He was a short, thin boy with thick brown hair that was tied back into a mini ponytail at the back of his head. By the look of his clothes, he was very wealthy even though they were stained and caked with dirt as though he had been travelling for a week without a change of clothes.

Edmund couldn�t suppress his shock and joy. �You�re� you�re Narnian!!� Edmund cried

Eustace was taken aback. He let go of his captive and turned him around to look at him.

�Of course I�m Narnian� the kid said with a scowl, �You must be simple, what else could I be.� He pushed Eustace out of the way and approached Edmund looking at him spitefully. He looked as if he was trying to look down at Ed which made him look quite ridiculous being several inches shorter than him. The boy examined Edmund with his eyes. �Why, you look like a common urchin! I�ve no business with peasants�

Edmund was fuming �Excuse me, but you barge in here, eves drop on our conversation, not even telling us your name��

�Not to mention that you just insulted a king of Narnia� Eustace finished. Edmund gave Eustace a glance saying not to go there and Eustace took the hint.

The boy looked back at Edmund shocked but then his frown turned into a great wide grin and he laughed. �That�s then funniest thing I�ve ever heard� he said then his face went stern again. �I could have you arrested for treason for trying to impersonate King Caspian.�

�So Caspian is still king of Narnia!� spouted Eustace excitedly. The boy looked at him strangely and shook his head sarcastically. �What�s that meant to mean� Eustace was ready to pounce on him again.

�Okay, okay..� interrupted Edmund, �So we�ve established that you�re a lost Narnian, but I think that you�ve still got some explaining to do. Why have you come to our world?�

�Your�.. world?� the boy said ��. Oh I see. This is some hoax or illusion that my father or the king has planned to try and make me believe their lies. What some people will do to prove their point�

�Wait a minute back up a second. What lies? Surely you don�t believe that the king would lie to you!�

�And your playing along still I see. Fine then I�ll play his game. Next thing you know you�ll start talking about magical lions�

Edmund and Eustace froze and stared at the boy. �You mean Aslan� Eustace said.

�Here we go� the boy rolled his eyes.

�You mean you don�t believe in Aslan,� said Eustace, �you�re beginning to sound like my parents�

�Well it sounds like they�ve got a bit of sense. Why should I believe in someone I�ve never seen before? What has he ever done for me? I�m sick of having it shoved down my throat day after day. That�s why I decided to leave�

Edmund looked at the boy and was baffled at all he heard. How could someone who had grown up in all the wonders and magic of Narnia deny Aslan�s existence? Something wasn�t right. �I think that we all need to calm down� he said and then looked over to where Eustace was. He looked almost as uncomfortable as the boy did. �That includes you too�

Edmund decided that the best possible action at the moment was to make the boy feel comfortable. He brought him in through the house and up to his own room. Now this might have not been a good idea but for the fact that most of the teachers were out in the city for lunch at this time of the day. The young stranger surveyed his surroundings and looked worried.

�I�m�. really not in Narnia any more am I?� he said

�No, your not� said Eustace. (He was a bit more composed by now)

�Where am I?�

�Your in our world� said Edmund

He looked more confused than ever. �What�your wor�Oh never mind�

�Who are you? I mean we know where your from but we�ve yet to even establish you with a name�

�Very well,� the boy started, puffing his chest out proudly, �My name is Calam of the house of Duncaan. I live with my father who is a knight of King Caspian X, my stepmother, and my little sister Cera. My father is a good man, he always gave my sister and I the best things the money could buy but always found time in his busy life to spend time with us. One day though I got some news that would change my life.

Flashback

A man in his late thirties arrived home to his large well-furbished house to find his children sitting buy the warm roaring fire. At once the little girl spotted him and raced up to meet him.

�How�s my little sweet pea� he said smiling, �have you been behaving yourself for Calam�

She nodded.

�Ok then why don�t you see what mummy is doing in the kitchen? I need to talk to your brother�

�OK� she say and then skips of towards the kitchen.

Calam stood up to attention wondering if he has done anything wrong.

�I�ve been hearing some excellent reports from your head mistress about your progress in school Calam. You should be very proud of yourself�

�Thankyou sir�

�But that�s not all. It would seem that His Majesty has also heard these rumours. He enquired of me whether the said boy would be able to spend some time at Cair Paravel to train to be a sword thane.� The lord�s serious face transformed into grin, �I said I�d have to ask him�

Calam was too shocked for words.

�Well? Tongue tired are we�. Maybe I should tell him to ask Sasha down the street��

�No!� Calam yelled �Of course I want to� There weren�t enough words to express how grateful he was. He raced up and hugged his father.

End flashback

To be continued�.

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