Crimsonwings92: Oh my God, it's been how long, a year? Hahaha! Feels like it, huh? But, for all of you that remember this story, then you know sort of why I stopped writing it for a while and just to clear up some confusion, this is Jamaican Sunshower, I just changed my name. Hehehe. Anyway, I stopped writing this story because at first I was getting so many negative reviews from people saying stuff like 'this idea is so overused! And blah blah blah blah!' and I just didn't want to deal with that and it was a little discouraging so I stopped for a while, but just recently I got a very genuine message from a reader LifeStyleError and that was honestly the push I needed to start this story again. And just so you know: no, I still have not read the books, I'm just going off of the movies and other little tidbits, so deal. Hahaha! So here it is, FINALLY, chapter three of Out of Air, They Appear. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.

Out of Air, They Appear

Chapter 3: Let's Get Out of Here

'Haaah…this bed is so comfy…hmm, it feels like silk…it feels so good…what the hell?'

She shot up in bed, the bed that wasn't hers and she didn't even remember how she got into, and looked down at her sheets and pillows. Curly black hair fell into an ebony face, golden-green eyes darting around the bed, then the room and eventually widening in shock.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

Avani stumbled out of the large, queen-sized bed that she had been sleeping in, twirling around and around in an attempt to make heads of everything that seemed so tails.

"No! No no no no no no, um, no, this isn't happening," she stammered rapidly, looking at the floor-to-ceiling windows, at the smooth, marble fireplace that was right in front of the bed, at the marble flooring, and ultimately at the blue, glistening ocean right outside the windows.

"Uhh…yeah, Grandma Choco doesn't have one of those," she voiced hysterically as she pointed at the ocean, shaking her head in disbelief, "Yup! I'm pretty sure she doesn't have one of those! Yeah…what the hell is going on here?"

She stood in the middle of the room, turning left and right, still trying to figure out what had happened to her and why she wasn't in her grandmother's house, in the guest room with Carmen sleeping in the other bed!

"Wait…Carmen!" she shrieked, whipping around and sprinting for the door.

She threw the large, and somewhat heavy, wooden barrier open and ran out into the hall, shivering slightly as her feet touched the cold stone floor and the cool air blew around her. She made sure to take light steps as she jogged down the hallway, being as silent as she could so as to avoid detection.

"Okay…gotta find-shit!" she hissed when she turned a corner and saw two minotaurs patrolling the hallway, "Haaah…oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!"

She stayed behind the wall, peeking every now and again to see if the guards had left; they hadn't.

"Oh god, I can't believe this," she breathed, pressing her back against the smooth, stone wall behind her, allowing her head to roll back and hit the wall with a muffled 'thud'.

She spent exactly three seconds…okay, four seconds, thinking of a way to get around the minotaurs before she came up with a brilliant plan! Absolutely genius! Okay, maybe not genius…it's actually pretty stupid.

'But it's the only plan I've got so I'm going for it!' Avani thought to herself before she executed her plan.

"The prisoners are escaping! The prisoners are escaping!"

…See? Told you it was pretty stupid. Avani kept herself flat against the wall behind her, waiting quietly for a second before she heard one of the guards starting to speak.

"Which way did they go?" the guard demanded.

Avani pointed down the hallway opposite of her current position, allowing only her arm and hand to be seen instead of her whole body; "That way! Towards the garden! Hurry!"

Here, Avani remained still as the sounds of shuffling and clanking of metal rang through the air. It sounded like the guards were getting closer so she made a quick decision and dove behind a pillar. She held her breath as the sounds grew louder, half expecting them to find her in her little hiding place, but when nothing happened and the sound grew faint, she chanced a peek around the corner and saw that the guards were running in the opposite direction.

'Oh…my…lanta! It actually worked!'

"YES!" she hissed out in, jumping out from behind the pillar and doing a little jig, "It worked! It worked! It worked!...Oh yeah!"

After successfully finishing her victory dance, Avani took off down the hall in search of Carmen. She checked every room behind every door that she came in contact with, coming up with negative results every time.

"Argh! This place is like a freakin' maze! I'll never find Carmen at this rate-AH!"

"AAHHH!"

Avani took deep even breaths in order to calm her rapidly beating heart before she blinked in realization at the person that was standing in front of her.

"Carmen!"

"Avani!"

The two best friends hugged each other tightly, both excited yet jumpy at the same time since they were basically playing fugitive and running away from 'royalty'. Carmen was the first one to break the hug, looking at her darker friend then at their surroundings.

"So…it really wasn't a dream?" she asked, her brown eyes glinting with panic.

"I guess not," Avani answered, "but that doesn't mean we can't still wake up from this wacked out place! All we have to do is find that cave."

"But…But the Kings and Queens said-"

"Forget what they said!" the ebony skinned girl exclaimed, turning back to her friend, "we're getting out of here one way or another. Now, which way leads outside…"

While her very close to bull-headed best friend pondered on an escape route, Carmen couldn't help but look down at Avani's attire, tilting her head to the side as a smile graced her lips.

"Aww, that's a cute nightgown, Avani," she cooed, liking the light blue, sheer color of the ankle-length nightgown.

Avani blinked and cocked her own head to the side in confusion before looking down at her attire as well; "My nightgown? Oh, my gosh! This thing is see through! There are some perverts up in here!"

"Hehehe! You got molested! You got molested! You got molested!" the Latina chanted in a sing-song voice, bouncing back and forth on the tips of her feet.

Avani whirled on her with a glare and gritted out, "This is hardly funny, Carmen! Gasp! Be quiet!"

Both girls fell silent as they heard the sound of multiple feet on concrete floor then the voices of a few guards starting to approach.

"Where are they? Did you find the prisoners?"

"No, they're gone! We can't find them anywhere!"

"Well, keep looking! They have to be somewhere in the castle! Find them before the Kings and Queens hear word of this!"

"Crap! We gotta get out of here!" Avani exclaimed frantically, running left then right like a chicken without a head, trying to figure out which way to go.

"But we need clothes! We can't run around like this!" Carmen objected, indicating to Avani's light blue nightgown and her own black and gold one.

Avani contemplated her words for a moment, putting a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "Yeah, you're right."

"This way men! Check this hall!" a guard shouted, his voice sounding dangerously close to where the two outlandish girls were.

The females squealed in panic, both starting to jump around as fear began to creep up on them. If they were found and captured, they were doomed. Avani paused for a moment when she noticed a door less than 10 feet away from them. Salvation!

"Quick, Carmen, this way!" she beckoned her best friend, already running for the door.

Carmen turned and followed after her as directed, slipping into the room and shutting the door quietly just as the guards turned down the hallway the two girls were in just a moment ago. Carmen flattened herself against the door, listening to their running feet just outside the door, praying to any god willing to listen that they would completely bypass the room and keep looking. Luck was on their side as the loud, clanking noise of the guards' armor began to grow distant, Carmen chancing their safety to crack the door open and scout out their surroundings.

"…Looks like we're clear," she confirmed, opening the door a little further to stick her head out and, indeed, finding that the guards had gone.

"And I think I've found a solution to our clothes-less problem," Avani added from her place in front of a double door closet.

Carmen padded over to where she stood and peered inside, seeing lines of clothes placed their for any visitor's convenience. However, there was one problem: they were all clothes for men.

"You know…" Carmen started, stroking her chin slightly as she cocked her head to the side, "I bet if we had stayed in our rooms, we would have found clothes more suited for our feminine nature."

"Oh, shut up! You know good and well we weren't in our right minds to stop and think about that," Avani snapped, walking into the closet and pulling down a dark green tunic and a brown vest, holding both items to her torso, "We'll just have to make this work."

Carmen walked into the closet as well and pulled down a dark blue tunic with a black vest, holding them to her small frame; "I guess so. We don't really have any other choice do we?"

A few minutes later finds our two heroines fully dressed in the men's clothes they had found and quietly sneaking around the castle, keeping close to the walls and shadows so as to avoid being seen. They had several close calls when they accidently turned down a hallway with guards patrolling, but thanks to some quick thinking, they were able to avoid a hairy situation and stay hidden. This did little to calm their frazzled nerves considering they had yet to find a way out of the castle and hadn't eaten anything since the day before…in the morning. Carmen stopped and clutched her stomach as a particularly loud growl left her bowls.

"Aaaahhh! Avani, I'm hungry," she whined, pouting as Avani stopped and looked back at her.

She put a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side; "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to run down to Burger King and get you a combo meal?" she asked sarcastically.

Carmen just continued to pout, "That's not nice! We haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning!"

"Yeah…I guess you're right. I'm kind of hungry, too," the ebony girl replied, rubbing her own stomach.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure if we find the kitchen, we'll also find a way out of here," Carmen added helpfully, "If this is anything like a fairytale, the kitchen usually leads to the outside so the maids and such can like…I don't, empty the wash bin or something."

Avani blinked; "Girl…you are a freaking genius! Let's go!"

With that, they switched directions entirely and took off in search of the kitchen. They searched for about a half hour, once again keeping to the shadows to avoid detection. Surprisingly enough, they were able to find the kitchen without being caught and as if Lady Luck were saying 'God, you're my favorite people today!', there were no cooks or maids in the kitchen. The place was well lit with the bright sun streaming in through the many windows and illuminating everything in a happy glow. The counters, shelves, cabinets, tables, and chairs were all wooden and there seemed to be some kind of sink-like thing near one of the windows. There was a large, brick oven in the wall neck to a big, potbelly stove and something that might have been…a fridge? Well, it was cold like one, so it must be a fridge.

"Talk about low tech…" Avani commented as she stood in the middle of the kitchen.

"Wow! How lucky can we get today?" Carmen exclaimed as she made a beeline for a cupboard in search of something to eat.

Avani squeaked and knocked on the wooden table in the middle of the kitchen; "Let's try not to jinx our luck right now, okay? We need the rest of it to get us home," she responded, staring at the fruit in the bowl sitting on the table.

"…Uh huh…" Carmen replied distractedly as she pulled out a large piece of cloth from God knows where and placed a loaf of bread in the middle of it along with some muffins of different varieties.

Avani rolled her eyes at the simple answer before she, herself, hurried about the kitchen, grabbing another piece of cloth and placing a few apples, pears, and bananas in the middle. She then went towards the fridge looking thing and opened it to see a small, block of cheese sitting there.

"Should we take the cheese?" she asked her best friend.

"Oh, hell yeah," Carmen responded, tying up her share of the food securely.

Avani slid the cheese out of the fridge contraption and placed it in the middle of her piece of cloth, tying it up just like Carmen did and slinging it around her back.

"Okay, now we need to find…that door that absolutely leads outside!" the golden-green eyed girl exclaimed triumphantly as she pointed to said door in the corner.

"Cool beans! Let's go!" Carmen cried as she and Avani slipped through the door as silently as mice and disappeared into the morning, no trace of their whereabouts left behind.

"What, in the name of Aslan, do you mean they've escaped?"

The guards flinched at the anger laced in High King Peter's voiced, shrinking back slightly as the handsome young king fumed at them, his stature tall, his strong jaw set, and his deep blue eyes blazing furiously.

"Sire, they seemed to have escaped some time early this morning," one of the guards answered as the other one took over.

"None of us were aware, your majesty."

"How were you not aware! You were supposed to be guarding them!" Peter continued, feeling frustrated.

"Peter, please," Queen Susan cut in, getting up from her throne and advancing towards her brother, "Do not shout at them, it is not their fault. We don't know these girls; they are probably capable of anything."

Peter glared down at his sister, being met with an equally determined glare, before he sighed in exasperation and waved the guards off.

"Very well, then. You did the best you could with the new…guests. Queen Susan is right, it is not your fault," he admitted, much to the relief of the two guards, "Continue on your search of the castle and the surrounding area. If we know anything about showing up in a strange place with strange people and creatures, is that, without a doubt, the feeling of desperation will kick in and they will most likely be searching for a way home…and that also means-"

"That they will be seeking out the cave they came from before," King Edmund finished for his brother.

The blond king nodded his head before dismissing the guards, "You have your orders, now go."

And like a flash, the guards took off to rally the troops in search of the two mysterious girls so as not to get on the king's bad side again lest the Queen not be around to save them for a second time. High King Peter watched the guards leave before heaving a heavy sigh and turning back to his siblings, his head down as he immersed himself in thought. His royal siblings watched him as he, then, began to pace back and forth slowly, looking at the décor of the throne room with his hands clasped his hands behind his back.

"…Honestly, this is more of a headache than I need in the morning," he mumbled to himself, much to the amusement of his brother and sisters.

"Peter," Queen Susan spoke up softly, approaching her brother slowly and putting a small hand on his arm, "Have peace of mind, my brother. Everything will be okay."

"But what if they were spies, Susan? What if they have made out of the castle with important battle strategies? What if they have found our weaknesses and are reporting them to their own king? To the Calormen King? Talmorine King? Ackia King?"

"Within less than a day, brother?" Susan questioned with a smile, giggling as Peter sulked off to the side, "I hardly believe they are capable of doing much of anything to that extreme, Peter. Do you not remember what they were wearing yesterday? Their clothes were not that of Narnia, they didn't even look to be that of England from where we came."

Edmund stood up from his throne and stepped down to the main floor; "She's right, Pete. What they were wearing was rather peculiar. Nothing I've ever seen before."

"And they did say they came from a place called…what was it called?" Queen Lucy continued, stopping to think for a moment as she put a finger to her lips.

"They said North Carolina and that they came here after walking through a cave," King Edmund answered, facing his three siblings.

"And if that's really the case," Queen Susan continued, facing her older brother, "then they have no intention of harming our kingdom, our people, or us. If anything, those poor girls are scared out of their minds and are looking for that cave to get back home. "

High King Peter regarded his siblings for a moment longer, looking between each face before sighing and walking up the marble steps to his throne. He sat down with a small plop, rubbing his temple as he felt that dreaded headache beginning to form. The other king and two queens smiled at their older brother, Edmund being the one to speak up.

"Well, think about it this way, Peter, if we find them at least with those two girls around, you won't be so bored anymore," he teased.

"Oh, shut up Ed."

Crunch. Munch. Munch. Munch. Crunch. Munch. Munch. Munch. Crunch. Munch. Munch. Munch.

"Hehehe, I'm so glad we found the kitchen or I would be dying right about now," Carmen giggled, biting into her apple and chewing on it contently.

Avani smiled at her from her spot on the rock they were sitting on, breaking off a piece of her blueberry muffin and popping it into her mouth. Her eyes began to wander over the scenery before her; taking in how the bright sun of this 'Cair Paravel' located in this 'Narnia' place lit everything it touched up with its happy rays. The birds flew through the sky without a care in the world, their majestic song reaching her ears and having a strange calming effect on her. Her eyes then landed on the castle of Cair Paravel, the flags floating about in the breeze and adding to the regal feel of the castle itself. Carmen noticed Avani's quiet behavior and turned to look at what she was looking at. She swallowed her mouth full of apple and addressed her best friend.

"What's going through your head right now, Avani? Are you starting to feel bad about leaving the people that you hardly even know?" Carmen questioned, taking another bite of her apple.

"Tsk. No, why the hell would I feel like that, huh?" Avani grimaced, taking a nice bite out of her muffin, chewing it thoughtfully before she continued, "I was just thinking…this is so freaking strange, you know? It seems far too much like a dream, but at the same time, too real…"

"I bet you it was Mama Choco," Carmen suggested, "I bet she was tired of us running off all day and then coming back all late at night. You know how much that pisses her off, so she decides to teach us a lesson by putting crack or some kind of drug in our food to knock us out. I bet we never even left her house yesterday, I bet we're both still sleeping in our beds back home!"

"Okay, as convincing as that sounds, riddle me this, my friend. Why, if we are sleeping back home, are we talking to each other like this?" Avani questioned with a blank face.

Carmen stopped and looked at the surface of the rock, cocking her head to the side in thought. After a moment's pause she cocked her apple at Avani and nodded.

"You're right. So what do you think happened to get us here then?" she inquired, reaching over to rip off a piece of cheese and plain bread to eat together.

Avani put her hands up and shook her head, "I don't know, I really don't care, I just want to get home so Mama Choco won't have more of a reason to skin us alive and send our remaining parts back to our parents in the mail. Are we ready to get going again? I think if we start now, we'll be back home by sundown if anything."

"Yeah, let's do this!" Carmen exclaimed, polishing off her bit of food and dusting her hands of the crumbs.

The two girls jumped up off the rock and gathered the food back into the cloths, throwing the sacks over their backs and continuing on into the forest. They spent several hours trekking through the foliage, jumping at almost every sound they heard for fear of being chased down by centaurs and minotaurs. They stopped once more some time after high noon in order to eat lunch, having already covered enough ground to make themselves feel proud; in fact, they were sitting just below the cliff from where they had fallen!

"We are making some good time, huh, Avani?" Carmen asked, grinning cheekily as she finished off her muffin and pear, wiping the crumbs off of her hands and lap.

"I'll say. I don't think we've ever scouted so fast before!" the ebony skinned girl agreed, hopping up as well and looking at the cliff before them, "Well, this is the last obstacle we have before we get back to that cave. It doesn't look too difficult; I see little spots up there that look like little pathways. In fact, they all seemed joined together so if we get up there, the rest should be a piece of cake!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get our asses up there!" Carmen cried, already running the rest of the way towards the rock cliff and starting to climb up, Avani close behind.

And so, the ascent up the rock face began, the two foreign girls scaling the cliff to get to their destination. There have been a few close calls such as Carmen losing her footing on the way up and nearly falling off the ledge. Thanks to sudden instinct, she was able to grab onto the next ledge and balance herself as well as effectively give Avani a heart attack.

"Are you trying to kill me?" the golden-green eyed girl shouted at her best friend, a hand over her rapidly beating heart.

"No! Apparently, I'm trying to kill myself!" Carmen shot back sarcastically, glaring up at Avani.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY! WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL YOUR MOM IF I COME BACK WITHOUT YOU? SORRY, BUT YOUR DAUGHTER FELL OFF A CLIFF IN NARNIA? THEY'LL THINK I'M CRAZY!"

"Trust me, they already do," Carmen muttered as she pulled herself up and onto the ledge of the pathway that Avani was already standing on.

"What was that?" Avani screamed.

"Nothing! Stop yelling before the next one losing their footing is you!" Carmen demanded, turning to walk up the ledge.

Avani narrowed her eyes at her best friend's retreating back before she looked over the ledge and shivered. Putting the idea of a narrow death out of her mind, she followed after Carmen, finding her prediction to be right as they easily climbed the rest of the way up the cliff and made it to the top safely. However, at the top of the cliff, something very surprising was waiting for them to arrive, hiding in the foliage of the Narnian Forest. Carmen hauled herself up over the ledge of the cliff, scooting away from the edge before reaching down to help Avani up as well.

"Well…we made it," Carmen breathed out, holding a hand to her heart as she peered over the cliff's edge; she's slightly afraid of heights and the higher up they went, the more she began to panic a little.

"Yup, now all we have to do is find that cave and get the hell out of here," Avani replied, scooting away from the ledge and then standing up, dusting off her pants.

She helped Carmen stand up before the two girls began their walk into the forest. They were silent for a few minutes before Carmen broke the silence with a question that had been on both of their minds since they were basically captured by those centaurs.

"What do you think Mama Choco will do to us when we get back?"

"I don't even want to think about that," Avani answered, holding her hands out and balancing herself as she jumped onto a fallen tree and walked across it, Carmen doing the same, "Probably beat our asses so much we won't be able to sit down for a week."

Carmen clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, "She can't do that, we're too old to be spanked."

"…You're right, she'd probably kill us and use our blood for one of her séances," Avani corrected herself, jumping down from the tree.

Carmen paused in place and stared after her best friend, "You're grandma still does that?"

Avani laughed and shook her head, "Not anymore…she stopped about a year ago."

Carmen squeaked in fear and Avani laughed again.

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

The ebony girl stopped in her tracks and turned her head to the side, a sudden spike in fear causing her sense of hearing to increase.

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

"What's up?" Carmen asked, standing next to her.

"Shhh," Avani hushed her, holding a hand up as her eyes began to wander around the forest for any suspicious movement, "Do you hear that?"

Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.

"Oh, crap. What's out there?" Carmen whispered, panic starting to fill her body as the sounds grew louder.

The two girls huddled together as the sound became amplified, seeming to come from all around them; "Look! It's coming towards us!" Carmen cried out as the bushes in front of them started to move and shake about, the thing getting closer.

The two girls started backing up, their breath coming out ragged as the moving thing came closer. Closer and closer it got as the girls moved faster backwards before it finally pounced causing both girls to scream and fall on their backsides.

"Hah! State your business, trespassers! Where do you hail from?"

Carmen blinked once, then twice, then three times before she took a deep breath…

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

And screamed. The…being…standing on top of Carmen's chest- yes, I did say standing on top of her- just so happened to be a larger than normal brown mouse with a long tail, beady black eyes, and a strange feather headband on his head. It was no real secret to anyone that knew the Latina that she had an irrational fear of mice. And the fact that this particular mouse could TALK didn't help her frazzled nerves.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" she thrashed around, swinging her hands at the creature and yet missing every time.

"Oi! Be still, you screeching woman! You're disturbing the peace!" the mouse commanded irritably, dodging her attacks.

"EW! EW! GET IT OFF OF ME! AVANI!"

All problems were temporarily solved as Avani quickly reached out and grabbed the mouse. She stood up quick as lightening, turned around, pulled back her arm, and flung the creature into the forest somewhere. She watched its tiny body fly into the air and then disappear among the shrubbery quite a ways away from them as his shouts of protest flew through the air as well.

Both girls sat their gasping for air out of the sheer velocity of the situation. They were chased down and tackled to the ground…by a mouse. Carmen turned to Avani slowly, her eyes traveling to the ground and then back up as she addressed her.

"Avani…what just happened?" she asked.

Avani looked at the ground then back up again as the rustling rang through the forest once more, the tell-tale signs that the mouse was coming back and probably with friends too.

"I don't know," she started, scooting back as the rustling got louder and closer, "But I think it's about to happen again."

And just as she predicted, the mouse jumped out of the brush and landed in front of the girls who sat up and looked at him. Carmen shrank back away from him, considering him to be the same as any disgusting rodent and Avani merely stared at him, her brain feeling numb and about to explode from everything they had encountered since yesterday.

"Now that was just plain rude what you just did to me, madam!" he exclaimed, his black beady eyes narrowed in a glare, "And I say this on the basis that you had no reason to throw me like some…wad of trash!"

"You chased us through the forest! Jumped on my friend, who is afraid of mice by the way! And now you're harping at me for reacting in the only way I knew how?" Avani shot back, no longer able to make sense of the situation they were in and just making the best of this crazy day.

The little mouse stopped and put a hand to his chin, stroking it silently as he appraised the teen; "Point taken," was his simple reply.

Avani groaned loudly as Carmen glared at the mouse. He in turn regarded the girls sitting on the forest floor, honestly looking like two lost and confused puppies that had no idea where they were or what to do with themselves.

"Pardon me, Daughters of Eve, but might you be the prisoners that escaped from Cair Paravel?" the mouse asked, putting his sword away and approaching them slowly, much to Carmen's chagrin.

"…Wait, what did you just call us?" Avani questioned, snapping her head up to look the mouse in the eye.

"Daughters of Eve. That is what you are, isn't it?" the mouse inquired, his black eyes curious.

Carmen and Avani glanced at each other then back at the mouse, both all the more confused by the mouse's strange use of words. However, they didn't need to answer his question for he continued talking.

"Oh, dear, please excuse my manners, Daughters of Eve. My name is Diddle, faithful knight to the Kings and Queens of Narnia," he introduced himself, bowing to the young women before him.

"Oh…um…well, my name is Avani James and this cowering baby behind me is-ow- Carmen Hidelgo, hahahaha!" Avani started, laughing after her best friend hit her for calling her a baby.

Carmen huffed grumpily turning her head away from Avani and Diddle, her cheeks starting to turn red from embarrassment. Diddle smiled at Carmen as he approached her; the Latina saw him coming towards her and age old fear triggered in her chest again as she began to scoot away from him.

"Stay back or I swear you'll regret it," she warned, her eyes narrowed as a shiver ran down her spine at the prospect of a mouse touching her.

"Now, my dear lady, I mean no harm. I just wish to-oof!" Diddle never got to finish his sentence for Carmen kicked his small body away from her.

He went flying through the air, but with some quick thinking, Avani jumped up and caught him this time, falling back to earth with a thud and an 'oomph' and rolled in the dirt. The two came to a stop and looked at Carmen who had taken to hiding behind a tree, the glare still on her face. Avani rolled her eyes and sat up, sitting on her knees as she held Diddle in her cupped hands.

"I think it'll be best if you just keep your distance from her," she advised him with a nod of her head, Diddle repeating the action.

"Consider the advice taken, fair maiden," he replied breathlessly, a small hand over his heart from the small scare.

"Oh, now I'm a maiden. Never been called that before," she joked, standing up and allowing for the brown mouse to run up her arm and settle on her shoulder.

He chuckled at her words before addressing both girls as Carmen left the sanctity of the tree and came to stand next to Avani.

"Well, young maidens, I'm afraid I can no longer refrain myself from asking. What business do you have being in Narnia? You don't appear to be descendants of the Calormen Kingdom or the Talmerine Kingdom or any other kingdom we know of. In fact, you two look like complete outsiders."

"That's because we are outsiders," Carmen answered, following after Avani as the girl began her trek to where she thought the cave may be located, "We're staying with Avani's grandma and grandpa in North Carolina."

Diddle blinked in confusion, "North Carolina? I believe I've never heard of such a place. Is that on the Eastern Border?"

"I don't know, I don't really care!" Avani finally cried, stopping in the middle of the forest and throwing her hands in the air, "All I know is that we need to get back and soon, but we're not going to get anywhere if we don't find that damn cave!"

"Maybe if you had stayed with the Kings and Queens of Cair Paravel, they would have helped you find your way back home," Diddle chastised while trying to be helpful at the same time.

Avani narrowed her eyes at the mention of the royal children, choosing a random direction and beginning to walk that way; "We've tried that already. They just told us that there was no way to get back home, threw us in guest bedrooms like a couple of children and told us to go to sleep."

The rodent knight chuckled at Avani's sour attitude before he stood on her shoulder and bowed to her, "Fair maiden, since all you seek is to return to your home and have no intention of bringing harm to Narnia, I shall assist you in finding this cave."

The two girls stopped; "Really?" they chorused.

Diddle nodded with a smile, "I give you my word, but we must move now lest you wish to be caught by the guards of the castle. I'm sure the Kings and Queens have sent a search party out to find you since you're still under suspicion and the trees also work in Queen Lucy's favor. They'll tell her of your whereabouts."

With that, the little mouse leapt off of Avani's shoulder and landed on the ground gracefully while Avani and Carmen stared after him with an incredulous look on their faces.

"Queen Lucy…can speak to trees?" Carmen asked slowly, "The little one?"

"That's right," Diddle replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Now you two wait here for a moment while I go on ahead to scout out the perimeter in search of this cave. Do you remember any land marks near the cave?"

"…A lamppost. There was a lamppost near the cave," Avani answered after a moment's pause.

Diddle nodded his head in understanding before he scampered into the forest and disappearing among the foliage. Avani and Carmen were left in the middle of the forest, surrounded by strange creatures and apparently magical trees that could tell little Queen Lucy how to find them. After a couple of minutes of silence, Carmen turned to Avani.

"Hey, Vani?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think he's coming back?"

"Nope."

"Hmm," Carmen mused before shrugging and starting to walk through the forest again, Avani following after her.

It wasn't that they were ungrateful for Diddle wanting to help them, it was just that they didn't trust him. After all, he was a mouse and a knight to the Kings and Queens; for all they knew, he had run off to inform the royal children and they weren't about to just stand there like a couple of mannequins and wait to be caught. A couple of hours have passed since the girls had met Diddle and he had gone off into the forest and they had yet to find that lamppost. It didn't help that they were starting to lose daylight as well since the sun was just about to touch the horizon and set for the day.

"Oh my God, Mama Choco is not going to be happy if we're gone for another night," Avani sighed, stepping over a rather large branch.

"Orale, she's not happy NOW. She's going to freakin' lose it if we're not back by tonight. She'll definitely skin us alive and use our hides for blankets for the winter or something," Carmen corrected, shaking her head as a shiver ran down her spine.

Avani giggled before she tripped over something and skidded to a stop. As if by fate, she lifted her head to see something glowing in the distance. At first, she thought she was seeing things, then when she took a moment to actually look at it, she smiled a goofy smile in relieve and nudged Carmen in the side.

"I spy with my little eye," she sang, pointing at the glowing light.

"The lamppost!" Carmen exclaimed, jumping up and down and then running for it.

Avani chased after her best friend with laughter rising from her throat. The two girls made it to the lamppost and from there went to the left, knowing exactly from which way they had come from before deterring off to the side at the lamppost.

"Finally! We can get home!" Avani cried happily, following along the length of the rocky wall where the cave should be.

Should be.

"…Wait a minute…" the ebony girl mumbled, staring at the rocky surface, her face contorted into one of confusion, "Carmen?"

"What's wrong, Vani?" the Latina questioned, watching her as she ran her hands over the rocks.

"…Didn't you mark the outside of the cave?" Avani asked.

"Yeah, I did. Why, what's wrong?" she asked again, becoming frantic.

Avani stopped and then turned around to face Carmen, her hand resting next to an orange star made by chalk, "I found the mark…but not the cave."

Dark brown eyes widened in panic as Carmen bolted over to where Avani was standing, putting her hand on the star and looking around frantically. The golden-green eyed girl ran her hands through her curly black hair, stepping away from the rocks as a sense of hopelessness washed over her.

"No…No, this can't be happening right now," Carmen muttered, looking for the cave, "We have to get out of here!"

"This is such bull-"

"Halt! Don't move another muscle, prisoners!"

Both girls froze in their spots as centaurs and minotaurs and fawns surrounded them, all of them holding spears and shields and looking very, very angry. Diddle bounded out of the throng, looking very sorry and apologetic.

"Please forgive me, maidens," he started, gulping slightly when Avani and Carmen glared at him heatedly, "but, I ran into the guards before I could find the lamppost and I have my duties to the Kings and Queens."

Carmen sneered at the mouse knight, "Snitch!"

And, with a sigh, Avani finished her sentence from before, "Crap."

End Chapter

Crimsonwings92: Whoo! Epic! Hahaha! Okay, maybe not, but this is my update and I hope it was satisfactory! It took me a while to even get to this point because I kept changing the beginning. Well, I hope you guys like it and reviews are very much appreciated! Ciao! See you next chapter…maybe.