THE LAST TEMPTATION OF SUSAN
Chapter Fourteen: No Longer An Ass
It was just like being a little girl again.
Fear and excitement sent Susan's heart racing as she flew through the jungle at incredible speed, her long dark hair streaming behind her. Riding on Aslan's back was more than just a wildly exhilarating experience. It was a link to the most precious days of her childhood – when she had been truly innocent and felt truly close to her brothers and her sister. Back before liking boys and lipstick and invitations had made her feel like an outsider in her own family.
"Never have I known such joy and peril," Rabadash whispered in her ear. When his strong arms tightened around her slender waist Susan realized that she was too old for Narnia. "This ride is worth a lifetime of glory as Tisroc. Holding you is all I desire, though I die the instant we stop!"
It's all I desire too, Susan thought worriedly. But will Aslan understand?
Suddenly the Great Lion stopped at the base of a tall cliff.
"End of the line, children," the great beast purred, as the two of them tumbled off his golden back and into the soft green grass. "You have work to do."
"Work?" Susan gasped. Her long, dark hair was a mess from the long gallop. She wished she had a comb and a mirror.
"The pylons," Rabadash reminded her. Facing Aslan, he made a stiff bow in the formal Calormene fashion. "O my father, my past folly proves I am unworthy of your trust. But I will climb this tall cliff at once, though it mean my death."
"Peace, son of Calormen," Aslan growled softly. "You cannot win my love merely by offering your life, for that is mine to take at the time and place of my choosing. Will you climb this cliff knowing you may never see Queen Susan again?"
"Oh," Susan moaned, under her breath. This was the one test that frightened her more than anything else. Rabadash was looking pale, as pale as such a dark-skinned boy could.
"I will," Rabadash said quietly. "I am no longer an ass, O Mightiest One. I see now that I never loved Susan at all until I learned how both of us were but a tiny part of your vast plan for all the living creatures in all the worlds. And knowing this, I know our love will survive – though I turn back to an ass this moment, and have to bray out my devotion for all eternity."
Susan felt tears running down her cheeks by the time Rabadash finished speaking. Aslan did not growl, nor did he roar. He simply blew out his breath until it caused a mighty wind to rise and lift Prince Rabadash off his feet. She looked up, shading her eyes with her hand, but in moments the dashing prince in his bright turban and gleaming armor was no larger than a bird. A fly. A speck of dust. Nothing.
"He knows what to do," Aslan told her, in his calm voice. "He is safe at the top of the cliff. Are you ready to do your part, dear heart?"
"I . . . I . . ." Susan felt faint, and she sat down on the grass. The truth was that she was terribly afraid of heights. But she also wanted a moment to talk about Rabadash. "I never told him any of the things he said just now," she said, wanting to get the worst out at once. "I never thought of you at all, Aslan. When we met again, all I thought about was . . . him."
Aslan growled softly. "You were never with the boy in the darkest days of his punishment. But I was."
"You were?" Susan asked, astonished. "You mean when he was a donkey, you went and visited him in his . . . cage?"
"Many times," the Lion replied. "For Rabadash, the great struggle was won before you came back to him. You see, Susan, I know him better than you do. And so I have better reason to trust him now."
A flush came to Susan's beautiful cheeks. "You mean, he has been thinking of you the whole time, while I was only thinking of my own happiness."
Aslan said nothing.
"I'm ready to give Rabadash up, if that's what you want. If that's the only way I can be Susan again . . . your Susan."
"That you can never be," the Lion rumbled. "That girl is gone, dear heart. Your destiny is to find me again as a woman, not a child. But you and Rabadash must face great danger before you can find a future together."
"You mean the pylons." Susan looked up with dread, remembering what Rabadash had told her.
"You cannot imagine the danger, dearest queen. To seal the gate, two people must mount two pylons facing each other across a deep ravine. Each raises a crystal that catches the sun at the exact same moment. Both must stay in place and keep their crystals high in the air while the gateway screams with hot winds and bolts of flashing fire. And if either should weaken, both will instantly perish."
"The gate between the worlds must be closed," Aslan told her. "And you and Rabadash must leave my world forever."
"Then, if we survive the danger of the pylons, and leave this world, we can be happy together . . . as a couple?"
"There is more than danger for you to overcome, child." Aslan's golden eyes looked very sad and mysterious. "Once you are at the top of the cliff, you will have to endure pain and fear and isolation. But there will also be . . . temptation. The last temptation you will ever face in my world."
"Well, that's a relief." Susan tried to smile, to feel confident as Aslan leaned forward and gently breathed on her to give her courage. But even as she began to rise in the air, feeling lifted by his invisible strength, a chill ran down her spine. Those five ominous words kept running through her head.
The last temptation of Susan.
The last temptation of Susan.
The last temptation of Susan . . .