15. The Feast, Part II
Reepicheep's small feet made no sound as he ran swiftly across the rich, soft carpets in the long hallway. Far off he could hear the feast from the downstairs floor, but he barely registered the merry sounds of singing and laughter. In the mouse's small head there was only room for one concern at the moment, and that was of the youngest Pevensie queen.
He rounded a corner and steered towards Lucy's bed chambers. As he reached the grande oak door, Reepicheep hesitated. He was a brave mouse, a soldier in heart, but this – offer a loved one comfort – he was unaccustomed to. Still, he had pledged himself to her protection and though she was not in mortal danger now, she could still need his support and friendship.
Slowly, the mouse stood on his hind legs and knocked on the door. There was no reply, but Reepicheep could hear someone's muffled sobs on the other side. Instead of attempting another knock, he pushed the thick door open and slowly entered.
"My lady?" he called gently and blinked his eyes to adjust them to the sudden darkness of Lucy's room. She had apparantely not bothered to light any candles in her despair.
In the pale light of the moon from the window, Reepicheep could see her tossed form across the bed on the other end of the room. The girl's sobs were muffled by a pillow and she still had not registered her soldier's entrance.
"My lady, are you alright?" Reep asked once more as he walked towards the bed and jumped up to the top of her night stand. From this angle, he could see the state of mind Lucy was in more clearly. She lay in her undergown, the fancy dress thrown aside in a pile on the floor, seemingly disposed in anger. Her face was pressed deep into the pillow and Reepicheep felt for the young woman.
"King Peter meant you no harm, my Queen," the mouse said and hopped onto her bed to sit on the untouched pillow by her head. Her sobs had lessened but she still did not move from her position. "He is your elder brother and he loves you dearly, he means no harm. He might have overreacted, though he means only to protect and keep you safe."
"No!" Lucy practically shouted into her pillow. "He means to treat me like a little girl! I'm not a little girl!"
Reepicheep pondered her words for a second. "Still, my Queen, you are the youngest and smallest of the four of you. It is only natural-"
At this, the brunette finally lifted her head from the pillow and swiftly sat up. Rage danced in her eyes as she beheld the mouse, "Natural?! I am not a little girl, Reep! I wish at least one of you could see this. I am tired of being called little and young. It implies I'm defenseless and weak. I'm neither little nor weak! I am growing up, just like the others! I'm fourteen! If I was back in England, I would have been treated with far more respect and dignity than I am in Narnia. I wish Peter would stop behaving like our parents, I hate him for it!"
"Now, now," the soldier mouse was still a bit startled by her sudden tantrum, but tried to calm her with his reassuring words. As his brain cells tried to wrap itself around her words, he distantly played with the handle of his sword. "You don't hate any of your siblings. Peter, Susan and Edmund are all only looking out for you, they want you to be safe. As do I."
"You?" Lucy's eyes flashed with something the mouse was very unaccustomed to from the young queen, for this time, her anger was directed at the mouse. "You're on their side, are you? I thought you were my friend, but you're just like them, aren't you? You swore your allegiance to myself and Susan, and why? To protect us! To keep us safe! You find me little and defenseless, too. You too need to understand I am not as small as you make me out to be! I do not need protection from a mouse! I can handle myself, so please – leave me alone! Go eat some cheese and leave me alone!"
"M-my lady, you… You are upset-"
"I said leave!" the girl threw herself down onto her pillow again and the bed rocked with her sobs once more. Reepicheep felt saddened by this and his shoulders slumped for a second. He glanced at the young queen one last time as he sighed.
"As my Queen commands…" and with those words he jumped down and swiftly left the room as he had entered it; with a heartbroken, crying Lucy inside.
"Honestly, Edmund," Peter chastised as he watched his younger brother empty another goblet of wine. It was one of countless ones this evening, and Peter had begun to tire of it. "Are you going to drink as much as you did aboard the Dawn Treader? Or have you forgotten how swell that made you feel the day after?"
The younger man rolled his eyes at Peter's smug face and lowered his goblet to the table upon finding it empty. "No, father. And that was more seasickness I think… You know, it's not really fair. I remember myself as an adult king back in the golden days, being able to hold my alcohol quite well."
At this, the elder brother laughed loudly and roughly patted his brother on the back. "That's not the memory I have of your drinking… As I recall, Lucy could hold her alcohol better than you."
The younger Pevensie snorted and shrugged off his brother's hand. "Well, speaking of dear sisters. One is probably upstairs bawling her eyes out because of your words… Where did the other go? Where did she and that suave lord disappear to?"
Peter's jolly mood was with those simple words deflated like a balloon. "I don't know," he huffed. "And I don't necessarily like it."
"Stop acting like such a big brother, big brother," Edmund teased and glanced about the grande hall inconspicuously in search of their sister and the lord from Calormen. "Susan always did have a rather exciting love life, especially in the golden days. She had plenty of suitors. She knows how to deal with them, it's like a habit to her. Besides, if we decide we don't care for the bloke, we should tell Caspian about the poor bugger and let him save the day instead."
This time, Peter huffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at Edmund from the corner of his eyes. To the younger man, this posture seemed quite ridiculous and he tried to hide his amused grin.
"Frankly," the elder Pevensie admitted. "I'm not sure if I'd prefer that."
"I thought you and Caspian were best blokes?" Edmund asked with evident confusion.
"We are," the young man agreed heartily ."Still doesn't mean I want him to… to woo my sister, does it?"
"You're afraid that instead of woo, he'll inflict woe?" Edmund smirked at his own pun on words. Peter was not as amused.
"I've thought about it, Ed. I really have," he began with a passionate plea. "We all want Susan happy, but ever since we've returned to Narnia… Well, I've only seen her unhappy since we came back. You know? Especially when she's around him, and especially perhaps tonight when he is- yes, inflicting woe on Susan by wooing another lady…"
The dark-haired brother frowned and tried to think back on their days in Narnia. He knew Peter was right in a way, there was no point denying their sister's rather dreary outlook on their return. Especially in the beginning when she had barely stopped for air as she had declared they would all soon return back to England.
Still, gradually while they had been back, he had seen a change in Susan. She'd talked less and less of England as she had spent more and more time with the Telmarine king. From the way the king, too, gazed at the young woman when he thought no one was watching... Well, Edmund had a pretty good idea that it was love all around.
The young man turned back to his elder brother. "There's something you don't know about our sister. It's about what the Erinyes showed her."
"Her, too? You carry all of our sisters' secrets nowadays?" the elder boy questioned and something akin to hurt echoed in his voice.
"Well, you were quite driven to insanity and injured your best mate, can you blame them for not wanting to add more pressure to your guilty conscience?" the younger brother countered and grabbed a new wine cup from a servant that passed them by. "Listen... Lucy and I found Susan sobbing in her chamber about a week ago. She explained... everything. The Erinye showed her a vision of Caspian's future wife. From what I gather, it's Ramandu's daughter. Susan is positive her own presence here is endangering Caspian's happiness. She loves him, Peter, but she doesn't believe they have a future together."
"Well, it doesn't appear he loves her back if he's courting another woman," the elder pointed out with an arched eyebrow.
"She didn't give him a choice..." Edmund sighed as he took a sip from his cup.
"She's got a point though, doesn't she? We still haven't figured out why we returned, and we don't know for how long we'll be back. That's why we need to figure this all out, and that needs to be our priority. Love should take a back seat for now."
"You sound very grumpy about this, brother," the dark-haired boy smirked and his brother shoved his shoulder. "Oh, I see! You're jealous of Susan! Susan and her romantic escapades!"
"Don't make this a joke when you know I'm right. That's ridiculous, even coming from you."
A heavily accented voice interrupted the brother's talk. "What is so ridicculous?"
Peter and Edmund both swirled around and came face to face with Caspian himself. The tall, lean king wore pale, gilded clothes and his crown atop his dark locks which seemed to make his shine like a true king tonight, but still he seemed almost naked without the presence of a certain star.
"Eh, I am," the younger Pevensie replied quickly as he recovered first. "But what's new, eh? How's the feast, Caspian? Enjoying the company much?"
The Telmarine raised his eyebrows and his dark eyes beheld Edmund in amusement. "Have you been drinking from the spiced wine again?"
"I have, but you only ask that to avoid my question," the boy pointed out with a wink. By his side, Peter rolled his eyes and took the wine cup from his brother's hands.
"I assume you're referring to Ramandu's daughter?"
"He is," Peter interjected in an impassive tone as he ignored his brother's sulking face. "Where is the lady? She'd become so attached to your arm we almost expected she was stuck to it."
In reply to the question, the king merely smiled tightly while the fauns music in the background filled out the silence. After a beat, he asked, "Have either of you seen your sister? She promised me one dance tonight."
"'Seen'…" Edmund slurred, "is a relative term."
Before Caspian's frown could grow any further, Peter spoke up, "We haven't seen Susan for awhile. A Lord from Calormen asked for a private conversation with her."
"I was not told any lord from Calormen would arrive this evening. What did he want?" The warmth of the king's dark eyes was almost completely gone as he pressed on for more details.
"Why, to wed Susan, of course!" Edmund gasped in a sort of mock shock of the same news. The words seemed to have thrown the Telmarine king, for all he did was stand in silence while he beheld the younger Pevensie. Edmund unsteadily raised an arm to point somewhere behind him. "If you want to stop him I think I saw the good lord leading my sister dearest into the gardens awhile ago."
"Thank you," Caspian said and took a step to walk past the Pevensie brothers. He stopped and turned back. "You"- The king said and pointed a warning finger in the younger Pevensie's direction - "stay away from the wine."
"Spoilsport."
Susan stood outside in the chill air of the night beneath the bright stars above. A bird of the twilight sang from somewhere on her right and crickets played in the grass further away. The night in the gardens of Cair Paravel was quite idyllic and made her feel at home once more, a feeling she never felt in England.
So caught in her own thoughts, she almost forgot she was not alone out there. It wasn't until the Lord from Calormen stepped up beside to behold the beauty of the heavens above that she turned and smiled up at him.
"The night sky is more beautiful here," lord Anash admitted as he held her gaze firmly. "It could never be as beautiful as this in Calormen. Or perhaps it is not the sky, but my company, that makes this evening so beautiful."
"I remember the nights in Calormen were quite beautiful, too, in their own way," the brunette said and smiled tightly at the memories of a time she didn't much care to remember.
"Ah, yes," the lord grimaced. "I forget you've been there before a very long time ago… I hope you won't let the sins of my forefathers stand in my way tonight."
"You are in good fortune, Lord Anash, I am a forgiving person," the young woman smiled and stepped towards the fountain at the middle of the majestic, green garden. She gazed down into it in silence for a minute before turning back to the handsome lord. "Still, this was rather a surprise..."
"Was it really?" the man said in his baritone voice and walked closer. Susan took a moment to admire his features. He was almost as tall as Caspian, though more muscular and with longer hair. His chin was clean shaven and his dark eyes alike two pools of water. There was something mysterious about him that awoke Susan's curiosity. She had no intention of flirting with him, yet he seemed kind enough and offered her an escape from the festivities inside.
"You are a beautiful woman," the man spoke as he stepped closer. "In fact, you are as beautiful as the legends from the golden days suggest you are. You are also a gentle woman, as known from your regal title. You have been back in Narnia for quite some time now and word travels fast. You must have known it was a matter of time before the first suitor - of many I presume - were to appear."
The young woman couldn't quite hide the blush on her cheeks, but was grateful it was night so she had at least the cover of darkness on her side. Still, she backed up as he took one step towards her.
"I am thankful for your kind words, my lord Anash. But I am not seeking to be your wife. I am frankly not expecting to be around for long."
The handsome man stopped mid-stride and seemed to stiffen at her mere words, a reaction Susan found most odd. The air around them seemed to thicken with tension and even the bird and crickets waited on baited breath. The change was undeniable to the queen.
"Why?" Anash asked slowly.
"What do you mean why?" the Pevensie asked with just as much suspicion as her company.
"Why do you say you will not be around for long?" the man clarified through clenched teeth.
"For it is the truth," the young woman said rather crisply. She didn't much like to be remembered of her impending return to England, nor did she approve of his strange behavior. "I have come to believe, and quite assuredly, too, that my days in Narnia are numbered. And not just mine, but my siblings, too."
"How do you know?" Anash asked and his voice was suddenly both forceful and worried. "How can you know?"
Susan's frown returned full force at his sudden change once more. She had long since learned not to trust the Calormene men and this reaction only triggered old memories. Slowly, she took another step backwards to gauge his reaction.
"I believe we ought to head back inside," she said in a low voice. For a short time neither said anything, only stood opposite each other by the fountain among the low sounds of the night. Receiving no reply except for a struggle in the man's eyes, Susan stepped forward to pass the man. As she did, the man leaped like a mountain lion towards her and intercepted her path. The queen jumped back in shock.
"What are you doing?" she gasped. "Take me back inside. At once!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Not now," Anash said and something unreadable passed in his eyes and was evident from the glow of the nearby lanterns. "This didn't go as I planned, not as I was told. No one told me you had already been warned. Is... is this a trap?"
Susan's heart started to beat like bolts of thunder in her chest with each new word that came from the Calormene's mouth. She felt confusion and dread at his delusional questions and concerns. When he finally silenced, she swallowed heavily to relieve her dry throat and tried to think.
"Let me go back inside," she commanded once more and attempted to make her voice sound both stronger and calmer than she felt inside. "Now!"
Anash didn't reply at all this time. Something had altered in him definitely now. Susan could see a decision had been made in his eyes, though she could still not comprehend any of this. All became clear as he swiftly withdrew something from his pocket and raised his arm above his head. The woman saw something rest in his hand that glimmered beneath the pale moonlight and quickly realized what it was. A dagger.
Without warning, Anash swung at her. The queen jumped to the side but he kept coming at her with the weapon drawn. Panic blocked out most of her senses and all she could think about was how she wished she had her bow and arrow in hand. There was no hidden weapon in her fine dress, nor was she strong enough to combat this larger man.
The man's step was much wider than hers. too, and as she tried to escape by circling the fountain, he was not far behind. Susan's heart beat wildly in her chest and fear rose in her body as she tried to escape. She threw one glance behind her to see how close he was but in the process, she stumbled on the trim of her dress and fell to the ground with a surprised shout.
She landed hard on her back and looked up at her assailant, who was closing in on her with hardened eyes. The lord knelt down beside her and raised the dagger into the air a final time, before he struck his target like a serpent and fulfilled the task he had been sent there to do.
He pulled the dagger out of the body and gazed down at the blade in his hand with a kind of wonder. Right in that moment, an anguished roar echoed across the gardens and the Calormene lord had but one brief glimpse of his attacker as something hard slammed into him and sent him flying to the ground.
Caspian's breaths came short and fast as he sat up on his knees on the grass, having thrown himself on Susan's assailant. In a mad fury he yanked on the lord's clothes only to realize that the man had taken a terrible fall and hit the back of his head against a rock. There was no more life in the Calormene's eyes.
The Telmarine king fell backwards and panic rose even further in his chest upon realizing what he had done to the young man. He re-focused his mind as he shifted his attention to the other body lying in shadows beside the fountain. Hurriedly, Caspian crawled over to the queen's immobile body and his trembling fingers reached out towards her hand where it rested on the cold grass.
"…Susan?" he whispered in a trembling voice that seemed to linger in the night. The man leaned closer and let a hand touch her pale cheek when she didn't reply as his gaze traveled down to the injury on her chest. Even as he tried to coax her back to life, she did not stir.
Another voice resonated through the darkened gardens then. "Let me help her, Caspian."
To be continued.