Caspian stood at the door of Miraz's library in the south wing. The idea of talking with his uncle in general sickened him. He'd never liked Miraz much but he hadn't hated him. That is, he hadn't hated him before he found out that Miraz had killed his father. After that, there was little else Caspian hated more than Miraz. He could force himself to say a few words to him in counsels but he dreaded the idea of talking alone with the man who'd murdered his father. But it couldn't be helped now. He had to talk him out of giving Peter the death sentence.
He hadn't known right away that that was what was going to happen but he'd heard from one of Prunaprismia's handmaiden's gossip-loving daughters that they'd heard the ladies of the court talking about Miraz's plans to send Peter to the gallows in the morning.
Though he had never gotten along with Peter, or even understood him for that matter, and though he hated him for being with Susan, he couldn't just let them kill him if it could be helped.
So he knocked on the door. "Uncle Miraz?"
Miraz sighed, stood up and opened the door. "What do you want?"
"Can we talk?" Caspian asked him.
Miraz let him in the room. "What about?"
"You can't send Peter to the gallows." Caspian told him, looking around at the books Miraz had piled on his desk. None of them nice ones. They were all harsh, strict, even a tad bitter, law books with worn covers that had long threads dangling from the binding.
"Can't?" Miraz raised an eyebrow looking rather amused.
"He's the High King of old Narnia." Caspian protested. "Killing him goes against the treaty."
"Does it now?" Miraz gave him a cold, smug smile. "Didn't the treaty say that upon excepting, he would no longer be the king, but just a knight?"
"It did." Caspian admitted dejectedly.
"And the laws of the Telmarines clearly state that a knight having a relationship with the maiden betrothed to the crowned prince is a crime." Miraz reminded him.
"I know." Caspian sighed, he'd known the laws since he was a baby, but that didn't mean he agreed with them.
"Why do you want him released anyway?" Miraz asked. "He was with your future wife."
"I know, I'm not happy about it but I don't want him killed. As the future King, I want him pardoned." Caspian explained boldly.
"That's just it." Miraz laughed a little as he spoke. "You're the future king not the current one. You're powerless. I'm the king, I can hang whomever I please."
"You wont spare him?" Caspian asked, already knowing the answer.
"I didn't spare you're father, did I?" Miraz said meanly in a cold tone of voice.
Caspian glared at him, turned around, and stormed out of the library slamming the door behind him.
"Caspian, there you are!" He suddenly came face to face with Edmund.
"I tried, Edmund." Caspian blurted out. "Miraz refuses to release him."
"Of course he does." Edmund snapped. "Miraz is a tyrannical nightmare. We'll have to save him some other way."
"Do you have a plan?" Caspian wanted to know.
"Not yet." Edmund admitted. "Look, I'm worried about Susan."
In spite of his anger, Caspian still cared about her. "Is she alright?"
"I don't know." Edmund told him. "She fainted and she's been acting very strangely since she woke up."
"Can I see her?" Caspian asked.
Edmund nodded. "Come on." They went down the corridor leading to east wing.
When they reached the her chamber door, Caspian opened it and walked in. "Susan?"
Susan was sitting on her bed half under the covers with her hands on her lap, looking very confused. Her eyes were wide and her lips were pointed down in a deep pout. She stared hard at him. "Do I know you?"
"Susan, it's me, Caspian." He said taking a step towards her.
She blinked at him. "You do seem sort of familiar...are you a pirate from Telmar? Father told me that a lot of pirates have suddenly showed up there. Came right out of a cave or something. You look like a Telmarine."
He looked back at Edmund. "What's wrong with her?"
"I have no idea." Edmund shrugged his shoulders.
"What did you say you're name was again?" Susan smiled at him encouragingly.
"Caspian." He told her, moving his hands as he spoke. "You know me, we're betrothed..."
Susan burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. "That's the funniest thing I've ever..." She noticed Caspian's face fall and stopped laughing. "...oh wait, you were serious?" Her frown returned and deepened.
"Yes..." Caspian said, turning back to Edmund. "Did she hit her head?"
"She did, but I think it has more to do with shock." Edmund explained. "Susan was so shocked when she heard about Peter that something happened to her...I'm not sure what..."
"Where's Edmund?" Susan asked Caspian. "Have you seen him? He's my little brother. He's small and has dark hair."
"Su, I'm right here." Edmund walked up to the bed.
She stared at him for a moment. Looking into his eyes, she recognized him. "Oh, Ed! It is you!" she cried happily, reaching out her arms to hug him. "When did you get so big?"
"This is not good." Caspian groaned putting his hand to his forehead.
"Tell me about it." muttered Edmund.
Not knowing what to do, Caspian turned to leave.
"It was nice meeting you." Susan called after him.
Edmund let out another groan.
Later that night, Lucy arrived at the castle stable. She led Caspian's horse back into his stall even though she wasn't sure how long she was going to leave him there. After all, She was going right back to the how. She was just back looking for Edmund. She'd promised Aslan that she'd speak only with him and would let no one else learn of her return. It was the third task.
Slowly making her way through the castle, terrified of being spotted by a guard, her family, Caspian, or worse of all Miraz, Lucy almost reached Edmund's chamber door when she heard the sound of boots striking on the marble floor. She let out a small gasp and looked desperately for a place to hide. Her hand fell back against what she had thought was an ordinary wall, when it gave way, it slid open like a door. It was a secret passage way of some sort. The stairs led down, probably far away from where she wanted to be, but it would do for a hiding place. She dashed in there and quickly slid the wall back into place behind herself.
As soon as the wall was shut, the person reached the spot where Lucy had been standing mere moments before. It was Edmund (Though Lucy still had no way of knowing this because of the shut wall between them). He was returning from Susan's chamber trying to think of a way to get Peter out of the dungeon. He was so at a lost for ideas that he settled for the very worst idea of all. He planned to go down there and break Peter out himself, even if it meant breaking the stupid treaty and starting the war up again. Only one problem. He wasn't sure where the dungeons were. The Telmarines hadn't given him a proper tour of the castle. All he knew was that they must be downstairs somewhere. He'd have to search the whole castle. And if he didn't find Peter's cell before morning and they took him away to the gallows...Edmund shuddered, he didn't even want to think about that. He paused at wall near his door. For a moment he thought he heard heavy breathing behind it. Mice? It would have to be one large-butt mouse. He shrugged and walked off to start looking for those dungeons.
Lucy heard the foots steps go passed. Whomever it was, had gone. She tried to slide the wall back open but it didn't budge. Apparently it was the sort of secret wall that could be opened only from one side. And unfortunately, it wasn't the side she was on. Looking down at the dark stairs, Lucy took a step and nearly fell. It was too dark to risk going down there. But what other way could she go? Then she had an idea. Next to the gold dress and veil buddle, on the other side of her magic cordial, She had Edmund's electric torch tied to her belt. She hoped there was still enough battery and cursed herself for wasting so much of it before. With one click, it turned on, lighting the way down the dark, damp, seldom used stairs.
Suddenly a smell so potent that she thought it would choke her, reached her nostrils and made them burn. It was like rotten meat, old blood, fresh pee, and extremely unpleasant body odor.
Where am I? Wondered Lucy as her foot lightly tapped against a concrete ground. She flashed the electric torch to the left and saw what looked like iron bars. Cages? But bigger, big enough to fit a person. Like a prison cell.
Lucy took a step closer. Someone was asleep, she could hear snoring. But it wasn't coming from the cells. It was the late night prison watchman, he had fallen asleep after drinking too much wine. He was a large, fat, ugly man. Lucy hated the very slight of him.
Most of the cells didn't have anyone in them. One of them housed a middle-aged fellow who was asleep with his mouth open making chewing sounds, but not snoring.
I'm in the dungeon, Lucy realized at last. I wonder is there only that one prisoner? She walked a little further down the dark pathway and flashed her Electric torch at one of the last cells in the room.
A blond-haired boy with a large black bruise on his cheek and one arm hanging down uselessly, looked up at her.
In the light from the torch, Lucy saw him. It was her own brother Peter. He looked horrible. What had happened? Was this the danger Aslan had been speaking of?
"Lucy?" Peter whispered weakly, unable to believe his eyes.
Suddenly she remembered that Aslan's orders. Peter wasn't supposed to know that she had come back. Oh dear, she'd messed up again. Aslan would be so disappointed in her. Much as it pained her, she willed herself not to speak to Peter, turned and raced towards the exit as quickly as she could.
Peter stared blankly as the spot where he could have sworn his baby sister had been standing less than a second ago. He decided that he must have dreamed it. A waking dream, a hallucination of some kind. This was common wasn't it? Being in places like this did those sort of things to people. Lucy wasn't back. Lucy was still missing. Lucy might even be dead. If only he'd listened to her when he'd had the chance. If only. His mind was reeling with if onlys about everything that had ever happened in his life. He started crying again.
He wasn't the only one crying. Lucy, who'd finally made it to a stair case leading out of the dungeon, turned off the torch, leaned back on the stairs, thrust her face into her hands and started crying too. She hated seeing her beloved brother like that. And she couldn't even speak to him. He looked hurt. He might even need a doctor. She opened her fingers a little and peered down at the magic cordial. It had a strange gleam about it in the dark. It wasn't too late to run back now and give him a drop. and maybe try to comfort him. But she couldn't do that, not without disobeying Aslan. And that was something she wasn't willing to do.
"Don't say a word, I've got a sword and four knives on me." someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth, putting a knife to her throat.
She let out a whimper. She considered whacking whomever it was (the voice did sound sort of familiar but she was too scared to ponder on it) with the torch. She'd heard that Edmund had used it as a weapon during that awful night raid. Maybe it could work for her too. But what about the sword and the knives? She might be killed.
Maybe she could turn the torch back on, shine it in the attackers eyes, and hopefully stun him long enough to make a get away. Her finger clicked it on.
"Hey that's mine!" The attacker suddenly gasped. "Where did you..." The light from the torch was shinning only on the side of Lucy's arm (She couldn't quite spin it around as quickly as she'd hoped too) but it showed the red fabric of her Narnian sleeve.
The attacker let go of her mouth and put the knife away. She took in a deep breath of air. It felt so good to breathe freely again that she actually forgot to run.
"Lucy?" The attacker gasped.
Lucy lifted the torch a little. "Edmund!" She cried happily.
He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't know, I got lost trying to find you." Lucy explained, in a breathless voice.
"I'm so glad you've come back." Edmund told her in a low voice. "Did you find Aslan?"
"Yes..." Lucy's eyes rolled towards the sleeping drunk watchman. What if he should wake up suddenly and find them there?
Edmund understood her worry. He'd get Peter out later. Or maybe Aslan could. For all he knew, Aslan could be right outside. Lucy said she found him.
"Come on," Edmund grabbed her wrist and pulled her up the stairs. "we can talk in your chamber so no one over hears."
Together they raced down corridor after corridor until they came to Lucy's chamber door. Edmund reached for the knob, opened it, and they ran in, shutting the door tightly behind them.
"What's up Lu?" Edmund asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "Where did you find him? so much has happened here..."
"So much has happened to me, too." Lucy said. "There's something you should know, Edmund."
He made a sound that implied that he was listening.
"You're real parents are King Frank and Queen Helen the first king and queen of Narnia." Lucy told him, she lifted her thumb to reveal the gold ring. She slipped it off and pressed it into Edmund's palm. "this is yours."
"Are you sure?" Edmund asked in a tone of wonder, peering down at the ring, which sure enough had his name on it.
"Yes." Lucy said. "I'm sure. You and Susan are their missing children. You disappeared one day and came into England somehow. And then you found Peter and me and well..." She didn't need to explain the rest.
"Wow..." Edmund suddenly realized what might have happened to Susan. Susan might just be talking about her old life in Narnia with their birth parents. She'd been nearly old enough to remember, unlike him.
"King Len, the first king of Archenland is your brother." Lucy told him.
"That explains so much." Edmund said softly.
"Yes it does." Lucy agreed. "But tell me, what's happened to Peter?"
Edmund sighed and told her in as few words as he could, about the love triangle, Miraz's evil plans, and the gallows.
Lucy stared at him wide-eye clearly in frightened awe, as he spoke and told her all of this.
"And if we don't get him out of there tonight, they're going to hang him tomorrow." Edmund finished.
"Oh no." Lucy whispered. "We can't let this happen."
"We wont." Edmund assured her. "Now that you're here we'll get him out together. Where's Aslan? Surely he'll help us. You did bring him back with you right?"
Lucy shook her head. "I have to meet him back at the how. I haven't come back to stay."
"When do you have to leave?" Edmund asked her.
Lucy thought it over. "As soon as you give me your word that you wont tell anyone that I've come back."
"Not even Caspian and Susan?" Edmund asked.
"No, Edmund." Lucy said firmly. "Not even them."
"Alright then." Edmund said finally. "I give you my word."
"Ed, don't try to get Peter out of there tonight." Lucy told him. "I think Aslan has some sort of plan. But if I'm not back before they take him to the gallows, just stall them somehow, alright? I'm going to try and get help from Aslan and the other Narnians. We'll save him but we need to do it Aslan's way, not ours."
"Well said." Edmund nodded. "I'll do that."
"Thank you, Ed!" Lucy cried hugging him tightly.
"Well, you've been right before." Edmund laughed a little. "Only a fool would go against your orders now."
"For Narnia." Lucy said with a smile as she walked to the door, about to leave.
"And for Aslan." Edmund winked at her.
"For Aslan." Lucy whispered softly, as she walked down to the stable, saddled up Caspian's horse again and rode towards the How.
AN: Okay a lot of work went into this blah blah blah, please review!