Stay still, said Rabadash. He was clearly shaking with fear, his exposed bones rattling against each other in a chattering shiver. Stay still, the donkey repeated, and it became clear he was talking more to himself than the other two.
"I thought you said you'd been here before," whispered Susan, harshly.
Not quite, he replied, stammering. I have been, but—but—well…
The Bound Lady looked up, staring directly at the trio as if the cloth over her eyes didn't exist. "Rabadash," she said, her voice a smooth, lilting, sing-song, at complete odds with her surroundings. "How nice of you to return. I thought I had lost my precious pet…"
A pet? Charlie thought to himself. If he was a pet in the past to her, and ran away… "He was one of them," Charlie suddenly realized aloud. "You were sent here with these people after you died, but you escaped to the surface."
Rabadash didn't answer, by now immobilized through fear.
"Bring them to me," said the Bound Lady, pointing a disgustingly wrinkled and bony finger towards them. Her Faithless followed her command, closing in on them, but stopped in their tracks when Charlie and Susan both drew their weapons.
They moved in again, the crowd closing, the space around them becoming smaller and smaller. Rabadash was shivering violently with fear, eyes lost in the memories of his time as a Faithless.
"Wake up!" shouted Charlie, slapping him with the flat of Liar's Laugh. The metal rang on the exposed ribcage, sending a peal through the air as Rabadash suddenly sprang to life.
NO! Rabadash vaulted in front of the two, baring his donkey teeth. I will stay. Let these two pass.
"Suddenly feeling chivalrous, noble Rabadash?" slithered the Bound Lady. "I rather miss your company, I do. Come beside me; I wish to stroke your fur."
Let these two pass first, the donkey negotiated.
"Leap to my side first, Pet."
I see, said Rabadash. In life, I should have followed Aslan, he lamented, more to himself than anyone present at that moment.
"Do you really feel anything for these two, Rabadash?" mocked the Bound Lady. "They're nothing—just a soldier without a war and a pretty girl wasting her days in lecture halls."
And what was I? asked Rabadash. When she didn't answer, instead curling her lip in a victorious sneer, he continued, if, on sight, you think so little of these strangers, what benefit do they bring if they stay? Let them go, and I will return to your side.
The Bound Lady angled her head downward, as if shifting her gaze away from his. "Fine," she grunted, displeased. "Faithless, guide them to the Southern Harbor."
The Faithless parted, creating a path through the crowd. Two stepped forward, spears at the backs of the couple, and they were herded away. Susan looked back, seeing Rabadash's forlorn gaze following them, before a sharp thrust from the butt of a spear forced her to look forward.
"We have to go back," said Susan. They had emerged from the Cave of Sleeplessness to find the River Servant waiting for them, the canoe docked at a rotting wooden pier, stained and sticky with the lake.
"Are you crazy?" said Charlie. "That lady clearly wanted us prisoners, and now that we're out you want us to go back?"
"It's only right. He sacrificed his own chance at freedom for us."
"His chance at freedom," countered Charlie. "Aslan might not let him leave."
"And we might not make it out alive, either!" snapped Susan. "What difference does it make? Clearly, the Bound Lady can negotiate, so fighting might not be necessary."
"She already did negotiate!" he argued. "She got what she wanted, and she might change her mind and come for us! The longer we wait, the less our chances of getting back home."
"Who cares?" yelled Susan into the air. "We don't even know where we're going! For all we know, in the next island or two we might find ourselves facing Tash himself! It might be a hundred trials before we actually make it back home."
"I CARE!" shouted Charlie. "No matter how long it takes, I want to get home back to my nice life with you, where there ain't any magic, or talking cats, or your creepy donkey ex-boyfriend—"
She slapped him across the face. Charlie reeled from the sudden impact as a loud crack rang through him, his cheek red and stinging. "I thought you cared," said Susan through clenched teeth. Tears were rolling down her cheek. "I thought you were more than just a soldier, that you were above jealousy and violence." She spun around on her heels and began making her way towards the Cave.
"SU, wait up!" Charlie called after her, but she didn't stop.
"I'm going to rescue Rabadash," she declared. "By my guest if you'd like to join me."
Charlie stood where he was, confident in the first few moments that she was bluffing, but she didn't stop, turn around, and run into his arms as he expected. She just kept walking, rifle slung over her shoulder, further and further away. Charlie's head told himself to move, that it was the right thing to do, and not send her to her doom alone, while his heart said it was too dangerous, that Susan had to know that, that she was a smart gal, and she was certainly bluffing…but she didn't stop. Soon, she had made it to the cave entrance, and she didn't look back at him one last time as she pulled open the heavy wooden doors and began descending the long spiral staircase, lower and lower, until it was just her head visible above the ground…
And she was gone.
It was dark. He saw the shimmering Blood Lake as he sat upon his throne in the Nightmare's Skies, admiring its beauty, like a beautiful ruby.
But as of now, he could not bring himself to enjoy the site. His beak was dry, deprived of its usual flow of souls from the numerous worlds. His chains chafed his six wrists, and his ankles were stripped to the bone after so many eternities against the divine metal.
"What ails you, my lord?" asked his sister-wife Zardeenah. She took the form of a slender hag with goat's feet, a long silvery sword at her waist that she stole off a soul ages ago. Her shimmering blue eyes turned to him, framed by deceitfully beautiful and pure white shoulder-length hair.
He didn't meet her gaze. "Azaroth is nowhere to be found?" he asked her.
She looked back over the Lake in shame. "No, my lord. She may not be here."
And then his empty eyes, full of thousands of stolen souls, began to tear up with the lost souls' blood. He jerked violently against his restraints, the divine chains suddenly taut, struggling against his rage as Tash lifted himself partway out of his throne. "No!" he roared. "You have failed me, wife!"
"I know, my lord," she apologized, ashamed. "I am sorry."
He was about to punish her, his beak open and lay a temporary curse on her, when his horns began to itch. He stopped and relaxed. His bride took notice and turned back to him, perplexed. "Is everything alright, Tash?"
"Aslan," he slithered in a long, drawling sigh. He sat back down, his divine chains jingling in relief as he did so.
Zardeenah followed his gaze over the Lake. The Lion was near indeed, His face miles away, standing on the lake as if it were solid ground, but His face was as clear as if He were just a few feet away.
Aslan sighed and closed his eyes. A soft breeze tickled the Fallen One's feathery face, and a message fell from its winds. "You overstepped."
Tash sent back his own message, wings unfurling from his back as he whipped up a frenzied gust to carry his message. "Nonsense, brother," he taunted. "I am simply minding my own business and tending my own realm. Why bother my humble family down here?"
Another soft breeze fell on the pair. "Do not feign ignorance. This transgression will not go unpunished. The Emperor will see to it."
"Father is useless, and you are little more than his pet," Tash fired back. "Do you think he cares for you? How sweet."
Aslan merely sighed and vanished. Tash's face fell as he failed to enrage his enemy. "Kill them," he instructed Zardeenah.
"And Azeroth?" she inquired.
"I will deal with her," he said, swiping his three left hands dismissively. "But the Lion must know his chains are weakening. Soon we will be free."
"To hear is to obey," said Zardeenah, and she vanished into the city below.