How Rahai Made Herself Useful

"Let me get this straight, Ed," Susan said. "The obnoxious Tarkheena who's friends with Sae and Rahai was your mistress?"

Edmund grinned sheepishly. "Yep."

"Did she beat you?" Saedra asked, wide-eyed. She knew all too well what her young, spoiled friend was capable of doing to her slaves.

"And wreck this handsome, perfectly-formed physique?" Edmund asked, raising his arms as if to invite people to look upon his body. "Never!"

Peter grunted very loudly at that, but all at the table were glad to see that the funny, sarcastic Edmund that had disappeared for almost a year had returned. All laughed at the joke.

"Back to the story, Uncle!" Talia urged anxiously over the dying laughter. "What happened next?"

"Well, nothing especially exciting happened for a while. A few weeks passed as I bided my time, waiting for an opportunity to learn more about the taxes. Tarkheena Rahai hadn't shown up, and I was wondering if she ever would, until finally…"

"Slave, I'm having a visitor for brunch today," Lasaraleen said from her usual lounging-on-the-bed position.

Her rambunctious pet monkey (to whom Edmund had been attending more than anything else, making him wonder if he was really the monkey's slave) was flying around the room and making a racket. Edmund would follow it to pick up any scraps of broken pottery or knickknacks that the monkey left in its trail. It was rather demeaning.

Lasaraleen continued, "I want you to bring two meals up today, understand? And do make sure the food is good. My poor friend is having some family troubles, so we want this visit to be as pleasant as possible for her. She's in a sorry state lately, not being able to visit me. Ever since our friend's wedding last spring she's hardly been able to visit at all!"

"Yes, mistress," he replied.

Could she be talking about Rahai? He couldn't think of what kind of family troubles Rahai would have, but guessed it might have to do with her younger sisters. Maybe one of their engagements fell through or the marriage didn't go as well as hoped.

A little while later, Edmund was sent down to the kitchens to get the trays of food. He felt excitement flow through him at the prospect of seeing Rahai and finally moving on with the mission. He'd wasted enough time already serving Lasaraleen's monkey.

As he expertly balanced the trays while going up the stairs to the first landing, he momentarily started to doubt the wisdom of trusting Rahai. Why did he think he could trust her so much, anyway? He'd looked forward to this for weeks, but now that it was upon him he was having reservations.

Aslan, he thought, If Rahai can help me with this mission, please let her recognize me. But not so that Lasaraleen will know too, unless that would help-though I don't think it would. And please give us an opportunity to talk. And please help us do this quickly. I would like to be back to Narnia by Susan's wedding…

Feeling like he'd asked a bit too much, he rounded the corner to get to the stairs that led from the main floor to the second floor. But he shouldn't have been so close to the corner, for he didn't see that someone was coming the other way. He crashed into that other person, sending the trays flying.

Out of habit, he stared at the ground and said, "I'm sorry!" He squatted down on the ground and started cleaning up. After a moment of this, he realized that the person hadn't moved from their spot, so he looked up.

It was Rahai. She was staring down at him with her mouth half ajar, looking like she'd seen a ghost. Her grey eyes were wide.

He stood up. "Is everything all right, Tarkheena?"

By the Mane, she was beautiful. Even shocked witless and looking like she was going to hurl, she was still stunning.

She mouthed some words, glancing down at his body and quickly up again. "Yes. Yes. You just-you just remind me of someone that I cared—that I knew." She still looked faintly ill, as if she had received a great shock.

Edmund forgot about the spilled bowls and plates and said in a low voice, "And who might that be, Tarkheena?" He was so intent on seeing if she recognized him that it didn't sink in until much later what she had almost said.

She looked at him for a moment more, then her face drained of color. She slapped her hands over her mouth. "No…by the Lion, I would never have guessed…"

"You swear by the Lion, Tarkheena?"

She hadn't seemed to have heard what he said; she simply stared at him. "King Edmund?"

Thinking fast, Edmund gripped her arm and pulled her into the nearest room. It was the vacant party hall where Saedra had gotten drunk and he'd had to calm her down. He shut the door behind them.

Rahai looked up at him, her normally composed face white. "Your Majesty, I-"

"We haven't much time, Tarkheena," Edmund said urgently. "I'm on a mission, and I need your help."

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to get me out of here," he said.

She was silent, thinking a moment. Then she nodded. "I know exactly what to do."

A short while later, Lasaraleen and Rahai were sitting at a table on Lasaraleen's deck. The accursed monkey was dipping his fingers into their drinks, the only things on the table, when Edmund came out bearing new trays of food.

Rahai looked up quickly, glanced at the King clothed in a loincloth, then glanced away quickly, her expression embarrassed again. She quickly composed herself, and as Edmund set the food on the table, she interrupted Lasaraleen's ramblings to say, "My, what a handsome man slave you have, my friend!"

"Why, yes! It's too bad you haven't come by in such a long time. My husband gave him to me a few weeks ago, and he's quite the looker, isn't he?" Lasaraleen giggled.

"Yes, he is," Rahai said, all embarrassment banished from her face. She examined Edmund as if there was nothing special about him and as if she was merely admiring Lasaraleen's new slave. "Where's he from?"

Lasaraleen waved her hand. "Oh, I don't know. Some island somewhere."

"Hm, I wonder if he knows anything that could help my grandmother…" Rahai said with a thoughtful, contemplative expression on her face.

Lasaraleen perked up. "What do you mean? How would this slave be able to help your grandmother if the best doctors in Tashbaan can't?"

Rahai looked down suddenly, looking like she wanted to cry. Edmund, who was hovering around them arranging plates which had already been arranged twice, was sure she was faking. Rahai was many things, but wasn't especially emotional, at least from he had seen.

Upon seeing Rahai's distress, Lasaraleen put on a sympathetic face, reached over and put her hand on Rahai's arm, and said, "Oh dearie, your grandmother will get better."

Rahai shook her head. "They say she's going to die."

Edmund wasn't sure what Rahai was doing or if she was telling the truth, but it was working…whatever it was. Lasaraleen looked like she'd do anything for her sad friend.

Rahai continued, "They say the only thing that might help her is medicine that we don't have here in Calormen, so I've been trying to find people from other countries to help her."

"Have you written to Saedra?" Lasaraleen asked. "Maybe she could help."

"Oh, you know how slow the mail is between us and Narnia," Rahai half-wailed.

Lasaraleen looked alarmed, and turned to Edmund. "Slave, where are you from?"

"The Lone Islands, mistress," he replied.

"Do you know anything that might help an old dying woman?" Lasaraleen pressed.

"Well, my pa was a doctor," Edmund lied, getting an idea of what Rahai was doing.

Aslan forgive me, he prayed. But then he tried to picture his father, and he strangely couldn't. For all he knew, his father could have been a doctor! But why can't I remember?

Rahai lit up. "He was?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied.

"Well, I think we might have solved your problem, Rahai!" Lasaraleen exclaimed. "You can take my man slave and see if he can help your grandmother!"

Rahai looked at her with wide eyes. "I couldn't take him from you!"

"Oh, yes you can! In fact, as much as it'll pain me deeply to lose him, you may keep him. Gods know you need the company more than I do since you aren't married. My husband is always here to keep me company."

She was lying through her teeth. Edmund hadn't seen her and her husband together during the day once. Nights were another matter, depending on her husband's mood.

"You're too kind!" Rahai said, looking supremely happy. "I really appreciate this, Lasaraleen."

The younger Tarkheena beamed, thoroughly enjoying being useful to someone.

After a long lunch, Rahai took Edmund back with her back to her father's estate. They shared the litter, pulling back the curtains so they could talk. As soon as they were lifted off of the ground, Rahai blurted in a hushed tone, "Your Majesty, what in the world are you doing down here—and in such a state?"

Edmund answered her by telling her his whole adventure, from Narrowhaven to the pirates attack to being sold as a slave. She listened quietly without interrupting as was customary for Calormenes listening to tales.

"...And that is my story, Tarkheena," he concluded. "My best clue so far as to who might be involved is Ahoshta Tarkaan."

"Why is that, your Majesty?" she asked.

"It's a long shot, but it's because the pirates seemed like they were working for him, like they had an intimate relationship with him. It's possible that the pirates may have stolen the taxes when they arrived in Tashbaan and that Ahoshta may have been involved."

Rahai leaned her head to one side, thinking. "Those are lot of assumptions you're making there, your Majesty."

"I'm aware of that, but I just got this feeling from the way the pirates talked…"

"Then let us hope your intuitions have been guided by Aslan," said Rahai contentedly.

Edmund studied her. "That's several times you have referred to the Lion today, Tarkheena. I've never met a follower of Aslan that was Calormene before, aside from Lady Aravis."

"Well, I've always disliked the gods because of the way their followers treat 'inferiors' like women and slaves. I'd always thought if that's the way the gods make people, then why should I worship them?" Rahai shrugged. "When I met all of your Majesties up in Cair Paravel, I thought, 'Now, they have something that I don't!' I heard you always referring to the Lion, and I finally understood what it meant when Saedra wrote me to tell me that she'd seen the Lion personally in Anvard. I knew then that the Lion was real, and since then I've been trying to find out as much as possible about him. Saedra's been a great help in that area."

He smiled. "Then Aslan has truly been guiding my path. I had started to fear that maybe you'd been married or no longer friends with Lasaraleen when you didn't show up for so long."

"Oh, no," she laughed. "Me married! No, it's because my grandmother truly has been sick these past weeks. She is quite ill, but the doctors can't find what's wrong with her. I've been spending most of my days tending to her and reading to her so she can be distracted from the pain."

"I'm deeply saddened to hear that, Tarkheena. Have you told Saedra yet?"

"It's all very new, but yes, your Majesty, I did write to Cair Paravel to let her know what's been happening. I don't expect a reply for a couple of weeks."

"You may not get one for longer," Edmund said. "She's been travelling with us most of the summer, and she won't be going back to Cair Paravel. She's going back to Harden to attend to her duties there."

"That would explain why I haven't heard from her in so long. I hope the letter somehow reaches her, though there isn't any reason to come down here yet. How is she, anyway? How does she like being married?"

"Well, um…" he said, unsure what to say. "I honestly don't know. It was an arranged marriage, but I know that she and Peter do care about each other. They hit a rough patch, but last I saw they were trying to work it out."

Rahai studied him shrewdly, making him worry that she knew more about his feelings for Saedra than he wanted her to. "It'll be all right, your Majesty."

He wasn't sure whether she was referring to Peter and Saedra or him.

When they arrived at Cradish's estate, Edmund silently followed Rahai though the lavish building. Unfortunately, they came across Cradish and his friend Abrastan while headed to Rahai's quarters.

"What's this, daughter?" Cradish asked, eyeing Edmund.

"This was a gift from Lasaraleen, Father," Rahai said, curtseying respectfully. "She's trying to help me fetch a husband, and so has given me her man slave so I might acquire some skills."

Cradish looked pleasantly surprised. "Why daughter, for once I find your friend's idea to be smart. I'd given up hope that you'd ever look for a husband. Why, you're almost twenty-one years old, almost a decade past the marital age! I'm pleased to see you haven't completely given up."

Abrastan looked at Rahai in surprise. "You're taking a man slave, Rahai?"

"Yes," Rahai said, looking him in the eye. If Edmund hadn't known otherwise, he would have believed her himself. "Do excuse me, Father, Tarkaan."

Edmund followed Rahai to her chambers, and she quickly shut the door behind her, rolling her eyes. "For the record, I'm almost twenty-two, not twenty-one. Shows how much my father cares about me."

A smile grew on Edmund's face at seeing Rahai unguarded and not so proper as she usually was around him. He liked it; this was a side of her that he'd never seen before, only heard hinted at from talking to Saedra.

Rahai saw his grin and looked down in embarrassment. "Pardon me, your Majesty. I needn't burden you with my sarcasm."

"Nay, Tarkheena," he said, bowing slightly. "If I am to be your man slave, it's better that I know these things right away."

Rahai caught his teasing tone and said abashedly, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry about that. It was the only excuse I could think of-"

"No, it was brilliant," he corrected. "This way it won't seem out of the ordinary if we're around each other a lot."

"I just wish Abrastan hadn't been there," Rahai said, walking over to her couches and indicating that he should sit. "He hates the brothels, and hates personal slaves even more. He's always respected me, but now…"

"You speak of the other gentleman?" said Edmund, sitting down.

"Yes. He's my father's best friend. He lives farther south but stays with us whenever business brings him to town. He's like an uncle to me, and probably the only person who doesn't daily nag me to find a husband."

"Saedra's explained to me the reason you haven't married, Tarkheena, and I admire that. But has it ever entered your mind what you'd do if your father died? Unless I'm mistaken, women are usually unable to inherit property in Calormen."

Rahai looked a little uneasy. "Well, Saedra did invite me to live with her, but that was before she got married. I honestly don't know, your Majesty. I don't know. But in a way, don't you think that's exciting? Not knowing? I mean, I could do like Tarkheena Aravis did to avoid marriage to Ahoshta Tarkaan and just run away to the North." She shrugged, smiling. "Or I could join a crew and sail to the ends of the earth! I want to prove to people that I can do things even though I'm a lady."

Edmund had thought Saedra had been special because she'd caused a stir in Archenland when she became Duchess, claiming that women could rule just as well as men could. He'd had no idea that other women in the world felt such a way. Susan and Lucy hadn't ever complained about unfair treatment—but now he realized that it was probably because they were equal to Edmund. They only became upset when ambassadors treated them differently, preferring to deal with Peter and Edmund because they were men.

Perhaps Saedra's point of view isn't as unique as I thought. Even silent, genteel, ultra-gorgeous Rahai wanted to be taken seriously. And the more Edmund got to know Rahai, the more he saw how smart and capable she was, though she hid it behind a submissive, quiet façade. Had she been a man, she would have been educated and done great things, he was sure of it. Though somehow, he was strongly grateful that she wasn't a man.

Edmund smiled and leaned forward. "Tarkheena, I pity anyone who stands in your way."

She grinned. "Thank you, your Majesty."

A minute later, a servant came in to tell Rahai that dinner was being served. She left Edmund and went to dinner, and he spent the time laying on the couch and thinking. The silence was notable without Lasaraleen's damned monkey.

How could they get information about Ahoshta? He could try to break into his house, but he doubted that would be easy. And if he was caught, either he would be severely punished or killed—or worse, they would figure out who he was. That would cause bigger problems than they needed, and it wasn't worth the risk.

Rahai returned in the middle of his musings, and announced, "I've figured out a way to get information about Ahoshta, your Majesty."

He sat up. "What is it, Tarkheena?"

"I seduce him."

Edmund coughed, choking on his words. "Pardon me?"

"I seduce him. I'll start by inviting him over to dinner, then he'll invite me over to dinner, and then he'll invite me to his chambers, and the whole time I'll be looking for information that would implicate him in the tax robbery." She said it so simply, as if there wasn't a great danger to her in all of it.

"My Lady, I can't allow you to do that," Edmund said. "The risk to your safety is too great."

"Have you an alternate plan, your Majesty?" she asked, putting her hand on her hip in a gesture he figured she had probably learned from Saedra.

"No, but to risk-"

"Your Majesty, I want to do this. I know I can."

"I hope you aren't doing this just to prove your worth, Tarkheena, because you have nothing to prove to me," he said, getting up and coming over to her. "I know you're brave and have big dreams, but I beg you to reconsider."

She looked up at him, her eyes nearly level with his. "If you order me not to, I won't. But you need help, your Majesty, and I don't see any other way."

"You let her do it, didn't you?" Saedra asked with a knowing look in her eyes.

"I did," Edmund nodded. "She was right, and we couldn't find any other way."

Just then, Talia jumped out of her seat and squealed, "It that who I think it is?"

Saedra looked around, confused. She'd never spent Christmas in Narnia before, and didn't know what was happening. The creatures who had still been dancing and being merry were rushing to one area of the room, extremely excited.

She looked at Peter. "Who is it?"

He grinned down at her, taking her hand and heading over to the crowd. "It's Father Christmas."