This story takes place two years after the events of the first one. Lucy is 17, Edmund is 19, Susan is 21 and Peter is 22. It is wildly inspired by Tonzura's Monochrome. So in her honor I would like to post the line that inspired me to start writing this one:

"Because something about people with pushy personalities drew the indecisive like flies to honey." – Tonzura123, "Monochrome"

I f***ed up the timeline (as I'm known to do). I changed it and it shouldn't interfere with your viewing pleasure at all ;)

Four Corners of a Map

Prologue

"The immortal gazed upon the weeping king as he knelt before his brother, and said: 'You, who carry your shield upon your back to protect your king and brother, but not yourself; how you have suffered the weight of your master's wrongdoings,'

The young king looked up at the wise immortal with inconsolable longing. 'Did I not deserve so? My guilt was my sin. A cloak under which the truth was hidden, and under which I allowed it to remain so. Should I not have seen the looming threat to my brother's life as well as to my own?'

The immortal saddened to such a degree that the heavens opened and wept tears of sorrow. 'My king, I would never fault you for having more love in your heart, than you do anger.'"

(In the year 1008, Narnian calendar)

"Sires," Oreius whispered. A young girl sat with her back to a line of soldiers. The general was holding back his men on the high king's command. They stood, frozen just outside the line of trees. It felt so wrong to see a beautiful girl like her, sitting alone in a field as she listened to a ghostly wind.

"There's not a soul for miles. How did she survive?" Peter whispered into the air. Edmund and Oreius shared a look behind his head.

"She's just sitting there." Edmund mumbled. It was true. Straight ahead of them, not fifty feet out, in the tall grass. His hand was already gripping his sword. Something felt very, very wrong.

"How did she survive . . ." Peter whispered again, not really a question anymore.

Edmund swallowed down the wave of fear that ripped through him. "Perhaps she's not as innocent as she seems." He shared a meaningful look with his brother. "How do you wish to proceed?"

Peter looked as frightened as Edmund felt. "Cautiously," He glanced back and snapped out of the strange trance that had held him. "Oreius, stay here with the men. Prepare to attack on my order."

The general nodded. Peter looked back at Edmund. "Ready?"

Just the two of us, then. It did seem like overkill to march their entire battalion into the field just because of a feeling. Because of one girl. Ed nodded and followed his brother into the grass on foot. They couldn't see anything below their knees. In a land where enemies came in all sizes that added a new layer of paranoia.

"Be careful, Edmund." Philip whispered in departure.

Ed smirked and hoped to exude a bit of calm. As the two kings made their way through the grass, the feeling of unease grew deeper. Like a fist around their hearts. Both reached for their swords. "Peter, tell me you hear that."

She was humming. Not loudly. Just enough to be heard over the wind, but not enough for the others to hear. He nodded. "Ready your sword."

Edmund suddenly knew his brother felt the same anxiety as himself. "Miss?" he called softly.

She turned in surprise. "Oh, hello," A smile. "Just in time."

They glanced at each other. Peter shook his head to Oreius and stayed glued to his brother's side. "In time for what?" Edmund asked.

She held out a little wreath made of daisies. "To accept your crowns." Her smile wilted a little. It turned false enough to send shivers up their spine. "Isn't that what you came here for? To enforce your will?"

The way she said it made it sound like they had no right to do anything of the sort. "You're one of Jadis' followers." Edmund said. His expression darkened. He would recognize a believer of Jadis' anywhere.

Her smile vanished completely and left behind a grim frown. "You stupid humans always ruin everything." Not only did she speak like Jadis, but she looked like her too.

"How many have you killed?" Edmund asked, ignoring her accusation.

The smile returned. "All of them," A smile. "They suffered through months of torture in only one night." Another pleased smile. She chuckled and finished the second wreath. "Died in their beds, screaming, but no one ever heard them."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Peter sounded breathless.

She looked up and everything about her changed. Her expression turned angry. "To bring you here."

The look in her eyes was something Edmund had seen once before. A predatory gaze. He had seen it in Jadis once and now again, in this girl. A soundless boom exploded from her like wind. It flattened the grass and caused both brothers to stumble back in shock. Like a smell, it seeped down their throats with the next, deep breath. There it filled their lungs and oxidized their bloodstreams. The last Edmund heard before he hit the ground was Oreius' battle cry and the spirit's scream.

Peter woke up sometime later to his youngest sister hovering over him.

"What happened?" he mumbled as he sat up. They were in the forest. Not far from the castle. It appeared that Lucy had become worried and rode out to meet them.

"You don't remember?" She looked close to tears. Something was very wrong.

Peter paled and his breathing stopped. Panic. "Edmund-"

"Edmund's fine. He's just as worried about you as you are of him."

Peter sat up straighter. "Where is he?"

She gestured to a recently pitched tent behind her. "I gave him a sedative."

"Why?" He rubbed his head. He had trouble recalling what he had been doing before he fainted.

"Peter, he-" She stopped and glanced in the direction of the tent. "What exactly do you remember?"

He stared blindly in front of him as he tried to remember the events that had led to him waking up in the forest, surrounded by his men. "We set out to find the Cruel. She was sitting in a field." His voice died down to a whisper on the last words. Surrounded by ice. He whirred his head. "No. . .That's wrong."

"What is?"

A castle of ice. "That's not wh- What happened. . ." He began shaking.

"Oreius, we need you!" Lucy was suddenly pushing him down. She was handed a bowl and poured its contents down his throat. Something hot that bubbled lazily in his stomach.

"What is it, Queen Lucy?" He looked drawn and pale. So frail that Peter almost wept. A Centaur should never look so vulnerable.

"He's remembering."

She sounded scared. A whimper. "What. . ." Peter couldn't tell if he was really there. Blue walls kept flickering in and out in front of him. He remembered the cold. "What happened. . .?"

"Tell me you found her!" Lucy growled.

Oreius ground his jaw. "Still searching, My Queen."

"Damn." she hissed and returned to the close inspection of her brother. "The drugs are working." The angry bite had left her voice. Peter was falling asleep. Sinking deeper and deeper into his subconscious. "He's beginning to remember."

"Do you wish to put them both in the same tent?"

Peter groaned as another flicker burned its way through him. She gestured for a Faun and Dryad to help her lift. "Yes. As close to each other as they can get."

Oreius quickly bowed and left.

Days passed in a haze of panicked nightmares and screams. Neither of the kings remembered much. Tough both their sisters tried to speak to them about what they had dreamed both were reluctant to share their memories. Even general Oreius never spoke of his own dreams.

It was the last month of summer before the northern winds came. The Cruel had attacked a village before the kings found her, and wiped out every living soul in just one night. If they didn't find her before winter, they never would. Peter knew this. His brother and sisters knew this. Autumn snuck over the lands and turned everything from sparkling green, to cool rust.

The kingdom was scoured in search of the Cruel. Later on they discovered exactly what had happened. She had attacked Narnian citizens through their nightmares. They were told that the spirit had killed every living Animal and Creature within ten miles of that field. They had ripped the area apart, but never found any sign of her and never saw her again.

Edmund and Peter had later led teams to discover exactly how many had died. In one small enclave, they had arrived to a wasteland. About a dozen Animals or so were found dead. Not one of them had been left alive. They looked as though they had all died in their sleep.

Edmund carried those memories to his dying day.

Author's Note: Consider this a teaser. I know it's confusing right now. The entire story is pretty much that way (not like this chapter, but confusing nevertheless). Also, the wait WILL be longer. I know I say that every time, but this time it's really true. :( Let me know how excited you are about this story. Might help with the "waiting" part.