Chapter Thirteen: Isabella Furrow and The Werewolf Lestat
Caspian paced the corridor, Lucy was sitting on the ground opposite the room that Peter was currently being treated in, he eyes were red and puffy from crying, and the light that usually shone on her face was dimmed slightly, Edmund was standing next to Lucy, he had his arms flooded across his chest and was leaning against the wall, his face was paler that usual, his lips were pursed in a sort of grimace.
Caspian focused on walking his head down, how could he of let this happen? It was all is fault!
Destier had brought him back to Telmar while he was unconscious on his back, and the way Caspian felt right now, he wished he still was, his head stung slightly but that was nothing compared to the feeling in his stomach, the feeing of emptiness, nothing, he felt he was doing nothing, true he had given the order for war against Adam and The White Witch, and had alerted the generals of Susan's disappearance, but he still felt like he was doing nothing, he would be down in the stables himself if he had not been dragged up here by Trumpkin to see Peter who was asking for him, Lucy, Edmund and….Susan.
"His majesty can see you now, he's still weak so not for very long" said the Nurse opening the door, Lucy scrambled to her feet and ran into the room, the Nurse jumped to the side from fear of being trampled, Edmund and Caspian followed.
Peter was lying on the bed, a large bandage around his neck and shoulder, he was propped up by pillows, he was a little pale, but other than that he looked fine.
Lucy wrapped her arms around Peters neck and buried her head in his un injured shoulder and sobbed, "Easy Lu, I'm alright" said Peter patting Lucy gently on the back, Edmund sat on the edge of Peters bed and looked slightly relieved, but he still had that slightly dark look in his eyes, Caspian stood in the doorway not wanting to intrude on the family moment, he felt bad enough as it is, he didn't want to be close enough to see Peter's face when they told him, "Caspian come in! sit down!" said Peter smiling over at him, Caspian came into the room but continued standing, Peter's smile only made him feel worse, he felt like stone, everything inside him was hardening every moment Susan was in the clutches of the White Witch "Where's Susan?" asked Peter looking around the room, Caspian went stiff, Lucy's body was racked with another wave of tears, Edmund bit his lip and looked up at Peter who was staring around the room bewildered, "Pete we have something to tell you" said Edmund, Caspian shrunk into the shadows of the room and listened Edmund retell the story that Caspian had told him, each word felt like a knife being stabbed into Caspian's heart, he dreaded to think what was happening to Susan right now.
Susan woke up and refused to open her eyes, it was a dream, the last five hours hadn't happened she had gone to her room for an afternoon sleep and was about to wake up, Susan told herself, but even though Susan hadn't opened her eyes she knew exactly where she was, and it wasn't her bed chambers in the Telmar Castle.
Susan's teeth on her left side hurt, her cheek was cold, her temple throbbed, there was most likely a large purple bruise there, Susan slowly opened her eyes, she was in a large ice chamber, she slowly sat up and rubbed her cheek.
"Queen Susan! Your awake!" said a deep voice, Susan looked around, a large blue ogre was sitting by a large metal door, there were large black chains around his legs that were connected to a large metal bar, "Who are you?" asked Susan her teeth chattering slightly, "I am Gregory Moorfowl, King of the Ogres" said Gregory nodding his head at Susan, "I'm sorry your majesty I cannot bow" said Gregory groaning slightly in pain, "There is no need, we're all equals here" said Susan with a heavy heart, she looked around the room, there was a large black lump on the floor, "What's that?" asked Susan looking at the lump and panting slightly, the cold air was stinging her lungs making it difficult to breath.
The lump moved, Susan studied it closer, it appeared to be human, it was a girl, around Susan's age, she had long black hair that had a slight wave to it, she was wearing a long black dress that had a red undercoat, her head was resting on her arm, she raised her head and looked at Susan, she had olive skin and green eyes, her lips were pink but had a bluish ting around them, she looked away from Susan and dropped her head back onto the floor, as still as before, "That is Isabella Furrow, Princess of the Narnian Wood" said Gregory looking down at her with sympathy, "She's a tree spirit!" asked Susan surprised, the only tree spirit she had ever seen was one who took her shape in petals, "Yes, she noticed you shivering so she gave you her cloak" said Gregory nodding at her, Susan looked down, she hadn't noticed but a dark blue cloak had been draped over her, it was woolen although it felt like soft grass, Susan picked it up and wrapped it around her shoulders, "Is she alright?" asked Susan looking at Isabella with concern she was awfully still and Susan didn't want anything to happen to someone who had been so nice to her, footsteps echoed in the hall outside, Gregory shook his head "She's about to get worse" said Gregory sadly, he backed into the wall a little more, the bolt on the door slid across, as it did, it admitted a long loud screech, the door opened and a Large brown goblin stepped inside, Isabella sat up with alarm, "No! no, no, no!" Said Isabella her face constricting with fear, the goblin marched over to her and grabbed Isabella's hair and hauled her to her feet, "Leave her alone!" yelled Susan, attempting to stand up but found that her legs had fallen asleep from the cold, the gobbling hiss then opened a vile with his teeth and poured the dark purple liquid into Isabella's mouth, she coughed and gasped holding her throat she then fell to the ground, the goblin cackled then left the room pulling the door shut with a screech, no sooner had the goblin left than Isabella started to scream, tears streaming down her face as she grabbed at her hair, "What did they do to her?" asked Susan looking up at Gregory, "They give her a potion that makes her live inside her worse nightmare, you see, they cant hurt her physically like me so the torture her mentally, and if you as me I think I got the better end of the deal" said Gregory groaning slightly as he tried to move closer to Isabella, Gregory had large bruises all over him that Susan hadn't noticed before, they were a deep purple mixed with red, he had a cut lip and a badly broken nose, "It'll be ok" said Gregory in a soothing tone rubbing Isabella's back with his large hand, Susan looked around the room, it had a very high ceiling that had sharp icicles dangling from it, there was a small window that had the same metal bars across it as the bar that held Gregory, "How long have I been asleep?" asked Susan, "Six hours" said Gregory still rubbing Isabella's back who was sobbing, "Why are we here?" asked Susan watching her breath freeze, "We're here to make sure people fight for the right reasons" said Gregory "What do you mean?" asked Susan, "I'm being held captive to make sure the Ogre's fight for the Witch and not Caspian, in exchange for there service The Witch will send me back to my people" said Gregory, "Do you believe they'll send you back?" asked Susan knowing full well that the Witch would kill him, "No, I shall be disposed of once the Witch is done with me" said Gregory grinning in a sad way that made Susan feel like something had dropped inside her "What about her?" asked Susan nodding at Isabella, "She is here to make sure the Werewolves fight and the trees don't interfere" said Gregory, "Werewolves?" asked Susan failing to see how a tree spirit could have any power over a Werewolf, Isabella sat up, her face was splotchy and her eye were red, she looked at Gregory then back to Susan, "Isabella?" asked Susan feeling uncomfortable under her piercing green gaze, "You are sitting in the same place that Mr. Tumnus sat one-thousand three hundred years ago, and I sit where Edmund sat, curious that our positions are the same" said Isabella, "What do you mean?" asked Susan frowning, she didn't know if it was the cold or the fact that she had a large purple bruise on the side of her head but it hurt to think, "Lestat thought it was for the best don't hate him! He just wanted us to be! Please Queen Susan find it in your heart-" began Isabella but Susan reached across the room and grabbed her hand, "I'm sure what ever happened wasn't your fault" said Susan, Isabella's face consorted with tears again and she laid down on the ground crying, Susan rubbed her hand and soothed her until she was sure she was asleep, "What happened?" asked Susan quietly, "She met the Werewolf Lestat, and they fell in love, but Isabella's Mother forbade them to be together, so Lestat looked for another way, he then ran into Adam and the White Witch, and they offered a way for him and Isabella to be together, and he took it, but when Isabella learned what had happened she fled in fear knowing of what the Witch had done in the past, so Lestat tried to break off his deal, then The Witch took Isabella and threatened to kill her if Lestat we're to break there agreement, so now she's here, and he's out there" said Gregory, Susan looked down at Isabella having a new found understanding for her, "The White Bear will Capture the Horse to draw in the Wolf, the Lion, the Fox and the Eagle" said Isabella quietly looking up at Susan, "Spirits speak in riddles sometimes" said Gregory, "Yes, I know, but what did she mean" asked Susan letting go of Isabella's hand as she sat up and leaned against the wall, "It means that you're the bait that will make Caspian and Peter, Edmund and Lucy come here, and when they do The Witch will kill them" said Gregory, "The ones we love are so easily turned into a knife, pointed against us, to make us suffer" said Isabella quietly, Susan looked out the small window, she loved Caspian, she wished she had told him that the last time she had seen him, now she was the knife, she was the knife that was going to kill Caspian.
xXx
"How many men do we have at our disposal?" asked Caspian as he marched through the stables, "thirty-thousand my Lord, but it is not enough" said Trumpkin jogging to keep up with Caspian's long and purposeful strides, "I know it's not enough, that is why I'm going to the Narnian forest to speak to the trees" said Caspian mounting Destier "But sir! You're needed here cant you send someone else to do it?" asked Trumpkin, "I already have, they wont listen, so I'm going to speak to them myself, I know if we can get the Tree's on side we win" said Caspian spurring Destier and heading out the ramp of the Telmarine castle.
Trumpkin sighed, he was worse than before when Susan was gone, now he was obsessing over getting her back, "He's worse than before isn't he?" asked Lucy walking into the stable and interrupting Trumpkin's thoughts, "yeah" said Trumpkin, "He's gonna be a whole lot worse when we leave again" said Lucy, "What do you mean?" asked Trumpkin shocked turning around to face Lucy, she was wearing a light green dress and her hair was tied back in a bow, "Aslan said we'd have to leave again" said Lucy, "When?" asked Trumpkin, "I don't know, but he said the next time we came back, we'd stay forever, I think that means we have to die in our world, which means we probably wont be here till I'm really old, and you'll all be gone" said Lucy walking about the stables, "Lucy I heard what you said to Susan that night at the fireworks, why don't you follow your own advice?" asked Trumpkin, "I'm not worried about my time here, neither is Susan, we're worried about the people we leave behind" said Lucy, "Lucy, you needn't worry, even though your not here in person you'll always be with us in spirit" said Trumpkin, "Thank you my dear little friend" said Lucy patting Trumpkin on the shoulder and walking out of the stables.
Caspian urged Destier onwards, he could see the edge of Narnia and its forest, he galloped through the river and into the trees, Caspian stopped in a small clearing, this place looked strangely familiar, he looked around, the tree's looked lifeless, there leaves were a green-grey colour, the looked oddly still.
Caspian slowed Destier to a walk, this was the place where he had first used Susan's horn, he smiled, he had blown it thinking foolishly that it would bring help straight away, Caspian looked up at the trees, "I am King Caspian, and I need your help" said Caspian looking around, there was silence nothing happened, "I need you help! Please answer!" said Caspian raising his voice slightly, "Don't bother shouting they wont listen" said a growling voice, Caspian drew his sword and looked around, a man with pale skin and large black circles around his eyes was leaning against the trunk of a tree, he had brown hair that had a slight curl at the end that hung around his shoulders, he was wearing a white shirt with dark grey chaps, he merely batted an eyelid at Caspian's sword, "Who are you?" demanded Caspian, "I am the Werewolf Lestat, and you're wasting your breath talking to them" said Lestat nodding up at the tree's lazily as he walked away from the tree he was leaning on, "What are you doing here?" asked Caspian relaxing his grip on his sword but still keeping it ready, he had heard of Werewolves and was not about to drop his guard, but at the same time he figured if this Werewolf had wanted to kill him he would of done it by now, "Looking for you" said Lestat, Caspian followed Lestat with his eyes as he walked about the clearing, "Lower your sword Caspian, I'm not going to hurt you" said Lestat, Caspian lowered his sword to his side, "Why would you be looking for me?" asked Caspian still eyeing Lestat suspiciously, "Because I can believe we can help each other" said Lestat, "How?" asked Caspian "The Witch has captured Queen Susan am I right?" asked Lestat, Caspian's eye's narrowed, how did he know that? "Hmm I guess as much, she has also captured some one of great importance to me" said Lestat "What are you proposing?" asked Caspian wishing he would get to the point, "I am proposing we work together, my men will fight for you, then I shall get you into the castle, where we shall go to the prison and free those who are there, then leave" said Lestat, "Why do you help me?" asked Caspian, "I'm not, I'm helping me, do we have a deal?" asked Lestat, "I have heard that the Werewolf's are fighting for the Witch, forgive me but that may make me a little hesitant to except a deal with one" said Caspian sarcastically, no way was he making a deal with a Werewolf, "Hmm, your smart, know everything before you make a deal, wish I had done that" said Lestat, "You made a deal with someone?" asked Caspian loosening the grip on his sword again, wanting to know more about what he was talking about, "Yes, the White Witch" said Lestat "What deal did you make?" asked Caspian, "The Witch came to me, and offered me everything I've ever wanted, in exchange for my services and that of my kind" said Lestat, "What did she Offer you?" asked Caspian edging closer to Lestat, suddenly Lestat didn't seem so menacing, "Isabella Furrow, the women of my dreams, a very women that I felt would burn me alive every moment I touched her, and when I wasn't with her I felt my heart cry out for her, I needed to be with her every second of every day, and it couldn't happen, her mother Jalopius forbade it, told me never to see her again, I tried, but I couldn't handle it, I felt I was going to die inside day by day that I wasn't with her, so I found her, and she tried to push me away, but I knew she still loved me, she told me to find another way, so I did" said Lestat leaning on a tree again, his hand was above his forehead, Caspian exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding, that was how he felt with Susan, when they kissed, Caspian felt as if he was being burned from the inside out, every muscle in his body ached for her healing touch when ever she was away from him, he let go of his sword, he knew Lestat wasn't going to harm him.
"That's when you met the White Witch" said Caspian sadly feeling a load of sympathy for Lestat, "Isabella found out, and she ran, she was scared, she was a child in that hundred year winter, she knew what the Witch was planning to do, so I tried to go back on my deal, told Jadis I didn't want any part in what she was doing, next thing I know Isabella's being thrown in the dungeon being tortured, and I'm watching Adam ride out to find Queen Susan, un-able to do anything to stop it" said Lestat looking up at Caspian, "I'm sorry" said Caspian and he meant it, he knew the pain of finding someone you love then have them ripped away from you, "Enough of this talk, do we have a deal or not?" said Lestat gathering his former menacing compositor, "Yes" said Caspian shaking Lestat outstretched hand, "Here's what will happen-" began Lestat…
