Chapter 10

"Come on, Ed!" yelled an exuberant Lucy. Edmund grinned and chased his sister. Lucy squealed and ran away, kicking off her shoes in the process. Edmund reared Philip, his horse, and began to chase her. Peter, Susan and Caspian watched with amusement as they walked after them. Susan's hand was securely held by Caspian's, whilst Peter walked on ahead, casting looks behind him every so often. They could hear Lucy's giggling reverberate throughout the forest, carried on the warm summer wind.

The royals had decided to go out for a walk, intending not to stray too far from Cair Paravel. The walk was enjoyable for them all; a welcome relief from the burdens of royalty. Edmund chased Lucy on horseback, enjoying the thrill of the chase, even though it wasn't real. Her giggling was carried on the wind, and as he chased down the sound, he became more and more aware of being lost.

He'd lost her. He groaned and thumped his head with his hands. Then, he saw her, in a clearing right in front of him. She was looking at him and smiling widely. Suddenly, her smile was traded for an expression of pure fear and panic. "Edmund!" Lucy cried shrilly, pointing her finger to something behind him. Edmund turned, and his eyes widened. A figure, hidden by a black cloak was racing towards him on an even blacker horse at breakneck speed. A sword sat in the figure's right hand.

Edmund reacted instantaneously. He ducked the savage sword swipe and kicked out with his right boot, landing it in the horse's flank. The figure jumped expertly off of the horse as its steps faltered, coming dangerously close to falling. The horse regained its balance and galloped on. Lucy screamed as the fast horse sped past her, missing her by mere centimetres. The figure landed on the ground with a soft thump, and its cloak rustled.

The figure's face was completely obscured by the cloak. It struck first, jabbing towards Edmund's unguarded stomach. Edmund parried the blow and returned by slashing a diagonal line. The figure parried the blow, and so they continued, jabbing, slashing, cutting, and then parrying the blow that was coming.

Finally, in a moment of opportunity, Edmund charged forward, making a rapid series of hits against his opponent's sword. His opponent responded by swiping a low blow, which Edmund jumped over. A flurry of dust sprung up around their feet, giving rise to a massive dust cloud.

The sounds of Lucy's screams and the clash of swords attracted the attention of Caspian, Peter and Susan. They ran towards the brawl. They were, however, already too late.

The dust cloud had settled. Edmund had his sword under his opponent's chin. He was about to move it further forward, when he found himself paralysed in place by his opponent's sword in the exact same position. Edmund's chocolate brown eyes gleamed dangerously. "Yield." He hissed. The cloaked figure laughed coldly. "Not while you're pointing a sword at my head." It said. Edmund's eyes widened at the sound of the figure's voice.

The voice was way too high to come by as a man's voice. Though, it was fairly deep, too. It was tipped with a slight Hispanic accent, like Caspian's. Though this accent wasn't as strong. Edmund would call this accent Italian if they were still living in England, like Caspian's sounded Hispanic. Edmund slowly raised the tip of his sword and flicked aside the cloak. It fell to the ground.

"Edmund!" Susan's shrill cry sounded next to him. He turned his head, and gasped when he still felt the sharp tip of the sword still prodding his neck. Caspian and Peter's eyes went just as wide as Edmund's. "Yield." Edmund hissed again, after turning his head as carefully as the sword in his throat would allow him to look at the figure, now exposed to the scrutiny of the king.

A girl, the cause of everyone's surprise, from under her cloak glared at him, staying silent. She suddenly sighed in resolve and took her sword away from its place under Edmund's chin, and sheathed it. "I'm already at the mercy of the Kings and Queens of old." She muttered. Susan stepped forward. "Who are you?" she asked softly, frowning. The girl sighed again, her eyes flitting to the ground. "I am Princess Sophia, of Calormen." She answered.

The moment those words left her mouth, Edmund's muscles went lax, and he dropped his sword from her chin, sheathing it. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. But, as much as he wanted to believe this girl was lying, she wasn't. A number of things gave her away. Her posture was regal, yet carried in a manner of humbleness which Edmund could detect in his own stance.

And her clothes, though they were men's clothes, were made in such a manner that they could not have belonged to a peasant. "What are you doing here?" Caspian asked, stepping forward and drawing Susan closer to him in a protective manner. "Running, I guess." She answered, smiling sadly.

Her eyes locked onto the engagement ring Susan had on her hand, and she made a mental note to ask the queen about it later. Lucy came out from behind Peter. "Why?" she asked, her voice whisper soft. Sophia squatted down and was about to answer, when Peter put a hand in front of Lucy. "Tell us on the way to the castle." He said. Sophia raised her eyes to look at Peter and nodded, straightening up.

The royal party started off, and Sophia began her story. "My father has always wanted my throne. He never wanted me as his heir, because I'm a girl. Everyone in Calormen is under the positive belief that women cannot hold positions of power. Women are only good for pleasure and labour. Women are the makers of the beds; the tenders to the young." She explained. Whilst she spoke, Edmund took the time to asses her carefully. He wanted to know if she was a possible threat to his family.

But, if he had asked for Susan's opinion on his behaviour, she would have told him he was just looking for a legitimate excuse to look her up and down. She was very pretty, Edmund granted her that. She stood at a shorter height to him, with the top of her head reaching his ears. Her skin was of a moderate tan. The skin was lithe and supple, with strong muscles concealed underneath. She had long, waist length hair, darker blonde of colour.

Her eyes were the strangest aspect about her. When Edmund had been fighting with her before, his chocolate orbs had briefly locked onto hers, and he had seen the strangest thing. The outer rim, furthest away from the pupil was a dark blue. Inside that rim was a ring of teal, with a smaller ring of green closer to the pupil. The area around her pupil was yellow, dotted with small specks of brown. They were the strangest (and prettiest) eyes Edmund had ever seen.

She was wearing brown pants that moved with her body, and Edmund could see it was made of a very comfortable fabric. On her feet, she wore black leather boots that were laced up to her calves. Her torso was clad in a cream shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow and over that a brown leather jerkin. Her sword was sheathed by her side. Her horse was long gone, and looked like it wouldn't return any time soon.

Edmund was filled with unspeakable rage at the Princess' words. He knew Calormen treated their women like filth, and he had hoped that they had at least changed a little bit from the times before, but apparently not. His mind flew back to Prince Rabadash, who had tried to force Susan into marriage, and this rage filled him even more. Calormen hadn't changed a bit. A quick look behind him told him that Susan must have been thinking the same. Caspian noticed this too, and gently squeezed her hand, bringing her back to the present.

Peter spoke up. "What about your family, what of them?" He asked. Edmund smiled slightly; glad his older brother had taken the words right out of his mouth. Sophia dropped her head and looked at the ground as she walked onwards. "My younger brother was born lame. He has a disability in his arms, and so my father deemed him unfit to rule. He had it arranged for him to be executed, but I fought heavily against that order. Finally, Father relented and let him live, but not in the palace. He was given to some peasants who were unable to have children. He lives in the city now, knowing nothing of the royal status that he was born with." Sophia explained. By the end of her little story, tears glinted in the corners of her eyes, and she was fighting hard to keep them down. Disability or no, she still loved him. The group was silent, hanging on to every word.

Edmund fought the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close to him, so that he could reassure her. The urge came from absolutely nowhere, and it confused him greatly. "Now, my father has a healthy, living son, and that means that I'm to be executed, too. I'm a woman, of no use whatsoever to my father, except to marry off to some lord or prince. But my father has no love for me, so he'll dispose of me in any way possible. My mother has no more say in what he does. She died giving birth to Garvin." Sophia continued.

There was a moment of silence, no sound unless the chirping of birds overhead and the scuffling of feet on the forest floor. Garvin must have been her younger brother, Caspian mused. It was then that he spoke. "Couldn't your father just have reinstated one of his generals if he wanted a healthy prince so bad?" he asked. Sophia shook her head and looked at him. "No. My cousins, Daniil and Aspar are his highest generals; the commanders of the 5 left and 5 right regiments of the Calormen army. Had he reinstated one of them, he wouldn't have anybody with near as much skill as either of them to employ as the new general. My other cousin Samuel is a stableboy. Father does not even think of him as a nephew. Besides, Father wants a prince of his own bloodline." She said, spitting bitterly when she thought of her two cousins.

They were both insufferable, cocky, and unbelievably annoying. "So who is the mother?" Susan whispered, her eyes wide with apprehension. Sophia looked at Susan, and was moved by the amount of compassion she saw concealed in the silver-blue orbs. Sophia quickly looked away and steeled her gaze.

"My aunt." She spat, disgusted that she would do such a thing. "And now, because of her disgusting affair with my father, I'm on the run. All. Because. Of. Her." Sophia growled, her vision clouding red at the edges. It didn't take a miracle man to work out she was beyond angry. She was livid.

Caspian met Susan's eyes. Susan saw the pain in them, and in an attempt to soothe him, she craned up and set a sweet kiss on his lips. But even that didn't wipe the frown that was hard-set onto Caspian's brow. The Princess' story was starting to look more and more like his own. Visions from the night he was supposed to be killed flashed in front of his eyes and he held tightly onto Susan like she was his rock. They kept coming, each one more terrible than the last, until Susan kissed him again, teleporting him out of his painful memories and back into the present. In moments like this, Caspian felt blessed beyond measure that she had agreed to become his wife. She truly was like no other.

Edmund hesitantly held his hand out, and after some internal deliberation whether to put it on Sophia's shoulder or not, he dropped it and put it on her shoulder. Sophia whirled around, her eyes glowing in the evening sunlight. She glared at him, but didn't once move to remove Edmund's hand from her shoulder. Edmund met her eyes and didn't blink. He didn't look away, either. Finally, Sophia dropped her eyes and turned away from him, continuing to walk forward.

She had relaxed visibly. Edmund took his hand from her shoulder and looked at her, before turning his eyes away. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Edmund asked. Sophia bit her lip, but didn't face Edmund. "My father had me trained in the case I would become Queen. Calormen princes take the throne over from their parents when they reach the age of seventeen. For me, that's next year. My father wanted to know that were I to take the throne that I would be able to rule the kingdom well. That didn't mean he liked the idea of me becoming Queen." Sophia explained. By now, they had almost reached the castle, and Cair Paravel's spires could be seen from below, looming over the landscape.

As they walked into the adjoining courtyard, the castle now fully visible, Peter stopped, took Sophia's hands in his and gave a gracious bow, earning giggles from Lucy and a smirk from Edmund. "Then allow us. You will never have to be on the run again. I, High King Peter, hereby invite you to live with us at Cair Paravel, should you want to." He said, rising from his bow and smiling. Sophia took a step back, looking around.

Susan was smiling at her as well. Caspian gave a silent nod, indicating that he, too, agreed with Peter's decision. Lucy beamed and rushed forward, hugging Sophia tightly around the waist. But Edmund, Edmund was glaring at Peter, his face frozen in shock. Sophia turned towards him and placed her hands on her hips. She looked at him, before clearing her throat. Edmund's face whipped around to look at her.

He closed his open mouth, and then opened it to say something. Deciding against that, he closed his mouth again. Sophia raised an eyebrow and turned back to Peter. She fought against the smirk that was threatening to break across her face.

"I would love that. Thank you." Sophia answered, her voice laced with sincerity. And she really did mean that. Peter gave another nod and with a sweeping motion brought his hand around to indicate the massive castle. "Welcome to Cair Paravel, Sophia." He said, smiling earnestly. Sophia returned his easy smile and looked around her. Caspian had taken up his spot beside Susan, and he whispered something in her ear.

Susan smiled at him and nodded, walking towards the castle. Lucy ran up beside Sophia and took her hand. "I'll show you your room! Come on!" She said, earning an excited laugh from Sophia. Lucy pulled her along and into the castle, effectively leaving Peter, Caspian and Edmund alone in the courtyard.

Caspian walked up beside Peter, who was intently looking at Edmund. "Leave him; he'll come around sooner or later. Come to think of it, he'll miss dinner." Caspian said, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Peter snorted and turned his back to Edmund. He and Caspian walked to the entrance of the castle, before Peter turned around once more to look for Edmund. The Just King was still frozen in place, his face still frozen in that same expression. Laughing softly, Peter turned away and followed Caspian to the dining room.

After Peter had turned away, Edmund suddenly snapped into action from his position. He closed his mouth and walked to the entrance to the castle, nodding politely to the guards that stood on either side of the double doors that lead into the throne room. To them, it seemed as if the king had been taken by a trance; so placid were his movements. But Edmund was thinking. His mind was completely focused on one thing.

The princess. She had taken over his thoughts; left his throat thirsty and his stomach hungry. And Edmund knew that all of this would go away when he saw her again. Against his body's protests, he walked past the dining room and up to his own chambers, where he fell into a dreamless sleep. And it was all instigated by that one look in her eyes.

King Ardu, of Calormen sat upon his throne of smithed silver. The kind was a large, muscular man with straight, cropped black hair and a black beard. Brown eyes normally scoped out the room for danger, but now, at this time he wouldn't have to. Now was a moment of peace. The dark pine wood added a dark contrast to the light silver, and gave even more darkness to the already throne room.

He was cradling his new-born son in bare arms. The doors to the throne room opened, admitting the King's nephew, Daniil, inside. The nineteen year-old walked to the foot of the dais, and sank to his knees and bowing his head in a bow. "Uncle," he acknowledged, rising to his feet and stepping to the top of the dais. He walked around the back of his uncle's throne, stopping to look over the king's shoulder. "What's his name?" Daniil asked. Ardu smiled. "Savir." He answered, "Named because he will save Calormen. It almost fell into the hands of my daughter, you know." He said.

Daniil scoffed. She wouldn't have lasted a day, he thought. Savir meant Saviour, just said in a Calormene accent. "Speaking of, where is the princess?" Daniil asked. Ardu frowned, his bushy eyebrows drawing together. "I do not know. I have not seen her since the night of Savir's birth." He said. Daniil nodded and stepped down from the dais. "Find her. Bring her to me." Ardu ordered. Daniil nodded and bowed. "Yes, my king." He said, putting a ready hand on the hilt of his sword and leaving the room.

An hour later, Daniil returned to the throne room. "We could not find her, M'Lord. We have searched the entire castle, but we have not seen her. We have even asked the servants but they, too, have not seen her. Come to think of it, she has been gone since little Savir was born." Daniil explained. Ardu shot up and banged his fist on the armrest of his throne.

Savir no longer lay in his arms. One of the nannies must have taken him, Daniil thought. Ardu swore loudly. His brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "What about her other cousin, that stableboy?" he asked. Daniil shook his head. "Samuel said he had not seen her, Lord." He explained. Ardu swore again. "Get your brother, Aspar and that stableboy. We will find Sophia." He commanded. Daniil bowed and turned to leave.

"Oh, and Daniil?" Ardu said. Daniil turned around and looked at his king. "Get Ezera ready, too." He said. Daniil's usually confident face became less so. "Ezera, Sir?" he inquired. Ardu nodded. "The spy will be needed." The kind said curtly.

Daniil still looked uncertain, but he still turned around and walked away. He went towards the barracks nonetheless, knowing he would meet his brother and the assassin there.

So here it is. Another chapter. I'm really, really sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy with other things lately, and I haven't found the motivation to continue writing for the story. I won't be putting it on hiatus, so don't worry about that.

I'll try to update every week or two. That's my New Years resloution. Speaking of it, how were your New Years? Enjoyable, I hope.

Ooooh, seems like something is brewing in Calormen... Hmm. What do you think of these changes of events? And what of my OC?

Please review, I love reviews ^^