Fandom: Narnia (Books - so don't expect it to be like the movies.)
Codes: Caspian/Edmund
Rating: NC17
Summary: A slashy version of the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – this is not move related. Part 2 of the Kings series – sequel to Kings Comfort. This is SLASH – you have been warned.
Ages: Caspian-20; Edmund-16; Eustace-14; Lucy-14. - I had to work out the ages myself; Yes, I'm aware that these ages are older than the official timeline from CS Lewis, but I'm not gonna write slash about a 12 year old, so I've aged them from the first story (Kings Comfort) and then continued from that. I'll give the ages for each story as I write them.
Disclaimer: The character's belong to CS Lewis. The blame is mine.
Warnings: This is NC17 rated so graphic descriptions of m/m sex.
Author's Note: I wrote the first draft of this story back in 2000, long before the movies were even announced. I've been working on it, on and off, since then and I'm finally close to completing the entire series - there are two more stories in this series after this one.
Also, Livejournal user roadtama created some amazing graphics for this chapter, which I've linked to on my profile page.
Kings Love - Chapter 2
It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. That morning, when they had reached the Lone Islands, the idea had arisen of leaving the crew to row the Dawn Treader around to Doorn, and walking across lonely Felimath to be picked up on the other side by the ship. Caspian, Reep and Lucy had all wanted to stretch their legs, and in his excitement at seeing the Lone Islands again, Edmund had forgotten all his earlier concerns about how welcome they might or might not be. The only thing to slightly quench his happiness had been the fact that Eustace had decided to join them.
Now it was night, and in the dank and dark hold of the slavers ship, Edmund had plenty of time to relive the day and regret that he'd never spoken out. The moment of their capture had been frightening and humiliating, but far worse than this had been the moment when Caspian had been led away by his new owner. Edmund's heart had seemed to almost burst out of his chest he'd been so angry and afraid. He'd wanted to do something, anything, but then Lucy had burst into tears, and he'd been tied up anyway. He'd never felt so useless in all his life, except for when Aslan had bargained with the White Witch for his life.
Edmund wondered what could be happening to Caspian. Would they ever see him again? Was this the end of their great adventure, all of them sold into slavery? What a thing to happen to the King of Narnia, and if only he'd spoken up in the first place, surely they'd have taken more care and this would never have happened. Edmund's mind buzzed with self recrimination and he leaned his head on his hands and groaned softly.
He felt someone shift beside him, it was too dark to see, but when a gentle hand touched his arm he knew it was Lucy.
"Edmund, what is it?" she asked and Edmund could hear the worry in her voice. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Edmund answered tiredly. "It's just… well, this is all my fault!"
"Ha!" It was Eustace's snide voice coming out of the darkness. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Oh, shut up, Eustace!" Lucy snapped, and then Edmund felt her hand tighten on his arm and when she spoke it was in her usual gentle voice. "Edmund, how can you think that?"
"I'd thought that maybe the Lone Islanders might not be so happy to see the King of Narnia after such a long time," he admitted ruefully. "If I'd said something we would have been more careful."
"With the greatest respect, Your Majesty," this time it was Reepicheep who spoke. "These slavers did not know who your Majesties were-"
Edmund couldn't help interrupting. "It makes no difference, Reep, in fact it would probably be worse if they did. In our time we outlawed slavery in the Lone Islands. If it is now legal, and the slavers talked of selling us at market in Narrowhaven so it must be, than it shows that Narnian laws are no longer upheld here. All this aside, we should have been more cautious."
"I agree, Sire," replied Reepicheep. "But I am the King's Guard, it is I who should have been cautious. To my great shame, I must confess that I did not think of trouble until we saw these cowardly slavers. That we are here, and that His Majesty's whereabouts are unknown, can only be held to be my fault, and no one else's."
"Hear, hear," came Eustace's voice. "Feel free to argue it out amongst yourselves. I'd only like to add that Caspian is just as much to blame as the two of you. If he hadn't taken it into his fat head to play the lord of some potty little boat then none of us would be here. Oh, and of course, he's the one that's not tied up in this stinking ship. How typical is that!"
There was a moment of silence, and Edmund could tell that the other two were speechless with shock, just as he was. It was Lucy who finally found a voice and spoke.
"How can you be such a rotten beast, Eustace? Don't you realise that Caspian's been sold, as a slave, and we will be too? If you can't say anything comforting, then just be quiet will you!"
Edmund was quite impressed with Lucy's restraint; he himself only wished that his hands were free so that he could strangle the little blighter. However, the next moment he heard a soft sob beside him and he knew that Lucy wasn't as calm as she sounded.
"Look," he said firmly. "It's no use going over it. We'd best try to get some sleep, so we can be ready for whatever happens tomorrow."
"I'm too hungry to sleep," Eustace muttered sullenly.
"King Edmund has ordered silence," it was Reepicheep who spoke, in a voice that wasn't to be argued with and to Edmund's relief, Eustace fell blessedly silent.
Edmund hadn't thought he would get much sleep, but he must have, because the next thing he heard was the grating noise of the door into the hold being opened, and a flood of light flared in his eyes. Blinking rapidly as his eyes watered at the sudden glare, Edmund glanced around the hold. The other prisoners were waking up as well and Edmund saw that Reepicheep was already on his feet, his small paws clenched at his sides.
"Easy, Reep," he said softly. "We are unarmed and bound, remember."
"Of course, Sire," Reep answered calmly, but Edmund saw that his tail was still quivering.
"Rise and shine," it was Pug, the leader of the slavers and he placed a bucket on the floor as he spoke. "Wash up and get clean. It's market day today and we all want to be looking our best, don't we?"
He laughed loudly, and the pirate who had followed him with another bucket joined in. Pug also had a sack in his hand, which he now opened and took out a few loaves of dark bread. These he handed around to the group of prisoners and when he came to Edmund he gave him two.
"Make sure she eats," he said to Edmund, nodding his chin at Lucy. "She looks pale." Then he toed Eustace, who was still sitting on the floor. "Not much use feeding you up. Get up, lazy, it's a busy day and I'd better not be stuck with you at the end of it."
Eustace, who now looked quite pale himself, staggered to his feet and pulled one of the loaves out of Edmund's hand biting into it with relish. He chewed for a moment and then sighed bitterly, handing the loaf to Lucy.
"Just as I thought," he said resentfully. "Absolutely disgusting."
Pug only laughed, and then they were left alone to eat, and wash in the freezing water from the buckets. Now that his eyes had become accustomed to the light, Edmund could see that it was the weak light of early dawn, and this was confirmed when Pug and his slavers returned and they were herded out onto the deck and pushed into the boats for shore.
It was still very cold and Edmund sat as close to Lucy as he could, trying to keep her warm. She smiled at him and then leaned her head on his shoulder.
"You know, I have a feeling it will be alright," she said softly, so no one else could hear. "Look at the sun, rising in the east. Aslan's in the east. He won't let anything bad happen to us."
Edmund didn't reply, except to return her smile. As they neared the docks of Narrowhaven, he rather desperately hoped that she was right.
Again the slavers herded them, this time right up to the marketplace, and behind a large stage. The slavers then divided them into groups, keeping Edmund, Lucy, Reep and Eustace together, and they were put into wooden pens.
They all sat quietly in the pen, Lucy and Edmund holding hands tightly, and Edmund listened to the noises of the market getting louder and louder as Narrowhaven woke up to the day and came to life. Eventually he heard Pug's voice booming over the racket of the market and he knew the time had come.
They came for Lucy first, and Edmund and Reepicheep couldn't stop themselves from struggling with the slavers. But it was no use, their hands were still bound and they were easily overcome, although Edmund managed to get in one good kick to Pug's leg. The slaver swore loudly, his hand rose, and Edmund waited for the hard blow to come, but instead Pug smiled and patted him softly on the cheek.
"Can't damage the goods," said Pug. "I have a feeling I'm going to get the best price for you."
Edmund blinked in surprise, and heard Reepicheep swearing beside him, but the slavers were already gone, taking Lucy with them.
"Stop it, Reep," Edmund finally found his voice. "It's no use."
Reepicheep fell silent, and Edmund was completely surprised when he stayed that way the next time the slavers came. This time they took the mouse, and Reep didn't struggle, but walked with great dignity to the stage. Edmund almost laughed when he heard Pug loudly trying to provoke Reep into talking and the mouse stayed stubbornly silent. He knew that Pug would never get the price he'd hoped for from Reep now.
Next they took Eustace, and Edmund was left alone in the pen. He could hear Eustace the whole time on the stage complaining bitterly and loudly and he wasn't surprised when Pug brought him back to the pen.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Pug didn't look at all happy. "First the mouse and then this useless lump," he pushed Eustace into the pen and then reached for Edmund. "Best till last though, and don't give me any trouble or I'll take it out on your mate here."
For a moment, Edmund was tempted to cause as much trouble as he could, but he looked back at Eustace sitting sullenly on the ground and reminded himself that the idiot was a relation and therefore it was his responsibility to keep him safe. Not that he'd done such a great job of that so far, he thought bitterly, as he found himself on the stage looking out over a sea of faces.
Edmund could never remember afterwards exactly what happened on that stage. He spent the whole time franticly searching the crowd for a glimpse of Lucy, Reep, someone from the Dawn Treader, Caspian, anyone that he knew at all. But he saw no one, and eventually he realised that Pug had handed his rope to someone else and he was being led off the stage.
As he followed his 'owner' through the crowd he realized that it was a tall Calormene, and his heart sank. He didn't like them very much, never had, not since the time he and Susan had been forced to flee from the city of Tashbaan, and that rotter Prince Rabadash had attacked Archenland. He earnestly hoped that they had improved since then, but the fact that they still dealt in slaves wasn't promising.
The Calormene merchant stopped suddenly in front of a large tent and Edmund almost walked into his back. There were several Calormene soldiers standing around and Edmund realised that the merchant must be either very rich, very important or both. Then the merchant turned around and Edmund found himself looking up into a dark, cruel face. The Calormene merchant smiled. It wasn't a very nice smile, and before he could stop himself Edmund took a quick step back.
The merchant immediately yanked on the rope and Edmund fell forward, his face smashing into the merchant's chest. He struggled for a moment, but then a strong arm came around his waist and tightened, holding him in place. Panic suddenly ripped through Edmund and he was gasping for air, trying to clear his head, when a hand was placed under his chin and his face was roughly forced upwards.
It was for only a moment that he saw the merchants face, because the next thing he knew the merchant had lowered his head and his lips met Edmund's, pressing on them painfully. Edmund froze in shock, and in that moment the Calormene forced Edmund's lips open and pushed his tongue deep into Edmund's mouth.
Sudden fury galvanised Edmund into action and instinct told him what to do. He kicked the merchant in the leg as hard as he could and felt the Calormene grunt into his mouth, just before he was forcefully pushed away.
The Calormene swore and then his arm went back and before Edmund had time to move, or even to think of it, he was dealt a stinging backhand blow across his cheek. He landed on the ground, his head swimming in pain, and then felt the added humiliation as the merchant and his soldiers laughed uproariously. A grasping hand clenched his wrist and hauled him to his feet, almost pulling his shoulder out of its socket, and he found himself once more staring up at the merchant.
The merchant smiled that not-very-nice smile again and then he spoke for the first time.
"Get in the tent."
Something told Edmund that he'd be better off dead than going into that tent, and he shook his head. The Calormene frowned and raised his hand again. Edmund closed his eyes and braced himself, but then one of the soldiers spoke, and his eyes shot open in surprise.
"O my most virtuous and powerful Master," the soldier said. "That man over by the stage, who they are calling King, has just decreed that all the slaves are free."
Edmund swung round so fast he almost fell over his own feet, and he saw a sight that he would remember with great joy for the rest of his life. Caspian stood on the stage, gleaming like a golden statue in his armour, as the sun poured down on his bare head. The circlet crown he wore was glittering in his shining hair and the jewel on his breast flashed in the light. He held his sword in one hand and the other was upraised in an attempt to silence the suddenly cheering crowd.
It was the most marvellous sight Edmund had ever seen and his heart leapt into his throat and fluttered there for a moment. Then as the crowd finally fell silent, he found his voice and yelled as loudly as he could, and then Caspian was looking at him over the crowd and leaping down off the stage. He saw Lucy and Reep running up to Caspian, and took off himself and came to a sudden halt as his rope pulled tight, and turning he saw that the merchant still held it.
The Calormene looked at him for a moment with an unfathomable expression, then he handed the rope to one of the soldiers and walked through the crowd to Caspian.
"What's going on?" Edmund muttered to himself as he saw the merchant draw Caspian to one side. Caspian lowered his head, listening intently as the Calormene merchant talked quickly.
"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
Edmund jumped as Caspian suddenly roared at the merchant. The whole marketplace fell silent as everyone stared at Caspian and then, strangely, the man who had purchased Caspian the day before, stepped forward and led the merchant away.
Caspian was looking at Edmund through the crowd and his face was such a picture of fury that Edmund stepped back, colliding with one of the soldiers. He saw Caspian struggle to calm himself and then the King strode over to where Edmund was standing and raised his sword.
"Give me that rope," he said through gritted teeth to the soldier behind Edmund, "or I'll cut off your hand."
The rope was quickly handed over, and Caspian produced a dagger from somewhere and sliced through the coils around Edmund's wrists. His blue eyes, still flashing with fury, searched Edmund's face and he saw them focus on his cheek, which was still numb from the blow he'd received.
"Are you all right?" Caspian asked, softly.
The hectic events of the last few minutes had finally caught up with Edmund and he could only nod dumbly. Caspian took his hand and led him through the crowd, and Edmund saw that Drinian and most of the crew of the Dawn Treader were there as well.
"Edmund," Lucy hugged him in delight and then frowned up at him. "What happened to your face?"
"Nothing," he finally managed to say.
"But you've got a huge bruise!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I said nothing," Edmund replied shortly and Lucy's face fell.
"Look, don't worry about it," he added more gently.
"Let's go," it was Caspian who spoke, and Edmund could tell by his voice that he still hadn't recovered his temper.
"Where to?" asked Lucy.
"The Governor's palace," said Caspian. "And this is the new Governor, Lord Bern." He pointed at the man who had bought him the day before.
"The first of the Seven Lords!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Look, are we going to this palace or not," said Eustace. "So far, this adventure of yours has been a complete wash out. I can't imagine what one of your palace's will be like, probably a shed on a dust patch with no amenities whatsoever."
For a moment, Edmund thought that Eustace was as close to death as he'd ever been. Caspian eye's flashed fire, but in a second, the look was gone, and the King had turned and walked away, with Reepicheep trailing after him.
There was a great feast that night in celebration of the King's arrival and in honour of the new governor, but Edmund never had much memory of any of it. He sat at the table, between Caspian and Lucy, he knew that much, but he couldn't have said if he had eaten anything or if he had, what it was. His head ached and his cheek throbbed and there was no way that he could ask Lucy for a drop of her cordial. If he did, he'd have to explain what had happened, and he knew that Lucy was still upset with him for not telling her.
He did drink a lot of wine, most of it in a vain effort to get the taste of the Calormene out of his mouth, but all that happened was that he started to feel dizzy. Then at one point, Caspian who'd spent the whole time talking to Lord Bern, reached out and moved Edmund's goblet away and Edmund looked up to find the King's blue eyes regarding him thoughtfully.
"It will only make you feel worse," Caspian said calmly.
"I've drunk wine before," Edmund replied, feeling like a sulky child.
"I know," answered Caspian, and turned back to Lord Bern.
So Edmund, after glaring at the back of Caspian's head for a while, got up and left. Of course, a King, even a former King, did not leave a room unnoticed, and the round of good nights was a complete blur, but he managed somehow, and then discovered that he had absolutely no idea where his room was.
He wandered aimlessly for a while, but that was too tiring and his head was still aching so eventually he just sat down on some stairs somewhere in the castle, and tried to clear his head. This was the wrong choice though, because the moment he did he was assailed with the memory of the Calormene merchant kissing him, and then ordering him into the tent. He spent some time fearfully wondering what would have happened in that tent and the nameless dread that had been swelling in his stomach all night peaked, and he gagged.
There was nothing except wine in his stomach, and after he'd emptied it out of the nearest window, the sour taste left in his mouth was almost a relief. The taste of the Calormene was finally gone, and see, Caspian had been wrong after all, the wine had helped. At the thought of Caspian, Edmund remembered the King's extreme anger in the market and wondered what the Calormene had said to provoke it.
His stomach churned again. What if the Calormene had said something about what had happened? It would certainly explain Caspian's anger, but it would be so embarrassing and humiliating if that was the reason. He prayed to Aslan that the merchant had only been demanding compensation for the money he'd paid. After all, he'd heard Caspian ordering Pug to pay back all the money while Lucy had been asking about the bruise on his face.
Edmund's hand crept up to his face. He wished he could get rid of that bruise, it felt like a brand on his face, marking him with what had happened. Lucy had said that morning that Aslan wouldn't let anything bad happen to them, but here was the proof on his face that bad things could and did happen. Although, he supposed it could have been worse. His thoughts strayed back to that tent.
"Edmund."
Edmund almost jumped out of his skin. He leapt to his feet and whirled around, knowing from the voice that he'd find Caspian standing there.
"What are you doing?" Caspian continued. "I went to your room and you weren't there. I was worried. Don't you know what time it is?"
"No," said Edmund. "And I don't know where my room is either."
Caspian laughed softly and stepped closer. "Come. I'll show you."
His room wasn't actually that far away, just up the rest of the stairs and down the corridor and Caspian opened a door and ushered him in. The room glowed with the softly welcoming light of candles and a cheery fire.
"Thanks," Edmund said, turning to close the door. Caspian, however, had followed him in and the door was already closed.
"I came here before," said Caspian, looking at him intently, "because I wanted to make sure that you were all right. You drank a lot of wine before."
A flash of anger went through Edmund as he remembered how Caspian had stopped him. "I'm fine," he said shortly. "As you can see."
"Actually, I don't see," Caspian answered. "You're pale and you have a large bruise on your face. You wouldn't tell Lucy how you got it, but you can tell me."
"Don't think you can come in here and order me about, Your Majesty. I'm no subject of yours." Sudden fear made Edmund snap out the words before he had even thought about what he was saying.
For a moment Caspian gazed at him in surprise, and then he gently shook his head. "No, you are not under my dominion, Edmund, but these islands are. I need to know if a crime has been committed against you."
Edmund's face burned with a mixture of embarrassment and shame. "Why?" he finally managed in a strangled whisper. "I don't want to talk about it."
"I know, Edmund, but I don't know how long you were with that Calormene before I found you."
"What difference does it make?" Edmund began to pace the room, wishing that Caspian would just go away and leave him alone.
"I know why he bought you," Caspian replied, "and I'm sure he hit you. Tell me why."
"How could you know?" Edmund stared at Caspian, his eyes narrowed with suspicion and fear. "What did that beast say to you?"
"That's between him and me," Caspian said quickly.
Edmund shook his head. "No fair, Caspian. You want me to tell you everything, well, you have to do the same. Tell me what he said."
The minutes ticked by as Edmund waited, completely ignoring Caspian, who stood and watched him thoughtfully.
"All right then, I wanted to spare you this but I suppose you do have a right to know," Caspian finally said calmly. "He asked me for a night with you."
Edmund's heart thudded loudly in his ears. It was much worse than he'd thought possible. "He asked you-?"
"He thought you belonged to me," Caspian interrupted. "He thought you were mine to give."
"Yours…" Edmund felt breathless; there wasn't enough air in the room.
"Edmund," Caspian's voice brought him to his senses. "Please tell me what happened. If he forced you, in anyway, I swear he'll spend the rest of his life in Lord Bern's dungeon."
Edmund took a couple of deep breaths as his face flamed once more. His heart was thumping wildly in terror and he struggled to regain control. He saw Caspian take a swift step towards him and held up a forestalling hand. There was no way he could stand someone touching him at that moment.
"Please… " he gasped, and then took another deep breath, finally feeling his racing heart subside to a calmer pace. "It's all right. I wasn't with him long enough for anything to happen."
"How did you get the bruise?" Caspian asked quietly.
"He kissed me." He heard Caspian's soft curse and flinched slightly. "I kicked him, and then he hit me."
"Is that all?"
Edmund briefly closed his eyes. "He was just about to take me into his tent, when you arrived at the market. That's all, I swear, and I really don't want to talk about it anymore."
"I understand, Edmund, and I'm sorry," Caspian's voice was gentle and full of sympathy and it hurt Edmund in ways he didn't understand. "If you ever do need to talk about it, I'm here."
"Thanks," Edmund said quickly, desperate to be alone. "I'm tired."
"I'll go then," said Caspian, and Edmund was grateful for his quick acceptance.
After Caspian had left, Edmund sank into a chair and spent many minutes gazing with burning eyes at the wall of his room.
