"Your majesty. The time has come... We are all in grave danger! Narnia, my Lord, she is in danger!"
The voice cried out hoarse and thin across a marble laden hall, immediately bringing attention to the otherwise drab old hermit man who cried them.
"The comet. The High Lady Banshee... She will reign again! Agai..."
And with that, darkness descended upon the old man. Swifter than his words had been delivered, so he had died, and the perpetrator scurried away unscathed.
"Revive him!"
King Caspian X narrowed his eyes in disbelief at the spectacle that had unfolded in his own hall. Someone had stabbed this man with a poisoned knife. Reviving the man would be an impossible feat, but Caspian was willing to try any means necessary in order to understand what sort of future troubles awaited the Narnian king.
"It's not worth it your Majesty, the old man's past it..."
Furrowing his brow, Caspian strode over to the lifeless lump.
"Check his person in the back quarters. If you find anything of worthy note, bring it to my quarters immediately, is that understood?"
A salute confirmed this alongside an "Aye, Sire!".
Caspian strode with long footsteps towards his quarters where his own personal collection of historical memoirs was kept lounging on a decadent bookcase.
A comet. A banshee. This means something. It's all so soon. Too soon! The daughters and sons of Eve have only just left me as the king of Narnia. I will falter before I fall. I need help. I need to use the horn of Queen Susan...
He hurried his pace to a jog, and quickly sifted through the pile of things that lay on the bookshelf. The horn, he had found it. He traced his fingertips, his touch lingering as he thought of the kiss he had shared with Queen Susan. It was not often he got to see such strong willed women. Telmarine women courted men in an altogether different sort of ceremony which could mean months before a kiss like that could be shared between a couple. There were other girls, he knew that. He also knew Susan would not be coming back to Narnia; Aslan had made that very clear. He inwardly sighed. As a young man, he was unsure of his future, and he longed to feel that energy he felt he had felt with Susan with another woman.
To use the horn now would be selfish; I must wait for a time I am in dire need to use it. For now, researching this comet is the top of my agenda. Help will come as I see fit, and right now isn't the time...
Lord Chancellor Cornelius interrupted the thought patterns of Prince Caspian by rapping on the door.
"Nothing was found on the man, my boy. However, I do believe I know the tale of which the man spoke..."
Caspian looked up from the horn, his gaze no longer transfixed.
"Go on."
Cornelius cleared his throat with a hearty cough and pulled a chair on which to sit.
"Long ago, a mythical Charn queen invaded Narnia, imposing a selfish and frozen rule. You saw her, I am to believe. Jadis. She was tall and fair, of great beauty and of a strange danger as to transfix a man in his spot. I believe the old man who spoke out in your hall believed the upcoming comet shower, expected to appear every 100 years or so, is of a bad omen. He was not fully dead when we took his body into the back rooms Sire..."
Caspian strolled over to his four poster bed, and sat there stiffly, not uttering a word. Cornelius continued.
"He awoke from a comatose state, uttering, 'Hundreds of tens. Tens of hundreds. She will come again, and where is Aslan?'. We have yet to decipher what he fully means by this, but I believe he means the comet star Desiderata, generally seen as a star of wealth and desires... It has always gone down in legend that at the time of comets, magic is stronger. Perhaps some of Jadis' followers plan on a revival? We must follow all leads Sire or Narnia will surely perish..."
Caspian lifted his head quickly, looking his dear old friend Cornelius squarely in the eyes.
"She is a witch. A woman of trickery. I will not allow Narnia to fall to a woman of such disgusting vices. She... She put a spell on me in Aslan's How. We know something now that should aid us against her; she needs the blood of Adam's son in order to be fully revived... Her followers, do you believe some of them could be Telmarines?"
Cornelius shrugged. The leads were few on the story, it had only been uncovered some matter of minutes, and so far, could turn out to be a ruse played out by the few who wished Caspian to rule no longer. But at such a fragile time, all leads had to be carried out to a sufficient standard, and Cornelius couldn't quite irk the feeling in the back of his head. It was an odd feeling, like none he had felt before. An itching, a fear of things to come.
"I have no idea, my Lord. I can only hope that would not be so. May I, however, suggest sending a search team to the How? Retrieving any remnants of the last time the Ice Witch was seen?"
Caspian thought back to that day, longing for answers stuck inside his head. The wand. Hers, perhaps?
"I will go with the search team."
Cornelius pushed his chair back as he stood upright.
"You are a king now, my boy! You have people to look after! You will stay here, and send a team out. Your people need you!"
Caspian too, stood upward to possess a more imposing figure.
"My people need me, and I will help them by saving them from such a cruel witch! She had a wand; I know that has something to do with this. Cornelius, you are my Lord Chancellor... Take care of home affairs. I will set up a small search team. Keep my people safe. I will not be gone long."
Cornelius knew he could not argue with the boy. He had a strong will, as his father before him. He clasped a hand on Caspian's right shoulder, firmly, nodding his head to show he understood what the boy meant.
"Good luck boy, I dare say you may well be needing it."
Well. I saw "Prince Caspian" earlier today, and was somewhat inspired to write a story... It shouldn't be too long. I've half a mind to do a CaspianxOC sort of ficlet, before he cops off with his future wife that is...
You know the score though, R&R if you want fast updates. Don't review if you don't want updates, yadda, yadda...