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Chapter two: Home Sweet Home?
I stumbled off the boat as quickly as my legs would carry me, with Jarid following close behind. I had spent days on that ship, and while my siblings, especially my sister, thought that the gentle rocking was hardly noticeable, I would disagree. I hadn't been sick, and if I believed in any higher power I would have praised them for small favors. Jarid had found humor in my condition, and I knew that was what older brothers were for, especially my older brother. Despite all the poking fun at each other that Mother had always complained about, we really did watch over each other.
That was why, even if I wasn't feeling well, I had watched King Edmund like one of those rotten scavenger birds watched a dying animal out in the Calormene deserts. It wasn't terribly hard to gain the trust of my sister. She was still very young and liked to see the good in everyone, even when that good didn't exist. And it was very easy to see why she wanted to trust this stranger. He had been good to us so far, but how long would that last? Cyrus and Cole were only six, and easily influenced by a kind word. But they trusted us without a second thought. They did not take kindly to strangers, and we had known this man for all of a few days. Still, they had stopped gripping each other so tightly in his presence, even with the new crew around, though they refused to let go of each other's hands. That in itself was an accomplishment, good for this foreign king, but not so good for my family.
And Jarid. My brother was somewhat relaxed in King Edmund's presence, instead of jumping at every sound like he usually did. I had felt betrayed for a bit, after all we were the two who were supposed to look out for this family. Why was he going soft and trusting this man? On the other hand, I remembered a similar situation from when I had been younger. I too, had trusted when I should not have, and it had fallen to Jarid to watch out for the family. He was human after all, and prone to mistakes. I was too, but I couldn't be wrong this time. Right? No matter how nice they looked or acted, no matter the fancy titles they carried, everyone was cruel. No one could be trusted.
No one but Jarid knew that I remembered that evening when our mother had followed our father to that cold dark place that awaited all of us at the end of our lives. I remembered the next morning clear as day, when we had been forced out of the home we had known because our parents had debts that four children could never hope to pay off. It didn't matter that they had left us homeless, without food, or without many clothes. I couldn't forget the greedy look in the villagers' eyes as they almost literally kicked us out, not even allowing us to give our mother any kind of burial.
I remembered when our first master picked us up on the side of the road, almost two months later. Jarid had been desperate to have proper shelter instead of dirt, and food that we hadn't dug up or stolen. The man had seemed nice, and I had been naive. We all had been so young and foolish. Jarid had whispered words of comfort and encouragement, perhaps even joy. We were told we would have work for our living, but we were used to that. Mother and Father hadn't been anywhere near well off, and we could all put in a good day's labor. We would all be fine.
I could see the first time he had raised his fist to Jarid in my mind's eye. My older brother had come in covered in dark bruises, and I could still feel the hot angry tears flowing down my cheeks. But Jarid had made me swear not to do anything stupid, or provoke the master. I had agreed with ill grace. I wondered back then, what Jarid had done to deserve it. He made it perfectly clear that it had been his mistake, something we were not to repeat, even if he never said what the mistake was. But as I grew up, and changed hands again and again, I learned that people could and would hurt you because they wanted to.
Jarid and I had tried to stop any master who bought us from hurting Cyrus or Cole. We had become a team, equals despite my youth. He trusted me, even if hated seeing me put myself into situations like that. We were largely successful, and I don't think that any fist or hand was raised to Cyrus or Cole more than twice.
But the first beating I received . . . that was something that still haunts me to this day. I remembered the pain above all else, as well as the tears and the hurled insults. It was the first, and last time, I had ever begged for it to stop. What hurt more, were Cole's silent tears, and the look on Jarid's face. It looked as though something was burning him. I fell into a deep sleep soon after, nightmares plaguing me in dreams then as well as now.
Those memories were burned in my mind now, and they made me far more cautious. I was not going to be taken in, no matter how nice King Edmund looked. And on the off chance that he was as nice as he had been acting, that meant nothing about his brother, or any of the other lords we would be around. I was worried though. If it turned out I was right, how did you escape a palace? And where would we go? We didn't know this land like we knew Calormen, which would make any get away harder on our part, if not impossible.
As the rest of my family followed my older brother and me ashore, I finally turned and noticed the gathering before us. I blushed, my cheeks burning, and took a quick step back. Had everyone in Narnia come to welcome their king back? It certainly looked it. There were great Cats, and other Animals, what I thought were Centaurs from what King Edmund had explained, and a few creatures with horns, hooves, and hairy legs that utterly terrified me called Fauns. Even though some of the creatures had accompanied King Edmund to Calormen, I still was very frightened of them, not matter how much time I spent in their company.
But these creatures couldn't hold my attention for long, no matter how whimsical and imaginary they looked. In the front of the crowd, dressed in simple finery that outshone the gaudy dress of the Calormen lords, were three humans. I had never seen clothes of this style before, and they looked comfortable.
The youngest girl dashed forward quickly, throwing herself into King Edmund's outstretched arms. She lingered in his embrace for a few minutes before drawing back to look curiously at my siblings and me, an almost heartbreaking expression written in her eyes. I wondered if she understood exactly what King Edmund had brought home. She was dressed in flowing burgundy and a snug ivory top. Her hair was long, with only pieces of it braided back. I thought that in normal circumstances, she would be pleasant to be near, almost as if she was usually radiating an unparalleled joy. I was almost sure that she could be trusted, and my heart lightened a little.
"Is that your wife?" I asked. In Calormen, it was often common to see Tarkaans and Tarkheenas marrying at such a young age. King Edmund laughed, stooping to give the girl a peck on her cheek. I supposed that answered my question with a yes.
The other two stood at the dock, and it seemed like they were trying to hold themselves back from doing the exact same thing the younger girl had done. The older boy broke away first, following just as quickly after the first girl. His hair was a strange yellow, his clothes a darker red. The fabric looked like a rich velvet.
"Edmund?" The girl's voice sounded strained. I wondered why she didn't call him king, but if they were married, that would make sense. King Edmund sighed.
"I know Luc," was his only answer before the oldest boy skidded to a stop at the base of the gangway, his eyes widening as he saw my siblings clinging to the king. I inched closer to King Edmund as Jarid did, my hand reaching out to grab my older brother's.
The blond took the last few steps forward, pulling King Edmund into a quick hug. He pulled back to grin at King Edmund as the last girl, dressed in a dark hunter green, stepped into his embrace. King Edmund relaxed before pulling back to look pointedly at us. The older boy arched an eyebrow.
"Peter, Susan, Lucy, may I introduce Jarid, Oliver, Cyrus and Cole?" He turned to us, his eyes full of warmth. "And these are my siblings. Queen Lucy, Queen Susan, and Peter, the High King."
My heart dropped into my stomach. "But I thought you were king," I murmured, trying not to show how disappointed I truly was. King Edmund smiled in understanding.
"We all rule equally, Oliver," he said, massaging my hair gently. I jerked my head away after a moment. I saw the High King grin, and glowered at him too for good measure.
"Apparently you have a story to tell us, Ed?" The High King smiled, almost as though he was teasing King Edmund.
"I'll tell you when we're back home," King Edmund said, and I caught the glance he cast our way.
King Edmund stepped onto Narnian earth, and I was surprised when he bent and kissed the ground. Were we supposed to the same thing? No one told any of us to, however, and I didn't relish the idea of putting my lips to dirt, so we bypassed that tradition. We followed King Edmund as he fell in step with his brother and older sister. The younger sister he had named as Queen Lucy walked a bit behind, staying next to us as we made our way towards their home.
I looked up at the towering palace that was set into the cliff side above us. What King Edmund called a palace, I considered a small city. It was small by Calormen standards, which really meant little seeing as the people of my blood thought the more lavish, the better. There was something about the shining white marble that softly whispered safety, and home. I snorted, trying not delude myself. Safety and home did not exist anymore, not for us. I wondered bitterly if those quiet words would ever exist for my family in anything other than a fantasy.
I was tense and on edge as we passed through the doors of Cair Paravel, trying not to listen to the murmurs that had followed us since we were greeted by the escort. We were cleaner then we had been in some time, although that meant little. The king had tried to make us as presentable as possible, which included bath after bath, and a comb. I snorted. My hair had never agreed with combs. I self-consciously scrubbed at my mouth, were sticky jam lingered from this morning's breakfast.
I tried not to be impressed by the simple grandeur that echoed from every corner of the corridors and rooms we passed through. This was just another prison, although it echoed a soothing serenity that calmed my frazzled nerves. I was taken by surprise. Everything I felt about the palace said that it was safe to trust its king, or was that kings now? My heart ached for the kindness it alluded too, but my instincts held me back. Trust was earned, not given.
But Jarid trusted him . . . didn't that mean something? I wasn't sure anymore. I watched as my little brother and my sister stuck close to King Edmund as we entered an enormous hall. Large white columns stood every few feet, the floor beneath my feet felt smooth and hard, some stone I had never encountered. I heard Cyrus gasp in delight as he grabbed Cole's arm. I followed his gaze upwards to see a roof of delicate glass sparkling with the sun's rays. And up ahead stood four marble thrones that I would always think were much more pleasing to look at then the Tisroc's ostentatious throne no matter how many times I returned to Calormen.
I paused, and wondered since we were in Narnia now and not home in Calormen if we needed to address the High King in such a way. Did we still need to add, 'may he live forever' after the Tisroc's name was murmured? I hoped not.
I followed King Edmund and his siblings through another set of doors, my own family pressing right behind Jarid and me. This room was smaller, more like a chamber than an outright hall, and not nearly as frightening. The creatures who followed behind us were smaller in number as well. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. I hadn't realized how very scared I had been being around so many strange beings and it irked me. Fear was a weakness, and I refused to be weak.
We stood as close to King Edmund as we could without pushing him over. I saw Cyrus and Cole grab his tunic again, and despite myself, I pressed closer to Jarid as well, needing to feel some sort of body near me. They were the only thing I knew here, and I felt like I could suddenly feel cracks running through my own armor.
"Ed?" King Peter asked, glancing at us.
"They can live in the castle with us. After all, we have the room." King Peter nodded.
"Well of course! We can hardly stack them in a storage room!" Queen Susan remarked, and I tensed. The storage room? Did she really mean that? Surely King Edmund wouldn't do that to us, he had promised not to hurt us.
"Susan, you're scaring them! She didn't mean that. I'll supervise the making of your rooms, and you won't be living in the storage room," Queen Lucy glared at her sister, daring her to retort. Queen Susan smiled sweetly, taking a step towards us. I saw Queen Lucy turn to speak to someone with blue skin and long white hair.
"Please go and set up a room for the children. Could you also get hold of a healer, and let them know that they are on alert? These children look ready to drop. Oh, and tell the kitchens to prepare an extra large supper."
She then knelt down, holding a hand out to us. Queen Susan followed suit. I exchanged a glance with Cyrus as he looked back at me. Had we missed something very important? Jarid shrugged, but did not take a step closer to either queen. The moments ticked by, and it was Cyrus and Cole who took those steps forward. Cole placed her hand in Queen Susan's, and Cyrus followed quickly, as I knew he would. He never went anywhere without Cole, and Cole without him. Cyrus tripped, practically falling into Queen Lucy's arms. Queen Lucy stood, balancing my brother on her hip as she walked out of the room. Queen Susan and Cole followed, and it fell to King Peter and King Edmund to handle Jarid and me. I blinked, trying to ward off any form of sleepiness.
King Peter smiled and leaned against the wall, probably preparing himself for an extremely long wait. If they thought I was going to give in without a fight, they were wrong and I had been glad to see King Peter taking precautions.
I wasn't tired, not in the slightest. I tried to stifle a yawn. I hadn't slept so well on the ship these past few weeks, and I was more tired then I had thought.
I blinked once more, trying to rid myself of the sleepiness I could feel creeping up on me. I wasn't tired, and I didn't plan on letting King Edmund or his brother take me anywhere. I leaned heavily on Jarid, trying to stay awake. It felt like my head was disconnected from my body, and I was just barely keeping my eyes open.
My mind screamed at my body to do something as King Edmund reached for me, but I was too tired to care. In truth he did not seem all that much of a threat. I shook my head stubbornly. I made to head for the door, knowing I could never reach the room right now, even if I knew where it was, but unwilling to allow anyone to carry me. I'm still not sure what I tripped on, perhaps the stones themselves, but before I could hit the cool, gray rock, he picked me up, allowing me to rest my head on his shoulder. I heard no complaints murmured to King Peter, and for some reason that made me rather pleased. I sighed, content and at peace. King Edmund had promised not to hurt my siblings, and since he hadn't yet, and had stood up for us, I supposed that he really might be trustworthy.
One person in a castle full of people. It was improvement. My eyes closed slowly, and I let my dreams of a better home take me away.
