Chapter 19

The room was silent. Edmund was still unconscious on his bed while Lucy sat watching him. Simon was in the corner reading something from the library and Susan was doing the same. Peter was in his room thinking about how he was going to proceed.

It was Lucy who noticed it first. Edmund looked like he had stopped breathing and when he checked he had. Calling Simon and Susan over he checked the wounds. The black discoloration that was emanating from the wounds was unchanged. But Edmund wasn't breathing.

She was about to panic when Simon moved her to the side and placed his hand over Edmund's heart. He closed his eyes and muttered something that Lucy couldn't hear. What she could hear was the sound of thunder in the distance.

Edmund started to breath and Simon stepped back before collapsing into his chair. It was Susan who noticed since Lucy was focused on Edmund. Rushing over to him she noticed that he wasn't breathing, "LUCY!" he screamed realizing what happened.

When the girl turned around Susan promptly snatched the bottle of Cordial from her belt and poured a drop down Simon's mouth. She was thinking about using a second one when his chest began to move slowly.

He was breathing but it wasn't strong. "Edmund is free of the curse now he simply has to contend with the poison." he was exhausted but if Susan was correct he had every right to be.

"What did you do?" she asked hoping she was wrong.

"I took the curse, thankfully the cordial was enough to keep me from dying. For now. But we still need to get rid of whoever cast it if we want to break it.

…

Peter was pacing in his room when there was a knock at the door. "Enter" he commanded.

"A beaver said you wished to speak with me?" Falaah asked. It wasn't so much the fact that the High King of Narnia had summoned her to his room that made her nervous; it was the tone of the beaver who told her of the summons.

"Edmund was attacked by a Calromen assault force," he said, cutting to the chase."I need to know, what objections do you have to the fact that war with the empire is now inevitable?"

She needed now thought for her answer, the past several weeks had answered them for her. "My place is with my people, and my people are here in Narnia," she knew that she didn't need to council Peter to hold caution in war. It wouldn't matter if she did.

Turning to look at her with tears in his eyes Peter said. "Do you mean that, there's no going back from this. If we go to war and you stay here, anyone who finds out about it would name you a traitor." as he spoke he came closer until he was less than an arm's length away.

Reaching out she placed her hands on his chest. "My place is with Narnia, and with you,"

No sooner had she said the words than Peter leaned down and took her into his arms kissing her as he did so.

They separated a moment later mostly in shock of what had just happened. They had told themselves that they would never act on their love. After all neither of them wanted a war to be fought over it. But with the war now unavoidable it made sense.

They were about to say something when they heard a new knock at the door. "Enter," Peter said, his mild annoyance showing.

Simon limped into the room with Susan helping balance his weight. "If we have a spy in the castle they are most likely using messenger birds." he stated holding out a gun. "You ever hunt birds before?"

…

Peter and Simon had to walk a few minutes away from Cair Paravel in order to avoid spooking the birds at the castle. Simon had a few clay disks and a sack of shells. Handing Peter a set of shells Simon waited for him to load the side by side shotgun before he threw the disk.

Peter went to shoot it but the throw was too low and slow which was odd since Simon had never been lacking in strength. Without a word Simon reached into his bag and pulled out a small handheld device that he loaded with a disk and threw again this one went farther and higher. Peter went to fire and the trigger didn't respond.

"Safety is still on," SImon chuckled. He was having a little fun at Peter's expense. Switching the safety off they tried again this time Peter fired and the blast stunned him. "You missed, far to the right. Try leading the target more. Throwing again Peter fired again. This time he saw the disk burst. "Good, give me three more and we'll call it a day.

Throwing five more Peter broke the last three he handed Simon back the gun before asking "why don't you just shoot the bird yourself?"

Simon looked like he was about to answer but thought better of it. Instead he simply handed Peter back the gun and the shells before walking away.

Simon made it back to his room before his composure broke. He leaned on the door frame and staggered over to the bed. The curse was weighing heavy on him the cordial was stopping the spread but his strength was compromised and he knew that he needed to get Peter ready for the day that he may not be able to help.

He was tired but he knew that he needed to get to work. Shuffling over to his desk he sat down and grabbed a sharpened pencil. It was the last one he had brought with him. The rest ended up on the floor of his workshop until he found out how to make improvised pencils using burned sticks.

Setting out two sheets of paper Simon started writing.

Susan, if you're reading this then I'm probably dead I can't tell how it happened. Maybe it was in battle, maybe I died in the forge or in the middle of the night. I have taken on Edmund's curse and since we are unlikely to find the one who cast it I suppose that means that it will be the death of me.

You deserve better than that but I can't give you what you deserve. I intend to enjoy the time we have left. I apologize for not telling you about this in person but honestly the notion of having this talk is just too terrifying. I don't want you blaming your brother for this. It isn't his fault.

I hope I say this more but in case I don't get the chance. I love you. You are without a doubt the single greatest woman I have ever met and I am only better for having known you. You managed to repair a century of pain and damage in about three weeks.

The only regret that I now have is that the time I can spend with you is limited the way it is. Please forgive me for the pain my death may cause, grow as a person from the experience, find love in my absence and live a happy life. You deserve nothing less.

Simon Moses Novac

Setting the paper aside Simon went to write on the other one. This one was to Peter and gave him the directions to the storehouse where Simon had stocked several hundred breech loading rifles as well as the books to make more rifles and rounds of ammunition.

With that done he made his way back to his bed and laid down. He wasn't certain he would wake up but if he didn't then they would survive. That was what mattered to him.

…

Susan moved silently through the halls. It was late and she wanted to avoid any question that didn't need answers. Simon's door wasn't locked so getting in was easy. When she found him her fears were confirmed.

His breathing was weak and clearly labored. She opened the book she was carrying and read the several lines from it. The book spoke of the curse that Susan believed had been used and it explained that if the curse was never lifted then the bearer would inevitably die.

She knew that Simon was tougher than the average person but he was still mortal. The more she read the more worried she became. The book was penned by Jadis but that only made Susan worry more what purpose would she have had to write this all down.

It explained that there was only one way to break it but there were ways to slow it down. The one that grabbed Susan's eyes mentioned transferring the curse from one person to the next. But that mentioned using the deep magic which meant it was what Simon had done.

The next one she saw could bind the curse with something. The word was illegible. But it seemed like it was made so deliberate. The words for the spell could be read but it was a language she didn't understand.

This could be bad. But she had no choice. Reading on she learned all the steps which thankfully where few. Holding her hands as instructed she tried to pronounce the words. She felt nothing but SImon's breathing looked stronger so she took that as a good sign.

Closing the book she went over to the side of his bed and waited. Her waiting was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. At the sound Simon bolted upright and drew both of his knives. He scanned the room and when he saw Susan he instantly calmed.

Grabbing two of his pistols Simon made his way to the door. "I think Peter is one step closer to catching our spy,"

The two of them headed for the throne room. That was where Peter would be if he had anything of use.

When they arrived they saw Peter, Oreius and Falaah. As they were entering so was Lucy. there was a dead bird on the table that had been brought in with Peter. "It was flying away from the flock" he said explaining how he could have possibly known which one was the one they needed.

Handing a damaged scroll to Simon he asked. "Can you read this?"

Taking the scroll he unrolled it and after reading it he said to the room. "Everyone needs to leave now!" his tone left no room for argument and with a second nod from Peter everyone did as asked.

…

Falaah was waiting with Lucy, they were pretending to not be worried about what Simon had read. The door knocked twice and Lucy said. "Come in,"

It was Simon and he looked grimm. "Follow me," he said looking to Falaah"

He lead her to Peter's room and once she was there he opened the door before roughly shoving her in. Peter was staring out one of his windows. "Thank you Simon you may leave."

The large man closed the door and left the two of them alone in the room. "Little goes on in this castle that I do not hear about." Peter said he was having a hard time maintaining his compursure but Falaah had no idea why.

She was about to ask him when he kept talking. " I took you into my house, I was preparing to take you into my family." she was walking closer, something was troubling him and she wanted to help him handle it.

She reached her hand for his shoulder when he turned away and dropped the scroll on the ground at her feet. "And this! Is how you repay me!" his anger was clear now. picking up the scroll she unrolled it and read the message within. It was written in old Calormen and while she couldn't hear the exact words the rough approximation was that Edmund was still alive and war was coming. It detailed the size of the narnian army and its composition.

As she read her heart dropped. Peter thought she was the spy. "Peter I promise you I have no Idea…"

"SILENCE!" Peter roared his voice seeming to shake the walls. Taking a moment to control his anger he turned back to look out the window. Falaah noticed that he had one of Simon's guns on his hip. He didn't trust her enough to be unarmed in her presence.

She felt her eyes welling up with tears as Peter continued. "I love you, and in return for that you betray me, try to kill my brother, turn assassin's loose on me and my family. Were you any other person I would have you drawn and quartered. But Lucy would never forgive me if I did. She may not forgive me for what I am about to do but that cannot be helped. Simon will take you to your new room for the night. Tomorrow you will be sent back to the Calormen Empire. I have a war to win and I don't need a spy trying to undo me from within."

Now she was sobbing and when Peter heard her his anger once again got the better of him. "How dare you try and play my heart like this. Do you think that crying will change my mind, get out of my sight before I lose my temper and kill you myself!"

Falaah could hear the pain in his voice. This encounter was tearing him apart and she was helpless to stop it. Trying to control her tears Falaah made her way to the door. She was still opening it when Simon grabbed her by the arm.

He wrenched the limb behind her back and bent it at a painful angle. The walk to the new room was silent. Falaah was too heartbroken to keep crying. As they reached the room she decided that she wasn't going back to the Empire.

Life without Peter would be torture but she would never return to Rabdash. Looking to the window she saw that it was barred from the inside with iron grates. "This room was designed by me to hold people like you. The sheets are sown to the mattress, the windows are barred from the inside, there are no blankets and there are no weapons."

Quickly she spun free and reached for one of Simon's guns. He deftly swatted her hand away and cracked his open palm one the back of her head staggering her to the floor. When she looked back up she saw the door close and lock from the other side.

She laid there crying long into the night waiting for her death to finally come and take her.

…

Lucy was waiting for Falaah to return when Peter smoothly entered the room. "Peter where is Falaah?"

Peter made his way to a set of chairs and sat down in one of them motioning for Lucy to sit in the other. When she did he tried to keep his composure and said. "Lucy, I'm sorry, I was supposed to keep things like this from happening and I failed."

"Peter what are you talking about, there was no way you could have protected Edmund. He walked into an ambush. The spy is the one to blame not you." she countered reaching out and resting her hand on his arm.

"Lucy," he tried to tell her but his voice failed him. Taking a breath he steeled himself for the sentence he was about to utter. "Lucy, Falaah is the spy." as he finished his voice broke and he had to bring his closed fist to rest against his mouth

Lucy's eyes went wide and she gasped loudly. "Peter, that cannot be true," she whispered.

"It is lue, she's the only one who could have written the message." he explained.

"I don't believe it," Lucy stated firmly. "I know that it is not true"

Peter was about to try and tell her that it was but he knew that the words would do no good. Reaching out he wrapped his arms around Lucy who quickly threw her arms around him and held on tightly.

…

Bryson was waiting in his mobile command center when one of his men entered the tent. It was Mitchell, one of Bryson's most trusted men. "Sir we have apprehended a Narnain moving towards the prince's camp."

Standing up from his chair Bryson asked him. "And just what are you doing here?"

Without any hesitation the fawn answered. "My name is Joshua and I am one of Rabdash's spies, namely the one in Narnia." he was trying to not show fear but he was also failing rather badly.

"Rabdash arrived here less than a week ago. How could you be working for him before then." Bryson grilled looking the fawn over before grabbing a scroll that the man was attempting to conceal in his pack.

Reading it over he ignored the words of the spy. The scroll detailed his orders to attempt to pin the crime of treason on Falaah and that he was to do this with a fake letter given to him by the soldiers that were to ambush him.

"Did you follow these orders?" Bryson asked him.

"Of course, that was why I was heading to the meeting point." Joshua responded.

"Well then," Bryson said, turning him towards the door. "Let's get you paid" as he spoke he drew his hidden knife and slipped it between his ribs and into the fawns heart. Joshua gasped in pain as Bryson pulled out the knife and ran it into his chest again. "That was for my cousin"

"Get rid of the body," Byrson said as his men did so. In truth he had been sent north to try and get a peace treaty with High King Peter. It took some time to get his men together and apparently at that time Rabdash was busy.

Busy starting a war the Bryson was ordered to prevent at any and all cost.