11. The Erinyes' deceptions
"Peter!" Lucy shrieked as her brother vanished out of sight and pulled free from Caspian's protective grip to follow him. She heard her sister cry after her and the flutter of fabric as the others pursued her but she didn't bother to look back.
Her small, swift steps led her down the marble stairs towards the stables easily. She rounded a corner and stopped in a sudden flash upon seeing Peter ahead. He stood stoically a few yards before her with a crocked grin upon his full lips. Lucy noted that while she breathed heavily from the run, her brother's breaths came calm and steady.
"Always chasing after, never the one to lead, eh?" he mocked and crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "Isn't it time to grow up – teeny, tiny Lucy? Or will you remain a child forever, always wanting what you can't have and envying your siblings? Pathetic child! No wonder mother loved you least!"
The girl staggered backwards and watched as her brother suddenly transformed into a tall, beautiful woman in a huntress attire. The woman had long, blonde hair and cackled with laughter. The young queen shivered as she sensed the woman's true, dark nature. She didn't need to guess twice as to what this repulsive beast was; one of the Erinyes.
"Lucy!" Edmund reached her side with the others close behind him just as Lucy saw the Erinye vanish into thin air. The young man shook his sister's shoulders until she raised her gaze to meet his. The dark-haired boy read the depths of her pale pools as he asked, "What happened? You saw one of them, didn't you?"
The girl nodded. "Come on! Peter has a good head start on us already!"
Together the group rushed towards the stable buildings further down the slope from the exercise fields. Outside they saw several confused guards muttering between each other with matching dazed looks. The Telmarine king hurried towards them as the others looked for signs of the Pevensie boy's whereabouts.
The guards all bowed to their king as he demanded, "If Peter Pevensie arrives do not let him leave the stables!"
"My lord, he has been here already," the chief guard spoke and a look of penitence crossed his bearded features.
"What, when?" Susan asked as she stepped up beside the king. Caspian heard the sound of fabric tearing and gazed down as he felt something touch his arm. He saw the brunette beauty tie a makeshift bandage from a tear o her grand, blue dress. There was a tired determination upon her features as she raised her gaze to meet his. The king could only smile in reply for in that moment the guard continued.
"He arrived in a hurry, as if chasing something none of us could see. He took a horse and rode out in pursuit of it. We didn't dare stop him."
The brunette glanced back as she saw her siblings rush into the stables to gather horses for them as well, before she turned back to the guards. "Where did he ride? Did you see in which direction he rode?"
"Yes, my queen," the man inclined his head. "He rode Southeast. He cried out something about a forest. He said he would end something where it began."
"The forest where we first met," the Telmarine man whispered at once and exchanged a look with the queen by his side, as Edmund and Lucy exited the stable with five horses. The guard handed his sword to and dagger to the eldest girl upon Caspian's request. The three Pevensies along with the Telmarine king swiftly mounted their horses and Cornelius, who was but a little slower than the rest, soon followed them.
As the Lord Chancellor got on his hose, Edmund turned towards him and asked, "How did we kill them now again?"
"Face your fears and guilty conscious, it's only when you allow yourself to face your own troubles that you can see the Erinyes and kill them. Any weapon will slay them then, for the hard part is acknowleging the truth of oneself without faltering."
With those words the company of five set off in full speed down the hill and out of Cair Paravel. Caspian took the lead and steered his brown mare southeast. Just as the head guard had said, he saw recent indents in the ground from hooves and willed his mare to fly swifter over the open grounds. The ride was almost twenty minutes before they reached the same forest where the Pevensies had first met the then inexperienced prince.
The Telmarine king followed the trail of hooves in the mud and broken twigs as he steered the group further into the woods. The sun was still high in the sky and he didn't fear he would lose track of Peter any time soon. In fact, after another minute he thought he heard the man's voice far off in the distance and signaled for the others to slow their horses. They reached the confused, hallucinating king shortly and dismounted in between the narrow trees and thick shrubbery. The eldest Pevensie seemed completely and utterly agonized as he fought the invisible force once more, unaware of the company he'd just received.
"Peter!" Susan shrieked and moved to step forward when suddenly an Erinye appeared right before her face. The tall woman made the queen stumble backwards into her horse, which hardly reacted to this push as it calmly continued to eat from a nearby bush.
"So much doubt in one person," the beast being spoke in a sharp, dusky voice. "And all this doubt, a true fear indeed. Let me show you. Let me show you what your presence here has disturbed in the natural order of things. Your worst fear is true, child."
The Pevensie girl frowned as the woman disappeared into nothingness and Susan looked into the deep of the forest around them. She saw nothing but the trees and green colors of the woods until a rustle of leaves further on their right drew her attention. She saw something disappear behind a larch tree.
Susan handed the dagger over to her sister while she kept the sword for herself and ran off into the woods. Lucy watched her sister disappear into the forest and called after her in confusion. The others turned at her call, but Susan had already disappeared in the deep, mysterious vegetation around them.
"Where did she go?" Caspian asked with evident worry in his voice as his wide, brown eyes scanned the forest.
"I'll follow her," the Lord Chancellor assured and rushed off in the direction the queen had recently gone.
"We deal with Peter then?" Edmund asked as he turned to the king on his left hand side.
At the same time Lucy saw the blonde haired Erinye that had tormented her once already appear to the left of the group. The beautiful beast beckoned her to come with a nasty, suggestive smile and with a final glance at the men beside her, the young, brave girl sped off.
Her brother saw her dash into the deep vegetation, cried out her name and when she didn't heed he sped off after her with no regret. His heart hammered in his chest as fear filled his mind. He could not fail his youngest sister, he simply could not leave her to the foul creatures and their mind games. If Lucy was somehow hurt, Edmund would never forgive himself.
Caspian glanced between the two directions their small company had disappeared to and then turned his attention back to the agonized Peter ahead. This time, the Telmarine man placed his hand on the handle of his sword as he began to approach. It was just the two of them now and he would do whatever he could not to injure the young king, but he'd already been grazed by the sword once and wouldn't risk losing a limb, or worse, next time.
"Peter!" he called and the fair king stopped fighting his foe and lowered his sword slightly. When he finally noticed his new company, he once more shifted his eyes between one fixed point in the forest and the Telmarine king. Caspian boldly stepped even closer and said, "It's time to end this madness."
"You're right," the Pevensie agreed and faced the real man approaching. "It's you or me now. To the death."
Susan lifted the hem of her long, blue dress as she hurried after the shape ahead of her. Behind her, she could hear the strained, tired voice of Cornelius calling for her to stop but he was far behind due to his tired, old legs and the girl didn't much feel like obliging him this once.
"Susan!" the young woman stopped as she heard her name called from another source and looked around. She could see nothing but trees, bushes and all around the deep, green of the forest. Still, she sensed something unfamiliar that made the serenity around her shatter into a thousand pieces and scatter on the eastern wind.
"Show yourself!" she cried out.
Her words had scarcely died on her lips when a beautiful vision of Caspian appeared before her. He seemed a few years older with his longer beard and dressed in a long, purple coat over a white shirt and brown pants. Around his waist was a thick belt that held his elegant sword in place. He smiled at her warmly with that special smile of his and the young woman could do nothing but return the grin even though a voice in her heard told her it was all a trick.
Her heart plummeted at once when another figurine entered the picture before her. It was a woman that seemed to radiate like the stars with waist-long, golden hair and a shimmering, pale dress that accentuated her tall, lean figure splendidly. Susan wasn't sure she'd ever seen anyone as beautiful as this. On her hip, the fair woman carried a young boy who couldn't be more than three-four years old.
The Pevensie girl could almost hear her heart break inside her chest as the realization struck her harsh across the head. This pretty image of man, woman and child was undeniable. It was a joyous family that now smiled at her expectantly. This was a family - a life - Susan had prevented with her return to Narnia. It was suddenly so very clear to her now that the Erinye spoke the truth. Her presence was disrupting the future Caspian could and should have without her. She, alone, had ruined his happy future and therefore the man himself.
The hallucination disappeared and in its place, the fierce Erinye took form once more. The Pevensie woman jumped back in shock and stumbled on the hem of her dress ungracefully. The brown-haired beast looked at her with shining, red eyes and a dark grin upon its face as it walked towards the shaken queen.
"Always losing, are we?" the Erinye cackled and Susan shuddered from the menacing sound. "This life was never yours, for you don't belong in this world."
"He could still be happy…" the queen whispered meekly in an attempt to justify herself.
"Not with you! Never with you!" the Erinye shrieked and reached out a hand with sharp claws towards Susan's neck as if to strangle her. Despite this, the queen didn't move an inch, frozen in place by fear and dread of what she had just seen.
"Susan!" Cornelius' voice echoed in the forest not far behind the young queen and it helped pull her back to the present moment.
"Perhaps not," Susan whispered and shivered greatly as the beast's cold hand closed in around her throat. "But I will do all in my power to help find him happiness, even if it means leaving Narnia forever."
With those words, she stabbed the Erinye with the sword she carried.
"Lucy!" Edmund called out as he spotted the red dress of his sister up ahead. The young girl sat on her knees in the middle of the low, flowering shrubbery. The boy slid down beside her and grabbed her shoulder while she gazed up at him with a desolate look in her pale eyes. He'd never seen her so desolate and despaired before and it broke even his heart. "Oh, Lucy…"
"I'm weak…" her words were almost not loud enough to hear but Edmund heard her. "I'll never be as good as you, or Susan or Peter… I'll always be little Lucy."
"Don't listen to that beast!" the dark-haired boy shouted and shook his sister's shoulders a bit harsher than he'd intended. He couldn't let her vanish into this pit of despair, he would never willingly watch her fall to pieces like this. "Whatever it's telling you, don't listen!"
"Yes, listen," the blonde Erinye beckoned and Edmund fell back in shock as the creature made itself visible and knelt close before them. The blonde creature watched the boy with a scrutinizing, red glare.
"You want to know why we haven't faced you, king Edmund, yet?" the Erinye asked with a leering look upon its entrancing face.
"I think I'll pass, thank you," the boy said as he sat up and once more gripped his sister's shoulders close.
"You're too weak to care about! You were the weak link when Jadis appeared, and you will always be the weakest link of your siblings," the blonde creature cackled and then turned back to the young queen. "Listen to me, Lucy. What I say is the truth. I'm merely confirming what you've known all along… You'll never be as beautiful as Susan or as strong as your brothers."
"Trivial things…" the girl whispered and Edmund thought he saw a red glint in Lucy's sad eyes.
"And Aslan…"
"Aslan?" the girl blinked repeatedly and the red glint disappeared in her eyes at once.
"You must be wondering why he hasn't revealed himself to you yet, why he hasn't stepped out to explain why you've returned. You're beginning to doubt him, are you not?"
Lucy's eyes cleared entirely as she met the Erinye's gaze full on. "You're mistaken. I may doubt myself, but I would never doubt Aslan!"
With those words, she stabbed the Erinye with her short dagger and there was a terrible shout of pain that echoed between the trees before there was nothing but black blood in the bushes before the siblings.
"Oh, thank Aslan, Lucy," Edmund breathed in immense relief and hugged his sister tight to him.
Caspian and Peter's swords clashed over their heads. Both men had fought ever since encountering each other, much like they had that very first meeting. Due to the ground being covered with vegetation and uneven, the battle was difficult but both men fought like seasoned veterans.
"Can't you see the insanity in this? Why would I fight you?" the Telarmarine king attempted to reach through to Peter for the millionth time. He feared for his dear friend now more than ever for Peter's eyes had turned completely red and demonic. Caspian worried that it meant it was too late to reach through to him. Still, the king refused to give up. He could never face the others, or himself, if he gave up on his best friend and comrade.
Narnia needs a strong king, the voice whispered once more in the Pevensie's ear. Caspian's not that king. Kill him, and take the throne. You know Narnia would prosper under your rule.
"Peter, listen to me…" the bearded man blocked another assault and pushed the Pevensie man away. Peter's foot struck a bush and he tumbled to the forest floor as Caspian continued, "I'm your friend, Peter. You're being deceived by the Erinyes; their mission is to use your conscience against you. They've turned your guilt into something else, into something you're fighting against. It's not me you're fighting here, it's yourself."
Peter shook his head to clear it but could hardly put together a coherent thought. Still, what his friend was saying sounded so true, so honest. This did, indeed, not appear to be the same young king who had challenged him to a duel earlier on the exercise field and lured him into this fight. The Pevensie king tried to focus on Caspian's words. He'd said something about the… Erinyes? Could it be true that he was being controlled by a dark force?
No, Caspian is jealous. He wants to dispose of you while you show weakness. He took the throne from you, and now he will take your life. Unless you take his first!
"I won't fight you, Peter," the Telmarine king said finally and lowered his sword by his side. "You must trust me."
The other man's red eyes watched the young king and for a few seconds he did nothing. Both men glared at each other as the tension hung in the air between the vast trees. Caspian tried to disguise the fear in his eyes, both for his own safety and for the sake of Peter's almost lost soul. With a sluggish move, the Pevensie king stood once more from the forest floor, still without his gaze trailing from the other man's. The piercing red eyes were hauntingly void of human emotion as he stretched to his full length.
With a swift movement, Peter stepped forward, raised his sword and pierced his friend's shoulder with the strong blade. As the man withdrew the sword, the Telmarine gasped in pain and fell to his knees, rustling the bushes as he did.
Time seemed to run slow for the Telmarine king who tried to regain control over his shocked breathing and erratic heart. He could feel the warm blood run down his chest and torso, and the world around him began to swirl. Caspian watched, as if from far away and not himself present, as Peter raised his right foot and placed it against the other man's shoulder.
"Peter, no!" Caspian recognized the voice as Edmund's and it was coming from somewhere on the left.
With one hard kick, the Pevensie man kicked the Telmarine man to the ground where he remained down. Peter saw the young king gaze up at him while staggering breaths shook his body. Soon after, Caspian's head fell limp to the forest floor and he remained unmoving.
"Caspian!" it was Susan's terrified shriek this time that pierced the air. The heart wrenching sound seemed to linger between the trees, becoming a part of the brooding forest, as time stopped around the group of people closing in on Peter.
"Kill him, kill him now and reclaim your throne!" a third voice cried. Peter recognized it from his own sinister thoughts and heeded its call. He raised the bloody sword up above his head with both hands. The Telmarine king lay before him in the shrubbery – open and exposed for a lethal stab. All it would take now was for the Pevensie man to swing down with the weapon and King Caspian would be no more. The Pevensie would be able to reclaim his rightful throne.
"Kill him!" the voice urged again.
Peter inhaled slowly and swung the sword towards its target.
To be continued.