This chapter was fun to write. Not gonna lie. Especially the end! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or Tangled or Eugene or Edmund. *hits head against wall* Poop. :'(
Please review and enjoy! :)
Chapter XIII – When Alliances are Forged and Bonds Broken
Queen Julia walked briskly to her husband's study, the letter from Narnia in hand. She knew that this was an urgent matter and she felt so bad for the children ruling Narnia for having to go through this. Even if King Harold denied their request, Queen Julia would ignore him. She was only seeking his blessing first. Without knocking, the Queen entered the room. King Harold was sitting in an armchair by the window, staring out at his kingdom. "Yes, Julia?" he asked without looking up as she entered. She smiled to herself. He could always tell it was her.
"A letter came from King Peter and his siblings."
"How are they?" he asked, continuing his vigil of what was going on outside of the window.
"Narnia's in trouble," she said.
He finally tore his eyes away from the window and looked at his wife. "May I see the letter?" She walked over to him and placed the single sheet of parchment in his hand. His eyes scanned the page as he processed the new information.
Greetings to King Harold and Queen Julia of Corona,
I regret to inform you that my sister, Queen Lucy the Valiant, has been kidnapped. We do not know who abducted her, only that it happened. Our army is spread out through Narnia trying to find the enemy who has been attacking our country, and the attacks are growing more frequent and more dangerous. My siblings, Queen Susan the Gentle and King Edmund the Just, and I ask that you help your neighbor by sending aid to our country…
"Did you read the entire thing?" King Harold asked when he finished. Tears filled his eyes.
Queen Julia shook her head. "I only read the first paragraph when I decided to come find you. I wanted to send out the army as soon as possible. Would you deem it a good reason?"
"Of course," King Harold said. "Other than the fact that we are legally obligated to assist because of our alliance, we must help these children that we have come to know. It distresses me to learn that Queen Lucy has gone missing. She was such a sweet child. Her disappearance makes me feel as if I'm reliving the disappearance of our precious daughter. And since you have not read the entire letter, you must finish," King Harold added, unable to conceal the happiness in his eyes.
"Yes," Queen Julia said, not understanding how he could be happy while speaking of a distressing subject.
…On a lighter subject, I would like to inform you that we have caught and punished Flynn Rider. Queen Lucy and I managed to arrest him on our way home from Corona. He was hiding in the woods with a horse and a chameleon (The horse's name is Maximus and seems to be a palace horse. Perhaps you know of him?) a mere three hours from Cair Paravel. We have banished him from Narnia, Corona, and our neighbor Archenland. If he returns to any of these countries, we have promised to have him killed. I understand that you were hoping he would be hanged for his crimes, but in Narnia, we don't believe in capital punishment.
And finally, on a happy subject, it seems that your daughter has been found. The girl, Rapunzel, that I mentioned being in Narnia while Queen Lucy and I were in Corona is Corona's lost princess. She was locked in a tower for eighteen years before she was rescued by none other than Flynn Rider. He escorted her to see the flying lanterns on her birthday, but he was arrested and she was taken back to her tower by her 'Mother', an old woman named Gothel. Rapunzel is in Narnia, though I find that she seems to be in love with Flynn Rider, or Eugene Fitzherbert, as she calls him. Eugene Fitzherbert is Rider's birth name, apparently. However, your daughter is safe in Cair Paravel. She is good friends with Queen Susan and King Edmund.
My fellow monarchs and I would greatly appreciate it if you would come to Narnia. You could stay in Cair Paravel for a while, and meet your daughter, as odd as that sounds. Please send word immediately, if you wish to come.
Sincerely,
High King Peter the Magnificent
High King of Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands, Lord of Cair Paravel, and Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion
Queen Julia could barely keep from crying as she finished the letter. "Why did King Peter call her Rapunzel?"
"I can only assume that Helene doesn't know that her name is Helene. What if this Gothel woman who kidnapped her changed her name so Helene, er, Rapunzel wouldn't know?"
"I suppose it makes sense," Queen Julia said. "Oh, I just can't stop from feeling so ecstatic that we finally have our daughter back! Well, we will as soon as we go to Narnia and get her! She can come home with us and live here and the people will be so happy! I must admit, I am concerned that she seems to be in love with Flynn Rider, er, Eugene Fitzherbert. What do you think, my dear?"
"He seems to be the second person she ever met in her lifetime that she can remember. It seems natural that she would 'love' him. She probably just didn't know any different and she was confused. The feelings will pass, I'm sure. Now, I'm going to write a letter to King Peter to tell him that we will be coming to Narnia. I'm sure we can find somebody to rule in our absence. Of course, the country will be fine on her own, don't you think?"
Queen Julia nodded, and left her husband after kissing his cheek. She had to go prepare a chamber for her daughter once they returned with her. Queen Julia was ecstatic! Her daughter was safe! Her daughter was alive! And Queen Julia didn't care that her daughter's name was Rapunzel. It didn't bother her one bit.
Lucy couldn't sleep. No matter how hard she tried, the tossing and turning of the waves in the storm kept her tossing and turning all night. Not that she was that comfortable to begin with. Whoever had kidnapped her—she still didn't know—wasn't exactly concerned with her general comfort and happiness. The Valiant Queen—who wasn't feeling so valiant at the time—had been on ships many times. She had been in storms worse than this. But this storm was frightening because she didn't know where she was going and what dangers lay ahead.
The Queen knew that it must have been in Aslan's plan for this to happen, but that didn't make it any easier for her to cope. She was extremely stressed out, and felt even more stress come upon her as she thought of how stressed her siblings and friends must be.
Having been on long journeys on the sea multiple times, she knew that after three days (and she knew the days because of when they fed her and when the light would come through the cracks and when she heard certain sounds), they had arrived in Galma. The ship was docked for a day, and then they journeyed on. They had been moving for two weeks beyond that. Lucy had no idea where they were now. It unnerved her. She had lost her sense of direction a long time ago, and now she had no idea if they were sailing east, west, north, or south, and the storm didn't help that either.
She had never felt so lost in her life, even when they were travelling through the Western Wood and across Narnia to Aslan's camp when they first came to Narnia. Lucy felt afraid. What would these men do to her? What was going on?
Lucy jumped at the sound of a loud thud from somewhere up above. That was unexpected, she said to herself. Then the door above opened and down the rickety stairs came three men: the two men who kidnapped her, and another prisoner. Oh no! What if they've doubled back to Narnia and captured Peter or Edmund? Lucy was frantic. The two men threw the prisoner into the shadows. She didn't hear a moan or a grunt, so Lucy assumed that the man was unconscious. She hoped that it wasn't one of her brothers. But returning to Cair Paravel and taking another Pevensie hostage would only increase the chances that the Narnians would surrender the land or the crown, or pay a lofty ransom. And if Peter or Edmund had been taken, Susan wouldn't know what to do. It was more likely that Peter would be killed on sight, since he was High King. And if Peter was dead and Edmund was being held hostage, Susan would give in immediately. Susan wasn't good at this sort of thing.
The men disappeared and Lucy was once more submerged in darkness. She felt a little wary with the thought of not being alone anymore. What was happening? Who was that man?
Lucy didn't know how much time had passed before she heard movement on the other side of the cargo hold. Whoever was over there had woken up. "Where is the damn pin?" Queen Lucy heard the man say. "Ah." She heard more scuffling and then saw the outline of a dark figure stand. "Queen Lucy, where are you?"
Why does that voice seem slightly familiar? Lucy asked herself. "I'm over here," she said aloud. Her voice was scratchy and hoarse from the lack of use. It felt strange to talk. "Who are you?" she asked.
The man walked over to her. "Eugene Fitzherbert. But I think you know me as Flynn Rider."
Lucy's mouth fell open. Good thing he couldn't see her very well. "How are you here?"
"Well, I was in Galma, trying to figure out where to go"—he sat down next to her—"and saw a ship headed to Telmar. I figured that I'd go there. And then I heard one man say that they had Queen Lucy onboard. Rumors had been flying all over Galma that Queen Lucy had been kidnapped, so I knew that I needed to get on that ship. It was not for a while before they realized that I was a threat to their master plan."
Lucy's mind was working harder and faster than ever before. "So we're on a Telmarine ship?"
"Yes."
"So that's who's been attacking Narnia! It all makes so much sense now!" Lucy exclaimed. "We have to get off this ship!"
"We're in the middle of the ocean, Queen Lucy," Eugene sighed. "If we jump, we'll have to swim, and its storming, and we're weeks away from Narnia. Getting off this ship is a death wish."
"And so is staying on it!" Lucy exclaimed, exasperated. "Look, Mr. Rider—"
"Eugene," the man interrupted.
"What?"
"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Flynn Rider is just an alias that I made up as a kid."
"Oh…well, Mr. Fitzherbert, we can't just sit here and do nothing."
"Yes, we can. If we can make it all the way to Telmar, then we can find out what's going on and somehow get word back to Narnia."
"But we don't even know how far Telmar is!"
"It's close enough that the entire journey one way takes about seven weeks. Look, Queen Lucy, I know that you don't like me or trust me, but I'm sorry. I was an idiot back then. Now, I have a purpose and meaning in life, other than just getting rich and buying my own island and living alone, surrounded by enormous piles of money." Lucy was surprised at the amount of detail in that dream of his. "But now, I have something that is actually moving me forward. And I have to get back to her. So are we going to work together?"
Lucy looked at Eugene warily. She didn't trust him—not yet, anyway—but there was something in his voice that made her want to believe him. She took his extended hand and gave it a firm shake. "We'll work together and get back to Narnia."
Susan and Edmund looked out over the lands of Narnia. Susan liked to imagine that she could see all the way to the Lantern Waste, but she knew she could not. Edmund had brought his older sister here to a secluded balcony to discuss Narnia's fate. The Just King had become increasingly worried about Narnia over the last few weeks since Lucy's disappearance.
"Why are we here, Ed?" Susan asked.
"Peter's judgment has been impaired," Edmund explained. "We both know that Lucy was always his favorite, and, honestly, he will always love her a little more than us and trust her a little more that the two of us. I was always the black sheep of the family, and you were always so independent. He didn't ever have to look after either of us. Peter still doesn't. He's going to fret over Lucy until we find her. His won't be thinking rightly, and he will act rash until we figure everything out. The two of us won't be able to challenge his decisions without him being suspicious and growing angry. You know how he is, Susan. He'll think we don't care about Lucy, which isn't true, but we also have the rest of Narnia to care about too."
"You were always the wisest of us all, Edmund," Susan said, smiling. "And I know you're right."
"The only thing we can do is send him away from Narnia. He won't like it, especially since we don't know who's attacking Narnia and the attacks are getting more and more dangerous, but Peter is going to make things worse if he stays in complete control here. Let's tell Peter to go to Tashbaan and make sure that nothing is going on there."
"He'll put you in control," Susan said, catching onto Edmund's plan, "and then you and I will be able to protect Narnia the right way."
"No."
"No?"
"He'll put you in control."
Susan rolled her eyes. "Please. We both know that he trusts you over me. Peter and I have never seen exactly eye to eye on everything. He'll put you in charge of Narnia."
"But then I'll make you in charge."
"Why?" Susan asked.
"Because I think that you should be in charge. It feels right. Of the two of us, you are better suited to reign over Narnia. I'll just follow your orders."
"Oh, please, Edmund. We both know that's a lie. I'm awful at this sort of thing. If anything, you'll help me. Now, let's go tell Peter that he's going to Tashbaan. Or should we send him to Harfang?"
"I don't think it matters, Su," Edmund said sullenly. "He won't want to go to either unless we make him think that Lucy's there."
Susan chose her next words carefully. "Do you think she is?"
Edmund was silent for a long time. "Honestly…no. I have no idea where she is, but I know it wasn't the Giants, and I am almost completely sure it wasn't the Calormenes for once. I don't have a clue who could be attacking us, but I don't think it was the Calormenes. We would know if it was them. I'm even beginning to wonder if these people even exist at all. They attack populated areas at least twice a week, and then they disappear. And no one seems to see them before or after the fact."
"Perhaps a Dryad uprising?" Susan suggested.
Edmund shook his head. "The trees are too peaceful. I understand that there were Dryads who were loyal to the White Witch, but these attacks aren't within the Dryads' personalities. While it seems the easiest solution, it's not them."
"I don't know how you keep all this information in your head at one time, Ed," Susan said, amazed at her brother's ability.
"You do it, too, Su. While the information in my head is strategic and has to do with battle, the information in your head is actually intellectual and practical. You've always been the smartest of all of us."
Susan smiled to herself. "Thanks, Edmund," she said softly. More loudly, she added, "We need to go tell Peter to go to Calormen. He won't like it."
"If he wants to see Lucy again, he doesn't have a choice," Edmund said quietly. The siblings headed off the balcony, away from the cloudy sky and into the warm castle, where they sought out their brother. "Neither do we. I say that once Peter is a good distance from Narnia, we send out the armies and end this once and for all."
"Peter won't like it. You know that he'd want to be here if we go to war."
"And he will be. Just not at the start. Come on, Su, we both know that these people are planning something extreme. While their attacks are growing more common and closer to Cair Paravel, they are getting smaller and smaller. We know that they aren't losing numbers; they're planning a major battle. They're going to attack Cair Paravel soon, if we don't stop them."
"I see," Susan said grimly. "We don't have a choice. It's war or…well, war." Edmund was silent as they continued through Cair Paravel. "How is Rapunzel?"
Edmund sighed. "She's good, I suppose. I haven't really seen her in few weeks. Other than some meals and running around the Cair, we've been avoiding each other. She's still upset about Eugene," he said bitterly. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so unhappy."
"I have," Susan said before she thought of the impact of her words. Her eyes met Edmund's, and they both flicked away immediately. Susan had made a promise to herself that she would never mention Edmund's betrayal, but sometimes, she would forget and couldn't help it. But Susan knew that she was right. Edmund had been extremely unhappy before he was crowned the Just King of Narnia. He had been bitter and angry until he had seen how evil the White Witch and the world were. He had repented and trusted in Aslan. Susan was grateful for it. While she had gotten somewhat along with the old Edmund, she was even closer to the new Edmund. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's true," Edmund said quietly, his eyes downcast. "We both know that you're right, no matter how hard it is to accept that."
Susan didn't know what to say. She merely placed her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it lovingly. "Once Peter is gone, I'll be in charge," she said, "I want you to take Rapunzel with you out to Narnia. She could get away for a change, and having these Telmarines in the castle is making me a little nervous."
Edmund smiled wryly. "I thought you and Prince Khalil were friends."
Susan looked stunned at her brother's assumptions. "Oh—I—uh—that is, to say—I—we—it's none of your business!" she exclaimed, exasperated.
The Just King fought a smile. "Whatever you say, Queen Susan."
The Gentle Queen didn't look at him as she entered the throne room. The Just King followed suit. The Magnificent King looked up as he saw his siblings enter. "Peter," the Gentle Queen said. "Edmund and I believe that we need to send one of us to Tashbaan. While relations with the Tisroc and Prince Rabadash are amiable at the moment, we cannot be too wary of the underlying motives that they always seem to possess." The Just King was always surprised how well his older sister could word things in order to make people listen. "I would go, but I really don't want to deal with Prince Rabadash right now. And since Prince Khalil of Telmar is currently residing at Cair Paravel, I feel that I must do my duty as a good hostess and remain here. As for Edmund, he would much rather remain at Cair Paravel for the time being. And it would do you some good to get away from the Cair for a while, Peter."
The High King seemed to quarrel with himself internally for a few moments, but then he said, "Yes. King Edmund will be in charge—"
"No, Peter," Edmund interrupted. "Queen Susan will be put in charge."
"What?" Peter asked.
"I've been thinking of doing some travelling. I would like to go to the Stone Table. I feel like that's where I should be right now." All three siblings were surprised by Edmund's words. "Therefore, Susan should be in charge."
"Alright," Peter said. "I'll leave as soon as the King and Queen of Corona leave."
"What?" Edmund and Susan asked at the same time.
"They're coming tomorrow. Or they should arrive tomorrow if nothing goes wrong. How could you have forgotten?"
Neither of the middle children knew. Each remembered being told of the King and Queen coming, but they had forgotten with the stress of the time being. "Does Rapunzel know?" Edmund asked.
"We've informed her, but that doesn't mean anything," Peter said. "She's been very reclusive for the last few weeks."
"It's not her fault!" Edmund said more loudly than was needed.
"Calm down, Ed," Susan said gently. "It's not anybody's fault." Edmund looked positively irate for a few seconds, but then heeded his sister's words. "Well, I'm going to write to Prince Khalil. We've been writing back and forth since he left a few weeks ago and his letter arrived yesterday," Susan said, and left the throne room, sensing that there were words that needed to be said between the two brothers. While part of her felt that she may be needed as a mediator, Susan knew that the brothers wouldn't kill each other. And even if they did begin a brawl, word travelled fast enough so that Susan would most likely know immediately.
As soon as the Queen of Narnia was gone, Peter said, "Why do you still care for her, Edmund?"
"Because she needs me," he answered. Edmund didn't know where that came from.
"We both know that's not true," Peter said quickly. "Look, Ed, I know that you think she needs to be taken care of, but, honestly, she doesn't need it. I didn't tell you this, but she was leaving the night that Flynn Rider left. I caught her sneaking out just before Lucy was…before Lucy disappeared. I convinced her to stay—"
"Well, of course, as she is your future wife!" Edmund exclaimed. "And you just care about her so much!"
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, temper rising.
"By the Mane, Peter!" Edmund shouted. "Do you really think you're fooling anyone here? You do realize that when her parents arrive tomorrow, you will most likely have to marry Rapunzel or she'll go home with them?"
"This isn't about me at all, is it?" shouted Peter. "You're so selfish, Edmund Pevensie! You're afraid that you're going to lose her, aren't you? Well, that's too bad because you're going to lose her no matter what! You do realize that, right? Or are you so caught up in your lovesick daydreams to realize that she isn't going to be able to stay with you forever like you had hoped? She doesn't love you. She loves Flynn Rider—"
"Eugene Fitzherbert," Edmund mumbled under his breath.
"—and she'll never stop loving him. So you're either going to lose her to him or her parents."
"And not you?" Edmund asked.
"Honestly, I don't care. I thought she was dead."
"Of course. I bet you wish she was dead! It would make everything in your life so much easier!"
"Oh, shut up, Ed," Peter said, finally walking down from the dais and to his younger brother. "I only agreed to the marriage so we could have an alliance with Corona!"
"You never think about anyone but yourself—"
"Neither do you! Grow up, Edmund! For once, think about the greater good and not your own childish affairs."
"I'm not a child, Peter!" Edmund bellowed. "And you're not the only King of Narnia! So stop being so selfish and think about your siblings for once!"
"I am thinking about my siblings—"
"Other than Lucy! You've never liked Susan and me as much as Lu. The two of us have never said anything before, but here it is: Lucy loves you because you protect her and because you have always taken care of her. Susan agrees with everything you do because she is loyal. That's her thing. That's what she does. She's loyal. And me…you're my older brother. I'm supposed to look up to you. And you're the High King. I do what you say and don't complain unless you're doing something really stupid, which you are now. Narnia is falling through the cracks because you're obsessed with finding Lucy. I, too, think we need to find our little sister, but you're forgetting Aslan in the process. He made you King of Narnia. You need to protect your lands."
The Just King knew that his words were lost on his brother's deaf ears as soon as Peter said: "Edmund, why are you always complaining—" Edmund cast his brother a glare, turned on his heel, and stormed out of the throne room, leaving behind an emptiness of wrath and despair.
Just before he left the room completely, he turned and said, "Hopefully, you'll be able to find Lucy in Calormen. Or go wherever you need to in order to find her. Susan and I will be able to take care of Narnia on our own." And then he was gone.