A Prophecy, a Conspiracy, and a Death

The crowd around Father Christmas slowly dispersed as he handed out presents to the eager Narnians. When they received their presents, they would thank him profusely and go admire them or try them out; there were Squirrels admiring tins of gourmet nuts, Fauns examining new instruments, and scores of others showing off their new gifts.

"He does this every year?" Saedra asked Peter as they watched on the edge of the swarm.

"Yes," he grinned. "We always stay up until midnight after the Christmas Eve party to see him and get presents."

The crowd around Father Christmas cleared out at last, and finally he was able to turn to the amused nobles. Talia was bouncing on the tips of her toes eagerly in front of the rest of them.

"High King Peter," Father Christmas bowed. "Queen Susan, King Edmund, Queen Lucy."

"Father Christmas," they replied, inclining their heads.

"It's always an honor to see you all," said he. "I trust you continue to use your gifts well."

"As best we know how," Edmund smiled.

In her eagerness, Talia had hopped her way right in front of Father Christmas, and he smiled down at her. "Ah, Princess Talia."

Talia blinked in surprise. "You know my name, sir?"

He smiled warmly. "Of course I do. How could I not know of the daughter of High King Peter?"

Talia blushed and watched attentively as Father Christmas bent over to reach into his bag. He pulled out a sword, shield, and a quiver of arrows, and handed them all to her. They were not the smaller child-sized ones she had been practicing with; rather, they were full-sized and heavy.

The thirteen-year-old Princess' eyes were wide as saucers. "All for me?"

"Yes, young Princess. But with them comes a great responsibility. There will come a day when these will be used to protect the lives of those closest to you. You must practice hard and use them well."

She looked up at him with a suddenly serious expression. "I will." She took them from him, struggling with the weight of all of the items.

He patted her head. "Good girl." He turned to Peridan. "Lord Peridan, it has been a long time."

"It has, Father," he nodded. "Too long."

"It would seem you have all that you ever wanted," Father Christmas' eyes twinkled as he inclined his head towards the grinning Queen Susan, "but I give you the unseeable gift of courage. Strong though you are, hard is the path in front of you, and there will be a time when courage is all you have, and all will be able to see it. Use it well."

Peridan studied Father Christmas seriously, his blue eyes uncomprehending, yet accepting and believing.

"Thank you, sir." He bowed slightly, then went back to Susan and intertwined his fingers with hers. Susan looked up at him with worried eyes and leaned into him.

Saedra had half a mind to ask Peter if Father Christmas was always this gloomy when Father Christmas turned to her, pulling out something small enough to fit in his hand.

"And for you, Princess Saedra, wife of the High King, I give this." He held out his palm to her, the gift resting in it. It twinkled in the candlelight.

She stepped forward and took it out of his hand. It was a necklace, a large gold ring on a golden chain. In the middle of the ring dangled a large clear star-shaped diamond.

"Thank you, sir," she said. "What is its purpose?"

Both Talia and Peridan's gifts had meanings behind them-and dire hints about the future in the words-so she had no doubt the necklace symbolized something.

But it's so pretty, she thought. Maybe he shan't be so serious with it.

"Its purpose is a warning," he said gravely.

"A warning? Of what?"

The round man took on an even more serious tone as he recited,

"The golden ring warns

Against completing the circle

By repeating the mistakes of the past.

The diamond is to remind

That the stars are watching

And will be there at the last."

Saedra clutched the necklace in her hand, marveling at his words.

Repeating the mistakes of the past? What mistakes? And whose mistakes? Mine? She couldn't even begin to fathom what the stars had to do with her. The last what?

"I suppose you can't elaborate on what that means...?" Saedra asked.

"I only repeat the words that were given to me to say, your Highness," he replied, looking almost sympathetic.

"Thank you," she said, stepping back. She looked down at the trinket in her hand.

Father Christmas turned to the Four, and the mood was lightened as he gave them practical gifts, but Saedra hardly paid attention.

Why a warning now? she wondered. Things were going so well! She and Peter were closer than ever, Edmund seemed to be happy, and Talia was doing wonderfully in all aspects. There was no reason for Father Christmas to be so somber...none at all.

After sharing a midnight snack with the Narnians, Father Christmas left to continue his duties. The Narnians continued eating and drinking, re-energized by the visit. Susan and Peridan were talking in hushed voices in one area and Lucy and Peter were admiring Talia's gifts, making comments about them that made Talia blush with pleasure. Saedra went to the food table to get more to eat, then spotted Edmund watching the festivities quietly.

She went over to him where he was slowly sipping on his drink a little ways away from the others.

"Are Father Christmas' gifts always this foreboding?" she asked, fingering the necklace that was now around her neck.

He looked over at her, then down at her hand hiding the necklace. "Our first year he was a bit serious, but ever since the Witch was defeated he's been positively jolly. I'm a bit troubled about it, actually. It can't mean anything good."

"He only singled out Talia, Peridan, and me," she pointed out. "It's peculiar that he didn't include you or the others."

He nodded slowly, watching the revelry. "Very peculiar."

They stood in silence a moment.

"I don't get the feeling that the danger is close, though," Edmund said in a low voice after a moment. "The warning to you gives me the idea that he's trying to make us alert, more than anything else."

Saedra nodded. "I think so as well. We should keep our eyes open for anything suspicious, though."

He nodded, looking down at her, this time really looking at her. He whispered, "It's really good to see you again, Sae."

She looked back at him unflinchingly. "I missed you so much, Ed."

He continued to look at her, then it seemed as a layer of emotion was peeled back from his face. He suddenly appeared more vulnerable, and perhaps a little scared, as if he had just remembered something important he'd forgotten to do. He swallowed and turned away, putting his goblet to his lips.

Saedra watched him, trying to decipher what the strange look had been about. He couldn't still…not now…

She was about to speak, when—

"Uncle Edmund!" Talia called, skipping over. "Shall we hear the rest of your tale? Father and Aunt Susan and Aunt Lucy and Lord Peridan are already back at the table."

When Edmund turned to Talia, the naked expression he had had was gone, and in its place was the happy one he had been wearing since arriving earlier that evening.

"Yes, let's."

He glanced at Saedra, raised his eyebrows, and tilted his head in Talia's direction as if to ask whether she would like to go first.

Saedra smiled, but the smile was a millisecond too late. She was sure he'd caught her puzzled expression, and instantly regretted being off guard. She didn't need any more uncertainty with Edmund, or things unsaid that would tear at them. She couldn't give him any reason to love her again by looking like she was trying to see if he still cared about her. That phase of their lives was over. A closed book that didn't need to be read again. Finished. Caput. Terminated.

She turned quickly and followed Talia over to the group at the table, and Edmund followed both of them.

"Now where were we?" Edmund asked, the last one to sit down.

"Tarkheena Rahai was going to help you spy on Ahoshta Tarkaan," Talia reminded, leaning up against Peter.

Saedra could see that the girl was dead-tired and getting a little giddy. Peter put his arm around Talia to allow her to rest against him more comfortably, and when he saw Saedra watching them, he smiled. Saedra's lips formed a small smile, briefing recalling what she and Peter had been about to do when Edmund had interrupted. It was a welcome relief to think about her husband, because there was no guilt attached to the thoughts the way there was with Edmund. It was simple: they loved each other, and they were happy together.

"Ah, yes," Edmund smiled at Talia. "And that's exactly what Rahai did. She brought Ahoshta over for dinner, and the poor fool fell for her instantly. I'm sure we can all imagine how delightful Rahai can be when she tries. He returned the favor within the week, and soon a full-fledged courtship was under-way. After a few weeks, he was completely smitten, and Rahai had the opportunity to be brought to Ahoshta's chambers. They had dinner, and he invited her up."

All were listening with wide eyes, wondering how or if Rahai had managed to fulfill her mission safely.

"And…" Peter pressed.

Edmund grinned, loving the expressions on their faces. "She accepted, and they went upstairs." He paused again for effect.

"Oh, cut the dramatics!" Susan snapped, but not harshly. "Just tell us the story already before we fall asleep."

Edmund chuckled. "And it went smoothly. She pretended to be interested in him, and asked him if he would like some wine. He did, and she went over to the table to pour him some. As she did so, she slipped a sleeping powder into the drink (one that I'd acquired for her), and Ahoshta was asleep in a minute.

"She then searched his rooms, and it was no easy task. He is a very wealthy man, and Calormene houses have a million places to hide things. On top of that, she didn't even know exactly what she was looking for. It took her nearly all night to find what she needed, but in an old vase in a hidden corner she found some papers. She scanned them, and they were exactly what we were looking for, so she shoved them into her dress. Then she went back to Ahoshta and arranged the bed and his clothes in such a way that it appeared she'd stayed a while with him, and then she left in her litter."

"Hah!" Peter half-grunted. "She's a smart one. But what exactly did the documents say?"

Edmund had tried to sleep that night, but he couldn't; he'd been rolling around on the couch for hours, and he finally gave up and resorted to pacing around Rahai's room, glancing at the door every few seconds as if that would make Rahai come back sooner.

Why had he been such an idiot as to allow her to put herself into such danger? He had no idea whether she could handle the pressure or not. What if Ahoshta overpowered her? What if she lost the sleeping powder somehow, or it didn't work? What if the courtesan from the brothel he had bought the powder from had been a fraud?

He hadn't been thinking when he agreed to let her do it; he'd been too busy comparing her to Saedra, assuming she had Saedra's bravery and quick wits as well as her ideals. He banged his fist into his palm, whispering savagely, "Rahai is not Saedra, Edmund! No matter how much you may fancy so, she's just not!"

At that moment, the door opened quietly, letting in a bit of early morning light, and Rahai slipped in. She held her finger up to her lips and slowly shut the door so it wouldn't make a sound, then went over to Edmund. He met her half-way, ready to melt from relief.

"I did it, your Majesty," she whispered, dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She reached down the front of dress (Edmund quickly turned away when he understood what she was doing) and pulled out a pile of parchments.

"These are papers of a plan of some sort, and it contains a list of names of people he's working with-I read it on the way back here. Though I can't imagine why he would keep such a list…" she said, frowning.

"It's insurance," he quickly explained, taking the papers from her and glancing though them. "In case one betrays the others, he'll have proof against them. But what exactly are all of these people doing?" He scanned down the last sheet, which was the list of signatures of many high-ranking officials of Calormen.

Rahai went behind the dressing partition and changed into a new dress as she spoke. "It's as you suspected-they have been colluding to steal the Narnian taxes from the Lone Islands."

"But why?" he asked, flipping through the papers. "The gold isn't nearly worth the risk, not for these wealthy men."

"They're not in it for the gold, your Majesty. Read the bottom of the second to last page."

"'The undersigned agree, in the Name of Tash the Inexorable, the Irresistible, that it is our duty to do what the Tisroc (may he live forever) cannot and will not and destroy the Barbarian Lands of the North by creating hostility between the Accursed Land of Narnia and its Territories of the Lone Islands. By doing, the Gods will start a war among our enemies which will weaken them and make them ripe for the picking, giving glory to the Gods, the Tisroc (may he live forever), and the land of Calormen.'"

He looked up and said dryly, "It's nice of them to spell it out so simply for us."

Rahai emerged from the partition in her nightgown, putting her hair back in a braid. Edmund had seen her in such a state so often since becoming her slave that he wasn't surprised or embarrassed.

"Makes it easy, no?" she commented.

"Do you trust this?" he asked. "Is it possible that it's a way to trick us? Is there any way that Ahoshta could have suspected you of probing?"

"Trust me, he thinks I'm in love with him-men in love are fools. And with all of the work I had to do to find those papers, there's no way he planted them for me to see."

"How soon before he notices these are gone?" he wondered.

"I wouldn't worry about that," she shrugged, going over to the bed and crawling on top sleepily. "The area was very dusty. He hasn't touched these papers in a long time, and it's not likely he will again soon. What's more likely is he has it memorized and will only look for them if there's a problem."

He looked down at the papers again, reading through the last page more carefully. Suddenly, he froze. "Tarkheena, did you read the last page?"

"I only scanned it, your Majesty," she yawned. "Why?"

"Because your father's on it."

"What?" Saedra exclaimed. "My uncle Cradish was on the list?"

Edmund nodded gravely.

"Wait, wait," Peter said. "Let me get this straight. There's this list-"

Edmund reached deep into his common Archenlander pants pocket and pulled out the stack of parchments, dropping them on the table. Lucy instantly grabbed them and started looking through them.

Peter continued. "-and on it's the people in Calormen who're trying to make us go to war with our own territories?"

Edmund nodded again. "And making it look like the Lone Islands weren't paying their taxes was the first way."

"There's more?" Susan blurted, horrified.

Lucy lifted up the list and read, "'If the first method fails to bring adequate results, other methods may be incorporated which include, but are not limited to, assassinations of leaders, destabilization of commerce by cutting off of trade routes…'"

"This is outrageous!" exclaimed Peridan.

"What did Rahai have to say about Cradish being on the list?" Saedra asked.

Rahai sat up. "Wha-what?"

"Your father's on the list," Edmund repeated, holding out the paper to her.

She leapt out of bed and grabbed the paper, looking at where his finger was pointing. She paled.

"No," she gasped, "That's-that's impossible. My father wouldn't-"

Just then, a knock sounded on the door.

Rahai collected herself after a second and said, "Who is it?" while Edmund hid the papers.

"I bear a message from your grandmother, Mistress," a muffled slave's voice said through the door. "She wishes to see you. It's urgent."

"Thank you," Rahai called, looking tense.

"Are you all right?" Edmund asked in a low voice.

She took in a deep breath. "I'm fine. I'd better go see what Grandmother wants."

"Want me to come?" he offered.

She almost smiled. "That'd be nice."

They made sure the documents were hidden safely before leaving the room and going to Sadris' bedroom. On the way over, they came across Abrastan.

He stopped and asked Rahai urgently, "Have you seen your grandmother today?"

"That's where we're—I'm headed," she replied.

The Tarkaan eyed Edmund with distaste before saying, "She's worse. I've sent a slave for your father as well."

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Still at the brothels," Abrastan said with a definite curl of distaste on his lip.

Rahai sighed, then curtseyed. "I'd better see to Grandmother, then."

She and Edmund quickly went to Sadris' room, and he opened the door for her. Edmund had never been in this room before, as Rahai would always see her ailing grandmother alone. The darkness was in sharp contrast to the early morning sunshine-filled hallways they had just walked through, for the curtains were closed. The room had the stench of sickness in it; Edmund almost gagged.

"Grandmother!" Rahai said, rushing over to the bedside.

Edmund remembered his duty as a slave and stood by the doorway, closing it behind him. He looked over at the bed as inconspicuously as he could. In it was a pale, thin woman. He'd seen her many times during Saedra and Peter's wedding celebrations, and though she hadn't been well then, she was infinitely worse-looking now. It was hard to believe that this woman had been well enough to travel to Narnia a mere seven months before. To the left of the bed stood a slave, staring off into space to give the family privacy.

"Rahai," the woman on the bed muttered, reaching out a bony arm.

Rahai grasped it. "How are you today, Grandmother?"

Sadris took in a raspy breath, and Edmund suddenly felt grateful for the ability to breath freely; the gasp sounded painful.

"I'm fading," she rasped.

"No-" Rahai started.

"Silence, girl," Sadris croaked, managing to snap at her granddaughter even in her deathbed. She turned her head and moved her eyes toward the bed stand. On it sat an envelope.

"The note," she coughed, "is for Saedra."

"Saedra?" Rahai repeated.

"Yes." Sadris closed her eyes as if mustering up the strength to speak. "You must promise me to give it to her. Not by sending it, but personally." She coughed violently, spitting up blood that dribbled down her chin onto her covers.

The slave grabbed a cloth and moved to wipe Sadris' face, but she waved him away.

"No use," she said, coughing a little more. "Rahai, she must read it. She needs to know-"

"It's all right, Grandmother," Rahai said, soothing down her grey locks. She turned to the other slave and said, "Go fetch Abrastan. Now!"

The slave ran out.

"No, it's not all right! I'm-cough-dying, can't you see?" Fear filled Sadris' eyes. "It's my time…my time to join my dear Lalevis…Tell Saedra…no one else must see it…but her…give…"

Sadris' voice died as the life drained from her body. Only Rahai's silent tears could be heard in the silent room. Edmund desperately wanted to comfort Rahai, but he was afraid Abrastan might walk in at any moment.

"Mistress?" he said hesitantly.

Rahai looked up at him, her eyes red. "She was all I had. My only ally."

He was filled with pity at the thought that the waspy woman who was known for snapping at Rahai was her only ally.

Rahai closed her eyes and pursed her lips. "What am I going to do now? Especially with Father now-"

Abrastan ran in breathlessly and stopped short.

"I missed her," he surmised, sounding neither upset nor uncaring; it was simply a statement of fact. As a former military man, he'd obviously come to accept death as a normal part of life.

He went over to Rahai and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," Rahai sniffed, wiping her nose.

Abrastan noticed the envelope and reached for it, but Rahai said quickly, "That's for Saedra!"

He pulled back his hand and furrowed his brow. "Saedra?"

She nodded. "Only Saedra can read it."

Abrastan had the most curious expression on his face, staring blankly. Then his eyes darted toward the envelope with great hunger; he obviously wanted very much to reach the contents.

"And—" Edmund reached into his pocket again, pulling out an off-white envelope that had been sealed with black wax. "Here it is."

He held it out to Saedra, and she took it from him slowly. She looked down at it curiously, wanting to open it, and yet not wanting to open it. What could Sadris have to tell her that was so important, something she hadn't told her before?

"Then what happened?" Peter asked, shifting slowly so as not to awake Talia, who'd fallen fast asleep against him.

Saedra had the impression that he was asking so that she wouldn't be pressured to open it at that moment with everyone around, and she appreciated it. If it was important, she could read it while she was alone.

"Cradish eventually returned, and he mourned the minimal amount required of a son," continued Edmund. "Sadris' funeral preparations kept the household busy, myself included. I wasn't sure if I had enough of a case to go on, what with only a handful of documents to implicate Ahoshta and Cradish, but at the funeral service I overheard Cradish and a couple of other Tarkaans on the list speaking, and I managed to hear enough to know that they were indeed in on the plot.

"After speaking with Rahai, it was determined that I should head back north with my evidence. Since she lives on the north side of the river and not on the island of Tashbaan itself, it was a simple matter of her escorting me off of the property, sneaking a horse and provisions for me, and I was off. I promised her that we would return quickly-and we must, for she has risked much for us and could be caught for any reason at any time-and I left Calormen.

"I travelled along the eastern coast of the desert, crossed the Winding Arrow River at its mouth (for it's very shallow at this time of year, as Saedra knows), and stayed at Harden for a few days. My visit there confirmed that the taxes had not travelled through Archenland, and that my instincts were correct. After leaving there, I headed back here, and here I am!"

"Must have been horrible travelling," Lucy said. "It's very snowy outside."

"Ah, but the desire to be home helped me to bear it," Edmund smiled at her.

Lucy grinned reluctantly. "And I am glad you're here. It wouldn't be Christmas without you."

"Why didn't Rahai just come with you?" Peridan asked. "Considering the danger back there…"

"We talked about that a lot," Edmund replied, "And we decided that it would be better for all concerned if she acted like nothing happened. She decided to pretend that I'd run away and she still loved Ahoshta. All I can hope is that she isn't married to him by the time we sort this out!"

"What's that look about, Sae?" Susan asked, looking at her sister-in-law with concern.

"It's just-I had no idea that Sadris was so sick." Saedra shook her head. "I should have been there. I mean, I am family."

"Rahai wrote you several times," Edmund said. "And as soon as I told her you were in Harden, she wrote there as well."

"I'd probably left Harden by that time," Saedra said, "but I should have gotten the letters she sent here when I came up."

She looked at Peter, and he shrugged.

"We'd better get to bed," Peter yawned. "We can talk about this tomorrow. Most of the partiers have cleared out, and Tal's making my arm numb."

The group chuckled and stretched, and Peter picked up Talia. The group gave hugs all around, wishing each other a Merry Christmas, and they all went off to their rooms. Saedra followed Peter to Talia's room, where he put her to bed and tucked her in, and they both headed back to their chambers.

Peter put his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they walked. "It's been quite a night, hasn't it?"

Saedra smiled, looping her arm around his back. "Just as we were really worried about Ed, he shows up. Providential."

Peter smiled and pushed open the door to their room. They went in, and as they changed out of their party clothes, Saedra said, "I still don't get how Rahai's letters never reached me here at Cair Paravel! It's quite disconcerting that someone may be monitoring my mail."

She climbed on to the bed, holding Sadris' note. Peter didn't reply, and she wondered if he was listening.

"Peter?" she prodded.

He still didn't look at her. He went over to his wardrobe, reached inside, and pulled out a small bundle of what looked like paper. Saedra's stomach clenched when she saw what he carried, but didn't quite believe her eyes. He went over to her and held it out to her, and there was no doubt that these were the letters in question. Rahai's handwriting was unmistakable.

Saedra was utterly shocked: Peter had hidden Saedra's own letters from her. She swallowed and took in a shaky breath.

"Why?" she ask calmly, trying to stay rational.

He looked at her with a guilty expression. "I didn't want you to leave again."

"What do you mean?"

"I accidentally opened one, because the pages put your correspondence in with mine. I saw what it said, that Rahai wanted you to go down," he swallowed, "and-I didn't want you to go. I mean, Sadris has been unwell for ages, and the letter I saw didn't seem any different-I didn't know she was dying-I only saw the first one by accident-"

Saedra shook her head dumbly, unable to vocalize her shock.

Peter continued, climbing up on the bed next to her and taking her hand. "When you came up and hadn't heard from Rahai, I saw it as a sign from Aslan of sorts…and especially since things have been going so well for us, I thought it would be best for us if you didn't leave." His eyes begged her to understand.

"Best for us?" she asked shrilly, pulling her hand away. "Best that you monitor what I read and what I do?"

"Sae," he said pleadingly, "I know it was wrong-it was a horrible thing to do, I see now. But look how good it was for us, these months we've had. We wouldn't be this close if you'd gone down."

"Close?" she said, her cheeks starting to turn red. "You call this close? You acting the whole time like we were equals, that I was free to come and go as I liked, that this was a mutual decision to move our relationship forward?"

"It was, you are free-"

"Not if you're stopping me from being in contact with my family!" she screeched, hopping off the bed as if it was a hot oven.

Peter looked like he'd been slapped, staring at her with red blotches on his cheeks, his mouth hanging open. Whatever reaction he had expected, this certainly wasn't it.

Saedra was shaking with fury. She was furious at him for keeping the information from her, but also furious that he felt like he'd been doing the right thing. She was furious that he looked so hurt, when it was she who had the right to be hurt, not him! And most of all, she was furious that she had allowed herself to fall for him-again-when she'd known better.

"I—I can't talk about this now," Saedra said, shaking her head with her eyes closed. "I-no, no. I can't do this now." She started to walk to the door.

"Sae," Peter implored, reaching out to her. "Please, let's not go back there."

She turned around. "I didn't ask for this, Peter. You did. And if you really love me like you think and say you do, you'll let me do this my way. I need to think about this." She went over to the door and opened it. "Good night," she said sadly and tiredly, before shutting it softly behind her.

She couldn't talk to Peter, she couldn't talk to anyone-except maybe…Yes. There was one person she could confide in. Sadris' letter gripped tightly in her hand, she stalked away from her bedroom.

I only hope he's still awake, she thought, going through halls that were just beginning to fill with Christmas morning's light.