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 Eight: Answers? Part One

Oreius didn't have to look for very long before he found Katerina Alambiel leaning against one of the stone pillars framing what had once been a pavilion hidden amongst a grove of aspen trees just to the northwest of the old hunting lodge. She glanced over her shoulder at his approach then she turned back to watching something in the distance. After what happened in the lodge, he wasn't sure if she was looking at something from the here and now or something from her past. She raised a shaking hand to brush a loose strand of hair out of her face and spoke without looking at him. "An bhfuil sé ag dul a bheith ceart go leor?"

Before he could even attempt to figure out what she had asked, Katerina heaved an exasperated sigh. "Sorry, Kentauri. Let me ask that again, this time in a language that you understand. Is he going to be alright? Sarti, I mean."

"He's unconscious, but Alithia believes he will recover since we got there fast enough to keep him from losing too much blood."

Katerina nodded then crossed her arms as she asked, "And Peter?"

"The blow to his head was only hard enough to leave him with a headache."

Katerina seemed to hear something in his voice as she half-turned towards him. "But?"

"However, he could remember essentially nothing of the attack except for the fact that you were involved in it and called his name right before a knife was thrown at him." Oreius paused when Katerina stiffened but when she didn't react further, he brought up the point that puzzled him most. "Kumbali couldn't find any sign of attackers. He says it smells like only you, the High King, and Sarti were in that back room."

Katerina shook her head, "That's impossible. There were two others in that room and they attacked all three of us. Perhaps, Peter doesn't remember because he hit his head. But, the attackers were there, they should have left a scent or something behind. It doesn't make any sense."

Oreius knew Katerina Alambiel would not like his next question, but he needed to be certain. "Are you confident that these attackers were not simply an illusion? You were having difficulty discerning the past from the present not even five minutes ago. Are you sure you didn't experience something similar when you entered the back room?"

Katerina spun to look up at him with almost as much fury as the night he had questioned her involvement with the murders Jannes had been responsible for. Her eyes flashed with anger as she spoke with painstaking control. "Do you suggest that I imagined this attack? Or perhaps just who really was responsible for it? I may have issues, Oreius, but hallucinations are not one of them. Yes, it scared me that these assassins were using the shadows in the exact same manner that the monster would play hunter and hunted. And, I may have been dealing with the flashbacks of that particular horrifying time of my life, but that wasn't until after those nathracha olc of assassins disappeared back into the shadows as you entered the lodge. I know what I saw back there, and it wasn't a figment of my imagination. I fought them, I touched them, I kicked them, and I heard one of them speak. A hallucination may be very detailed, but have you ever heard of one that revealed information unknown to the person experiencing it?"

Oreius was forced to admit he had not, and Katerina continued in a slightly calmer tone though her eyes still flashed with anger. "One of them, he said that Peter would be theirs next time and I would be shown my errors. Then he said that the Sorcerer Jambres was not a forgiving master. After that little tidbit, they disappeared into the shadows. You missed them by a minute or two at the most."

Oreius frowned and tapped his left forehoof, "Jambres, not Jannes? And, this attacker called you by name?"

The anger suddenly vanished from her eyes only to be replaced by a mix of weariness and annoyance as she rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Yes, he addressed me as 'Katerina Alambiel' and don't ask me why yet another sorcerer is sending messages to me via whatever minion is available because I have no idea. Although, I am starting to think that there was an evil sorcerer's convention and everyone in attendance agreed to send minions with personal messages for me just so they could make my life miserable."

She paused then looked up at him, "Oreius, there was one other thing that stood out about the shadowed assassins. They hissed like some type of reptile, especially when the one spoke to me."

Oreius shook his head, Impossible, they were wiped out over six hundred years ago. "I will make sure neither you nor the High King are left unprotected until we determine whether the threat has passed or not. Not even assassins can attack where there is no opening for them to exploit. Katerina Alambiel, I am ordering you not to say anything further about what happened here until I've had the chance to speak with Sarti. A patrol has come to a camp by now, and I do not know which one it is yet. If certain Narnians heard your story, they would assume everything but that you are telling the truth. I will not have what happened with Alaois repeat itself. Come, it is nearly sunset and we must return to the camp before someone comes searching for us."

Katerina Alambiel gave him a look that told him she had not missed the fact that he didn't say what the assassins could have been, but she said nothing. He returned her knife right before she mounted Sasha. They quickly returned to the clearing where camp had been pitched, but not quickly enough to beat the patrol. Oreius heard Katerina sigh and he nearly joined her when he saw the patrol was led by Pyrrhos, the older Satyr was among the officers who readily blamed Katerina Alambiel for Alaois' demotion, and Alaois was also present. Both Satyrs turned from speaking to Kumbali at their approach to stare at Katerina with more than a little distrust.

Oreius met their stares with a hard gaze of his own, and, as he had hoped, they quickly turned back to Kumbali though Alaois took a little longer to look away than his captain. He turned to Katerina who had dismounted and had hidden all of her emotions behind a mask of studied indifference. "Tend to Sasha, and then see if Alithia has need of you."

Katerina nodded and he saw a hint of relief in her eyes probably over being able to delay a confrontation with the Satyrs for at least a little while. Unfortunately, he was not so lucky and he prayed Aslan would give him patience as he dealt with the two prejudiced and annoying Satyrs who wasted no time in coming up to him as soon as Katerina Alambiel left his side. Once again, he repressed the urge to sigh. It was going to be a long night.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! This was originally one huge chapter but I split it up so I could start posting again. I hope to post several more chapters over the weekend...including more action and trouble for our good guys. Click the little review button below and tell me what y'all think about the story, the chapter, and what trouble is going to happen now that Alaois is back in the picture.