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 Nine

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Katerina tilted her head and smiled as the twin boys mirrored her actions. She loved children, and the two adorable little boys looked like they were either five or six. She automatically dropped into a crouch, putting herself on their level, "Hello."

They gave her shy little smiles and replied in unison, "Hello."

She smiled back at them, "What are your names, little Scátháin?"

They quickly whispered to each other then looked at her again, "Thane and Shane."

Katerina almost laughed, but just smiled as she tried to figure out which one was which, "So, which of you be Thane?" The boy on her left pointed to himself. "I see, so you be Shane?" The boy on her right nodded. "And, how old are you, Thane and Shane?" Thane held up both hands, presenting her with six fingers, but Shane only held up one hand...until Thane leaned over and whispered to him, then he held up the extra finger needed to reach six. Katerina laughed softly, "Did you just turn six?"

Thane and Shane nodded, "We moveded to Narnia for our birthday!"

She laughed, "Did you now?" She immediately wondered which merchant family had brought their little ones with them. Katerina made the mental note to ask Tuulea since the Nymph always knew who belonged to which family.

They nodded again then gave her hair a curious look and she knew they were only moments away from reaching out to touch it. Shane reached for her hair only to freeze when a new voice called out excitedly, "Ala! Ala, you're back!"

Katerina barely resisted rolling her eyes at the nickname two litters of Raccoon kits and one litter of Leopard cubs had taken to calling her. Instead, she smiled at the small Leopard, "Shesheta! Ah, I've missed your company and your family's as well."

Shesheta immediately rubbed her cheek against Katerina's then she pointed a paw at Thane and Shane, "Look! That's Thane and Shane. They look alike and they don't even have spots so people can tell them apart, not even spots that blend in like mine." The black Leopard dropped her voice to what was supposed to be a whisper, though Katerina was certain everyone in the hall could hear Shesheta complain, "They don't even smell different from each other. Daddy says they smashed into every officer in the Cair and they mashed a cake on Oreius!" Katerina barely suppressed the sudden urge to laugh. She was definitely going to have to get that story out of someone, probably Lucy. Shesheta whirled around to face the twins and grinned at them, "Thane, Shane, this is Ala. She plays games and tells the bestest stories when she's allowed."

Katerina gently cut in before the sweet young Leopard could say anything else, "Shesheta, do you know where Thane and Shane are staying?" Shesheta nodded eagerly and Katerina continued, "Would you make sure they get to their room then? It would be a wonderful help to me. Oh, and tell your mother that I'll come by later today to see all of you, okay?" Shesheta nodded again, and Katerina smiled once more at the twins, "Thane, Shane, it was a pleasure meeting you. You two behave yourselves, all right?" They nodded then ran after Shesheta, all three little ones giggling as their dash quickly turned into a game of tig with the twins chasing Shesheta down the hall. Katerina shook her head as she watched them round the corner, and then she continued to her own quarters. She would pull the presents then she would see just what this cake mashing business was all about.

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Oreius looked up at the knock and motioned for the Satyr to enter. "Lieutenant Alaois, how did the trip go truly?"

Lieutenant Alaois shrugged slightly and ground his hoof against the floor, "It went well until we reached Terebinthia and the Seven Isles."

Oreius raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"

The Satyr hesitated, "Dame Sepphora would not appreciate the tale being born about, sir. But, when we reached Terebinthia, Lord Seddhan served as our host and everything went well until our third day there. She heard from Lord Seddhan about a number of houses spread about the capital that serve as a type of temporary home for orphaned or abandoned children. Dame Sepphora insisted we go inspect these houses, at each one she left a sizable donation with strict instructions for the money to be used to provide clothing, food, schooling, and anything else that was needed for the children. At one of the houses, a Terebinthian official tried to stop her from doing anything and she cut him down verbally before he even realized that it had happened. But, the next day Lord Seddhan warned us that we needed to set sail as soon as the tide allowed because several of the officials were trying to cite Dame Sepphora for disrupting the peace. However, Terebinthia did not want to risk straining relations with Narnia so if she agreed not to return for three years and to leave as soon as the tide allowed, the complaints would be dismissed and no official report would make its way to Cair Paravel. Dame Sepphora thought it was a reasonable solution and she agreed. After that, the trip passed without incident until we reached Redhaven. General, once again Dame Sepphora heard of these 'orphanages' and insisted on inspecting them. We found two that were badly rundown and Dame Sepphora donated the last of her own money to pay for the repairs to one house and to purchase a completely new house because the other one was beyond repair. Then, she started using the additional emergency funds, which she referred to as bail money, for the other houses with the same conditions as she laid down in Terebinthia. Yet, we didn't truly encounter any problems until we went to visit the last so-called haven for orphaned and abandoned children."

Alaois paused and Oreius watched the Satyr struggle for words before he tossed his head and ground out, "It was not a haven. It was h- It was a place of torment. They were selling the children to these foul men who did not hesitate to torment and despoil those defenseless innocents. When Dame Sepphora discovered this fact, she came down on them with all her wrath and with the full weight of the Narnian crown. She used her authority as a knight, as an ambassador, and as an official representative of the Four thrones of Cair Paravel to force the trial of the owner of that place and all of his conspirators we were able to catch. Dame Sepphora spoke so passionately at the trial on behalf of those children that the men were sentenced to death should Cair Paravel's representative approve the sentencing. She did. Then, she issued orders for that foul place to be razed to the ground and nothing was to be built over it so it would be a testament to the fact that Narnia did not allow for either the slave trade or the exploitation of children. She bought one of the larger empty homes near the Floating Gardens to serve as the new home for those children. We did not leave the Seven Isles until Dame Sepphora had handpicked the new caretakers and made arrangements for a fund to be established for them to use to take care of the children, which included making a concentrated effort to see the children eventually adopted into good families. She promised and warned that Cair Paravel would be keeping a very close eye on the Seven Isles to ensure that there was no need to enact similar measures in the future. After that we finally sailed to Hettia and were delayed by bad weather when we intended to return to Cair Paravel."

Oreius nodded solemnly, taking care not to betray his thoughts, "Thank you, Lieutenant. You're dismissed." Lieutenant Alaois left and Oreius wondered when Katerina Alambiel would bring the topic up before the Royals. She would probably bring it up with him before she did so. And, he had to admit he wasn't the least bit surprised at her actions. Katerina Alambiel had a soft spot for children and it seemed they returned the favor, and he knew if anything was bad enough to make her crack down in utter fury and seriousness, it must have been truly horrifying because she never used her authority as an ambassador and official representative of the Four unless it was necessary. She must have seemed at once terrifying and wonderful to those young ones...and she would have been perfectly happy if no one ever knew she was responsible for those acts. Katerina Alambiel was such an enigma.

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Peridan kissed Marsalla's forehead as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "It's been weeks and we've seen no sign of her, my Tesoro. Don't worry about those rumors anymore."

He waited to release his hold until he felt her relax completely. Then he shifted from wrapping his arm around her to simply holding her free hand in his larger calloused one as he held a little stuffed lamb in front of Maisee who shrieked in delight and babbled as she reached for it then giggled whenever Peridan gently wiggled the lamb's nose against her neck or belly. Marsalla smiled and lightly squeezed his hand, "Maybe you are right about my uncle's tendency to exaggerate his stories, but Sisemaal still doesn't have pubs."

Peridan laughed. It had been months since Marsalla felt well enough to make any sort of jest. Narnia was definitely helping his wife's constitution improve. He silently thanked Aslan, and then Thane and Shane banged into the room. "Mother! Father! We meeted Ala and she's nice. Shesheta says so and she tells stories!"

Peridan let go of Marsalla's hand and raised his hand for silence. The twins stopped running around the settee and simply bounced in place with huge grins. Maisee laughed in delight at the sight of her brothers' bouncing and tried to bounce herself in Marsalla's lap. "Thane, Shane, who's Ala?"

They paused for a single moment and chorused in unison, "A lady!"

Marsalla cast him a despairing look and he knew she secretly hoping their sons hadn't insulted yet another Narnian. Peridan was also wondering how to figure out which Nymph, 'lady' was only ever used to describe the Nymphs, the twins had run into this time. "Was there anything funny about Ala?"

Thane and Shane looked at each other, then Shane whispered to Thane and Thane nodded, "She has white hair!"

Peridan sighed as he resigned himself to having to ask Stonebrook if he knew where he could track down the white-haired Nymph named Ala. Standing up, he kissed Marsalla then wiggled the little lamb for Maisee again before he took Thane and Shane to their room and Becky's watchful eye. He had to go join Queen Lucy's guard.

Reaching the room, he nodded to the Cougar, Heru, and then walked into the room. A gale of feminine laughter greeted him, "Are you serious?"

Queen Lucy's infectious giggle filled the room as she nodded eagerly, "Yes! That's exactly what happened, Kat."

The golden-haired Nymph Peridan had seen her talking to earlier that day threw her head back and laughed, "I cannot believe I missed seeing the Kentauri splattered in cake!"

Peridan froze as he realized the Nymph must be speaking of the incident with his sons and the General, but she was speaking in such an irreverent tone...he was surprised no one corrected her. Queen Lucy smiled brilliantly, "Now, Kat, you're not going to tease him, are you?"

The Nymph called Kat shook her head, "Oh no. I would never tease him about such a thing, Lucy. I shall harass him about it instead."

Peridan felt a frisson of shock at how the Nymph had addressed the Valiant Queen without title. He stepped forward to correct her and respectfully request she show the Queen the proper respect she deserved, only to be thwarted when Queen Lucy spotted him and waved, "Peridan, come and meet Kat. Kat, this is Lord Peridan. He and his family are the ones Susan told you about this morn. They moved here from Archenland. Lord Peridan, this is Kat, well, Lady Katerina."

The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it...until she turned in her seat. The golden hair with white streaks, taller than most Human women...this was the woman whose rumors so terrified Marsalla, the Lady Katerina, also known as the Strega of Narnia among certain circles of both the court at Anvard and among the Sisemaalian court. The witch who for some reason had pledged her loyalty to Narnia, but none knew for sure why or how that pledge was bound to her. Peridan was not a superstitious man and he had in fact chalked the majority of the rumors about the Strega of Narnia to overactive imaginations, but twenty years as a warrior had taught him the wisdom of being cautious in the face of the unknown. He bowed politely and uttered the correct salutations, but he did not deny the slight relief he felt when the Lady Katerina excused herself shortly afterward. He would be watching Lady Katerina very closely...and he would be keeping his family well away from her until he was satisfied with whether or not she could be trusted.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! So, we're starting to get into the real problem area. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.