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. Additional Warning for this Chapter: This deals with a part of Katerina's past that is very dark and touches on some nasty themes I've hinted at especially in the dream sequences from Awakening. Be assured I am telling not showing so it won't be graphic but it will still be intense. High T on this chapter.
Chapter Five: Scars and Stories
Katerina hadn't said a word to anyone since she finally reappeared in the camp wearing one of the almost proper dresses instead of the tunic and skirt she had originally intended to wear that day. She had climbed atop Sasha and ridden in utter silence all day, not responding in the slightest when one of her companions tried to draw her into a conversation. She suspected that Oreius had told everyone to just leave her be since not one person tried to speak with her after they paused at noon to rest and eat. And, she was grateful for it because it allowed her time to regain her fractured control and to decide just how much of her story she needed to tell.
The memories associated with the scars were unpleasant to say the least and she dreaded what the repercussion would be for telling her story. She continued to brood over her limited choices until she finally reached a decision. God, this is so hard for me. Give me the courage to speak and help me to remember the past cannot harm me, no matter what. Help me to speak.
She ran her thumb over the familiar shapes of the lion and cross pendants and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She could do this, no, she would do this because it was only a story. She used to tell stories to people, well, kids, all the time. She was just telling another story, it just happened to be one she had lived through...and a bit of a horror story.
She walked over to where the three Centaurs had gathered with Peter and Susan around the campfire in front of Peter's tent. They had all looked up at her approach but no one said a word as she took a seat in between Peter and Oreius, which was good otherwise she probably would have run off without saying a word. She couldn't bring herself to look at them, so she stared at the fire instead. "I shared some of my story yesterday, and if ever there was a time to ask about my past, it would be tonight."
The silence was almost overwhelming and Katerina struggled to resist giving in to the urge to run. Then, the sight of all three Centaurs carefully lowering themselves to the ground distracted her from her own thoughts. It suddenly felt easier to breathe without the Centaurs looming over her and she suspected they knew exactly the effect their act of joining the humans on the ground would have on her. Unsurprisingly, it was Oreius who broke the silence as he gently voiced the question she wished she never had to answer. "Katerina Alambiel, how did you come by your scars?"
Katerina closed her eyes as she allowed her memories to rise to the surface and slowly she began to tell her story. "You recall how yesterday I told you there were some other reasons I was one of the unwanted, yes? My scars and how I came by them was the other reason. I had been at the orphanage for just over four years when this all started. A Monster, a man who was kidnapping young women, was stalking the town, he stole them during the day but they were never found no matter how many searches took place. Well, they were never found alive, he would go back and leave their bodies in areas where searchers had already been just so he could taunt and terrify the townsfolk. I suppose those of us at the orphanage made an even more appealing target because people were more likely to believe us runaways instead of kidnap victims. In the span of a week, two of the older girls, Nekane and Maddie, had been taken when they left to run errands. It was assumed they had run away even though that went completely against their characters. I was the next to be taken, and he broke his pattern to do so, I had run outside right before sunset to fetch a doll, I think, for a new little girl who was absolutely terrified of being locked out of the house if she went out. It's a bit blurry, but I remember fetching the doll and I was halfway to the door when I heard footsteps running up from behind, he grabbed as I was turning to look and he clamped a drugged cloth over my mouth and nose so I couldn't scream and that's all I remember of the abduction."
Katerina shuddered and opened her eyes to reassure herself before she continued. "When I came to I was in this dark, cold room and my hands were tied. I called out and I heard a door slam somewhere in the dark, but nobody entered the room. I was left there for I don't know how long, but when the door finally opened I quickly learned that it would have been better if it had stayed close. The Monster liked to soften up his prey by torturing one in front of the rest of us. I was the newest, so he dragged me into a large room that was partially lit by a couple of lanterns, which was where he herded the other girls when he wanted to hurt them making them watch as someone else was tortured or killed. He, umm, he dragged me into the light to display his newest prize for the others and that's when I heard Maddie start screaming at him. She was furious and terrified at the same time as she kept screaming at him, "Why did you take her? She's just a child." He yelled at her to be quiet, but then Nekane started supporting what Maddie was telling him and he finally understood what they were saying, so he...he turned to me and demanded that I tell him how old I was. When I told him that I had just turned thirteen... He completely lost it, he grabbed one of the others, and he beat her to death. Then he came back to me, he said I was too young but that was okay because he would wait and Nekane would take my place for now. I think Maddie and Nekane had hoped he would leave me untouched and unharmed once he knew my age, but that's not how it worked out."
Katerina hesitated then forced herself to keep talking as more memories surfaced. "He didn't rape me but he never once wavered when it came to torturing me. He actually began to torture me more than the others because it bothered them so much. He started with just driving a pair of star-shaped daggers through my hands but then he got bored, so he moved on to using various whips and such in addition to the knives. It got to the point where he would flog me and then he would take this contraption with a series of four knives shaped to mimic claws and rake it across my back from shoulder to hip first from left to right then from right to left. He was sadistic enough that he would reopen the wounds, flog me, and use the contraption to deepen the wounds several times before he would leave me alone for a while. He would do other things too, especially to the others, which I can only describe as horrific, sadistic, and pure evil."
Katerina sighed and wrapped her arms around her knees. "The Monster enjoyed stalking us in the dark and playing mind games because he seemed to thrive on our fear and our screams. I don't know how long I had been there in that place of darkness, but one day he came into the room I now shared with Nekane and Maddie and he was in a rage over something. I don't know what he planned on doing to me, but he had wrenched both of the knives out of the board he had pinned me to and he was dragging me out of the room when Maddie started screaming at him. She called him a coward, a monster, and a murderer, and she didn't stop even when he dropped me and stormed over to her. He started stabbing her and Nekane whispered for me to run under the cover of Maddie's continued screams at the Monster. It shouldn't have worked, I should have been caught, but I managed to crawl out of the room and into the main corridor. By some miracle, I was able to get from the underground lair into the main house before I heard him start screaming for me to stop and come back."
She paused and shook her head as she remembered what happened. "I ran out the house and into the woods. I had just been through another round of torture and I still had the daggers buried in my hands, I shouldn't have been able to escape him. But, I managed to stay just ahead of him as I ran through the woods. Maybe he just didn't expect me to be able to run or maybe he started playing another game to entertain himself as he hunted me through the woods, I don't know. I ran until the sun started to come out and I heard voices ahead of me, that's when I began screaming for help. The voices I heard happened to belong to a group of volunteers who were re-searching the area for any sign of the missing young women. Needless to say, I scared the living daylights out of the lot of them. I survived but the Monster had turned back as soon as he heard me start screaming and, by the time, the searchers followed my blood trail back to the house all the others had been murdered."
Katerina looked down at the scars on her hands and sighed, "I spent about three months on bed rest and it took another three months to recover full use of my hands. I also had to testify against the Monster after they caught him trying to leave the country five days after I escaped. I was the only survivor and the key witness in the cases against him. I was also the thorn in his side in six different trials because he was certain that if he could get rid of me then the cases against him would just disappear and he did try to kill me in the middle of a trial once. The guards dragged him off me and he started screaming about how he was going to make sure I died even if he had to pay someone to shoot me. Each trial ended the same way, with him being found guilty and sentenced to death. Anyway, between the fact I was the only surviving victim of a serial killer and the death threat from said serial killer, I bounced through a lot of foster homes and adoption was no longer an option because nobody wants to take in a walking target."
Katerina didn't look at anyone as she finally finished her story, she didn't want to see the disgust and horror in their eyes that she had witnessed so many times before. She forced herself not to just get up and leave, she would allow them to ask another question, and she would answer it if she could. Still, she couldn't keep from tensing when Susan spoke up in a rather faint voice. "You were only thirteen when this happened?"
Katerina pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Yes. Just meant that childhood ended earlier for me than it did for others."
Katerina looked away from the fire as Susan struggled to put her next question into words. It was clear to her that the young Queen hadn't ever considered how something so horrible could happen to someone when they had been essentially the same age as she. "But, Katerina, did you never ask-"
"Why? Oh no, I asked why things happened the way they did many, many times. Both during and after those events. I begged for understanding, I wanted to understand why the others, especially Nekane and Maddie, died while I survived. To this day, I still don't know why everything played out the way it did. Maybe enduring such events in my past prepared me for having to deal with Jannes, I don't know. I do know that I have a greater appreciation for my life and my freedom after going through it all. I learned the value of perseverance the hard way, I learned of courage and sacrifice, and I learned that there is always a purpose for things we experience even if it is not given to us to understand in this lifetime. Now, remembering and applying those lessons, that's the hard part." She couldn't answer any more questions, she just couldn't. Katerina stood and quickly walked to the tent she was sharing with Queen Susan, leaving a sober and silent audience sitting around the low campfire. She had told her story, for the most part, what they did with it was up to them. She just prayed that the nightmares wouldn't be too terrible, but she didn't hold much hope for it.
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It hurt! It hurt so bad! Please make it stop, God, please make him go away. The monster leered down at her as he pulled the daggers out of the wood bar. Then he flipped her around so her face pressed against the cold stone floor. It was so much worse now, she couldn't see what he was doing but then she heard the familiar sound of that hideous contraption being dragged along the stone pillars. She froze, but she didn't scream this time. Screaming only made things worse. She bit her lip and a single tear slid down her face as the monster leaned in and whispered, "You are nothing, little princess, you are here because I am the only one who would ever take you. Because you are just like me, a worthless freak." He pressed down on her wounded back and she whimpered at the agonizing touch. Then, he raised the cat's bite and brought it down...
Katerina's eyes flew open and it took her one terrifying moment to realize where she was, fortunately, she hadn't wakened Susan who was sleeping across the tent from her. She shoved the blankets back and quietly got out of the hammock. She bit her lip and grabbed the dark red cloak Oreius had given her when she had first arrived in Narnia, it was still a little big but it kept her warm and that was all she cared about at the moment. Wrapping the cloak around herself, she ignored her boots and slipped out of the tent. The feel of cold grass beneath her bare feet helped her to push the nightmare further away, after all there hadn't been any grass in the monster's lair. She slipped away from the camp and walked over to a small hill that overlooked the Great River and the Shuddering Woods on its far bank.
She tilted her head back and looked up at the stars shining bright in the night sky. The one thing better than being alone in her rooms with all the candles lit and the drapes drawn back was standing in the open with nothing between her and the sky that could make her feel trapped. The sense of being watched hit her and she looked over her shoulder, but there was no one there. She turned back and jumped in surprise at the unexpected sight of Oreius standing only a few feet away.
He looked at her with concern, "Why are you out here, Katerina Alambiel? You should be asleep."
"Mmm, that's true. However, I still have a problem with sleeping after my nightmares."
Oreius gave her a knowing look as he closed the distance between them, "So, you decided to risk frozen feet and pneumonia instead. What have I told you about getting me into trouble with Healer Alithia? She still hasn't forgiven me for the incident revolving around your shield training."
Katerina raised a hand to hide the smile and laugh fighting to escape her. "Well, it was your fault after all."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, because if you hadn't insisted I learn to use a shield, the whole thing never would have happened. Besides, if I really wanted to get you in trouble with Alithia, Kentauri, I would have told her about how you threatened to throw me in the stream this morning."
Katerina grinned up at the Centaur, but then he raised his hand and she flinched away as the memories came flooding back. An unfamiliar emotion skittered through Oreius' eyes and he quickly stepped back only to stop when Katerina grabbed his arm. "No, wait, please. I'm sorry, it wasn't you I swear. It was... it was him. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to react like that, I guess between talking about my past and the nightmare, I am a little more reactive to things that are similar to what he would do."
Oreius frowned and pawed the ground but he didn't break her grip on his arm. "Is he dead? The one who did this to you, has he been executed for his crimes?"
Katerina shook her head, "He still had another trial to stand through, but with six death sentences already, I was told it would probably be a faster road to execution than without my testimony. But, he was still alive when I came here. Why?"
Oreius' free hand gripped the pommel of his claymore, "I wanted to know if he had been punished as he deserved as a result of his crimes, that's all."
A bite of iron entered his tone and Katerina was suddenly very glad that Oreius was not her enemy, especially since she suspected that he would have very much liked to deal with the monster himself. She shivered, which immediately drew the Centaur's undivided attention back to her. He scowled at her attire, then motioned for her to come with him as he walked further away from camp. She obliged with as much meekness as she could muster, but she couldn't help pointing something out to her mentor. "You know this proves that I'm not really afraid of you, right? Occasionally, a little intimidated, okay maybe more than a little, but I've never been afraid of you. Not like I was with the monster, or even with Jannes, who didn't scare me nearly as bad as him."
Oreius looked down at her as she quickened her pace to keep up, "Why do you call this man 'monster' instead of his name?"
"Because he called himself the Monster and no one knew who he really was. He had many aliases but they never led to his real name. He didn't have a history either, apparently he just showed up and started hunting down victims about ten years before I was taken. He liked to say that we were exactly alike, he and I, because we were unwanted, worthless freaks and I was there because he was the only one who would want something like me."
"He is a liar." Katerina smiled at the absolutely certainty in Oreius' emphatic statement. The good general was not pulling any punches in this conversation, as his next question proved. "You said he tried to kill you once during these trials and threatened to hire an assassin. Did he never follow through with his threats and try to harm you again?"
Katerina shivered in spite of herself and pulled her cloak tighter around her body. "Oh yes, he did try to harm me at his last trial. He even carried out his threat to hire someone to shoot me." She paused then stopped directly in front of Oreius, who raised an eyebrow. "This is going to sound really strange, but I think I may have the monster to thank for my being here in Narnia. He hired someone to shoot me as I entered the courthouse, and I remember being shot. But, instead of going to heaven, Aslan's Country, I woke up here in Narnia without a mark on me that would indicate I had been shot. I think...I think I might be...dead in my old world, which would mean I could never go back."
Oreius looked like he was about to say something but then Caia hailed him as she trotted over to them. "General Oreius, Captain Sherket sent me to find you. She says she can't find Katerina anywhere." The Centauress paused as Oreius stepped to the side revealing Katerina. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"
Oreius shook his head, "No. Caia, you may return to your watch until Heru relieves you. Katerina Alambiel, I will escort you back to camp and reassure Captain Sherket that you didn't run away. Come."
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Jambres watched in disgust as the Centaur general ruined the original attempt by his assassins to contact Katerina Alambiel. The Centaurs were so irritating and he hated them all. Fortunately, Medea also despised the Centaurs so it wouldn't take much persuasion on his part to get her to agree to wiping out the entire race. Their Narnia wouldn't need the Centaurs, anyway.
Medea's voice cut through the air like ice, "What are you doing, Jambres? Surely, you're not already having difficulty with your plan, are you?"
"Of course not! I'm just checking on Alambiel's whereabouts." Jambres glared down at his sister before waving his hand at the sheet of black ice glistening with the image of Katerina Alambiel being scolded by a Leopard while the Centaur general went to speak with the other Centaur stallion.
He scowled as Medea's taunting laughter filled the room, "You mean she is too protected by the Centaurs to be seamlessly framed for the High King's assassination. Don't worry, brother dear, I'm sure your little assassins will find a way to carry out your plan in the month and half you have before the Narnian New Year. Let me know if you need any help beyond what I've already set in motion."
Jambres scowled at the images flashing across the black ice, but he didn't respond to his sister's baiting. His plan was about to be set in motion and poor little Katerina Alambiel would be the one blamed by all, including those cursed Centaurs. Soon, he will have succeeded where Jannes had failed, the over-eager lunatic, and Medea would have to acknowledge his superiority.
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A/N: Did you make it to the end? Please read and review! Okay, so a big, nasty chunk of Katerina's past was revealed, what did you think? What are Jambres and Medea up to? Have you guessed their background? Click the little review button below and let me know if you want more and what y'all think about everything that's been revealed so far.