The Chronicles of Narnia: The King and The Servant

~ Chapter 1: Late & Dead ~

A pink sky, blue grass, a tree made of spiced wine, and, of course, let's not forget about the hundreds of butterflies that look like mini griffons fluttering around me as my long, brown hair blows in the wind, which seems to taste and smell like vanilla. And this is why I love dreaming. It means I can have a few hours to myself in which I can fall deep into my subconscious and not have to worry about the outside world. Of course I have to eventually wake up though. My dream fades slowly as light pushes eagerly under my eyelids. My body starts to heat up also and I can't help my forehead's movements as it creases with curiosity. How peculiar. My eyes open of their own accord, immediately directing themselves over to the surprisingly light window. Yanking the soft, bed sheets off of me, hurriedly I drop out of bed and sprint over to my lit up curtains. I wrench them open only to get flooded with warm sunlight – the sun! It's real? But wait doesn't that mean...they're here! The squeal that leaves my lips is almost non-human as I bounce over to my slippers which are over in the corner of the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch my reflection in the mirror. I grimace as I turn to it fully. My long, brown hair is in one large entanglement. What a way to ruin the perfect morning. I get out my wooden comb and drag it harshly through the large knots. It takes me a few minutes but in the end it's straight.

Walking over to my window, I glance out into sunshine filled forest. For the first time in my life, the trees are covered in patches of green. What's that stuff called again? Oh, that's right, leaves. The water in the Great River is bubbling ferociously and slightly overflowing onto more green stuff that is on the ground. I do believe they call that grass. There's only one problem about all of this though and that is the fact that I can see everything perfectly. I'm guessing that it's around eight in the morning which would mean that I'm two hours late for work. As a result, I run over to the closet and pull out my black and white servant uniform. I shove it on as quickly as I can and put my hair up into a very messy bun. Once it's tied back with the ribbon, I rush into my kitchen and grab the closest eatable thing I see. I take a huge bite out of it, but spit it immediately back out again. That apple is rotten. I toss it into our waste container before I rush out the front door. I go to run over to the stable, but my feet freeze as soon as I step outside. My eyes do a double take. There's no snow – anywhere. The forest is made up of greens and browns. My mouth falls open and I can't help but bend down and look closely at the fluffy stuff that they call grass. Will it hurt me? It looks sort of pointy. I bend over slightly and with a shaky hand touch the grass. It feels a little bit like...actually I can't describe what it feels like. It's so different. Ashley, work? The grass and trees are out of my mind as quick as lightning. I rush over to the stable that is at the back of our little, stone cottage and rip open the gate. The huff that Crystal gives me is not at all a pleasant one.

"Be careful, Ashley! I'm not a haystack!" she snaps at me.

"I don't have time for this, Crystal. I'm two hours late for work!" I argue back, instantly shutting her up. She lets out a quick breath and starts running immediately, rather cautiously at first though I might add, since she's not used to grass and that brown stuff, which I do believe is called dirt. I ride as fast as I can through the bright, green woods to Cair Paravel, trying not to get distracted by all the new and exciting things that are around me. I was born into the white, winter world of Narnia so this is extremely thrilling for me. The main thing that keeps me focused is knowing that if I don't get to work now I will most likely be fired. Oh joy. Starstone counts on me to get the castle clean and if I am not there then nothing will ever get done.

It isn't long before my eyes grab hold of the large, stone walls and golden gates of the castle; the already open gates I might add on. They should be closed when I get here in the morning. A light, almost airy, sound reaches my ears suddenly. I know that noise from anywhere. "NO, NO, NO! Not today!" I scream as the gates start to close. No one is stupid enough to leave the gates wide open with the White Witch nearby. I kick Crystals side roughly, trying to speed her up.