She sits down at the piano, just staring at the black-and-white keys. Lifting her fingers, she delicately sets them down on the smooth rectangles. Taking a deep breath, she plays. The notes are slow and wistful, floating through the silent room, just a memory of what has been. It was long ago, when she last heard that song. Her hair had been long then, tumbling to her waist. She had been graceful then, and imposing without measure.
She had been loved, then, and now she is alone.
The music changes, becoming harsher, angrier. Susan looks up, her blue eyes distant and cold, so very different from the raging tempest flying beneath her fingers. Her family is gone now, gone to that magic place. She used to call that place home.
No, she thinks, shaking her head, they abandoned me, not the other way around. Deep down inside, she knows she is wrong, but she pushes those thoughts down. Looking around the room, she searches for some comfort. He gaze freezes, her blue eyes fix on the mantelpiece.
It's just a coincidence, but I should have noticed… Her thoughts fade away, replaced with images, grey as though they are etched in ashes.
Her crown, nestled on a tasseled cushion.
Orieus, leading the soldiers in a military march.
Standing on a balcony, waving off the Army of the Southern Sea.
And her siblings, riding into the wind with her, hair flowing behind them.
All at once, the pain swoops over her, and she wants nothing more than to shout out to them, but her mouth is closed, and she cannot, or will not, speak. For a moment, Queen Susan the Gentle has returned, casting an imposing shadow on the dark wall.
Then she is gone, and Susan is back, smaller, diminished. She takes one look at the mantelpiece, and then flees the room.
In the light of the dying fire, the brass image of a lion glows. A draught of wind makes the embers flare, and for a moment, the lion is roaring.
Then the image fades, taking the fire with it.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews! As my Spanish 1 teacher would say, "The Spanish Gods have blessed us." I bring this up because my Spanish class happens to be infested with plot bunnies, and that was where I got bit with this one.
Gail Lucinda Autor- Oh, thank you so much for always reviewing! Love you lots! :)
Princess in Converse- No, I didn't really base the piano part off of a song. I just always thought that Susan was the kind of person to play the piano, and that the music would always be sort of a link to her past in Narnia.
- I totally agree! Susan seems to be a very misjudged character, either portrayed as vapid and shallow, or a bad person. It seems like a lot of people forget that she was chosen just like the others, and that she always had that seed of good in her. I think that she was left alone in the world because she needed a shock to awaken her love for Narnia, and that she was able to do good in the world like her siblings, just later in her life.