"Susan!" Lucy practically screamed as she ran up the dock onto the Splendor Hyaline, all sense of decorum out of the window. "Sister! You're returned. Thank Aslan. I couldn't bear the idea of you living in that awful place."
Susan laughed as her little sister launched herself into her arms. "Well, you certainly are chipper today. How goes everything at Cair Paravel?"
"Ana filled us in on a bit of what happened, enough that I've began preparing the troops. I've been in contact with Queen Maji of the Naiads, but no merpeople or Naiads have seen any Calormene vessels headed our way," Lucy reported.
"And by desert?" Susan asked anxiously.
"We sent some spies, but we don't want Lune to think we're spying on him. But it seems unlikely based on the intelligence we have," Lucy said. "How about you go get some rest? There's no possible way Rabadash could attack this fast, and there's not much you can do all tired from your trip."
"You do seem to have everything well under control," Edmund conceded as the group began disengaging. "Peter though? We haven't heard much from the North."
"It's finished is what we heard. Troops are being sent back as we speak," Lucy reported.
"D-Do you know which troops?" Susan asked, her mind shifting to Darius.
"Yes," Lucy answered in such a way that could simply be asking the spoken question, but both Susan and Edmund knew she meant that Darius was in that number of troops.
It wasn't late the next day that the troops returned. Edmund immediately sought out Darius who was in his room, slamming the door shut behind him.
"S-Sire," Darius stammered, shocked by Edmund's animosity. "Is something the matter?"
"I am assuming my sister is going to seek you out the moment she could, so I got one of her ladies to distract her with trivial matters so I could speak with you first. She is in a very vulnerable state right now. If you hurt her, I will find a way of making you suffer. Do you understand?" Edmund threatened hotly, shoving Darius against a wall.
"Yes, Sire," Darius responded, his body going limp rather than fighting back.
"Ah…well then. I wasn't expecting you to agree so easily," Edmund frowned.
"Queen Aiyanna questioned me about my…ah…interactions with Queen Susan by ensnaring me in her thorny vines. I…She never let me know what happened other than Queen Susan being in danger, but I could tell whatever had happened was my fault," he choked out.
Edmund relaxed a bit at that. "It might not be. But either way, I'm holding you accountable if you hurt my sister," he threatened.
"What is this?" Susan demanded, entering and seeing them.
"Nothing. Just…catching up on the war," Edmund blurted, feeling chastised even before Susan could accuse him of anything.
"Really? I doubt of all soldiers, you just happened to decide to have Darius give a report," she said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
"I…ah…figured there must be a story behind his promotion and wanted to hear it from him," Edmund attempted, having heard from some of the others that Darius had been knighted.
Susan pressed her lips together, annoyed, before saying with a small smile, "Only because I'm rather interested in that story too. Darius?"
"An old, um, friend of mine who owed me a favor was hired by the Giants and gave me a tip off so I kind of…went rogue and did some spy work. But then I found information to stop a night invasion that we didn't see coming," he said. "Got a few more tip offs before my friend…well, it's war. We weren't close anyways."
"Well, I'm not surprised Peter would knight you with his knowledge of you," Edmund said. Darius stared at him a moment before realizing the implicit threat of Edmund giving Peter information on him that would convince him to retract the knighthood. "I'll…just leave then? If you need anything, sister…"
"Then I'll find you, not the other way around," Susan said firmly, gesturing towards the door.
"Take care of yourself," Edmund murmured in her ear as he hugged her goodbye. Susan gave a reluctant smile. "I'm just worried about you. That's all."
The two stared at each other awkwardly after Edmund had left.
"So…ah… your Majesty," Darius began uneasily, slowly going down on one knee. "I…I…must give you my apologies…I…I was completely out of line with everything I said last time we spoke. I…I understand if you don't want me around."
"Well, I did shove you into a cabinet," Susan admitted with a small shrug. "I…I'm sorry about that. It's just…If the wrong person walked in…"
"I know," Darius said, dropping his head.
"Stand up," Susan said. He did, although he still wouldn't look at her. She placed a hand under his chin to force him to look at her. "Do…do you still..l…l…love me?" she asked, the word "love" sticking in her throat.
"Always," Darius vowed. "Always."
Susan's heart jumped. And it might just be in her mind, but she thought she might have felt something else jumping too in her stomach, even though it was still early for that. "Good…that's…that's good," she said breathily.
"It is? Why?" Darius blurted out, confused.
"Because…because I…I need you," she said, unable to say "love". Not even sure how she felt. All she knew was if Darius refused her, she couldn't keep this baby. She placed her hands on the sides of his head, her fingers sinking into his dark locks.
Darius stared at her. While it wasn't an "I love you", it sounded equally foreign on the Queen's lips. "I…really?"
"I….guess," Susan said in a small voice, shocked she had admitted that, but not going to take it back. "I…More happened in Calormene than you know."
"Tell me," Darius begged, placing his hands on her waist.
"I…I have bad news…" Susan understated, shying away.
"Between Queen Aiyanna interrogating me and King Edmund threatening me, I gathered as much," Darius teased softly.
"I mean, more specific to you and me," she said a bit testily, pulling away and wrapping her arms around herself.
"Are you cold?" he asked, lightly placing a hand on her arm. "I don't have a fireplace, but we could go somewhere with one."
"No…I … I need to tell you this sooner rather than later. Ana…when she was looking at the future…she saw something…Something…that's going to cause huge problems."
"What is it, your Majesty?" Darius asked, getting more anxious as she dragged it out.
"I…I'm pregnant," she said, beginning to cry. Darius stared at her a few moments before it truly sank in. He know saw all too clearly why Edmund was so worried about him saying something that might hurt Susan, but he didn't have to. Darius instead felt a sense of pride swelling inside of him. His child ….their child was growing inside of the Queen of Narnia. There may be Tarkaans, Lords, Dukes, Governors, Princes, and Kings who had far more riches than he ever would, who ruled over vast lands and had insurmountable power, and yet none of them had accomplished this.
He knelt and ran his hands over her stomach affectionately, kissing it in adoration. Even if Susan should reject him yet again, she could never deny they had a bond now that she was carrying their child. "Susan! This…this is great news! I…I know we…we can't ever tell anyone…but…I swear, I'll do everything I can for you," he said, the word we particularly sweet on his lips. "I will make it so this is good news. I swear it on my life."
Susan's heart clenched at his words. Darius frowned, noticing he seemed to have said the wrong thing based on her reactions, but unable to tell what that may be. "Susan? Your Majesty? What is it? I…I'm sorry," he said, not even sure what he was apologizing for.
"Darius…I'm sorry, but…I…I don't know if you are the father," Susan whispered, falling back and sitting at the end of his bed.
Darius stood, stepping away from her. "Rabadash?" he asked, not sure how to feel. He almost hoped she was forced into it, that she hadn't willingly slept with another man, but part of him felt horrid for hoping such a terrible thing. As many jealous thoughts raced through his mind, he could feel the scars Aslan had given him twinge.
Susan wrapped her arms even more tightly around herself. "No. No. It…It was…Have…have you ever heard of Kalmar? A merchant from Archenland? He…he was there. He hounded me. He…Remember…when I told you about that merchant? The one I almost got involved with?" she said, her heart beating faster in anticipation.
"That was him? What was he doing in Calormene? And…so you just slept with him?" Darius blurted out. He knew if word of this got back to Edmund, he'd make him pay for this, but Darius was finding it incredibly hard to not get upset over this. But the look on Susan's face broke his heart. She looked as though she might either be sick or burst into tears at any moment. He remembered what Edmund had said about her being vulnerable right now, a word he would have never associated with the Queen. Something awful had to have occurred for her to be acting this way. And based on Edmund's and Aiyanna's reactions, something awful that may have been his fault. He sat by her again and took her hand, kissing it before holding on to it tightly. "Sorry. I…I shouldn't have accused you like that. I… I had no right," he said. "My queen, please…"
"It's just about rights then," she said a bit bitterly.
"Now…I just know what the other possibility is and…I'd rather be hurt by hearing you slept with another man than for you to be hurt by it being…" he choked off his own words as he saw her beginning to cry and knew it was the latter possibility.
"He…I made the mistake of telling him…what I told you. About the sort of bargains I would make. So when he happened to be at Calormene court…which might not have been a coincidence," she said, drifting off, a bitter look on her face. Darius tenderly stroked her arm.
"You don't have to tell me anything," he said soothingly, even as he was anxious to know. "Don't make yourself relieve bad memories."
"I…I have to," she whispered hoarsely, tensing up again. Darius looked at her helplessly, not sure what he could do for her, but desperate to offer her any comfort. "I…He was upset I had left him last time. He…He said all sorts of horrid things about me. The worst was…they might have not been too far off."
Darius felt sick, remembering the things he had said when Susan had left. "I doubt it was any more true than the awful lies I said when you left for Calormene," he said in a dry voice.
"It was nothing like what you said. You…could never say such words to me. What you said…it' nothing compared to what he said," she said, her voice catching a little. "And…you would never do what he did to me next. He…he blackmailed me. Saying he would tell Rabadash I had given…sexual…favors to other men. So that…so that Rabadash would kill me on the spot," Susan said, beginning to shake again. Darius quickly pulled her into his arms which she willingly accepted, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Is there anything I can do for you? A blanket? Some wine?" Darius said anxiously, not knowing how to deal with this. Nothing else mattered in that moment. He would have done anything to help Susan, if there had only been a way he could.
"I…a blanket might be nice," she said, wiping her sleeve against her eyes. Darius wrapped an arm around her as he grabbed the spare blanket to wrap around her. She snuggled further into his arms and laid her head on his chest. "Thank you."
"For you, anything. I wish I could give you more," he muttered, trying to keep his heart from pounding furiously, knowing she could feel it.
"You already did…Kalmar….he…he said if I gave him those…favors…he'd keep his mouth shut. So I…I finally gave in. But then that wasn't enough for him. When I refused, he grew angry. Said I had humiliated him for the last time. Ranted about how I had …cuckolded him into the laughingstock … Ahh…And…" she said, her words becoming more and more jumbled.
"So what happened after he spouted those ridiculous, evil lies?" Darius said, holding her tighter in his disgust at hearing what Kalmar had said to her.
"Eventually…he said he was going to prove he was a man. I…I didn't understand what he meant. But I knew I had to leave. Then I realize he had…He…He drugged me. The wine he had given me earlier. It was slow to work, but at that point…it kept me from being able to fight him off. And…" at this point, she choked up and wasn't able to continue. Darius felt paralyzed by his inability to help her. He numbly stroked her back.
"I…I know I'm supposed to have given up such work…but just say the word and he is dead," Darius said darkly, enjoying the thought far too much.
"Too late," Susan said, a small smile on her lips. "The…the hairpin you gave me? With a poison tip? It works."
A ridiculously large grin spread on Darius' face. "I love you so much!" he teased, squeezing her and sneaking in a kiss in her hair, too afraid to kiss her anywhere she might notice.
"Should I be disturbed that that's why you love me?" Susan laughed a bit hysterically.
Darius attempted to laugh along with her, leaning his forehead against hers. "I'm just glad you're safe. And…And I'm honestly not sure I'd be able to keep myself from chasing him down and murdering him if you hadn't already."
"I…I…I'm glad you're honest with me about this," Susan said, taking his hand in hers. "I – I hope you're the child's father…but … Aiyanna foresaw that I was pregnant on the same night Kalmar…so…"
"I…I'm glad you hope I'm the father," Darius said hesitantly, trying to think of something safe to say. "I…I hope you let me help you with this."
"I…you really want to? Even if it's his child?" Susan questioned.
He cupped her face in his hands, wanting to kiss her, but afraid or her reaction. "He raped you. It's not your fault. And no matter what, it's not his child. It's your child. That's all that matters."
Susan pushed back some stray hairs fondly. "You're taking this surprisingly well, dear."
"Susan…I know you don't feel the same way and that's…understandable. But I really do love you. And I'll love your child, no matter who the father might be," Darius said patiently.
"What if the child looks like him?" Susan said, beginning to work herself into a panic. "What- What if I can't love a child that might be his?"
"The child is your child. Not his. Look at Phen, Helena, and Bria. I see nothing of their father in them, even though Helena has her father's light hair, Bria inherited his curls, and Pheneus's face is beginning to look similar. But when I look at any of them…all I see is my sister and her influence on their lives," Darius protested. "Just as this child will be entirely yours. And…I know I even if it was my child I could never acknowledge that, but I hope you'll let me be as much of a father to him as possible," Darius begged, wrapping his fingers around hers.
"I…You would want that? To be a father to this child even if it's not yours?" she said incredulously.
"Yes. By the Mane, yes. I know I have no right to the child either way, but it would mean the world to me. Please, your Majesty," he begged, meaning every word of it. He knew he would have no problem with loving a child of Susan's, no matter who the father might be. "I…I've wanted to be a father ever since I began living with Lisette. Even…even if you just let the child know me as your servant and nothing more."
"I…I don't know yet what I'm going to do but…thank you," Susan whispered. "And the child will certainly know that you're important to me…even if they don't know why. Or…Or they'll know you as their father…and I'd have to deny them. I…haven't been able to figure out my thoughts on this. Partially because I…I hadn't thought you'd be so understanding."
"It's not that. This…this is how I really do feel about it," Darius protested, blushing slightly as Susan turned to him, a small smile on her face.
"I…I may not know what I'm going to do, but I know now I needn't get rid of the child."
"That…that was a possibility?" Darius asked a bit too callously, taken aback.
Susan winced.
"Sorry, no, not like that. It's just…Lisette…she knew having a child would force her to wed her useless husband and…tried to…" Darius began. Susan turned to him, her mouth slightly agape in shock.
"Did she?" she breathed.
"It didn't work, thank Aslan. And once Pheneus was born, she regretted even considering it. I…I can't image my life without him," he said. Susan hugged him.
"I...Well…I can guarantee he'll now be having a wee cousin on the way," Susan teased, trying to lift the somber mood. "I…I assume he doesn't know any of this though?"
"No. Would you want to know if your mother tried to get rid of you if it were you?" Darius said, a pained look on his face.
"No…no child should have to know that," Susan agreed.
"So…you're pregnant… you're planning on having a child…how does that feel?" Darius asked, trying to change the painful subject. But apparently this was the wrong thing to say.
"It's a bit ironic, isn't it?" she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "I…I was so determined to marry for the good of Narnia unlike my siblings who believed our marriages should still be about love…and yet I'm the one who ended up in the bed of someone I have nothing to gain from, while Peter loved someone who could stop wars for us…and Edmund's now asking me to arrange a marriage for him…"
"What do you mean?" Darius asked, confused by the apparent non-sequitur.
"I might be able to convince someone I'm a virgin, particularly if they're drunk enough, but this? Stretch marks? Having a child? So likely the secret will come out one way or another… I could never marry for political gain, unless I could fully trust that person to not turn on me the moment they found out," Susan explained. "And the moment people know I have a bastard child, the legitimacy of future heirs will be in question."
"I…I'm sorry," Darius repeated numbly.
"Not your fault," Susan mumbled.
"So…where does this leave us?" he asked anxiously.
"Together. That's all I know for sure right now," Susan said, kissing him, much to his surprise. It was only a quick peck, but his heart leapt.
"Really? I…When my sister was betrayed by her husband, she never wanted to be with a man again. And that wasn't nearly as bad as what happened to you," Darius asked anxiously. "Susan…I…I need to ask you. You…you do trust me, right?"
"Oh, Darius," Susan laughed, playing with his hair fondly.
"What?" he asked, miffed.
"You … you are about as unlike Kalmar as possible. He was romantic…always knew the charming thing to say…Made gracious gestures of his love…"
"That's…good to know…" Darius asked, a bit insulted.
"No, I mean…That's why I trust you. He might be romantic…but it was just gestures. You…you've saved both my brother's lives. You saved countless lives up North. And none of that was for me. That was you just being you…And its…it's why I trust you…why I l…need you," Susan said, her heart pounding. She had suddenly felt like saying it, "love"…but found she couldn't. Not yet.
"Oh," was all Darius responded to that. Susan kissed his forehead, running her fingers through his hair. He just stared at her, still dumbfounded that she was truly back and wanted to be with him. "I…I'm going to try to live up to that then."
"I'm sure you will," Susan reassured. "I…It's getting late."
"Oh…of course," Darius said. "Unless…you want to spend the night here?"
"I…I'm not quite ready yet…" she said awkwardly. "After everything that happened in Calormene."
"Oh," he said in a small voice. "I…that makes sense. Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
Susan kissed his cheek. "Eventually. Especially since it can't hurt now. Just…not yet. Sorry."
"I'm much happier hearing you say that you need me. Nothing else could live up to that," he agreed.
The next day, Cair Paravel was in a state of emergency as news from Archenland came, saying Anvard was under attack.
"I'm going to fight with you," Susan insisted.
"No," Edmund insisted. "We know Rabadash is after you. We don't want to deliver you right into his arms."
"If it begins going poorly, I could keep him – " Susan began to argue.
"Well, I'm still in control of the military. So if you go, I'll put Darius in the most dangerous front lines. If you don't, I'll make him part of your guard here," Edmund interrupted.
Susan looked at him aghast. "You're blackmailing me?" she said, shocked that Edmund would resort to such dirty tricks that he had always despised.
"Ah, I guess," he said, suddenly embarrassed.
She laughed, much to his surprise and relief. "I'd be much angrier if I wasn't begrudgingly impressed."
"Well, I'm going," Lucy insisted. "Who are you going to put in the front lines? Corin? I'm fairly sure Lune would then have your head."
"Just let her," Susan insisted.
"Alright, but tell Peter I protested against it a lot more than this or it'll be him who'd be having my head," Edmund half-joked.
After Narnia triumphantly defeated Rabadash as he was humiliated by dangling on a hook, Susan too traveled to Anvard with her retinue to deal with the fallout, carefully avoiding interacting with the Calormenes.
During a break, Susan went to walk the gardens of Anvard, requesting Darius as her guard. Darius remained surprisingly silent as she walked about, trying to sort out the many possibilities swirling through her mind.
Eventually, she said, "I…I've been trying to figure out what to do when we return to Cair Paravel. We've …we're on borrowed time here, not having to deal yet with any decisions. But there, I think we need to have an answer."
Darius glanced at her. "I'll support any decision you make."
"Because I'm Queen? I…I can't really command this of you. I need to know what you really think," she said wryly.
"No, I truly support anything you decide," he disagreed.
Susan pursed her lips in disbelief. She thought about how devout Darius had been acting these past few days. Over the top really. He regularly – in private of course – dropped to his knees to kiss and massage her stomach. At first, Susan had found it endearing. But as he kept playing the perfect soldier and attentive lover, she almost felt uncomfortable. She even tried to get a rise out of him by saying a slur against mercenaries, but he didn't react. She purposely acted angry over him being slightly late, and all he did was apologize.
"Says the man who had tried to kill me," she taunted. "You've changed before, what keeps you from changing your mind again? Can't trust prison scum."
Darius clasped his hands behind his back as he looked down at his feet, turning red from embarrassment at her comment, but not protesting it. "Forgive me, your Majesty."
"You've been too good to me these past few days," Susan said tersely.
"Huh? Uh…You say it like it's a problem, your Majesty?" he asked, looking up slightly.
"I…It's not you. It's some…Whatever this is, I know it won't last," she protested.
"I…I don't understand," he stammered.
"We argue. That's what we do. And now I can't even seem to get you upset even when I tried to!" she protested.
"That's what that was about?" he said in relief. "I really did want to say something. But I…it's just…ahh…"
"What? It's just what?!" Susan snapped.
"I don't want to hurt you! You…after what happened in Calormene, I…I'm just so terrified you…you might," Darius trailed off.
"Might what?" Susan said dangerously.
"I…You aren't…are you…Some say…some say it's possible for you to return to your own world. I…would you? To get away from all this?" Darius said, a pained look on his face. "I…I've been so afraid you…or…worse…"
"Worse? I…I don't even want to know, no. I…never! I had never even thought such a thing! I…So that's why you've been so ridiculously…ugh," Susan complained. "Just…I…I'm fine. Leave me alone!"
"Is…Is that really what you want?" Darius said in a small voice, eyes lowered as he took a step away from her.
"No! Ah, no…No," Susan said firmly, grabbing his hand. "I…I want this imposter you gone, and the real you here with me. Even if it means us fighting constantly. If I wanted some man who's just going to agree with anything and everything I do, I could find so many others. But … they're not who I want. I like it when you challenge me. I …I of course don't enjoy fighting, but we always get past it. So be that, not…not some stupid sycophant. "
Darius gave her a sheepish grin, although secretly delighted by her words. He'd take a thousand scoldings to hear that he was the one she wanted. "What if I argue with you and say no, I'd rather be an imposter around you?" he teased.
"Oh, you!" Susan protested, slapping his arm lightly and laughing. "A…Anyways. I…I think…I think I want to try to make…this work. I...I'm going to do it. I…I will tell Peter. Everything."
"Really?" Darius said, not really believing it
"Yes…I'm….I'm so sick of living a lie. I need Peter. I thought I just needed him for the…the other stuff, but…having my other siblings know about us, it made a world of difference. I need Peter to know," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Especially if…we're going to be…us."
"What is…us?" Darius asked, trying his hardest not to overreact.
"I…My child needs a father," Susan said, placing a hand under his chin and going up on her toes to reach for a kiss. Delighted and surprised, Darius wrapped her in his arms, sweeping her off her feet and whirling her about. For half a moment, everything was perfect.
Then all mayhem broke loose.
Various Archen soldiers burst out of the trees and bushes and began attacking Darius. Two even began pulling Susan away, grabbing her wrists tightly.
"W-Where did you come from?" Susan gasped. "Stop! Stop it!"
Her guards, loyal to her over all others, pulled the others off, ready to defend her, but then the commotion brought even more to the scene.
"Go get my siblings," Susan whispered to her guards.
Two guards ran off to find Lucy and Edmund as Darius and Susan struggled. "What is the meaning of this?" Susan demanded, trying to sound as regal as she possibly could. "Unhand me! What do you think you are doing?"
"You're being brought to the court room," a soldier she recognized as Sir Gwaine said in a monotone voice. It was clear he didn't want to do this, even if the others did.
"You haven't the right," Susan said in as strong a voice she could, stopping struggling so she can stand tall, as regal as one could be when being arrested.
Gwaine looked helplessly, but only a few others seemed to be possibly swayable. One started letting go, but when another soldier seemed angry, glaring at him. "If we didn't do something after witnessing this, I think we would be punished more for our silence if found out," he reminded.
Thankfully, Edmund and Lucy quickly turned up.
"Unhand our royal sister! We will have each of you flogged for your actions should you not show her the proper respect," Edmund demanded forcibly. Susan knew quite well it was a bluff, but the soldiers believed it.
"What is the meaning of this?" Lucy demanded in a high voice.
"The Queen is having a filthy affair," a soldier leered, his eyes on her bosom.
"Step away from my sister," Edmund frowned sternly at the lecherous soldier, mainly worried about Susan. If these actions caused diplomatic problems, he was fairly sure having just fought and won a war alongside Lune would help them smooth it over.
"Enough! This is not your business. Release our sister," Lucy commanded, not to be outdone by Edmund.
When none of the soldiers made to move, Edmund interfered, knowing they would likely never listen to a female, particularly one younger than most of them. "Refuse us at the pain of our great displeasure."
The men then began releasing Susan, Darius still held at swordpoint, looking rather pale. Susan couldn't figure out if he was worried about the soldiers or her siblings. Either way, she silently swore that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to him.
"And the scoundrel, Sire?" Gwaine asked.
"Our guards will deal with him. Next time, if you see a matter deserving of our attention, come to us, do not interfere," Edmund threatened.
"And lay a hand on our sister ever again, and we'll see that you no longer have hands," Lucy threatened. Susan tried not to laugh at the idea that her precious, overly loving little sister could be so cruel. But the glare on her face seemed to convince the soldiers who hastily stepped away from Susan as though she was acid.
"Sister, come please," Edmund said, offering his arm as his guards surrounded Darius. Susan hesitantly took it. In her ear, he whispered, "You won't like what I say next, but just go along with it."
"Sire?" one of the Narnians asked, gesturing towards Darius with her paw.
"Bring him to my room and chain him," Edmund instructed. "We shall keep watch over him until he can be put on trial."
As soon as they were in private in Edmund's room, Susan wheeled on Edmund, "How could you? You know – "
"Susan, shush. See?" Edmund protested as he unhooked a key from his key ring to began unchaining Darius now that they were alone.
"Then why– "
"I can't have Peter thinking we're partial. If we impartially tell Peter to drop it, he'll listen. Maybe," Edmund said, biting his lower lip. Susan fell back into a chair, drained now that there was no need to fight. She gave Edmund a thin smile which he accepted with a nod.
"So…now what's happening?" Lucy frowned.
"Now…." Susan sighed. "Now we have no choices."
"Peter can't command you to stop seeing Darius," Lucy argued.
"No…but he can condemn Darius to go on some fatal assignment. Or send him on a several year long mission. Or banish him for some other charge…" Susan began fretting. Darius slipped over to her.
"I'll be fine, your Majesty. Don't worry about me," he insisted, laying a hand on her leg. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that her siblings seemed to approve of this gesture, much to his relief. While he liked to think that they thought decently of him, he knew he was on rocky ground for being with Susan.
"Of course I worry about you," Susan muttered quietly, pulling him to sit beside her. "And you shouldn't have to suffer just because of my title…It's not fair."
"I knew what I might be getting myself into," Darius argued.
"I'm so …sorry," Susan said anyways. She thought she was finally safe, that this nightmare was finally over. And yet one more mistake from her now would ruin yet another life.
Word traveled fast to Cair Paravel where the High King and his Queen had just returned triumphantly.
"What?" Peter roared after the messenger updated him on Edmund and Lucy's latest message.
"Keep your voice down," Aiyanna muttered softly, motioning with her head towards the adjoining room. "Your squire…"
"How…he was with my sister?" Peter blurted out. "Darius had no right! How could…how could she lie to me? My own sister!"
"Peter, don't be angry with her. Push her away now, and she may not return," Aiyanna cautioned, fearful of the many dark possibilities she saw for the future. If only three of them returned, Narnia would have no future. She also would rather he not be too angry because it was now sure to eventually come out that she knew and had kept it secret from him.
"W-What's going on?" Pheneus asked, entering the room with wide eyes. A few seconds, Bria too scampered in, having sought out her brother the moment
Peter froze, having ignored Aiyanna's warning. "Ah…nothing that need concern you. Phen, can you go get – "
"If you needed me for an errand, you would have called me over. You're just trying to get rid of me," he said stubbornly.
"You mentioned our uncle! Is he safe?" Bria asked. "We're not little kids. You can tell us!"
"You won't be seeing him anymore. That's all you need to know," Peter said angrily. Bria and Pheneus glanced at each other uneasily.
"What the Tash does that mean?" Bria spat, her hand slipping to the small dagger she always kept hidden under her dress. As much as she did like Peter, Darius was the one who made sure to spend time with her and had been there for most of her life. She was more than willing to fight if necessary. Aiyanna took note of that, suddenly more interested in the fiery little lass she had mostly ignored until now.
"There's nothing he could have done to merit that!" Pheneus protested, afraid of being set in the middle of a fight.
"He's actually right," Aiyanna said to her husband in a low voice to keep the children from overhearing. "If Susan gave her permission – "
"I don't care," Peter said furiously, whirling towards the door with his hand flying to his sword, even though the person he was furious with was an entire country away. In a panic, his wife and two wards followed, trying to reason with him. "He's never to come back to Cair Paravel again."
"Father, please!" Pheneus cried out.
Everyone turned to him. Bria gulped, knowing none of them had tried saying that to Peter's face before.
"W-What?" Peter said.
