaving the throne room. She reached the door and an imposing looking centaur barred the way.

"Court has adjourned. Come back on Friday," he said.

Rayla shrank back a little unconsciously, but she didn't stop. It was too important. "You don't understand. I have to see them today."

"I am sorry. You should have arrived sooner."

"I have been traveling in every hour of daylight for three days. I came as quickly as I could."
"I'm sorry," he said, but he didn't move. Rayla looked around him and saw that one of the kings was still in the room, King Peter she believed. She had to do something. She twisted around the centaur and broke into a run.

"Your Majesty!" she called. He looked up to see the cloaked girl running towards him. He started, surprised. She didn't get far before the centaur caught up to her and grabbed her. As he did her hood slid off. King Peter's face turned white and the centaur froze. Rayla looked at them, confused.

"Lucy?" Peter whispered. He ran down the stairs of the dais and stopped right in front of her. The centaur let go of her. Rayla started to bow, but before she could, King Peter hugged her, of all things. She stiffened, stunned. He pulled back.

"Lucy, where have you been?" he asked. "We thought you were dead."

"Lucy?" Rayla thought. Realization hit her. He must think that she was the lost queen.