"Susan...Susan, wake up." Lucy whispered as she gently shook her unconscious sister.
Susan's eyes blinked open slowly as she put a hand on her head and sat up slowly, "Oh my...where are we? What happened?"
Lucy bit her lip and trembled slightly, "We've been kidnapped...by black dwarves."
Susan furrowed her eyebrows, "What? This can't be! Why?"
They both fell quiet as their captors walked into the cave, "Shush you!"
Susan pulled Lucy close, "What is the meaning of our kidnapping?"
The dwarves looked between them and smirked, "Well Queen Lucy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You were the only intended target Queen Susan."
"What? Why?" she asked.
The female black dwarf waved her off, "Oh don't worry your highness, you'll be released soon enough. We've just worked out a deal with Lord Sosepian and General Glozelle."
"What deal?" asked Lucy.
"The Telmarines will never accept us back into open society and there's no way we could put up a real fight against them...so we're joining them. Their subjects fear us...they don't trust us. Lord Sosepian and General Glozelle said that our societies work best apart, and in order to show the king that, we kidnapped you to make it look as if Narnians hold some sort of grudge against him. Once he recognizes that our societies should be kept apart, he'll set up segregated settlements. Don't worry Queen Susan. They assured me that you will be released within a week."
Susan's eyes widened, "No! You mustn't believe them! Caspian will hunt you and all Narnians down for this! He's madly in love with me and nearly had my own brothers imprisoned for keeping me from him!"
One of the dwarves face's flinched slightly as he began listening to what she said. He looked uneasy as they all began filing out of the cave.
Tears began welling in Susan's eyes, "Please! You must believe me! War will come to all Narnians if I am kept prisoner!"
Lucy put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder as they heard the entrance of the cave close with a loud clank.
The following day, Lucy and Susan were given food and water by their captors. Susan awoke with a cramping in her lower back, but attempted to ignore the gnawing pain to once again plead her case, "Please...you have to let me go! We are all in danger if I am held here."
The female dwarf shook her head, "Oh Queen Susan...just calm down. It's for the best."
Susan threw her hands in the air, "I would not lie to you! I have no reason to lie! I am simply trying to protect you...to protect all of my people!"
One of the male black dwarves smirked, "Lord Sosepian said you would say that. He knows all of your tricks Queen Susan. You knew what was best for us 1300 years ago...not now."
Susan glared and shivered slightly as another cramp took hold of her lower abdomen, "He knows all of my tricks? Well I suppose he doesn't know that I'm carrying Caspian's child. You are holding the mother of the heir to Caspian's throne captive. How do you think he will react to that?"
The faces of their captors turned from smug satisfaction to startled disbelief. The female black dwarf shook her head, "No...it can't be. It's just a trick."
"It's true..." said Lucy as she stood next to her sister. "A royal physician in Archenland confirmed it when we were there. Bring any midwife or healer here now and they will tell you that Queen Susan is pregnant."
Susan stared at them as they looked back and forth between each other, "Well go on! Fetch your most talented midwife or fortune teller! I have nothing to hide!"
"Bloody hell...she is pregnant." said the female black dwarf.
Susan emerged from the cave's now open gate with Lucy. She put her hands on her hips, "Do you believe me now?"
They looked down apologetically, "We are sorry Queen Susan...Queen Lucy...we were deceived."
Susan's expression softened, "It's alright. I forgive you...we just-"
Susan was cut off as an arrow whizzed by her, hitting one of her captors in the chest.
Caspian rode up as his guards rounded up the remaining two dwarves. Susan knelt down and took the dwarf's hand as he struggled to breathe, "You...you...forgave me." With those last words, the dwarf died. She looked up as Caspian quickly pulled her into his arms, "Oh my love! Are you alright?"
She nodded slowly, "Yes...yes, I'm fine."
He put a hand on her belly and searched her eyes, "What of the little one?"
Her hands shook slightly as she tried not to cringe from the cramping that radiated through her stomach, "Fine Caspian...we're fine." She was barely able to get those last words out before she fainted in his arms.
Susan didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but had a feeling it had been a while. A chamber maid who had been knitting on the opposite side of the room stood when she noticed Susan stirring, "Your highness, how are you feeling?"
"Fine. Where are my siblings? Where is Caspian?"
"Your siblings have been confined to their rooms for the evening...and King Caspian is out..." the woman's voice trailed off as she looked down.
"Out...doing what?" she asked.
She averted her eyes from Susan's gaze, "He is out overseeing the gathering of Narnians for the camps."
Susan's eyes widened, "No...I have to stop him."
The chamber maid stood quickly, "You're in no condition to get out of bed just yet your majesty."
Susan looked at her confusedly, "What? Since when does being pregnant make you unable to walk?"
The chamber maid walked to her bed side and looked at her, "You were carrying two children your highness. The physicians believe that one baby was lost...and they are concerned for the one that still remains."
Susan's mouth dropped open as she clutched her heart, "I lost a child?"
"Yes your highness...I am deeply sorry, but you are still pregnant. The physicians need you to remain in bed for a few weeks to ensure the other child is not at risk."
"Does Caspian know?" asked Susan.
The chamber maid lowered her head, "When he carried you in you were bleeding and unconscious. He was crying out in sorrow about the Narnians taking his child. It took a while for the physicians to examine you, but by the time they determined your condition, the king was already out...seeking vengence."
Susan closed her eyes and looked down, trying not to imagine what kind of revenge Caspian was seeking on innocent people. She looked at the chamber maid, "I must speak to the king as soon as he returns."