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: Don't judge a book by its cover...or a knight by their rumors... A lesson Peridan and his family learned as they adjusted to their new life in Narnia.

A/N: This is part of my A Light in the Darkness universe. I recommend reading the main story arc (Awakening, Shadowed, and Revealed) first, but you can give this one a whirl on its own too.

Chapter Five

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16 Quickening 1005

Marsalla braced herself against the back of the settee as another wave of dizziness threatened to send her back to bed. "Marsalla, are you all right?"

She looked up to meet Peridan's concerned gaze and smiled, "Of course, I am, dear. I just stood up too quickly. Should I bring Maisee with me to meet Queen Susan and her ladies?" She ignored the twinge of worry she felt. Surely, it would be all right. There was no reason to believe otherwise.

"I think that is a good idea, my Tesoro." She smiled at the endearment as Peridan wrapped his arms around her and Marsalla took a moment to enjoy the feeling of safety that always accompanied the action. Her brave Peridan had always been stronger than she. He felt most of the rumors were exaggerated, she hoped he was right...but she feared he was wrong. He kissed her temple, "Don't worry, Marsalla, it's bad for your health. I'm to meet with a Lieutenant Sefu this morning, but if you need me, I'll come."

She leaned against him for a moment, and then shook her head, "I will be fine. I'm sure Maisee will charm all the ladies. You should go before you are late meeting with this Lieutenant Sefu."

Peridan kissed her again before he stepped back and winked one brown eye at her. She smiled just as a light knock sounded before Raisa poked her head in, "Mother?"

Marsalla smiled at her daughter, "Yes, Raisa. What is it?"

"Tarrin is watching the twins; may I go see the library? Becky said that she heard one of the Fauns say that anyone can use the library of Cair Paravel, they don't even have to petition the Royal family. May I go please?"

Marsalla glanced at Peridan who nodded before she turned back to Raisa, "Yes, you may go see the library. But, if anyone asks you to leave, you will come straight back to our quarters, do you understand?"

Raisa bobbed her head, "Oh yes, Mother. Thank you, Mother." She ducked out of sight and Marsalla could hear her light footsteps running away before she could get another word out. Marsalla sighed, but at least she didn't have to worry about Raisa getting into trouble.

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Oreius smirked slightly as he read the latest letter from Katerina Alambiel, she had included two notes for Queen Lucy and King Edmund, which he would deliver before court was in session that afternoon. He was certain Queen Lucy would be overjoyed to hear from Katerina but King Edmund...he had noticed him looking rather uncomfortable by the time he finished the last message she had sent him. Still, it seemed Katerina Alambiel would soon be back in the Cair...unless she managed to run into trouble again.

Storing the letter away to be finished later, Oreius set out to find the youngest Royals. Only to immediately stop when he saw a small child standing in the crossways at the end of the hall. The filly was slight with red hair that hung in curls. He didn't recognize her at all. "Are you lost, young one?"

She whirled around and let out a little gasp as her brown eyes widened at the sight of him. For a moment the little filly didn't say anything, then she hesitantly nodded, "I think I am, sir."

Oreius paused a moment as he took in her obviously Human heritage, "Are you another one of Peridan's children?"

She nodded with a bit more assurance, "Yes, sir. I'm Raisa. Are you the General?"

Oreius gave a curt nod, "Yes, I'm General Oreius. Now, where was it you were trying to go to, Raisa?"

Raisa brightened, "Oh, I was going to see the library. Becky, one of our maids, said that anyone can go there and they don't even need to petition the Royal family. Is this true?"

Although surprised at the question, Oreius still smiled a little at the child's enthusiasm, "Yes, it is true but you are quite a ways from the main library. Come, I will take you there."

Raisa looked surprised at his comment, "Really? I mean thank you, but I'm not supposed to trouble anyone. Mother wouldn't like it if I troubled you like Thane and Shane did yesterday."

Oreius hid a wince at the memory of the twin colts...however, there was still the chance that perhaps it was just a phase that they would grow out of...soon. Looking down at the filly, who he guessed was several years younger than Queen Lucy but still older than the Valiant Queen had been when the Four first came to Narnia, he smiled again. "It is no trouble."

He had to slow his pace to nearly a crawl to accommodate Raisa, but he didn't mind. The filly seemed much calmer and far less trouble than her two brothers. After a few moments, Raisa suddenly broke the silence, "How many libraries are in Cair Paravel?"

Oreius paused before answering, "Well, there is the main library, where I am taking you, and then there are several smaller libraries scattered throughout the entire Cair, though most of them could be referred to as large studies or parlors with bookshelves."

Raisa seemed to grow more excited and then the previously quiet filly began to talk at him. "Oh, that's so exciting! I hope I can see them all. Have you been to them all? My brother, Tarrin, said the library at Anvard was marvelous even though he doesn't like books as much as I do. He would rather go play at sword fighting or learning chess from Father than read the books our tutors assign us. Of course, I wasn't allowed to go into the library except on special occasions because Prince Corin managed to escape his minders when he was four and he knocked over two bookshelves. I didn't think that was possible, but then Father told Mother and I that he saw the aftermath and then we found out that Thane and Shane helped him do it. They're the same age as Prince Corin, did you know that? Well, they are and after that none of the children of the lords who had permission to use the Royal library were allowed to go in there unless it was a special day like our birthday. I thought it was horrible. But, I think Father was right when he said that he wasn't surprised that of all the children in Anvard that day it was Thane and Shane who helped Prince Corin cause chaos in the library. Thane and Shane are quite terrible at escaping their minders and getting into all sorts of trouble. But, I guess you would know that since they managed to run into you yesterday. Tarrin claimed they didn't break anything this time, which I thought was a miracle because they usually do break something when they go running off by themselves. Once they nearly ended up on a ship to Tashbaan. A ship captain who's friends with Father is the one brought them back that time after one of his crewmen found them playing in the crow's nest. And, then every time one of Mother's sisters visit, they always try to stow away in their luggage because they want to go off on adventures already even though Mother says they're not allowed to have adventures until they're fifteen. Of course, Tarrin can be almost as bad as Thane and Shane even though he's the eldest and he's supposed to be the responsible one. There was one time when he tried to be part of the group of men who went to find one of the crofters' little girls after she got lost in this horrible blizzard, but Father saw him and made one of the searchers take him back home. Father found the little girl himself, and she was sick for months afterwards but she got better once it was summer. Then there was the time..."

The filly continued on and on and on as Oreius led her through the halls. She made Queen Lucy seem taciturn...what's more she made Tuulea seem like a Nymph of few words. And, she never stopped talking long enough for him to interject anything. As it was Oreius felt only slightly guilty at the flare of relief when they finally reached the library. Raisa had paused for breath and he quickly spoke, "We're here."

Raisa looked up in surprise then awe as Oreius opened the doors to the library and allowed her to step inside ahead of him. The filly spun in a circle as she took in the many bookshelves then she hurried over to the nearest one and just looked. He watched in amusement as she jumped when a new voice spoke, "You may read the books, young one, as opposed to just looking at them."

She spun around in surprise and darted a glance at him. He quickly made the introductions, "Raisa, this is Stonebrook. Stonebrook, this is Lord Peridan's daughter, Raisa." He lowered his voice and whispered as Raisa dropped a formal curtsy, "Careful, this one can outtalk Tuulea."

Stonebrook chuckled and waved him off as he approached Raisa, "So, young Raisa, let's see what books you are the most interested in reading today. When you are finished here, I will escort you back to your quarters."

Oreius nodded his silent thanks to Stonebrook then made his escape. It didn't take him long to find King Edmund who was pouring over his books with King Peter at his side as they both worked on their lessons. To his amusement, King Edmund didn't look very enthusiastic to receive Katerina Alambiel's message but hastily assured him that there was nothing he needed to know at the moment. He wondered if Katerina Alambiel was threatening King Edmund with theories about how she might possibly cause a diplomatic incident...again.

Knowing that Queen Lucy was probably with Queen Susan, Oreius gradually made his way toward the larger parlor the Queens favored when they were merely visiting with their ladies. However, he came to an abrupt halt when he saw who was at the end of one of the halls. A moment later, he was aware of Peridan and Lieutenant Sefu coming to stand beside him as their conversation died. Shesheta was prowling around the twin colts, her ears swiveling as she sniffed the air. Then she came to stand in front of the twins and tilted her head quizzically, "Where are your spots? Do they blend in like mine?"

Peridan's sons looked at each other then looked at the young Leopard who was still half the size of her parents and spoke in unison, "We don't have spots."

Shesheta seemed even more puzzled and Oreius had to hold back a laugh as she asked, "Then, how do your parents tell you apart?"

The twins smiled, "They don't."

The colt nearest to the three adults continued, "Well, least not always."

Shesheta sniffed them again then complained, "You smell the same. Why don't you smell different from each other?"

The two colts shrugged while Sefu placed his paw over his eyes at Shesheta's breach of etiquette. Oreius found the conversation highly amusing even though he suspected not one of the three youngsters were actually supposed to be wandering the halls. He hid his amusement however as he looked down at Peridan and Sefu, and then nodded toward their children. Peridan tensed slightly and Oreius wondered if the man had relaxed when he had met with Sefu. Still, Peridan cleared his throat and stepped forward with Sefu following him. Oreius watched as the two fathers quickly corralled their respective offspring and went off in separate directions to take them back to where they were actually supposed to be at that time of day. It seemed Raisa was correct about her brothers' tendencies to escape their minders...he hoped the elder son of Peridan was less trouble. With that in mind, Oreius continued on his search for Queen Lucy. But, finding her proved to have an unexpected result.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! Let me know what y'all thought about this one and what you think is going to happen in the next chapter.