10. Tormented
The sun's early rays searched its way past the thin curtains and landed on the figure in the wide bed. Susan yawned as she awoke to this cascade of light and warmth running across her face like a lover's caress. She basked in its touch for a second before she froze beneath the covers. The touch upon her skin was warm, but it was not the touch of any rays outside. It was the caress of a hand and at once the young woman was wide awake.
She opened her eyes, turned to gaze beside her and gasped in surprise. Lying next to her atop the pale bedspreads was none other than the Telmarine king. His long, dark hair flowed free around his toned shoulders, barely visible beneath his loose shirt. His dusky eyes burned with a passion that had Susan's heart stop for a second and his tanned hand traveled across her face as if he'd done nothing else his whole life.
"... What... What's this?" the brunette managed weakly as she curled further into the covers but couldn't make herself move away from his caresses. "You should not be in here."
"You want me to leave?" his whispered thick accent almost made Susan forget her plan.
At length, she shook her head. "You should leave."
His hand continued to caress her cheek and slowly sought its way towards her slender neck as the handsome man leaned closer. "That was not what I asked."
Before she had a chance to argue his lips pressed against her with a fervor. His arm traveled downward until he enveloped her slim waist and pulled the young woman closer. Susan found her resolve weaken and her own hand somehow wound up in his long locks as she enjoyed the sensation of his body pressed against hers.
When the king moved to deepen the kiss, the woman felt rationality strike her mind and made her think clearly again. She couldn't do this, it wasn't right. She had her plan and this certainly did not fit into it. Detachment had been the key and this was quite the opposite. Gently she pushed on the man's shoulder as she pulled her head away from his.
As he once more tried to capture her lips in an endless kiss, she whispered, "Don't."
Caspian faltered and pulled back an inch. His passion was momentarily exchanged for perplexity and dismay. His hand tightened around her waist as he brought her even closer to his body. He whispered into her ear, "Why deny ourselves the pleasure?"
"This isn't right," Susan muttered as she struggled against his strong form. The man beside her wasn't acting like she had expected. Something was certainly awry with this image and she needed to get away to make sense of it. "Let me go."
"Afterwards..." he mumbled into her ear as he roughly pushed on top of her. He pressed her hands down on the pillow and the more she struggled, the harder he tightened his grip. Susan hissed at the added pressure but ignored the pain as realization struck her; this was not her Caspian.
With all her weight she rolled out from beneath him and with agile movements managed to get atop of the Telmarine king. He still had her hands captive but there was a distant smirk across his bearded jaw that sent shivers of fright down her spine. "Who are you?" she demanded to know, but there came no reply.
The man beneath her moved with shocking speed as he sat up and grabbed a firm hold of the queen's neck. With no further delay the man suddenly threw the Pevensie woman from the bed. Susan landed hard on the stone floor and felt the wind knocked out of her. She had landed straight on top of her bruised back and felt powerless to get up.
She gazed up and saw the sinister smirk had returned to the man's lips as he started to descend from the bed.
"Caspian, no!" the young woman cried out as he lowered himself towards her.
Seconds later, the door to her private chamber flew open and Susan turned towards her unexpected aid. Standing in the open door way was Reepicheep, followed close by two guards. The young queen was well aware of the mouse's protecting nature, but also knew that Caspian had assigned guards to the Pevensies' chambers at night for as long as their return remained a mystery.
"Milady, is everything alright?" the mouse guard asked as he scurried over to her side.
The woman breathed heavily as she glanced up at her untidy, chaotic bed. There was no sign of any Telmarine king in the room and she swiftly deduced none of it had been real, after all. "It was simply a nightmare, Reepicheep. I am fine," she lied and watched as the worried mouse relaxed beside her.
An hour after having convinced the patrol that she was unharmed and safe, the young queen found herself alone once more. She had redressed slowly in private, for her back was still sore after her fall to the ground, and she now wore a pale blue dress that matched her eyes and the skies above. Susan hadn't felt like joining anyone for breakfast and had thus skipped it in favor for watching the sunrise on the balcony of her chamber.
As she leaned against the balustrade and faced east, she tried to clear her still shaken mind. The young woman was more certain than ever that something was playing mind games with her, and it could perhaps help explain Peter's mental collapse also. She needed to solve this puzzle before the mental strain grew too much.
"Am I intruding?"
Susan turned around upon hearing the unexpected voice and her heart fluttered like the wings of a butterfly upon seeing king Caspian in the open doorway to her balcony. The man wore a beige, collared undershirt beneath a darker, embroidered tunic and plain pants that seemed befit of royalty while still being simple. It reminded the young woman of the outfit the king had worn when they'd said farewell during her last visit to Narnia.
"I knocked on your door, I did not want an event similar to what happened aboard the Dawn Treader to make you indignant again," the king explained as he took her silence as an invitation and stepped onto the small, stone area.
The young woman released an amused breath. "I believe you were the one indignant that time."
"No, no," Caspian disagreed while a playful smile spread across his face. "That's not how I remember it."
Susan met his smile with one of her own but soon lowered her gaze. The memory of this morning still burned bright before her inner eyes and even though she knew that man had not been real, she could still not deny the effect his hot kisses had had on her.
"I... apologize if I step over a line here, my queen, but Reepicheep told me of your nightmare this morning," the man said after a few minutes in silence. He leaned against the balustrade beside the queen as he searched for the right words. Susan could not help but notice the faint glimmer of pain in his eyes and she was at once concerned. "He said in passing that you had cried out my name... in fear. May I ask if I was a source of evil in your dream?"
The Pevensie woman gazed at the sun's ascent over the sea before her as she sighed, "I would rather not say."
Caspian read the truth between the lines without any trouble. "Then I was..."
"It's not... It's not that simple," Susan breathed as she realized the reason for the king's pain. He had taken the blame for what his evil replica had done without even knowing the truth. "It's not what you think. Truth is... I think Peter isn't the only one affected by whatever it is that ails him."
The king leaned close to the woman and worry was the only thing that shone in his dark eyes, dancing with the warm rays of the sun. "If you are unwell, Susan, I ask of you to inform me now."
"I am fine. I promise. But... it wasn't a nightmare exactly. I think it was more of... an hallucination?"
Once more, the king knew the words that went unsaid, "Of me."
"Yes." The woman felt the words pass her lips like thorns, each one hurting more than the next, but still she couldn't seem to stop herself from revealing the truth, "When I woke up, you were there in the room with me. I know it wasn't you, but it looked like you. I thought it was for a second, too, but it felt wrong..."
"So I wasn't my usual devilishly handsome self then?" Susan chuckled tenderly as she lowered her gaze. The king pushed on, "What did I do? Or... My replica."
The young woman felt her cheeks burn. "You kissed me, my lord."
There was a brief pause in which one could only hear the distant chirps of the birds and the waves crashing against the shore far below the hillside. At length, the king found his voice, "... Kissed you? I see. Was I good?"
The young woman grimaced. "Please don't joke about it. When you... he kissed me, I knew it wasn't real. It felt wrong. I tried to push him away but he wouldn't stop."
"I wouldn't stop kissing you? I did not..." the Telmarine king struggled with the words as if they caused him even more pain. His eyes fell down to her hands and he gently raised her right wrist to have a better look. There upon the wrist was the distinct bruise of a hand beginning to take shape atop of the ivory paleness of her skin. "... force myself on you, did I?"
Susan shook her head pointedly as she tugged on her sleeve to cover the purple mark. "I expressed my unwillingness and he threw me out of the bed. That's when the guards rushed in and the hallucination disappeared. I pretended it was nothing but a nightmare and would have preferred that truth over the look in your eyes now. You think I'm mad?"
The king stretched tall with a deep sigh that seemed to exit from his soul as he beheld the beauty beside him. Honesty shone in his eyes as he replied, "Not at all. I am merely hurt that someone has upset you so using my visage. I apologize-"
"You didn't do anything," Susan mused.
"Nonetheless, it is my face that now haunts you," Caspian contradicted as his gaze flew across her face.
"No," the young woman disagreed. "Not that way. You could never... I told you, I knew it wasn't truly you."
"I would still like to chase away those awful memories..." the king mumbled as his hands hesitantly landed on her slender shoulders and he stepped closer. "I do not want you to look upon me and think of your personal ghoul."
The tall man leaned down and gently pecked the queen's pale cheek. Susan drew a sharp intake of breath as she felt his heat so close to her own body. She heard his unsteady breathing as he lingered with his face beside hers and the woman closed her eyes tight as she reveled in the moment. As opposed to this morning, this time it felt like the real thing. The hesitancy, the heartfelt apology and the genuine affection could not be denied and the way he lingered to make sure she was not frightened touched her heart and threatened to knock down the barriers she had so carefully built between them.
She ran her small nose up and down the length of the king's as they shared a breath in the small space between their bodies. It took all of Susan's willpower to step back but she pulled away from the man's embrace with a weak stuttered, "W-we can't."
Caspian stood before her as one half of a whole for a second before he collected himself enough to question, "Why not?"
For the first time since her return, Susan allowed the man to see her own heartache as her eyes danced with unshed tears. "You know why not. Besides... We should find Peter. I want to know he's alright."
Not half an hour later, Susan and Caspian conversed of silly nothings as they walked beside each other onto the exercise fields. Reepicheep had informed them that he had seen the eldest Pevensie heading there earlier during the morning.
As they passed the archery area, the young queen lingered a moment beside the targets. Several simulation dummies made of hay and grain bags hung from several ropes with a bulls eye at the center of the 'chest'. The evil faces drawn upon the dummies heads were laughable at best and she bemusedly looked closer.
"Drew them myself," Caspian admitted as stopped beside her.
"Oh, I see…" the woman failed to hide her amusement and ducked as the king pushed one of the dummies so it swung in her general direction.
Suddenly the couple heard raised voices ahead and hurried forward. As they rounded the corner of the weapons' armory both of them stopped short upon the sight that met them. Out on the vast, flat area reserved for sword practice stood Peter Pevensie. The young man ducked and swung his sword here and there as if combating a mighty foe. The only problem was that the eldest Pevensie was completely alone as he shouted upset words and continued to fight.
"Peter!" Susan called out and her brother stopped fighting for a second. His eyes wandered from his sister to the Telmarine king by her side. At once, his eyes widened in surprise. He glanced back at the empty air he'd fought and then back to Caspian.
"How did you get over there?" the young man shouted in confusion and pointed towards the man with his sword.
"Who are you fighting, Peter?" the Telmarine man called back.
"I'm fighting you, Caspian!"
Lucy's small knuckles rapped quickly on the door to the small library and she exchanged a look with Edmund before a voice called them to enter. They stepped inside and looked over at Dr. Cornelius, the half-dwarf smiled over at them. The old man stood behind his table, upon which two large books laid, one open before him and of such impressive size the siblings wondered how he'd carried it there.
"Your highnesses," the good man bowed. "What can I do for you?"
"We've come about our brother," the dark-haired boy said as he decided to cut straight to the point. "There's something weird about him. It's like he's gone mad. He's been hearing voices and seems to think everyone is conspiring against him."
"High king Peter?" Cornelius frowned. "Tell me everything!"
The siblings proceeded to tell them all that they knew and the Lord Chancellor listened carefully to their story. When they finished, the old man simply frowned up at the pair.
"I wonder if he's been driven mad," Cornelius muttered. He closed the large book before him and reached for the other one. It was dark and seemed old enough to fall apart at any second. Nonetheless, the half-dwarf threw it open and quickly searched for a page.
"Do you know what's become of our brother then?" Lucy asked and the worry in her voice mixed with a glimmer of hope.
"I'm afraid I do, my queen," the old man replied as he stopped upon the right page. "But if I'm correct, this is serious indeed."
"Well?" Edmund's wide, fearful eyes watched the Lord Chancellor impatiently. "What's the matter?"
"He's haunted by the Erinyes, also known as the Furies," Cornelius explained. "They are ancient beasts, created out of spite and vengeance when darkness still was young. Their task in the beginning of things was to avenge those who'd been wronged and drive the impure to insanity as punishment. In time they fell from this path, corrupted by the very darkness they were sent to take vengeance on. It is said Janis affected them by her magical powers. The Erinyes now use their powers more for fun than for fulfilling their duties."
"How? How do they perform their duties?" the Pevensie boy questioned.
"They are not of this world and have powers I don't fully comprehend. They can somehow read what a person thinks deep within; they can feel people's deepest secrets and their guiltiest conscience. They lure out the bad in everyone, even the kindest of hearts has sometime had dark thoughts. The Erinyes use what they learn to create hallucinations and the like to drive people insane."
"That could be it, Edmund!" his sister breathed.
Cornelius is a man of great knowledge, isn't he? A shrill voice whispered in Lucy's head. You wish you were just as smart, but you never can be. And you can't ever be as beautiful as Susan or as strong and powerful as your brothers.
The brunette opened her mouth to continue when realization hit her about her own devious thoughts. "I think I hear them, too!"
Edmund snapped his head in her direction and worry spread across his features. "What do you mean, Lu?"
"Haven't you heard a voice in your head? Telling you to listen to your inner thoughts and start doubting yourself? I have! It's hard not to be swept away by what they're saying, I'll admit. It's possible they've been after Peter for days! Maybe even longer! It must be impossible not to listen to them, especially if they strike the right chords. Impossible not to go insane!"
"What are they telling you then?"
"Never mind that!" Lucy turned back to Cornelius. "How do we stop them?"
"Peter!" Susan shrieked as her brother launched at Caspian with his sword drawn. The Telmarine king leaped out of the way and glanced back at the woman. He didn't want her to get caught in the crossfire and so backed further onto the field where Peter's sword couldn't reach her.
"I do not know how I have done you wrong, Peter, but let us talk about this between men and not through our swords!" the bearded man pleaded as he readied himself for another attack. He opened his arms wide, away from his own sword that hung on his belt, to show he didn't wish to fight, but there was an undeniably murky look in the other man's wild eyes.
"Talk?" The eldest Pevensie boy called back and flew forwards to attack. Caspian barely manage to sidestep it as the sword almost graced his right thigh. "I wanted to talk, but you jumped at me first with words and then with your sword. I don't know what I've done to be deceived this way! Not by you, nor by my siblings!"
"Take a good look at yourself, Peter," The Telmarine said calmly as he tried to mask his inner thoughts. This was a side of his friend that he had not even known existed. Reminded of what Susan had told him, Caspian was assured that something had driven Peter to this point.
"Stop this! Peter!" Susan shrieked from the sidelines. She wanted to join the boys but knew one more person could be the last straw for her brother's frail mind. She was forced to watch helplessly as her brother completely lost the last traces of sanity. All she could hope was that Caspian wouldn't be injured by this mad charade.
"You could never save him," a voice whispered in her ear and the young woman froze as she felt her heart go cold as ice. Something about the voice reminded her of the false king in her bedroom this morning, perhaps they were the same deviant entity. "In fact, all your presence here has done is to prevent him from his true path. You're nothing but an inconvenience and prevent the king from finding the happiness he deserves."
"Leave me alone!" the brunette whispered and hurriedly covered her ears.
Caspian's head shot up as the young woman fell onto her knees on the grass. As he saw the woman's pained expression his worry increased tenfold. "Susan!"
Just as he took a step towards her, he heard something fly through the air and ducked and rolled just in time as Peter's sword struck the air where the other man had just been. The Telmarine king pushed onto his feet and spared one anxious glance at the woman before turning his gaze back to the mad threat before him. He had to focus on one Pevensie at a time here, no matter what his heart desired, and since the man was armed, the decision was simple.
"Peter! This is not you, there is something wrong! Listen to your heart, you know I'm right!"
He knows nothing! The Pevensie shook his head to clear it from the dusky thoughts that ran his mind. A king without knowledge is useless to Narnia; it will only hurt those who need to be protected by a strong king. By someone like you. Peter bellowed, "Shut up!"
"Too scared to fight me?" Caspian's voice floated over to him. "We both know I was meant to lead this nation to grander things than you ever could! You are weak, Peter."
"Peter?" the Telmarine asked and took a tentative step towards the Pevensie man. "Lower your sword, and we will talk about this. Between men… kings… brothers."
"You are trying to trick me! I'm just as powerful as you are, and as clever! You won't deceive me and throw me out of Narnia!"
"Why would I wish that? I haven't even drawn my sword! Look!" Caspian raised his empty hands once more to prove his point. "How could I have started a sword fight without drawing my weapon? Think about it, friend!"
Peter paused momentarily. He seemed almost drunk as he staggered in his steps and breathed heavily while the long sword rested in his firm grasp. Sweat ran down the man's forehead and there seemed to be a fever in the fair man's eyes mixed with the darkness that subsided there. There was almost a red tint in his glowing, furious eyes.
"Tell me what's wrong," Caspian encouraged and took a step forward, knowing full well that he had just placed himself within the range of Peter's sword. The long-haired man glanced once more over the other man's shoulder and saw Susan curling up into a smaller ball as she covered her ears almost desperately.
In that moment, Peter jumped forward in a blind fury. The other man wasn't swift enough this time as he ducked from the attack. The sword cut into his upper arm and Caspian hissed as the warm, red fluid stained his sleeve. It was just a flesh wound, though, and the king covered the wound with his other hand to still the blood flow as he backed away a couple of steps.
"And leave my sister alone – don't hurt her!" the Pevensie man shouted. As he spoke, however, his eyes weren't on the king anymore but rather fixed on something the other man couldn't see to his right.
"Susan!" Caspian turned around as Edmund, Lucy and Cornelius ran towards them. As her younger brother reached her side, the brunette was basically shaking in evident distress. The dark-haired boy shook his sister's shoulders and her eyes shot up to meet his. For a second they were clouded and far away before they cleared and she pulled Edmund in for a tight hug. "It's alright, Su."
"What is this madness?" the Telmarine king shouted as he jogged across the grass to join them now that Peter was busy with the invisible foe.
"Erinyes," the Lord Chancellor explained simply. "We must kill them."
"How?" Caspian asked and glanced about. He had heard of the Erinyes – beautiful, yet repulsive, beings that drove people to insanity by using their conscience against them. "I see no one."
"Peter sees them," Lucy pointed over to her brother who one more was battling what could not be seen. The young girl moved to walk over but the king of Narnia's hand shot out and stopped her firmly.
"He's driven mad already, there's not much we can do. And armed as he is we must try another approach for talking will get us nowhere."
As soon as the Telmarine man had said those words, Peter stopped swinging his sword as his gaze instead wandered the length of the field. It seemed the foe had fled from him and left the mad man alone. The Pevensie wasted no time as he sped after and swiftly ran off the exercise fields.
To be continued.