Bound by Duty

Disclaimer: Sadly, nothing from The Chronicles of Narnia belong to me except for the plot, places and characters you do not recognize below.

Chapter 2 – Thirty Days

"... And I had an excellent person to leave as Regent while I'm away—Trumpkin the Dwarf. You remember him?"

"Dear Trumpkin," said Lucy, "of course I do. You couldn't have made a better choice."

— "On Board the Dawn Treader", The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

oOo

It had been thirty days. Exactly one month had passed in Narnia since King Caspian sailed away from his kingdom in search of the missing Telmarine lords. The absence of the King was not unusual in the least; the summer campaign of the previous year lasted almost three months before his Majesty and the army returned from the north.

What made this current venture different from all others was that no one expected him to return any time soon. Based on the plans Caspian and the Lord Drinian put forth prior to sailing, the most optimistic time frame for their return would be two months if the search took them no further than the Lone Islands.

However, it seemed unlikely that all seven noblemen would be found within the known Eastern lands. The missing lords were the only Telmarines unafraid of the sea and Miraz had successfully convinced them that seeking new lands would benefit not only Narnia, but their own houses as well. If, as expected, the Dawn Treader were to sail beyond the Lone Islands in search of the men, there would be no telling how much time it would take and how far they would travel to complete this quest.

Even without the presence of the King, business went on as usual in Narnia. As in times past, the Lord Regent assumed rule of the country in the King's stead with the backing of the Council. The various lords and courtiers were well versed in managing the country without their sovereign. It was in part due to this established routine that Caspian was willing to leave the governing to others while he traveled for parts unknown.

On the day before his departure, Caspian had called for a special meeting of the Council; he had wanted to confirm that everything was in order and they understood his instructions before he left. It was mostly a formality since the country had settled down after all the unrest that had taken place in recent years. Both the King and the Council did not anticipate anything unusual to arise in the foreseeable future. There were neither foreign dignitaries to entertain nor diplomatic visits to reciprocate since Caspian had made that one of his first priorities when he ascended to the throne. The only state visit he had yet to make was the one to the Lone Islands, and that was to be accomplished as part of this journey.

Since then, the Council met rather infrequently in their chamber. There had been several matters of import to discuss but most were resolved in the early days after the King left. For the moment, there seemed to be nothing that required their immediate attention.

Things had been going well for a week after Caspian set sail. On the eighth day since his departure, the Council had convened at court to discuss a territorial dispute between a group of Dwarfs and a Telmarine village that had been ongoing for several weeks. Both groups were petitioning for the right to expand their properties to include a broad tract of land at the base of the Southern mountains where a tributary of the Great River flowed.

As one of the Dwarf representatives concluded his speech to the Council, the doors to the chamber suddenly flew open. All eyes looked to the entrance in surprise as a woman barged in unannounced, the guards normally stationed outside trailing behind her. She had burst through the doors with such force that the heavy wooden panels hit the walls with a resounding boom. Nearly everyone jumped from their seats or positions but she paid heed to none but the Dwarf seated at the far end of the room.

"My Lord Regent!" she cried out in a voice full of distress, "You must send help! My brothers and sisters are being felled in the Western Woods!"

Trumpkin stared at her for a minute, the meaning of her words slowly sinking in. As one part of his mind began to process what she had said, another part realized that she was not Human at all. The Lady was a Dryad and more specifically, a Birch. It had taken everyone quite some time to identify the characteristics that differentiated the people of the Wood from each other. Even the Old Narnians had trouble at first; it had been over a millennium since the Trees were awake and the knowledge to distinguish one Dryad from another when they took on human forms had been lost over time.

The one standing before him was tall and slender and her appearance was similar to that of a young Human girl, with delicate skin of a light greenish hue. Her hair spread out in many directions from the crown of her head, with delicate flowers woven through the long tresses down her back. The dress she wore was made of a filmy fabric draped with leaves from her tree. Though she had come to a stop in front of Trumpkin, the others could see and hear the faint sound of leaves rustling as the wood nymph's hair and dress fluttered lightly about her even without a breeze in the room.

The Dryad gave another loud cry, startling the Dwarf from his surprise. "My Lord, you must hurry!" As she tossed her head back to look up at him, those who had been sitting on the far side of the room gasped. With a clear view of her back, they could see the ends of her hair were disappearing. The long, dark strands that fell past her waist when she arrived now reached only midway between her shoulders and her waist as the tresses faded away like wisps of smoke in the air.

"Weights and waterfalls!" Trumpkin jumped out of his seat. "What in the Lion's name is going on? Lady, what has happen—"

She cut him off before he could finish his question. "Strange beasts in the woods! Fire!" As she spoke, her body wavered slightly where she stood. Trumpkin noted with alarm as the hem of her dress had risen several inches as well, the edges evaporating in a similar manner as her hair.

"Help us..." she pleaded, her voice low and the words coming out in barely a whisper. With despair and anguish written on her face, the Dryad suddenly froze. All in attendance watched in horror as her body disintegrated before their eyes. As everything below her head disappeared, she cast one last look at Trumpkin; he could see the sadness reflected in her eyes before they too vanished into the air.

And then, she was gone.

They could all surmise what had happened; her Tree had most likely burned to the ground in the forest where she lived. There would be nothing left of the wood nymph except for a pile of ashes on the spot where her Tree was rooted in the ground.

The councilors sat in stunned silence for a few minutes as each of them tried to comprehend what had just taken place. And then the room was filled with voices all at once.

"By the Lion!"

"The Trees!"

"She said there was fire—"

"—and strange Beasts!"

As each member of the assembly traded opinions with their neighbors and across the room, the chamber was soon filled with the sound of constant chatter. The noise escalated to the point where one had to shout in order to be heard by others. It took only a matter of minutes before the cacophony reached a level where Trumpkin could sense a dull ache forming in his head.

"Will you all be QUIET!" he bellowed, his rough voice echoing in the chamber. All conversation ceased instantly and was replaced by the sound of shuffling as everyone took their seats or returned to their accustomed places in the room. As the councilors moved about, Trumpkin dismissed the guards that had followed the Dryad in; they bowed briefly to him before exiting the chamber and returning to their posts.

Once all had settled down, a silence descended upon the room as everyone waited for the Dwarf to continue. Trumpkin sat down in his chair and took a deep breath as he decided on the next course of action.

"Vorin, Almicar," he began, addressing the Dwarf who had spoken earlier and a Telmarine man that sat next to him, "we'll have to continue the petitions of the Southern Fells expansion at a later time." They nodded their agreement to this decision; it was clear there were more important matters to discuss than the territorial disputes of their peoples.

"Now, the Lady said all of this is happening in the Western Woods. And short of storming the area with an army, I am open to any other suggestions the Council may have," Trumpkin said as he gazed around the room. "We'll begin with those who know that area best." With a wave of his hand, he gestured toward a group that sat along the far side of the eastern wall. Every eye turned to look at the various Beasts, Creatures and Humans that represented those that lived in western Narnia; even with their physical differences, there was no mistaking the grave looks of concern on their faces as they thought of the danger to their families and homes.

For the next hour, he listened as each member gave their input when it was their chance to speak. Despite Trumpkin's earlier words, several councilors wholeheartedly endorsed the idea of taking the army into the Lantern Waste. Fortunately, the Dwarf was saved from rejecting that suggestion again when it came time to decide on what action to take.

After reviewing the most practical and reasonable ideas put forth, the majority of the Council voted to send scouts to the area to determine the extent of the damage before they would proceed further. There was not enough information yet to warrant sending out a larger force. With the blessing of the Lord Regent, several of the western representatives would leave court with the scouts and return to their homes to assist their families and neighbors in whatever way they could.

The events of that day were the beginning of what had become a larger issue that plagued Trumpkin and the Council since then. With three weeks having passed since that initial incident, the situation seemed to have taken a turn for the worse.

The councilors met more frequently as messages arrived from the north and west. The scouts that had been dispatched sent reports back to the castle almost on a daily basis. Trumpkin did not look forward to receiving each new missive; the contents of the letters seemed to bring even worse news than those that came before. After the first week of such reports, even the Dwarf was forced to admit that sending the Army out may not be such a bad idea after all.

Today's meeting found the Council chamber practically empty. A scout had returned unexpectedly and as it was Market Day, much of Narnia had the day off. From the high-ranking nobles of the court down to the lowliest Beasts and villagers, it was a day when one was free from their usual duties and could attend to their own affairs.

With a limited number of staff minding the castle this day, it would be difficult to send out messages to summon all the councilors back to court. Trumpkin decided it would be best to hold off on an official meeting until everyone returned the following day; including himself, only three members of the Council were present at the castle when the scout arrived.

He sent for the other two councilors and they met in the chamber not long after he had spoken to the scout. Once they were all seated comfortably, Trumpkin wasted no time in reading the latest report to his small audience. When he was finished, he looked up from the papers in his hand.

"So what are your thoughts, my Lords?" he asked as he sat back in his chair and waited to hear their opinions on the matter.

"Well, his Majesty did leave the Horn for us to use," said the one that sat at the foot of the table. He was the tallest amongst the three of them, though his height was not something to be fairly judged by; indeed, compared to Human standards, he was of a rather short stature. With his silver beard and wrinkled face, he looked as old and wise as the other councilors thought him to be; he was respected by the King and court for his impartial counsel when dealing with issues that involved both Narnians and Telmarines. "Given the situation, I can see no other resolution in this matter than to use Queen Susan's Horn."

"But the King instructed us to only use it if Narnia was in really great need," replied the remaining member of this company. The Badger that spoke looked at both Trumpkin and the half-Dwarf before fixing his gaze solely on the latter. "And I must respectfully disagree with you that we have come to that point already, Master Doctor."

Trumpkin sighed. So it was back to that old argument again between Trufflehunter and Doctor Cornelius. The Dwarf had hoped it would not come to this but he knew the odds were against him considering that the three of them were the only ones present. Not for the first time was he grateful to know that none of the other Council members have learned of this yet.

It was barely a week ago that Cornelius brought up the suggestion of winding Queen Susan's Horn. He was unsure about how the others would react to such an idea and had decided to speak to Trumpkin alone about it. Though King Caspian had said that they could use the Queen's Gift if necessary, no one else has sought to remind the rest of the Council about its existence.

At the end of one particularly long session, the Lord Chancellor approached the Dwarf to discuss the matter. Though the two Lords spoke in low tones, neither of them realized another member had become a party to their conversation. With the excellent hearing of his kind, Trufflehunter managed to hear every word even from his place on the far side of the room.

And that was where their debate began. Both the Doctor and the Badger were quite passionate with their opposing views and Trumpkin advised them to not bring it up during Council sessions unless the two of them could come to an agreement on this. There was enough to worry about without having to include such a debate as this in their meetings.

"The last time we used the Horn, we really were in great need," the Badger said as he continued to make his point, "The Old Narnians were trapped in the How and Miraz's army was upon us. We literally had no place to go."

There was a pause as each of them thought back to that time three years ago. Caspian and the Old Narnians had suffered bitter losses as their surprise attack on the Telmarines ended badly. It was then that Trufflehunter suggested that it was probably time to wind the Horn.

"I think we can agree on that, my good Badger," Doctor Cornelius said, his fingers rubbing the creases along his temple as he looked tiredly across the table. "Though the King had wanted to save it for an even greater need, there would not have been another chance to use the Horn if we did not survive a battle with Miraz and his army first."

He sighed as he conceded the point to Trufflehunter. The circumstances were different this time around; while this situation was no less difficult to deal with, the need so far had not shown itself to be as great as that time during the War.

"For now, can we truly say we have done all that we could? That we have no other course of action than to use the Queen's Horn?" It was as if the Badger could read minds; those were the very questions that the Doctor was now silently asking of himself.

Neither of them really had an answer. Instead, they turned to the only other person who knew of Cornelius' suggestion.

The Lord Regent of Narnia did not seem to be paying either of them the slightest bit of attention. He was seated at the head of the table in a beautifully decorated chair. The throne was gilded in gold and wrought with delicate leaves that framed the backside of the chair. At the top of the frame, a golden lion's head stared out across the rest of the room. The armrests and seat were cushioned in luxurious red velvet. It was the most comfortable seat in the room but as it was built to the size of Men, it was quite too large for the Dwarf who had assumed control in the King's absence.

And it was in this chair that he sat staring at the floor with a vacant expression on his face and scratching at the cushions with his rough fingers, oblivious to the cease in conversation.

"Trumpkin?"

He looked up at the sound of his name. Two pairs of eyes looked towards him from the other end of the table, one set staring from behind a thick pair of glasses and the other peering out among patches of dark fur. He sighed and responded idly with the answer he had already formed in his head at the start of their debate.

"As I've said before, I don't wish to take sides with either of you. You've made your points and they seem equally valid. This is a difficult decision and one I'm not comfortable in making by myself just yet. I do agree that we have to assist those who are suffering in the West, but I cannot agree on the type of help we need.

"Granted, the Queen's Horn will send us aid; there is no doubt about that," he stated firmly, remembering the humbling lesson he learned from the Kings and Queens at the ruins of Cair Paravel. "When King Caspian used it that day in the How, it was out of true necessity. We were in the midst of a civil war and there was truly no other option available to us. Despite my own opinions at the time, Old Narnia prayed and hoped that it would send a miracle, and it did by sending us the most powerful help we could ever have dreamed of.

"With the War ended, this country has had peace these past three years. What do you think will happen if we were to use the Horn now? Can we expect that whatever help the Horn would bring be as great as it was last time, with the return of the Four? Perhaps it will simply bring us aid from our neighboring allies, which we could do just as well by sending messages to them and seeking their assistance."

"Your Lordship does have a point," the Doctor acknowledged Trumpkin's reasoning somewhat reluctantly. "Were we to use it, I do not think any assistance we receive would be as great as it was with the arrival of the High King and his royal consorts from the far past."

"And it was Aslan who sent them to us last time," Trufflehunter added. "Their Majesties would not have been able to come here unless the Lion himself called them back to Narnia, whether through the Horn or by His own will. And didn't the High King himself say that they weren't allowed to return?"

Cornelius sighed as he thought back to the day when the Kings and Queens left this world. "I believe he did. I thought I heard King Peter say as much to his royal brother and sisters just before they returned to their own world."

"Well, it sounds like we are reaching some sort of an agreement here," the Lord Regent replied cheerfully, pleased that they were getting somewhere. "That said, I think we should probably wait a little longer before we make a final decision about bringing the matter up with the rest of the Council. At the very least, we should see what the King has to say about the situation."

"The King?" Cornelius and the Badger exchanged puzzled glances. "What does his Majesty know about this?"

Trumpkin was prevented from answering the Chancellor's question by the sound of knocking on the doors. It was followed immediately by the entrance of a Telmarine soldier; the Dwarf recognized him as one of the guards of the eastern tower.

"My Lord," he bowed slightly to Trumpkin, "we have spotted a messenger returning from across the seas."

"Across the seas?" It would not be one of the usual scouts then; they were returning to the castle from within Narnia, over mountains and forests and not east from the seas. "Could you see who it was?"

"It appears to be the Falcon Aelis. He was no more than three leagues from here when I left the tower."

Trumpkin dismissed him with a word of thanks before he jumped out of his seat and began walking toward the eastern wall where three large windows were set to let the light in. He stopped in front of the middle casement and released the catch that held the window shut. With a grunt, he pushed the paneled glass outwards and poked his head through the frame.

Sure enough, a large Falcon could be seen in the sky, a large black spot against the clear blue canvas. Trumpkin recognized Aelis instantly and he put two fingers into his mouth and blew, releasing a clear, sharp whistle. He watched as the Falcon changed course and veered left, heading towards the open window.

He turned back to face the others; Cornelius and Trufflehunter were still seated at the table but their eyes had been following Trumpkin's every move since the guard delivered his message. "I sent word to King Caspian and informed him of the situation."

"When did you do that?" The Badger stared at him somewhat in disbelief. The Regent and Council had always managed to deal with any matters that cropped up during the King's absence. This was the first time that Trumpkin had made the decision to notify Caspian of an ongoing issue before the King himself returned.

"Not long after the first incident. I thought he may as well know about this while he was still in familiar waters before a real emergency arose and we wouldn't be able to reach him." What Trumpkin failed to mention was that he felt something was off about the situation for a while now. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but instinct told him this was not the usual sort of trouble they had encountered before.

The sound of beating wings caught his attention and the Dwarf stepped back a few paces as Aelis descended in flight. The messenger landed easily on the ledge and performed a slight bow towards Cornelius and Trufflehunter; the Falcon had caught sight of them once he flew through the window. With a quick glance around the chamber he stepped forward and upon reaching the edge, launched himself into the air. It was a short distance from the window to his chosen destination; as his talons found purchase on the back of a chair, he turned and lowered his head to Trumpkin, who drew closer once the Bird had landed.

"Greetings, my Lord. I bear a message from his Majesty." He tilted his head lower and to the side, indicating the scroll tied to his leg.

Trumpkin sighed with relief as he removed the scroll. "So you managed to find him then?" He broke the familiar seal on the parchment and quickly scanned the message, his eyes pausing briefly as he re-read the last lines the king had written. "Aelis, how far had they traveled when you reached the King?"

"The Dawn Treader had already sailed past the Seven Isles by the time I spotted them. The Lord Drinian said they were about a week out from the Lone Islands."

"Hmm." The Dwarf looked rather thoughtful at the answer; if he had delayed any further in writing to the King, the message may have never reached its recipient. It was good that the Falcon reached the Dawn Treader in time.

He then turned to Aelis. "Thank you for your hard work, Friend. I'll send for you when I have another message for you to deliver to King Caspian. In the meantime, please rest and seek refreshment from the kitchens if you are in need of it."

"My Lords," the Falcon bowed once more and took off. The others watched as he flew through the window once more and headed for the aerie in the southern tower.

"So he found the King."

Trumpkin looked up at Doctor Cornelius with a smile on his face. "He did indeed. And his Majesty has written to say that he is making his way back to Narnia."

A collective sigh could be heard from the foot of the table. He watched as the Doctor leaned into his seat, his sagging shoulders settling into the back of the chair.

"I must admit that I'm quite relieved to hear that," said the Lord Chancellor. "And for now, we do not have to concern ourselves with Queen Susan's Horn." He glanced over at Trufflehunter. "What say you, my good Badger?"

The Beast in question looked at them both. "I hope that it will not be for naught that you asked him to return. Though with the way things stand right now, I think you made the right decision, Trumpkin," he paused for a moment before continuing, "and I pray that King Caspian will arrive before the situation gets any worse."

"Aye," the Dwarf agreed. He returned to his seat and picked up the reports he had left on the table. "In the meantime, we should probably begin preparations for his return." The others stood up and also made ready to leave since it was clear their meeting was over. Cornelius was the first to leave the room, and Trumpkin proceeded to follow the Chancellor through the door until Trufflehunter called out to him.

"Will you be informing the rest of Council about the King's return today, or will you wait until tomorrow's meeting?"

The Lord Regent paused at the door and turned to look at the Badger. "Tomorrow. There's no point in sending messages now with half the day already over and the castle short-staffed as it is. Besides, I need to have a word with Lord Octern in regards to a request from his Majesty," he brought up the scroll he held in his hand," It seems the King will be returning with guests."

There was a puzzled look on Trufflehunter's face at the mention of the Lord Chamberlain. "Some of the missing Lords?"

"I'm not certain. He asked for three rooms to be prepared, two for Sons of Adam and one for a Daughter of Eve. Two of the rooms he was very specific about—some of the quarters he had set aside in the old royal wing—and there were a few other unusual requests. From his message, it sounds as if these guests are some great dignitaries."

"Maybe he has invited the Terebithian King and his family to return to Narnia with him. Or the Duke of Galma and his children?" The royal families of such close allies to Narnia would certainly fit the description. There was a pause as another thought crossed the Badger's mind.

"Perhaps his Majesty is bringing home a Queen of Narnia? When the Galmian delegation was last here, I heard their ambassadors speak to some of the lords about the Duke's daughter. They spoke most fondly of the Lady's unusual beauty."

"Perhaps," scoffed Trumpkin, "though I think the King hasn't even entertained the notion of seeking a bride. Beards and buckets! He's been so busy the last three years bringing Narnians and Telmarines together that I doubt the thought of marriage has entered his head. This is probably about something else entirely."

While he thought some of the Badger's theories seemed a bit preposterous, the Dwarf himself had drawn a different but just as fantastical conclusion from Caspian's message. A small hope rose within him as he thought about what the King's requests meant, but he did not dare voice his thoughts aloud for fear he was wrong. He ranked his own suspicions up there with his feelings on using Queen Susan's Horn; though something or someone great and powerful could come to aid Narnia, it was highly unlikely that it would happen. Trumpkin then recalled part of the conversation he just had with Cornelius and Trufflehunter and shook his head, more certain that his theory didn't make sense.

However, the one thing he hoped he was correct in was that with the King's return, good tidings were coming for the situation at hand.

Next: Instruction at Sea — How a King forgets his troubles for a little while and the Narnians learn a few valuable history lessons.

A/N: Once again, thank you to those of you that have reviewed, or added this to your favorites or alerts. I hope the future chapters will continue to keep your interest in this story.