Wow! I cannot thank you all for the love and attention you've given this story. My heart is overwhelmed. Thanks to all of you! And as a way to show my appreciation, here is the next chapter, out quicker than usual. I hope you enjoy!

~ Scarlett

Susan's hair was stuck to her forehead and neck, as sweat dripped off of her in droves. The tiny room she was being imprisoned in on the pirate ship was sweltering. It was the hottest part of the day, in the hottest month of the year, in the hottest land in the whole world. The air was beyond stifling and the humidity suffocating. Light poured in from the window, landing on her small cot and heating it up so much that she would be even more uncomfortable if she laid down.

That left her with only the length of one and a half steps to stand in until she would hit the door. And hit the door she did.

Susan had been pounding against it for so long that her fists were all but bleeding. Her throat was sore and her voice rough from yelling.

"Let me out! You cannot keep me in here forever! I need water!" She continued to beat upon the door, but her movements were growing slow, her arms heavy with exhaustion as sickness took over.

For most of the past week, she had barely been let out of the small room. And when she was, it was always by an accompanying ship mate who smelled worse than he looked. They would simply allow her to walk the deck in circles and sit chained to the mast. It left her with a sunburn running across her nose. Meanwhile, Larsenilo was nowhere to be found except for the few times she watched him cross the deck towards the docks and onto land.

She would call to him, yelling to get his attention, demanding better treatment. But he would only walk faster, ignoring her altogether. It was in stark contrast to how controlling he had been with her for the first few weeks she'd been stuck with him. During that time, he never left her alone for too long.

Perhaps he was just trying to make her learn a lesson after she fought back his attack on her. It was a shame for him really, because it wouldn't work.

"Let me out! It's too hot – I need to be let out!" She called once more, supplying a firm kick to the door that hurt her more than it helped her case.

Susan felt herself slowly sinking to the floor. Her insides were churning as lightheadedness and nausea fought for dominance. "Let me out..." She called again, though this time was significantly quieter than before. She let her head fall to rest against the door. Her eyes closed as she coughed. She had to wipe the spit from her cheek and as she did, she let out a small, sad, sarcastic laugh, thinking how the Gentle Queen must look now.

Some Queen I am, she thought, just as the door swung open.

Susan caught herself with her hands just before her face hit the upturned shoes of the large, meaty man towering in front of her.

"Stop your noise, woman!" He hollered as he yanked her up.

The yanking caused her nausea to worsen, and the man couldn't say that he didn't notice just how pale she was.

"I will die if you leave me in here any longer!"

"At least you'd be quiet!"

"I may be quiet, but then your pathetic captain would lose all that coin he wants for me!"

"Ha!" The man snorted. Shaking his head, he mumbled out, "Our Captain just wants your curse off of him. You've made him turn back to true religion." He ran a heavy hand across his face, annoyance and lack of patience for both Susan and Larsenilo dripping off him like sweat.

"What?"

"Nothing, Flower. Our great leader's just let the heat go to his head."

Susan heard him but she barely had time to register what he said. For it was then that a small wind caught her face. It was so hot inside her room it was nearly steaming, and despite how ruthless it felt outside on the deck, it was not half as stifling. She felt relieved to simply feel fresh air, even if it was mixed with the stench of rotting fish. A slight breeze was a blessing, no matter the fact that it wasn't cool at all. She pushed against the man so she could leave the doorway of her prison. And that's when she knew - her nausea had finally conquered all.

Her knees shook as she ran across the deck. She heard the Calormene stationed to watch her yelling, probably thinking she was trying to escape or jump over the side of the ship. Which was a fair guess considering she'd tried it all already. But there was always way too many pirates around her to get far.

But now she wasn't even thinking of escaping, just trying to get to the side of the ship. Needing to get to the side of the ship.

Susan hit the wood of the starboard side so hard it hurt her rib cage. She flung her head over the rim just as she could no longer hold in the vomit that was forcing its way up her throat.

She was sick from the heat.

And she knew it was really bad when she thought she saw the face of a girl in the water, before her own bile went cascading down into it. Dreams of Narnia were boiling in her mind just as she boiled in the heat.

"Edden, Tarkheena Tullah is in the library. She's waiting for you. There's quite the mess it seems." Rineeda said with a smirk. She liked having someone to boss around, and usually the only time she would ever talk to Edmund was when she could tell him what to do. Ed didn't let it bother him much, though. He could see that those were the few times the girl could actually feel in control of anything in her life. Still, it didn't stop the next words coming out of his mouth from sounding vaguely accusatory.

"Really? And what will you be doing, hmm?"

"I have much more important things to tend to than stacking books." She sneered, then turned on her heels to leave him be.

Edmund huffed, but got to it. The library was on the other side of the house, so he would need to start limping along to get there in a timely manner.

As he made his way there, he let his mind wander about all the nearly empty rooms. His first few days working inside, he had decided that the family simply must have too many to know what to do with, and that was why the furnishings were so few. But once he had heard Ariondi mention his father's debts, Edmund quickly thought differently. Certainly though, the family wasn't hurting. If this was their idea of squander than they were still richer than most would ever dream.

When he finally reached his destination, Edmund stopped almost as soon as he entered the great room. He had yet to enter this one before now, but it was already his favorite. The library was wide and vast, with high ceilings that allowed for the tall shelves to line the walls. Each book case had gold trimmings with fine details carved meticulously into the wood. Row after row of thick tomes of all colors could be seen following further back, while grand windows poured light down upon it all.

But the further back he went, the sparser the books became until there were rows of entirely empty shelves altogether. Though they seemed to have been chosen particularly, so as no one who walked past or entered the room would see them unless they dove deeper back into it. Edmund took note of the swathes of books that were missing, noting also that there were multiple faded and worn patches in the thick carpet that looked like there had once been hefty, wooden desks sitting there, though they had since been removed. Now all that remained in their spots were stacks of old books, parchment, and quills with dried up ink wells. He wondered at it all, thinking again to the almost empty rooms and sparsely decorated spaces that were dotted throughout the house.

Nonetheless, he hid his suspicions about it away and continued to stand in awe of the beauty and knowledge that was so simply held on the shelves.

Tarkheena Tullah, who to Edmund appeared out of almost nowhere in her wicker chair, took notice. "Do you like to read, Edden?"

"Yes, Mistress, I do."

"Well good. Because you and I will be spending quite a bit of time in here today. I need these piles of books to be organized and put in their correct places. And there is an ink stain on the carpet that needs scrubbing." She said in a firm, no nonsense voice.

She sounded more agitated than usual and Edmund noticed the inks stains on her balled up hands. Had she been trying to write?

"Edden, are you listening to me?" She snapped.

Edmund pulled himself to attention, unconsciously straightening his spine at her tone. He winced at the popping in his hip from moving too fast.

"Yes Tarkheena, I am listening."

"Good. Now get to work. We will start with that pile." She motioned to the first stack and Edmund got to it, listening to her bark out each place that each book belonged. He was amazed that she remembered their order so well.

Throughout it all, he still gazed around, trying his best to read all of the titles on the spines near him. There were many different books, but they all seemed to be organized by their specific subjects. There were obnoxiously long names as titles in the poetry section, grand golden leafed books on Calormen in the histories, many thin volumes all in a matching green that looked to be one man's writings on science and the heavens, and a whole array of religious texts, some even being scrolls, written about Tash. And that was just the shelves within view.

The Tarkheena raised an eyebrow in the way that Edmund started to attribute as being unique to the this particular old lady. "One would think you have never seen a library so grand before." She said.

The Tarkheena probably thought it true, but Edmund knew that his own library in Cair Paravel was just as large and expansive. He just appreciated when he found other places like it.

"Not in quite a while." He said, moving a hefty handful of tomes to a new corner.

One book, a rather familiar book, caught Edmund's eye as he was working. It was titled Calormene and the Wonderous & Magnificent Myths of Old: An Early History of Calormen. He laughed to himself. It was one he had been reading back at Cair Paravel, while trying to learn more about the country.

"Something humorous to you, Edden?" Tullah asked. Edmund could tell she was still in no mood to be trifled with, but something about her made him want to test his limits. Besides, if Peter could charm her - even in the slightest - so could he. "No, not funny. Just intriguing." He picked up the book so she could see the title. "I've heard great stories coming from Calormen. You have a very interesting mythology."

Before he had gotten kidnapped and sold, Edmund had just scratched the surface on all things Calormene, mainly focusing on their culture and politics. Though, he found much of that very boring. What interested him most were their myths and legends. They would speak of such dark, monstrous things hiding in caves and in the hottest parts of the desert. But they also spoke of treasure and seekers who traversed what is now the whole of the country, looking for wealth and glory. And of course, they also told of Tash, the demon like god who had the head of a bird, the body of a man but with four arms instead of two, and who's feet were like a mammals. He'd make deals with these treasure seekers. The lost souls were always wanting to acquire such novelties as fame and success. In every story Edmund read on the subject, Tash was portrayed as a wise and fair judge, and it was the men who were wicked and stupid, getting what they deserved in the end when their deals turned sour. But Edmund thought them one in the same, though he'd never tell the Tarkheena that.

"We have many a myth, each one more fantastic than the last. Which makes me question their truth more than a good Calormene should. Regardless, I enjoy them as much as a child. Those are the stories that I heard when I was younger than you are now, and propelled me forth to wanting to travel, to seek out what those in the stories did. Now that I am old I have learned they were all fools," Here she sneered, but went on. "But their tales still comfort me when I miss the trekking that I can no longer enjoy. They take me somewhere else, make me much younger than I am, much more able." Here she lifted her hands, as if Edmund might have forgotten her disease.

Edmund felt the hints of pain that were laced in her words. He felt sorry for her, he couldn't imagine what it'd be like to not be able to do things for yourself. But he did know what it was like to feel trapped. He was stuck in Calormen just as much as she was - if not more. And suddenly he wanted to help her. "Would you tell me some of your stories? Of Calormen or of your travels?"

She looked at him slyly, again raising her eyebrows in the fashion no one but she can replicate. "Only if you will tell me stories of your homeland. I have been to Archenland before, though it was long ago. I miss all the greenery and cool air that wound around your great Stormness. I'd like to know more about the land that raised such a resilient small one as yourself, and one so bold as your brother."

Edmund smiled back at her, though it still took him off guard that she would be so open with him. Regardless, he knew enough stories of Archenland and its history after listening to Lune tell of great legends and battles over many a feasts. "I think I can come up with something."

"Good. We will start with you, Edden, since you can look around and see my home. What of yours?"

Edmund wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to hear, but he spoke up anyways. "Archenland, as you said, is green and bright and not nearly as hot as Calormen. It has hills and meadows and vast forests and absolutely no sand at all unless you are on the coast or nearing the Great Desert." Here he started to draw on his own memories of Narnia instead, knowing it was close enough to Archenland's landscape to not be discernible, so long as he used the right words. "Petryn and I would ride around on horseback often. We probably would have traversed the whole of the land all in one trip if allowed. I think we fancied ourselves knights. There are legends of dragons in those parts, you know." Here he laughed a little, remembering well when Aslan actually did knight him, and all the fierce dragon stories the dwarfs like to go on about when their cups are full. "It is a peaceful place and full of kind neighbors who like to dance and play flutes late into the night. Festivals will start out of nowhere, as more folks join in. It'll be all merrymaking and joy. It's really something. You would like it." Edmund said, now solely reminiscing on his true homeland.

Tarkheena Tullah looked on with keen eyes. "And what of your parents? Are they back there, joining in on midnight festivals?"

Edmund paused, now really not sure what to say. He hadn't really discussed a back story with his siblings, other than just acting as if they were a simply family from Archenland. But Edmund couldn't think of a believable answer fast enough, and he didn't really want to lie to the lady. So he settled on the truth. "N-no, they are not. We were separated from them, when we were younger."

She looked at him with peeked eyebrows and slight impatience, clearly showing his vague and odd response raised more questions than answers and she didn't think she needed to say it for him to know she wanted more.

Edmund forced his movements to be even and smooth, not to show that he felt uncomfortable because he didn't have an answer to give. At least, not one that wouldn't require more of an explanation, making it obvious who he and Peter really were. But he also knew every story was most believable if it held some truth to it, and he didn't think he'd be giving away too much that it would endanger Narnia. "They were fighting a war, far away. They wanted to keep us safe."

"A war? I haven't heard of a true war anywhere near here in decades – except for Narnia, of course." Here she paused. "Was that where they went?"

"No, they've never been to Narnia." He said, trying not to do so too quickly. "It was a much further away place, up past the Wild Lands I suppose. I don't have very clear memories of it. Spare Oom, was what it was called." He added the last part, thinking of Lucy and knowing it wasn't necessarily a lie.

"I have been many a places but I cannot say that I've ever heard of your Spare Oom. It truly must be a great ways away." She waited as Edmund simply nodded and continued to work at placing books on the shelf. "What of they after that – your parents?" She asked, trying not to sound too inquisitive.

Edmund paused, a far off look appearing on his face suddenly. "I...I don't actually know. I haven't seen them since. And that was ages ago."

The Tarkheena paused, but Edmund didn't notice as he tried to take his mind off of the mystery of his parent's fate and kept working. But this meant he also didn't see the pained look on her face before she spoke. "That is a shame. A boy needs his mother as he grows."

"Well, I've had Su-" Edmund stopped his words haphazardly and abruptly. He hadn't even realized he was speaking out loud – his mind suddenly muddled with all of her questions. Like he'd forgotten altogether he couldn't simply tell Tarkheena Tullah everything he could anyone else. He knew he'd made a mistake, and hoped she hadn't noticed. But he knew her better than that.

"Su? Who is she?"

Edmund turned to glimpse a look in her direction. Tullah was staring at him expectantly, curiosity ever more shining in her eyes. He had to give her an answer, and suddenly, he felt what Peter had before when he told Tullah Edmund was his brother. It seems Edmund too, couldn't deny his own, even if it went against his better judgement at the moment. "Su-Surenah. She is my older sister."

Tullah lifted her chin and tilted her head just a bit, one of the few times she let Edmund actually see her caught off guard. "I hadn't realized there were more of you. Is she older than Petryn, too?"

"No, she is in between Petryn and I." For the first time in quite a while, Edmund didn't know how to keep his words out of his mouth or how to maneuver himself out of a conversation.

"Hmm. And you said you had her, instead of your mother?"

"In a way, yes. She likes to fancy herself older than she is," Edmund let out a small laugh, "she likes to take care of us, I mean. She's a lot like our Mum. Even looks like her. I'm so used to it now, I'm not so sure what things Mum actually did, and what things I just think she did, simply because my sister does them." Edmund realized he was rambling and saying more than what was needed, but it seemed he couldn't help himself. He was missing Susan just as much as he had Peter. And he was worrying over her more than he'd like to say, still picturing her in the belly of that pirate ship, trying to explain to him gently what might be her fate. And now that someone else knew about her - was asking about her - he just kept talking.

When he finally turned from his work and musings to see the Tarkheena, she was softly smiling, though part of it looked sad, too. Edmund started to ponder her expression but she wiped it away and asked another question before he really got much of a chance to.

"And where is she now? Still in Archenland?"

Edmund looked down more quickly than he wanted too. "Um, no she, she was taken to Calormen, too."

Had Edmund been looking up, he'd have seen the knowing look come upon the Tarkheena's face. But he pictured her with her eyes closed as he heard Tullah blow a long breath out of her nose.

"Have you seen her? Where you separated at the selling block like you were with Petryn?"

"No, the pirates took her before then. I tried to keep her with us, but there were just too many. That's how I earned my limp, actuall-." Edmund stopped his words once more, and was again kicking himself for so suddenly losing his filter. It was so unlike him. He knew he shouldn't be letting Tullah know again that he was fighting with his captors, she might think it a bad habit of his and send him back to hard labor to break him of it.

But she didn't say a word about it, to his surprise. In fact, she stopped not only all of her questions, but talking altogether then. Edmund looked up, still annoyed by how little he understood about her, and found a pinched, hard look on her face. Though she now wasn't looking at him, but off out the window solemnly.

Edmund stayed quiet, glancing between the bookshelves and Tullah as the silence wore on. He didn't like that she looked so hard pressed. He was surprised, because he wouldn't have thought his story would have been so bothersome to her. It made him think it wasn't his story at all that had caused her to become so sober. But the more he thought on it, he couldn't discern what else would have been troubling her.

Edmund suddenly felt bad, as if it was his fault for speaking so fondly of his sister while relaying their badly dealt hand. The old woman had clearly already been upset over her failed attempts at holding a quill and writing. He was just making things worse. He didn't know why, but he didn't like the bitterness that nestled its way into the creases around the Tarkheena's mouth. He wanted to make her feel better, to change the subject. So he simply asked, "How about one of your stories now? I think I've earned it."

Tarkheena Tullah turned her gazed toward Edmund, and slowly smiled conspicuously. "Alright. I suppose you have."

"Hargeph, how is everything coming along? I trust that a servant as faithful and dutiful as you has everything working out as our schedule demands?" It wasn't much of a question, more of a warning, and one full of skepticism that Hargeph picked up on.

"Tarkhaan Oraleth, I give you the same promise that I would give to Tash himself. Everything is not only falling into it's timely manner, but is ahead of schedule. The next delivery of stones will arrive at the temple building site within two days." Hargeph said with all the luster and groveling charm a Calormene can muster. But he saw the creases in his master's forehead, and the tenseness in his stance. So he added, "I assure you, Tarkhaan, I will not stray or fail you as those false servants who went against your father."

Oraleth's eyes hardened and his jaw tightened, but he did not look to the man. Instead, he kept his vison focused on the rock field before him as the setting sun flared, forcing him to squint as all of the slaves dragged themselves towards rest. "I should hope so. For your sake."

Hargeph bowed his head, for once showing any semblance of fear or respect to anyone. Peter would have found it interesting to see the harsh man seem so much like the rest of them, forced to be under the will of another. But he didn't have the time. He was too busying jumping across the all but dried up creek that split the ground in a harsh carving. While the others who had worked with him all day in the fields were going to go eat, bathe, and sleep, he had to get to the other side of the fields to tend to the sheep.

It was his chore to release the shepherd on duty, and while the work was easy so long as no wild animals came for them or one of the sheep didn't wander off, it was near torture being so utterly tired but having to force yourself to stay awake. Now, he squeezed his eyes open then shut, open then shut, kneaded the knots in his shoulders and prayed that his legs would simply keep moving.

Somehow, someway, he was able to keep going, watching as the pasture ever so slowly grew closer and closer to him. If he was lucky, Edmund would be allowed to bring him his supper, and hopefully his brother wouldn't be so tired that he couldn't give Peter a few moments to rest his eyes.

"Who is that one, over there?" Oraleth asked, pointing towards Peter. "Where is he going?"

"That is Petryn, my lord. He will be tending to the sheep."

"After being out here all day? What did he do to invoke your wrath so?" Oraleth lifted one eyebrow in a way very similar to his mother, as he continued to watch as Peter trudged along.

"It was he who fought with Arovi and Jeptehn for his brother who was unable to keep up pace."

Finally Oraleth looked to Hargeph. "Unable?"

"The younger claims he has a limp." Hargeph replied quietly.

"The boy that my mother seems to want to make into her new lady's maid while also making him a stable boy, a kitchen boy, and whatever else she deems necessary? I have seen him. His limp is quite obvious. And I believe I recall my Mother telling me she already saw to the elder's punishment?"

Hargeph swallowed hard. "I swear by Tash that Petryn there has been causing more trouble. He carries himself in a way a slave should not. He provokes those over him, he is in need of more punishment. As for his brother, his limp was not known about when he was bought. I assure you, I would not have been so unwise as to buy a slave for labor when he so clearly would not be able to work hard. If either boy speaks differently, then they are liars. A slave cannot be trusted to tell the truth, after all."

"You are my slave as well, Hargeph, and it would serve you well to remember that. I may have put you in a position over others but you are no better than they. And even if your are telling the truth about him not having been bought with a limp, then that means he was injured badly enough afterward to not be able to keep up, therefore becoming a waste of my wealth." Here he turned his shoulders to face Hargeph head on. "I am not against punishments but they are of waste if the boy is so badly wounded that he cannot fulfill his purpose. You should be thankful to Tash that my mother found use for him. I will not be made a fool in front of the Council again. And I am not my Father, so know I will make sure that my slaves stay in order. I must be above reproach when it comes to the completion of this temple. I will renew my family's standing. Do not be a thorn in my side that makes my goal more difficult to accomplish by ruining my workers ability to work."

"Of course. I will not disappoint. And I know you will procure your place again. One as wise and deserving as you will not be over come or resigned."

Oraleth eyed him with a hard look. "Just make sure Petryn there is fed. It will not do to have our sheep wandering because their keeper is so famished he cannot stand."

Well, well, well. Look at me writing another chapter that proved to be too long for me to fit in everything I had planned! I need to stop expecting better of myself, haha! Next chapter will be out soon!

Also...I know the parts on Susan and Peter were short in comparison to Edmund's, but I promise that much more is coming from both of them and Lucy in the future!

Until then!