A/N: This chapter simply would not write itself out and I'm still not fully sure if I like it. But here we are! I hope you all enjoy it. :D

"Mistress, it's time to wake." A hand was placed on Fesh's shoulder, trying to pull her from her sleep. But no, that couldn't be. She was no mistress. Yet the weight was on her shoulder still and it had turned to shaking. Wait. The plan. The shipwreck. Fesh awoke with a small gasp, sitting straight up in the bed.

The queen was looking at her, seeming none too impressed that it had taken that long to wake her or even that she had to be awakened. Fesh was a servant. She should be used to early rising. Oh, but after the past few days she had, she still felt as though she could sleep for a whole week. Even the small, cold bath she'd had last night hadn't been enough to make her feel truly human.

The queen. The queen was in front of her. As her servant. Fesh felt her face get hot as she fully awoke.

"Your maj-" She started, slipping off the bed and curtsying. Her mother would be horrified. The queen of Archenland herself had needed to wake Fesh up and was acting as a servant.

"Hush!" The queen hissed, darting forward to press a finger to the young woman's lips. "This house is full of listening ears," She whispered, "I appreciate your loyalty but even behind closed doors we must be on display." Then in a louder voice she said, "The morning meal is nearly ready, mistress, shall we prepare you?"

"Y-yes." Was all Fesh could stammer out, glancing at the empty pile of blankets in the corner, she asked, "Where is,"

"Your husband went to settle the accounts so we can leave for more civilized lands as soon as the meal has been completed." The queen answered, silently guiding Fesh to sit down, where she started to comb her hair out and plait it.

Husband. Another thing that would have made her mother melt with shame. Not only had her daughter shared a room with a man, but that man had been a prince, he had been the one to sleep on the floor, and they were pretending to be married no less! She had tried to insist that the prince be the one to sleep on the bed, as he was royalty after all. But he stated that it was nothing and he had slept on far harder turf before. When she tried again, he simply said his honor demanded he sleep on the floor and, if she wanted to, she too could sleep on the floor.

"I'm sure it would be nicer for you to sleep on the bed. But, if you'd like, there is enough floor space for both of us."

She knew he had meant that there was enough space for it to be proper. Even so, it had made her face redden and she'd sheepishly chosen the bed instead, her back firmly towards him.

"There!" The queen finished the plait, tying it off with one of the pieces of rope they had that had been split into smaller pieces, "Now, I think the meal should be prepared now, mistress."

Fesh rose looking to the woman in thanks. Even in her servant's outfit, she was a queen. How could anyone mistake her otherwise?

Just as no one who truly looked could tell that Fesh was anything other than a servant.

"Yes, let us go to the dining room."

XxX

Aravis tried hard not to be irritable. After so many years in Anvard, she'd become accustomed to waking after the sun most days. Today, she'd woken when it had only been a faint impression, the sky a light grey. Her skin still prickled and itched; her muscles ached as though she were still sleeping in the hay of the stables. Evidently, the bucket of water from the well she had attempted to use before starting the day hadn't been sufficient.

It wasn't so much any of that. Though, Aravis was sure it didn't help. It had been nigh on thirteen years since she'd had to do anything like this after all. No, it was Arrosh. He had dodged her questions as to what the manservant had said the evening before and the looks the other servants were giving her today. If she'd had no worries about time or drawing attention to herself, the queen would have grabbed one of them by the collar and demanded to know what the problem was.

As they came into the dining room, Sir Morri struggled to stand and bowed slightly towards them. Aravis fought hard not to frown, they would have to try to get him not to... oh yes, Fesh was his supposed superior currently. He was right to bow, even when Aravis was hiding her identity.

Corin, true to his character, had merely looked up as he lounged against his chair, "Ah, finally! Now we can eat." He glanced Aravis over quickly, as if to make sure she was still whole and fine. He had wanted to find a way for her to sleep in the room while he slept in the stables or in the guard quarters. It couldn't be risked though. Even their conference last night had been hushed and hurried.

As Fesh sat next to Corin, he gave the young woman a familiar grin, "As soon as the meal is finished, we'll be setting out for Taashbaan. I've heard there are more civilized places, with actual inns on the way."

Aravis started away as the servant girl – Fesh, gave a timid nod, "That will be nice." As she got to the door, Aravis remembered to bob a curtsy and left. Grethlas would be guarding the goods while Morri ate and the two 'slaves' did some last bit of work.

XxX

Arrosh breathed in a sigh of relief as the group finally started on their way again. He'd managed to get a moment to tell the prince of his discovery before they left. Depending on how much money they had left, there was a chance they would stop there before going to Taashbaan.

"Arrosh," The queen's voice came from beside him, it was quiet, going just below that of the general chatting of the crowd, and insistent. "Don't think I've forgotten my questions. I need to know so that way -"

Arrosh slowed down so that they were in the back of the group, Morri cast them a glance but continued on his way, talking with Grethlas about one of the places the man had been. He had planned on finding a way to mention what had happened kindly but hadn't figured out how yet. Well, he was going to have to soon it seemed.

"It," Should he lie? Say it was nothing? It would be easier. But no. It would only happen again and he may not be there to push a man towards the wrong, but safer thoughts. The king would kill him if anything happened to his wife. Arrosh wasn't sure he could even live with himself if that happened because of negligence.

Arrosh took a breath, speaking low and quickly, "He had asked if you were the master's prize dog. Which -"

"I remember what it means," His sister answered, her face grim, "What else did he say?

"He said you were the camp, uh," He looked away from her, his face heating up, "The camp's, well, dog. Then he asked if we charged for outsiders." He kept the end blunt, hoping that it would send the message. If Bohantabi, a simple servant, had asked then others might as well.

Glancing at her, he saw her mouth open some in shock. "That is vile!" She sounded horrified. Good. After a moment, she regained herself, "What did you say to him. I looked back and both of you were talking."

Here it was. "I may have insinuated that you were strictly for the master and no services were for sale. Only so that he wouldn't make any unwanted advances towards you." He said, trying to explain as quickly as possible. So much for kindly. If she had thought that he would try to save her honor or some such then she was wrong. They wouldn't have believed him anyways. "Please, don't be mad."

She was silent for a moment, thinking, "Well, thank you, I guess. Though I would rather you not say such things." At that, his sister wrinkled her nose.

"Would you rather it be thought of you or others think you're merely the lady's maid?" He asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer. For the plan, however, it would work either way.

"I don't think I can control that." The queen sniffed some, "I learned long ago that people will think what they will."

"If you want less people assuming the first one," Arrosh tried carefully, pointedly not looking at her, "It may be best to, well, hold yourself like a queen? As the proverbs say, 'silver can be hidden beneath tarnish but gold needs a clever cover.'." How else could he put it? "In what you're wearing, that of a slave or servant, someone may be more likely to think you're a woman who thinks more highly of herself for, uh, the wrong reasons." By Tash, this was not a conversation that he ever thought that he would be having.

XxX

Aravis stopped herself from making a biting comment, instead saying, "You're not wrong, brother." She shouldn't be annoyed for being told how she may be perceived by someone who had lived there his whole life. A good fight was fun and all but this wasn't the time or place. Or person for that matter. Just talking so frankly with her seemed to be making the boy want to melt into the earth itself. Not that she could fault him. It wasn't exactly a pleasant topic.

"Now, Aravis, do droop your shoulders a bit and step heavier and try to look less like a princess. Try to imagine you've been kicked and cuffed and called names all your life."

Aravis smiled some at the memory, watching Arrosh hurriedly join the rest of the group. Back then, she'd been young, a child really, and had fired something right back at Bree even as they were approaching the gates of Tashbaan. So much had changed since then.

Shaking her head, she moved to walk with Corin at the front, shouldering her pack with new resolve. There were plenty of people on the roads at this time of day, but most gave them a wide berth. Hopefully, their ill armed group wouldn't become an interest for the wrong sort of people.

XxX

"So, how far have you traveled before all of this?" Sir Morri asked Arrosh as he stumped along on his crutches. The man at least had clean bandages now. Apparently, upon seeing that nothing had been done for the knight, Prince Corin had put up enough of a fuss that they had been willing to part with them for free. The healer had probably put a blessing of some sort and went away. Hopefully he hadn't been in a bad mood and cursed the man instead of blessed him. It wasn't as if the knight would know the difference. Arrosh had heard of men dying within a fortnight after a curse from a witchdoctor.

"After my family settled down on the coast," Arrosh answered, "I didn't go far. We had just enough work in the towns around that we didn't have to travel much."

"Ah, not a bad thing then." The man nodded, slipping something from his pocket as his sister passed by, a small grin on his face that he obviously tried to hide. "Before you settled and after you left for Archenland, did you get to see much of Calormen?"

Miss Fesh frowned slightly as whatever it was in her brother's hand was transferred to hers, then she smiled softly, continuing up towards the front of the group.

With so many people on the roads, both herself and Prince Corin had no packs. Really, the two of them should be walking in the middle of the group with a man at the head and another in the back. While there were the men in the back, the prince had refused to stay to the middle, saying that the people on the roads would merely pass it off as the eccentricities of foreigners. To which Arrosh guessed meant the strangeness of foreigners. These barbarians and their words. Not that the elites of Calormen were much better. It may have been the common tongue but sometimes it might as well have been an entirely different language.

"Before settling, we saw some, but one Calormen town or village looks much the same as another. Never did live in a city as none would have us." Arrosh answered with a shrug, it was a lie. There had been a few months that his family had spent on the streets of a city or two before his father realized they would starve if they stayed. But there was only so far that he was willing to admit to someone he didn't know well.

Fesh was making her way back towards them as he continued, trying to be somewhat more truthful, "After, we were on the coast, so all I've seen is the ocean and some islands in the distance from a ship." Fesh began to walk with them, so Arrosh asked, "What of you two?"

"Never been outside of Archenland." Morri answered frankly, grimacing as the road dipped some and jostled his leg. His face was red, despite the covering, and slick with sweat but not a word of complaint had yet been heard from him.

"Barely outside of Anvard, truly." Fesh chipped in as she walked between the two men, "We lived in a small town right next to it, before our parents brought us to the city as children." Something hard was pushed against the inside of his hand from hers. Arrosh frowned, taking it and looking down. It was a rock, warm from being held for a time.

"What is this for?"

"Don't tell me you haven't played Silent Stone before." Sir Morri said, a smile creeping onto his face as Arrosh shook his head.

"It's a well-known game in Archenland," Fesh said, she pointed to the rock in his hand, "There's the stone, and during a trip it's passed back and forth. No one is to acknowledge it, in passing or taking. At the end of the journey, whoever is the one with the stone has to be silent the rest of the day or do whatever the rest of the group says to do."

"Fesh and I used to play it with our friends on our way to school or back." Morri grinned, "Haven't play it in ages, honestly."

Arrosh let a small smile slip onto his face, "Ah, well, I'm sorry I spoiled the game then." As he said it, he pressed the stone back into Fesh's hand. "Is there a punishment for noticing the rock?"

Fesh took it and shook her head, "Not for a first time like this. But if it's done again, then you share the fate of the one with the stone."

"I will do what I can in the future to not disgrace myself as such."

"I believe you'll do quite well." Morri nodded with mock seriousness, stumping along down the road.

XxX

"So, we should make it to the town by this evening?" Aravis asked Corin as they walked down the road. As of now, the road was mostly empty, many having gone towards another town that many sold their wares at. If one of the merchants was to be trusted, at the next cross roads they would be joining the next stream of people going to the town ahead of them. Taash-something-or-other.

"If everyone we've spoken to was truthful." The prince kept his eye sharp on the area around. It was mostly fields here, some animals being kept in a pasture, and few trees. The grass, however, was tall and could easily hide a man or a small band of ne'er-do-wells. Zeep, who was scouting ahead, could only see so much and only one side of the road. Sir Morri had been told to keep watch in the back and Grethlas was to be with him as the rear guard. The man apparently had learned something of fighting while aboard a ship. Orran would be -

It hit Corin like a punch to the middle.

Orran couldn't be any help. Never could be again. He was gone now. His most trusted, loyal soldier lay in a shallow grave in a foreign land. His friend was dead. The road blurred for a moment, tears threatening to spill over into the open.

"There should at least be an inn there then." His sister-in-law's words brought Corin back to himself. He hadn't gotten the chance to fully confront himself what had happened last night as he had been sharing a room with Fesh. Or that was what he had told himself. Mayhaps tonight there would be a chance to be alone for a moment to contemplate and properly grieve. For now, he wouldn't think on such things. Not on the past. Not on how his friend had died.

Wait, how he died. How daft he had been! The boy had been the one to help in the passing. Not once had Corin checked with him. While he hadn't truly killed the man, the mind did not always see it that way. Oh, by Aslan, why hadn't he thought of speaking with the boy? Had he truly been wrapped that deeply in his own troubles to neglect his own men?

"Are you alright, Corin?" Aravis set her hand his arm, a frown lacing her features.

"I'm fine, Ara." Corin flashed her a grin, but couldn't help but look back towards Arrosh, "I'm just thinking." The boy didn't seem to be in distress, he was talking with Grethlas about the man's time at sea. Yet, how often had Corin himself hid behind a smile?

"I'll be glad to be off the road and in town." Fesh sighed some, her tawny hair peeking out from the covering they'd made out of some of the cloth they'd saved. Everyone with had fashioned something from either the worst of the cloth or the sail in the hopes to reduce the chances of burning or overheating.

"You're not alone in that, miss." Corin nodded, "From there, we should be able to sell this cloth and purchase supplies."

"Prices will be better there." Arrosh agreed quietly, "I would suggest selling as much as possible while we're there."

With the position as guide and council, Corin was curious to see how the young man would start to step into the confidence that tended to come with such positions. It being only their second full day, he wasn't surprised to see no signs yet. The fact that he was talking was enough. In Anvard, even during their planning, the boy had been mostly silent, only answering to questions.

Positions of importance often brought people out of the shadows. Cor was a prime example. Corin smiled some, thinking of his brother not long after he'd returned, awkward and unsure of his place. What was he doing now? Had their friends been found? Aslan, let it be so.

XxX

How were they mere days away from the meeting place with Lord Peridan and not a scent of good news to be found? The thrill of finding Queen Susan's horn had long since diminished. Talking to the trees of the area had produced nothing but confusion.

They were there. Then they weren't.

Aslan's mane, Cor had gone as far as taking to the mountains to talk to the hags and ogres of the land to see if they had heard of any nefarious or dark beings in the area of late. Nothing!

The king's mount whickered beneath him, "We'll find them, I'm sure of it, Shasta."

Cor gave a wry smile at the monicker, "By Aslan, I pray we do, Bree. Thank you for taking the journey with me, old friend."

"Old friend, eh?" Bree gave a laugh that only talking horses could make. He was well up in years now, having had foals of his own and now he'd just recently had his first grand-foal.

Cor resisted the urge to pat his friend's neck like a normal horse (There was only so much Bree's pride would allow for), and changed the subject instead, "How is your lady, Bree? You mentioned she was visiting your oldest foal not long ago."

Bree snorted some, shaking his head to rid himself of the flies, "I received word from the messenger raven a day ago saying she is still well and wishes us the best on the search. All of Narnia is holding their breath until our monarchs are found."

"Yes," Corin sighed, looking out across the wooded lands trying his best to stay hopeful despite the pit of despair forming in his middle, "Yes they are."

A/N: As always, thank you so much to those who have left comments (Except the scam/spam accounts, but we all know I don't mean those.) I'm hoping to have a couple more chapters up soon. 3 :D