It was Peter who realized with a jolt that neither of his sisters were in the hall any longer. Finding Edmund, Peter pulled him aside. "When was the last time you saw Susan? Or Lucy?"
Edmund thought for a moment, and then his face hardened. "Not for some time. It's not like either of them to leave their guests." He glanced around the room. "And some of the Calormene are missing as well."
"What do you think we should do?" Peter asked.
"You should take some guards and try to find them. Oreius just checked the wall; no one has left the palace grounds, so if they are captives they'll still be here. I'll stay and talk to the Tarkaan. He seems a nice enough sort, and whatever's happened I don't think he's involved."
It took a matter of moments for Peter to collect enough guards for a search. Hopefully Edmund could keep the guests from noticing what had happened.
Susan stroked Meriol's back softly, the motion crude as her hands were still bound. Arajeev had taken out the gag once he was sure that she would not call out, but Susan felt it would be much safer if she did not comfort her sister-in-law with words. Lucy was holding up well enough on her own, her eyes stabbing daggers into their captors.
"Why are you doing this?" Lucy hissed at Arajeev. "You can't possibly get us out of the grounds, and any minute Peter and Edmund are going to notice we're missing. They'll find you and catch you, and all this will be pointless!" Her voice raised to a low speaking tone, and her back straightened into the posture of a proud queen. Without warning Arajeev struck Lucy with his hand and she fell back. Susan felt her heart leap to her throat and her hands tensed. What would happen now? She was helpless to keep her little sister safe.
"In just a few more minutes my men will have captured Lord Gregory as well. And then I will slay him and his sister, protecting the queens of Narnia from his savage attempt to take control of the throne. You will be safe from his plot, and in your gratitude to me you will come to Tashbaan and become my bride." Susan was taken aback at the sheer insanity gleaming from Arajeev's eyes, and she shuddered. How could he possibly think this would work?
She then realized that Meriol had stopped her crying. Looking at the girl curled up beside her, Susan's quick eyes just barely caught the quick movement that loosened the ropes at Meriol's wrists. Meriol looked up at Susan, determination shining through tears for a moment before she began to cry again. The girl clutched Susan's hands, and Susan made sure not to watch the fingers subtly grappling with the knots. Even if her brothers were searching, it couldn't hurt to be loose already.
I realize that this is really short, but there are at most two more chapters left and I really want to keep my momentum going so I can finally finish this story.