Wow that was a pretty darn quick update, if i do say so myself. Hope i do not let any of you down and a HUGE shout out to obsessedchick15 who helped me over my writers block and gave me several ideas for this chapter and unknowingly planted a few plot bunnies in my head...
Happy reading!
Something was clearly bothering the Sassafras.
The poor thing had not moved for days now, and his fur was beginning to fall out. Bumblehoof did not remember ever hearing the queer little….well, whatever it was, - speak or make any noises for days. The other …thing-seemed to be doing alright, although he had not touched his food for days-not even the freshly caught squirrel (or rather Squirrel-the reason the Just King refused).
Bumblehoof humphed irritably to himself, resuming the counting of all of his goodies he had found the day before. That funny little castle between the two hills was Bumblehoof FAVORITE place to look for goodies in fact…but that is a tale for another day.
One. He pulled out a broken bit of chain (unbeknownst to him, the very bit that had once held the Just King prisoner beside Master Tumnus in the great and terrible hall of the White Witch). The cyclops smiled when it made that oh so funny clanging against the stone floor.
Two. The strangest little stone figure of a single chipmunk frozen as if in the middle of a sentence that Bumblehoof had found in the very darkest corner of what used to be a throne room.
Three. The softest, most comfy and cozy white coat ever laid eyes on by the cyclops; and it certainly looked like polar bear fur, (a personal favorite of a certain White Witch).
Four. Now this, this was the strangest thing of all. e He humphed again and sat down with a large thud. His little pets stirred slightly, the big one sleepily and slowly rolling on his side and watching the great buffoon marvel at the cordial, Edmund practically drooling.
Dumbly, Bumblehoof scratched his head and stared at the tiny vial with his great eye. The Just King nearly went mad, squirming and grabbing his hair and closing his eyes and mumbling incoherently. All which went unnoticed by Bumblehoof.
After ten minutes of ogling the vial, putting it up to his ears and licking it numerous times….Bumblehoof shrugged his massive shoulders and carelessly tossed the cordial on the earthen floor and continued digging through his bag.
Edmund could not contain his feelings anymore and smacked the iron bars.
"Woulddja be careful with that for Aslan's sake!" he hollered at the giant, his eyes twitching and his hands grasping frantically at the bars of the suspended cage.
The giant gave a startled grunt of surprise and (with much effort) stood up and hobbled his way to Edmund's cage. The giant's footsteps made the ground shake as well as cages, Edmund feeling as though he would vomit and Trumpkin stirring from his unconsciousness.
"Pet make words? Pet has not spoken in days!"
Bumblehoof was excited and clapped his hands with glee, making the two Narnians most woozy.
"Yes, well with all this sunlight the pair of us has been getting its amazing we have been able to maintain our ability to speak!" Edmund said with bitter sarcasm.
An abundance of moans and whimpers filled the air and moments later, a very, very ill and very emaciated Trumpkin slowly sat up and looked at Edmund with glazed over eyes and distant expression tinted with relief that his king was beside him and shared all his woes.
The dwarf's eyes caught the sparkle of the cordial and he suddenly dug into the very corners of his body, summoning his last ounces of strength and hastily jumped to his feet, gripping the iron bars and pressing himself against them as close as he could.
"Aslan's mane it can't be! How in the blazes did this great buffoon get that!"
Edmund shook his head curtly to the left, gesturing the dwarf to say no more but Bumblehoof dumbly followed Trumpkin's gaze to the cordial. The cyclops smiled.
"Oh, Sassafras like my uh, my uh. Well, I don't know WHAT it is but it's awful pretty, huh my pets?"
Neither said anything and both bit his cheeks to keep their angry words at bay.
Bumblehoof did not understand and took their silence to offense.
"What is the matter, my lovelies? You do not like my goodies? Why you no speak?"
"Perhaps," Edmund almost growled, "if we could get out of these blasted cages and see some sunlight and get some fresh air!" he snarled, collapsing into a heap on the cold floor of his cage and giving himself over to the agonizing cough in his throat.
Understanding washed across Bumblehoof's large face. "Oh. My pretties want to go outside. My little lovelies do not like the dark? Are my little ones a-scared of the dark?"
Edmund played along, describing all of their woes and pains to the great beast who's large eye welled up with tears. "Oh, oh my darlings, my babies my lovelies, I am sorry. Me am a horrible daddy, my poor babies you suffer so much and never you say anything! Outside, outside we go!"
Edmund dared not believe his ears as the large brass key turned in the still larger iron lock and alas-oh alas!-the door to the cage swung open and the large boulder in front of the door scraped against the wall as Bumblehoof moved it from the doorway-light FINALLY streaming in, shining as golden as the mane of the great lion who began the lives-the real lives-of King Edmund the Just and the greatest Kings and Queens our world will never know.
"Susan...?" Caspian said nervously, twiddling his thumbs and shifting uncomfortably between the sheets as he watched her beautiful form moving gracefully around their bedroom, soaking warm towels, spooning soup and medicine into a bowl and piling blankets near the bed.
"Hmmm..?"
Caspian shifted again, feeling the beads of sweat dripping down his face. He was a king for Aslan's sake, there is not way he should be this horribly nervous, like a schoolboy preparing to confess a naughty crime to his father.
'"Yes, love?" she repeated again loftily, only half listening.
It seemed like hours before he took a deep breath, seriously feeling as though he was going to vomit.
"Well, I was thinking...no, I have been thinking-since Christmas when we spent time with all of those children from the town-"
"Mmm, beautiful little darlings," she interrupted tenderly and then signaled for Caspian to continue.
"Yes, well,... I was thinking maybe about, well...I think that I am ready to um...what I mean to say is that I think that its time to...uh"
Susan sighed.
"Really dear-"
"-I want to have a baby."
Both royals stopped and blinked at eachother, Susan looking a little surprised but still very lofty and mild, as if her head was slightly in the clouds.
"A baby? A baby what?"
Caspian pulled his eyebrows together and stared at her with surprise written in his chocalate eyes. Was she being serious, or did he just enjoy seeing him squirm?
"Well...a baby us, Susan. I want to have a baby; I want us to be parents."
Susan blinked in surprise and put down her spoon, settling her free hand on her hip. She felt a bit blind-sided but not quite sure why.
"Well sweetheart... did you just miss the entire lecture Mariella gave about her father waiting for me to get pregnant and then declaring war and then trying to kill me?"
"No, no of course not! That was some of the scariest news I have ever heard in my life! I would never, ever dream of risking your life like that- I don't know what I would do if he-if he...if that ever happened."
He paused and looked thoughtfully at his hands.
"Not right now of course. After this, after all of this mess is over. After I KNOW that you will be safe while carrying our baby and that all is well," he said quitely. Susan smiled, and walked cross the room, crawling into bed beside him and settling her head on his chest.
He in turn rested his cheek on her head and put his arm around her, stroking her long dark hair. He stopped for a moment with a troubled expression.
"Do you...not...want to have a baby?Well, or my baby?" he asked in a slightly injured tone.
Susan let out a horrified gasp, her head snapping off his chest and her beautiful blue eyes staring at him in a horrified manner.
"Oh Caspian, oh darling no, no of course not!" she said hurriedly, horrified at his words.
She cupped the side of his face with her hands and rubbed his cheek tenderly.
"Oh my love, nothing would make me happier than to have your baby. I have wanted a baby my entire life, oh of course I want a baby! I have never wanted anything more than I want to have a baby with you."
Caspian could not help himself and let out an enormous sigh of relief at her words, seeing the truth of them in her eyes. But she still looked so troubled.
"Caspian, we-we will try. After all of this is over and our baby will be safe in this world. You heard Mariella, Kasim is just waiting to kill our baby. We can't -we just cannot risk it right now Caspian." She paused and smirked at her husband.
"Besides, Peter seems rather against the idea. "
"THAT BLASTED LITTLE MINX!"
"How dare she? Who does she think she is, the bloody queen of Telmar! HOW DARE SHE, AFTER ALL I HAVE DONE FOR HER!"
"Father please..."
"Shut up!'' the King roared, slapping a vase off its stand and ignoring his daughters' flinches as it smashed against the wall in a million pieces.
Tristan continued pacing like a caged leopard. "How dare she! And to think, I call her sister, the little traitorous minx!'' he spat venomously, eyes flaming.
"That-that TRAITOR! She has sided with those Narnians! Why, she is no better than that Traitor Caspian the Tenth! Oh and if she ever comes back, I'll kill her!"
All four daughters gasped in absolute terror. "NO! Father, you can't! She's your daughter for Aslan's sake-oops!"
Malicia covered her mouth in her hands as Kasim stopped in his tracks and slowly, menacingly, turned to face his three trembling daughters.
"What did you just say?" he said in his most dangerous voice.
Arabelle and Arianna scrambled behind Malicia wildly clutching at her dress and shoulders, the three young girls shaking and quaking with fear as their father advanced angrily on them until his nose was nearly touching Malicia's.
"Did you just speak in the name of that-that lion?"
The three girls backed up as the older man came forward until Arianna's back bumped against the door, all three girls letting out a gasp as the fury in their father's eyes grew stronger and stronger.
Malicia screamed when her father grabbed his dagger out of the folds of his cloak, raising it above his head in knobbly hands trembling with anger.
All three screamed and squeezed their beautiful eyes closed, but the blow never came. Before they knew it, they were being drug down the hallways of the palace by the hair, their knees scraping against the jagged stone as they screamed and yelled, Malicia hitting her father's arms and fists in desperation.
"Daddy stop! Stop, let us go!"
"Please! Please!"
"SHUT UP YOU UNGODLY CREATURES! You are going where no one will ever find you, and you will never turn out like your miserable excuse for a sister!"
And with that he stopped in front of the great iron door, threw it open and shoved all three of his sobbing children inside, slamming the door behind him and twisting the key in the lock.
Finally realizing what happened, the princesses scrambled up and threw themselves against the heavy in door in time to see the sneer of their father through the bars of the window, walking away and leaving them there to rot.
"No, no-ooo. Stop! Let me out! Oh please, let me out. YOU CAN'T KEEP US IN HERE! Oh-h please...let us out! You must let me out, you can't keep me in here!"
"Please! Please, you must let us go! We are your children you cannot do this!"
"Father!"
King Kasim ignored his children's plee for mercy and only continued walking briskly down the dungeon corridor with a cruel sneer on his face until he reached his own dark chambers where he sat down at his desk and began writing a declaration of war.
One day, when Edmund was nine years old, he passed a woman on the street. Her skin was tight, her face was scarred, her hair was white although she could have been no older than twenty four. She must have weighed about sixty pounds. She was screaming and covering her ears with her hands, rocking back and forth on the sidewalk, the tears running down from her eyes. Helen Pevensie had swallowed hard and pulled Edmund along, the little boy staring at the young woman.
The two walked along in silence for while, Mrs. Pevensie trying hard not to cry while little Edmund pulled on her skirts.
"Mummy, why is that lady so sad?"
Mrs. Pevensie sighed and turned to her son with tears in her eyes. "My boy, there are horrible things in this world that we cannot understand, people in this world that we cannot understand. That lady-that poor young girl-was just saved from a concentration camp. "
Edmund was only nine but he knew well the meaning of the word.
"Why, why was she put in a concentation camp?" he asked innocently.
A tear slid down his mum's cheek and she put a hand on her son's shoulder. "Because sweetheart, she worshipps the lord in a different way. And some people cannot accept that and open their hearts to something different."
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes and no, my sweet. She was saved by a soldier; a very good man saved her life. But no my dear, I am afraid she will never quite be alright again. Her scars will heal and she will regain her health but I do not think she will ever be quite alright again. "
And on that day, Edmund made an oath that he would be that very good man that saved lives. Or that very good man that opened his heart to something new.
Edmund was not sure why the image of that poor young lady popped into his head when he felt the grass beneath his feet, but she was the first thing he saw in his mind. All of those years ago he had seen her for just a moment but she had left such an imprint on his mind that her memory had survived almost two lifeties.
As the sunlight caressed his face, Edmund smiled and pictured the moment that poor Jewish woman had been saved from her prison and seen the sun for the first time in who knows how long. He pictured the gratitude on her face and her mouth stretched into a wordless thank you as he lead her away from the hell hole.
He felt just like she looked, pale and sick and dangerously thin. He wanted to collapse on the grass and cry, holding his hands over his ears to block the awful darkness and piercing cold that had clouded his brain for eighteen days. He had been suffering for so long but now he was free, he was out in the sun. He was feeling the wind brushing against his face and smellling the aroma of flowers wafting through the breeze. His captor had saved him. He had been one of the lucky ones, he had been saved. And despite all of the horrible things he had seen in his life and all the agony and bloodshed he had witnessed in his time, there was good in the world.
He could see it on the face of every child, in the gaze of every soldier war bound, in the face of every old man who was sending his son off to defend what he know longer was able to, in the face of every girl waiting for her lover to walk off the train. In the face of every great king that had ever lived.
In the face of the great Lion who had brought the goodness to this world.
In the face of his sisters and his brothers and his friends. By the lions mane, there was good in this world. He could see it glowing, could see it right before his eyes, thriving and growing and spreading itself to all corners of the land. It was called hope and it had saved him from the darkness of the cave.
And it was what brought him home. At last.
The Giant had fallen, the cave had been closed, the treasures had been gathered and the cages destroyed so that none may suffer the same fate of Sir Trumpkin of Narnia and the good King Edmund the Just. The cordial was safely in the clutches of the King once more, the swords had been found stowed away beneath a great bookshelf that had gone unnoticed by the prisoners. Everything was going to be alright.
And as King Edmund and Trumpkin flew across the valleys and forests like the wolves of Jadis were on their heels, Edmund was fueled by the euphoria growing in his heart, for he had not failed his brother-in-law. Just a few moments and he would be bursting victoriously through the gates and at last-oh at last he would look upon the faces of his family once more and be apart of their love again after eighteen days of not knowing if they were well, or even still at the castle.
As the last hill was climbed and the towers of Cair Paravel-the home of the four thrones of the sons of adam and the daughters of Eve- Edmund could not help but feel a slight stab of guilt pulling at him. It had been unkind of them to escape as they did and was genuinely sorry-but that too is a tale for another day.
Edmund could not get enough of the fresh air that was whipping across his face and he could sense that Trumpkin felt the same way. The moment the castle gates came in sight Edmund feared that he would explode, because he could find no outlet for the extreme happiness that was bursting from every cell in his body.
He and Trumpkin-companions to the end, brothers at heart, partners in crime-finally skidded to a halt right in front to the large gates and looked at eachother.
They were home.
yay, Edmund's finally home! That drug out a little longer than i thought but i will be explaining exactly how he and Trumpkin actually escaped in the next chapter, as well as the reunion scence, the declaration and preparation of war yada yada yada. Hopefully the first battle will begin in the chapter after next, or if all goes well, in the next chapter as well. So stay tuned; it is going to get exciting.