Are there any excuses for not writing or publishing for nearly five months? I guess there are not ... I am really sorry for it! On the one hand I hadn't had the time to write and on the other it seemed like I didn't have any more words in me .. lame excuses I know but it's the truth!

I don't know if you guys are still interested in the story but I hate unfinished things - so I decided to work on it once more! Don't know if this chapter is any good - so tell me!

PS: It isn't even beta-read - so there will be quite a few mistakes (I haven't written English for quite a long time! :S)

PPS: If you still want to read it after all the nonsense I have written so far - enjoy reading ;) ...



Susan and Lucy had been brought to one of the bedrooms in the west wing of the castle. Two dresses of their own closets were lying on the bed and they had access to a small bathroom to freshen themselves up.

Lucy was just cleaning a wound which Susan had contracted in the heat of the battle, when the door opened quietly and a person that they knew quite well sneaked into the room.

"Cora!" Lucy jumped up and ran into her friend's arms, "I knew you would not abandon us."

"How did you get in here without them noticing? There are guards all around..." Susan stopped, surprised when she noticed the dress out of fine green silk Cora was wearing, "You did not sneak in, did you? They know you are here, you are here with them..."

Lucy stepped back shocked, "You are not on their side, are you?

The princess looked at the sisters with pleading eyes full of guilt, "It is not like you think it is..."

"Then explain it to us!" Susan spoke in a sharp voice.

"I am not on their side," Cora defended herself, "it is just that my brother is with them and I cannot abandon him. I know that there is something good in him. He is not a bad person, he's just making bad decisions and I cannot give him up. I just can't..."

When Susan noticed Cora's moral dilemma, her voice got calmer, "Cora, this is not about the decisions your brother is making, this is about you and your decisions. Being royal means to put aside your own interests for the benefit of others, even if it means hurting somebody you love. You have to think of the people from Archenland and Narnia, of all the brave soldiers that already died fighting for freedom, of all the people that can't defend themselves. You have to think of your father. Think of Peter..."

"I am ... I am thinking of all of them..." the young woman looked to the ground, "...and I am here to help you. I'll help you to get out of here. I'll distract the guards. There are horses waiting at the back door, so that you can escape... "

"No!" Susan interrupted her, "We are not going to run away!"

"But that's your only chance!" Cora's voice sounded desperate, "The Tisroc's army defeated nearly all of your men, you can't defend yourselves against him. Your only chance is to hide..."

"No, you are our only chance, Cora!" Susan disagreed, "Our future lies in your hands. It's your choice. Either you stand by and watch people suffering or you help us..."

For a moment there was silence, the three women just staring at each other. As Cora didn't answer, Lucy rose to speak, "You have to go to Caspian and explain the situation to him. Tell him to prepare for battle and then..." she took a deep breath, "then you have to find Aslan. He will help us. He will know what we have to do."

"How am I supposed to find Him? I've never seen Him or spoken to Him..."

"Aslan will always answer to those who need His help" Lucy explained, "You just have to believe that you will find Him. Trust your own instincts. You have to have faith in Him... and in yourself."

Susan held out her horn towards Cora, "Here take it with you and tell Eustace that the future belongs to freedom."

Cora took the horn, looking confused, "Who is Eustace?"

"He's with Caspian. If you tell him that, they will trust you."

"Can't one of you go to him for help?" Cora asked, still not knowing what to do, even though she knew there was only one right choice.

Susan shook her head, "No, our place is here, here with Edmund and Peter, here with our people. Their fate will be ours..."

"But isn't my place with my people too?"

"Yes, it is, but the question is who these people are and what's best for them. And that's for you to decide!"


"Last time I was imprisoned I got at least something to eat!" Edmund shouted after the guards who had just escorted them to their cell but they just went on laughing.

"We need to get out of here!" Peter shouted, shaking the cell doors angrily.

"Stop making all that noise, Pete! You know we won't get out of these cells on our own." Edmund laid one hand on his brother's shoulder to stop him.

"But we can't sit around and do nothing!" Peter objected.

"Caspian will get us out of here, we just have to wait a little bit..."

"I hate this!" Peter said, shaking the cell doors one more time to show his anger, "all of this! I wish Aslan would have never sent us back..." He sank to the ground.

"You don't mean that," Edmund sat down next to his brother on the ground, "Narnia is your home, Narnia is our home."

Peter shook his head, "No, it isn't, not anymore. When I returned, I thought a dream had come true, but the dream developed into a nightmare... I had to make choices, more difficult ones than I have ever made before, choices that weren't mine to make..." he looked up at his younger brother, "I am sorry, Ed! I am sorry for leaving you behind, I shouldn't have done that. I am so sorry..."

"Don't be. You didn't have any other choice."

"Everything we do is a choice..."

Edmund looked at his brother and thought for a moment, "You are right. But sometimes there really is only one right answer ... and you made the right choice, not only as a king but also as a brother. I would have never forgiven you if you had abandoned Narnia, just as you would have never forgiven yourself..."

"How can I forgive myself for letting you down?"

"You will not. Just as I will never forgive myself that I betrayed you to the white witch all those years ago. But you will learn to live with it..." Edmund took a deep breath, remembering how hard it had been for himself, "Every one of us has made a choice he is not proud of. This single choice does not make you a bad person, it makes you human..."

There was silence for a short moment, Peter looking at his brother thankfully.

"Thanks, Ed."

"You are welcome... oh and if it helps, I would have left you behind as well." Edmund said grinning.

"Me too!" the brothers suddenly heard a voice behind them.


Lucy strode through the room impatiently, "More than an hour has passed. Cora should already be with Caspian, should she not?"

"We do not even know if she decided to help us." Susan pointed out.

Suddenly the door opened and two guards entered the room.

"The Tisroc, may he live forever, requests your presence in the courtyard, your Majesties."

The guards guided them trough the castle to a small balcony, where the Tisroc was already awaiting them.

"Finally, our guests of honour have arrived." The Tisroc guided Susan to the edge of the balcony, from where she could overlook the courtyard.

Susan was shocked when she caught sight of gallows in the middle of the courtyard, something she has not seen there in all her life. Five men were standing next to the gallows, their hands tied behind their backs. Narnians, mostly women and children had gathered around the gallows. Some of them were trying to come by the guards that were holding them back to help the convicts.

"These men are charged with high treason and have been sentenced to death," the Tisroc started to explain, "but you, my dearest Queen Susan, have the power of saving them. Accept my hand and their lives will be spared!"

The monarch offered her his hand. Susan had to swallow hard on his words, knowing that the only thing she could do right now was accepting his hand, hoping that Caspian would get her out of here. But, before she could take and accept his hand, an arrow flew through the air, hitting the Tisroc on his forearm, which caused him to back off.

"I am sorry, but this woman is already taken!" Caspian seemed to appear from nowhere with a crossbow in his hands, shooting guards that attacked him.

Next to him Peter emerged from the crowd, overpowering one of the guards to free the convicts. Susan caught sight of about twenty other Narnians including Eustace and Trumpkin down in the courtyard.

When Susan turned back, Edmund was already standing behind the Tisroc, his sword at the monarch's throat.

"I am sorry but I prefer Caspian as my brother in law," Edmund said smiling at Susan, "Now would you please tell your guards to drop their weapons?"

"It is you who should drop your weapon if you want your sister to live!" Prince Cain was standing next to Edmund with his sword at Lucy's throat.

"Do not hurt her!" Edmund said, while dropping his sword.

Then all of a sudden another arrow of Caspian hit Prince Cain at his left shoulder. He cried out in pain, relinquishing his grip so that Lucy could break free. Susan took Lucy's arm, pushing her towards the doorway while Edmund quickly picked up his sword again and stepped in front of his sisters to shield them, but they were surrounded by guards within seconds.

The Tisroc laughed, "Once more you did not appreciate my hospitality, King Edmund? Well I will make sure that that will not happen again." He nodded to Prince Cain, who ran down the stairs that lead from the balcony to the courtyard. Suddenly Susan heard bells and about two hundred guards emerged from the buildings in the courtyard.

"King Caspian! You and your men are outnumbered. Give up and your lives will be spared! Fight and you will die!"

Caspian looked towards Peter, who shook his head. This was a fight they couldn't win, at least not on their own.

And as if Aslan had heard their silent prayers, there was a loud noise, that sounded like a bugle but richer.

It was a sound Peter had heard quite often in his life, but this time its purpose was different. It was an answer, an answer to many questions, an answer that would change Peter's life entirely and it was a call, a call for forgiveness.


I would really love you guys for every single review that you give me! Should I continue?