A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back and am finally in the process of updating all my current works. I really missed writing and talking to some of you guys <3

I know this may be redundant to some (especially to my readers here who came from my other books haha), but please understand that postgrad life is hectic and free time just doesn't come by as easy as before :'( I'd actually appreciate more feedback from y'all so that I'd know what you think of my works + it would motivate me to keep writing tbh :>

Thanks again for reading and being so patient. Enjoy!

A vast garden full of shrubs and trees. A gazebo in the center. Two women under the shade with a chess set before them and half-finished tea on the side.

One of the women, distinguished by her tan skin, moved a chess piece across the board.

"Did you just move the Bishop vertically?" said the other. She was fair and dressed in quite extravagant clothing yet somehow emanated humility. Maybe it was the warmth in her eyes and smile that could be felt even from the distance.

"No. Perhaps you're seeing things since I am clearly going to win this round."

"You're provoking me. I might as well use my position to order you to surrender."

"Fine with me. I should get back to work anyway."

"No, stay. They're playing right now, aren't they? He can handle himself for a few more minutes."

The pair giggled together, their laughs sounding musical combined with the birds chirping overhead. As they continued their game of chess, another pair — much younger, louder, and more playful — were further into the garden in their own little world.

It was a young girl and young boy, roughly the same age as one another. Under the shining sun and after having played some tag and hide and seek throughout the day, both looked a bit sweaty and red in the face. But at that moment, contrary to what the women were saying, they were not playing anymore. Instead, they were in the middle of a small argument.

"Mother said the trees and animals practically lived like us, like humans," the girl insisted.

"No, they couldn't have," said the boy. "That's impossible."

"I'm telling the truth! The trees could dance and the animals could talk just like us. They had lives and personalities of their own."

"Yeah, right," he said disbelievingly.

The girl huffed and folded her arms in response, turning her chin up high in defiance. The boy wanted to keep telling her that she was wrong, but the idea of trees and animals practically stepping out of the fairytales he would read sounded so intriguing. He wasn't a toddler and knew better than to believe in simply any story he heard, but he was still so young and hopeful, too. Who wouldn't be interested in hearing about dancing trees and talking animals? And with an imagination as wild as any child, who wouldn't want to believe in all of that?

After a pause, he cleared his throat. The girl glanced at him from the corner of her eye but didn't budge just yet.

"Er..." the boy began. "Did they really do all that? What else did your mother say?"

At long last, a small smile graced the girl's lips. Letting her hands drop back to her sides, she finally faced the boy and said, "Do you want to know more?"

And then it was over. Elara woke up with a start, the dream ending too abruptly for her liking. She wanted to stay in there longer. Strangely, she noted how the scenery had some coldness to it, almost as if she shouldn't have been there. But the people in the dream were comfortable and familiar. Perhaps this is exactly why the other kids in the orphanage found her so odd. Her mind made up so many things, and most of the time, she preferred that over reality.

But this was no time to think about that sad excuse of a home back in England, and all the trauma that went along with it. As Elara rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she realized she had more pressing matters to attend to. She was still in the little house buried within the trees and earth in the middle of a forest she had appeared in out of nowhere, and this house was owned by a dwarf and talking badger. How did she ever get herself into such a predicament?

In spite of everything going on around Elara, she didn't find it too crazy anymore. Everything felt real now, and there was something so inviting about this place: Narnia. And so, she pushed herself off of the little cot that the homeowners had lent her, got to her feet, and made her way out.

Outside the room, beams of sunlight sneaked their way into the house through the windows and cracks, signaling that morning had come. There, the two Narnians she met the night before were already busying themselves, too. Nikabrik was preparing a light meal, which he had only done because Trufflehunter, who was setting up the table, forced him to be hospitable.

"Good, you're awake," said the badger when he saw Elara walk out. "Take a seat. Breakfast will be ready in a while."

"They should be left to starve," grumbled Nikabrik.

"Oh, shush."

Elara sat down across Trufflehunter. She wasn't small nor was she tall, but the tiny chair made her average stature look incredibly out of place.

"Can I ask you a question?" Elara said quietly. Now that the craziness of the previous night had died down just a little, she couldn't help but wonder more about this world she was pulled into.

After setting down the last plate, Trufflehunter acknowledged her, saying, "Ask away."

"What exactly happened to Narnia? Forgive me if it's a sensitive topic, but I just... well, I just want to know more about this place I was brought into."

"To be honest, that's a loaded question," Trufflehunter said thoughtfully. "I wasn't even alive for most of it."

"Just give her the gist so we can go on with our day," Nikabrik huffed.

"Okay, okay," the badger waved him off. "Well, Narnia has such a rich history that I could go on for hours. But what you need to know for now is that this was — is a wonderful place for the most part. We were a diverse and peaceful nation, perfectly one with nature and respectful towards one another. But of course, we have neighbors all around this world. Some are friends, and some are foes. Unfortunately, the Telmarines became our enemy. These people once came from a country called Calormen, but had moved to the land of Telmar and established their own kingdom over the years. And when Narnia fell into the Dark Age, which is another story in itself, my goodness... well, the Telmarines snatched the opportunity to conquer us at our weakest point."

"What happened to Narnia's kingdom, then? Or their army? Did you fight?"

"For starters, the Kings and Queens of Old disappeared a long time ago. We didn't have them to defend us. But yes, we still up a fight... alas, we were not strong enough."

"These royals... they're the ones who own the horn, yes?"

"That's right — Queen Susan's horn. It is said that by blowing it, we will receive the help we need. And it is only when you and Prince Caspian appeared outside of my home last night that the horn was seen for the first time in hundreds of years."

A silence fell over them. Trufflehunter had said a lot for Elara to digest, yet it still didn't feel enough. She had learned some things, of course, but she wanted to know more. She didn't know whether it was her simply being curious, or if she was hoping that by learning about Narnia's history, she could find out why she was forcibly brought into this land in the first place.

"Speaking of Prince Caspian, would you go wake him up?" Trufflehunter asked, standing up and walking to the kitchen. "The food is ready."

Elara obeyed, making her way over to the other room. But upon entering, she found that Caspian was already up and about. His white long-sleeved shirt that hung loosely on his body was slightly wrinkled, and his dark hair that went past his chin was similarly ruffled from his time spent sleeping. He seemed well-rested and ready for the day, but what caught her eye was the bandage around his head with some spots of blood that had seeped through over the night.

"Is something wrong?" was the first thing Caspian asked when he noticed the girl staring.

"No — sort of. You need to change your bandages," she pointed at his head.

"Oh." Caspian felt for the bandage and made an attempt to remove it.

Almost instinctively, Elara stepped forward and offered, "I can help."

"Oh," Caspian said again. "Alright."

Elara gestured for him to sit back down on the edge of the bed. She grabbed the small tray of first-aid materials on the side table that Trufflehunter left there the night before. Then, she plopped down beside the prince and got to work. She removed his dirtied bandages and discarded them. She picked up some of the cotton on the tray, dropped some of the liquid herbal medicines on them, and started gently cleaning the wound on the side of Caspian's head.

"You seem like you know what you're doing," he broke the silence.

"I suppose I do. I live with a lot of younger kids who get themselves injured sometimes, so I guess I'm used to taking care of them."

"Do you have many siblings?"

"Not exactly," Elara mumbled. "Orphanage. That's where I lived."

"I'm sorry," Caspian said, but Elara did not know what to say. He had no reason to be sorry, and she did not want his pity. But because he sounded sincere, Elara merely chose not to respond and continued to dress his wound.

When she reached for the new set of bandages, Elara couldn't help but let her curiosity get the best of her again.

"Prince Caspian," she began.

"Just Caspian is fine," he muttered.

"Oh, yes. Well... if I may, could I ask about your people, Caspian? The Telmarines?" she asked. Caspian stiffened slightly but nodded nevertheless. "What exactly did they do?"

"A lot, that's for sure," Caspian chuckled humorlessly. "If I'm being honest, for a while, I thought that Telmarines like myself were the superior people. That we owned this land and that we are what make it prosper. But somewhere along the way — I cannot remember exactly when or how — something changed. Perhaps it sounds useless for me to say this since I never acted on it, but... I started to see my uncle, Miraz, differently. He was a little more violent and ambitious than I once perceived, and he always spoke as if he knew better than anyone else. But I thought, well, he's my uncle. He was there for me after my parents died. He couldn't be a bad man... he must just want what's best for his people."

Caspian swallowed, looking deep in thought.

"But yesterday sealed the deal for me. My uncle didn't care for me or anyone all this time... he just wanted the throne. And after finding out that Narnians still exist, then the stories I vaguely remember about them must be true."

"Stories?"

"Yes. I don't know where I heard them all, but some were from my father and professor. I didn't really believe that they existed nor that they could be good people just trying to reclaim their land — until last night."

"And you think you can help the Narnians do that?" Elara asked. Caspian nodded firmly.

"I am not my uncle. I did not commit all the atrocities he did and ordered. I believe I can turn things around for Narnia."

"That may be true, but you are still a Telmarine." Caspian opened his mouth to retort at Elara's words, but she raised a hand as if to stop him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to say that it is your fault that this happened — not at all. I just mean that it is still your people that did this. I think it is admirable of you to want to help Narnia, but I think you can hold yourself accountable to some level as well. You also need to be careful with how you plan to approach the Narnians eventually. I doubt they'll welcome you that easily."

For a moment, Caspian didn't speak. Elara almost wanted to take back what she said, wondering if she was too harsh on him. In fact, she had even surprised herself a little for even speaking her mind in such a way. She was more accustomed to staying silent and obeying orders back at Fernsby's Home for Abandoned Children. And yet, here she was, blurting out her unfiltered opinion to a man she just met — and he was a royal on top of that.

"You make good points," Caspian said after a pause. "I'll keep them in mind."

Elara relaxed at those words. Finally replacing the large bandage with a much smaller one that hid itself behind Caspian's hair, she then said, "All done."

Caspian uttered a "thanks" and shifted in his seat to look at her. As she cleaned up the materials, it was his turn to stare. She had olive skin that contrasted the plain dress she wore. Half of her hair, which he saw was full of curls, had been pulled back to keep it out of her face. And just as he caught a glimpse of her eyes that pushed him to wonder who in the world this girl was, Elara noticed him observing her carefully.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, fidgeting a bit under his gaze.

"Have we met before?"

Elara raised her eyebrows. "Perhaps you're still dazed from your injury. I'm pretty sure we haven't met since I just got here last night."

"Right, right," Caspian shook his head. "Sorry. You just seemed familiar."

"It's probably because I'm the only other human you've seen recently," Elara said with a hint of humor.

An amused smile found its way to Caspian's lips. After a moment, he added, "Elara... I want to look for the Narnians today. Once I get to them, I can explain my side and tell them what I know. It will be quicker to act against Miraz that way."

"Today? Now?"

"Yes."

"Trufflehunter and Nikabrik probably won't like this plan," Elara winced.

"And why is that?"

"I believe they want to wait for the Kings and Queens of Old."

"Well, I believe that there is no time to waste," Caspian said. He stood up and began gathering his belongings, from his armor and cape to his sword and sheath.

"You're really going to search for the Narnians now?" she repeated incredulously, standing up as well. "Isn't it dangerous? The Telmarines are still looking for you, aren't they?"

"I am, and I am willing to take the risk. I think it's best that I join forces with the Narnians as early as possible. We could probably find the Kings and Queens of Old together too. Are you coming?"

Elara weighed her options. Should she stay with Trufflehunter and Nikabrik, who wanted to kill her yesterday but at least ended up showing her mercy? Or should she go with Caspian in search of people who might not even exist in a place she knows nothing about, but with the hope that things could unfold for the better? As she stood there and wondered about the possibilities, she realized neither had much benefits, anyway. She would still be stuck in this forest with no idea of what she is meant to do there. Maybe, just maybe, it might be better to take some form of action instead of waiting around and doing nothing. What else was there to do here?

"If we find the Narnians and the Kings and Queens of Old... will they help me get home?" she said.

"You're going home?" another voice said. Trufflehunter had stepped into the room with Nikabrik close behind him, watching them warily. "But you just got here."

Do I even want to go home? Elara thought to herself.

"Look, I was told that the Kings and Queens of Old came from another world, one entirely different from Narnia," said Caspian, addressing Elara. "I think they may have some insights on your situation. If we leave now, the sooner we'll find the other Narnians and the sooner we can search for the kings and queens with their help. But whether all of you like it or not, I am leaving now."

With nothing to lose, Elara eventually gave in and decided to join him.

"I'll come with you."