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 Fourteen
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20 Mayblossom 1006
Marsalla opened her eyes as she felt Peridan gently brush a kiss against her forehead, "Who are you working with today?"
He kissed her again, "The General has assigned me to work with Dame Sepphora today. Go back to sleep."
Marsalla frowned a little, "But, you didn't tell me what she was like yesterday."
Her protest seemed to come too late as Peridan was already standing, pausing only to kiss her hand and then pull the covers up to her neck, "We can talk about it all later when you are feeling better, my Tesoro." She watched Peridan quietly summon one of the maids to come sit with her before leaving. She sighed, knowing he was trying to make sure she regained her strength, but still wishing he had been able to talk to her. She looked over at her maid, "Abree, help me get dressed please. And then we shall go check on my piccolla dolcezza before breakfast, non?"
Abree smiled widely as she bustled over to make sure Marsalla was steady as she climbed out of bed, chattering excitedly in Sisemaalian at Marsalla's show of strength. Marsalla prayed to the Great Emperor and His son, Aslan, that her strength would last long enough for her to be able to talk to Peridan. She wanted to hear what Dame Sepphora was like and whether her suspicions about the Centauress and the General were true.
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Peridan watched Dame Sepphora warily as they walked through the corridors of Cair Paravel. She claimed that it was a shortcut to their assigned stations with the Queens in one of the lower gardens. He was not certain whether she could be believed or not. From the conversation she had had with the Kings, wherein she called them by their names and not by any title throughout, Peridan had gathered that she was known for playing pranks on people.
Dame Sepphora glanced over her shoulder at him, "Are you always this suspicious of people, Lord Peridan? I mean you might actually be worse than the Kentauri."
Peridan didn't answer as he struggled to keep from pointing that she invited suspicion with her refusal to show proper respect to her superiors, not to mention she refused to follow proper protocol. Instead, he reminded himself that her one merit seemed to be that she was as blatantly disrespectful to the General, in particular, in person as she was behind his back. It wasn't much of a merit. He finally found a reply that he hoped would satisfy her enough that she did not become an enemy, but a large group of people cut across the corridor just in front of them before he could say a word.
Dame Sepphora froze in her tracks, letting Peridan take several steps past her before he too stopped. He looked from her to the group, who had also halted. He blinked in slight surprise that it was obviously the Sisemaalian party Marsalla's Uncle Teppo had asked him to aid. He hadn't thought they would be in Narnia, much less Cair Paravel, for another week. He inclined his head respectfully as Duke Toomas pushed through his men and the Narnians accompanying them, including King Edmund who looked somewhat ill at ease. Duke Toomas bowed his head to him and then stretched his arms wide, "Dame Sepphora! Come, come, and you are bella come sempre!" (...beautiful as always.) He waited until Dame Sepphora had stepped forward and allowed him to take her hands and then he tugged her toward the waiting group, "Come, come, let me introduce you." Duke Toomas waved a young man forward, "Dame Sepphora, this is my nephew, Count Antti." The young man bowed and Dame Sepphora gave the slightest incline of her head. Duke Toomas seemed unperturbed as he clasped her right hand between both of his hands, "You will join us for dinner tonight, non?"
Dame Sepphora answered in a soft voice, "Of course, Duke Toomas. I must beg leave of you now, though, I've other matters to attend to before I may enjoy your company."
Duke Toomas bowed over her hand and she curtsied even as he nodded, "Perdonami, I did not mean to take you from your duties. I look forward to tonight's conversation."
Dame Sepphora nodded in silent reply, waiting as the group of Sisemaalians and their escort resumed their journey to the guest quarters, and then she turned and walked past Peridan. He watched in disbelief as the lady knight blatantly defied the orders for her assigned duties. Peridan chose not to go after her, after all it was not his place to corral a rebellious knight, and instead he found his way to the assigned post. The Queens hadn't noticed his arrival, but General Oreius had and motioned for Peridan to join him where he was unobtrusively keeping watch over the Queens whilst standing in the shade of two large trees. "Where is Dame Sepphora?"
Peridan took care to keep his disapproval out of his voice as he replied, "I do not know, General. Dame Sepphora…left…me after we encountered the Sisemaalian delegation. I have not seen her since."
He thought the General might have stiffened, but he was probably wrong as the General maintained his impassive and serious look as he stated, "I will see to Dame Sepphora. Remain here and report to Captain Cletus for instructions when the Queens leave."
Peridan gave a curt nod, silently musing that it would perhaps curtail some of Dame Sepphora's disrespect and blatant disregard of proper protocol to be taken to task by the General. He sighed as he turned back to watch the Queens. He still had to figure out what to tell Marsalla about Dame Sepphora...
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Katerina couldn't breathe. She barely kept herself from screaming and running as far and as fast as she could away from him. Leering black eyes, hands tugging at her. No! Katerina hurried into an unoccupied room and shut the doors behind her. She closed her eyes and whispered, "It's not real. He's dead. They're both dead."
Dead black eyes watching her with a predatory hunger...waiting...leering...knife by her hand...the touches that made her want to cringe but her body wasn't obeying... She clapped a hand over her mouth as she sank to the floor. "Not them, he looks like them but he is not them." Now if only her body would believe what she was telling herself. She started rocking back and forth with her arms wrapped around her torso as she fought against the panic attack that was threatening to sweep over her.
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Oreius quickened his pace as much as he dared. He needed to find Alambiel and make sure she was all right. The Sisemaalian delegation was over a week early... Why did they have to come before they had been able to send Katerina Alambiel with Tuulea on a trip away from the Cair? He paused mid-step when he heard a soft sound of distress from one of the rooms. He opened the door and his heart sank at the sight of Katerina Alambiel kneeling in the middle of the floor, rocking as she obviously struggled against a panic attack.
He quickly stepped inside and locked the door to make sure no one else saw because it would devastate Alambiel if anyone saw her losing control of her mask this way. Oreius walked over to her, "Alambiel?" He almost sighed in relief when she turned her head to look at him. Thank Aslan, she was not caught in her past this time. He had found her quickly enough. Then he carefully knelt on the floor and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest, rocking in time with her. "Alambiel, shh, it's all right. I promise he is dead. I promise both of them are dead. I made sure of it, remember? Shh, calm down, breathe. Alambiel, breathe. Slowly, that's it."
He didn't let go until she finally stopped rocking and he heard her take several steady breaths. Alambiel turned to face him and gave him a slightly embarrassed look, "I'm sorry, Kentauri. I just... The new count looks so alike to his brother and cousin, that it..." She started to look distressed again as she gasped slightly, "I- It was unexpected, but I'm okay now. I can handle this, I can, I just need a little time to, uh, to..."
"To freshen up?"
Alambiel nodded, "Yes, freshen up. I just need to freshen up and then I will be prepared to join the dinner tonight as Duke Toomas expects."
Oreius caught her hand, which was trembling ever so slightly, and lightly grasped it, trying to give her something other than her memories to focus on. "Alambiel, as your friend and shield, I am telling you that you do not have to go tonight. You are already distressed by the memories Duke Toomas' nephew stirred up. Do not torment yourself unnecessarily."
She drew herself up stubbornly and, watching him with an obstinate determination that nearly masked the terror in her eyes, declared, "I am going tonight. I was personally invited by Duke Toomas and I am not allowed to be rude to the diplomats, remember? I'll be fine, Oreius, I will. Just watch and see." Her vulnerability still showed though as she hesitated, "I can count on you being present, right?"
Oreius gave a curt nod, "How else am I to be your shield?" He was pleased when his comment coaxed a small smile from her. Rising to his feet, he pulled her up with him and silently wiped a few stray tears away. She gave him a grateful look when he did not protest further about her joining the dinner with the Sisemaalians. And, he inclined his head. By now, he knew that Alambiel would always turn and face her demons head on even when she came close to shattering in private. She was too determined not to let them turn her into a victim to allow herself to back down. She was a survivor and he respected her for that, but he wished she would not cause herself more distress unnecessarily in order to achieve that goal. As he walked with her back to her quarters, Oreius knew that all he could do was pray that the Sisemaalians' visit would have no more surprises for Katerina Alambiel...and he would see what he could do to keep the Sisemaalian count from approaching Alambiel when it was not absolutely necessary.
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A/N: Please Read and Review! Okay, so things didn't quite go as planned with the Sisemaalians showing up early, did it? More tension between Kat and Peridan coming in the next chapter. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one.