A son. He had a son. King Miraz, ruler of all Narnia now had an heir to its throne. An heir of his own blood. Now that miserable boy, indeed, his own nephew was no longer the next in line. It would be no good for him to claim Narnia as his own and proclaim himself as the rightful king, so there was only one thing to be done. He must die.
But how?
Hm, Miraz thought to himself Years ago I had several men executed for treason, that won't quite work… some 'accidents' at a hunting party, that won't do… the seven lords disappeared across the sea, no… maybe lock him up as a madman? No, he was healthy and taking his lessons yesterday and someone would suspect something. Especially that Doctor…Cornelius. He might know something. It wouldn't do for him to disappear too. Oh, what to do?
And then it hit him. He could poison Caspian's drink when they toasted the new prince's birth. Perfect. He'd be ill and die of a 'stomach disorder' or some sort of 'sickness'. It was perfect. He'd be dead by morning.
"A toast!" He ordered. "Prepare a toast! And let us use those old fireworks, go and light them! For tonight my son is born!" He went to his private chamber and made a concoction of nasty sorts and sprinkled it in a glass of spiced wine, then brought it to the Queen's chamber. "Send for his highness, Prince Caspian." he commanded, setting the deadly glass aside.
"It shall be done" a small page said, bowing low. He dashed down the corridor.
Miraz turned to Prunaprismia. "You have made my happiness complete," He told her. "There is no happier man in the entire world." He bent over and gently kissed her brow. "My Queen." He said, and caressed her face.
The page came running back down the hall. "His highness, the Prince Caspian is not in his room, your majesty!" he announced. "What!" the king shouted, enraged. His outburst woke his newborn child, who promptly began to wail. "Miraz!" Prunaprismia called out in frustration.
"Do not reprimand me, woman!" the king again shouted and ran down the corridor to see for himself if his nephew was in his chamber. He turned the corner and opened Caspian's door. The prince was not in the room. Miraz turned over tables, chairs and wardrobes, only to find the room quite empty. "Search the castle!" he ordered, brushing past the page and summoning his guards. "I want him found!"
Soldiers flooded nearly every corridor on the castle grounds. The prince was nowhere to be found. A sudden fear came over Miraz that Caspian had taken flight. But how could he have known of the child's birth at such an hour? The question baffled the king, and then he remembered his concoction and hurried back to the Queen, hoping against hope that she had not drunken form it. He came into the room. The glass was still there… but it was empty.
"Dearest!" he cried "Did you drink from this glass?" "No," she said "but I offered it to my lady in waiting, and she felt ill and I excused her. I am sorry, was it for me?" "No," Miraz answered, allowing himself to breathe once more. "It was not."
Good. The lady in waiting's fate is regrettable, but at least it left no evidence, He thought.
"Your Majesty!" a guard came into the chamber. "Yes, what is it?" the king grumpily answered. "The horse, Destrier, is not in the stables, my lord." The guard answered.
"The prince has taken flight," Miraz said. But he would not accept defeat. Not yet, not ever.
"I will find you, Caspian," he swore to himself.
Little did he know of the fate awaiting him.
"I will find you."
Sorry, this is my first Narniafic, and it's pretty rocky. Please be nice in your reviews! Please give me good corrections, but this is not a good starter fic. Next I'll take on Reepicheep! Thanks for reading and getting this far!