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 Nineteen

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9 Fairdawn 1006

Marsalla raised her hand, shielding her eyes, as she called out, "Shane! Thane! Not so far!" She waited until her sons had turned and started chasing each other back to the blanket Peridan had spread on the ground before glancing at where Raisa and Tarrin were trying to coax Maisee into walking. Maisee, however, just giggled and returned to crawling as soon as her brother and sister let go of her hands. At not quite eleven months old, Marsalla had no worries about her youngest's disinterest in walking just yet. Actually, it was a bit of a relief considering the twins had been practically running, wobbling but running, at eleven months...and always in opposite directions. She smiled at Peridan as he set the basket on the blanket then shouted for their children to come eat. When he had suggested this picnic, she had been surprised, but the little meadow hidden in the woods was lovely and the children were certainly enjoying it. Setting out the food and lightly scolding her sons and their father for trying to snatch things before it was ready, Marsalla felt better than she had in years.

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Oreius glanced down at Alambiel as they paused when they spotted Peridan and his family having a picnic. She looked a little wistful as she nodded toward them, "You know that was the dream for just about every child in the orphanage, the father and mother with their children having a picnic and just being a family. I still wonder, at times, what it would have been like to know and have a complete family, a family complete with a mother." She shook her head before he could comment, "Ah well, wondering never changes the reality of the past. Come on, Kentauri, I thought we were going to spar. It's why we're wearing armor on Seventhday, right?" He chose not to comment on the wistful childhood wish she had revealed, instead he allowed her to lead the way to another meadow where they could spar.

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Peridan waited until everyone had eaten their full and Maisee and the twins had fallen asleep before he broached the subject. "Marsalla, Raisa, Tarrin, there is something we must discuss." He took Marsalla's hand in his and touched Raisa's shoulder, "I know the two of you in particular have been quite intimidated and even frightened by Dame Sepphora's unusual way of doing things and that you believe the rumors about her being a strega. But, this cannot continue. I spoke with the General yesterday about her and he was very emphatic that Dame Sepphora is not and have never been a witch. Those rumors are simply rumors. He also made it clear that I, and you as my family, must not contribute to the further circulation of these rumors. You must not refer to Dame Sepphora as the Strega anymore."

Marsalla and Raisa both paled at his words, though he was certain Marsalla had a different reason than their daughter since she actually understood completely what was at stake. He cleared his throat and squeezed Marsalla's hand in an attempt to comfort her before continuing, "And, we must get to know Dame Sepphora as she is, so that we may work together more comfortably and so as to lessen your fear of her. I have decided to invite her to join us for dinner next Seventhday after Queen Lucy's birthday. I also intend to invite the General since he does have a modicum of influence on her behavior. And, it should allow you all to feel more comfortable."

Tarrin and Raisa nodded immediately just as Maisee and the twins woke back up. Tarrin immediately got up to chase after Thane and Shane as they darted for the edge of the clearing, while Raisa tried to coax Maisee into walking again. As their children were distracted from the conversation, Marsalla had an almost painful grasp on his hand and whispered, "Are you certain that this will be a good idea?"

Peridan nodded and, raising their clasped hands, kissed Marsalla's whitened knuckles, "Yes, my Tesoro."

She took a breath and then nodded, "Very well, I shall make sure the children are on their best behavior and I will keep Raisa from reading those books with the information about witches. It's bad enough Bellissa kept telling her all about witches and how to spot them and what happened if a witch fixed her sight on you, just like she used to tell me and our middle sisters... Tarrin seems more...impressed by her than anything."

Peridan chose not to address the topic of his least-favorite sister-in-law, instead focusing on Marsalla's tentative observation, "Well, his friendship with the Kings and the fact that she is often involved in their training lessons has led him to be so...she is the sole female knight of Narnia and she is in the same order as the High King."

Marsalla frowned at him, "She was also the one who started a coup yesterday. Did you know she sent a message to Queen Susan asking if she wished to participate? Of course, I didn't know the question involved a coup since all the Gentle Queen said was that she had too much to do to prepare for Queen Lucy's birthday and she would have to play the next time. But, from what Tarrin said at dinner last night, Queen Lucy joined in, on the side of the coup no less, for about two hours before her banner was also furled."

Peridan opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as Raisa's terrified scream filled the air. His head snapped around and he felt a frisson of shock when he saw Fell creatures closing in on his children. No!

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Oreius and Katerina froze at the same time as they heard the faint screams. Katerina glanced at Oreius, reading the same worry in his eyes that she felt...children were in danger. And, it was most likely Peridan and his family. They kept their blades unsheathed as they raced through the woods back toward the meadow where they had seen the picnic. Of course, they were not the only ones to hear the screams.

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Raisa screamed again, clutching at Maisee, as she tried to back away from the foul monster in front of her. The nasty creature was too horrible for words and Marsalla didn't even know what it was called. She scrambled to grab a large knife that she had used earlier to slice the pie they had brought with them. Tarrin was standing in front of his brothers, trying to keep them back as a Bear paced toward them. Marsalla watched Peridan race for them, but then she saw a Goblin sneak up behind Raisa and snatch Maisee out of her arms. "No!"

Marsalla ran forward, strangling the knife's handle in her fist. Maisee's terrified cries pierced her heart and urged her on. Attempting to escape Peridan's path, the Goblin inadvertently ran toward her. With a defiant cry, Marsalla lunged at the Fell Beast holding her baby. She snatched Maisee from its bony arms and then stabbed the creature repeatedly until it finally stopped moving. Panting from the exertion, Marsalla scanned the clearing again. Peridan was fighting off the Fell that had cornered Raisa, but Tarrin and the twins... They were still in danger.

Just then two Tigers burst out of the woods and leapt on the Bear, forcing him away from her sons. Immediately after though she realized she was being stalked too and other Fell were closing in on her sons and Peridan and Raisa. She whirled around and gasped in fear as she met the yellow gaze of a Werewolf. She thought of the knife, but it was still buried in the Goblin's body. Before she could even think of what to do, though a fierce battle cry filled the air as a body leapt on the Werewolf's back, tackling it away from her and Maisee. Dame Sepphora slit the Werewolf's throat as the General galloped past her, cutting down a Ghoul and another Werewolf on his way to her sons.

Marsalla stared at Dame Sepphora for a moment and then the other woman grabbed her free hand, pulling her along as they raced toward the middle of the clearing. She glanced down at Maisee and then heard a hiss and a growl right before something caught her ankle and pulled her down. Maisee let out another startled cry as Marsalla just barely got her other hand out in front of her in time to break her fall so she wouldn't land on her baby daughter. Dame Sepphora turned and immediately jumped over Marsalla, dropping a curved dagger in the grass by her hand before throwing herself at another Werewolf. Marsalla seized the dagger and slashed at the Fell Dryad who had her own knife poised to strike Maisee. The Fell Dryad recoiled and Marsalla leapt to her feet, standing protectively between her baby and their attacker. She took a step forward, ignoring the Fell Dryad's blade, and, gritting her teeth, lunged forward plunging the dagger into the Fell's heart.

Looking around, she saw the General dart between her sons and a Minoboar's axe, keeping the creature from harming them. She didn't have time to watch, though as she turned to see Peridan defending Raisa still with the aid of one of the Tigers from earlier. She heard a chuff behind her and whirled, reflexively raising the dagger again, only it wasn't an attacker. The other Tiger stood protectively behind Maisee while Captain Cletus and his wife, Amaryllis, hurried toward them.

A sudden quiet descended over the meadow where chaos had reigned only seconds beforehand, glancing over her shoulder she could see all the fighting had stopped. Dame Sepphora was standing next to her as she turned back to see Amaryllis had picked up Maisee who was sniffling but calmer since she apparently recognized the Birch Nymph. Dame Sepphora carefully took the dagger from her and whispered, "It's over now."

Marsalla only then realized her hands were shaking quite badly and she was gasping for breath. She heard the General thunder an order for a search to be conducted for any more Fell and Dame Sepphora silently slipped away. She turned back around, searching for the rest of her children, Peridan was carrying Raisa toward her and Tarrin was standing beside the General, but- She inhaled sharply as she realized with horror that she didn't see the twins anywhere. "Thane! Shane! Where are you?"

The Narnians all looked at her and then immediately turned to start searching among the woods when Dame Sepphora called out from where she was crouched in front of a patch of bushes, "They're here!" Marsalla watched as the woman turned back to the bush and held her arms out, "Come here, little Scátháin. It's all right now, I promise." To her surprise, Thane and Shane crawled out from under the bushes and darted into Dame Sepphora's open arms. Dame Sepphora held them close, whispering softly to them for several moments before they nodded. Then she stood and took them by the hands and led them back to where Marsalla was now standing with everyone left in the meadow. As they drew closer, Marsalla could see that both of her sons' eyes were squeezed shut, preventing them from seeing the bodies of the dead Fell. When they finally reached them, the adults closed in around the children to block the sight of the surrounding carnage. Marsalla met Dame Sepphora's gaze and mouthed 'Thank you' before she clasped her youngest sons close.

She winced though as a throbbing pain in her arm blossomed into her awareness, looking down, she was surprised to see the sleeve of her dress was torn and there was a bloody gash across her upper arm. Peridan immediately noticed, "We need to get you and the children out of here and you need a healer."

Dame Sepphora spoke up, "I have some bandages and such in my pack in another clearing. We can take them there and tend to everyone before going back to the Cair." Peridan nodded and the twins were again instructed to close their eyes before Captain Cletus picked up Thane and Dame Sepphora picked up Shane while Amaryllis continued carrying Maisee and Tarrin and Raisa both stuck close to Marsalla. Peridan, General Oreius, the five soldiers who had remained after coming to their rescue surrounded them as they walked through the woods until they finally reached the clearing. Marsalla watched as Dame Sepphora knelt in the grass next to where she was wearily sitting on a fallen log and gently tended her wounds while Peridan and the children hovered around them. Dame Sepphora finished wrapping a bandage around her upper arm and then rose, "That should do it."

Peridan instantly challenged her, "Are you certain?"

Dame Sepphora met his eyes for a long moment before she shrugged, "It will last until you and yours return to the Cair and then you can get a real healer to make sure."

Marsalla grabbed Peridan's hand and squeezed, cutting him off before he said something rash because of his worry. He nodded to Dame Sepphora then knelt in front of Marsalla. After awhile, Captain Cletus and Amaryllis approached them. It was time to head back to the safety of Cair Paravel. Marsalla walked with Peridan, behind their children and the soldiers both carrying them and surrounding their whole family. But then, she stopped short as she realized the General and Dame Sepphora had made no move to join them. Peridan also stopped, but waved for their children to continue on under the watchful eyes of Captain Cletus and the rest of the Narnian soldiers.

They returned to the meadow just in time to hear Dame Sepphora hiss at the General, "You let me take care of it now, or I shall announce very loudly and in a very public area that you have to see Alithia for your neglected wounds because you're a stubborn blockhead. And, you know I would do it in a heartbeat too."

The General sighed and lowered himself to the ground, "I know, Alambiel, I know."

Marsalla and Peridan quietly approached as Dame Sepphora unfastened his armor and then pulled his chainmail and tunic over his head. Marsalla, however, couldn't stifle her gasp as she noticed the cut to the General's left side. Dame Sepphora tsked, "That needs stitches."

The General frowned, "I doubt that, Alambiel. It wasn't a hard enough blow."

Dame Sepphora raised his chest armor and pointed to one side, "The Minoboar dented your armor and there's a matching cut through your chainmail. You need stitches and if you keep arguing, I will tell Alithia after I've stabbed you with a bunch of needles."

General Oreius snorted, "That sounds like torture."

Dame Sepphora was pulling out needle and thread as she answered, "Actually, it's called acupuncture."

Peridan cleared his throat, "Is there anything we might do to help?"

Dame Sepphora shook her head without looking away from the General's side as she prodded the area around his wound, "No, just stay out of the way and don't distract me. Oreius wouldn't appreciate it if you did." Marsalla exchanged a glance with Peridan but her husband merely sighed then led her to sit on the fallen log across from Dame Sepphora and General Oreius. They were silent as Dame Sepphora promptly lifted the General's left arm and put it on her shoulder as she began putting in the stitches. Watching her work, Marsalla knew she would indeed have to change the way she thought of Dame Sepphora. They at least needed some type of truce with her, especially considering the look the General was giving her as she wrapped bandages over his stitches and then argued with him over whether or not he was going to put his armor back on. Dame Sepphora let out an exasperated groan just then as the General pulled back on his tunic and chainmail then began buckling on the rest of his armor. Clearly, the Centaur General had won their little argument.

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A/N: Please Read and Review! Only one chapter left in Don't Judge a Book. Leave a review and let me know what y'all thought about this one and Marsalla's courage.