Into The Unknown

"Zia? Zia! For Aslan's sake, will you please just listen to what I'm trying to tell you?"

The exasperated cry broke through Zia's thought clouds. Swinging her legs over the branch she was perched on, she leapt nimbly down from her tree to land in front of a Fox whose patience was wearing thin.

"Calm down, Bree," she smiled, mussing the russet fur sticking up from the top of his head. "You'll wake the whole forest."

It seemed the forest was already awake, although the moon glowed at its peak point in the inky sky. Cicadas creaked, crickets chirped and several small animals could be heard nosing about in the shadows. An owl hooted overhead before unfurling its wings and gliding silently into the night.

"I'm just a little concerned," Breejit said as the Dryad seated herself at his side, nestled comfortably against the trunk of the tree. "You've done nothing but daydream about that thing on the beach since we got back to the Grove."

'The Grove' was its inhabitants' nickname for a large group of trees that grew so close to one another that each only just had enough space. Located almost at the very heart of Western Wood, the Grove was hidden away from the outside world. Zia had been born in the Grove - her tree had grown from a seed carried there by a breeze from who knew where – and she had been raised by the Dryads who already called the Grove home as one of their children.

Zia shot him a look. "Have not."

The Fox met her defiant stare with a gentle brown gaze. "Your thoughts are not difficult to fathom," he said gently.

Zia sighed, picking out a leaf entangled in her thick red hair. She inspected it for a moment and then gently blew it away from her fingers. Her eyes followed it as it fluttered to the ground a little way off.

When the Dryad didn't answer him, Breejit pressed on. "We don't know what it is, what it wants or whether it's here to hurt anyone. I have a very strong feeling we should just stay away from it."

"I'm merely curious about him," Zia murmured. She leaned her head back against the tree. She suddenly felt tired, as though the short conversation had drained away all of her energy.

"All the same, it won't do to dwell on this any longer," the Fox replied softly. He laid his head on his best friend's lap and she shifted to tuck his small body under her arm. Breejit curled his bushy tail around his little black paws to keep them warm and that was where the two friends fell asleep.

The following evening, Zia knelt in almost exactly the same spot she had occupied the day before. Despite Breejit's nagging (there was simply no other word for it), burning curiosity and outright stubbornness made her determined to catch another glimpse of her dark stranger. She wasn't disappointed. As the sun leaked fluidly into a calm ocean, Zia heard feet crunch rhythmically along the sand and her stranger came into sight. She watched him repeat the exact actions he had carried out the previous day, finding she was unable to look away. There was something about him - she didn't know what - that excited her.

As before, Zia retreated behind a tree when he made his way back up the beach. She waited until the dark forest had completely swallowed him before rising to make her way back to the Grove, but something made her pause. Without Breejit, there was nothing to stop her following him. The other Dryads might be irritated when they found out she was missing, but she wouldn't have to tell them what she had been doing. It would be a simple thing to say she had merely lost track of time.

Catching up was easy; the stranger moved with such clumsy, heavy steps that she was sure the whole forest could hear him. Now she knew he definitely wasn't a Dryad - he was far too noisy. Zia skipped lightly in his wake, her feet brushing the forest floor with no sound at all. Trees provided concealment should he turn but he was moving too rapidly to hear any slight sound she might accidentally make. The distance between the two of them closed as Zia's confidence climbed. Silent and ghost-like, she could be mere inches from him and still not be noticed. Close enough to reach out and brush her fingers over the deep blue cloak billowing out behind him. Her skin met a soft, alien material. She jerked back in surprise and her left foot came down harshly, cracking a stick beneath her heel.

Quick as lightning, the stranger wheeled around, eyes scanning the woods for a sign of his pursuer. Out of sight, Zia crouched in the shadow of a large oak as her heart fluttered in her chest. She'd been faster than him, but she knew she couldn't let things get that close again. Instinct screamed for her to turn back but she ignored it. When he'd turned, the silvery moonlight had revealed details of his face that she had been too far away to see down at the beach: Pale skin splashed with flecks of brown, gently curved lips and bottomless dark eyes.

This time making sure to keep a good distance between them, Zia moved after the boy as he continued towards his destination. The trees around them were no longer familiar; she had no idea where they were at all. She would still be able to use the stars as a means of finding her way home, so she wasn't worried.

Suddenly, the forest came to an abrupt end. Zia pulled up short – leaving the cover of the trees would mean almost certain discovery. Thinking quickly, she hoisted herself into the branches of the closest tree in order to watch what the boy did next. The half-moon provided barely enough light to see; the imposing stone wall only came to her attention when it brought him to a standstill.

Gripping the boughs on either side of her, Zia leaned as far forward as she dared as he called out to someone on the other side of the wall. There was some quiet clanging followed by the squeaking and groaning of old hinges. A rusty iron gate swung back to let the stranger through. Zia caught the faint murmuring of voices before a towering Centaur dressed in protective armour padded forward to close the gate.

How strange, Zia thought. Stone walls, iron gates, Centaurs dressed as guards...

Realisation hit her so hard she almost fell out of the tree. Beyond the stone wall was a garden. In that garden there stood a building more majestic and grand than any other in Narnia. The creature that looked so much like her was a Human, that's why Breejit hadn't been able to place the scent. This was some sort of back entrance to Cair Paravel, which meant the stranger was…

"A king of Narnia," she whispered.

A great babble and commotion greeted her ears when she reached the Grove's outskirts. Zia had walked back through the forest in a daze, but the noise made her lift her head to see that a large group of Dryads had been roused to a state of intense worry, but they all fell silent when Zia came into sight.

A tall, slender figure stood at the forefront of the group, where she had been trying to restore order. She wore a dress woven from the pale pink petals of a blossom tree and a delicate crown of daises circled her head. The hair that cascaded over her shoulders and down her back shone like silver in the moonlight. When her eyes found Zia's, she was torn between boldly returning her stare and ducking her head in shame. She had shared a special bond with Nina since Zia was a sapling. It was because of their sisterly relationship that Zia hated to disappoint her, not because Nina was the Empress of their clan.

The scolding she received was not as intense as she had expected. Nina's tone was firm but kind as she reminded Zia of the rules against wandering too far from the Grove at night – the rules that had been put in place shortly after Zia had learned to walk. Nina held her finger under Zia's chin as she spoke, forcing her to look into her face and not at the floor as she so desperately wanted. When she had finished, Nina tucked a strand of hair behind Zia's ear and pushed her gently in the direction of her tree, urging her to get some sleep.

A little while later, Breejit came and curled himself at the base of Zia's tree. Zia waited until she was certain everyone else had drifted off and the Dryads on patrol were out of earshot before climbing down from the high boughs to sit beside the Fox amongst the roots. She was bursting to tell her friend all about what she had discovered.

"What is it, Zia?" Breejit drawled sleepily when she nudged him awake.

"That creature down at the beach yesterday," she began. "I saw him again today and -"

The Fox was instantly alert. "You did what? What on earth were you thinking?"

"Hold on for a moment," she interrupted. "I know the reason you didn't recognise his scent. It's because he's a Human."

"Human?"

Zia nodded. "And that's not all – he's a king of Narnia."

Breejit's brown eyes went wide. He tried to speak but his jaw merely fell open uselessly, exposing sharp canine teeth and a long, pink tongue. This expression on a Fox would have been comical but the seriousness in the air kept Zia from laughing.

"High King Peter?" he rasped.

"I don't know," Zia admitted.

Breejit began to shake his head so rapidly that his pointed ears flopped about. "You can't tell anyone of this. Not ever. Forget about the king. Forget about all of it."

Zia glared at him. She'd thought that Breejit, her best friend, would have at least tried to understand her interest in this Human. A lead weight settled over her heart, almost making her gasp. Why did her chest suddenly feel so heavy?

Before Breejit could see her cry, Zia scaled the branches of her tree with blinding speed until she reached the upmost heights. The moon bathed the forest in a silvery glow, reminding her of the way the same light had shone through the king's raven hair. She scowled at the half-sphere with all her might, silent tears running down her cheeks.

By this time, summer had almost bloomed to its full potential and the Solstice would be arriving soon. This day had come to be celebrated with great enthusiasm in Narnia; it felt only right to welcome the warmer months with as much appreciation as possible. Every Solstice evening, the creatures of the forest held a terrific party at Dancing Lawn that continued through the night and well into the following morning. There was food, wine, a tremendous amount of dancing and a glorious Solstice fire to thank Aslan for his gift. The Dryads and their many Nymph cousins played a very important part in these celebrations: they were known throughout Narnia for their taste and skills in decoration. Every member of Nina's clan was required to pull their weight and Zia was no exception.

Two days before the party was due to be held, Zia was sent out into the forest to collect flowers to be made into wreaths for hanging around the Lawn. As always, Breejit trotted at her heels, a wicker basket tied to his back as a means of carrying the collected flowers. The thing slipped and slid around a great deal, much to his annoyance.

Zia and Breejit were entrusted by the Empress herself to keep the two youngest Dryads, a pair of giggly little cherubs named Dahlia and Delilah, out of mischief. The two girls instantly became infatuated with Breejit. The Fox couldn't shake the two tiny fists curled around his bushy pride and joy.

Four days had passed since Breejit's dispute with Zia. The pair had spoken little since and shared not one smile. Breejit hated the tension in the air between them, hated the short, snippy phrases Zia would throw at him if ever he tried to speak to her. She had a fiery temper to match her flaming red hair - the worst days of Breejit's life always occurred when he found himself on the receiving end.

Still, he refused to let her out of his sight as she moved forcefully between blooming bushes. Every so often she would approach him and tenderly lay the delicate blossoms in the basket, her eyes flicking to meet his for a mere second before she straightened and stormed off again. He watched her do this several times before his delicate sensitivity couldn't take it any longer. The next time the Dryad knelt at his side, he placed a staying paw on her knee before she could rise.

"What, Bree?" she snapped. "We haven't got time to hang around."

Dahlia and Delilah looked up from stroking Breejit's glossy rust-coloured fur to listen, although neither had any idea what was being said.

"I'm worried, Zia," he said as kindly as he could. His words stoked the fire blazing behind Zia's green eyes but she didn't try to get up.

"This Human… this king… I have a very bad feeling about him."

"Why?" she asked. The word sounded feebler than she'd intended.

Breejit shook his head slightly. "I can't explain it. It's as though my very being is warning me against ever letting you near him. I fear he'll cause trouble."

"Bree," Zia sighed, laying her hand on his neck. Her fingers covered the invisible dividing line between the russet fur covering his head, back and tail and the creamy white that spread down from beneath his chin to his abdomen.

"You worry far too much, Bree. You have to realise some day that I have to find some things out for myself. You won't always be there to look out for me."

"At least tell me why you're so interested in him," he pleaded. "Then maybe my mind will be more at peace."

Zia frowned. The simple explanation that her interest merely existed because this stranger was new and exciting didn't seem to quite cover the feelings stirring in her chest. Confusion flooded her body as Breejit nuzzled his head into her hand. As soon as she'd recalled the king's face in her mind's eye, her stomach had begun to twist and her heartbeat had sped up. For a moment she thought she was going to die, but then her stomach settled and her heart slowed as if nothing had happened.

What in Aslan's name was happening to her?