Hi everyone! This is my first fic although I have several partially finished ones on my computer. I hope you like this one as it's my newest imagination baby

Natani's POV

Ugh. My head.

Those were my first thoughts as my mind began to function again. My temples were throbbing like they would if I had had too much to drink the night before and my wrists were sore from…wait…why WERE they sore?

I shook my head to rid the cobwebs surrounding my vision and twisted my head to view my wrists. I found them tied tightly together with rough rope and attached to the bars of the cell door behind me. Well…if I was tied like this then surely I wouldn't be here for long. It must just be a holding cell.

Of course my mind began to plan escape possibilities. I began to rub the rope over a small nick on the bar I was attached to, hoping to fray it eventually and get my hands free. I would hide in the corner and simply break the neck of whoever happened to come in this cell first. I smiled. It would be so easy.

My musings were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and voices. I stopped my rubbing and sat still as a stone. The footsteps stopped by my door and I turned to my captors and gave them a look of such pure hatred I was surprised they didn't drop dead on the spot.

Two guards, I noticed they were both those weird half goat people, grabbed me roughly by the shoulders and lifted me to my feet. One cut the rope free from the bar and pulled me along like a leash. I was never more humiliated and frustrated in all my born days!

I was led up several staircases and down many wide hallways until a we reached two huge, bronze doors that were carved with intricate pictures of odd creatures and trees and dwarves. I almost wanted to admire them but my eyes remained hard and my scowl was set. The bronze doors were opened before us by what I assumed to be a dryad and I was roughly pushed and pulled through them. I looked up and saw four thrones and four people upon them. Two boys and two girls? What a weird system of government.

I let out a grunt as I was pushed to my knees and my head was forced in a bow before the thrones. I growled angrily and literally snapped at the one holding my head down. He jumped back and hissed as he examined his bitten hand. I raised my head to give those kings and queens a look of defiance.

The one on my far right looked far too young to be a queen! She looked down at me with sad light brown eyes and her face looked pale. Her brown hair was braided on the sides and her crown was off centered a bit. Her hands clenched the arms of her throne as she leaned forward. If I didn't know any better I would think this barbarian queen was sorry for me. I bared my teeth at her and moved my eyes to the left.

This queen looked far more like I imagined a Narnian queen to look. Her hazel eyes looked down on me with cold indifference. Her hair was perfect and her crown was perfect and her skin was perfect and her dress hung perfectly around her perfect ankles. I rolled my eyes at her and she huffed indignantly. I was tired of looking at her so I moved to the next throne.

This king was indeed every bit a king as you could imagine. His blonde hair was shining in the sunlight from the windows and his bangs swept neatly across his forehead. His blue eyes peered at me and I thought they might be lovely if they weren't completely filled with hatred. His mouth was curled into a scowl as he looked down on me. A sword lay across his lap and I eyed it with suspicion. This might be a quick trial…

Since I didn't really care what he thought of me or did to me, I let my eyes move on to the next throne. And my eyes nearly popped out of my throbbing head.

It was him. The young soldier I had come so close to killing on the battlefield! I gazed at him with shock. What had a king been doing in the middle of a battle? Who were these barbarian kings to fight in the midst of their own pawns? Why not just stay in your castle and send others to do your work for you? That's what my queen did…

My train of thought was broken when the younger king's dark eyes raised and caught my gaze. His expression was different than the others, he looked…troubled. Would I dare say he looked conflicted? He shook a chunk of black hair out of his face and looked over at the golden haired king.

"Woman." The blonde king rose to his feet and addressed me. I growled low in my throat. "As I am the High King of Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands, and Lord of Cair Paravel, it is my duty to give you a fair and honest trial and to punish you accordingly for any crimes you may be guilty of. I will hereby give account of the charges against you."

A centaur (yes, I do know what centaurs are but those goat things…) handed the king a scroll and bowed moving to his spot next to the dark haired king's throne. The blonde king opened the scroll and cleared his throat.

"This woman, barbarian warrior of the witch, Lyalis, is hereby charged with the flowing offenses: for assisting in an attack on this, our beloved land, Narnia, for the injury of one of our finest Horses, Philip by name, and for an attempted assassination of Edmund the Just, Duke of Lantern Waste, Count of the Western March, King of Narnia."

He closed the scroll and the centaur took it back with another bow.

"And I will now also add to that list the offense of injuring one of my castle guards," the king stated, looking at the goaty creature I had bitten, "Do you acknowledge these crimes?"

I looked him straight in the eye and smiled evily.

"Yes."

"Then, since you have attempted to take not one, but two lives, I pass that you be executed this very moment. King Edmund will choose the manner in which this is carried out since it was his and his Horse's lives you sought to take."

Edmund's eyes widened and he stared at his brother.

"But, Peter…" he stammered

Peter, I assume the blonde king's name was, glanced at his brother in surprise.

"Edmund, it is your right." he said, looking shocked his brother was hesitating, honestly, so was I.

Edmund seemed to be fighting with something and he shut is eyes tight as the older queen began to chide him on his weak resolution. It was like he was trying to focus on one voice in the midst of a crowd. Finally, his dark eyes shot open and he stood quickly. I waited on edge as he took a few steps down off the dais and stood in front of me.

"Peter," he took a deep breath and turned to face his brother, "I can't let this happen."

"WHAT!" the older queen jumped up from her throne and glared at Edmund, who didn't even shrink back from her as I would have done. A warrior I may be…but that woman scared me.

"Susan, calm down," Edmunds voice was dangerously low and I had a feeling he was giving this "Susan" a run for her money in the scary looks department.

"Calm down! Edmund, she tried to kill you!"

"I know, Susan, I was there…"

"And you want to let her off?"

"I didn't say that."

Susan seemed a bit pacified by that statement but I could still see how livid she was as she took her seat. The youngest queen gave me a look and tried to smile, but I just sneered at her and she shifted her gaze to the dark king.

"Peter," Edmund said, choosing his words carefully, "She's not to be harmed…Aslan told me."

The three royals and the assorted creatures around me all gasped and something flashed in their eyes. The young queen hopped up and embraced Edmund.

"Oh, Edmund! You've seen Him?" she squealed.

"Yes, Lucy," Edmund laughed slightly and put an arm around her shoulders, "He came to me on the battlefield and he told me that I was to give her a second chance. So you see, Peter, we can't do this."

Peter looked at his brother for a long time and I wondered for a second if time had stopped…ridiculous of course but I can dream. Finally, he shook his head and his perfectly positioned golden hair fell in his eyes.

"If it's Aslan's will that she remain alive, so be it," he said, sitting back down, "But she's YOUR responsibility, Ed.

"But…" Edmund started to protest but a look from the High King silenced him. I snorted, and Edmund whipped around to look at me sternly. "Is something funny?"

"You just seem…very submissive, Little King," I stated, putting as much venomous emphasis as I could on the words.

Something flashed in the dark eyes of King Edmund and I almost regretted what I had said, but it faded just as quickly as it had appeared and he just chuckled.

"Ever had any experience in submission, my lady?" he asked.

My eyes narrowed and I stepped back, only to be grabbed by the goaty-thingy guards again.

"If you have any intentions giving me any experience of the sort I will personally make sure you lose something I guarantee is very precious to you…" I growled out each word as I stood firm before this Narnian barbarian.

The High King started laughing and the little queen, Lucy, looked confused. Susan, didn't look amused. Edmund looked absolutely horrified.

"I…no…that's not…" he stumbled, a blush creeping from his ears all the way down to his collarbone.

"Hear that, Ed?" Peter asked through his laughter, "Better watch that one!"

Edmund just growled and took a hold of my arm and very nearly drug me out of the throne room in his haste. When we were a ways down the hall he pulled me to a stop and backed me into the wall. I clenched my fists, prepared to put up a fight. But he didn't come any closer, he simply looked at me with very big eyes.

"You DO know that was NOT what I meant, right?" he asked, his voice slighter higher in pitch from his embarrassment.

I rolled my eyes and nodded. Honestly, I HAD thought he meant it but I guess I was wrong.

"What DID you mean?" I asked, keeping my voice low and emotionless.

"I just meant that I think your punishment should be to be reduced to a servant. Being stripped of warrior status should be nearly as painful as death to you, am I right?" Edmund's dark eyes were searching my face for any sign of weakness. He found it.

I felt my eyes betray me when those words sunk in. A servant? A servant to some barbarian who was just LUCKY that my crossbow decided to jam at that moment and who was lucky someone had knocked her out before she could finish him off? This couldn't happen to her! She would refuse.

Edmund grinned when he realized he had struck just the right chord.

"But this status could be restored, you know?" he stated quietly. "I'm giving you a second chance here, and you would be foolish not to take it."

I hated this boy! I wanted to rip him apart! I wanted to make him suffer and if I had any kind of weapon, even a rock, I would be beating him to a pulp with it right now!

I swallowed hard and met his gaze with unflinching eyes.

"I accept." I said darkly, "But you better watch your back, Little King."

Soooooo? Reviews? Ideas? Plot twists? I would love input!

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