Chapter Twenty-Five: Checkmate

Susan brushed her hair back behind her shoulders, then turned on her heel to cross back across her room. She clasped her hands together in front of her and let out a quiet breath. "Lucy went into the village to procure information about the Telmarines and what we can do to ensure the treaty that's extended between us." She went back the other way. "Then we'll need to figure out what pitfalls there are, if any, and improve upon them."

"And while Lucy is doing that, what are you going to be doing?" Brielle asked from the other side of the room, where she sat with a pen and parchment at Susan's desk. She smiled teasingly. "Get long brush strokes through your hair?"

Susan smiled back at her. "You know you're the one who would be brushing my hair."

At that, Brielle tipped her head, batting her eyelashes as she said, "I didn't say it was a punishment, Su."

"I know, it's your tone of voice!"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you have this tone that shows up when…" Brielle dropped off, seeing the warning look Susan shot her way, her eyebrows rising. "Though that doesn't mean it can't be used in the best of times," she finished, smiling sweetly. Susan smiled back at her. Brielle then waved a hand over her face, adopting a serious look and cleared her throat, sitting up straight. "Right, what other correspondence do you need?" She reached up a hand and brought her fingers over her broach, rubbing the stone.

"We need provisions for those that are still looking after the restoration construction of our home." Susan sighed quietly. She ran a hand through her hair, holding the ends between her fingers. "If it continues to move forward…how does anyone believe any of the words we're trying to put forward, the promise of truth we're trying to bring if we had to flee Archenland? If Peter was attacked in Cair Paravel?"

"It's not going to be easy, Su, but if anyone can turn around Narnia…even Telmar…it's you four. It's going to work out. It has so far. I have faith in you, Ed, Lu…I'll follow you into whatever battle is needed to bring peace to all of Narnia."

Susan nodded. She dropped her hair from her hands and placed her hands on her hips, mind whirling a mile a minute. Peace treaties were important, showing that their presence back in Narnia, years after the Golden Age should've been a guiding light to those that were looking for things to become better. The Telmarines, most of them, followed the Pevensies since they had taken down Miraz. But there was still those that were Miraz followers, that would follow him to the ends of the Earth.

That was the things they needed to focus on, to bringing peace to Telmar and Narnia, and then worry about their connections with Archenland. Everything was political, it was the first thing she and her siblings had been taught as they moved through their years of being royalty to Narnia. Of understanding what it meant to be rule a kingdom and the people beneath it. It wasn't something they took upon themselves, though Peter certainly tried hard at points.

The number of times he and Susan argued—not just as the High King and the Queen, but as siblings—over what they were to be doing as the royals; the number of times she had to remind him that he wasn't doing everything alone and their voices needed to be heard as well, was enough to have him understand her simply from a look.

But Peter had always been the one who took his role as the guardian of the family, seriously. Having to be the man of the family while their father was in the war. It was just a different kind of war. And, within that, he tended to push his siblings away. Susan had to work hard to ensure that she was being heard when things started to become very serious.

Now, knowing that Peter was a target in some ways, she knew she had to step up, but had to get Peter to understand it. He was weakened, wounded, someone out there was going to take advantage of that. The Calormenes understood that and took their chance. What was going to stop any other factions from doing the same…even former friends…

"You look like you've figured something out," Brielle said quietly, breaking into Susan's thoughts.

"I may have," Susan remarked. She clasped her hands in front of her. "Otherwise, there's going to be much more at stake than we previously thought." She watched as Brielle stopped writing and put down her pen, looking at he worriedly. "There's a lot of mistrust between us and the Telmarines, us and the Archenlanders, us and the Calormenes, between us and any of the magical creatures. We'll have to make the decision soon…"

"What decision?"

"If it's something we can live with." Susan lifted her chin. "With the way things went with King Nain and Queen Aria…I don't know that we'll be able to turn Archenland around to where we want it to be…" she let out a quiet breath. "We may have to face moving forward alone."

"We're not truly alone," Brielle reminded her, frowning. "The Telmarines…" she gestured vaguely with her hand. "Not all of them followed Miraz and what he wanted, how he ruled. His followers all perished when trying to kill Peter, kill us…" she shook her head. "Surely there can't be more that don't see Caspian's governing Telmar and Narnia a bad thing."

"When it comes to war, politics, livelihood…you don't know how people think." Susan shook her head. "Never for sure." She gestured for Brielle to stop writing. "That's all the correspondence I need for today. Thank you. Could you please bring the list of provisions down to the servants so that they can be prepared to be sent you?"

"Of course." Brielle stood, curtseyed toward Susan, and started to shuffle the pages together. With her had bent, she stopped for a moment and said, "Are you sure there isn't anything else you need?"

Susan glanced at her lady-in-waiting with a raised eyebrow. "And what are you referring to?" She knew the answer before Brielle said, "Caspian," out loud. "I already told you, I don't want—"

"—I don't mean for any romantic reasons, my liege," Brielle said. Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant. It made Susan pay attention immediately. Brielle was many things, but one of them wasn't shy. It had to be important, the barrier of being a servant to her royal coming in full force. It wasn't a barrier they worried about all the time, but when that wall was there…it may as well be the Great Wall. "I mean…" she took in a deep breath and turned to Susan, clutching her papers to her chest. Her eyes widened, almost earnestly, voice adopting an innocent lilt. "If you and Caspian were to speak about the…unification of Telmar…I'm sure you'd be able to change the minds of those that are still wary about his leading."

"Because, in their eyes, they'd see me as a queen…his queen…"

"No. No, they'd see you as a leader. As someone who can triumphantly lead both Narnia and another faction that is to become our ally," Brielle explained. She lifted her chin. "We all saw how our people responded to Queen Diane." A moment of silence passed through them. "No one will ever be able to replace her, but you can be inspired by her and help Caspian in a way that Peter and Edmund can't do." She curtseyed once more and moved to leave the room, her dress brushing against the floor as she did so. Then, Brielle stopped in the doorway and added, "Plus, I'm sure that you wouldn't mind spending more time with Caspian if that were the case."

"Bri!"

Susan's cry of outrage followed Brielle out of the room with her also missing the pillow that Susan grabbed from her bed and threw toward her. Shaking her head, Susan turned back to her room, placing her hands on her hips. Their conversation swirled through her head, along with wondering what it was that would make things finally fall into peace around Narnia.

Maybe Brielle's right… Susan thought. She chewed her lower lip, continuing to pace the length of her room. Maybe we should've focused on Telmar before we focused on Archenland. Started from the places that would have affected us the most then spread out even further. Susan crossed her arms, hugging herself as she continued to think. It was clear that the Calormenes were trying to exhibit their power and ambition over the Narnians, striking right when they had the chance.

If the Calormenes were going to do anything else, they didn't have the manpower, the military power, to get to even stand a chance. They lost a lot of their army when fighting against Miraz's castle, hoping to capture him. Even more so when he came back to attack them at Aslan's Howl. The rest were rebuilding Cair Paravel, the others were learning to adjust their new life in a Narnia-Telmarine kingdom.

Deciding, Susan turned on her heel and left her room, seeking out Edmund. She went to his room, mildly surprised to find him at a chess set, staring at the pieces in front of him. She stuttered in her step, seeing Caspian sitting at the other side of the table. She knew he'd be there, expected it, wanted it, nevertheless, the sight of him threw her off slightly.

She frowned, wondering in the back of her mind why she allowed herself to care so much when there were more pressing matters at hand. She knew exactly why and hated herself for even acting as if it wasn't a thing. Her own feelings, romantic or not, were not more important than the future of their kingdoms. Though she reminded herself, your thoughts about this are a little selfish, even if it is Brielle who put the idea in your head.

Caspian lifted his gaze as she approached, flashing her a smile. A smile that was partially warm to welcome her to them, partially a knowing smirk that showed he was toying with Edmund's ultimate defeat within their chess game. It was a smile that did things that Susan didn't want to think about in the moment. Especially when there were more important things to think about.

Susan turned her attention back to her brother. "Do you expect them to get up and move?" She asked, an amused smile coming to her face when she saw how serious Edmund was staring at the board.

"Only if Dulcea can give the power to move things with my mind," Edmund murmured from behind his hands. They were clasped tightly around his mouth, eyebrows furrowed so tightly that wrinkles appeared on his forehead. He practically glared at the chess board.

"Or else I believe he will make them burst into flames," Caspian replied calmly. He chuckled to himself and leaned back in his seat, smiled toward Susan. This time a shyer smile. His eyes flickered toward the chess board once more, almost cowering under her gaze. "Is, uh, is there anything we can help you with, Susan?"

"I was hoping to speak to you," Susan replied calmly. That time, her eyes flickered toward Edmund. "Alone," she added.

At that, Edmund's head popped up. "This is my room!"

Susan rolled her eyes, keeping them toward the ceiling. "Honestly, Ed, you'd think with everything we'd been through you'd be a little more mature about things." She held her fingers an inch apart from each other, making Edmund even more petulant than before. She knew he'd react that way, it was part of why she did it, to ruffle his feathers a bit.

She was the serious one, the studious one, the one who had it all together…and even she couldn't resist being able to mess with her brother sometimes. So much so she tried her hardest not to let her lips twitch into an amused smile when Edmund threw himself upright in his seat in outrage. His dark eyes flashed with a fury as he cried, "I am being mature! I'm in the middle of a game with Caspian and you barged in here and—"

"—Ed, I don't think it'll be any problem for me to talk to Susan for a few minutes," Caspian interrupted. He grinned. "It'll save you from your inevitable defeat for a few more moments, by any means." Edmund looked at Caspian, at the chess board, at Susan, and sighed heavily before pushing back his seat and left the room, grumbling as he went. As he left, Caspian calmly moved the pieces on the board back to their original place. "I don't think he wanted to admit he was going to lose no matter what."

"One thing you'll learn about Ed is that he hates to lose," Susan agreed. She sat across from Caspian, crossing her leg at the knee. "Has never liked it or took It graciously, honestly."

"Then Narnia must've changed him."

His time with Jadis changed him, Susan silently corrected him. The thought made her frown. The reality of it. Edmund had changed since he'd been around Jadis; he was humbler in many ways; he grew up in many ways. And, for the worse, Edmund seemed to have pulled into himself. As if he were still…stuck behind a shadow of some sort. A shadow he wasn't and probably would never, completely be able to rid himself of.

Susan always thought it was due to the life he'd lost; as a royal, his friends, his best friend, as he later learned, had perished while pushing himself to great lengths to find him and his siblings. There was probably an insurmountable amount of guilt that resided within him. Not that he'd ever speak about it, once the conversation turned that way, Edmund clammed up and brushed it off.

It must've been a family thing, Susan thought with a wry smile. The only one of them that was completely open about anything they felt was Lucy.

Caspian and Susan started off the chess game in silence. Caspian finally spoke when he moved a Knight chess piece, placing Susan in check sooner than she anticipated, making her frown. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked.

"I applaud you for getting straight to the point." Susan chuckled to herself. "I can only imagine your mind isn't on our chess game." She moved a pawn and took out one of his.

"My mind cane be on multiple things at once." Caspian looked into her eyes and smiled, making Susan smile in return. "Sometimes it's better if it is. The more my mind is split, the more focused I can be."

"That sound so…" She shook her head, unsure of the correct word to explain how she was feeling. "I can't come up with an adequate response while I'm trying to figure out the best way to beat you." He took his turn, and she took hers, moving Caspian into check.

"I didn't know you played."

"Who do you think taught Ed? It was the only way to get him to sit still long enough. He always had the most energy out of us all and I was the only one who could calm him down. Pete and Lu just made him riled up."

"I'm sure it was a fun time for you."

"Yes…before the war…"

"And now you've continuously found yourself in another one."

"That's why I came to talk to you." Susan realized she hadn't looked at the board closely for the last few turns, simply moving her chess pieces on instinct. Realized Caspian had been doing the same. "I want to help you be the rightful King of Telmar you need to be."

Caspian frowned. "I thought it was always the plan for you four to help me."

"I meant just me. I want to take the lead on your progression."

Caspian's hand hovered over his chest piece. His eyebrows furrowed; jaw clenched. Almost imperceptibly his hand started to shake. "I don't understand."

"Peter has a lot going on right now, he's not quite in the right state to think about Telmar moving forward in a way that needs to be thought about. He's overseeing the progression of Cair Paravel, of getting Narnia back to its rightful place…but his plans don't truly have Telmar in its agreement. There are those beneath you who are questioning your rule as well as your allegiance with us, no matter that we saved Telmar along with Narnia due to our return."

Caspian nodded, listening quietly.

"If they see you're working closely together to better Telmar, not only will it show your people you're trying to keep them included with your plans in moving forward, but it will also ensure that you continuously have their numbers on your side if we are to go into war with Archenland."

"And what do you get out of it?"

Caspian's words made Susan freeze. She blinked hard, fingers hovering over her King. "Excuse me?"

"What do you get in return for working with me to ensure the future of Telmar?" Caspian shrugged. "As well as the future of Narnia."

Susan breathed deeply through her nose. "You know I care more about Narnia than I care about anything else. If you're the one who is to lead both kingdoms, it is only right that we ensure it's done well. And once I explain to Peter why it must be this way, he will come to see that it's the best option we have. We need him to focus on Cair Paravel, our army, and the potential future that is coming faster than we think."

Caspian nodded. Made a move with his King that knocked out Susan's Bishop and put her in check. He suddenly smiled, leaned back in his seat, rested his cheek in his upraised palm and gazed at Susan in wonder. "I would be glad to work with you by my side."

Susan smiled and knocked over his queen.

Checkmate.

A/N: I took longer than I meant to get back to this fic but peak season at my job tends to completely zap away my creative energy and my want to write. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles