Birds of Vanity
Set during The Horse and his Boy
Her suitors, a horde of garishly dressed peacocks, had flocked to Narnia in packs of dozens, but it isn't until the arrival of Prince Rabadash that Peter begins to worry. After all, Susan had never given serious consideration to the proposals of the others. She enjoyed their gifts, she loved the dancing, but always, she came back to him at the end of the day and asked him to send them away.
"They all want ownership," she would breathe into his ear. "But it's the body they want to possess, not the mind, not the heart." Her touch would skim past his neck and shoulders before curling into a fist above his pounding pulse.
and they would enclose themselves in shadows away from the glare of light
"Don't relinquish me," her voice said, breaking through a gasp.
never never never
And Peter is silent.
One day they'll draw you away
Rabadash enters their kingdom like a conquering emperor, seated on a massive black warhorse with a long, curved blade at this side. Behind him follows a procession of Calormene lords, pages, musicians, jugglers, and slaves. As the tall, young man bows his feathered turban over Susan's hand, Lucy gazes at the slaves in horror.
"Peter, you can still see the whip marks on their backs," she whispers, eyes blazing.
"I know Lu," he responds, but his eyes are focused on Susan, who looks at Rabadash with a sort of curious fascination as if the prince is a new toy to play with and perhaps keep.
"Welcome," the queen says and places her hand in the prince's.
Later, during the evening feast, Rabadash presents the usual gifts: strings of pearls, slippery silks, useless and beautifully crafted baubles.
"One last gift, my queen," the prince says and beckons for a slave to come forward. At the head of the table, Peter squeezes the arm of his chair at the casual use of "my."
Kneeling, the slave gives the object to a servant who passes it to a higher ranked servant, and as the precious item moves up the ranks, Edmund snickers at the ridiculousness of it all.
At last, a lord transfers the gift to Rabadash, and Susan peers at the offering with an air of amusement. Delicately, she takes the small and rounded alabaster jar and opens it.
"The women in my country use it to enhance their beauty," Rabadash explains. "We call it rouge. You place it on your lips and cheeks. Here, let me show you."
The prince leans toward her and gently brushes a smear of scarlet on Susan's lips. Susan, whose beauty has no need of enhancing, slowly smiles.
lipsticks and nylons
no, not here, not yet, not now
"Well, what do you all think of him?" Susan eagerly asks her siblings the next day. They are sitting in the gardens: Edmund squinting at the sunlight, Lucy making a daisy chain, and Peter, expressionless, crumpling a rose in his fist.
"He's exotic," Edmund comments.
"So are his slaves!" Lucy fumes.
"Peter?"
The High King struggles to come up with a suitable reply.
bird of vanity
Finally, Peter shrugs and says, "You could do better."
It's better, he decides, to let Lucy tear him apart.
"Peter wants you to marry a centaur," Edmund quips in with a wicked smile. "Or perhaps Mr. Tumnus?"
Lucy flashes her brother a scathing glance before saying, "I don't like him. He seems like an absolute monster."
Susan turns back to Peter, and with a slightly mocking smile, he says, "I say we allow the gentle lady to decide. After all, this is the man who may possess her."
His sister stiffens. Her voice is soft as she tells them, "He asked me to visit Calormen, and I said yes."
The response is immediate. Lucy cries out in protest and begins a rant on the depravity of Rabadash's character. Edmund promises to accompany her because he is, of course, their best diplomat. Peter –
Peter relinquishes the rose.