The frightful shriek was unmistakably a child's, and it escalated in volume before it suddenly cut off completely.

From what she could hear, it wasn't that of pain or anguish, but an unmistakable scream of pure terror. It sent chills up Lucy's spine, and her heart stopped as the noise mysteriously cut off.

She suddenly turned and sprinted back into Rilian's room. When the doors she entered slammed open, she quickly scanned the bed hoping the two year old would still be in it sleeping peacefully. Instead, there was ruffled pillows and blankets spewed about and an indentation indicating there used to be a little body in it but a moment before. She scanned the room quickly and when she saw movement right in front of her, out on the terrace, she spotted two dark silhouettes carrying a small limp form -whom she assumed to be Rilian- on the terrace and heading towards the edge, where beyond the rail was a five story drop before it met the rocky cliffs that adjoined the Great Eastern Ocean to land.

She knew she could easily take the two men easily, and she knew that if she acted quickly enough, she could her bow and arrows from her room, which was right down the large hall, and walk on the rocky path next to the castle to get to them where she knew the assumed rope ended, and if she acted quickly enough, she could reach them before they got to the bottom.

By the time they turned their heads towards her, she was already gone, leaving only an empty doorway.

"Hurry!" One of the men hissed. "The wench is going to get the king!"

By that time the bigger man had the unconscious toddler in the tuck of his arm, and was quickly traveling down the thick strong rope.

They made it down unnaturally fast, knowing if they were caught, they would surely be executed. They made it to somewhat gentler ground and leapt on their horses by the time Lucy emerged from a wooden door near the cliffs.

She had of course only her necessities with her: Her Narnian bow, with a pack of sharp arrows, a traditional Narnian sword, which was sheathed at her side, her famous dagger, and of course her fire-flower healing cordial.

While the two men had been traveling down the painful rope, she had sprinted straight to her room, lifted up the great chest in her room, and grabbed every weapon that was within.

She made good time and sprinted through servant hallways and chambers and emerged to the hidden door right next to the cliff, expecting them to be there, but they had made been even faster.

As their horses sprinted right past her, she had no trouble pulling an arrow from the quiver that hung behind her, and quickly set the arrow, pulled it back, concentrated on the target that was holding Rilian, and released.

She heard the whistle as it flew and found the target, making an unmistakable thump on the big man's back. Lucy expected him to fall off the horse, as most do, but he somehow didn't. He was much stronger and more determined than she thought.

The horses kept running farther and farther away from her, making more distance between them, and Lucy knew arrows weren't going to stop them. They continued heading west as she ran around the north side of the castle, watching exactly where the two men were going to enter the surrounding forest so she could track them once she got a horse.

They entered the forest and were long gone before she made it into the big castle courtyard, and when she actually made it to the grand stables, she was exhausted from the distance she had run.

When she saw Caspian's magnificent black gelding Destrier in the first stall, and all of the stable boys and royal guards looking at her curiously, she felt as if someone had punched her in the gut as it all suddenly dawned on her.

Caspian doesn't know.

She stood there feeling stupid and blinked twice before she sprinted towards the stall the King's horse was in.

The guards of course did not know what was happening except what they could only see was the queen suddenly running towards their king's favorite horse with numerous weapons tied to her.

So they of course assumed something very wrong was about to happen to the poor creature and did what I'm sure you would do if you were in their shoes. They unsheathed their weapons and tried to grab Lucy before she reached the stall.

And it was very close.

She barely made it in the stall before five guards were only an arms length away.

They stood in the doorway with their swords drawn and telling her not to move any closer to the horse if she wanted to live.

Now you may be wondering why they were treating The Queen Of Old as if she were an imposter, but you mustn't blame them.

They were only men, and since Caspian had been reigning for hardly more than three years, these very men had grown up fearing all tales of a great lion and of four foreigners who suddenly became kings and queens.

Lucy knew this and of course she didn't blame them for it which I'm sure is easy to believe.

As she looked at their fearful faces in the doorway, she couldn't help but feel sorry for them.

"Please kindly tell the King at moments haste that his son has been taken." She said curtly before gracefully leaping on Destrier before they could stop her.

She kicked his sides, making him naturally lunge forward. As the horse took off towards the entryway, the guards scrambled apart letting her free.

As she galloped away, she heard pleas and yells of all sorts trying to make her cease, but she wasn't listening.

Destrier was famously known for his endurance as well as speed, making Lucy have the advantage. It didn't take them long to get across the fields and hills near the coast, and soon they reached the forest line, where the real Narnia lay.

And that's when the tracking began. She caught the distinct hoof prints in the moonlight and followed them for several hours along the River Rush.

Though Destrier seemed to never slow, time seemed to.

As the hours began to drag, and once she realized that she still hadn't caught them by midnight, she began to doubt herself, but the evidence was there.

She sensed she was being watched to her right, but she knew who it was instantly before she even had to turn her head. Her heart sped up and joy surged within her as she pulled Destrier to a halt. She couldn't keep the smile from her face as she saw the shadow emerge from her side and when his shadow stepped moonlight, it took Lucy's breath away from the magnificence.

"My dear Lucy, your courage has grown. What happened to the little girl who was afraid to tell her siblings something they didn't want to hear?" Aslan said softly with a lion smile on his face.

"I've missed you." Lucy said longingly as she looked at his eyes which soon changed into sadness. She had so many questions,

One in particular on her mind was why was she even here if Aslan told her himself she could never return to Narnia?'

"And I, you. You have grown up on me little one." He replied with a bittersweet smile. "Come, now is the time to put your courage at it's test." He said looking at her seriously.

"That's why you came here isn't it?" Lucy stated already knowing the answer. "Your not going to come in and save us like you did the first time." She said sadly.

Aslan sighed.

"Daughter, I was there with you every time, though you didn't see me, you knew I was with you. And I will always be with you, even in the darkest of times. Even when you feel as if I'm not, I Am." He said strongly.

"Now listen to me. You must be strong. You are stronger than you know, so be confident. Everything you know is about to change. Stay near Caspian, show him that I am still watching over him, he will need you in this dark time."

"Aslan why can't you just tell him that yourself?" She interrupted softly.

She saw his eyes change and sadness appeared.

"Because he can no longer see me. His belief is wavering."

"But-" She heard him growl, and it wasn't the kind to frighten her, but more like a reprimand when a child interrupts and the parent shushes them.

"I will not waste time talking of things that are not as important as rescuing Narnia's next king, so I say to you. Show Caspian that he cannot fight alone, he needs to trust not only in himself like you have done from the moment you were born oh Loyal One." He said with a lion smile.

'Be wise Lucy, as you have always done. Narnia's very future has fallen upon you so be patient, you will know what to do if your listening." said Aslan.

As he said these words, it was as if strength and courage invisibly slipped off his very tongue and flowed into her. She felt his warm breath upon her face and she felt a refreshment of life and peace and joy flow through her.

"Thank you Aslan." Lucy said as she breathed it all in. "I feel much better."

"Your going to need it dear one, there are dark days coming." He said sadly. "But I am always with you, and if you believe, I will take you through those dark days, so do not fear. Be patient, be strong. And be who you were meant to be, my little lioness." He said with a gentle smile and without hesitation let out a roar so loud and so beautiful, it made Lucy want to cover her ears and soak it all up at the same time.

Poor Destrier didn't know the difference however, and when he heard the startling noise, he did what the Lion knew a dumb animal would do. He fled. She looked back at Aslan shining in the moonlight, crinkles in his eyes from smiling at her, and suddenly Lucy wished she could have stopped and stayed with him longer.

And then she blinked and he was gone.

As Lucy fled through the forest, she still felt as if he were truly there.

After another hour of hard riding, the thick dense forest was suddenly gone, and there she stood before fifteen men around a campfire. She didn't search long before her eyes locked with the man who would have sent chills down her spine and used to haunt her dreams, if she wouldn't have been visited and strengthened by the one she loved most.

Vartan.

There he stood, just twenty yards away from her, standing behind a great fire and in front of fifteen giant men, and there standing in front of him, was Rilian, a sword pressed against his fragile neck.

The little boy looked terrified.

She jumped off her horse and gracefully and slowly walked toward him, knowing Vartan's men wouldn't grab her until he gave word.

She stopped ten feet in front of him, and stared at him emotionlessly. Waiting for him to speak.

He looked at her for a moment before he laughed.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at how much of a coward Caspian really is." The twisted man said with wicked smile. "Sending a poor girl, as a sacrifice? Or maybe even a gift? Hmm yes I think that would do nicely." He said icily as he looked at her head to toe sensually, staring in some places far longer than others.

It made her want to give him a good punch. But she kept her ground and stayed silent knowing not to act until he wasn't ready.

"I wonder how Caspian would like it if I sent back his future bride a little soiled?" He said with a laugh filled with vengeance.

She, Lucy Pevensie, stubborn as a mule, and spirited as a stallion could no longer keep her mouth shut. She wanted to talk alright.

"Listen here," she said angrily. "I have faced many enemies far greater than you. And your just lying to yourself if you'd ever think you'd actually get to touch me before your hand would be gone." She said with a smile as she unsheathed her sword slowly and twisted the sword in the air. "I, Lucy Pevensie, High Queen of Narnia, am not afraid of you. I mean look around you,"

she said gesturing with her free hand. "You don't even have an army." She said confidently.

"That is where your incorrect you little wench." Vartan spat out with rage. "I do have an army, I was just going to make one last generous offer before he and his men get killed."

"Oh really. And what's that?" She didn't believe it. Any of it.

"It's simple, I won't kill the kings son, if he finally gives me what I deserve.... Narnia."

Vartan suddenly laughed to himself, and what he said next made Lucy's heart fill with rage.

"And I think you and I both know which one he's going to pick..."