Susan hadn't seen Caspian eat or sleep since finding out about his father's murder. He just sat quietly for hours, rarely leaving her sight. She didn't know what to do or say to him to help the situation, but she knew their time was running short. It was time to snap him out of it.
"Caspian...if you truly wish to take back the throne, you will need the help of the Narnians...which means we need to escape."
Caspian looked back at her, "The numbers of the Narnians are too few...their defense will not last a day against the Telmarine troops."
"Be that as it may, Caspian, we must try."
"We need more troops."
Susan nodded, "Well...yes, but there are none."
"There are those who refuse to accept Miraz as their ruler. Those who still consider me to be the rightful king. Miraz began hunting them...so they fled into the mountains. If I can find them, they will fight with us."
Susan looked hopeful, "I will go with you."
"No!" he said quickly, causing her to jump. His expression softened as he looked at her apologetically, "I could not bear it if you endured any further pain because of me my queen."
Susan stared at him with a surprised look on her face. He had never called her a queen with sincerity before. For the first couple of days after her capture, he usually said it sarcastically...making it more of an insult than a title, "What am I to do then?"
"You must stay here to avoid raising suspicion. I will tell my uncle I will be going on a hunting trip. I will return for you...I promise."
She stood and walked over to the window, looking out over the castle grounds, "How long will you be gone?"
"I will not leave you in this castle alone for more than two days. Just stay quiet and you will be safe." She felt him walk up behind her and place a hand on her arm, "I have hurt you greatly your majesty...I cannot make up for it, but I can protect you from further harm. I didn't know...I thought...I thought it was what I was supposed to do. I...found out from the journal, that after my father died, my uncle did the very same thing to my mother. When she became pregnant with his child, she committed suicide. He broke her...the same way he tried to make me break you."
Susan turned around and looked into his eyes. She was shocked to see tears freely streaking down his face. He made no effort to hide them from her, but he turned his face to the floor when her eyes fell upon his. She took his chin and lifted it up, "But you didn't Caspian...you didn't break me."
He looked into her eyes for a moment and saw more hope and goodness than he'd ever seen in his entire sad life. He leaned down and kissed her hungrily, but she jumped away, "I'm sorry..."
He sighed, "No, it is I who am sorry..."
She put a hand on his shoulder, "You are a good man Caspian...you just have to trust yourself..." she moved her hand down to his chest, "...trust your heart."
He gave her a long, thoughtful look, "I trust you."
She smiled, "You know, I'm not a saint Caspian..."
He stared down at her, "No, but your reputation precedes you. I read about you...your kindness...your strength...you beauty. I was too ignorant to truly believe the teachings until now."
"That was me here in Narnia...back in Finchley I was just a girl", she sighed.
He gave her a questioning look, "Finchley?"
She smiled, remembering that he didn't know about her life outside of Narnia. For hours, they talked. She told him stories from back home and of the Golden Age. For the first time ever, Caspian was comfortable enough to laugh with someone.
She fell asleep next to him on the bed. He watched her as she slept. It was the first time he had ever done so in the many nights he held her prisoner. He gently brushed her hair from her face and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead before falling asleep himself.
The following day, she sat on the bed, watching as he got ready to leave, "Alright...that should be the last of it...remember what I said about staying in the room."
She nodded and stood, removing her necklace from her neck. It had a gold pendant with her initials embossed on it, "Take this with you."
He couldn't help but smile, "I shouldn't."
She put it over his head and rested her hands on his shoulder, "If you run into any Narnians, tell them you are highly favored of Queen Susan the Gentle...then show them this. It will keep you safe."
He nodded and touched the pendant, "Thank you."
She looked into his eyes for a moment before laying a chaste kiss on his lips, "Be careful."
He gently touched her face before leaving, wondering how she could be so sweet and compassionate to him after all he had put her through.
The first day passed uneventfully. She tried to busy herself in the room, rereading all of the books on his book shelf. At least when he was there, she had someone to look at. The second evening, she eagerly awaited his return. She heard footsteps approaching the door and stood eagerly, "Caspian?"
She was horrified to see Miraz step through the door, wearing his disgustingly smug smile, "Good evening Queen Susan...the gentle."
She backed up a little and eyed him warily, "What are you doing here?"
"I am simply checking on the prisoner in the absence of the young prince...do you have everything you need?" he asked as he backed her into a corner.
She began to feel trapped as she bumped into a table behind her, "I am fine."
Internally, she panicked as he stepped closer and reached down, taking a hold of the skirt of her dress, "One must be careful with such fine fabrics..." he quickly and violently ripped the dress all the way up from the bottom, exposing the slip underneath, "...because they do tend to rip quite easily."
She tried to fight against him, but it was no use. He grabbed her by the neck and pinned her to the bed beneath his weight as he reached down to unlace his pants with the other hand, "My nephew may have been too weak to put you in your place Narnian...but I am a true Telmarine!"
He licked at her exposed flesh as he relished the feeling of her struggling body beneath his and her cries of protest.
Susan shut her eyes tight, preparing for the worst. There was no way to stop Miraz...no look of hope or compassion would keep this animal from violating her. She resigned herself to her fate and clenched every muscle of her body, praying she could just make it through. As she felt Miraz prepare to enter her, she heard him let out a painful cry.
Susan's eyes popped open to see Caspian standing over them with his sword drawn. She looked at Miraz's face which was growing paler by the second as he collapsed on top of her. Susan looked at Caspian's sword and noticed a thick layer of blood coating half of the blade. Caspian quickly yanked Miraz from atop her and turned him over as her attacker gasped for air. Caspian held the blade to his throat, "Look at me! Look at me, you filth!" Miraz obediently looked into Caspian's flashing eyes, "You are responsible for stealing everything I've ever cared about in this world. You killed my father...my mother, and attack my queen! For that...you die."
Susan looked away as Caspian dug the sword into Miraz's throat. There was an eerie silence that followed until Susan found enough courage to look back up. Caspian dropped his sword and rushed to her, picking her up in his arms and craddling her body to his, "Was I too late? Did he...did he..."
She looked up at him with wet eyes as tears threatened to pour forth, "No...no...he didn't."
Caspian breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through her hair, "When I saw him on top of you...I...I was afraid you would suffer the same fate as my mother."
He waited for the trembling in her body to ease before he sat her on the opposite side of the room so that the majority of Miraz's body was out of her sight. He picked his sword up and cleaned the blood off using a blanket. He looked around the room and attempted to formulate a plan. He knew Miraz had the guards in front of is room temporarily dismissed so that he could have his way with Susan, but they knew he had been in there and would be back soon.
He grabbed some of his clothes from his wardrobe and took Susan by the hand, leading her into the bathing room. He sat her down on a bench in the corner of the room and took the dagger from his boot, handing it to her, "Listen to me very carefully Susan...the men from the mountains are on their way to the How to fight with the Narnians. My horse, Destrier is just outside the southern entrance of this palace. Tie your hair back and put on these clothes. Leave the room and walk with your head down all the way out of the palace. If anyone tries to stop you..." he held up the dagger.
She took it, "But what about you?"
"I must create a diversion so that you have enough time to escape...it won't be long before Miraz is found and I want you to be far from here before that happens."
She shook her head and grabbed him into a desperate hug, "No! I cannot leave without you! I won't!"
He pried her arms from around his neck and clasped her hands together in front of him, "You must Susan...I can never fully redeem myself for how I treated you...but I can do my best." He stared into her beautiful blue orbs and stroked the side of her face, "I didn't realize how dark my life was until I saw your bright eyes...I want you to know how thankful I am for having known you. I will never know a beauty like yours...inside and out."
They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed passionately, yet quickly. She held to his hands until he was too far away to hold onto. She watched him give her one last look before he rushed from the room. She slipped into her borrowed clothes and tied her hair back, doing her best to hide her femininity. Everything hung off of her small frame, but she tied knots in the loose ends of the fabric to make it appear as if it fitted.
She snuck out and lowered her head when guards rushed past her. She heard voices yelling behind her and a commotion before she briskly walked down the stairs and out through the nearest doors. As promised, Destrier stood saddled and ready to go. She noticed her bow and quiver sticking from the saddle bag and looked back at the castle, wondering if she would see him again. She quickly jumped onto the horse's back and rode as quickly as she could away from the castle.
I won't know if you like it if you don't say so! Please keep the feedback coming! Thanks for the reviews/story subscriptions/etc.
