Chapter 14

Family Ties

"You need to take our traditions more seriously!" Cyrena laughed as she pushed the jug closer to him expectantly. Her long, black hair framed her face wildly and her brown eyes gleamed of excitement.

Caspian, probably no older than sixteen, tried hard not to roll his eyes - Cyrena was a bit annoying and had been clinging to his heels all evening long.

He had no intention to look closer at the mug still, and she shook her head with a smug smile. "You're a Telmarine! We can foretell our fate - be proud of it and take a look into your future!"

"The grounds in this mug won't tell me anything about my fate, Cyrena," Caspian replied as he quietly pushed the mug even further away. "And neither about yours, trust me."

She fancied him, that was obvious, so she was quite curious about his fate. She had been desperately waiting for this moment to come and now the Prince did not even play along properly.

"We're in Telmar, this is what we've been doing for centuries!" she complained, barely able to hide her disappointment.

"See, that's not even true - we're not in Telmar," Caspian smiled as if he told her a secret.

As expected, she did not understand a word. "What do you mean? Where do you think we are?"

"In Narnia, love."

She immediately blushed and forgot all about traditional superstition at once. And now Emilio was also listening up.

"Do we really have to discuss this again?" he whispered to Caspian. "This will get you into trouble one day, you know it!"

The Prince did not seem to mind. "Maybe. But that doesn't make it less true."

"Your uncle doesn't want to hear any of this, you know that as well as I do!"

"Miraz doesn't want to hear or see anything that involves me, so it doesn't make much of a difference anyway," Caspian replied, sounding almost bitter.

He had realized that his uncle hated him years ago. Caspian knew that Miraz thought of him as a danger, he always kept an eye on him. As a little boy, it was much easier for his uncle to discipline him unjustly, but their differences multiplied with each year the Prince grew older and subsequently more aware of the circumstances of Miraz so called reign.

"That's just not true, Caspian," his cousin disagreed. "I think he's trying his best to be kind to you." Lorella's character had more resemblances to Miraz than she was willing to admit, so her try to defend him was hardly a surprise. "But you should probably stop talking about Narnia. It really conveys the impression that you aren't proud of your own heritage."

"Por fa', cállate, no lo entiendes," Caspian grimaced.

She acted offended and turned away, but nobody had any doubts that she kept listening carefully.

"Tell me, do you still believe Miraz wants to get rid of you?" Emilio asked, trying to be as quiet as possible so nobody could hear them.

"Miraz wants to get rid of you?" Cyrena shrilled, then she noticed the incredulous glances Emilio, Lorella and Caspian gave her as they were clearly expecting more discretion of her. She added, "Pardon me, that was a bit too loud…"

"I'm pretty sure he does," Caspian whispered grimly as he leaned back. It almost seemed as if he had accepted that his uncle had evil in mind.

"But why?" Lorella asked. She knew Miraz well, but not well enough.

"He wants to stay in power, obviously," her cousin replied and asked as a counter question, "Why do you think he wants a son?"

Lorella shrugged and made it sound more like a question, "He'd rather have a boy?"

Emilio could not suppress a laugh. "Don't be naive, Lorella. Miraz is ruthless!"

"But rumour has it Prunaprismia is pregnant! What if she's already…" Cyrena nudged Caspian and fell silent in the middle of her sentence. She swallowed.

"If she'll give Miraz a son, I'll have to get out of here as fast as I can," Caspian sighed, finishing the thought for her.

Lorella shook her head in disbelief. "As if he'd banish you! You were born here!"

"You have no idea what he'd do and what he has already done…" Caspian muttered, trying to push the thought of his parents' deaths far away. Yet at the same time, he looked around the hall, met his uncle's gaze and all the anger inside him crept up again.

Miraz noticed it at once - he looked back at Caspian suspiciously and then slowly approached him and the others.

"You seem to be upset," he snapped at his nephew as he drew nearer. "Take a look around - everybody's celebrating. Why aren't you?"

"I'm not in the mood to celebrate," Caspian replied flatly, trying not to show his contempt all too clearly.

He knew well he should not lose his temper as more and more people began to turn towards them to listen and watch. The tensions between Miraz and Caspian was infamous in Telmar, and he had no intention of fuelling the gossip.

"Well, in which mood are you then?" Miraz shot back. "You should probably know I'm about to announce that Prunaprismia is with child…"

Caspian would never forget this conversation because it changed everything. As much as he was happy for his aunt, he knew in his heart that his life would soon be turned upside down.

He swallowed, but then he said firmly, "So it's true then."

Miraz only nodded gloomily, looking forward to his nephew's reaction. That, however, granted no cause for indignation, which was most conspicuous to Miraz, and therefore displeasing.

"Congratulations, you must be very proud," Caspian said.

Miraz grunted hesitantly, "Indeed!" But then he could no longer hold back and rumbled, "You certainly know it anyway, but let me mention that you're no longer welcome here if you're not happy for us!"

Nobody had expected such provocative words, hence the hall fell silent. Nobody dared say anything, not even Lorella. Miraz behaviour was more than brash. For Prince Caspian, son of the deceased King, it had to feel like he had just been slapped in the face.

It was uncomfortably quiet around them, but the two just looked at each other intently. The only thing they seemed to share was their mutual aversion to each other.

Caspian forced himself to come to his senses. His eyes were dark as he replied, "I am the rightful heir to the throne, and you are telling me in public how I might be unwelcome here?"

Miraz laughed contemptuously, "Rightful… That's such a stretchy term. I said that to your father and I say it to you now."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Caspian frowned, his words louder than intended.

"Caspian, please, mind your manners, we have guests!" Miraz smiled as he waggled a finger at him. "I would never threaten family…" His expression indicated his wiliness and in spite of his words, everyone in the hall had a vague suspicion that he might be to blame for his brother's death.

As if to conjure up a fight, the grim Telmarine added, "Unlike you, I do have some decency."

Lorella only had to catch a glimpse of her cousin to know he was about to burst. She also knew Miraz wanted that, so she grabbed Caspian by the shoulders to hold him back. But it was in vain, he was already too angry to stay silent.

"Decency? After all that's happened, you dare preach of decency?"

"Obviously someone has to," Miraz gave a half-smile.

"Why, because my father can't do it anymore? Who do we owe that to, mh?"

Miraz froze for a moment, then he said warningly, "Careful! You don't want to imply such heavy accusations!"

"Venga, Caspian, let's go, we should just leave…" Lorella whispered anxiously to prevent the situation from escalating.

"Yes, what a splendid idea!" Miraz gazed at them with an amused expression. "Get him out of my sight, Lorella, be a good girl!"

He had always liked her, she was a lot like him. But, as he would learn this very night, not in all respects. She certainly had a conscience and she was not nearly as sneaky as he was. Now, for the first time, she had witnessed how unjust and arbitrary Miraz could really be, and it literally disgusted her.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! To talk to your orphaned nephew - your future King - like that!" she blurted out before she could even think about it.

Miraz smile faded at once. "I'll probably have to teach you manners, too, you spoiled brat!" he shouted, heading straight for her.

And then he did what no one thought possible at first - he raised his hand angrily to hit her. Caspian instantly threw himself in front of Lorella, and before she had fully understood what was going on, Miraz had to pause, breathing heavily.

The Prince shook his head in bewilderment. "How low will you sink?"

"Miraz!"

To their surprise, Prunaprismia hurried in front of Lorella as well. "Calm down, will you?"

The King was clearly irritated, he stared at his wife and then ran his hand over his face in exasperation.

Prunaprismia turned to Caspian and whispered, "You'd better leave."

He nodded wearily and, after looking down at her belly, he faintly smiled. "Felicitaciones, Pruna."

Then he took Lorella by the shoulders, as if to protect her from Miraz, and motioned for her to follow him to the entrance. Emilio, Cyrena, and several others joined him silently.

There was nothing but emptiness in Caspian's expression when he looked at his uncle one last time that evening.

"Get out of my sight!" he roared, but Caspian forced himself to continue seemingly unimpressed.

He pulled himself together until the door closed behind them, until they were shielded from their guests' suspicious eyes. Then he could not hold his anger back anymore.

He hit into one of the innumerable mirrors in the corridor without looking into it, and he felt warm blood flow from his clenched fist to his elbow. But he did not care - he felt nothing, his entire body seemed to be numb. He could only think of the certainty that Miraz had murdered his parents and might now be expecting a son to secure his reign as soon as he was out of the way as well.

No one knew what to say, and Lorella turned to Emilio, his best friend, hoping he would know what to do. But he only handed her a handkerchief and smiled as if he wanted to encourage her to take the lead.

She took a deep breath, then she carefully pulled Caspian's hand from the mirror, she removed the fragments that still stuck in his flesh and then she wrapped the cloth around the many little wounds.

The prince's expression was dull, as if he was in a state of trance, and so she just solemnly said, "Come on, love, we'll get you out of here…"

"Are you awake?" a shrill female voice woke him up from restless sleep.

Caspian had to orient himself briefly and was relieved to find that he was in his own bed, not fleeing from his uncle. He was even engaged, wasn't he?

But Ria was not lying next to him - he only recognized her shadow in the bathroom as the knocking kept on.

"Caspian, open the door!" Lorella impatiently pounded on the wood.

He got up with a big sigh - he felt as though he had spent ten days at a stormy sea - and reluctantly opened the door for his stubborn cousin.

She was dressed as if she was to attend her own wedding and seemed far too enthusiastic for his taste.

"How awfully nice to see you so early in the morning," he yawned and was promptly pushed into the chamber by her.

"Where is she?" Lorella shrieked and looked around excitedly. "Introduce us!"

He nodded fatalistically and, still half-asleep, staggered towards the bathroom.

"Ria, I have to introduce you to my cousin," he said and turned to Lorella smirking. "That is, I may..."

She only rolled her eyes and instantly beamed when Ria opened the door.

"You must be Lorella!" Ria supposed, excitement showing on her face.

Caspian had called his cousin a beauty, but that was clearly an understatement - Lorella was almost perfect. Her face was breathtakingly pretty and her hourglass shape looked as if it had been painted.

Lorella embraced her cousin's fiancée without hesitation, "And you're Taliah! Let me hug you, sweetheart!"

"Oh, cielos…" Caspian mumbled wearily and sat down on the bed again. Ria would probably rave about how nice Lorella was - until, one of these days, she would see her true colors.

He would always remember how Lorella tried to defend him against Miraz. The small scars the broken mirror had left on his hand kept reminding him that she was his family. And she was loyal to him. But he knew her well enough to know that she seldomly got along with other women…

"You've found yourself such a pretty girl, I'm thrilled!" Lorella winked at Caspian. "And oh so innocent. How old are you, Ria, dear?"

"Eighteen," she answered somewhat timidly.

Lorella was of the captivating kind of woman. She seemed really nice, but also a bit dangerous in an eerie way.

"Eighteen? Oh, Caspian, compared to that we're almost old!"

"You are for sure," he teased and smiled mischievously.

Lorella ignored him and asked Ria compassionately, "Does it make you nervous to be introduced to the council today?"

"Oh, yes, a bit, to be honest…" It was true - she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"I'd probably feel the same way about it," Lorella nodded, "but it's gonna be fine for sure. And if they ask you whether you're still a virgin - only for the records, of course - just say yes."

"Oh, that... alright..." Ria tried to nod.

Caspian could barely help but smile, she was just too cute not even noticing that Lorella wanted to unsettle her.

"Nobody will ask that question," he informed them flatly.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Lorella smiled smugly and then turned back to Ria. "If they do, then a little white lie is absolutely fine, alright?"

Ria nodded again, but this time with too much uncertainty.

Lorella's face instantly lit up and she was genuinely surprised. "Oh, don't tell me you really are? Impossible!"

Caspian shook his head laughing, "Not everyone is like you, Lorella."

Her jaw dropped in disbelief, "But you certainly are!"

"Slander and calumny!" he grinned.

"Well, I had no idea you're even able to wait that patiently," she said in astonishment and hooked herself up with an irritated Ria. "You must really mean a lot to him, sweetheart. I could tell you stories… Come on, let's look for something you can wear when you meet the council."

Before Lorella dragged her into the dressing room, Ria turned to Caspian without his cousin noticing. Her gaze was like a silent cry for help and he just could not suppress a laugh. Shrugging, he beckoned to his fiancée as if he wanted to say goodbye - he had warned her.

"He was such a poor boy, believe me," Lorella chattered as she took one dress after another out of the closet. "Without parents. And his uncle hated him, you've surely heard of that before."

"Yes, of course," Ria sighed and her eyes grew wider and wider as the pile of clothes Lorella considered grew.

"It was tragic. His youth was nothing but a frenzy, but when his aunt had a son, they wanted to murder him. He's spent so much time in the woods on the run. Surely three sheets to the wind most of the time, but who can blame him?" she laughed in a shrill tone and blinked at Ria.

"That certainly wasn't easy for him," Ria nodded for lack of better words. She did not really know what to say as she did not yet trust Lorella entirely.

"No, certainly not. Try on this one!"

Lorella handed her a bright red dress that did not exactly seem appropriate for the occasion. Ria did not want to be rude, and changed dresses without a word, but when she saw herself in the mirror, her eyebrow almost automatically shot up. The plunging neckline was outrageous and the waist was emphasized way too much, not to mention the signal color. Uncertainly, she looked at Lorella.

To her relief, she was similarly critical. "Well, I don't know. Maybe we should try on another one…"

"Sure!" Ria nodded quickly and was immediately offered the next dress.

"Fashion in Archenland is very different, isn't it? Very flowing, quite airy. But no one's wearing that here. It's quite a shame, after all it would be so much more comfortable."

When Ria took the red dress off, Lorella looked at her body attentively for the first time and approached her almost anxiously. "Tell me sweetie, are you eating properly?"

Ria was not prepared for this question and therefore only managed to nod perplexed.

"Caspian likes his women curvy, you know?"

"Does he…" Ria forced herself to smile as if she was not offended. "His women?"

"Oh, he knows how to enjoy himself," Lorella blinked light-heartedly at first, then she corrected herself hastily. "But, well, now he has you, of course! And he must be very much in love, sweetheart. You see, just a few weeks ago he'd refused to marry vehemently - you've changed that."

Ria bit her lip as Lorella examined the second dress to comment, "That looks really nice, I think!"

It was purple, embellished with silver embroidery and a bit more modest, but Ria was still hesitant. She did not look like herself.

"I'm not quite sure..." she thought out loud as her gaze wandered to a light blue silk gown. She went to the pile of dresses and took a close look at it.

"That one? I thought you'd liked it. It looks more like Anvard, doesn't it?" Lorella smiled thoughtfully. "Forget what I said. Maybe you should wear something that makes you feel confident."

Ria looked at her almost gratefully - that was actually nice of her and probably the most sincere thing Lorella had said so far.

She tried on the dress without hesitation and nodded when looking in the mirror. It had long, flowing sleeves, a bateau neckline and a free-swinging, flowing skirt.

"Simple, but actually very pretty," Lorella smiled.

Ria was visibly relieved. "Thank you for your help!"

"Not worth mentioning, sweetheart," Lorella blinked and raised her finger, "But just so you know - your wedding dress won't be simple at all!"