A/N: Hooray for Chapter 2! And I don't own Narnia or the characters other than the OC's. Alright….here we go…
CHAPTER 2
We continue to search around the house for any clues, no matter how insignificant. There are no spots of blood, so for now, I'm hoping that's a good thing and means that she's not injured. I try to concentrate, but I feel shaky and weak. And questions flood my head. Where is she? Is she hurt? What happened? Who is she with? Tears flood my eyes as I look around, and I say a silent prayer to Aslan that she's alright. I see Caspian holding something in his hands. I walk over to get a better look, although my eyes are cloudy from the tears that I have to constantly blink away. He's holding a fabric flag. It's not one that I remember seeing or would recognize off-hand. The background color is a dark forest green. There are two blood red daggers crossing over a strange looking black castle. It looks sinister.
"What flag is that?" I ask in an unsteady voice.
"I don't know. I don't recognize it. We must get it to the Professor right away. It was on the table with a knife stuck into it. I think whoever did this left it as a message."
"I think we should stop by Harman's house too," I recommend. She was supposed to go see him last night. It might not be fair, but I am instantly suspicious of him.
Caspian hands the flag to one of the soldiers and sends him straight to the Professor. Maybe he'll have some answers for us by the time we get back. Then we go to Harman's place. We knock there too, and he doesn't answer. Thankfully, his window was left open, so we can see inside. I peer into the living room and see a flag just like the one in Molly's house draped over the back of a chair. "Break down the door," I tell the guards. They kick it in just like they did to Molly's. The house is in slight disarray, and it becomes immediately clear that he was packing for a trip. Several travel bags are spread on one of his couches. And there are several canteens and other food provisions left on the counter. He must have had more than he needed. My heart sinks when I see fragments of rope left on the counter. He must have bound her hands. I shudder at the thought.
More tears spill over my cheeks as I realize the full weight of what happened, and Caspian comes over to grab my hand. I hear him tell the guards to look for any more evidence. He wipes the tears off my cheeks with his free hand. "Let's go see the Professor. He might have something for us already," he says, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
I just nod and quickly walk with him back to the castle, and we go straight to the Professor's study. He's hunched over his desk, reading a huge book that's splayed on the surface.
"Please tell us you have some answers," says Caspian.
"Ah, my King. In fact, I do. Please take a seat. Both of you."
I'm frazzled and antsy, but it feels good to sit. My body feels strangely void of energy. I try to focus on the Professor's words when he sits and explains what he knows.
"I have seen this flag before, but it has been a long time. I couldn't remember its origin, so I found some references to it in some of my literature. This flag represents Mahjay. It is a city far up in the 'wild lands of the north.' We are somewhat lacking in information about their people in more recent years, but I did find a few things in my research about more recent dealings with them. And there was one other incident that I'm aware of that I will share with you in a moment. But anyway, the city is built into the side of a steep mountain. It has a thick wall, so it's well protected. And the Mahjans-the name of the people-are quite savage in nature."
"What do you mean savage?" Asks Caspian.
"More than anything, they are uncivilized and somewhat wild. They are ruled by anger and passion instead of reason. They are impulsive and act without thinking about the repercussions. For all these reasons, they can be dangerous and unpredictable. We must be careful when dealing with them."
These people sound disconcerting, but there is still one component of all of this that I need to know about. "But how is Harman connected to all this? And why take Molly?" I ask.
The professor breathes in and lets out a loud sigh. "Anna, I thought that I would tell you this one day, but under different circumstances. Now, I don't have a choice. This will be difficult to hear, but I must tell you the truth. When I told you just now about a recent incident, I was speaking about a terrible event between the Telmarines and Mahjans. "
I have no idea what to think. I look over at Caspian, who looks just as perplexed and confused as I do. I stay silent so Dr. Cornelius will continue.
"I told you that your father died while he was on an expedition for Miraz. That was only partially true. He was actually killed by the Mahjans."
I'm shocked, but more about the lie rather than the circumstances. "Why haven't you told me that before?"
"I made that decision a while ago. I didn't want you or anyone else to seek revenge for his death. I didn't want to risk war with them. Miraz was angry, but they're so far away and he was too busy dealing with problems he had created here."
I think about what he just said. I'm almost certain that 'anyone else' means Caspian. The Professor knows the bond that we have, so there would be no telling what either of us would have done had we found this out earlier. Of course, we were only very young children when he was killed, but we may have grown up harboring feelings of retribution. Although even for revenge, I doubt either of us would have wanted to travel all the way up there, especially to risk war. Besides, no amount of fighting will bring my father back. And now, with Molly kidnapped, we don't have a choice. We will have to face them to get her back.
I realize I have one more question about my father. "Why did they kill him?" I ask quietly.
"Your father and his men were closer to the city than they realized. The Mahjans probably saw smoke from his fire, so they went to investigate. Then they killed him. Only one of his bodyguards escaped the ordeal, so he came back and told us what happened. When we heard the news, Miraz, and myself for that matter, suspected that the murder of your father wasn't made as a statement against Telmar. Instead, it continues to show their erratic and bloodthirsty nature."
"I'm so sorry," I hear Caspian say, and he grabs my hand. I suddenly realize that now we have another thing in common. But it's a sad truth. Both of our fathers were murdered.
I squeeze his hand. "It's ok. We can't change the past."
"So how do you think Harman is involved?" Caspian asks the Professor.
"Well, there are still several possibilities, I suppose. But there's really only one that makes sense. He's Telmarine, but he just arrived around the time of your marriage, correct?"
"Yes, that's right," I confirm.
"I think he had a plan all along. I suspect that he might have been planning an assassination on behalf of the Mahjans, and his target was most likely you, Caspian. Perhaps you as well, Anna. He must have been recruited by the Mahjans, since he is Telmarine. They knew he would draw less suspicion to move here to Cair Paravel around the time you began your reign. He figured out that you are both close to Molly, so he started a relationship with her in order to gain access to the castle. But with our security what it is here, he must have decided it was too risky to attempt an assassination here. So he took Molly, in hopes that you will follow her."
It's almost too much information for me to bear. I feel sick. But I also feel rage.
"We need to go. We need to go right now. We've wasted enough time already," I say.
Caspian cups my cheek with his hand and looks at me empathetically. "We'll leave soon, my love. We have a little time. If he wanted to harm her, he would have done so already." I think for a moment, and realize that he's probably right. Why would he go to the trouble of capturing her if he just wanted to kill her? And if the Professor's theory is right, then they'll need her alive because they know we will come to rescue her.
"You're right. But I wasted so much time this morning. She didn't show up for work. I should have realized it sooner."
"My love, you couldn't have known."
"I know, but Molly told me her suspicions yesterday and I thought he was going to propose. I even told her to go talk to him," I'm practically in hysterics at this point. I can't even believe all of this is real.
He pulls me into a hug from our spots on the couch. "Ssshhh, my love. We couldn't have known his true intentions. All of us were fooled." He turns his attention to the Professor, but he keeps holding me tightly in his arms. "Professor, what route must be taken to get there?"
"That's the other difficult part. There is a map, but a lot of the land up around there is uncharted. You would begin by following the route we take to the Telmarine castle. However, before reaching it, you break northwest and go through the mountains towards lantern waste. Then you continue to journey north. After that, you'll have to follow the map. It looks like there will be treacherous, unpredictable lands. There are mountains towards the beginning and the end of the journey, but it does look like there are some small towns to stop in to resupply. But it is many miles, and will take a few months to get there."
"Months?" I ask a little too loudly. We've never travelled anywhere that required that long of a journey.
The Professor looks sympathetic. "I wish it wasn't so, my Queen. But it's five day's journey just to get to the Telmarine castle. And Mahjay is much, much further."
Caspian releases me from his hold, then goes to get a map of Narnia. He brings it over and sets it on the coffee table in the middle of the seating area. We begin to look it over. Even on the map, Mahjay seems impossibly far.
"Alright. I will take a few hundred men, and we will take care of this," says Caspian confidently.
The Professor is immediately hesitant. "No, my King. It is most likely a trap. They are a brutal, savage people who favor spilling blood over democracy. There are other capable leaders that can go and accomplish the exact same thing."
"I'm aware of the danger. But it's Molly and I need to go. I will not stay behind while others go in my place," he says with resolve.
"I'm going too," I say.
They both look at me, horrified. The Professor is about to say something, but Caspian speaks first. "Absolutely not. I won't let you. It'll be dangerous enough for me, and I don't want you to face that too. I need you to stay. I promise: I will do what I can to bring her back. You don't need to go. Besides, if something happens to me…"
"Don't you even say that. Don't even think it. I can't do this without you. And I'd rather face danger with you than stay here for months, waiting to hear what happened."
"My King and Queen, you both just got crowned. You cannot go. The people need both of you as leaders. Please. You have capable soldiers. Have faith in them."
"I'm sorry that you disagree, but this is the last time I'm going to say it: I'm going. I know that we have capable soldiers, but I need to go. If there is any chance of a democratic solution, then I need to try. And if there isn't, then I will show them why they should regret what they did," he says firmly. "And Anna, you're staying," he adds.
"No, I'm not! I'm coming with you! I have the same right to go as you do." I yell.
He raises his voice to match mine. "I'm not letting you! It's too dangerous!"
"I don't care and you're not going to stop me!" I say and then run out of the room. I know it's childish, but I want to be alone. I hear Caspian yell after me, but I don't stop. I run all the way to our room and sit outside on our balcony. The beauty of the day is a betrayal of the harsh reality of our situation. I look over at the spot where I just had a conversation with Molly yesterday. If only I knew Harman's plot. She would still be here, safe with us. Besides Caspian, she is my closest friend and I couldn't bear to lose her like I lost my father. And now, without Caspian's consent, I'm not sure what to do. I'm not used to answering to someone else. And our marriage isn't usually like that, even though he is King and can give orders. We normally talk through our issues, and he's never really needed to order me to do anything. I don't want to go against his wishes if he does order me to stay, but I know in my heart that I cannot remain. I would lose my mind having two of the people I love most in harm's way while I stayed behind. My mind continues to spin for another few hours until Caspian finally comes to our room. I'm sure he's been busy preparing what he needs to for the journey and meeting with the council. Besides that, we both know that we needed time away from each other to cool off and think. Especially me.
He walks slowly to the balcony and sits down on the loveseat next to mine. I can't look at him for the longest time. I keep my gaze steady on the crashing waves below. When I do finally look over at him, he's looking out over the scenery below too. He looks wearied and sad, and I know that I've caused him some of that pain. Suddenly, I don't care about what was said earlier. I just want to go to him. I get up and curl up next to him, putting my head on his shoulder and my arms around his neck. He wastes no time reciprocating the sentiment, and he wraps his arms around me. In this moment, we need each other. In the situation we're in, it seems petty to be arguing anyway.
After several moments of sitting, he finally has the courage to speak. "I know that you want to come. As King, I have the authority to refuse requests, but being your husband, I don't feel right forcing you to stay. And I want to be clear—I'm not asking you to stay in order to be successor to the throne. But I'm asking you as your husband—please don't come."
I talk next. "You know how you feel like you have to go? Like it would almost be physically painful for you to stay?" He nods. "Well that's how I feel too. She's my best friend. I have to go, Caspian. I'm sorry. I know that's not the answer you want. But she's like family. I need to go. And besides that, I couldn't stand to be away from you that long and not know if you're ok. Even if you get there and take care of it and come straight back that would be at least three months. Maybe longer. I couldn't do it."
"Well, I was never happy about the idea of being away from you that long. Even a day without you seems like a week sometimes. But I could get through it if I knew you were safe."
"This isn't about my safety. This is about friends that are like our family. I'm coming with you."
He lets out a sigh. "So be it. I'm not happy about it, but you've made your own decision. I spoke to the council right before I came here. I have named councilman Rashad to rule in our place in the event that neither of us returns. He is trustworthy and loyal. And Dr. Cornelius would be heavily involved in royal affairs. It's the best plan we have. And I instructed Glenstorm to have the soldiers ready by about six this evening."
I turn and look inside at the clock. It's about 4:30. We'll have to rush to get ready and leave on time. Caspian runs his hand through my hair, and I stare into his dark chocolate colored eyes. "I don't want anything to happen to you. I love you too much," he says.
"We'll get through this together," I say quietly, then press my lips up against his. I give him all of me in that kiss.
And then we have to stop because we have so little time. We quickly go down to the kitchen for food since we haven't eaten much today. We then rush back upstairs to pack what we need and to get changed into our clothes and armor. We're finally ready and I feel strange as I look at our room one last time. It's a strange feeling to even consider the possibility that we, or I, might not ever return. I want to go on the journey, but at the same time, it is so hard to leave. We have only just started our beautiful life together. It seems too soon to have it threatened. I close our door and take Caspian's hand as we walk forward, and I refuse to look back.
A/N: I hoped you like the chapter! Don't forget to fave/follow ;) The adventure begins next chapter!