None of it makes sense, Serena thinks. Why hadn't they crossed the river? In fact, had they even been near the river when she ran away?
"We found your trail on the eastern border of Corsecan," Sir Edmund says. Serena bites her lip, knowing that the eastern border is not at all where she was supposed to be. She looks over at Edmund, but his gaze is on where the Wolf's tracks lead. He shifts he weight and repositions the pack on his back, and Serena can tell he's anxious to keep moving. Knowing now that they're in the Giant's territory, she feels the same urge to get to the border. She steps onto the Wolf's trail and Edmund falls into step beside her.
As they walk, she tries to focus on not falling, but mostly she's straining to remember the details of the past few days. Did any of her guards actually see the destroyed bridge? When did they depart from the river road? And why hadn't they passed through any towns?
"And there are no mountain passes in Narnia," Edmund says, abruptly drawing Serena's thoughts back to the present as he keeps her from slipping. She hadn't even noticed when he took hold of her arm again, but she's grateful to not be landing in the snow. "Except into Archenland," he adds once they're moving forward again, "but that's in the south." Serena nods at this, and she can feel a blush burning up her neck and towards her freezing cheeks.
She'd had plenty of geography lessons. Such things were part of a well-rounded education— even for a woman— but she'd never thought the information was at all pertinent or worth her full attention. Composure, poise, dance, conversation, household management– those were the lessons she thought mattered for a princess. Besides, she'd always assumed it would be her brother's lot to deal with other countries, not hers.
Now, though, she can't help but feel embarrassed at just how little she knows of anything useful. She can barely even walk in a straight line out here, and surely her dance teacher would have a heart attack to see her ungainly gait. She can plan a dinner party or ball with ease, but she hasn't the slightest idea how to navigate a mountain. She can converse on any number of relevant topics in court, but it seems to Serena that she's tripping over her tongue as often as her feet now. Out here in the mountains she feels like more of a useless burden with each step through these mountains.
These mountains, she thinks, realizing with disgust that she should have known– or at least guessed– where they were. But this was never the plan, she rationalizes. Her father had said they would go south to the Selon River and straight into Narnia, the same route all their ambassadors travel. It had sounded so simple— just a few days to reach the border of her Corsecant, the only land she'd ever known, and straight off to Narnia's capitol city. Even when Burke said they'd have to take a detour, she had actually been glad to put off leaving her homeland.
What a fool, she chastises. Why hadn't she noticed anything? Surely there had been signs. She hadn't questioned— or paid attention— to anything of any consequence. She'd been so busy sulking and keeping to herself that she'd noticed nothing. And, she realizes, she's still concerned wholly with herself, isn't she?
"Why were you in Corsecant?" Serena asks suddenly.
"You were late," Edmund snaps. Serena tenses, somewhat wishing she hadn't said anything at all, but then he sighs and continues in a softer tone. "Most of the Western Wood had already been searched. We were to follow the eastern border of Corsecant north, and then go further inland and come south again." Serena nods, trying to follow summon a mental map while at the same time not letting every breath sound too much like a gasp. Edmund's pace is brisk, and she's not sure he's realized that his agitation has sped up his steps. She tries to control her breathing, hating the idea of showing just how hard trekking across fairly even ground is for her.
"We met with a few Corsecans near the border," Edmund continues after a few moments. "They were supposed to search the interior of your country while Orieus and Peter continued in Lantern Waste." Serena nods again. She doesn't recognize the Narnian places, but they must have been near the southern border of Corsecant if they were searching for her, and perhaps those were the names of Narnia's kings? She scours her memory, trying to dredge up the names that she surely must have heard at some point.
"Why were you not in Corsecant?" Edmund asks after they've weaved through several more of the tall fir trunks. Serena shakes her head as she focuses back on the knight beside her, giving up on recalling lessons of Narnia.
"I don't know," she admits quietly, still feeling foolish for all the things she doesn't know. She watches the ground, trying to step where the Wolf had and looking out for anything that will trip her. "When Sacha told me to run," Serena continues, thinking of the previous day, "I just went straight, away from…" she trails off, waving her free arm. Sacha's sleeve had been splattered in blood already, and his sword was slick with it as well. The sight had been terrifying, and he'd practically had to drag her into the woods away from the fray. A chill runs up her spine, remembering it all again.
"Later," she continues, shying away from the memory of Sacha, "I tried to aim south." Narnia is south, she had reasoned, and at least she had been able to figure out what direction that was by the direction of the sun. She'd thought at the time that they must have been nearly there, and, when she'd found Talking Animals last night, she was sure she'd made it.
"You were already past the eastern border when you turned south," Edmund mumbles. Serena can feel the blush returning and dips her head, wishing the hood of her cloak will swallow her up.
Why did her father even send her to Narnia, she wonders miserably. He'd informed her only one day before she was to leave, and he never explained or even gave her an opportunity to question it. Corinne thought it was to marry her off at last, and she was inclined to agree with her lady in waiting. She knew there were two kings in Narnia for some reason– both human, the ambassadors had assured– but beyond that she couldn't remember a single thing about the royal family. Were they her fathers aim, or had he planned for her to meet with other foreign dignitaries that resided at court in Narnia's capitol?
What was her father's intent? Why had she been sent without attendants? Why had she been taken so far off course? And why had her guards turned on each other? She has so many questions— more questions than answers— and there would be no one to ask until this journey is over. Serena ponders the matter as she stumbles along beside the silent Sir Edmund.
Eventually he slows to their original pace, and Serena glances at him from the corner of her eye. He seems distracted with his own thoughts, but Serena is suddenly distracted from hers. Surely a knight wouldn't know anything about the arrangement her father had made with the high king of Narnia, but then again, perhaps he wasn't just a simple knight. He had been entrusted to search for her, after all, and the Horse and Wolf seemed to be under his leadership.
She continues to study the man beside her more closely. His cloak, despite having been crudely cut at the bottom for her benefit, looks to be made of high-quality leather and lined with thick furs, something no common soldier in Corsecant would wear. And his armor looks custom. It fits him perfectly, and there are intricate patterns in the leatherwork. The sword, too, looks well-crafted with its golden pommel and ornate designs on the sheath.
Perhaps he's upper nobility of some sort, she decides, or an officer. He looks too young for a general, but he certainly doesn't have the bearing of a commoner. She thinks of every interaction they've had. She can't remember him bowing on their first introduction— though it was rather an unusual meeting— or anytime since then. He has called her princess, but it's seemed to be mostly with irritation or annoyance, or more so to address her than to show any respect for her station.
The longer they walk, the more Serena begins to wonder about this stranger instead of about her own situation. Just who is this man?