Anares opened her eyes.
She was feeling odd and cramped. Why was she sitting up? Her left arm was behind her back for some reason...She tried to move it and found that she could not. She could feel something rough behind her back, like the bark of a tree.
She began to tremble.
She glanced at her feet. They were tied with a coarse rope, just below her hemline. She could move her right arm freely. She turned her head sharply to the left and saw Lucy's face, her eyes closed. She was tied to the nearby tree in the same manner with the same sort of coarse rope.
What happened to them?
Anares felt a soft whimper escape her. Lucy seemed to be breathing. But what if she didn't wake up? Anares looked around, searching for their horses. They were gone. So was the dwarf. She tried to raise her voice but it came out in a whisper. "Lucy." She reached out with her free hand and grasped Lucy's elbow.
Lucy's eyes slowly opened. She blinked several times.
Anares felt her heart's wild rhythm slow down just a bit.
Lucy gasped and stared wildly at her bound feet. For a moment, she tugged at the ropes with all of her strength but with no effect. Then, she glanced at Anares, who was breathing in short gasps.
She assessed her surroundings.
Immediately, she resolved in her mind that she would not be frightened. It didn't matter if she wanted to be. She simply would not allow herself the indulgence.
"I suppose Chainbith did this," she said. Her tone was calm, almost resigned.
Anares took a moment to breathe, then attempted to respond. "But why?"
"Well, I am queen," Lucy said. "There must be something he wants from me. Let me try yelling." She tried, then, added, "Can't. He probably put Slumbersprout in our food. It puts you to sleep but it also affects your vocal cords for a while. You can't scream, even if you try."
Anares closed her eyes. She could hear an inner voice wailing, you're trapped. You'll never be free again. He will kill both of you. She couldn't reason, couldn't think, she was so afraid.
"Anares, look at me," Lucy said.
Anares did, with difficulty.
"If he wanted to kill us, he would have done so already," Lucy said. "If he wants to get secret information from me, I am sure I can make something up. Even for me, there is almost no reason to panic. As for you, you're just here by accident. He has no reason at all to harm you."
Anares stared at Lucy. How was it possible to have so much courage?
"But...but this is a kidnapping," she stammered.
"If it is, it won't last very long," Lucy asked reasonably. "All of Narnia will be searching for us by morning." She reached her right hand across her lap and took Anares's. Her hand was cool and steady.
For a moment, they were quiet.
"Where's my cordial?" Lucy said suddenly. "Did I give it to you or did I dream that?"
Anares didn't answer. She could hear it now. The sound of splashing. Somebody was wading through the lake.
She turned her head to the left. Chainbith was striding toward them, his boots streaming with water, until he was standing in front of the girls, looking directly at them. There was no warmth in his manner now. His black eyes looked cold and uncaring.
Anares's heart sped up fiercely. She was shaking violently.
Chainbith gave Lucy a little bow, which seemed mocking now.
Lucy looked steadily at Chainbith. "Is this a kidnapping?"
Chainbith hesitated. For a moment, his glance flickered towards the boat. "It wasn't supposed to be. But since you don't have your cordial, yes, this is now a kidnapping." He ignored Anares completely.
Lucy raised her chin. "If you know anything about my brothers, I wonder how you dare."
Chainbith spread his arms, almost in a careless way. "I'm desperate. Shall I tell you why?"
Lucy frowned. "I don't want to listen to you. Not like this."
Chainbith smiled. His smile was rather hollow and it made him uglier. "I can't help you with that. You're just going to have to listen, though the accommodations might be uncomfortable." He sat down slowly on the grass.
He's going to tell a story, Anares thought in surprise. He has us tied up and helpless but the first thing he wants to do is sit here and talk. Maybe he won't kill us, after all.
"I came to Narnia six years ago," said Chainbith. "I had just finished school, my parents were dead and I was looking for a place where I could start a career. I was only twenty. You and your sister interviewed me, Queen Lucy. Do you remember?"
That was why he seemed familiar. Lucy closed her eyes, pictured the face again...somehow, it was connected with a different body. Suddenly, she gasped. "You were not a dwarf."
Chainbith shook his head. "No, I'm still not a dwarf. I am a man. For five years, I labored for the youths of Narnia, humans and centaurs and dwarfs and fauns, teaching them fencing. It had been a neglected art during the years of the White witch. I met a human girl. I loved her." He was silent for a moment.
"Well?" said Lucy.
Chainbith glanced at Lucy. He then reached over, took off his boot and Anares gasped. Where there should have been a foot, there was a nearly flat stub.
"An oak," said Chainbith. " It had been asleep for years and years. I found out later that it had been a supporter of the White Witch and woke up to find the queen gone and everything changed. But I didn't know that. All I knew was that I was sitting by my house and the next moment, a heavy branch had fallen across my legs, crushing my feet just below the knees. I wept with pain and rage but it was hours before anybody found me."
"I'm sorry," Lucy said sincerely.
"That's not the thing you need to feel sorry about," said Chainbith darkly. "You see, I had no more work. Fencing is all about footwork."
But I can't see what any of this has to do with me or my friend," Lucy pointed out.
"No," said the dwarf. "You wouldn't. You see, your cordial could have restored me. Instead, when I wrote to your brother king Edmund, he suggested that I learn to walk on these stumps." He scowled. "And he said that I would be able to adjust to my new height and that everyone would assume I was a dwarf and nobody would even know that anything was the matter with me."
"Oh!" said Lucy. "Is this why I am here, tied to a tree? Is this revenge?"
Anares winced at the defiance in her voice. Would it really be wise to get him angry?
Chainbith seemed surprised. "No – " he began but Lucy cut him off.
"The cordial does not restore lost limbs. We were told that by Aslan. If you could have had it at the moment of your injury, it would have reduced the pain and prevented infection. But I assume, you asked for it much later when your body was already healing."
"Perhaps, I did. It doesn't matter. It might have made some kind of difference but your brother said no. I had a human girl that I loved and she loved me. But she left me after the accident. I was suddenly not human enough for her." He laughed bitterly.
Anares swallowed.
"Well," said Lucy. "My sister and brothers and I might have been able to help you in some other capacity, one that doesn't involve the cordial."
"I want the cordial," said Chainbith. "I want it for my own personal use. Perhaps, it can cause lost limbs to grow again if taken daily like a tonic."
Lucy felt her anger begin to build. "You want to turn the most miraculous liquid in the world into a tonic?"
"You have never tried it. How can you know it won't work?"
Aslan said so. Anything that he says is true can be taken for a fact," Lucy said flatly. "But this is irrelevant. I don't have the cordial with me."
"I know," said Chainbith.
It bothered Lucy that he knew. She thought of his fingers running over her body while she slept and shivered with disgust.
Meanwhile, he continued. "I must have the cordial for myself and only for myself. And your friend is going to fetch it for me." He turned to look at Anares for the first time.
Anares tried to meet his gaze evenly. "I don't think so," she whispered.
"Oh, yes, you can." Chainbith stood up and folded his arms across his chest. "If you ever want to see Queen Lucy again, you will. You will pass along the message to the great monarchs of Narnia that the price of the queen's life and liberty is the cordial. No more, no less."
