Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't... I also don't own the Narnian Calendar. It belongs to Elecktrum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for my story. Her own stories are awesome and you should go read them too.

Summary: In the aftermath of rescuing Queen Lucy from an evil sorcerer, Katerina Alambiel struggles to find her place while some of the Narnians closest to the Pevensies still question her motives. And, finding herself in the middle of an assassination plot against the High King himself doesn't exactly help her to fit in.

Warning: There will be mentions of torture, murder, and some scary moments. So, this is a mid to high T.

Chapter Four: Practice Round

I hate March, wait I'm in Narnia, so I really hate Lenisgale. It's so cold this morning, I think my fingers are about to fall off. There's still snow on the ground, at least wherever there's shade and this stream is not a pleasant nip. It's more like getting bit by an ice dog. I don't care how pretty Narnia is, I'm never going on a camping trip in Lenisgale again. I can see my breath!

"Katerina, are you all right?"

Katerina whirled to see Susan watching her with concern, and she forced herself to smile. "Of course, I was just lost in thought. Did you need something?"

She could just imagine what Susan was thinking with her standing by a half-frozen stream shivering in her unbelted under tunic and skirt with her pack, containing her over tunic, sitting on a rock a few feet away next to her cloak and sai knives while she scowled at the bursts of white, which formed every time she breathed out. She probably thinks I really have lost my mind...oh, I hope I didn't speak my thoughts aloud. Susan seemed to dismiss Katerina's oddness as she passed on a message from General Oreius and Captain Ardon. Katerina blinked then asked, "Did they look serious when they said that?"

"Very, and General Oreius added that if you think the stream is cold with just your hands in it, then don't heed your instructions."

"Right." Katerina quickly unsheathed Chrysaor and hurried past Susan who followed at more leisurely pace. She hoped the act of heeding her instructions didn't end up being a worse idea than not following them. It could go either way in her opinion.

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Katerina Alambiel held Chrysaor at the ready as she carefully circled her opponent, who, she wryly noted, was certainly better dressed for this little duel than she was. Though he only stood at five feet seven inches and weighed roughly only a few pounds more than she did without armor, her opponent had Katerina at a disadvantage since she had to count the fact that he was completely dressed and had on his leather jerkin compared to her wool under tunic and skirt. The other problem was her opponent knew she was at a disadvantage and he wasn't going to hesitate to exploit it. His sword flashed as he lunged forward and she barely caught the blade with Chrysaor's edge before she twisted out from under the blow and slashed at his left side.

He jumped back, and she held her ground, waiting for him to make the next move. He aimed low, slicing at her legs, and she leaped over the sword while bringing Chrysaor down in an arc towards his neck. He blocked then spun around to bring his sword against her back. She dropped into a crouch and rolled away from him before she sprang to her feet and rushed him from the right side. He parried and started raining down blows until she was forced to slowly back up in a desperate attempt to keep him from disarming her and making a kill.

Her left shoulder brushed against the rough surface of one of the broken stone pillars lining the glade they were fighting in. He slammed his sword against hers hard enough that Chrysaor sliced through her tunic. She propped her back against the pillar and shoved hard against his blade. She threw him off just enough that his foot skidded on the damp grass, but then he regained his balance and smacked his blade against Chrysaor with enough force that the sword flew from her hand. She tried to slide to her right, but her tunic was caught in one of the cracks running through the pillar. Out of sheer desperation, she braced herself against the pillar and kicked her opponent just hard enough to knock him back and down as he lost his footing on the wet grass.

She frantically wriggled out of the tunic and lunged for Chrysaor. She whirled around to face her opponent as he regained his feet and looked for her. He raised an eyebrow at the fact she was now only wearing a cropped top, but he quickly launched another attack. They began to move faster until every move she made was coming from instinct. All of her training was aimed at achieving the warrior's center and she had never been so close to it as she was now. The metallic ring of steel against steel seemed to match the rhythm of her heart as she watched her opponent's eyes for a hint of his next move. All awareness of what was going on beyond this duel faded as she met and countered each blow with an ease she never felt before. They whirled and clashed their swords together again and again in a deadly dance until she thought the fight would never end, but then she was roughly jerked from that focus as her heel caught on a rock and she landed on her back in a pile of snow.

Katerina looked up at Peter as he stepped forward and tapped just above her collarbone, "Kill. But, you almost had me until you tripped over that rock."

She smiled and let him pull her to her feet, "Fortunately for you. Of course, then I land in the only pile of snow here, which is both cold and wet by the way." She grinned at Peter as he laughed, then they both realized that something was missing and turned to face their teachers who had been observing the duel along with Susan and Alithia. Katerina felt her smile slip as she realized the others were staring at them, no, her, with unconcealed shock and more than a little horror. Beside her, she heard Peter gasp as he finally looked over and saw her back. The feelings of shame and worthlessness she thought she had finally managed to leave behind came flooding back in an instant and Katerina just turned and walked back to the stream where she had left her pack, pausing only to pick up Chrysaor. She ignored the others when they called her name and asked her to wait. She hadn't wanted to deal with this now, but after this, what choice did she have?

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Oreius could hardly believe what he had just witnessed. Katerina Alambiel had fought against the High King and finally achieved the warrior's center, yes, but during the course of the fight, her back had been revealed. The image of those horrific scars etched across her back from both of her shoulders all the way down, apparently unbroken even as they disappeared briefly from view beneath the lower band of her cropped top, to overlap at the center of her back and then disappear under the waist of her skirt was not something he would easily forget. There had been other faded scars scattered across her back, but only this one set of raised scars looked like they had been the result of something or someone repeatedly clawing and ripping into her back. Whether the scars were administered with real claws or some other device, he didn't know, but there was no doubt in his mind that those scars were the result of torture.

Ardon stamped his hoof in agitation as he looked at his wife. "Did you know about that?"

Alithia nodded, "Yes, I knew of the scars, but she made me swear not to tell anyone about them."

Oreius stared at the small break in the trees Katerina had disappeared through, wondering if he should go talk to her now or wait until she indicated a willingness to discuss it. He didn't want to make things worse by forcing her to talk and judging by the devastation that had accompanied the familiar haunted look in her eyes, approaching her now would definitely make things worse. "Alithia, did she tell you how she came by those scars."

"No, and she made it perfectly clear that she would not welcome any questions at that time."

Oreius nodded, he had suspected as much. Katerina Alambiel still hid much of herself from all of them in spite of the time she had spent with them, but the results of this duel meant she would have to talk and soon. Aslan, please give Katerina the courage to speak of her past without fear of condemnation. Help her to know that I, that we, will not judge her as worthless no matter the story she has to share.

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A/N: Please read and review! If I get at least two new reviews, I will post the next chapter tonight instead of making you wait. Although, I will warn you now that it will be very dark and not for the faint of heart. Click the little review button below and let me know what you think about this chapter.