Chapter 11

"Susan?" Called a timid voice from behind a mahogany wooden door. Susan, who was walking past the door at that moment, gave a small gasp in surprise and stopped in her tracks. Edmund, who had been walking with her, also stopped and muttered something indiscernible. Susan strode over to the door, and peeked around it.

Edmund, unable to keep himself from doing so, walked closer to the door, until Susan shooed him away forcefully. Edmund reminisced over the voice. It still caught him in a trap every time he heard it. The old fire was rekindled in his stomach, and he began to burn from the inside out. It had been three days since Sophia had moved into the castle with the kings and queens, and a full three days to Edmund's opinion.

She had not fully settled into the castle just yet, but the brothers and sister had made a silent vow to help her on her way. Her voice, otherwise rich with unspoken authority and confidence, was now small with insecurity, and Edmund couldn't believe his ears for the apparent trickery they had vested upon him. He waited off patiently to the side of the corridor until Susan came out.

It took five minutes of dawdling until the door opened up again, and Susan and Sophia came out. Sophia, apparently, needed her dress to be fixed up, because she was incompetent to do it herself. She had lived in men's clothing, after all. She wasn't used to this new predicament in which she found herself. She was wearing a light green and cream dress that stretched to her knees.

The bodice was sparkled with emerald rhinestones and embroidery, and the skirt flared out from the bodice. Edmund's throat dried at the sight of her tanned and healthy calves. She wasn't wearing any shoes, either. He wasn't particularly sure whether this style of dress was allowed in the castle. He had never seen such a sight as this before. Susan frowned when Sophia stood in front of her. "Hmm, perhaps Lucy's dresses were too short. We'll need to tailor some for you, I think." She said. Sophia's eyes widened. "No, no, no! This size is fine. Gives me room to move." She said quickly, shaking her head.

It became rather clear that she preferred these typed of dresses. "Besides," she explained quickly, "I'll only wear dresses like these for formal functions. I wear breeches and shirts more often than I do dresses." She said. Susan frowned a little, before relenting and closing Sophia's quest room door behind her. Something which wasn't missed by both Edmund and Susan was that Sophia's sword sat securely in the sheath belted by her hip.

The three royals made their way over to the courtyard, because the weather was warm and sunny, and they all felt like some time outside. Edmund, rather obviously, moved while they walked to walk beside Sophia, conversing with her every so often. Susan dropped behind them, passing a secret smirks with one of the palace guard when they passed his post. The guard returned it, and Susan's spirits lifted.

They lifted impossibly more when she spotted Caspian resting his back against a tree in the glade ahead of her. The glades lay outside of the castle walls, beyond the gardens and beyond the sight of the guards. It was a certain risk to enter them, because the guards come not come to your aid, and something could ambush you at any moment, but every now and then the knights would go hunting in the glades, effectively flushing out all of the evil things that still resided there.

It was a beautiful place, with pools of clear water and trees that stretched in completely different positions, with the trunks sometimes growing horizontally, or in a spiral. It was peaceful and quiet, with only the gentle chirps of the birds and the quiet rustle of leaves, and the rush of a nearby waterfall.

Peter had his back resting against a rock that jutted out from the ground, whilst Lucy stood on top of the slab behind an easel, painting a clear pool of water in front of her. Little flowers sprung out in between the rocks and the moss, and it would look magical once finished. Susan joined Caspian's side, leaning lovingly against him.

He was hearing a simple lace shirt, with the top undone, and a pair of brown breeches. Peter wore something similar, except his breeches were of such a dark blue that it almost seemed black. Their feet were bare, and both had books resting in the palms of their hands. Edmund took place beside Peter, and Sophia stood at the entrance to the glade, unsure of where to sit and what to do.

She didn't want to sit with Susan and Caspian. They pair needed their privacy, and invading on it seemed wrong. She didn't feel like sitting with Peter and Edmund, because they were talking about something called 'England' and she knew nothing about this. Finally, there was Lucy, painting reflectively and staring out at the pool ahead of her. She smiled, and hopped up on the rock, unaware of Edmund's eyes following her.

She watched over the smaller girl's shoulder, entranced by the intricate colours and lines that covered the canvas. It would undoubtedly be beautiful. She looked away from the canvas and jumped down from the rock, finding a soft patch of grass and sitting down on it. She soon lay down her head and closed her eyes. The warmth of the sunshine was soaked up by her skin, and she fell asleep.

Susan, too, had closed her eyes, and was thinking about non important things when one thing in particular came to her attention. She stirred slightly, and Caspian moved to give her more room. She smiled slightly when she opened her eyes, and found two brown eyes locked on her own. "Caspian," She started. Caspian looked up from his book and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" he asked, the single word undaunted by his accent. Susan smiled again, and then raised her eyebrows in question. "What's your last name?" She asked. Caspian lifted his eyes from hers, and frowned. "To be honest, no one had ever asked me that question before." He said, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He smiled. Susan mirrored his smile. Caspian looked back at her. "My last name was often referred to as Telmarinscho. It means Son of Telmar. All kings were given this last name, of course, because they were the supposed sons of Telmar." He answered, pondering on the thought.

Susan looked away and said the word several times, getting used to hearing it fall from her own tongue. "It's very intricate." She stated, looking across the glade to the others. Sophia, Lucy and Edmund were standing together, talking in excited voices. Susan wondered what they were planning now.

Caspian leaned over and whispered in her ear. "It will be yours, soon." He whispered, his hot breath ghosting over her cheek. Susan suppressed a shiver and faced him again. She leant forward and caught his lips with her own. "Indeed." She whispered, showing Caspian the wicked look that lay concealed in her eyes.

Lucy, Edmund and Sophia were standing in a tight circle. They were going to hold a running contest. Sophia because she felt the need to let off some steam, Lucy because she need to stretch her tight limbs, and Edmund, though heavily defending he wasn't, because Sophia competed. He wanted to show off. But he would have denied that, too.

Soon, the rules had been set and all three of them were drawn up behind an imaginary line, and Peter counted down to zero from five. The commotion had drawn the attention of Caspian and Susan, and the two were now looking on with interest. "Three!" Peter called, and Sophia, Edmund and Lucy tensed their muscles. "Two!" He called, and Sophia began to grit her teeth. "One!" Peter called, and Edmund took in a breath.

"Go!" He shouted, laughing out loud when three bodies launched simultaneously, like springs. All of the clenched muscles released, and Edmund released his breath. His legs began pumping, and he gained speed across the lawn, with Sophia steadily beside him. Lucy wasn't quite as fast, and stopped just before truly entering the forests concealed in the glade.

She turned back with a smirk and trotted happily towards the others. Peter saw her smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Did you plan that?" He asked incredulously, fighting to keep a laugh out of his voice. Lucy gave a self-satisfied nod and smiled innocently. "I wonder how long they'll keep going…" She said deviously, before Susan, Caspian and Peter erupted in laughter.

Edmund felt more than alive, with the wind streaming through his hair and past his fast-moving body. With Sophia running beside him, there was no greater thrill. They thundered through the forest beyond the glade, not ever looking back. It almost felt as if they were running from something, but that sense was soon replaced by exhilaration. Sophia, too, felt exactly the same. As her feet pounded the soft earth, her thoughts stretched out and wandered, but she still kept focused on one goal. Beating Edmund.

There would be no greater glory! Well, for the time being. She levelled her head and ran on, past trees and bushes and several startled Narnians. Edmund looked on in wonder, then shook his head and continued. Breath was coming shorter and shorter for him, though Sophia showed no signs of tiring! "Hey," He said, running beside her again.

She cast a look at him but answered anyways. "Hey." She said. Edmund smiled. "Do we even have a course?" He asked, thinking of it at that moment. Sophia stopped suddenly and panted hard, out of breath, smiling giddily. Edmund bent over next to her, panting just as hard. "No!" Sophia managed to wheeze out between gasps of breath. "Do you," She gasped, "Know where we are?" She asked, panting again.

Edmund looked around, and then shook his head. "No." He panted. Sophia gave a laugh and pushed him roughly to the side. Edmund regained his footing and smiled at her, the exhilaration catching up to him. "We're lost!" Sophia announced, and she shouted loudly. No one could hear them, though. She knew that, too. Edmund put a supportive hand on her shoulder and sent her a smile. Sophia returned it, and together, they began their journey back. Edmund smiled. Aslan smiled upon him this day.

Ezera had seen the whole spectacle from begin to finish. The spy's attention had already piqued because of the princess. His mission had been to find the princess and learn as much about her as he possible could. That meant the second part of the plan was to be instigated. Education. He needed to know everything there was to know about the princess in her current residence, the people she lived with and what was going to happen to her in the future.

That was a future Ezera and Ardu were trying to prevent from happening. If she were allowed to live, she had the ability to form an army against Calormen, and that would surely be the downfall of them all. Even though she was a woman, she was very clever; Ezera had to grant her that. He had seen the running contest, and the copper-haired girl's clever plan. He had been sitting high in a tree when Sophia and Edmund ran past, and he had tried heavily to keep with them.

He had lost them in the end, but it didn't matter. He left the glade and went to the tavern he resided in, on the edge of Cair Paravel City and sent a message to his king.

The Narnians have her, Lord King. I will learn as much as I can about her. It would be wise to prepare your army, sir. This is the perfect chance to wage war against Narnia. Ezera.

And as he watched the messenger hawk lift into the evening sky, he couldn't help but think how this was the perfect opportunity. Eliminate the princess, and the country that had been a thorn in Calormen's side once and for all.

So? How do you like the new layout? I'll be using this from now on, and once the story is finished, I'll edit the previous chapters, too. Sorry for the late update... I hope I haven't kept many of you waiting too long.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Remember to review!

And a huge thanks to my good friend; SpectrumLight for reading it over for me. And to my readers! Thank you for sticking by me to the very end!

~ SunsetWanderer