Dinner with Ahoshta

Despite Saedra's declaration, it was Lasaraleen that decided not to go to the party in the end. She sent a note a half an hour before they were going to leave for Ahoshta's residence that other business had come up and that they should have fun without her.

"It's for the best, Saedra," Rahai said as her personal slave adjusted her dress while they prepared in her bedroom. "It would've been terribly awkward."

"I know, but I feel bad for Lasaraleen being excluded from society just because her husband isn't in town. I think it's ridiculous!"

Rahai snickered playfully. "You find a lot of things around here ridiculous."

"That's true," she laughed. "I'd probably just make Susan more embarrassed with me if I had brought her along."

"How is the Queen, anyway? Have you talked to her at all since you came to stay here?"

"No," Saedra admitted, "I haven't. But I'm sure that things will work out and that she will see the truth about Rabadash on her own."

"You're awfully confident about that. What if she actually does marry Rabadash?"

Saedra paused and finally said, "She won't. She has too much common sense to ignore his glaring faults."

"Love does strange things to people, Saedra."

Don't I know it! Saedra thought, but said, "I'll try to find out Susan's mind tonight when I see her. If I really think she's in danger of marrying him, I will try to find a way to persuade her otherwise."

But she never got the chance, for Susan never went to the dinner. In fact, the only Narnian there was Tumnus, looking out of place and awkwardly standing in the foyer adjoining the large dining room. He was looking around at the Calormenes chatting around him and shifting his weight from hoof to hoof when Saedra went over to him, followed by Rahai. Sadris and Cradish (both dressed lavishly) were already chatting with the Tarkaans and Tarkheenas.

"Tumnus! Where is everyone else?"

He looked at her and a relieved expression filled his face. "Oh, Lady Saedra! I was hoping you were coming tonight. Queen Susan is having dinner with Prince Rabadash tonight, but as for King Edmund and little Corin, I have some dre-"

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by a slave hollering, "Please welcome your host, Ahoshta Tarkaan!"

Through the doorway trotted the short man, looking around eagerly. A smattering of applause welcomed him (Saedra put her hands together twice to be polite). He sauntered over to the head of the table and said, "By the grace of Tash the Inexorable, the Irresistible, welcome. As the poets say, A house full of guests is a master's delight, for they will eat all of your food, and here we have two score!"

Polite chuckling followed, and Saedra almost felt sorry for how pitiful he looked and sounded.

"I can't imagine how someone like him became so powerful," she whispered to Tumnus.

"Inherited money, most likely," Tumnus whispered back, and Rahai nodded in agreement.

As they were speaking, Ahoshta was rambling off the seating chart. In Calormen, the closer you sat to the host the more important you were. There was a lot of scrambling around while people found their seats. Interestingly, Saedra and Tumnus were seated right next to Ahoshta. Cradish had been set a couple of chairs down from them, and at the end of the long table were Rahai and Sadris with the rest of the women.

Once the eating started, it became plain that Ahoshta was not interested in Tumnus or Saedra themselves but in the information they could provide about Susan and Edmund.

"So tell me, Duchess, how does the great Queen Susan like our land?"

"As far as I know, she likes it very much," she replied, "but I haven't seen her for a few days."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I've been staying with Rahai Tarkheena."

He raised his eyebrows. "Rahai…?"

"Daughter of Cradish Tarkaan."

"Ah yes, of course. I hope you enjoyed your time there, for A city is only as great as the visitors that worship it."

"I did," she said completely honestly. "I enjoyed it very much. It was very interesting."

"Good, good," Ahoshta said impatiently. "What about you, Master Faun? How do you like Tashbaan?"

Tumnus bit his lip nervously for a second and then said, "I'm not accustomed to the heat here, so now that high summer is coming on, my heart turns to the cool woods and dewy slopes of Narnia."

"Yes, and with the Narnian Summer Festival coming on," Saedra added. "I hear the dancing there is marvelous, though I've never been."

Ahoshta gave Tumnus a funny smile, saying, "There's nothing to hinder you from dancing there again, little Goatfoot, always provided you leave us in exchange a bride for our Prince. The guest who does not repay is a scourge to the host, and the wrath of Tash will bring boils on his household."

Saedra was wary of the sudden change in tone of his voice, and she and Tumnus exchanged a quick, concerned look.

"Prince Corin is simply fascinated with Tashbaan," Saedra said, trying to change the subject. She didn't know that to be exactly true since she hadn't been around him for a week, but she knew his character and thought it a safe thing to say.

"Yes!" Tumnus agreed. "He is much taken with the city. I think you have found a friend in the Archenlander Prince."

The dinner continued in this fashion, with Saedra and Tumnus trying to be polite and Ahoshta quoting the poets every minute or so. When the dinner was over, Tumnus pulled Saedra aside.

"My dear Lady, I must speak with you. I bring grave news from King Edmund that I didn't want the Grand Vizier to hear."

"What is it?" Saedra said in a hushed tone back.

"Prince Corin has been missing since this afternoon, and no one can find him."

Saedra began to fill with dread as Tumnus continued.

"Search parties have been sent out all over the city, and even the King himself has been out looking. But alas, it's all to no avail. No one has heard word or has even a clue to his whereabouts."

"Why didn't you tell me this before the dinner so that I might go out and help the search?"

"I attempted to, but even so King Edmund has requested that you not go out looking, especially when it is dark outside. He wanted you to stay here."

"I'll go back to the palace with you. When are you leaving?"

"As soon as you are ready. Shall I tell the slaves to get the litter ready?"

"That would be magnificent," Saedra said. As soon as the word "magnificent" slipped out of her mouth, her mind slid over to Peter-but she shoved that thought away hastily. "I'll go over and tell Rahai that I'll be going with you tonight. Let's meet in the front lobby in a few minutes."

Saedra went over to her cousin and grandmother and explained the situation to them. They were disappointed but understanding, and said goodnight. Saedra met Tumnus in the lobby, and they took the litter back to the palace grounds. When they were back in the Narnian quarters of the palace, Edmund and Peridan were they only ones still awake.

Edmund jumped out of his seat when they entered the room and rushed over to Saedra, taking her hands in his. "I've failed you, Saedra. You gave me charge of Corin, and he's nowhere to be found."

She allowed him to guide her over to a couch, and they sat down across from Peridan and Tumnus. "Tumnus told me that you've sent out search parties. Has anything else been done?"

"What can be done besides?" Peridan asked. "We don't want word to get out, or he may find himself in greater danger. Someone could hold him for ransom or kill him just out of spite for Northerners."

Saedra gasped and covered her mouth in shock. "I hadn't thought of that! Do you really think he is in that kind of danger?"

No one wanted to answer that.

After a moment of silence, she stood up. "Well, what are we sitting around here for?"

Edmund stood up and took her arm. "Sae, be reasonable. It's dark outside, and it's highly improbable that Corin would still be out in the streets in any event."

"And there's no point to tiring ourselves looking tonight when we should be saving our strength for a proper search tomorrow," Peridan added.

Saedra sighed, seeing the sense in their words. There was nothing she could do, though the thought of Corin wandering the streets of Tashbaan sickened her—especially since Lune would hold her accountable for him!

"I see your point. We should all get some rest then."

The others agreed, and soon they split up for their separate sleeping quarters. Saedra slowly opened the door to the room she shared with Susan, hoping not to disturb her. But when she looked at the bed, it was empty.

Something moved in front of the large window, and when she looked at it, she saw that it was Susan. She had been facing the window with her arms hugging herself as if she were cold, even though it was a warm night and she was wearing a robe.

"Hello," Saedra said tentatively, closing the door behind her and walking over cautiously.

Susan sniffed and dropped her arms by her sides. "Hey."

"Susan, I need to apologize to you. I wasn't as delicate as I could have-"

"Sae, stop. You were right. I knew deep down that you were right, but I didn't want it to be true so I ignored it. But tonight…tonight it was so blatant that I couldn't deny it any longer."

Saedra sat on the edge of the bed. "What happened?"

Susan started pacing, sniffling between words. "I had dinner with Rabadash tonight, just the two of us. Well, we were served by two slave girls, and all the way through dinner Rabadash kept eying them. Finally at the end, he pulled one of them aside and whispered in her ear seductively.

"It was obvious what his intent was but I had to be sure, so I commented casually, 'Deciding which one to sleep with tonight, my dear?' He replied, 'You have read my mind, Loveliest of the Lovely. I am pleased that you've become accustomed to our ways so soon.' Needless to say, I was repulsed beyond reckoning, but I strove not to show it. He then gave me the unbearable choice of choosing which girl he should pick first. Now, Saedra, you'll never guess who the two girls were."

"I can't begin to imagine," she replied. "Who were they?"

"Talia and Zahar, the two girls that did our hair for the first party here."

Saedra gasped. "No!"

"Yes. And I was given the decision of which girl would sleep with him tonight! Well, I tried to talk him out of it, saying that he needs his rest and such, but he pressed me to choose! I became scared about what he'd do to me if I refused and I recalled that Zahar was much more ambitious than Talia and had been looking forward to the event, so… so I picked her." At this point Susan burst into tears, covering her face with her hands.

Saedra got up and wrapped her arms around her sobbing friend. "There wasn't anything you could have done."

"There had to have been! I keep thinking and thinking of what I should have done," she bawled, "but I can't think of anything and I feel so guilty. If I had been stronger—if I had been more like you—I could have simply chastised him and told him how disgusting it all was. But I couldn't! And now he thinks that I approve, and even worse he's with Zahar as we speak and will use Talia tomorrow!"

"We have to think of some way to get Talia out of this," Saedra said. "Rahai may have an idea, so I'll talk to her tomorrow about it. But what're we going to do about you?"

"About me?" Susan sniffed.

"Surely you aren't still thinking of marrying him?"

"Of course not!"

"Then we need to think about how we are going to deal with Rabadash. He doesn't seem like the kind of man who takes rejection lightly."

"Oh, Sae, what have I done? I've brought us all here for nothing. This whole trip has been a waste!"

"It hasn't been a total loss," she replied, thinking of the discovery of her new relatives.

"How has it not?" Susan asked, back to sniffling again.

"Here, let's sit down. It's a long story I have to tell."

Saedra left Susan where she was still sleeping and took a litter over to Cradish's mansion the next morning, hoping to talk to Rahai about whether there was anything they could do to stop Rabadash from sleeping with Talia that night. But all Rahai could do was look sympathetic and shrug, "I'm sorry Saedra, but I can't think of anything to help her. For your own safety, I advise you not to get involved. We should just go to the Tisroc's party tonight and have a good time."

"I can't sit by and let an innocent girl go through that!" Saedra protested.

"Lasaraleen is the sneaky one of us," Rahai suggested. "Maybe she'll have an idea when she comes over to get ready with us."

But that plan went foul as well, because Lasaraleen never showed up. Rahai and Saedra were having their afternoon lunch in her bedroom when a slave brought a note for Saedra. It was hastily written and succinct:

Sae—

Corin is back and acting strangely.

Ed

He didn't need to ask her to come; he knew that the news of Corin's arrival would be enough. Saedra shared the news with Rahai and announced, "I have to go back."

Rahai nodded and said to the slave, "Have a litter brought for Saedra at once."

The slave bowed and left immediately.

"I wonder what happened to him," Saedra said, getting up and looking out the window with a worried expression on her face. "Oh, I do wish Edmund had given more details! The suspense is going to kill me!"

"The litter will be ready any minute. Let's go downstairs," Rahai suggested.

The two of them went down to the main entrance, and a few minutes later the litter stopped in front of the stairs carried by four slaves. They went down to it.

"Let me know what you learn," Rahai said, kissing her cheek. "I do hope he's okay."

"I will. See you at the party tonight!"

When Saedra arrived back to the palace, Tumnus was there to greet her, waiting with is now-typical nervousness atop the stairs. She hopped out of the litter before it was completely lowered and ran up the stairs, hiking up her skirts so she wouldn't trip.

"Where's Corin?"

"Come with me, your Ladyship," Tumnus said. "He is in our chambers, but I must warn you: he's acting rather strangely."

"That's what Edmund's note said too. What do you mean by 'strangely'?"

"He has had a touch of the sun and is acting rather dazed. We have him resting in the main room now, so maybe he'll be fine by the time we get back. The King and Queen have gone down to the Splendor Hyaline to prepare for a party we'll be hosting there tomorrow."

"A party? I didn't hear about this! When was this decided?" she asked.

"This very afternoon, my Lady. I can tell you all about it once we get inside. Ah, here we are." He pushed open to the door, and when Saedra saw Corin, she gasped.

Corin was seated on one of the couches looking absolutely terrible. On top of filthy and torn-up clothes, he had a black eye and a tooth missing. He looked up at them with an excited expression on his face.

"Prince! What in the-" Just then, Saedra thought she heard noises coming from near the window, so she walked over quickly and looked down. A ways away, a boy about Corin's size was just scrambling down the edge of the roof towards the side of the building that acted as part of the wall around the castle.

"Hey, you!" she called.

"Shh!" Corin urged, "Don't let them catch him!"

"Your royal Highness," Tumnus said while Saedra watched the boy hop off the roof of the house, "what has happened to you since we left? You are wearing different clothes, and look frightful! Were you getting into more mischief?"

Saedra whipped around, hand on her hip and a stern expression on her face. "Prince Corin, I demand that you tell me what is going on here!"

"It's all very simple, really," he said without a hint of regret, sounding funny because of the missing tooth. He went on to tell Saedra a long-winded tale of how some boy said a foul thing about Queen Susan and how Corin had knocked him down. Then he had gotten involved with some other people, and he knocked them down as well, and it got very complicated.

Soon Saedra lost track of it all and said impatiently, "Yes, yes, but who was that boy down there?"

"It's the queerest thing!" Corin said animatedly. "I climbed back up through the window just ten minutes ago, and sitting where I'm sitting now was a boy who looked just like me. He said that he was nobody, and that he was going to Narnia or something like that. Then he said that I must sit down, and I told him how to hop off the roof onto some garbage on the street, and here we are!"

"This is all too complicated for me," Saedra said, sitting down and holding her forehead. "Tumnus?"

"I think the gist of it is that when King Edmund thought he found Corin today on the streets, it was really another boy who looked like him. That was why he was acting so dazed."

"Okay, I understand that now. Now what is this about a party on the Splendor Hyaline?"

"A party on the Splendor Hyaline!" Corin exclaimed, sitting up. "Why wasn't I told of this?"

"You weren't here, Prince, if you'll kindly recall," Tumnus said. "The other boy—" he stopped, suddenly looking frightened. "The other boy heard all of our plans!"

"What's the big deal about hearing your party plans?" Corin asked.

Tumnus glanced at the door, and when he saw that it was shut he said in a hushed tone, "We aren't really throwing a party. We're using that as an excuse to go down to the ship, because we are really leaving Tashbaan tonight!"

"Why?" the young Prince asked.

"Is it because Susan has decided not to marry Rabadash?" Saedra asked, recalling their previous evening's discussion.

Tumnus released the air that he had been holding. "Yes. Then you know that part at least."

"Why isn't she marrying him?" Corin asked.

"It's a long story, Prince. We can tell you all later," Saedra said. She wasn't sure if Corin was old enough to know all the details or not, and was anxious to hear the rest of the plan.

"All of us Narnians convened and decided that it wouldn't be safe for her to refuse him. I'm sure you recall last night when the Grand Vizier was adamant that we leave Queen Susan behind as Rabadash's wife."

Saedra nodded.

"Well," Tumnus continued, "Many of the others have gotten similar warnings. That is why we have decided to pretend that we are hosting a party on our ship, so that we may come and go from it as freely as possible."

"I see!" Saedra said, a smile growing on her face.

"And tonight after the Tisroc's party we are leaving for Narnia!" Tumnus said, clapping his hands gleefully.

"Hoorah!" Corin exclaimed. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Nay, little Prince," Tumnus said. "The King and Queen should be returning at any moment to get ready for the party. You must be a good boy tonight and not say a word of this to anyone."

"What do you take me for?" Corin said, offended. "If there is anyone to worry about, it would have been the boy who heard your plans earlier."

Tumnus and Saedra looked at each other with wide eyes.

Corin continued, ignoring them. "And at any rate, he seemed like a good chap—he said he thought he was a Northerner—and I don't think he'd betray us."

"We don't have a choice either way," Saedra said slowly. "If he does betray our plans, it is better to be on the Splendor Hyaline than here-provided we can get on it by then. And if he doesn't, our secret is safe."

Corin, Tumnus, and Saedra talked more about the plans until Susan and Edmund came back. They caught each other up on what had been going on and determined to act as naturally as possible that night at the party.

When Saedra and Susan were almost done getting ready for the party, Saedra abruptly turned to the two slave girls that had been attending them (they were neither Talia nor Zahar) and said, "Leave us."

When they had shut the door behind them, Susan asked, "What was that about? She was helping me button my dress!"

"I can do that," she replied, going behind the Queen and buttoning her up. "I sent them away because I've just gotten an inspiration about how to save Talia."

"How?"

"We take her with us."

Susan stared at Saedra through the mirror for a full minute, thinking. Finally she said, "That is awfully risky, stealing one of their slaves."

"I'm not stealing anyone if she chooses to go with me willingly. She is a person and has the right to go where she pleases."

Susan paused again. "You know, I think that it's a really good idea, if you can pull it off. The issue is how to find her."

"I've thought about that too. Have you noticed how the Tisroc and Rabadash like to keep their play-things by them during the course of the evening? I'm betting that Talia will be there with the Prince during the party. All you need to do is distract him long enough that I can get Talia away from him so I can tell her our idea."

"But you mustn't give away the whole plan, just in case she turns us in," Susan warned. When she saw her friend's look of reproach, she said, "I know, I know you trust her. It's just that I trusted Rabadash, and look where it has landed me. It's better to be cautious."

"I agree. I'll find a way to offer her freedom without betraying our plans. Are you ready to go?"

Susan leaned into the mirror and rubbed her lips together to spread the gel she had put on them, then turned around and said, "Ready!"

"Then in the name of Aslan, let us see if we can pull off this crazy scheme!"