"Start from the beginning please," Peter nodded at Mr. Tumnus, who held his quill over the parchment expectantly.

Liana took a deep breath and began to speak. "It was over Christmas, my father was ill with the fever and my engagement to King Lune's nephew had just been finalized. His name was Darian," she hesitated at that, her eyes flickering down to her hands, which were twisting in her lap. "He was two years older than me, seventeen, and he had always been kind to me. I was infatuated with him, of course, because I had no reason to believe he would ever hurt me. That day the family gathered to celebrate our engagement, it was nothing formal since my father couldn't make it but the king wanted to do something. He pitied me, because I couldn't have a ball until he was well. I was distracted the whole time, and he eventually asked Darian to take me out to the gardens.

"It was a warm night, so I left my cloak inside. But it started to rain soon, and we got caught in it. We went back inside, and the family had already departed for their rooms. I was freezing and shaking, so Darian offered to accompany me back to my rooms to make sure I didn't catch a cold. I didn't think anything was wrong with that, and I had been taught that it was unwise to disagree with something my future husband suggested. Darian was kind, but he was a boy who was used to getting his way," she shrugged when Peter raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "We never did anything, if that's what you're implying. I am as chaste as I was the day before I met him."

"I wasn't implying anything," said Peter. Liana saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and glanced back to see Edmund shift uncomfortably.

She rolled her eyes. "We all know exactly what you were implying, High King."

"Liana," Susan cut in gently. "Finish your story, please."

Liana nodded shortly, her gaze returning to her lap. "We went to my room, I changed my clothes and got warm. He was still there when I returned from my closet, except now he was drinking from a flask he had been carrying around all evening. I came up to him to say good night, he kissed me and indicated that he wanted to take it further. I refused, and he told me to shut my pretty little mouth or else," her hands clenched into fists, and the sound of movement told her someone was going to approach her. However, no one did, and she knew Peter had refused to let Edmund come forward. "I told him I would scream unless he left my room immediately, and he told me if I did that he'd make it very clear that I was the one who had done the inviting in the first place. I didn't argue after that, but I thought I could fight him off. He kept trying to kiss me in other places, and eventually he managed to rip my dress open. He was distracted," Edmund's growl was clearly heard around the room. "I managed to push him back onto the bed, but that only made him angrier. He got up and pushed me down instead, and told me he would have to silence me in other ways if I didn't cooperate. My father had given me his dagger as a present right before my engagement, and I kept it on my person at all times because it was too valuable to be left lying around my rooms. I had a few seconds before I knew he'd strike me, so I snatched it up from where I had put it on the bedside table before changing and aimed it for his stomach. I didn't throw it," she added, sensing the tense atmosphere in the room. She looked up and caught Peter's eye. "I'm not a killer by nature, High King. He saw the dagger and he held his hands up, so I put it down. But as soon as I did, he grabbed my hair and threw me down onto the floor. I hit my head, and my vision went dark, but I was conscious. So I stumbled up, grabbed the dagger, and stabbed it into the first thing I felt. I fainted after that. When I woke up, my pillows were torn, he was dead on my bed and my clothes were covered in blood."

"Its not impossible," Lias spoke then, his tone clearly troubled but firm. "If she didn't fall unconscious right away, then it is possible that she had the strength to merely stab him by accident and then faint."

Peter did not respond. He turned to Mr. Tumnus, who indicated that he had everything he needed. Peter sighed. "Thank you, Lias. I will ask you to go through Mr. Tumnus' notes again, later, to make sure the medical aspect adds up. For now, you both may leave."

Liana continued to stare at her hands as the door shut behind the two. As soon as they were gone, she felt Susan's warm hand on her shoulder. "She's told this story three times, Peter, you can let her rest now."

"I cannot," Peter sounded exhausted. "Tell me how you escaped, Liana. I'm sorry," he added, his voice sincere. Liana looked up and saw that his face looked pained. "I know this isn't easy for you to say, and trust me its not easy to hear about, but I do need to know. So, please. Continue. What happened after you woke up?"

Liana's eyes flickered back to her hands. "I realized what had happened and I panicked. I ran to my brother's room, he was next door and I knew no one would see me since it was late at night. He was asleep, and so I woke him up and told him everything. He understood, and he was furious. He said if I had let him hurt me he would have killed him anyway. We went-"

"Wait," interrupted Peter. He was frowning. "Your brother was in the room next door?"

"Yes."

"He was asleep the whole night?"

"Yes. The walls are thick, he told me he hadn't heard anything."

"I see," Peter's face relaxed a bit. "Where did you go?"

"I returned home that night. We pretended that my father was ill and I had left to be with him soon after the dinner ended. Rinas discovered Darien the next morning and pretended to be shocked at what had happened, but even so I was the prime suspect. They sent for me at my home, but my father died before the messenger arrived, leaving me a poor, defenceless orphan with no ties to the royal family. So I did what I had to do," Liana's eyes hardened. "I told no one what had happened. I left a letter for my brother, telling him of my plans. There was a healer a few miles from the palace who frequently took women on as apprentices to train them in case of war. I knew I would be safe there because the man who ran it was cut off from the outside world, and he was so vital to the realm that even the king could not go knocking on his door, demanding him to release one of his apprentices. I hid there for a year, but I was good at what I did, so when Rinas wrote to tell me Narnia was open to asylum seekers with something to offer, I jumped at the chance. He wanted to be a soldier, and I needed to get out of Archenland. I trained for a year, and joined my bother soon after. A year after that, I was called to save King Edmund from the minotaur poison."

Peter leaned back in his seat, surveying her critically. "I believe you," he spoke finally. "Unfortunately, I don't believe that there wasn't some sort of underhanded scheme afoot. Let me finish, Ed," he added sharply when his brother made to protest. "I'm not putting you in jail, Liana, or even sending you away," he got up off his chair and walked towards her, leaning down before her and smiling a little. "You've saved many lives, and I know this has been eating at you for years. But, you need to understand that what you did, while understandable, needs to be investigated further," hesitantly, he reached out and clasped her hand. "I will need to write to King Lune, with the true story. Do you have any objections?" Liana bit her lip, but shook her head. "Good," Peter stood up and rested a hand protectively on her shoulder. "I want to know how the Count knew about this story. Orius, can I trust you?" the centaur nodded stiffly. "Excellent. Everyone is dismissed. Lucy, please take Liana to your rooms for the night."