Hey guys - I am sorry I haven't updated for a while - I had too many things (tests, exams, term papers...) to do! But finally here it is! Enjoy reading!
PS: Well to be fair you couldn't really have guessed the attacker! ;)
The hooded attacker was a woman. Peter couldn't believe it. He had just fought against a woman. But more importantly he had just been defeated by a woman in sword fighting.
"But you are... you are..." the young king stammered still lying on the ground looking at the woman that had just defeated him, "Who are you?"
"My name is Cora." the young woman simply said, holding out her hand towards the High King to help him up. Peter hesitated for a second but then grabbed her hand and stood up. Her hands were little and soft, but he recognized the strength she had in her arms.
Still holding her hand Peter gazed at her face, meeting her wonderful deep green eyes. The young woman blushed, moving her free hand to her brown hair that was shivering slightly reddish in the sun.
"May I have my hand back?" she asked without breaking the eye contact.
"Of course. I am sorry." Peter said embarrassed, letting go of her hand, "May I ask you what you are doing here alone and unprotected in the woods, my lady?"
"As you may have noticed, I can protect myself on my own quite well, your majesty." Cora answered back, sheathing her sword she continued, "I come from Archenland to warn you."
"To warn us against what?" Peter asked, although he was already guessing the answer.
"To warn you against the Calormen, they are preparing to invade Narnia!"
"You want what?" Susan couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"We've to stop the Calormen before they do any harm on Narnia. We've to gather all our forces and attack them. We can't just sit around and wait till they attack us. We've to protect our people!" Peter repeated what he had just said.
"That's insane! You want to attack them just because any girl who happens to come along says that they want to invade Narnia? You want to risk the lives of our soldiers, just because of what she said? We don't have any proof that what she has said is right." Susan hissed her voice getting louder and louder, not regarding that the person she talked about might here everything outside in the hall.
"We have her word. She took great hazards to get here to warn us. Moreover the Calormen have already invaded Archenland. That would be reason enough to attack them, don't you think?" Peter pointed out, trying to keep his voice calm.
"If you march in Archenland, you're not better than the Calormen!" Susan screamed.
"I can't understand you. You know that that war is the reason why Aslan sent us here and that the sooner we finish it, the sooner we can search Edmund and Eustace, the sooner we can return to England. I thought you want to get away from here?"
At these words Caspian, who had been sitting silently next to them, not wanting to get between them once more, felt a twinge in his heart. He thought of their last good-bye, remembering how much it had hurt him.
"And why are you so against attacking the Calormen?" Peter continued, "You know their character, you know how they are. Especially you should know what a danger they are!"
At this point Lucy stepped in, obviously used to settle a dispute between her siblings, "Please stop fighting you two! I think we can trust Cora's word, but we've sent a messenger to Anvard and before he returns or we get news from him, we can't attack them anyway. That wouldn't be proper. What do you think, Caspian?"
"I think you're right." Caspian said, thankful for her help, "We should wait until we get news from the messenger and then we will decide what to do next."
"Well, that's settled then. Come on, Peter! Let's show our new guest the castle!" Lucy grabbed Peter's arm, guiding him out of the room before he could say anything else, leaving Susan and Caspian alone in the room.
There was an awkward silence. Caspian looked down to the ground, not knowing what to say.
Susan looked expectantly at Caspian, waiting for his apology. Susan already thought about leaving the room without saying a word, when Caspian finally took courage.
"I apologize, my lady!" the young king said, looking at her in discomfort, "For any offence I've given you today, my deepest regrets. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to..." at this point he struggled a bit about what to say, "I just wanted to protect you." He looked that distraught that the Susan couldn't really be angry at him anymore.
"Well, you're not the only one to blame. I guess I overreacted a little bit. I am sorry too!" she said smiling, "Let's just forget, what happened today."
Caspian looked surprised but pleased that she had given away that quickly. He nodded and continued to speak haltingly, "Then may I ask why your brother said that especially you should know what the Calormen are like?"
Susan hesitated and Caspian could tell from the expression in her eyes that that was a topic she preferred not to talk about. Finally she sighed.
"Well, as you might know, back in the golden age I was courted by many princes of neighbouring countries including Prince Rabadash of Calormen." As she started to explain bitterly, Caspian could feel jealousy rising in him.
"Edmund and I visited Tashbaan. At most times Rabadash was courteous and nice but from time to time..." she turned around to hide her feelings and tears, pretending to look outside the windows, "I saw through his game and refused to marry him! But he would not take no for an answer and threatened that he would hold Narnian delegation prisoners until I consented. So we escaped in the cover of the night." Now Caspian's feeling changed into anger, thinking of somebody threatening his beloved queen.
"Furious, Rabadash conceived a plan to lead a raid to conquer Archenland and then use it as a staging post to conquer Narnia and capture me. Luckily this plan was overheard and we were warned, so we were able to prepare an army and defeat Rabadash." she finished her explanation, a sob escaping her mouth.
"So many brave men died in that war. All because of me." she added whispering.
Caspian stepped towards her, laying one hand on her shoulder to show his sympathy, "I am sorry, my lady!"
"You needn't be. That was a long time ago." Susan said, the bitterness in her voice revealing that it still haunted her in her dreams. And with this she left the room, not wanting him to see her tears.
Cora here, Cora there. Cora is so friendly. Cora is so beautiful. Cora is so cooperative. Cora, Cora, Cora. Susan couldn't hear that name anymore.
Cora had made herself popular and liked in the whole castle within the next day. Even the servants and maids liked her because she was so obliging.
She seemed to be Lucy's new best friend, even though Cora was older than Susan. The two of them were hanging around together all the time, playing cards or just sitting together and laughing. And everytime Susan sat with them she felt like an outsider.
Peter slobbered over her anyway all the time like a lovesick idiot. Susan had never experienced him like that, not even in the golden age when he had courted one of his numerous devotees. And even Caspian had praised her for her superior sword fighting.
Suddenly Cora was the most beautiful, the most talented woman. Everybody loved her. Everybody but Susan. Susan didn't trust her. There was something about this young woman that made Susan doubt her intentions. She couldn't tell what it was. But her instinct told her that there was something amiss about the Archenlander.
She had introduced herself as a maid from the castle of Anvard. But she didn't act like a maid, the way she was moving, the way she was talking was different than to what Susan was used to from maids.
Cora had overheard a conversation of the Tisroc and his generals where they had talked about a battle plan to invade Narnia. At least she had said so, Susan had doubts. She couldn't tell any details just that they were planning to march in Narnia. Maybe she had just misunderstood what they had said or maybe she was a spy. In any case something was fishy about her.
In the evening after Cora had arrived, they were dining together. They still hadn't got any news from the messenger. And guess what their topic was!
"You have to be really skilled in sword fighting, Cora", Lucy complimented her new friend, "Nobody has ever defeated Peter, except for Edmund."
Suddenly there was an awkward silence in the dining hall, all of them thinking of their lost brother or friend. It was Susan who broke it, "Caspian defeated Peter as well."
"Come on, Su! When did Caspian defeat me?" Peter asked laughing.
"When we first met him." Susan smiled over at Caspian, thinking of their first meeting.
"That's not fair! That doesn't count. We were interrupted. Otherwise I would have defeated him." Peter said in an angry voice, his cheeks blushing.
"Let's call it a draw!" Caspian laughed.
"Where did you even learn sword fighting?" Susan asked Cora, her eyes fixed coldly on her, the smile she had just had on her lips vanished, "Do all maids at Anvard learn to handle a blade?" she added sarcastically.
"No, your majesty, or we wouldn't have been defeated by the Calormen!" Cora answered back, returning the look.
"So from whom did you learn it?" Susan stuck to her guns.
"My brother taught me." Cora informed her in an offish voice without breaking the eye contact.
"And why didn't your brother accompany you on this dangerous mission?" Susan followed up the matter.
"Susan!" Peter said in a warning voice, feeling the tension between the two women.
"What?" Susan asked innocently, "That's a normal question."
She turned again to Cora, the expression in her eyes hardening, "So?"
Cora's gaze was as cold as ice as she answered, "Because he died in the fight against the Calormen!"
"How could you, Su? How could you push her like that?" Peter was furious.
"There is something amiss with her. Didn't you notice how she avoided my question?" Susan defended herself.
"She lost her brother and she doesn't want to talk about it! I, myself, can imagine how hard it is to lose a brother. Can you?" Peter yelled at his sister, losing his temper.
Susan didn't answer, her gaze focusing on the floor with tears in her eyes.
"You know what I think?" Peter continued, his voice still angry, "I think you are jealous! Because all your life long you've been the most beautiful, the most talented woman. All your life long you've taken centre stage. If you've been in the room no man had looked at any other woman. And now that not everything centres on you, you are trying to make the person that upstages you bad."
"Is that really what you are thinking of me?" Susan asked disgusted.
"Yes, and you know what else I am thinking? That you don't want to attack the Calormen because you know once we've end that war, we will have to return to England. I think that in spite of what you are saying, you enjoy it to be back in Narnia, you want to stay here. And that's selfish and unfair, unfair towards Aslan, unfair towards Narnia and unfair towards Edmund and Eustace!"
"And what if I want to stay in Narnia? What if once in my life I am thinking of myself? What if once in my life I don't want to sacrifice everything for Narnia and Aslan? What if I want to stay at the place I call home, to stay with the man I love? Is that really asking too much?" Susan screamed, tears running down her cheeks.
When he saw his sister like that, drenched in tears, Peter couldn't be angry anymore. He approached her, laying his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"Of course not, Su!" the young king sighed, "I know how you are feeling, I want to stay here too. Narnia is my home as well. But we can't risk the lives of our people, just because we want to stay here a bit longer. That's not fair! And think of Edmund and Eustace, the sooner we get this done the sooner we can search for them."
"And what if we don't find them?" Susan sobbed, "I prefer to think of them somewhere out there than to have the certainty that they are dead."
"Oh, Su!" Peter had forgotten all his anger, "I am sure they are not dead. We just need to have faith in Aslan and everything will be alright in the end, you will see."
"Why isn't He here then, helping us?" Susan asked, leaning her head against his chest.
"He will come when the time is right!" Peter assured her, hugging his sister to comfort her.
So that's it! What do you think about Cora? Like her? Don't like her? ...
I hope you liked it over all. Reviews would be great as always. :)
Well and again thanks to those who reviewed so far. You're the best!!
PS: I am sorry but I haven't had the time to respond to any of your reviews in the last week - and for now I thought updating was the better thing to do - but I'll get back to them!
