I watched my dear sister ride away on our horse. It tore me to pieces knowing that I would never see her again, but I accepted that I was going to die. She had to succeed in her mission, she had to, or Narnia would be lost forever. I took a deep breath and turned to face the Telmarine's, listening to the far off thunder of the dozen hooves tearing the lush ground to shreds. I readied my Bow and locked an arrow into place, ready to fire when needed. I may have accepted that I was going to die, but I wasn't going down without a fight. As I stood there waiting for the end, I started reminiscing about all the good times my family and I had had.
I had always been slightly different than the rest of my family. I always saw something that the others didn't, or heard something they missed. I had a natural affinity to nature, like it was part of me. The tree's around me rustled, like a breeze had swept through their green limbs, yet I felt no breeze on my face.
I knelt to the ground and placed a hand onto the ochre dirt, digging my slender fingers into its cool hardness. I could feel the vibrations of the horses, drawing ever closer to me, perhaps 2 minutes away. As is stood, I brushed the dirt from my hand onto the skirt of my forest green dress.
I wasn't sure why, but something was different, something was changing around me. As the horses came into sight I stretched my arm out straight in front of me, with my palm facing down. Without knowing what I was doing, I whispered "Avanti" into the forest around me. It was Narnian for 'Awaken'. The forest came to life, trees and rocks and the dirt of the earth whispered their thanks to me. I replied in kind, "Mih jio firsqu hounf lintia". I begged them to help me in my upcoming battle; I begged them to help save their home. They whispered back to me "yifg". I smiled and nodded my thanks at their affirmative answer.
The Tullamarine's surrounded me and I raised my head and glared at the leader. In a voice as cold as ice, as hard as diamond, I spoke.
"Leave this place, scum of the earth. We wish only for peace. If you turn and go, and never return, we will not hurt you".
Their laughter bounced around the forest. I snarled softly, and raised my bow.
"Little girl, you threaten us? With your useless bow and arrows that don't fly true. We ask you to come with us, and we will not hurt you…Much".
The smug leer he gave me made bile rise up into my throat. I new that if I went with them, I would be hurt and in more ways than one.
"I refuse to back down. I refuse to go with you and be made a toy for your sexual pleasure and entertainment. I warned you once, now I warn you a final time, leave this place, or die where you stand".
The laughter was louder than before, and made me angry. I raised my free arm in front of me and clenched my hand into a fist. I spoke loudly and clearly the words "finu terhn", so that the men could hear me. The words I spoke were the Narnian words for 'Go forth'.
The men looked at each other and shrugged, and then the leader spoke his own words. "Get her…Alive". They charged me, horse and man and arrow and sword sped towards me.
I smiled as the forest around me came alive. I fired my arrows, straight and true into man after man, as the trees captured the soldiers and held them captive in their boughs, until all that was left were the dead on the ground and the leader, sitting stunned on his white steed. "I warned you Telmarine, I told you to go, or die where you stand."
I was so engrossed in my speech, that I missed one of the soldiers, whom I though to be dead, throw his dagger at me. It raced through the air towards me, and I didn't hear it until it was too late, until it pierced the skin of my side, until I felt the warm blood seep into my dress. I gasped and my bow fell to the ground unnoticed as I clutched my side in horror. As I used my hand to staunch the bleeding I momentarily forgot about the leader of the Telmarine's. I did however notice the dagger he threw at me, but I didn't move fast enough to totally escape injury; it lanced through my arm, leaving sharp pain and red blood in its wake. I thought I was done; I had no more energy to beseech the forest for help, no more energy to even care, I new it was time for me to die, to give in.
To say that Prince Caspian's enraged yell startled me is an understatement. My head spun to his direction so fast that it hurt. My jaw dropped open as his sword sliced through the Leader's neck, like a hot knife through butter. The tree closest to the gravely injured soldier who's arrow had found my side, grabbed the man in its lethal green branches, snapped his back in a smooth move, then dropped its bloody corpse to the ground.
I wobbled unsteadily where I stood as the world spun around me. Strong hands wrapped around me and held me upright.
"Come Susan, sit, let me see your wounds".
I allowed him to escort me to a log, were he helped me to sit. The wound on my side had stopped flowing blood, but the one on my arm hadn't. Caspian retrieved a bag from his black horse and knelt next to me. His calloused hands tried to peel my dress-sleeve up my arm, to free the wound, but the sleeves where so skin tight that I gasped in pain as it tore at the wound. I gently pushed him away.
"That's not going to work Caspian, the only way for me to do this, and so you can treat the wound on my side, is for me loosen my dress. I am sorry, and I know it is inappropriate, but I have to do it. My breasts are bound, so I will not be exposed, but if you do not wish me to do this, then leave the bandages and will do it myself".
He gave me a soft smile and chuckled lightly, "I had an older sister, I am not an, how do you say it, idiot when it comes to the female body."
His fingers swiftly un-knotted the ties at the front of the dress and slid it off my shoulders, easing the sleeves gently off my arms so he didn't catch the wound on it. He let it rest at my waist, just underneath the white material binding my chest. The silver silk under dress buttoned at the back, so he quickly undid the buttons and did the same as the green over-dress. I shivered.
"I will be as quick as I can your highness".
I smiled softly up at him. "Thank you Caspian, but do call me Susan".
He smiled and proceeded to tend to my wounds. He washed it out with water and that made me hiss in pain. When he went to bandage the cut, the edges wouldn't stay together, so the blood wouldn't stop.
"It's going to need stitches Caspian; do you have a needle with you?"
He shook his head. I gave a soft sigh. "Please don't tell my family about what I can do, I don't wish to tell them about this….power, just yet. Can you pass me that stone there?"
He looked at me quizzically, and handed it to me, but I didn't say anymore. I held the stone in my hand and told it what I would like it to do; I showed it a picture in my mind of what I would like it to look like. After a minute or two, I opened my fist and instead of a rock, was a perfect stone needle. Caspian glanced at it in awe, but didn't say anything.
"This will hurt a lot Susan, but I will be as quick as possible".
I nodded and gritted my teeth. He began. The pain was like nothing I had experienced before. My eyes welled up with tears; they then fell, quickly, like a river down my face.
Very quickly though, it was over, and when I looked at my arm again, it was neatly bandaged. I wiped my face with my grubby hand and nodded my thanks to Caspian.
"I have to look at your side now", he told me in his soft lilting voice.
I nodded and he helped my peel my dress down further. What I saw on my abdomen made me gasp and black spots appeared in front of my eyes. Caspian gasped too, and muttered a soft curse. He ran his fingers over the pale green lines on my stomach. It was like a vine of ivy, growing up the side of a stone house, except it was growing up my stomach…sort of. The start of the vine, it looked a lot like a tattoo, was hidden somewhere underneath the covers of my dress. It rose up, circled around my belly button then went higher, until it disappeared underneath the white cloth binding my breasts.
Caspian muttered something that sounded like "It's true".
I was still speechless, and could only look up at Caspian in silence. He started talking then, in a voice as soft as velvet. "There is a prophesy, similar to the one about the four rulers of Narnia, but it is about each one of you in particular. Peter, the Ruler; Edmund, the Brave; Lucy, the lioness; finally there's you….Susan the Queen of the forest. It is said that when you are ready to take the throne from Queen Itanie as the next ruler of the forest, the tattoo, the vine, will be complete in colour, not just an outline".
"But, how did I even get chosen to be the next ruler? I am the Queen of Narnia…"
"It is said that at birth, each child was blessed, thus sealing their fate. Queen Itanie personally chose you to be the heir to the throne, and blessed you at your birth".
I was silent as he tended to the wound on my side. It was deeper, but a clean cut, it hadn't hit anything vital. It still needed stitches so for another 5 minutes I was in excruciating pain. At the end though, I looked down to see a neat bandage circling my abdomen. Caspian was burying the dirty cloths he'd used and placed the needle into his bag. He took the bag over to his horse and attached it to the saddle. He came and knelt back beside me and helped to re-fasten my dress. The silver under-dress was pulled up and re-buttoned; the green over-dress was re-tied at the front. He helped me pull the dress so it was straight and not pulling to tightly on my wounds. He smiled at me once we were complete. "All done Susan, you look fine".
I tried to imagine what I looked like from his eyes, but couldn't do it. He vaulted onto his horse, and held his hand out for me. I smiled, climbed carefully up onto the log and took his hand. I carefully climbed onto his horse so I didn't tear my stitches. Once I was settled, with my Bow and arrows slung around my shoulders, I slid my hands around his slim waist and rested my head tiredly on his back.
"Where would you like to go Susan? Back to Peter and Edmund?"
"Yes please", I murmured.
With that, he kicked the horse in the side and flicked the reigns, and we were off, galloping back to the rest of my family. I gave one last glance backwards, at the receding forest, and wished and hoped with all my heart that Lucy had found Aslan.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the chronicles of Narnia, or its characters. I do however; own the other characters thrown in there, and the AU storyline.
A/N: I JUST watched 'the chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.' It was excellent. I was brushing my teeth afterwards when I got bitten by my vampire bunny muse. It bit me all night too, so I decided to get it off my back…ermm...Head….
This can either be a one shot, or, if I get a few reviews wanting me to continue, then I can make it a chapter story. I really would like to make it a chapter story….All mistakes are my own, as I don't have a Beta..
Let me know what you think of it please…I love getting reviews and hearing what people think of my work. Also, if you like Doctor Who, Stargate SG-1, or Twilight, check out my other stories.
Jenni xx