Queen Susan had been a prisoner for two days and two nights. Tonight, the third night, the evil hags would finish their potion. She had several cuts on her arms where they had bled her for their foul potion. One of the cuts seemed to be infected. Susan was physically exhausted. She had hardly slept. She had lost blood. But her spirit was not defeated. Aslan would not allow this to happen – for her to be killed, for the White Witch to be raised from the dead. He would come or He would send help. She looked at the cave entrance and guessed that it was mid-day.
Suddenly she heard a howl – a wolf howl of rage. She heard horse hooves and the growl of a great cat – a leopard perhaps. Had help arrived? Had her brothers found her? A few moments later a shadow darkened the door and she saw Eward the Talking Eagle fly into the cave.
"Friend Eward. I am so happy to see you" exclaimed the queen.
"Your Majesty – we have been searching for two days. Praise the Lion we have found you. I will be back in a moment with someone who can unchain you" said the eagle.
One of the hags rushed back into the cave. A great leopard followed her. Susan recognized Lugh, a loyal knight of their court. The hag turned and threw a dagger at the leopard. Lugh leapt out of the way of the dagger and then sprang on the hag. Susan turned her head away as the leopard tore the hag's throat.
The leopard got up and said "Ugh. She tasted as foul as she appears." He then said "I will stay and protect you, my queen. Do not fear Your Majesty."
Susan replied "Thank you kind sir. Your presence gives me great comfort." She was courteous in her words but she was hoping that someone with hands would appear soon. She loved the Talking Beasts of Narnia but there were times when they couldn't be as helpful as needed.
A few moments later, a tall man appeared at the cave entrance. Susan felt relief as she recognized Prince Galen of the Lone Islands, the younger brother of the current Duke. . He was dirty and had a small cut on his cheek but appeared well. Her heart would have gladder if it was Peter or Edmund but Galen was their trusted companion and one of the commanders of the Narnian army.
"Your Majesty, my sorrow that it took so long for us to find you" said Galen as he approached and checked the chains holding Susan captive.
"I believe the hag has a key to my chains your Highness" said Susan.
Galen went over to the hag and checked her belt. He returned with a set of keys and quickly had Susan freed from her bounds.
"Madam, come, we must leave this place at once and get you to safety" said the Prince.
"Good sirs, the hags were brewing a potion in that cauldron. They took some of my hair and blood to add to it. They boasted that the potion would help raise the evil White Witch from the dead. We must destroy the potion before we leave" said Queen Susan.
"Destroy the potion. How do we destroy the potion, Madam?" asked Lugh the Leopard.
Susan looked at the cauldron and than walked to the cave entrance. The cave was at the top of a steep rocky hill. She was distracted at once by the sight below. Master Skygazer, a good centaur, was laying dead on the ground along with a hag and two wolves. Lonar, another talking leopard, was watching Lukgrik the dwarf who was tied to a tree.
Skygazer had been shot in the neck and the eye by the dwarf's arrows.
Susan closed her eyes for a moment and tried to stop the tears. Good Master Skygazer, a loyal member of their court, was dead trying to rescue her. She remembered he had helped teach her archery when she first came to Narnia. She wiped away the tears. There would time to mourn later.
"If we drag the cauldron to the cave entrance, we can pour the potion down the hill" suggested Susan. "I don't know much about magic potions but I can't imagine it would be valuable once it mixes with the rocks and dirt."
A few moments later, the potion, a dull red color, was spreading its way down the rocks. Lukgrik yelled in rage when he saw Prince Galen tip the cauldron. Galen then took Susan's hand and helped her down the path to the ground. As they climbed down, he told her that about a mile away, they had encountered four ogres that they killed. Unfortunately, they had lost three members of their party and Galen's horse had also been killed. They would have to escape on foot. The prince wanted to know if Susan had seen any other evil creatures near the cave.
Susan replied "Yes, good prince. There were a total of five hags. Only two are here now. There was a were-wolf. I do not know if one of these wolves is him or if he is still alive in the area. I smelled and heard ogres but hopefully, those are the ones you killed."
They safely reached the ground. Susan walked over to the tree and picked up Lukgrik's bow. She bent the bow easily and smiled. She unstrung it and then picked up the quiver of arrows.
"I believe I can put these to better use than this evil-hearted dwarf" said the young queen.
Galen turned to Lukgrik and said "What do you have to say for yourself? Why did you betray and abuse Queen Susan?"
Lukgrik said "I have nothing to say to you human. You have defeated a few of us, but there are many more. You will not get out of these woods alive."
Lonan declared "We should leave this place immediately and get the queen to safety. We cannot take the dwarf along as a prisoner – he will slow us down too much."
Eward said "True enough but you cannot leave him here either. He may escape and follow us to cause harm or raise a pursuit with other evil creatures who may be hidden nearby."
Galen said "You both speak true my friends. I do not fancy myself an executioner but there is no question in my mind that this creature deserves death after kidnapping and abusing Queen Susan. His plan to raise the White Witch is further treason. Do you have any last words Lukgrik?"
Lukgrik defiantly replied "You can kill me but you can't stop us. Those loyal to the White Lady will have another day and the White Lady will rise from the dead to reign again."
Prince Galen grimly drew his sword and swung hard decapitating the dwarf. Susan blanched slightly as his head rolled to the ground but she approved. She was called "the Gentle" and disliked seeing the punishment but she accepted it was necessary. Treason could not be tolerated.
Galen turned to Susan and said "Madam, I would suggest that Eward fly east to find the other search parties including your royal brothers. Master Eward, tell the kings of what occurred here and the evil plan of these creatures. I fear other evil ones are hiding nearby. With the help of Lugh and Lonan, I will get Queen Susan to safety. We can travel in the riverbed. The water is low but it will hide our scent in case of pursuit. After a safe distance, we can travel east in the woods. It would be much easier if we have a horse or two but we can hope to meet a search party soon. We have about six hours before sunset. Before we go Madam, you should quickly eat some bread and cheese and drink some wine to regain some of your strength."
Susan agreed to this plan. Eward took flight while Susan quickly had some food and drink. Galen applied a salve and bandages to Susan's cuts. Before setting out, Susan took a dagger and cut her dress right below the knee. Galen looked astonished.
Susan laughed and said "It will be easier to travel if I am not tripping over my skirt. When we first came to Narnia, I remember I wore a short skirt like this while my royal siblings and I were traveling to find Aslan."
The young queen attached the dagger to her belt and then put on the quiver of arrows on her back and picked up the bow. She smiled slightly and said "Well, I don't think anyone will confuse me for my sister Queen Lucy the Valiant but I will do the best I can. Let's leave my good knights and get far away from this foul cave."