A/N: Hi again, moving along with this chapter. It's a bit shorter than usual as I just wanted to finish off the situation with the Calormenes before we progress on with the journey. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you think.
Peter looked around the deck of the Calormene ship – even among the mayhem of the crowded deck he could see that they were winning, that the Calormenes were nearly defeated. With the slaves on the ship and those that had already joined with them, they outnumbered the Calormenes, almost two to one.
"Peter!" Edmund was gesturing to the starboard of the ship, where the Dawn Treader was drawing alongside. Trumpkin led the charge of the crew of the Dawn Treader as they poured over the rail of the ship onto the demoralised Calormenes. Predictably, there was no sign of Eustace.
Peter caught sight of Prince Rasheen fighting towards the prow of the ship, surrounded by a knot of soldiers who were desperately trying to protect their Prince against the onslaught of the Narnians. He could also see Lord Bern who appeared to be leaning dejectedly against the railing as if perhaps injured, but he could not make out how or where. Grimly the High King fought his way up the deck toward the Calormene Prince but he could not reach him, surrounded as he was by his men.
"Rasheen" Peter bellowed. "Stand and fight me like a man!"
The Calormene Prince's eyes widened as they beheld the enraged High King, but he stepped forwards to meet the challenge.
The soldiers drew back in astonishment at the ferocity of the fight as the Prince and High King circled each other, testing each other, searching for weaknesses, striking and parrying. As they struck at each other Rasheen sneered at Peter.
"Have you considered High King" he asked, "how it was I knew of your plans to strike … how I knew that you and your royal brother were on my ship … how I knew that the Dawn Treader was coming … how it was that my men were ready to counter your every move before you even made it?"
Behind them, unseen by Peter, Lord Bern stiffened.
Peter's brow creased, he was momentarily distracted as Rasheen had intended and he had to move quickly to avoid a thrust from the Calormene Prince's sword. It was strange, he reflected, how the Calormenes had been ready for them. It had seemed that they had known that they would attack. Peter tried to clear the thoughts from his mind. He could not afford to be distracted right now.
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Meanwhile Susan and Lucy had also been thinking along the same lines. Once they had seen that the Narnian's were winning and the battle was well in hand, they had decided to get to the bottom of things.
"Prince Rasheen, knew that we were attacking" Lucy murmured to her sister.
Susan nodded in agreement.
"He had the catapults manned even before the Dawn Treader came into view, and he knew that an attack would come from the hold." She agreed as they continued to search Prince Rasheen's cabin in search of clues.
"Susan" Lucy nodded to the table in the middle of the cabin. There was a carafe of wine and two half full glasses on it.
"Someone was in here with the Prince just before the attack" she told her sister.
But Susan did not reply, she had gone pale as she looked at the two wine glasses her mind whirring.
"Susan … what is it?"
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Edmund surveyed the deck. They had won. Every Calormene still standing had either surrendered or was under the control of a Narnian.
Save one.
Hearing the clash of swords towards the prow of the ship, Edmund looked to see his brother engaged in a fierce sword fight with Prince Rasheen. As Edmund neared he could see that Lord Bern stood leaning on the ship's rail near the fighting pair with an expression of dread on his face. As he came closer still, Edmund could hear that the Prince was taunting his brother.
"Are you so sure of all your people High King …" he smirked. "So sure that one of them did not betray you?"
Peter glared at the Prince.
"Just say what you have to say Rasheen" he growled. "I tire of this fencing with words. Let us concentrate instead on fighting with our swords."
Rasheen smirked again at Peter.
"You do not have to look far to discover the traitor, King Peter," Rasheen looked to the distressed Lord Bern, who had straightened from where he leant on the railing.
"It was Lord Bern who told me of all your plans …" Rasheen continued. "Over a glass of wine."
Prince Rasheen looked back triumphantly at Peter, but his momentary distraction of looking at Lord Bern had cost him dearly. The Prince shuddered as he looked down at Peter's sword protruding from his chest, the High King had run him through, Rasheen collapsed to the deck … dead.
Peter looked to Lord Bern, his face grim.
Lord Bern opened his mouth to say something, but the words never came. Instead a strangled gurgling sound came from him as blood leaked from his mouth. Then, the Lord pitched forward and slid slowly off the sword that was embedded in his back to reveal Caspian standing behind him. The King of Narnia had climbed a rope up the side of the ship to arrive just in time to hear Rasheen's last words.
"Caspian … NO!"
It was Susan who rushed towards them, with Lucy not far behind. The two Queens ran towards Lord Bern, who lay in a crumpled heap at Caspian's feet. As she fell down to the deck beside the Lord, Susan looked up to Caspian.
"He did not mean to betray us" she gasped. "He was drugged … truth serum!"
Caspian's face paled and he looked desperately to Lucy who was already unstopping her healing cordial. But Susan looked up at her sister with tearful eyes as she knelt to the deck beside her.
"It's too late … he's dead!"
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Dead!
Lord Bern was dead!
The words rang in Caspian's ears. He had regained consciousness and found himself floating on a piece of wreckage. From his vantage point he could see the Narnians fighting desperately on the deck of the Calormene ship.
Dead!
Dead by his own hand!
He had swum desperately from the wreckage of the slave ship. As he swam he was convinced that somehow someone had warned the Calormene's of their attack. Why else would they have fired on the slave ship without provocation?
Dead!
He had stabbed his friend in the back!
As he had climbed up the rope to the deck of the ship his mind had been bent on vengeance … vengeance on whoever it had been who had betrayed them.
Dead!
He had been convinced that the Lord had betrayed them.
He had arrived on deck, just in time to hear Prince Rasheen's words.
"It was Lord Bern who told me of all your plans … Over a glass of wine."
He had acted without thought.
"He did not mean to betray us!"
Susan's words echoed in his head.
He had killed his friend, one of his father's closest friends, thinking that he was a traitor.
And he had been wrong!
"He was drugged … truth serum!"
Caspian looked desperately down at the body crumpled on the deck at his feet, looked down at Susan who was bent over the Lord's body, who now looked up at him, her tear filled eyes unreadable.
"Susan … I … I …"
Susan looked at Caspian one more time, and now Caspian could see what was in her eyes.
Grief … sadness … disappointment.
Disappointment in him … in what he had become … in what he had done.
"Susan!"
Caspian's voice was pleading. He was not even sure what he was pleading for … Mercy? Understanding? Absolution? He did not know.
As for Susan, with one last despairing look at Caspian she fled. She could not speak to him. Not now. Not yet.
Lucy ran after her sister, catching up with her as she reached the stern of the ship, with nowhere else to run.
Susan looked at Lucy, her lip trembling as she tried to control the tumult of emotions raging through her.
Lucy came forwards and embraced her sister.
"Oh Susan!" she murmured, stroking her hair.
With a strangled sob Susan hugged her back.
"I thought that I could change him … save him … but how can you save someone from himself?" Susan sobbed into her sister's shoulder.
Lucy pulled back slightly from her sister and gently wiped the tears that were streaming down Susan's face with her handkerchief.
"You can save him" she said. "He wants to change, I can see it, and you can help him, but you need help too."
Susan sniffed and looked at her sister.
"But who can help" she asked. "He will not listen to Peter or to Edmund, or even to you."
Lucy smiled at her sister.
"Aslan will help!"
