sorry for the unusually long update! i have been MEGA MEGA busy lately. And school for me starts next Wednesday so i will try and get up another chapter before then but then my chapters will be a little longer between but hopefully my chapters will be longer. Enjoy!

"We wait until midnight."

"What if we are spotted?"

"We will not be."

"Yes but what if we are?"

"But what if we are not?"

"But what if we are?"

"He will have our heads for his wall if we do not get her out."

"Probably."

"He specifically instructed we wait until his orders came."

"Indeed."

''What about the giant? The King hired the giant to do the job when he was instructed. There must be a reason the King has waited for so long."

"I do not think this going to work."

"Possibly."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Simple. We kill them all."

"And what if they fight back?"

"They won't."

"But what if they do?"

"They won't!"

"But what if they do!"

"Crush them all."

Matio was making pie. Cherry pie, actually. It was King Caspian's favorite. And he already had set his son off to inquire for a recipe from Queen Lucy. Brownies, he believed they were called. He had once been told by King Edmund that they were her favorite. Queen Susan's, of course. The poor thing had been so shaken up and distraught over everything that had happened lately that he was sure she deserved some special little treat. And so he continued kneading the dough and greasing the pans for another ten or fifteen minutes while he rummaged around for eggs, sugar and butter.

He glared at the massive door to the royal kitchens. He sent his son out nearly twenty five minutes ago to get the recipe, it was nearly eight o' clock at night and he had not even put the pies in the oven or started on the-what were they called?-brownies! Matio sighed in exasperation and went back to rolling the crust on the pie.

Fifteen minutes later Matio slammed his rolling pin down on the counter next to the freshly baked pie. "Where is that boy!" he muttered as he tore off his apron and waddled out the door as fast as his chubby legs would carry him.

And he should not have done that.

Arianna came tearing down the palace hallway as fast as her short little legs would carry her, stumbling and falling and tripping every three steps or so. And her heavy golden skirts were not helping that fact. Perhaps it was not a good idea to try on all of Malicia's dresses for the extra five inches of fabric at the bottom did not make tearing down the hallway any easier. Her little fingers were clutching the massive skirt folds so tightly her dainty fingernails were digging into her palms so tightly a thin stream of blood was trickling down Malicia's skirt. Her very veins seemed to be shaking and her heart was beating so fast it was now just a loud hum instead of a steady beat.

Her curly hair was flying out of its already messy bun and whipping around her face, sticking to her tear tracks and glossed lips. She had never been so...scared in her whole life. What she had just heard come out of her own father's mouth had made her blood run cold. Her own father! She knew her father was...well, a bit evil but this-this was horrible!

She didn't completely understand what her fathers twisted plan was exactly but she had a pretty good idea. Her brain felt like it was seeping out her ears and her legs were made of iron. Suddenly the complicated palace she had memorized like the back of her hands was foreign and unfamiliar. The hallways were spinning, the floor was tilting and the walls were crumbling around her. She felt like she was in one of her dreams where she needs to find her mother right that moment and she kept getting farther and farther away down the hallway and her already blurry features were getting fuzzier and fuzzier.

But this was not a dream. This was her life. This was her real life. Real people were in danger. Real people were going to die if she did not tell someone this second. Her real father was planning on killing them. No, worse he was planning on not killing them. He was planning on letting them live. He was planning on killing the queen to spite the king. To make him suffer. Kasim wanted to make King Caspian hurt. He wanted to make him hurt like nobody's business. Arianna had been only a few seconds old when her mother had died and she had never lost anyone else close to her.

Oh yes, she had seen more death than the innocent eyes of an eleven year old should ever have to but she did not understand pain. Deep, horrifying, soul shattering pain. But she did understand love. She did understand just by the look in his eyes how much King Caspian loved Queen Susan. She could not even imagine how painful it would be for him to lose her. The thought was unthinkable; that her father could even wish that kind of pain upon another human being. And her father did not just want to get Queen Susan, he wanted to make sure that King Caspian would never conceive an heir. But not only that, he wanted Caspian to suffer as much as possible. Arianna could not fully comprehend her father's plan and didn't quite catch every word he said but she was no fool.

And so she ran. And ran and ran and ran and ran. Frantically. For the first time in her life she cursed the elaborate passages and winding staircases. The blood seemed to pound in her ears even louder with every step she took. She had to find Mariella. She had to get to her as quickly as she possibly could. Mariella would know what to do. If only she could find her! Arianna had been to the garden, the library, the courtyard, the kitchen and now she was on her way to her sisters room.

Arianna was on the verge of tears when she hurtled around the corner leading to her and her sisters' chambers when she spotted beautiful sweet Mariella slipping out of her bedroom quietly in her baby blue bathrobe and turning towards the kitchen's. Arianna summoned every breathe of air left in her lungs and let out a squall of pure elation and staggered towards her sister as quickly as the spinning corridor would allow.

Mariella's beautiful dark brown eyes widened in surprise for a moment as she turned and saw Arianna absolutely flying down the hallway towards her. She looked like a wild woman with her over sized dirty dress, crazed eyes and messy tangled hair.

"Arianna? Honey breathe. Is something wrong; are you hurt?" She asked cautiously as she met her baby sister halfway and bent down to her level, sweeping an unruly lock of beautiful thick hair behind her ears. Arianna was terrified and gasping and panting a wheezing for air. Mariella was starting to get just a bit worried. She put a slender hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Honey breathe. What's wrong? What happened? Is it Tristan? Is it Daddy?" Arianna started trembling and whimpering and sobbing and quaking so violently Mariella nearly had a heart attack.

''D-d-daddy...is gonna...he-he's gonna...Queen Susan...baby...Caspian...baby...kill" she wheezed between coughs.

Now Mariella was on the verge of a panic. She grabbed Arianna's arm and whisked her into her bedroom, gently pushing her against the door and squatting down so she could look Arianna in the eye. She waited as patiently as she could while she tried to give her sister a chance to catch her breath. But finally she couldn't wait any longer and felt her heart was going to explode.

She titled Arianna's chin to look at her. "Audi, what happened?What baby?Caspian, is he alright; what about King Peter?Susan? Baby talk to me!"

Fifteen minutes later Mariella couldn't breathe. Her brain was swimming around in her head as she tried to make sense of the jumbled bit of conversation her sister had heard. This was bad. This was really bad. She ran a hand through her hair nervously and blew the loose strands away from her face restlessly. She rubbed her temples. It was like her brain had stopped working. She knew that she should knew exactly what all this meant but she was so surprised that she was drawing a blank. Arianna was terrified and bawling her eyes out and Mariella was just standing there like a fool doing nothing. Arianna looked up to her. She was the only one in the family that was semi decent to her for Aslan's sake! Arianna came to her when she most needed someone to listen to her and understand. And Mariella had no idea what in the hell she was supposed to do now.

And then, she had it. Out of the blue, it was there.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and stood up shakily, turning around for a moment and then turning back to her sister with wide eyes.

"Dear Aslan he is going to wait until she is pregnant to kill her."

The door was wide open.

He smiled to himself as he gripped the vial in his hand and rubbed his calloused fingers around the top and sides. Perhaps for just a fraction of a moment his stomach gave a little flutter and he felt just a twinge of guilt in the very pit of his stomach. But then he thought of all of those creatures and animals running around Narnia and the guilt was gone and the hatred burned inside him once more. Filthy Narnians.

A cold sneer spread across his twisted face as he casually checked the hallway both ways for anyone who might ruin the plan. With one last glance over his shadow he slipped through the wide open door and searched the kitchen thoroughly for any unwanted visitors before quickly sneaking over to the counter. And there it was, cooling on the counter, the very pie that would be King Caspian's undoing. He openly laughed at the pain he was about to cause with just a flick of the wrist. And the pie was still warm. Excellent.

The amphatike would settle in perfectly. No one would ever know.

Without taking his eyes of the tempting pie for even a moment, he uncorked the tiny vial and held it up to the light, chuckling as the liquid sizzled and bubbled. He paused for a moment. This had to be done very carefully. One drop too many could kill the man and ruin the entire plan. And then he would be as dead as that traitor. No, he had to be absolutely positively precisely sure he put in exactly six drops in the pie. If even just a few drops slipped in, everything would be over. If he killed King Caspian, that would be the end of him. For King Kasim wanted the king to suffer. As well as his wife.

So he slowly tipped the vial. One drop. Two. Three. Four. Five...he took a deep breath and leaned his face in closer. The drop trembled and wobbled on the edge of the crystal vial before it finally slipped into the innocent desert. He breathed a sigh of relief and capped it quickly and jammed it into his armor pocket. The pie looked no different. No one would ever know. It smelled as delicious as ever. He smiled to himself and slipped back out the door after checking he was all alone in the corridor.

His job was complete. The plan had begun.

The hallway was chilly. The stone was numbing Susan's toes as she crept down the hallway. She tugged her ratty old bathrobe closer around her and shivered in the eerie moonlight. After everything that had happened in the last few weeks, Susan was paranoid. She hated to be alone. She hated it. She needed to be around people. She had to have people around her. And when Doctor Cornelius had very nicely asked that she not sleep in the chair anymore, she couldn't stand the idea of sleeping in that big bed all by herself. The thought horrified her. It was like sleeping in a grave.

Maybe if she could just get away from everything and go sit in the courtyard for just a moment, she wouldn't feel so awful. Maybe if she could just get away for a few moments and feel the cool air and the peace of the courtyard, she wouldn't feel like she was going to explode.

Something horrible was going to happen. She knew it. She just knew. Soon. Something awful was going to happen very very soon. To someone she loved very very much. And the note was right; she had so much to loose. A husband, a sister, two brothers, a kingdom. Narnia had been taken away from her in the blink of an eye; she had never even seen it coming. And it could all be taken away from her so easily again. Her life was like a candle waiting to be blown out. And Telmar was a strong gust of wind.

Inego did not feel right.

No, he did not feel right about this at all. This was wrong. This was so, so wrong. He felt disgusted. Weak. Horrified. Ashamed. Spineless.

What kind of monster was he? He did not deserve to bear the sign of Aslan on his armor. He did not deserve to walk these hallowed halls. He did not deserve to speak to the Kings and Queens of Old. He did not deserve to wield the sword of a Narnian. He did not deserve to be trusted. He was a weak, spineless little snake.

He knew this was wrong. He knew this would eternally condemn him, his family, his ancestors. And yet, he was still walking down the private chamber hallway, just like he usually would on his patrol, waiting for the signal. And yet he was still there holding that ghastly cross bow in his arms, waiting. Waiting to become a true Telmarine, something he had sworn he would never be. Since the moment his father had fled Narnia after murdering his wife for giving him only one son and six daughters, he made an oath to himself he would not be like that. Like him.

He would not be a liar. He would not be a backstabber. He would not be greedy for power. He would not chase after money. He would not be a murderer. He would not be a Telmarine.

That's why he had become a palace guard in the first place. That it why he spent his whole life working towards seeing that scarlet lion on the the face of his shield. That is why he swore in the name of Aslan to protect his King, Caspian X, the Telmarine Who Saved Narnia.

Oh how he admired that man.

The Telmarine Who Saved Narnia. How he marveled at the words. Caspian was the kindest, most fair, level headed, honest, brave, courageous, intelligent, strong, man Inego had ever known. And Caspian was a Telmarine. Just like him. King Caspian grew up around lies and double meaning and deceit just like him.

But Caspian X was bigger than the evil that seemed to be rooted in the very soul of Telmar. There was something stronger than treachery and blood lust and deceit inside the king. And Inego spent his entire life, since the time he was eighteen, to be just like Caspian X.

But now, as he looked down at the poison tipped around poised in his arms and the Telmarine sword on his hip, he felt only disgust. His King would never carry such evil within him. And here Inego stood, waiting. Just waiting, nothing else. Waiting to prove to himself that he was not good enough. That he was Telmarine. Not a Telmarine like Caspian but a Telmarine like Miraz and Caspian the Conqueror and his father and his grandfather and his uncles and cousins. He was no better than he was. He was no better than them.

And that tortured and tormented him. He SWORE to himself and to his country to follow the path of his King, and now he was taking the path that lead to the pain and ultimate suffering of his king. He was a liar. He was worse than a liar, he was a traitor. And he knew he was better better than this, better than Kasim. He was better than these dark twisted games.

And that was the worst part, he knew he was better and yet here he was, waiting for his opportunity. Waiting for them, waiting to hurt them. If his dear friends did their part of this sick twisted game, he shouldn't have to wait much longer. Right about now the queen should be getting out of bed to check on her husband after being tragically informed her husband had fone into another one of his fits after ingesting another dose of amphatike. His hand shook so heavily his crossbow nearly clattered to the ground. He guped loudly and shivered as the beads of sweat dripped down his temples.

This was wrong. And he couldn't find it within himself to put an end to it. He couldn't be the bigger man. He couldn't save the lives or the pain.

Walk away Inego, just walk away. You do not have to be like this, like them. You can stop this Inego just turn around and walk away.

Two steps, that's all it takes. Walk away Inego; just walk away.

"Inego, is that you?"

Inego groaned internally and if Susan a small whimper in the back of his throat, she pretended not to notice as she made her way from the other direction towards the body guard she knew so well. She raised one eyebrow slightly at the strange look on his face when he turned around albeit reluctantly.

"Is everything alright? You look...anxious." she asked slowly. Inego gulped. And another bead of sweat dripped down his face. Susan came closer to Inego. Ten feet away his eyes blinked rapidly. Seven feet and his hand flinched and his eyes twitched. Five he let out an emormous breath and his chest started rising and falling rapidly, like he was trying to hold back a sigh.

He closed his eyes and swallowed again. This was all so wrong. He was supposed to look her in the face and just...take her away. From her husband, from her family, from her life.

Walk away Inego, just walk away.

"I haven't seen you for so long Inego! How is your family? Your children, have you talked to them lately?" she asked brightly although her smile did not reach her eyes. Inego did not say anything. How could he?

"Fine. Just fine." he answered curtly. Susan blinked and then narrowed her eyes slightly at the familiar guard. Her eyes clouded.

"You know Inego, after everything that has been going on of late..." she face scrunched up in pain and Inego felt a crippling stab of guilt.

"I understand how busy you guards are and how important it is for all of you too be alert...but I was just on my way to the gardens for a bit of fresh air and I was wondering, well, I was hoping, that you would accompany me. I would prefer not to be alone right now." she said a bit sheepishly, ducking her head. Inego's lips pressed into a tight line.

You don't have to be like them Inego. You can still be the good guy.

"I need a friend."

Let her go Inego, just let her go.

"Of course milady. I would be honored."

She doesn't deserve this much pain. Look at her face.

She stopped at looked at him. Really looked at him. "Thank you."

Let her go Inego. Don't be like him. You don't have to be the villian.

Susan turned and started walking the opposite direction. Inego closed his eyes and paused, the crossbow rough and cold beneath his fingertips. They walked in silence for perhaps twenty five seconds before it became uncomfortable and suffocating.

"Is there something you wish to tell me Inego?" she asked carefully.

I am supposed to hold you at the point of my crossbow and threaten to shoot your sister if you do not follow me on a griffin to Telmar where you will be tortured and tormented for days before he finally kills you in front of your family.

"No Your Majesty. Nothing."

She searched his face for several long moments and Inego felt his walls crumbling and his heart beating faster. For only the second or third time he saw not the scared seventeen year old girl but the strong thirty year old woman staring up at him.

"Alright then." she said as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. A few minutes later the silence was killing her. She stopped and stepped in front of her friend.

''I am going to aske you once more and I will not be doing so again. I expect the truth. Is there something you want me to know or tell me?"

"No Your Majesty. Nothing."

She threw her hands in the air.

"Do I look like like an idiot?" she demanded rather angrily. Inego was taken aback and blinked. What a proposterous thought!

"Of course not...!''

"Do you think I am stupid? That I cannot figure it out by the way you are acting that something very important is bothering you?"

Inego was silent for several moments. This was all so wrong.

You can still be the good guy.

"My Queen is too trusting." he said finally in a slightly wavering voice. Susan tilted her head back sligthly but her face did not change. Although the second time he looked at her, he saw not the scared seventeen year old girl but the strong thirty year old woman staring up at him.

She deserves to be happy.

"How so?" she said in a slow interested voice. He could hear the prickle in her voice.

Why was she making this so dang hard? Something inside of him seemed to almost crack and crumble.

He licked his lips several times and tried to get her to understand with his eyes. He ran his fingers up the side of the bow. He had to do this. He had to do this or Kasim would kill him. And he could not do that to his children. He HAD to do this. Every fiber of goodness in his body screamed at him not to. But he had to. He had to ruin her life to save his. Coward.

"You have put your trust in those that you should not." he whispered brokenly, his face twisted in shame and his eyes squeezed shut. He couldn't do this. He could not ruin his Kings life by kidnapping his queen.

She deserves to live to have a baby.

Susan's heart started to beat a little faster.

"What do you mean?" she said slowly.

Inego grabbed his hair in his hands and snarled at the ceiling, wandering a few steps away and mumbling worried to himself, his eyes still shut tight in shame.

Don't do it. She is a good person. King Kasim is not.

She doesn't deserve this. You are not like them Inego. You can still be like Your King. Save his wife.

You are not like your father.

You are not like them.

You are not like them.

Inego let out one last snarl of irratation and grabbed the queen's arm and pulled her into a side hallway. His irration slipped away and a staggering, agonizing stab of guilt pierced through his heart when he saw the fear in her pretty eyes.

"You should not trust me your majesty. Can you not understand that!"he roared. Her eyes widened. He pressed her into the stone wall. She said nothing, only stared. His face was scrunched in absolute furry and the she had seen the look in his eye only on Miraz's face. For a moment she thought he was going to jab his crossbow right through her and stick it in the wall.

His face softened and she saw only pure remorse in his eyes. He bowed his head and let out a sort of sob.

"You should not trust me. I am a bad man your majesty." he choked out.

"I don't believe that. I trust you Inego." she said quietly. He bit his lip and shook his head.

"BUT YOU SHOULD NOT! Can you not understand that you smart, smart woman! I am a bad person Queen Susan; a bad person."

"I don't believe that. I know you, you are a very good person."

"If you knew why I am speaking to you right now you would not think so."

"But you're a good person!''

"I AM SUPPOSED TO KIDNAPP YOU!"

sorry for the long update! hope yal like it and review review reveiw!