Chapter Twenty-One – From the Sea
Susan barely glanced around as she followed the guard through the castle. Soon they were outside in the wild wind that blew in from the south. Susan's hair whipped against her cheeks and she hurried across the pathway to the double-towered gate. The solid door in the base of the left tower opened and Susan was ushered in by more uniform-clad soldiers.
They moved out of the way as Susan turned to climb up the spiral staircase leading to the open roof above. She emerged on top of the tower and her eyes instantly focused on the commanding figure waiting for her.
The Captain of the Guard turned to meet her with a bow. "Thank you for coming so swiftly, my queen." Susan nodded in response. The Captain continued, "Only a moment ago we received a report of a forest fire from one of our scouts."
"Where?" Susan asked, concern etched in her face.
"Lantern Waste," the Captain replied.
"But that's where Edmund and the army are!" Susan exclaimed.
"I know, your majesty. That's why I called you," he answered. "I don't think they are in imminent danger; however—" The Captain's voice was drowned out by a loud blast that echoed through the blue bay beyond the walls of the city.
Susan spun around and ran towards the other side of the tower, the Captain close behind her. Susan leaned over the edge, trying to see through the smoky haze hiding the entrance of the harbor.
"Was that a routine check of the harbor guns?" she asked as she looked up.
The Captain frowned. "I did not give the gunmen permission to do so."
With a puzzled look, Susan's gaze returned to the harbor.
"Lieutenant!" the Captain barked over his shoulder.
"Yes, sir?"
"Find out what is happening in the harbor and send someone up with my spyglass," the Captain commanded.
"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." The lieutenant nodded his head and scurried down the stairs. Several minutes later a rabbit (trying to look solemn and fierce and not succeeding in looking anything but cute and cuddly) hopped up the stairs and handed the Captain his spyglass. The Captain raised it to his eye and directed it towards the harbor where the haze had cleared away.
"What can you see?" Susan asked.
"It appears that they were firing at a ship," the Captain replied as he lowered the spyglass.
"A ship, Captain?"
"A Calormene scout ship."
"Calormene!" Susan exclaimed. "What do you suppose they are doing?"
"Spying, I would assume," he replied. "Of course, we aren't exactly on favorable terms with the Tisroc after what happened between you and his son, begging your pardon, your majesty."
Susan nodded. "But why would they send a scout ship to pry about our harbor? What do they think they can discover?"
The Captain shrugged. "I will do my best to find out. The firing of the harbor entrance guns shall show the Calormenes that we are on our guard."
An hour. An hour until Corin…died. The words sounded so harsh and so final. Corin couldn't die; he just couldn't. Yet, without the cordial, he surely would.
Cor took deep shuddering breaths as he tried to keep the hot tears from spilling out. A deep anger slowly stirred in him. It was so unfair! Why did Corin have to suffer?
Sullenly, Cor thought of Aslan. Aslan had seen. Aslan knew that Corin was dying. Why didn't He save him? Why did He standby and do nothing? Cor felt his anger direct itself at the Holy Lion even as he knew it was wrong of him to do so.
"I don't understand, Aslan!" Cor cried. "Why? Why don't you save him?"
And yet no answer came. Cor thought as much. But still, he couldn't just sit still and let Corin die. The cordial was out there somewhere, and so was Aravis. He couldn't selfishly sit and mourn. He had to do something. Anything.
But what could he do?
If only I had more time, Cor thought. Maybe then I could find the cordial and Aravis and then everything would be fine. Corin will live.
But time he did not have. No time, no cordial, no Aravis. Corin would die.
No, no. Cor fought against his contemplations. It just couldn't happen that way. He wouldn't let it. He didn't have much time, but he was going to try to save his brother.
His mind set, Cor leaped to his feet and dashed towards the door. He paused at the door to look over his shoulder at Corin, silently hoping that he would return and find his brother still living. Cor turned and raced down the hall to his room where he snatched up his cloak and tugged on his riding boots. Tapestries, furniture, and creatures blurred as Cor dashed through the castle and out into the pink and grey early morning.
Taking no time to admire the beautiful dawn, Cor ran as fast as he could towards the stables. He arrived at the main doorway breathless and stopped to catch his breath. As soon as he regained a little breath, he halted one of the busy stable hands.
"I need a horse," Cor panted. "A fast one."
A little taken aback, the stable hand stared blankly at Cor for an instant before recovering himself. "King Peter's 'orse is de fastest."
Cor nodded. "Never mind a saddle. A bridle shall suffice."
The stable hand nodded and bowed. "Yer 'ighness." He hurried into the tack room, leaving Cor to impatiently pace. At last the stable hand returned, bridle in hand, and slowly limped along to the stall of Peter's fastest charger. By now the man was steadily wearing on Cor's nerves and he snatched the bridle from him.
"I'm sorry," Cor apologized as he put the bridle on the horse. "I haven't any time to spare."
"Hasty youngster," muttered the stable hand. "Even if 'e is a prince."
Cor led the horse out of the barn and over to the mounting block before he swung himself up. He waved to the stable hand before he took off at a brisk trot. He guided the horse in the direction of the smaller equestrian gate instead of the main castle gate. Cor allowed the horse to break into a canter as they traveled down the worn path. Together they swerved off the path, taking a short cut, and dashed across the green grass. The wide-open gates loomed ahead and Cor eased his pace.
"Cor!" Someone shouted at him and he looked around trying to discover who was calling him. At last he saw Queen Susan duck out of the doorway of one of the towers and stop to wait for him. Cor reigned up next to her.
"Cor! Where are you going?" she asked.
"To find the cordial," Cor answered.
"To find the cordial?" Susan echoed incredulously. "Don't you want to…" She trailed off and finished simply with, "Corin."
"I've said my goodbye," Cor answered steadily, refusing to think deeply about it. He looked straight ahead towards the gate knowing that time grew short. "Please, I must go."
"But Cor, it could be anywhere!" Susan protested.
"It's with Aravis," Cor replied. "All I have to do is track Aravis, find her, and then I'll have the cordial and I'll save Corin."
"Cor, who knows where Aravis is by now!" exclaimed Susan. "You'll never find her in time."
"I have to at least try," Cor declared. "I can't sit and do nothing. I have to try to save Corin. Please let me go?"
Susan sighed. She knew she could not dissuade him. "Very well."
Cor smiled and urged his horse forward.
"But Cor!" Susan called after him. "Please be careful?"
"I will try," Cor replied with a slightly mischievous grin. Then he touched his heels to the horse's sides and away they sped – he and the horse one dark shape shooting through the gates. In to the town they dashed, slowing a little as they dodged civilians, carts, and other horses.
Suddenly Cor was forced to drastically slow his pace as an old man clothed in filthy rags blocked his path. Cor openly stared. He had never seen anyone in Narnia in such a sad state. In Calormen it was quite common, but not so in Narnia nor in Archenland.
Cor noted that the man was surely blind in one eye, if not his other as well. Waving his one crutch wildly in the air, the old man shouted to any who would listen, "A voice cries against Paravel! A voice from the East!"
Won over by strange curiosity, Cor reigned in his horse as the old man continued to cry out, "Woe! Woe to this city!"
"Sir," Cor called down to him. "Why do you cry woe to Paravel?"
The man limped towards him, reaching out to place a gnarled and grimy hand on Cor's shin. "Flee, lad, while you can, for woe is coming. Great woe. For surely not one stone shall be left standing upon another when the great tribulations have passed." The he turned and limped off, still continuing to cry out, "Woe! Woe to Paravel!" He passed on, uttering the horrible, ominous words. Few acknowledge his words that day, and in the morning when they found him dead fewer still chose to remember his warning words. But Cor heard these things which the man spoke of and locked them away in his heart, wondering what they could possibly mean.
Aravis reluctantly agreed to take a sip of the cordial. She opened her mouth and a tiny, scarlet drop fell onto her tongue, bursting into sweet flavor. But then the sweetness suddenly turned bitter. Aravis coughed, wrinkling her nose at the horrid flavor.
"Terrible!" she finally spit out.
"Terrible?" Del'eb questioned with a frown.
She blinked rapidly. "That is not what I expected it to taste like."
"What did you expect it to taste like?"
"Like dewdrops and…"
"And rainbows?" Del'eb threw back his head and laughed. "You are a tarkheena after all. Silly girls and their silly thoughts."
Aravis frowned, trying to come up with a snarky response, but couldn't think of any and so chose not to answer. She glanced down at her scraped arms as she waited for the cordial to take effect. She wasn't sure what she thought would happen (as she had never actually seen the cordial heal anyone) but she hoped it would be a wonderful feeling.
Several more seconds lapsed and Aravis didn't feel any transformation taking place. She stared hard at her arms still covered with scrapes. Blue and purple bruises were beginning to show as well.
"I-I do not think that it is working," Aravis whispered.
"Just wait," Del'eb replied as he stared at her.
Aravis shook her head. "It did not work!" Del'eb hushed her with a glare. When it became apparent that nothing had happen, nor would, Del'eb stood up and turned away. He kicked angrily at the rocky bed of the ravine.
"The dwarf!" Del'eb exclaimed with a snarl. "He must have double-crossed me! How could I have thought that a Narnian would sell me the healing cordial!" He turned on his heel again, and stooped to snatch the cordial from Aravis's shaking hands. In a fit of rage, he threw the bottle against a nearby boulder, smashing it into a thousand fragments.
Aravis gasped in horror; her dark eyes wide. She painfully pushed herself up. "T-that was the cordial!"
Del'eb glared at her. "Don't you understand? It was a sham. A trick." He continued to mutter to himself. "Yes, I knew it was risky to trust a Narnian, but Prince Rabadash was sure that the dwarf would prove trustworthy."
Aravis started. "Prince Rabadash?" Del'eb ignored her. Aravis tossed her head and said, "You must not have offered the dwarf a large enough reward."
Del'eb turned towards her. "I offered him great wealth. What more could a dwarf want?"
"What more?" Aravis scoffed as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Calormenes. You think that you can bribe anyone to do anything for you simply because of wealth."
"Calormenes?" Del'eb laughed. "Look at your own brown skin! You are of the same kind."
Aravis narrowed her eyes as she rose to her feet. "I once was what you accuse me of being, but I am no longer." She raised her chin. "I am now a child of Aslan."
"Aslan? The demon lion?" Del'eb asked, turning towards the creek bed.
"Demon!" Aravis laughed as she followed him. "Tash is the demon."
"We'll head upstream," Del'eb decided, changing the subject abruptly.
"What about my father?" Aravis questioned as she crossed her arms and refused to take another step until she received an answer.
Del'eb cast an annoyed glance over his shoulder. "I'll find an easier place to climb out of this ravine, and then we'll double back for your father."
Cor rode on, pressed for time more than ever. He reached the wide city gates, and galloped through them and across the stone bridge. The trees and brambles of the forest now stretched towards the road, swallowing up the colors of dawn rising above the castle.
The forest was strangely quiet as Cor rode through. He caught a glimpse of a squirrel here and there and even a couple birds darted across the path but not a noise did these creatures make. The silence was eerie and disconcerted Cor. Something wasn't right and the creatures knew it.
He slowed the horse to a walk and peered into the forest. He was sure he wouldn't find Aravis and the Calormenes on the main road, however, he wasn't sure where else to look for them. It would take forever to search the entire forest and they would be long gone before he caught up with them.
Cor halted and realized just how hopeless the very idea of tracking them down would be. He frowned, trying to think about where the Calormenes would possibly go. The horse snorted and began to shift underneath him.
"What are you doing?" Cor asked, even though he knew it was a dumb horse. The horse continued to snort and jerked his head southward.
Cor laughed. "Are you trying to tell me that I should head south? Towards Calormen?" The horse pulled again and this time Cor let the horse have his way. The horse did lead him south – right into a thicket of thorn bushes. Cor wasn't very happy to say the least.
"Now what are we going to do?" he groaned aloud. The horse kept going, picking his way carefully through the brambles and soon they emerged from the tangled web. A long stretch of ferns lay ahead of them.
"Well, I supposed you are smarter than I thought," Cor remarked. The horse snickered as if he was laughing. They continued through the ferns. Cor looked around at the huge trees towering above them. There was no trace of creatures in this part of the forest.
Unexpectedly, Cor realized that his horse had halted. The reason was the steep gully in front of them. It was too far to jump across, even on horseback. The sides were too steep and rocky for any ordinary horse to climb down. Still, Cor's horse pulled forward, wanting to try. Cor held him back. The horse snorted in annoyance.
"You can't do that!" Cor protested, realizing he was again speaking to the dumb horse. "You'll hurt yourself and probably throw me over your head as well. Come on." He guided the horse eastwards, hoping that perhaps the gully walls would be less steep as they approached sea level since he had no idea how far west the crevice ran.
The joyful laughter of the creek in the gully gave some comfort to Cor as he rode along. Time was passing fast. He knew he had to find Aravis and the cordial soon. After several more minutes of riding, Cor halted.
"Well," he said to the horse. "The walls aren't any less steep than they were back there, and you seem to want to cross." He let the reigns fall loose and took a deep breath. The horse hesitated as if he was waiting for Cor to gather his nerves. At last Cor said, "All right, let's try it."
The horse jumped forward and plunge over the edge. Cor used his knees to hang on and he leaned back, hoping he wouldn't be thrown over the horse's head. With horror, Cor realized that the horse was preparing to jump. But over what? They touched the bottom of the gully and the horse sprang over the creek and started up the other side. Now Cor leaned forward, trying to keep from sliding off backwards. He closed his eyes tightly and then they were up. The horse stopped and Cor slid off with trembling legs. He sat on the ground, eyes wide as the adrenaline still coursed through him.
"You-you're amazing," he breathed to the horse. The horse tossed his head. After Cor caught his breath he remounted and they started forward. The horse walked forward quietly. Cor watched the ground on either side, hoping for tracks or clues or any sign of anything. He didn't see anything. However, he began to smell something.
"Can you smell that?" he asked the horse. "It smells like smoke." What Calormene kidnapper would be foolish enough to light a fire, Cor thought. It probably isn't them.
Cor decided it wouldn't hurt to double-check the fire. He steered the horse away from the scent so they wouldn't walk straight into the campsite or whatever it was. After several more paces, he stopped, slid off the horse and tied him to one of the trees. He continued on foot alone. He pushed softly through the ferns and low tree branches. He rounded one of the large trees and came across a clearing. A tiny flicker of flame came from the center were a little fire was lit. A fat tarkaan sat in front of it, warming his fingers. Noise came from behind Cor and he saw the bushes part before he ducked down on his stomach behind the ferns. A girl stumbled past his hiding place, a Calormene clutching her arm tightly behind her as he forced her into the clearing.
Cor whistled quietly, hoping that girl would hear him and the Calormenes would not. He couldn't risk discovery yet.
Author's note: HELLO! Yes, I am still alive and living on this planet! Sorry that I haven't updated in so, so, so long. I know you've been waiting in suspense all summer. Things got really busy for me and I just haven't had time to write this summer. Thankfully, last weekend, Go Teen Writers had an entire day of word wars so I got a lot written. I really hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. Let me know what you think of it! :D