I have two more stories in mind and I promise that one of them will be a Caspian fic because I want to spread my wings a little :D Peter fic in the future? I think so.

Anyway, here's chapter 2 of THIS story…honestly I can't do one thing at a time!

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EDMUND'S POV

Tashbaan was the LAST place I wanted to be right now. I never liked coming here but Peter was always "magically" busy whenever a need to pay a visit to the Tisroc arose so I had to go, of course, to protect Lucy or Susan and whatnot. But I hated this city with a passion. It was filled with suffering people, the streets were littered with waste and trash on the lower levels while the palace was the grandest place on this earth, and the worst thing about the entire place was the rampant slave trading that went on right in the middle of the market square. Slave trading made me sick to my stomach. People were herded like sheep or cattle and were treated like possessions instead of individuals with lives and futures. But I had no authority here so every time I came here I had to ride past that platform and watch people get sold before my very eyes. However, I was glad to see today there was no one in the square and definitely no one on the platform in the center. Perhaps the trade was dying down? No, that was wishful thinking because Tashbaan thrived on slave sales.

We rode through the city slowly due to the huge crowd of people around us. Some were begging for money, some were looking at us with unfriendly eyes, but many were simply curious as to who we were and why we were here. I really didn't mind these PEOPLE, per say, but it was their leader and their detestable deity that set me on edge. Everywhere I looked the Calormen god, Tash, was engraved, drawn, carved, burnt, or painted onto every surface. He was a horrible thing and I was constantly amazed at why anyone would choose to worship something so awful. Lucy shared this feeling and I watched as she shook her head sadly as we passed by a large marble statue of Tash in all of his terrifying personage.

She and I were both relieved when we entered through the gates of the palace high above the rest of the city. It was a grand sight, don't get me wrong, with the many sparkling fountains, the beautiful gardens, the intricately carved statues, and the many wild creatures that roamed about just because the Tisroc thought them an essential part of any garden. I ducked as a flamingo flew over our small Narnian entourage and shook my head. Such needless extravagance when your people just below you are starving to death was beyond my comprehension.

Lucy dismounted quickly, but I stayed astride for a moment longer to scan the area, after all one can't be too careful in this place. But I found nothing to be a threat so I dismounted as well and handed the reins of both horses to a servant boy who had come running up with a bow. I gave him a kind word and a smile and he scampered off with wide eyes of disbelief. Goes to show how much respect these people get. I followed Lucy as she walked toward the doors of the palace which had been opened to allow us entrance, the guards on either side holding long and sharp pikes. I didn't want to go in, but we really had no choice, did we?

Once inside we were led quite kindly to a room with a large table where the Tisroc was waiting for us. The moment we had sat down the servants came gliding in with enough food to feed a small army, which…was sort of the case when you counted our guards and the Tisrocs guards. The servant girls here were always very scantily clad which was another reason I hated this place…it made me feel like a pervert because my eyes were naturally drawn to them. I never left Tashbaan without a nice sized bruise on my ribs from Susan or Lucy's elbows, but neither did Peter for that matter.

We ate and each of us asked about the weather and economy in turn. This was how it always was here in Tashbaan, very pompous and traditional to a fault. I knew we wouldn't be discussing anything tonight because we had to go through Calormen hospitality rituals first. Normally, this would be a delightful cultural plus, but not in this city and not with this man. This Tisroc was dangerous and I could feel it in my very bones, he HATED Narnia and tolerated us only because we had a peace agreement installed at this time.

The ritualistic talk and enquiries were dissolved when my sister let out with a huge yawn and the Tisroc called in servants to show us our rooms. I was more than glad to plop down on that huge bed full of down pillows and I was asleep moments after I hit them.

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The next morning was the part of this whole trip I dreaded the most. The Tisroc always demanded we be taken on a tour of the city, which I never understood because we had been here many times before.

So I found myself back in the saddle being led by a Tarkaan by the name of Jaaved down the streets of Tashbaan. I tried to keep up royal appearance and not slump in my saddle but I was SO bored by his incessant talk of how great and honorable the Tisroc (may he live forever!) is and how strong Tash is and how wonderful the law is…all very nauseating. Plus, everyone knows the Tisroc is going to die now matter how often they wished he wouldn't.

And then I looked up and saw where we were; the marketplace. And, to my horror, there was a slave sale going on. The Tarkaan halted our progress and bid us watch the event unfold, claiming to us we were witnessing the event which brought Tashbaan the majority of its wealth. I felt the bile rise in my throat as it always did at these sales and I tried to pry away my eyes as girls and young boys were paraded by and sold one by one. We were just about to turn and proceed with the tour when I heard a loud scream and the sound of crying. I looked up quickly and witness two girls being led onto the platform…well, at least the smaller one was being pulled up and the older girl was clinging to her for dear life as they tried to pry her off. They managed to get them apart and the bidding started on the younger girl who had tears streaming down her young face. All I could see standing there was my own sister and I felt boiling rage rising in me. How could they do this to people? But at that moment the older girl tore loose of her holder and ran onto the platform, claiming they were to be sold together. The slavers who were apparently the current owners of these girls were fuming and I saw one of them pull a whip from his saddle bag. I panicked and spurred my horse forward in urgency, reaching the platform just as I heard a whip crack and the older girl fell to her knees with a yelp.

"Excuse me, sir!" I spoke with all the manners I could manage in my angered state, "You shall lower the price on these two due to that injury I assume?"

The slaver looked at me in confusion for a moment and then, as he took in the fact that I was obviously rich, his eyes gleamed and he smiled a nasty smile.

"Just 'ow much are you willin' to pay, sir?" his thick accent was not one I was familiar with in Narnia, but seemed to be familiar somehow, possibly from somewhere in my old world.

"I'll pay what I think they're worth," I replied firmly. I dismounted onto the platform and lifted the girl to her feet and motioned for her to stand next to the younger one. She complied only after shooting me a look that could wither a vine. I did a "examination" of them, which just meant I poked and prodded and pretended to be looking for flaws. I gave the slaver an offer that was probably more generous than I should have and he greedily accepted the money I handed him.

The slaver undid the metal collars from the girls and I watched in horror as he looped the leather leads through rings in each girl's nose that I had failed to notice before. He handed me the leads and it was all I could do not to let them go and yell "You're free!" but I kept my composure and my false air of pomp and led the girl back to where Lucy and Jaaved were waiting. Jaaved looked disgusted and Lucy looked worried but proud of me. I felt terrible that the girls had to keep up with us on horseback as we finished the tour, but they did manage it wonderfully and I marveled at how such malnourished and slight bodies could manage the amount of exertion they did.

Finally, we arrived back at the castle and Jaaved told me I could put them in the cells of the palace if I wished. I shook my head and told him I could handle two small girls by myself without bars and he just shrugged and left me to it. I led them to my room in the palace and locked the door behind me just in case they decided to bolt.

I let go of the leads and the girls stood, hand in hand, looking at me with faces that made me almost want to shed a tear. The younger one looked frightened and was starting to cry again, but the older one was the one whose face had me wondering what hell they had been through. She was beautiful, or she was once before she had been starved and beaten, with long black hair (many people say I have black hair, but next to her I was sure it would be a very unimpressive brown) and eyes that were so dark brown they were almost black. And in those dark eyes I saw emotions I wasn't use to seeing all in the same individual. There was anger, fear, hatred but also a grim determination. I cleared my throat and tried to smile.

"My name is King Edmund the Just of Narnia," I bowed slightly out of common courtesy toward women and I noticed the younger one's eyes took on a funny look. "I would like to know your names if you're quite prepared to tell them to me."

"My name is Jinni," the younger one piped up. The older girl tensed up and I saw her hand tighten on Jinni's. "Ouch!"

I looked questioningly at the older girl.

"Why should I tell you?" she asked, her voice was cold and hard.

"You don't have to if you aren't ready to," I shrugged, knowing it was best not to push her. Those eyes were all too familiar and I had seen them in the mirror many times in England before I came to Narnia. But the knowledge I wasn't demanding her name must have struck a chord.

"My name is Najida," she said quietly.

I nodded in acceptance. If that was all I got out of her that was a good start.

Lucy came in at that time and she smiled kindly at the two girls. I introduced them and Jinni was immediately taken with Lucy. They began to bond the moment Lucy had stepped in the room! After a while of talking, Lucy took Jinni off for a bath and I found myself in the awkward position of being the one to offer Najida the same thing. She nodded and drug herself into the bathroom where a servant girl had already drawn what was meant to be MY bath…oh well.

I waited in my room for her to reappear and she finally did, her eyes fixed on the floor. I grabbed a tunic and trousers from my travel bags and handed them to her and was shocked when she just let the towel drop to the ground and started to pull on the pants. I blushed fiercely and immediately averted my eyes to the wall behind me. I didn't even notice when she walked away from the door and went over to the window until she crossed my line of vision. Her silhouette was framed in moonlight and I shuddered at how thin she was.

"Are you hungry?" I asked quietly, so as not to spook her.

She turned from the window and looked at me with wide eyes and nodded meekly. I smiled and pulled the servant bell by the door. Moment later, one of those scantily clad girls came in and asked me what I needed, but after the towel dropping incident she didn't seem so bad. I gave her a list of things to bring up to eat and she left to comply immediately and was back very quickly.

I took the tray with a "thank you" and set it on the table next the where Najida was still standing as she looked out the window at the moon. She took one look at the food before her, glanced at me as if seeking permission and then tucked in at an alarming rate when I nodded my approval. I watched in disgusted fascination as she shoveled it down.

"I…take it you haven't eaten in a while…" I stammered. She didn't say a word but just looked at me. "I…guess you'll have to share this bed with me then. Aslan knows it's big enough for both of us plus some."

And that's when I discovered why this girl's eyes seemed so haunted. She stood there and looked at me for some time with an expression of disgust and then she sighed and walked stiffly to the bed where she laid down and fixed her gaze on the ceiling. I shrugged and slipped out of my boots as I walked over to take my place on the other side of the bed. But when I reached the foot of the bed she looked right at me and untied her trousers, slid them off and spread her legs wide before I even knew what was happening. I looked at her in shock.

"Umm…what are you doing?" I asked in surprise.

"I've given up trying to fight," her small voice was barely understandable.

"Fight?" I know I seemed dense, but I'd really never been in that situation before. She nodded and, before I knew it, she was pulling me down and I was right on top of her, her legs wrapped around me. Oh…I finally got it!

I rolled off immediately and sat her up by the shoulders.

"Najida," I said seriously, looking her directly in the eyes, "I don't want you to do that. I don't want TO do that to you. I just meant that you could sleep in the bed with me!"

She blinked a few times, clearly not believing me.

"Oh, Aslan's Mane, are you a prostitute?" I breathed in shock.

"I am NOT!" her voice rose angrily. She rose up onto her knees and I noticed the stripe where the whip had struck her on her thigh for the first time.

But I knew better than to try and do anything about it now. I prayed the bath she took would have cleaned it well enough until Lucy could take care of it. This girl had been treated in the worst possible ways and I knew better than to even TRY to touch her. In fact, in an act of decency and respect for her space, I grabbed a pillow and some blankets from the bed and slept on the floor that night.

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Not quite how I wanted it to be written but I am SO tired. So…there it is, the product a half asleep brain.