Author's Note: Worked really really hard on this chapter, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia hmmk? Clearly, or else I'd be there right now.
As we approached the castle, the huge iron portcullis started to open. We proceeded inside, and I felt the feeling of dread intensify. One thing was for certain, I was absolutely terrified. I didn't know what would become of me.
I sat atop the centaur and gazed about me in wonderment. We continued traveling straight through the gatehouse, I'd presumed, and into a paved, stone courtyard. There was a fountain in the middle, with a rearing lion, and clean sparkling water cascading from its open mouth and parted fangs. A spectrum of tulips encircled the fountain. But it wasn't the beautiful décor that fascinated me, it was what surrounded it. Milling around the fountain, were creatures of all shapes and sizes. There were more centaurs, dwarves and fauns. Others, I wasn't so sure what they were. Some stood upright, like a man, but had the head and horns of a bull. Some of them had the body, tail, and back paws of a lion, but the talons, head, beak, and wings of an eagle. I presumed it was a griffon, judging by what the professor said they looked like. And then there were the animals, not just any animals, but they talked. Leopards, deer, goats, mice, dogs, wolves, horses, and so many more. And they were actually discussing amongst themselves, like my people would do at a tea party. I was captivated.
As soon as our group passed by the fountain, the mingling abruptly stopped. All eyes were now on us. I shifted on the centaurs back uncomfortably. They shouldn't be staring. After all, I'm not the one that's half man and half goat!
That's when the whispering started. All of the creatures were talking quietly to each other, as if out of fear or being overheard. I strained my ears to listen.
"So this is the girl Octayvia told us about," I picked up.
"She will pay for her people's crimes," another hissed menacingly. I shuddered.
"Damn her! After what the Telmarines did to my husband-," withdrawing from their conversations, I trembled violently. I didn't want to hear anymore.
We had crossed the courtyard and entered a rather long hallway. On either side, there were majestic paintings of old kings and queens. At the end of the hallway, was a huge golden door. About four times the size of the centaur! We stopped in front of it. The centaur grasped the door handle and pushed it open with a grunt. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next.
I felt my mouth fall open soundlessly as we came into the throne room. The walls were decorated with red and gold, and the ceiling was a giant arch made out of glass. Huge golden columns stood up tall in a row along the walkway. I glanced around me in a daze. Never in my life would I have dreamed of a more magnificent place!
The next thing I noticed was all the Narnians. The hall was filled with them, the number outside looked like a small crowd compared to this huge mass. My eyes wandered over the throng of creatures, wonderingly and in awe. I was vaguely aware of us moving forwards. I gazed to the front of the room, and that's when I saw them.
They were sitting on golden thrones, one beside the other. I breathed in sharply, there were four of them. Two boys and two girls. I felt waves of panic rolling off me. I feared my suspicions were correct.
As we reached the end of the hall, our party stopped. The noise of the crowd dwindled. The centaur took me off of his back, and dropped me before the kings and queens. My legs stung, but I dared not make a sound. The dwarf walked quickly towards me, knife in hand. I stared at him with wide eyes. He roughly grabbed my wrists and ripped the bonds off. Relieved, I gasped and held my hands to my chest, massaging the raw skin. They stung, but I would survive. Slowly, I forced myself to look at the monarchy.
The first was undeniably good-looking. He looked the eldest, perhaps a couple years older than myself. He had silky blond hair, the colour of the purest honey, and eyes of the bluest ocean. His gaze was firm. Beside him, was a gorgeous woman, who had a full face and raven black hair. She was staring at me with a hard edge, as if I was some sort of disgusting insect. The next girl seemed younger, perhaps around my age. Her eyes looked rather bored, as she absent-mindedly twirled her finger around her auburn hair. Then my eyes shifted to the fourth; a boy. I felt my eyes widen. He swivelled his head toward me, and I felt my heart jerk in my chest. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
I'd never known that the word beautiful could even be used to describe a boy, but he was most definitely beautiful. I could see he was taller, more than myself by quite a few inches. He had a lovely face, with angled features and full lips. He had hair as black as night. And his eyes... I'd known no other that equalled them. The young king watched me reproachfully, curiosity evident in his gaze. I could already feel my ears beginning to burn as I jerked my eyes away from his.
The eldest king held up his hand. Within seconds, all was quiet.
"Why have you come here?" he asked me. Despite his clear and full voice, I still flinched backwards.
"We found her in our territory, your Majesty- alone," the centaur behind me said. That on its own was enough to send murmurs throughout the crowd.
The king raised an eyebrow, while holding my eyes on his own.
"I ran away," I said in a small voice, looking down. I was never known to be silent or quiet, but the royalty of Narnia had greatly humbled me.
"And why would you do that, Telmarine, when clearly your kingdom is absolutely perfect?" said a different voice. It was sweet, deeper than the first, but slightly more boyish. I looked up quickly. It was he who had spoken. I turned my head to glare at the darker king; he stared at me, an arrogant smirk tugging up the corners of his mouth. He's mocking me!
"For your information, your Highness," I sneered the word, "I wasn't too pleased with my ruler." His eyes narrowed.
I tilted my head up. "I felt I didn't belong." There was silence.
"Very well," said the oldest queen after a while, "Oreius, take her to the dungeon."
I was suddenly so afraid that I couldn't find my voice. I looked back at the monarchy, and they were just staring blankly at me. All save for the youngest queen; she had a look of sympathy in her eyes. The centaur grabbed me and dragged me out of the hall, with the Narnians cursing and ridiculing me. I wanted to spear the lot of them.
He took me back down the long hallway, and into the courtyard. From there, we went into a different passageway. This corridor was thinner, and very dark, with only torches hanging on the walls. I also noticed a small decline in the altitude. He brought me into a room of cells. Choosing one randomly, he kicked it open with his front hoof, and threw me inside. I landed on my knees with a huff. The centaur closed the cell door and turned to leave. I couldn't help but whimper pitifully, feeling sorry for myself. He turned and looked at me with pity. He opened the door again, and somewhat gently, removed the ropes that bound my legs. He walked out of my cell and slammed the door behind him. I stared after his retreating figure. I listened as his hoof beats grew fainter and fainter until I could hear nothing. I was alone.
I sat on the cold ground, hugging my knees to my chest. This was all so unfair. I escape my home, only to be captured by Narnians, whom I thought didn't exist. Then treated like vermin by their rulers. Now I was here, trapped for who knows how long. Tears dripped silently down my face.
Then my thoughts wandered, and I found myself thinking about Caspian. I wondered if he missed me as much as I missed him. Maybe he was out there, looking for me…
Just then I heard footsteps approaching. My head snapped up, I heard talking.
"Are you sure you want to do this Lu?" said a deep boyish voice doubtfully. Oh no. I wish that voice didn't sound so familiar…
"Well, someone has to feed her," a girl replied. I just realized then how incredibly hungry I was.
Who should come around the corner, but the beautiful black-haired boy and the young queen. My heart skipped a beat. They both froze when they saw me, my gaze locked with the boys'. The girl was carrying what looked like a plate of food. She stepped closer slowly, her eyes alight with curiosity.
"Thought you might like some supper," the boy said carefully.
"You thought correctly," I retorted, too depressed to care if I was being rude to royalty. His eyes hardened.
"Lu," he said, "I'm going up now. Don't be long."
"Alright, Ed." And then he was gone.
The girl turned back to me, came right up to the cell door, and pushed the plate between the bars. I crawled over to it; it smelled delicious. I grabbed the first thing I could see, and shoved it in my mouth.
As I was eating, I noticed her watching me, an amused look on her face. She surprised me then by asking a question.
"So why did you leave, then?" Her voice wasn't harsh like her brother's was, merely curious. I stopped eating and looked at her suspiciously.
"Sorry," she said grinning slightly, "I'm Lucy."
I studied the queen, but she continued to smile. She seemed nice enough.
"Avaia," I said, "and it's an honor to meet you, your Majesty." I bowed my head. She gave a small chuckle.
"Oh you can drop the whole 'your Majesty' bit," she said, "It gets rather annoying. Just Lucy's fine."
"As you wish your-… Lucy," I said with a grin. I was beginning to like the young queen.
"You didn't tell me," she mused, "why exactly did you leave Telmar?" I sighed and closed my eyes.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes please!" she exclaimed.
"Alright," I looked at her. "I was wed to Caspian the tenth, prince of the Telmarines, a few months ago. His uncle, Lord Miraz, is a very evil and cruel man. I didn't trust him." My expression, I imagined, probably looked somewhat bored, but Lucy looked eager.
"Plus, I really didn't want Caspian as a lover," I admitted sheepishly. "I loved him…but it wasn't enough." I looked down. "So I left."
"Hmm," was all she said. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she wasn't quite here. I waited, watching her. "But, why would you leave when you're married to a prince, soon to be king? I mean, you would be of royalty! You would have the highest reputation-,"
"Yes that's what I mean! I didn't want to marry him just for that! We were best friends before we got married."
"Well then that should give you all the more reason to want to be with him!"
"But I don't love him enough to want to be married to him!" I exclaimed, "I don't love him that way!"
"Oh," she said, taken aback at my outburst.
"My father and Lord Miraz had apparently been planning our union ever since I was born…" I said quietly.
She looked at me questioningly. "My father is in Lord Miraz's council. They are 'friends' so to speak," I explained. "So they wanted us to be wed."
"Ahh," she said, eyeing me carefully, "I see."
It was silent for a few minutes. Not an awkward silence, but a thoughtful brooding silence. I continued to eat, while her eyes were distant once again.
Finally, she stood up. "It's late," she said, "I should be going now."
"Okay," I was disappointed that she was leaving. "Will you come again tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.
She smiled widely. "Of course!"
I grinned back at her.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Avaia!" she called as she bounded down the corridor. "See you tomorrow!"
"Nice meeting you too," I said, more to myself than anyone.
I sat back down on the ground, and sighed deeply. I closed my eyes. Maybe Narnia isn't so bad after all…