Selene

My story begins like this: I was born a princess, Princess Selena of Archenland. My mother died when I was born. My maids pushed me to become a selfless woman that would someday become a perfect queen behind a powerful king. However, my older brother and only friend, John was raised to become Father's successor. John, or Jo, as I liked to call him, was the only person who knew how much I hated being a princess. I envied the town girls that were free to do what they wanted. I was forced to become friends with the other royal ladies my age and had to go to balls and wear heavy gowns that didn't allow me to move.

Jo understood; he didn't want the pressure that was being put on him to become king. He was my best friend. I really couldn't ask for a better brother. We made a deal: I introduced him to the ladies I was "friends" with and he taught me how to hunt.

I lived for the two hours a day when I was allowed a rest. That's when I would hunt with Jo. My favourite weapon was the sword and I was even better than my brother.

Over the years, Jo grew to be a fine young man who everyone knew would become a wonderful king. At fifteen, I had dozens of men from the other islands begging for my hand. I let them all down, obviously. Jo, who had turned nineteen that year, was already engaged to a girl named Catherine. I didn't like her as much as he did but if I had to choose someone to marry him, I'd choose her.

My maids still pressured me to become a polite (and weak in my opinion). They were very angry every time they saw my muscles and hard hands. They started giving me less food so I could lose weight and gave me more oils at bath time and tighter corsets. I still ate during the night when everyone was asleep and I kept hunting and loosening my corset when I couldn't breathe. They would put my hair up in complicated hairstyles I despised, which I later undid and put in a messy braid down my side. At that time, my father started to look over my suitors to decide which one would benefit the country most.

He found one when I turned seventeen. In the feast for my birthday, he introduced me to him and got us to sit together. His name was Wulfrick. He would soon become King of Galma, one of the Lone Islands.

"Shall we go take a walk, my lady?" He asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Of course."

We walked for hours and the only thing he did was talk about himself and his grand kingdom.

When we got back to the banquet hall, he looked at Father and nodded. Father nodded in return. I got a very bad feeling as Father stood up and cleared his throat.

"I demand your attention. This day, we celebrate the birth of my daughter, Princess Selena the Fifth. Now, not only to add to the excitement of the celebration, I am glad to announce the marriage of the Princess with Prince Wulfrick the First of Galma!"

Cheers went up from everyone, but I didn't hear any of them. Black spots danced in front of my eyes and I started to lose my balance. Then, I felt a familiar hand pulling me out of my daze. I followed my brother as he ushered me along the halls and out of the castle. We stopped running at the dock, where a ship was waiting for us.

"No time to explain, they will take you somewhere safe with a forest and lots of room to run where you'll be happy. Trust them. I love you, Selene. Be brave."

And with that he ran away before I could tell him anything else. I was in such shock I didn't notice the hands pulling me on the ship. It was becoming dark and as soon as I got on the crew pushed me below deck. One of them told me to sleep and that they'd tell me everything in the morning. I was indeed very tired from the party but I couldn't sleep. I kept replaying Jo's last words in my head.

No time to explain. This must be dangerous, then.

They will take you to a safe place. Where? Why couldn't he come?

Be brave. I will be brave. I will not let him down.

When I rose in the morning I was confused by why I wasn't in my room, then I remembered last night's events. I rushed upstairs and approached the first person I saw. My first instinct was not to trust him; all the men I've known (except Jo) have been arrogant and untrustworthy. Then I recalled what Jo told me: Trust them. The man explained that Jo had known how unhappy I was, especially after the marriage, and he risked himself to change it. Jo knew that was my greatest fear: to be married. He told some of his friends to take me to Terebinthia, an island far from Archenland, where I could be free. I would never be able thank him enough. He of course, had to stay. He had a kingdom to rule and a future wife to take care of.

Weeks passed, and soon, we were close to Terebinthia. We were about a day away when a huge storm came. The strong winds blew us off-course. I looked up at the night sky before I was whisked away into my cabin. I saw a constellation different from any others I'd seen. It looked like the face of a great lion.

I dreamt of a huge lion that filled me with warmth and security. Even in a dream, I was surprised when the lion started talking.

"Princess Selena the Fifth of Archenland, your journey this time will be short, but you have a hardship ahead of you. If you manage to survive, you will live happily. There will come a time when you will have to leave your land. You will meet friends along the way and although there will be more hardships ahead, you will find peace one day. Good bye, Strong One." He said.

I woke up hitting the floor. I must have fallen off the bed because of the storm. I went on deck in time to see the man steering the ship fall overboard. Without hesitation, I ran to the steering wheel. Some of the men tried to push me off, but I resisted. I made a sharp turn and saw a little island. I did my best to take the ship there, though it was falling apart. A huge piece of timber fell on my leg. I screamed in pain but kept going. Be brave. When we were close to the island, the ship finally sunk. I jumped off just in time, but everyone else drowned. My injured leg kept me from swimming and I thought it was over and was about to give up when I remembered Jo's words again. Be brave.

So I used all my energy to swim to the island. When I arrived my body was numb, and I finally gave in to the coldness.

I lay in the sand, unconscious, for hours. When I finally woke up, I thought I was dreaming. I was in a forest with tall trees and plenty of room to hunt that was full of wildlife. I noticed I was surrounded by a group of women my age. One of them stood closer to me. She was clearly their leader. She was Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons. The Amazons welcomed me and I found myself fitting in with them. I changed my name to Selene, the nickname Jo had given me after the Greek goddess of the moon, which he said related to Artemis, goddess of the hunt. I hunted freely every day. I quickly rose to become Queen. Queen of a world I belong in. Living with the Amazons was the best thing that ever happened to me. We lived in treehouses that couldn't be seen from the ground. We woke up at dawn and went for a run. We would train with our weapons and fight with each other. We would make new recruits of girls that passed the island. The clothes that we wore were much more comfortable than the royal clothes. For each year the Amazons aged, the regular people aged five, so I'd spent ten years on the island and was only nineteen. I still missed Jo more than anything, but I promised him I'd be brave.

One day, I saw a huge royal ship docking into our island. In it, was a group of young people who claimed to be the kings and queens of Narnia, a country close to Archenland. They weren't like anyone I'd ever met. The queens were calm, but strong. The kings were not arrogant. I decided two of them were a couple and that most of them were related. I found I liked the eldest two best. So when they asked me to leave with them, I remembered: Be brave.