The Court of the Tisroc

The ride up to the palace was an adventure in itself. Susan and Saedra had a fun time, talking and joking the whole way while looking out of the litter at the city of Tashbaan and its people.

The city was very crushed, as it had to fit on a relatively small island for the number of people it had. The streets were always packed with citizens who parted ways after hearing the "Make way for the Grand Vizier and the visitors from the North!" The people stared at the visitors in awe, but occasionally someone would point at Saedra herself and talk animatedly to their neighbor. Saedra tried to hear what they were saying, but all she could make out was something about a Tarkheena.

"Saedra, this is odd," Susan said when she noticed the staring. "Why are they so fascinated with you?"

Saedra knew that it was not out of jealousy that she spoke, just curiosity. Saedra was never one that people would make a big fuss about. She was a very pretty woman, but Susan was more so.

"I have no idea," Saedra said.

The sights of the city soon distracted them, and they thought no more of it.

When they entered the palace gates, the sounds from the street instantly went away. Their litter went up a walkway that was lined with beautiful trees and flowers, and Saedra marveled at it, saying, "Just think, Susan. One day you will be living here."

Susan didn't reply, for she was looking around with an awed expression at the palace ahead of them. It was huge and sprawled out every which way and looked to be made from marble. It sparkled in the sunshine. Soon they stopped in front of the main entrance, which was a large, wide set of stairs covered with ornate tiles. On the top of the stairs stood Rabadash himself, accompanied by a host of slaves and some nobles.

As Susan and Saedra dismounted from their litter, Rabadash went down the stairs to meet them. He was wearing even finer clothes than he had back at Cair Paravel, with a curved scimitar swinging from his side and a glistening turban on his head. Corin, Edmund, Tumnus, and the Dwarves came over and joined the group, led by Ahoshta Tarkaan.

When Rabadash reached Susan, he took her hand and kissed it sensually. "I am glad you have come, O my luscious Queen. I have been longing for you ever since we parted."

Susan blushed deeply. "I feel the same way, Prince."

"Welcome, Duchess," Rabadash nodded towards Saedra, then to Edmund and Corin. "King Edmund, little Prince." Then he suddenly barked, making them all jump, "Ahoshta! Announce us to my father."

Ahoshta bowed several times, then scampered up the stairs and hollered, "Make way for Prince Rabadash and the visitors from the North!"

They followed him through lavish, tall corridors until they entered a huge, round chamber. There were guards at the door who bowed to the Prince, and the inside of the chamber was packed with people sitting or standing along the walls. It looked like every single person of noble blood in Tashbaan had gathered to see the barbarians' arrival. There were murmurs while the Northerners walked down the room as the people commented on the clothes, the manner of walking, and the strange creatures that had accompanied them.

Straight ahead from the door at the other end of the room was a platform with a large throne, and sitting on it was a man covered in jewels and the finest kinds of clothes in the world. He was wearing a funny pointed hat, and he was so fat that rolls of it were hanging over the armrests of the chair. All around him, sitting on the stairs to the platform, were scantily-clad girls who were no older than thirteen years old, wearing scandalous amounts of jeweler.

Saedra blushed when she saw them, and glanced over at Edmund to see his reaction to all the girls. He was purposely looking straight ahead at the man on the throne, who as you might have guessed was the Tisroc himself. Corin, however, was staring with fascination at the girls. Most of them were near his age, and he had never seen anyone dressed that way in his life.

When Ahoshta was half-way to the Tisroc, he threw himself on the ground onto his knees and crawled the rest of the way, still calling, "His Highness Prince Rabadash and the visitors from the North have come to seek an audience with the Tisroc, May He Live Forever!"

Because Ahoshta was crawling, the group of people following him had to slow down, and Rabadash grew impatient. He walked up behind Ahoshta and kicked him firmly in the behind.

"Do speed up, you fool! We don't have all day."

Stunned, Saedra looked over at Susan. The Queen was staring with wide eyes, unable to believe what she had just witnessed: the Grand Vizier, the right hand of the Tisroc, was being kicked like a normal slave. Not only that, but it was the charming and considerate Rabadash that was doing the kicking!

Ahoshta hurried up his crawling, but whenever Rabadash thought he was going too slowly, he would jab him with his foot again. Finally, they were in front of the Tisroc's throne.

The Tisroc had been watching them come without speaking the whole time. When they stopped, he said in a deep, quiet voice, "Welcome, Foreigners. We are honored by your presence."

"Father, this is Queen Susan of Narnia," Rabadash said, "and this is her brother, King Edmund. These others are a part of their party."

The Tisroc gazed over each other them dully, but when he laid eyes on Saedra, he stopped. "Who are you, Noble Woman?"

Saedra wasn't sure if he was talking to her or not, so she glanced behind her to see if the Tisroc was talking to someone else. There was no one there, so she answered, "I am Duchess Saedra of Archenland."

"Who was your father?" the Tisroc asked.

"My father was Duke Dane Harden of Archenland."

It was obvious that her answer didn't satisfy his curiosity, because his gaze lingered on her for a moment more, but he stopped talking to her and addressed the group as a whole. "There will be a party thrown here at the palace in honor of your arrival. In the meantime, my new Grand Vizier will take you to your chambers so you may rest before the festivities."

"I beg your pardon, your Majesty," Edmund said quickly, "but I was wondering what has become of Lord Peridan, emissary from High King Peter. Why did he not greet us?"

The Tisroc obviously didn't know the answer, and looked pointedly at Rabadash. "My son?"

Rabadash shrugged. "I didn't think it necessary that he should know. Ahoshta was good enough to greet you."

Saedra didn't know what to make of that reply.

"He'll know when we bring you to your chambers, because you will be staying in his part of the palace," Rabadash continued.

After they left the throne room, they had to wait for Ahoshta to catch up, for he was crawling out the same way he had gone in, but this time backwards to that he stayed facing the Tisroc the whole time. Rabadash had stayed behind in the court.

While they waited, Susan whispered, "I didn't know that Lord Peridan actually lived in the Tisroc's palace."

"Tisroc wanted to keep an eye on him, no doubt," Stamprin growled suspiciously. "I don't like this place, your Majesties. Something smells here."

"Oh, it isn't that bad," Susan said generously. "We're just not used to it, is all. After a few days we'll feel quite comfortable."

As Ahoshta led the Narnians through the Tisroc's extensive palace grounds, Saedra muttered to Edmund, who was walking beside her, "That was interesting."

"In what way?" he whispered back as they turned a corner.

"You and Peter personally went down to greet the Calormenes as they left their ship. Here we didn't even see the Tisroc or Rabadash until we went up to the palace, and even then the visit was very short and impersonal."

"That's a good point," he replied. "But I suspect that it's just their custom to do it this way. And the dock at Cair Paravel is much closer to the palace than the dock here is to their palace."

"That's true, but still. I'm not impressed with their hospitality. Not even telling Lord Peridan that we were coming…"

"Now that is what I don't like, because Rabadash did promise that he would alert Peridan to our arrival," Edmund admitted.

Just then, Ahoshta stopped in front of a large wooden door and knocked. A minute later, an obviously Narnian man in his early thirties opened the door. Perched on his tan nose were spectacles, indicating that he had been in the middle of work. When he looked over his guests, he hastily took the glasses off and opened the door wider. Without the glasses he looked much younger and more handsome.

"Your Majesties!" he said in utter shock. "King Edmund, Queen Susan—I'd no idea that you were coming!"

"So we guessed, Lord Peridan," Edmund said, stepping into the room. He turned back to Ahoshta who was standing in the hall. "Thank you, Grand Vizier. I think Lord Peridan can assist us from here."

Ahoshta bowed and said, "Slaves will be sent to help you prepare for the party tonight."

"That won't be—" Susan started, but Ahoshta was already walking away.

"Come in, come in and be seated," Peridan said. "Tell me what's been happening and why your Majesties are here."

They entered a spacious room that was on one of the corners of the castle on the second floor; the only view from the windows was the branches of trees. These chambers, though not nearly as opulent as the other parts of the castle, were still inviting, full of lush couches and soft carpets. They seated themselves on the couches, and Peridan closed the door and sat with them.

"May I look around?" Corin asked excitedly, a second after he sat down.

Saedra looked at Peridan, and he nodded, so she said, "Just don't get lost."

Corin jumped off the couch and ran off to explore their quarters.

"Now tell me all, your Majesties," Peridan said. "And please introduce to me the people I do not know. I know Tumnus, Moonshackle, and Stamprin," here he nodded at each in turn, and they nodded back, "But who are your other two companions?"

"This is my friend, Duchess Saedra of Archenland," Susan said. "I believe you may have met her back before you came down here as an emissary, but it has been a long time. And with her is Prince Corin of Archenland, another good friend. They have come to see Tashbaan with us."

"What brings you down here in the first place?" Peridan asked after nodding politely at Saedra. "Surely it isn't a pleasure trip."

"No," Edmund replied. "Rabadash came up to Cair Paravel a couple of weeks ago, and he and Susan are lovers now."

"Oh?" Peridan said, raising his eyebrows.

"Why do you look so surprised, Good Sir?" Susan asked.

"I didn't think that your Majesty would find him attractive, that is all," he shrugged.

"Is there something we should know about him?" she questioned. "He seemed very noble and kind when he visited Narnia."

Peridan studied her as if weighing something. "All I advise, oh Queen, is that you don't rush into anything. Get to know him in his own land before you agree to any engagement."

"Lord Peridan, I was not intending to do anything of the sort! That is the whole reason that I have come down here, so that I might know his character more."

"Then we have no disagreement," Peridan said. "But I'm wondering why Prince Rabadash didn't warn me of your arrival."

"Perhaps he simply forgot," Saedra volunteered.

Susan did not like that idea. "Forgot that we were coming! I think not!"

"No, no, that's not what I am saying. Only forgot the detail of talking to Lord Peridan in his rush to get the palace ready for your arrival," Saedra explained.

"I'm not very close to the Prince," Peridan agreed. "It could have easily slipped his mind that I was here. If I have contact with the Calormenes, it is mainly through Ahoshta Tarkaan."

"You make it sound as if you're a prisoner," Edmund exclaimed. "Tell me that it is not so."

"No, I may come and go freely," Peridan assured him. "I just have little purpose here other than to remind the Tisroc by my presence that Narnia actually exists."

"In my opinion," Stamprin said, "the Prince plain didn't think sending a message to Lord Peridan was worth his time."

"That sounds so pompous!" Susan cried. "I cannot believe it is so."

There was an uncomfortable silence while Peridan and some of the others who may have agreed with Stamprin's guess didn't dare say anything that might upset Susan further.

"Well, we shall soon see, won't we?" Saedra said, reaching out and putting a hand on Susan's arm. "The simple thing to do is just to ask him, and you can do that tonight, Susan."

Susan nodded, liking the idea. "I'll do just that."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"That must be the slaves that Ahoshta was talking about," Peridan said. "I'll let them in."

"We don't need help getting dressed!" Susan protested.

"I advise letting them help, your Majesty," Peridan said, getting up. "They'll be offended if we turn them away."

"This could be fun," Saedra said to her friend. "I have never been tended to by slaves before. It could be…interesting!"

Hours later, Saedra and Susan were still in their shared bedroom when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Susan called. She and Saedra were still being tended to by the slaves sent by Rabadash to get ready for the party.

At first the women had been uncomfortable having the two slaves around (both of them were young girls), but once they found out about all of the fancy hairstyles that they could do, the women sent them to work on their hair. The only problem with having an intricate hairstyle is that it takes a long time to do. While they worked, the sounds of music were floating in through the windows, indicating that the party had already started.

The door to the bedroom opened a foot, and Edmund's head popped in.

"Are you still not ready? Corin is ready to wet his pants with excitement!"

"You men can go down ahead of us and we'll meet you down there," Saedra said. "We still have a ways to go."

"We'll do that," Edmund said. "I'll see you both down there." He shut the door behind him.

"Oh, do hurry up," Susan urged the slave in her excitement.

"I'm almost done, Ma'am," the slave said quietly. She was styling the top half of her hair into small braids that would be molded into a bun, leaving the bottom half of her hair to hang down her back.

Saedra's slave was braiding her hair into a crown that went around her head. Since her hair was shorter than Susan's, she was done first.

"Thank you," Saedra said to the slave, reaching into her purse to tip her. "What's your name?"

The slave stared at her in shock, both because Saedra asked what her name was and because she was holding out money for her to take. "No, no!"

"Take it," Saedra said. "You deserve it. My hair looks fantastic!"

"Thank you," she said meekly, pocketing the change. "I'm—Talia."

"That is a very pretty name, Talia! How old are you?"

"Eleven, Ma'am."

"By the Lion!" Saedra exclaimed, pausing in her application of lip balm. "How did you come to be a slave here?"

"My mother sold me," she said, growing a little more comfortable talking to Saedra. "I've four other siblings and my father could barely make enough to feed us, so I was sold when I was but five."

"How'd you end up in the palace?" Saedra asked.

"I moved from master to master, and one day the Matron in charge of the brothel saw me in the market. She found out who my master was, and eventually bought me from him for a lot of crescents."

"Brothel!" Susan gasped. "You mean…you're going to be a—a…"

"A courtesan, yes," Talia nodded. "When I am more womanly, I'll be trained and then work for the Tisroc (may he live forever) or one of the princes."

"You shouldn't be talking to them like this, Talia!" the other slave hissed, finishing with Susan's hair.

"Yes, she should!" Saedra said, completely disgusted by the idea that this girl would become like the young teenagers that she had seen sitting around the Tisroc's throne. "There's nothing wrong in talking to us. We're all human beings, just separated by chance. I could've easily been born into the same station as you both, and you could have easily been born to the Tisroc himself. What is your name, girl?"

"Zahar," the other slave replied, obviously displeased. She had the appearance of someone who was resigned to her fate, maybe hoping that she would seduce the Prince and become his umpteenth wife one day, or be his concubine and bear him a son.

Susan was still thinking about what Talia had said about working as a prostitute for one of the princes. "Does…does Rabadash use courtesans?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Talia replied. "He's famous for never using the same one twice."

Susan looked ill.

"It's every courtesan's dream to be the one that he uses for a second time," Zahar said proudly, as if she knew that she would be that person.

Now Saedra felt ill as well. "Well, I hope you attain whatever makes you happy."

"I will," Zahar said. "I have been working on my skills already—"

Susan had heard too much, and said abruptly, "Thank you, that will be all."

The girls curtsied and backed out of the room. Once they knew they couldn't be overheard, Susan let go of her breath.

"Do you think they were telling the truth?"

Saedra did, but wanted to be tactful since Susan was so infatuated with Rabadash. "It is likely. Or they could have wanted to get a reaction out of you and spoil your night."

"Talia didn't seem that cold-hearted," Susan observed. "Though I could easily see Zahar wanting to upset me. Well, she succeeded!"

"Maybe Rabadash has changed since he met you."

"Saedra, I don't want a man who would treat so many women so callously, no matter when he did it!"

"I know, and I'm the same way." Saedra took one final look in the mirror and stood up. "It is up to us to discern the truth, then. Let us go down and see what a Tashbaanian party is like and what we may learn from it."