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Chapter Eleven: Escape

Peter

Little children lined the marble streets of the town around Cair Paravel and threw the vibrant flowers of late summer on the ground before Peter's procession. There were others, of course, probably nearly everyone in the city, but the human children were the ones with the flowers. Each time he saw a little girl with golden curls, his heart ached for Catherine.

The war with the Giants was officially over. A few soldiers were staying, of course, to guard Narnia's Northern border, but the bulk of the army, including its High King, was returning. He knew that he was expected at Cair Paravel, but the procession through the city was agonizingly slow. He could see the castle rising up before him, but the distance that he could have traveled in a few minutes took far longer due to the crowds.

When Peter finally arrived at the castle, he felt strangely shy. There were crowds of nobles gathered in the courtyard and on the wide stairs which led to the castle. Their cheers were loud, but Peter began to hear them as if far away. He and the humans of his company dismounted their horses and after a hurried conversation with several of his courtiers, he realized that he was expected to make a speech.

He was used to this sort of thing, of course, and he gave his usual bit about bravery and the safety of Narnia and its people, but his heart wasn't in it. He was home and he knew that he should be happy – in fact he was happy – but happiness was only one of many emotions that he was feeling at the moment. He knew that he would soon be greeted by the people who were closest to him at the castle – and first of all his family.

Peter greeted Lucy with a kiss on both cheeks and Edmund with a hug. He could tell that they were both happy to see him and Lucy was positively grinning, but the greeting was, of course, rather formal. Susan, as Peter had been told earlier today, was not at Cair as he had hoped. Then, his children were brought to him. Peter sucked in his breath – he had been hoping that he would be able to greet his children in private. The disadvantages to having family greetings made public were great and doubly so with children. Too formal a meeting and people would see you as cold; too emotional and people would see you as weak. Despite the fact that Narnia didn't have a terribly stuffy type of court, Peter knew that there were always people willing to criticize his life outside of being King of Narnia – even if they liked him as a ruler!

First Catherine was handed to him. She hugged him around the neck and kissed him on the cheek. Peter couldn't believe how old she seemed – she had apparently been allowed to wear a more grown-up sort of dress of light green and ribbons in her golden curls for the occasion. Peter also noticed that she was naturally comfortable being in the center of attention. She smiled sweetly and waved at the crowd and Peter could see that she was already shaping up to be the kingdom's darling. Peter, happy to hold her again, patted her curls and sat her on the ground.

The problem came with his son, Jonathan. Peter wasn't sure why he had been brought out – he was just a baby and seemed disoriented by all the noise and the bright sunlight. The child was sucking his thumb and clutching at his nurse's neck. He was handed over to Peter and promptly began wailing, tears rolling down his ruddy little face. Peter tried to quiet him with playful, soothing words but Jonathan was having none of it and began reaching for his nurse and crying even harder. Peter handed him over. There was an awkward tension in the air that Lucy finally broke.

"I'm sure that once Prince Jonathan has had his afternoon nap, he will be quite happy to see his father," she said, laughing easily. Peter could have hugged her.

--- -- ---

A week later, matters had not much improved with his son. Peter had been to see the child twice, but the first time Jonathan had hidden under his bed the better part of the visit and the second time he had clung to his nurse's skirts. Lucy had decided that with the beautiful spring weather that they should have a "family picnic". Peter knew that this was probably a response to his situation with his son, but he had agreed.

Jonathan was spending the afternoon in Lucy's lap, sucking his thumb and watching Peter carefully. He was not sure what the boy was so cautious of – he knew that small children were occasionally intimidated by him because of his height and his rather deep voice, but they usually got over it soon enough.

Jonathan was nearly three years old by now and for the first time, Peter noticed that the boy looked very like he himself but for his fairer hair and skin. When Catherine tried to play with the boy, he clung to his toy – a worn out stuffed rabbit – and shook his head. Catherine shrugged and went to play peek-a-boo with Edmund's son, Gwain, who was now over a year old. Peter chewed on a rather tough piece of cold chicken. It was a lovely day, but he couldn't help but feel he was wasting it.

Just as they had finished their meal, Peter heard a commotion in the woods near by, where guards were stationed.

"…their Majesties may not be disturbed," one of the guards, Lanus the centaur, was saying. Whoever wished to see them was not taking no for an answer, though Peter could not catch more than one word in ten that he was saying.

"It's all right, Lanus," Peter called. "Let him approach." He was surprised to find that the person who wished to see them was a young boy, a peasant from one of the islands, by his dress.

"You – Your Majesty," he stuttered after Peter greeted him, apparently now nervous. "I was bade give this to one of you and no other," and he handed Peter a rolled up piece of parchment.

Peter frowned as he noticed the seal – it was the royal seal of Narnia. After he had read about a quarter of it he gasped and dropped it, his mind reeling.

"Well," Edmund said, and Peter jumped, "what is it?" He had forgot that everyone was waiting anxiously.

Peter picked up the document, and sighed grimly. "It's Susan."

Susan

"Is everything ready?" Susan whispered to her lady-in-waiting, Regina.

"Your Majesty should be prepared to leave by tomorrow evening," Regina said, in a conspiratorial tone of voice. Then she giggled. Susan realized that this was an exciting adventure for the girl. "They must have bought one of the merchant ships," Regina went on, "because I certainly can't tell the difference."

Susan's other Narnian lady-in-waiting, Delma, was playing the harp rather loudly in the corner so that the guard that Torim had posted would not be able to hear their whispered conversation.

"Did you get clothes for us?" The three had decided that they would have to go disguised as common women who dressed quite differently in Terebinthia, as wearing their regular clothes would attract attention. The streets of Elondos certainly weren't safe after dark, especially for women, but the walk was not at all long and they had their daggers. It would have been nice to have an escort, but Susan had been unwilling to trust any of Torim's men and the only male who had been let in on their plans was a former stable boy whom they had persuaded to carry messages for them.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Regina said and proceeded to show the clothes that she had hidden away in a drawer. They were horribly drab – or so Susan thought. But she noticed something else.

" Regina, there are only the two dresses here."

"Ah – um – yes --" Regina stammered, giving Delma a sidelong glance. Delma had stopped playing and walked over to stand before Susan. Suddenly, she dropped into a low curtsey before Susan. "You know that I love you, Your Majesty – but I – I – Nolon…" she trailed off as she said his name, a man who had been paying her no small amount of attention, as Susan knew.

"You want to stay here," Susan said, with a growing sense of dread. How she would get along without Delma, she did not know. Regina was sweet enough, but was a rather silly girl.

"He's asked me to marry him," Delma burst out, blushing. "I wish to say yes."

"You may certainly have my blessing if you like, my dear," Susan said, "but you know that they do not treat their women here as they do in Narnia."

"Oh I know. But Nolon isn't a noble, you know, he's a shopkeeper. They treat their women a bit more equally. Many women help run the business right alongside the men. Anyway, Nolon isn't like that," Susan could hear the ecstasy in the young woman's voice as she said his name. She couldn't understand it – Susan had seen Nolon once and ascertained that he was middle-aged and balding man without much personality, though he certainly wasn't repulsive.

"Far be it from me to stand in the way of love," Susan said out loud, for she recognized the emotion when she saw it. She had been in love with Torim – yes, truly in love – and even though she now knew what sort of person he was, her heart broke every time she thought of him.

"Queen Susan," Delma said, dragging Susan out of her reverie. "There is one I should like to have my place."

--- -- ---

Susan sat in a plush chair in her quarters, surveying the girl. She knew for a fact that Torim had been sleeping with this girl fairly recently, though she did not suppose that Delma could have known this when she asked if the young woman could come along. After she had caught Torim with the first girl, Susan had done some investigating into his affairs and found that there were many other women. He did not even make much of a secret of it and Susan was embarrassed that she was the only one on the whole island who did not seem to know.

This girl – Carina – looked just like all the others. She was blonde and busty and Susan had ascertained that she was a kitchen maid. Oddly, that had been one of the things that hurt Susan the most. Torim couldn't have ever really cared about her – she wasn't even his type. She was surprised that he hadn't tried to court Lucy instead, but Lucy had been rather young when he first came to the Narnia court. Lucy would have seen through him.

"And why is it that you want to come to Narnia?" Susan said, trying her best to sound queenly and superior. She was not sure why – she did not usually act so snooty.

"Your Majesty," the girl curtsied low and her eyes never left the ground. "My parents are dead and I have no family. And I have heard that in Narnia women are listened to and respected and are not forced to do anything against their wills."

Susan raised her eyebrows. She wondered if the girl meant Torim. Susan had told Torim to keep away from her after she had found out about his affairs and so far he had done so, but he had made some rather vague threats. He told her that he would have a son, an heir out of her. Susan did not think that he would force himself on any woman, but she was not sure and she knew that it would certainly be hard for a peasant girl to say no to the King in this country even if she wanted to.

The truth was that Susan was already pregnant again – in fact, she thought that it was starting to show, though she was careful to hide it. If Torim knew that she was pregnant then he would probably double her guard or send her off to some god-forsaken castle in the country. Her chances of getting back to Narnia would decrease dramatically.

Susan looked at Carina who was fidgeting nervously. She wanted to hate her, but that didn't make much sense. She did not steal Torim from Susan – if not her, Torim simply would have found someone else. When Susan looked at the girl's face, she could not help but believe that she was sincere.

"Very well, you can come," Susan said, giving her a kind smile.

--- -- ---

Needless to say, Susan was very upset when, the next evening, she found Regina sitting in her quarters with about ten other women who Susan had never seen before.

"What is this?" Susan asked her, fearing that she had somehow been betrayed.

"They want to come with us," Regina said, brightly. "Can you believe it? Apparently, no one likes Terebinthia much.

"What?" she drew Regina aside. "What were you thinking? Don't you know how dangerous it was to tell them? This is very serious – if we are caught -- "

Regina rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Queen Susan. They are my friends." Susan looked at the group of women. They were all young – none looked older than thirty. A few of them wore veils over their faces, as was the style of the country women here. Susan knew that Regina called anyone who was fun at parties her friend.

Susan sighed. She knew that it was no use in telling them to leave now that they already knew all her plans. Susan turned to the women. "I want you all to choose a partner – so many of us walking through the streets together will draw attention. If you are wearing silks or velvets or any fine fabrics or fancy jewelry then you need to find a change of clothes within the next few hours."

This would never work! With everyone that Regina had told, Torim was sure to have found out and was waiting to catch her, even now. Susan had no idea how they were going to sneak so many women out of the castle successfully. The plan was almost certain to fail and yet Susan couldn't bear to not go forward. It would be a long time before she got another chance to get away.

"Aren't you going to yell at me?" Regina whispered from behind Susan.

Susan sighed. "Now, when have I ever yelled at you? And there is certainly no use in arguing now."

--- -- ---

Susan could hardly believe it when she stepped foot on the ship. She and Regina had not had any trouble whatsoever getting to the docks. There was a moment of fear on Susan's part when she didn't recognize any of the men. What if they were actually Terebinthians and she had been tricked? When she saw the bright way that they smiled and the respectful way they bowed, however, Susan doubted no more. She was welcomed heartily.

It was when Susan saw Edmund a few moments later that she burst into tears. Perhaps she did have a little bravery after all – she had managed to push the fear of escape, the grief of her failed marriage, and even the joy of possibly seeing Narnia to the back of her mind. What mattered was getting away and Susan had somehow managed to it more or less on her own. Even when she had first come to Narnia, she had always been bolstered up by one of her braver siblings. When she saw Edmund, it came upon her all at once that she was safe – or at least for the time being -- and all those emotions hit her with great force.

Edmund hugged her, seeming to understand why she was crying and he muttered something under his breath about killing Torim. He sounded quite sincere. She cried for a few moments before she attempted to dry her tears and regain some dignity.

"I haven't seen you in so long, Ed," she said finally, wiping her eyes. She never knew that she would miss even Edmund so much – she had not been away from her brothers and sister for this long before.

"Peter wanted to come, instead of me," Edmund told her, "but he was in no state to do so. I thought that he would kill Torim and half of Terebinthia with his bare hands!"

Susan gave a weak laugh. "Oh, you mustn't talk that way. I will die if all this causes Narnia to get into a war. I'm not worth it."

Edmund seemed surprised by this statement. "Of course you are, Su," he said.

Susan knew that Edmund had always thought her a bit arrogant and she had sometimes thought the same of him. Susan wasn't arrogant; not really. She knew she was pretty, of course, but this was a matter of fact and many girls would have been much vainer than she if they had her beauty.

"Are we safe if we leave now?" Susan asked him, a bit fearfully. "Can he catch us?"

Edmund frowned. "It is a possibility. Terebinthia has some ships that are much faster than this merchant vessel, but I think if we leave now and take a slightly different route to Narnia, then we should be safe. Don't be scared."

Susan gave him a bitter smile. "It's not me that I worry about so much as my daughter."

"Where is Ambrosia?" Edmund asked. "I have not yet seen her."

" Regina has her. I believe that she was sleeping when I last checked."

Edmund laughed. "At least she doesn't know of her danger."

"Or of her father," Susan muttered.

Edmund seemed not to hear this. "She and Gwain will be fine playmates in a year or two," he said, "can you believe that they were born so close together?"

"I don't know many cousins only a week apart," Susan admitted.

Edmund turned to her, sensing the worry in her voice and realizing that he had perhaps worried her earlier. "Don't fret Su," he placed his had over hers. "Be brave just a little longer; there is really little chance we will be caught and soon you and Ambrosia will see Narnia."

Edmund

Edmund paced the floor of his bedroom nervously. This was bad. Very bad. He was waiting for Marna, to see if she would confirm the news that he had heard and if she did – it could be very, very bad.

Edmund absent-mindedly picked up a toy rattle that he had bought for his son and dropped it abruptly when he heard Marna enter the room.

"What is it Edmund?" she asked him, impatiently – no, as if she were trying to act impatient to distract from the real issue.

Edmund attempted to gather his wits. "Thank you for the great welcome," he said, sarcastically. "I haven't spoken to you since I returned from helping to rescue my sister yesterday and this is how you greet me?"

Marna bit her lip. Edmund could tell that she was every bit as nervous and jumpy as he – a bad sign. Edmund decided to get on with it. "I – I've heard rumors," he had dropped all his former sarcasm and argumentativeness and was now all sincerity and honest fear.

"Rumors?" Edmund could tell that she was stalling. She had to know what he was talking about.

"About your – uhm – friend – Jolie …" he pressed.

"Oh, yes," Marna said, sounded a little dazed.

"Marna – they are – they are saying she is with child!"

"She is," Marna told him evenly, but she had turned away from him. "This is very good news for her. She has wanted a child for so long."

Edmund hung his head and when he asked his next question, he stuttered. "Is it m-m-mine, do you think?"

"It could be," Marna breathed, then turned to him and went on at a very quick pace. Edmund knew that his own face must look awful. "It doesn't matter, Edmund. It was only one night and Jolie has wanted a baby for so long, so it worked out best this way. You don' t have to concern yourself with the child …"

"I don't have to concern myself?" Edmund asked, his voice going up a pitch, and something in her face at that moment told Edmund that there was something else – something that she wasn't telling him. He had become rather good at reading people since coming to Narnia. She looked away from him quickly, as if knowing that his mind was at work. "You – you planned this!" he sputtered, the truth of the whole affair coming at him at once.

"What?" she asked, but her voice was wavering.

"You – you – she wanted to have a child, so you tricked me – no! You didn't just trick me. I felt so strange that night. You drugged me."

Marna did not deny this, but she grabbed his arm. "Listen to me, Edmund, please. Her husband hits her – and – and he kept hurting her because she couldn't have a baby – I always thought that he was really the impotent one. I cannot get her to leave him. I was desperate."

Edmund shrugged her off. "How could you do this to me?!"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. It isn't as though you have to give birth."

"Did it never occur to you that I might not want to father a child that I wouldn't be able to raise? Or that I wouldn't want to sleep with your lover – well, obviously that occurred to you or you wouldn't have drugged me."

Marna sat down on the bed. "I didn't think that you would be this upset. Most men don't care to father children as long as they don't have to be fathers." Edmund gritted his teeth. "Yes, I know … Aslan, I'm so stupid," she went on. Of course, you're not like that, Edmund." She buried her head in her hands. "I just didn't know what to do …"

"Maybe something can still be done," Edmund said quietly. "You said her husband beats her – maybe you can still get her to leave him – for her child's sake."

Marna began to sob in earnest and Edmund knew with a sinking feeling that she did not think this possible. "She won't leave him – she's more determined to stay with him than ever. Edmund, he – he – found about her and I. He's taking her away from Narnia."

"What?" Edmund felt truly angry now. Soon, he would probably have a son or daughter who he was not allowed to see and he would never even know for sure that he or she was safe. He looked at Marna. Normally, he would have felt some compassion for her. He knew that she had truly loved Jolie. Right now, however, Edmund didn't care if he never saw Marna again.

Lucy

The ships came on a cool autumn afternoon.

Lucy stood on the one of the castle's balconies, squinting out at barely visible shapes on the horizon. It looked as if there were many of them. She turned to Roydon who was standing beside her.

"Do you think they are Terebinthian?" she asked, breathlessly.

"I don't know," Roydon said. "Probably."

--- -- ---

"If they are going to attack, I wish they'd just get on with it," Lucy said, nervously to Roydon a few days later. "I cannot stand this anxiousness, this waiting." They had learned that the ships were, in fact, Terebinthian. No one had thought that Torim would dare attack Narnia once Susan got away. They had not realized that he had quite so many ships at his disposal. "Pirates", Edmund called most of them, and Susan seemed to agree. Lucy shivered. Peter didn't think that they were strong enough to actually take Cair Paravel, but Lucy could tell that he was worried. They had all gone to such lengths to avoid a war with Terebinthia over Susan, but it seemed that Torim would insist on it.

"I know what you mean," Roydon said. "Lucy …"

"What is it?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side. She sensed something in his voice that sounded very like regret.

"Your brother is worried about the Giants. That they will attack again once they learn that we are under such a threat."

"Yes, I know that," Lucy had been to most of the war councils in the last few days, though they had upset Susan too much to attend many.

"Well, King Peter asked some of us, including me, to go back to the North. They don't have many soldiers left up there and I already know Giant country so well -- "

Lucy could hear the note of pride in his voice – pride at being a valued soldier, and at having Peter's trust.

"Of course I didn't want to miss the battle here," he continued. "But I can see the wisdom in sending men up to the border."

Lucy wasn't sure what to think. Roydon may very well be safer to the North than here, but if violence broke out with the Giants, he would probably be in even more danger. At any rate, he would not be near her and she would have to worry about him everyday. She turned away from him.

"I thought you were through with all that," she said and she wondered why he had gone out of his way to tell her first of all.

"I would tell you to go away to the countryside for the moment, but I know that you wouldn't leave Cair, especially in this time of trouble," he paused and dunked his head, as though embarrassed. "I shall miss you, Lucy."

She turned toward him. It seemed that they were both anxious for one another. "I will be careful if you will," she said, smiling at him.

He smiled a bit, but seemed distracted. "Will you wait for me?" he muttered under his breath.

"What?" she asked, not immediately understanding him.

He put his hand under her chin and gently lifted her face towards his. She moved nearer and nearer and when they kissed, she could not be sure if she had kissed him or if he had kissed her.