A/N: Good evening. I give you part one of two of "On Your Side".
Soundtracks:
Saladin's Läger – Tuomas Kantelinen
Barnabas – Mike Georgiades
I hope you enjoy this (slowmoving) chapter!
PS: I am introducing a seemingly insignificant OC from a couple chapters back, you will recognize him. I have not described him well as of appearance, but imagine a Khal Drogo look, with less leather and fur, and more velvet and silk, and less body paint.
The sun was coming down. The last rays of golden sun lingered right above the Calormene mountains in the distance.
On a porch outside one of the many palace wings, Susan stood leaning against the stone rail. She looked across the city, the many dunes in the distance, soaking in the sun. Her thoughts went to her sister, trapped somewhere in the claws of their enemy, their destruction.
She knew Lucy was alive, she knew it deep in her heart. But for how long, was the question. For every moment they stayed in Tashbaan, the more precious their time became.
This bothered Susan very much, for neither her brother nor Caspian were strong enough to travel just yet. They had no way of getting the artifact without endangering thousands of innocent people and taking away their freedom. They had no way of communicating with Lord Bern of the matter, even if had been an option.
Sighing, she let her head into her hands in defeat.
"What are we going to do…" she murmured to herself.
"You need help." A gruff, accented voice spoke behind her. Susan immediately turned towards the voice, reminding herself about the dagger strapped to her boot.
She recognized him – it was the humongous guard from before. The one with the intense glare. However, she did remember he was one of the emperor's guards. She narrowed her eyes as she straightened her back and crossed her arms.
"We manage by just fine, thank you." She replied, not sure what he was indicating. Alas, a firm response might be off-setting to a possible spy of the Tisroc.
The large man, about two heads taller than her made forth, his hands crossing his broad, bare chest. His pair of scimitars and two daggers clinked against his belt and trousers. She distanced herself from him as he approached, his intense gaze ever the same. His khool-clad hazel eyes journey up and down her being as he too leaned against the rail.
The magnitude of his muscular biceps could compare to her waist.
"No." was his simple, disagreeing reply. He had the stature of a predator.
"Can I help you?" she cocked a brow at him, at her guard.
He turned his head to meet her crystalline gaze.
"No, but I can help you." He replied.
"Pray tell?" was her unamused reply. She did not trust this man one bit.
He sighed with a growl as he looked out city.
"You are trapped here by my liege, with no way of escaping the city."
"We are free to leave the city whenever we want. We can decline his request to hand over the Lone Islands."
The man chuckled lowly in his chest.
"No." was yet again his simple reply. A man of few words, indeed.
"Look, what do you want from us?" she asked him, prepared to leave.
Sensing her impatience, he straightened up, and quickly looked around them.
"You need my help to escape the city. My liege is holding you captive here, and no negotiation can change that." He stepped closer to her, his voice coming down to a murmur. "If you have a hope to ever rescue your sister and leave this place with the crystal, you need my aid."
Not entirely sure how to trust this man, she blinked once in silence.
"Let me help you save our world from destruction."
. . .
"We take the artifact, and escape the city, all in the matter of an hour." Susan explained, her older brother shaking his head all the while.
"It's out of the question! We can negotiate with the Tisroc on different terms."
"Peter-" she argued.
"I said no! By executing that plan, we will have the whole city after us, and we'll be hanged, drawn and quartered by morn!" Peter barked, standing up. He had healed well after the incident with the Scorpioch, but his left shoulder and arm was still acting up.
Rhea stood behind Susan with the guard lingering against a bookshelf. He listened attentively. He had told them all his offer, and Susan had come around to his idea. Rhea had also taken her side. Edmund had yet to speak about the matter.
Susan stood up against Peter, who towered above her, his nostrils flared. The Queen was not afraid of her brother, no matter how threatening his liked to think he was whenever he disagreed.
"Peter, you can negotiate all you want, he will not let us leave, ever. With or without the crystal."
"It's a suicide mission. We will not go through with it," he argued calmly.
"What do you suggest we do then, Peter? The way I see it, it's a suicide mission no matter how we plan it. In case you haven't noticed, we haven't time to make dutiful contracts or formal council-meetings. Lucy does not have time for this," Susan spoke, her eyes set upon him.
Peter respected his sister, of course, but he was not to endanger her or Rhea like this. It pulled on his heartstrings that his baby sister was in danger, putting another in danger was too much.
"Su, I am not just your brother, I am also your King. And as your King, I- " he begun.
"And as your High Queen, I expect you to consider the proposed plan of action. It is not my decision, nor is it yours, but I need you to come around on this."
"This is not-" Peter began. Susan interrupted him once again.
"Do you remember the last time we denied Lucy's suggested course of action? Do we really want to make that sacrifice again?" Susan asked him.
Peter had no reply to this. She had made her point. But she was right, it was a decision neither of them could make.
"Enough." Caspian said calmly as he stood up. Caspian admitted, it was a better, if not dangerous, plan, compared to what he had planned, which would lead to fighting their way out either way. He was not too happy about the plan itself, but he knew the females in their group could defend themselves, if it came down to fighting.
Susan and Peter looked at him expectantly. Caspian crossed two strides and faced the large man in the corner. Caspian, being taller and more muscular than all the male Pevensies, looked almost tiny and skinny compared to him.
"Why do you want to help us in the first place? What do you gain from this?" Caspian interrogated him calmly. The guard stood up from the place he leaned against the bookshelf and faced the High King.
"I seek nothing in my favour, compared to all the world's favour. The world will end without that crystal, will it not? My Master is a man of dishonour, a murderer, and blind to what lies before him. I do not want this world to end, and I do not want to follow my liege any longer. I help you collect the crystal, and aid you onward on your journey, that is my request in return."
Caspian was puzzled by this man. Why did he consider aiding them as a personal favour? It made no sense to him, and he had the same fear as the rest of his family, that he was indeed a spy. However, he had provided with a safe location for them to talk and introduced them to his plan for them to collect the crystal, and he would be a part of it, endangering himself as he did so. A man of distrust would not endanger himself to his own people unless he truly had a reason too, for the greater good.
Caspian eyed the large man with eyes of a hawk, his arms still crossed across his broad chest.
"How can we trust you?" he questioned.
"I suppose… You cannot, but I happen to be your only hope of escaping your city. Once I escape the great city doors with you, will that not be promise of loyalty enough?" The man persuaded. The very fact that he dared meet Caspian's eyes alone told said person that this man was not being dishonest.
Caspian sighed, closed his eyes momentarily and paced. Edmund, in the meantime, spoke up;
"It's the only chance we got, Pete. With both you and Caspian injured, we have little choice of survival if we fight our way out. The Tisroc is a dangerous man. Having this chap as our inside-man could give us an upper hand." Edmund said, pointing behind him towards the guard.
Caspian could do naught but agree with his younger co-royal.
"Alright. We have ourselves a course of action. But," he said, turning towards the man, "betray us, and I will kill you myself." Caspian threatened as he pushed out his chest.
"Count me in." Peter joined in on that promise, equally threatening. The man nodded towards them in gratitude.
Susan, Rhea and Cain shared satisfied looks between them.
"We will all see the skies again," the man promised with a gruff, yet satisfied sigh.
A/N:
I hope you enjoyed part one of this chapter. The next part will be out this incoming week (hopefully!)
Until then,
Dragon
