It was warm enough in Aniese's little pocket of the garden. The sun was just rising and the breeze was nice and warm. She was enjoying the rare silence of -

"Queen Aniese! Queen Aniese!" A small child cried anxiously as she ran into the royal gardens of Sartu. The young queen looked up from her book hearing the call of her name. There, running up the walkway was the young daughter of her most trusted whisperer.

"Nina, you shouldn't be running around like that! Your father has been worried sick and - Is that a scroll? Nina, I told you that -" The young girl cut her off, her chest heaving from running. "But this is important! It's from Telmar! From the Professor. He sent it out last night. Said it had to get to you as quickly as possible." Nina said, as she gave Aniese the scroll.

After reading the message, Aniese closed the scroll slowly, almost as if in shock. "Thank you, Nina. I apologize for yelling, you did a wonderful job." Aniese continued talking as she began to walk briskly towards her castle, "Please, Nina, get my brother. Tell him we need to leave. Immediately."

* * * * *

It only took two hours and five threats to her younger brother, but Aniese was on her way, going where the whispers had last said Caspian would be. As quickly as their horses would go, Aniese and her brother rode on for two days.

"I still don't see why I have to come. King Miraz doesn't want me dead." The fourteen year old boy mumbled under his breath as they trotted along on their horses. He was lounged across his lazily, nose wrinkled in irritation.

"This isn't about you, James. Caspian needs somewhere to go, and we are his only hope at the moment." The queen said as she put most of her focus into listening to their surroundings. She heard a noise, it sounded like armour. "Well, I guess he's hopeless. He's running from soldiers right now." James said with a snort and a point to his left.

It was armour she'd heard. "Stay here." Aniese said, not thinking her actions through as she hopped off of her horse and ran after the soldiers chasing after Caspian. She silently thanked her hand-maidens for convincing her to wear trousers and boots rather than one of her usual dresses as she ran.

Pulling her shimmering, though well worn in, sword from it's holster, Aniese prepared to attack, but didn't get a chance as the men were all getting attacked by what seemed to be an invisible force. She too, felt helpless in that moment as she tried to push harder and reach Caspian before the attacker, but she saw him get knocked to the ground before she could reach him.

"Caspian! Keep fighti - it's a mouse?" She cut herself off when she reached the prince's side to see things were much stranger than she had originally presumed. The mouse went to speak, but Caspian beat him to it, "A very noble mouse." He said with a suggestive nod in her direction while never taking his eyes from the mouse.

Questions were speeding through Aniese's mind at a mile a minute, occupying her focus, but they all came to a screeching halt at the sight of the centaurs that appeared. They were beautiful in an almost terrifying way. They were strong and graceful and obviously warriors, and they helped win more trust on Caspian's side.

Aniese helped Caspian to his feet, reluctantly pulling her eyes from the majestic creatures before her. "Are you alright? We got word from Telmar and came to your aid as quickly as we could." She said, searching the prince's hands and face for obvious injury. "I am fine, thank you. But what are you doing out here by yourself? You are a queen, Aniese, you can not be so careless." He said, now fussing over her.

The two recovered from their inspections and Aniese turned to find her brother trotting up on his horse, her own steed beside his. "I'm not alone. James is with me." Caspian raised an eyebrow in skepticism as the younger prince smiled at him with two pieces of dry grass sticking from the top of his lip like tusks. "Hello Caspian." This made the older of the two boys look back to Aniese, "James doesn't count." He said, making the boy prince frown, his tusks drooping.

"That's enough! You can reconnect on the walk to camp, get moving!" The dwarf said to the two. Aniese and Caspian closed their lips tightly and followed behind, James following with the horses and a scoff, "He's got a big mouth for someone who doesn't stand taller than my hip." He mumbled, earning him a scolding look from his sister.

Remembering to walk and talk, Aniese leaned close to Caspian, the large puff of curls on top of her head brushing his cheek whenever she turned to check on her brother. "Narnians?" She whispered as she gazed at the mismatched group leading them along. Caspian nodded, still in awe, much like the queen beside him, "And there are others."

This made Aniese's eyes widen in shock, her feet halting for a moment, "Others? But they're supposed to be extinct! How many others?" Now Caspian stopped, his eyes wide and searching. Aniese stopped moving to see what all of his fuss was about, and to her surprise, they were surrounded by Narnians. "Hundreds." Caspian whispered, feeling both amazed and afraid.