Sleep found no one that night. Mary remained close to her mother in the unfamiliar, dark room until some of their men came in to retrieve them, telling them that they were safe and that they should return to their chambers, but no one expected to sleep. Mary searched the faces in the room, wondering if they were as confused as she. Maybe she was the only one who had been kept in the dark about surrounding threats. But everyone look terrified, and no one looked as if they could say what had come into their home.
She went to her room as she was told and laid in her bed staring at the ceiling, her eyes darting to the window as her curiosity begged her to go look, to see what danger had been lurking by so closely. But they had been told not to look; they had been told that there was a mess being cleaned and that no lady should risk her innocence by looking at the barbaric remnants of what she assumed to be a battle. Perhaps a slaughter.
She had been lying there too long with no hope of sleep and the only thing she could think to do was look. Something in her needed to be exposed, to break down the wall her father had built that had made everything so much more terrifying, leaving her running in the dark from shadows—running into that stranger. She had almost forgotten.
So she found distraction in her curiosity and she went to her window to look. It was hard to see from her height, but there was something she could not miss. Besides some of their fallen men, there were no humans down there. What she could make out were large beasts, dressed in armor with weapons as if they were men. It was horrific! She backed away from the window and placed her hand on her chest, trying to slow her breathing so she wouldn't get sick. She ran to he bed quickly and drew the covers up to her chin, hoping somehow the image of those large, terrifying animals would escape her mind. But then again, she wanted to know more. What exactly had her father been keeping from her?
The next day was chaos. She was immediately greeted outside of her door by her ladies and was swept back inside as they immediately began prepping her to be dressed. Their hands were urgent as they unkindly ripped her nightgown away and replaced it with a dress, a much nicer dress than she would wear on any other day—then again, she assumed this wouldn't be like any other day. She knew her father would have something planned to ease the nerves of his people.
"Ow!" she muttered as they began pulling at her hair, placing each strand perfectly where it should be. "What's going on? What has my father planned?" she asked, but the women remained busy at work, only one daring to break the silence.
"Your mother will tell you. It's a very important day." They stepped away from her and looked her up and down, nodding in approval and gathering their things. They left quickly without a word, but before Mary could complain her mother replaced them, pulling her daughter in for a comforting hug.
"I'm sorry about the confusion last night. Someone was supposed to get you from your room and take you to where we were. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine mother, just confused-"
"Which was to be expected, of course. But today your father is going to clear some things up and he wants you to be there. Are you going to be okay, you think?" She touched her daughter's face softly then moved a strand of her hair, smiling with reassurance.
"Yes, I'll be fine."
"I'm worried you won't be." Her mother pulled her in for another hug then let go, leading her from her room through the hallways to the throne room, which was already full of people; she figured they were nobles. She took a seat in a small, throne-like chair beside her father. He quickly placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, turning back towards the people and standing. The moment he rose from his chair the room fell silent.
"As some of you know, we were attacked last night. Barbarians, here for our money, for our women, for our castle, but they didn't stand a chance. We as a people stayed strong, and we drove them out!" The men shouted and raised their fists in pride. "But these barbarians were not the usual intruders, no. They were Narnians! Animals, creatures, monsters! The things we destroyed so long ago have been living like ants, growing for a moment like this!" Mary watched her father in fear, having never heard of the Narnians or their supposed extinction, and she had certainly never seen her father so ready to spill blood. She no longer felt comfortable in the room of angry men, their eyes and their shouts demanding more blood.
"And our own Caspian was among them, leading them! Betraying us! Seeking blood from those who raised him, all in the name of Aslan!" The men laughed and yelled crude remarks, mocking the name heavily. "But we will not make the same mistake. This time we will kill every one of them, make sure not a single creature escapes into the woods to build up another army. No, we will find them and we will extinguish every one of them. You may be wondering how we are going to find the evasive barbarians, but we're lucky. My very own daughter has saved us all." King Miraz turned towards Mary and smiled, retreating to his throne and yelling over the anxious crowd, "Bring him to me!"
There was complete silence as the doors opened and a boy was pushed into the room, his wrists bound tightly behind his back by chain. He kept tripping as he was pushed forward, never given the chance to walk forward on his own.
"Father, what is this? Is that the boy-"
"Who tried to kill you? Yes, after you alerted the guards they were able to catch him before he pulled the gate back up."
"But father, he didn't try to kill me. What are you going to do to him? Please don't hurt him-"
"Don't speak to me that way Mary. I'm protecting you. I'm protecting all of us." The boy was pushed onto his knees in front of King Miraz, although he refused to make eye contact. "Do you know who this is? He is a Narnian! A human boy, yet it would seem as though Narnian blood flows through his veins." There was silence followed by confused whispering, questions of the possibility that Narnians were not only beasts but that they could hide among the humans. Silence returned when the king raised his hand. He crouched down in front of Edmund and forced him to look him in the eye. "Where are they, son? Tell me, and you'll live."
Edmund didn't speak. He defiantly stared at the king with dark eyes as the corner of his mouth pulled up.
"You'll never find them," he whispered, straightening out his face again and glancing quickly at Mary. Suddenly there was a loud crack as the king's hand came across Edmund's face, knocking him sideways onto the ground. The crowd cheered in response to the demonstration of their king's ferocity and power.
"How dare you defy me, and how dare you look at my daughter! They're barbarians I tell you!" He yelled, addressing the crowd once again.
Mary's hand pressed against her mouth holding in a scream, her eyes wide as she observed what had just happened.
"Where are they, where are the animals?" he taunted again, moving low to get into his face.
"I will never tell you-" there was another loud crack as Edmund fell once again, his hand unable to move to comfort his face because of the chain as the crowd let out another roar.
"Hit him again! Kill him! Make him bow to you!" the crowd continued to cheer.
"Father, stop-"
"Sit down Mary!" King Miraz turned quickly towards Mary with his arm extended and his face red. He noticed she had taken a step forward. "Take another step and you will be recognized as a traitor! Sit. Down." Mary fell back into her chair and realized the room was no longer cheerful and cruel, but now everyone sat watching the king address his daughter harshly as she was presented with her first lesson of ruthlessness.
"Take him downstairs, but wait to question him. I need to speak to my daughter first." Edmund was forced back onto his feet, his head hanging low now as he was taken away. Mary hid her face in her hands, embarrassed that she had started crying.
The king reached out and placed his hand over hers on her armrest, squeezing it gently as he once again addressed the men in front of them. "I promise you, we will kill every Narnian in due time. For the safety of our people now, and forevermore."
"Forevermore," they echoed. All eyes were on Mary as she stared intensely ahead, her tears starting to dry from her cheeks.
"Forevermore," she whispered.
I hope there weren't too many mistakes! It's super late so I didn't get to edit it, but I felt bad that I hadn't updated in so long and I really wanted to write the next part. Next Mary is going to go visit Edmund in prison, and then it begins! Review, or don't, but I hope you enjoy :)
