(Untitled)

[az_from_the_oz]

There came a time when people needed to face their fears. Azkadellia was aware of that and after almost two months on the island she had finally decided to return to the place where she had arrived. The caves.

She had quite liked exploring them back in the O.Z. with DG (never going too far in and always remembering the way home, of course), but the

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[giftless]

With Lucy in school all day and Susan taking care of Rickon, Edmund was a bit short handed when it came to friends he could run around with during the days. There was always Caspian, and Edmund did spend a lot of time with his royal brother, but although Ed enjoyed the sea and the Dawn Treader a great deal, it wasn't his ship and he wasn't a sailor. Not to mention that taking care of it while moored at a dock was far more boring than taking care of a ship on the great seas.

So he'd taken to exploring by himself, at least for that day. His sword was tucked safely at his hip, just in case, and his eyes were open and observant as he walked through the jungle. He came out just about where the caves were, and by chance saw the girl walking away from them and towards him.

"Oh, hello," he said, giving her a polite smile.

[az_from_the_oz]

Az had been so flustered after her moment at the entrance of the caves that she hadn't even noticed the boy coming towards her until he spoke. Years of etiquette and training stopped her from jumping or looking too startled. Instead she just looked mildly embarrassed about the whole thing. She especially hoped he hadn't seen her standing in front of the caves for a good five minutes, looking like a complete idiot.

"Hello." She noticed the sword and looked at it curiously for half a moment. That definitely wasn't something she saw everyday here. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming at first."

[giftless]

Ed shrugged, but there was a sort of grace to it that he'd picked up from his time as a king and that the recent voyage had only awoken in him once again. "I didn't see you either," he said, both apology and forgiveness.

"Were you exploring?" Ed asked, nodding towards the caves. She had come from that direction, after all.

[az_from_the_oz]

"In the caves?" Az briefly looked back over her shoulder at them, then back at the boy. "No. Not in there. I almost did, but... It's very dark in there and I don't have a light." It wasn't quite an excuse, but it wasn't the whole truth either. After a while she tried changing the subject.

"My name is Azkadellia," she said and gave a slight, regal curtsy.

[giftless]

"A torch would be good," Edmund said in a distracted tone. He was looking at the caves as well, thinking of how far they went and how dark it would be, if he really should go in alone or just wait for some other time.

He looked back at the girl when she introduced herself, as it was only good manners. Recognizing the quality of her manners, Edmund bowed quite regally as well in return. "Edmund Pevensie," he introduced himself. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Azkadellia. I say, that's an interesting name." He'd never heard anything like it in Narnia or England at least.

[az_from_the_oz]

"So is Edmund Pevensie," Az said with a smile and something of a laugh. "No offense, of course. Azkadellia is a name from where I lived, the O.Z. She was one of my ancestors." She had noticed Edmund's bow and was now beginning to wonder just where he was from. "Most people just call me Az. Where are you from, Edmund?"

[giftless]

"Oh, sorry!" Edmund said, looking quite apologetic. But since she didn't seem too put out by it, he supposed laughing at himself was better than apologizing more. "I meant no offense either, of course. I'd just never heard it before."

Or the O.Z. for that matter. It seemed an odd thing to name a kingdom or a country, but having learned his lesson already, Ed didn't mention that out loud. "Well, I was born in England," he explained. "But I've lived an awful lot in a place called Narnia. You might have heard of it, if you know my sisters Susan or Lucy."

[az_from_the_oz]

"No, I don't think I've met them. Are those places part of the Otherside? That's where almost everyone here seems to be from." It all seemed very unfair sometimes, especially now that she'd met someone who was actually lucky enough to have his sisters on the island with him. Az would have done anything just to have DG back with her.

[giftless]

"I'm not sure," Edmund said, cocking his head to the side thoughtfully. "Though it sounds like maybe yes and maybe no. England is a part of Earth. That's a planet, and it's round. But you can only get to Narnia through magic. It's another world and time moves differently there than in England. And it's flat, with an edge and everything. But I've never heard either be called the Otherside before."

[az_from_the_oz]

"Earth! That's it!" Az smiled delightedly. "That's the Otherside. It and the O.Z. are connected somehow and every now and then people slip from one to the other. My father was from Earth. It only has one sun like this place, doesn't it? In the Outer Zone we have two. You must get terribly cold sometimes on the Otherside."

Azkadellia paused and looked back over at the caves again. "Perhaps we could walk somewhere else and talk about this? I don't like having them there behind me. It almost feels like someone is watching."

[giftless]

He had sort of hoped that by throwing out names, something would hit, and Edmund was quite pleased that his plan had produced results so quickly. He was a little surprised that she wanted to move away from the caves though. The caves Edmund were familiar with were happy, cozy, warm things that housed fauns and the like. At worst a grumpy dwarf or a grumpy cousin turned into a dragon.

All the same, he didn't judge her for the request, but acquiesced quickly. "Of course," he said and, because of the curtsy and all, stepped forward to offer her his arm. Sometimes it was easier to forget that he wasn't in Narnia than at others.

"That sounds like magic to me," Edmund said, continuing their conversation. "My siblings and I, we slipped through into Narnia completely on accident. It only has one sun though. It does get cold on Earth, especially at the poles and during certain parts of the year. Do you not have winter or Christmas then?"

[az_from_the_oz]

Azkadellia took his arm with a smile, feeling more like a princess than she had in some time. Ambrose and Mr. Cain always treated her like one, of course, but that wasn't the same as some one roughly her own age acting so politely towards her.

"It is magic. My mother, the Queen, can call up travel storms that carry people from one place to the other. Sometimes it happens by accident though."

Her mood got visibly brighter the farther they moved from the caves. "Of course we have winter. At the Northern island we have the most wonderful snows. The palace there is set on an island and when it gets cold enough the whole lake freezes over."

[giftless]

Once, unfortunately not all that long ago, Edmund had seen a palace that sounded quite a bit like this place on the Northern Island. It did not bring back happy memories, but Azkadellia was smiling so now that Edmund didn't want to bring her down by being a wet blanket. So he smiled and nodded. "That sounds brilliant. Jolly good for ice skating, I'd say."

Edmund also did not know many women who knew magic who were all that good, but he made the best of that too. "Your mother's the queen of the O.Z.? That makes you the princess then, doesn't it?"

[az_from_the_oz]

"It is. And sledding too. I think I like the summer palace better though. It's smaller and more peaceful." Az paused uncertainly for half a moment, thinking about how odd that was. One of her favorite places had been hiding a witch for all those hundreds of years, but nobody had ever known or suspected anything strange. Why had the witch waited so long? Why did everything have to happen on that one perfect day?

She almost visibly shook herself out of it and gave a small, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I was... thinking about home. But yes, I am a princess and so is my little sister. One of us will be queen one day, but I don't know which."

[giftless]

Edmund didn't speak, thinking that she had something more to say and not wanting to interrupt her, as that was very rude. But he accepted the apology easily and smiled. "It's alright. Your home sounds like a lovely place, and I imagine you miss it a lot." And of course she would get lost thinking of it.

"Maybe both of you could be queen," Edmund suggested. "Well, one High Queen and one just Queen. That's how we did things in Narnia, my siblings and I. Peter and Susan are the eldest, so they were crowned High King and High Queen, and Lucy and I are younger, so we're just King Edmund and Queen Lucy."

Not that there was anything just about being a king or a queen. But Edmund was talking to a princess, so of course she understood.

[az_from_the_oz]

"That sounds like a nice way of doing it. I'm not sure anyone has ever done that in the O.Z. though. And there is a rhyme, a prophecy about us. I used to think it was silly, but now I'm not so certain." Az bit her lip uncertainly before continuing, closing her eyes as she steadily recited.

"The majestic queen of the O.Z.,
Had two lovely daughters she,
One to darkness she be drawn,
One to light she be shown.
Double eclipse it is foreseen,
Light meets dark in the stillness between.
But only one and one alone,
shall hold the emerald and take the throne."

Azkadellia opened her eyes at the end of it, trying not to look as upset as she felt. "Something terrible was happening when I slipped here, something terrible might have happened to my sister. There are people I know here from my future, and they tell me everything is all right now, but I don't know what happens in between."