I hope you have read the Narnia books, because you might be a little confused. Sorry this is really late, but I didn't get home from school until 8, and then I had to eat dinner and type a script for acting. Apparently, no one knows how to correctly type something in script form. Erg. And I still haven't done my current event and AP Calculus homework! It's gonna be a late night... :(
Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or Tangled. I would gladly trade my AP Calc hw for the rights, but that doesn't really seem fair... :( Please review and enjoy!
P.S. - Sorry for not replying to reviews, but I seriously have had absolutely NO time! :( I'll try to reply tomorrow! All reviews are appreciated, I swear! :)
Chapter XVII – May the Darkness Set In
Edmund awoke the next morning to the sound of the wind rushing through the trees. For a moment, he was confused regarding his surroundings, but then his memory caught up to him and he realized that he had spent the night with Rapunzel. How odd that felt… Edmund saw her hand hanging off the hammock and realized that they had probably held hands for a good portion of the night. And then he realized that she thought she was holding hands with Eugene and not him. The uncomfortable feeling in his chest returned.
The Just King silently sat up and exited the tent. It was a cloudy morning and the army was already awake and packing up. He quietly reentered the tent and started shaking Rapunzel's shoulder. "Rapunzel…Rapunzel…wake up. We have to get going so we can return to Cair Paravel."
"Alright…" Slowly, Rapunzel sat up and swung her legs off of the hammock. She stood and stretched before crossing the tent to grab her quiver of arrows and her bow. There was no way she was going anywhere unprotected after the events of the previous night. "When are we leaving?"
"As soon as possible," Edmund said. He stood there, watching her gather her things together before realizing that she was standing there awkwardly, waiting for him to leave so she could change clothes. "Oh! I'll, um, just go get some breakfast."
"Thanks," Rapunzel mumbled. As soon as the Just King left, she dug through the bag Susan had prepared and pulled out a red dress. She pulled the lighter, thinner skirt over her head, and then did the same with the deep red dress. It was sturdy and thick, good for a day of travel. She fastened the cuirass over her dress, just in case they were attacked on their way home. Rapunzel felt like she was dressed like a warrior as she placed the bracer on her left wrist and swung her weapons around her back. Once she had all her things together, she grabbed the bag and left the tent. She dropped the bag outside the tent and walked over to where everyone was getting breakfast.
Rapunzel forced herself to eat the entire portion, even though she wasn't really hungry at all. The time passed quickly as she watched everyone pack up the camp. She felt that she should help, but Rapunzel didn't feel like moving. As selfish as that sounded, Rapunzel didn't think she could move. She was still in shock that she had seen her moth—no, kidnapper.
She hadn't even realized that everyone was waiting on her until Edmund walked over to her and offered his hand to her, pulling her up to her feet once she accepted. He led her over to the horses. "I offered Maximus to take one of the weaker men. He was injured and nearly passed out this morning. You can ride Phillip."
"But what about you?" she asked.
"I'll walk."
"Edmund—"
"It's not a problem," Edmund lied. In reality, he was dead tired and didn't want to walk anywhere, much less all the way back to Cair Paravel. But he knew that, as King, he had to put all others before himself, and that included Rapunzel. No, especially Rapunzel.
"If you say so," Rapunzel said warily. She felt bad that she had taken his horse. "I can heal the man—"
"It's not something that you can help, Rapunzel," Edmund said wearily. It seemed that the cloudy skies were affecting everyone's mood. In fact, the dark sky seemed to be threatening to open up and pour down upon everyone at any moment. "Let's just get going so we can get to the Cair before it rains."
The journey was a silent one. Even the birds in the cheers had stopped singing and the squirrels had stopped chattering. It was as if the apocalypse was coming, which it very well might have been for as much as they all knew. Rapunzel and Edmund and the rest of the army eventually made it back to Cair Paravel. While they all sustained injuries and were weakened and tired, Edmund had insisted on not stopping because he was afraid that they would either be rained on or be attacked, not even considering the time they would lose by stopping. As soon as they reached the entrance to Cair Paravel, Rapunzel almost passed out from relief. Rapunzel slid off of Phillip's back so she was standing next to Edmund, and the two all but ran into the Cair.
As they passed through the empty halls of Cair Paravel, each felt an immediate sense of foreboding. They continued on, wandering why the Cair was completely silent. As they walked the worry and foreboding grew stronger and stronger. Unable to take the silence, Edmund broke out into a run, with Rapunzel on his heels. As the two rounded a corner, Edmund was grabbed and pulled into a side room.
Surprised, Rapunzel followed into the dark chamber. The dark figure immediately bolted the door shut and barricaded the door so no one could enter. The figure crossed the room and lit a candle. It was Queen Julia.
"Mother!" Rapunzel exclaimed, shocked by the haggard and gaunt look on the previously beautiful Queen of Corona. How had that happened? They were only gone for two days! "What happened? Where is everybody?"
"Narnia has fallen," Queen Julia said solemnly. "Your father…he's gone…"
"What?" Edmund and Rapunzel asked at the same time.
"Where is Susan?" continued Edmund.
"Queen Susan has betrayed us all," Julia said darkly. "The Telmarines invaded not four hours after you left, and Cair Paravel fell immediately. There was a battle, and Queen Susan surrendered quickly. Harold was injured, but we…we couldn't save him." Tears flowed down both Julia's and Rapunzel's cheeks. "You both must go. They will be searching to kill you now that they know you are back."
"We can't just leave you," Rapunzel said. She couldn't bear to lose her mother just after she had lost her father! She had only known them for less than a week!
"You must," Julia insisted. "They are after Narnia and the power of your hair, I have been told. They will not hesitate on killing you, King Edmund. Please, Rapunzel, go. I will remain here in case King Peter or Queen Lucy return. Go to Corona. You will be safe there." Julia pushed aside a tapestry. "This staircase will lead you out a hidden entrance to the castle. You both must go."
"I can't just leave you here! I just met you!" Rapunzel cried, embracing her mother tightly. Julia cried into her daughter's hair. "I can't leave. I won't!"
"You must," Julia said, carefully prying her daughter's arms from around her waist. "We will see each other again. I promise."
"You promise?" Rapunzel asked, understanding the weight of a promise.
"I promise," Julia nodded. Rapunzel and Edmund turned to leave, but Julia called out, "And Edmund, remember what Harold told you."
"I will," he said in a deep voice. Grabbing Rapunzel's hand, Edmund pulled the Princess through the archway and down the stairs.
"I love you!" Rapunzel cried up to her mother.
"I love you, too," the Queen's voice called.
Rapunzel sobbed as Edmund pulled her through the dark passageways. She was blind to her whereabouts, not really caring where Edmund was taking her. They ran into several walls and dead ends since they had no light, but eventually made it to the end of the tunnel. Edmund carefully opened the door and saw that there was no one around. The King didn't even know where they were. They were surrounded by shrubs and trees, but it wasn't the garden. Carefully, Edmund crawled through the bushes, with Rapunzel following. Ever so cautiously, the two looked around for any signs of life that could betray them. None.
The two snuck around the walls of the castle until they were in front of Cair Paravel, and were thoroughly surprised by what they saw. The army was engaged in battle with the Telmarines. Edmund was itching to fight, but he knew that he needed to get himself and Rapunzel away safely. Thankfully, Edmund saw Phillip by the tree line. Silently, Edmund motioned for Rapunzel to follow him. Staying in the shadows, Edmund and Rapunzel stood. Edmund mouthed "One…two…three!" and then took off toward the horse with Rapunzel following close behind.
The King jumped on the horse—thankful that Rapunzel's and his saddlebags were still attached—and gracefully swung Rapunzel up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and Phillip took off. They raced through the trees, jumping over logs and ducking under branches, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Cair Paravel.
"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked.
"I don't know," Edmund replied. "I know your mum said to go to Corona, but we can't go that far. Let's just get away and then we'll figure out what to do."
"Alright," Rapunzel said. "I'm sorry that you had to leave. If you want to go back and fight, I can continue on alone. I mean, I would go back, but I—I can't. I'm not a warrior, Edmund."
"I know," the King said, "but I can't let you go on alone, either. And I don't think I could encounter Susan right now without taking her head off. What was she thinking by surrendering? Narnia never surrenders!" Edmund sighed and shook his head. "I don't know what went through her head."
"Well, Susan does tend to get distracted when she thinks she's in love, right?"
"Yes, but I don't see—" Edmund's eyes widened as he realized what Rapunzel had figured out. "Prince Khalil was a Telmarine, wasn't he?"
"Yes," Rapunzel replied. "And Susan told me that they'd been in touch since he left. What if he didn't really leave? What if he stayed in Narnia or in Calormen or somewhere else and raised an army to take over Narnia. By separating all the monarchs, Susan would be left alone. He played Narnia to her weaknesses, eventually being able to take over the country."
"When I see that Telmarine Prince," Edmund threatened, "I'm gonna kill him."
Eugene and Lucy were making the journey back to Narnia as fast as they possibly could, but it still took some time because of the long distance between Telmar and Narnia. They also had to deal with the Telmarines. The captives didn't appreciate being forced to sail to Narnia, and especially being held prisoner by their own captives. It didn't take long for Eugene to 'convince' the Telmarines that they could help Eugene and Lucy get back to Narnia, or they could jump overboard and take their chances with the ocean, especially after throwing one man overboard (Eugene reluctantly pulled him back after Lucy beseeched him to, in order to make a good example toward the other Telmarines).
Lucy walked along the starboard side of the ship, running her hand along the edge as she walked. She paused and faced the ocean, staring out at the horizon. She knew that they were heading home and she was grateful for that, but she wondered what bad things were going on there. The Valiant Queen knew that the attacks could only get worse, and she didn't even know if her siblings were alive anymore, as awful a thought as it was. If the Telmarines had wanted to tear apart the Narnian rulers, they would probably kidnap two and then attack because of a weakened throne. There was just no happy ending.
Did Peter and Susan and Edmund even know that they were being attacked by Telmar? Had they figured that out or were they still fighting blindly against an unknown enemy?
Honestly, Lucy didn't want to know the answer. She wanted to be numb to any future pain and imagine that her siblings were fine and safe and together. And while part of the Valiant Queen hoped that they would be searching for her, Lucy had a duty to Narnia and she hoped that they would be focused on saving their beloved country and not on finding her. Narnia was more important than one of her Queens.
If Lucy could say anything to her siblings at this very moment, she would tell them to forget that she was missing and to protect Narnia, because in her very soul, she knew that Narnia was a great danger and that it was being harmed as she thought. Lucy knew that something was wrong in her homeland, and her siblings were doing little, if anything, to help it.
The Valiant Queen looked down at the water. It was rippling and rolling and crashing with the waves as the ship passed. Lucy loved the sea. She always had. Every time Narnia needed to send someone overseas, she would go because she loved the feeling of being on a ship, especially her family's ship, the Splendor Hyaline. Lucy missed her ship. While the Telmarine vessel was comfortable and efficient in moving, Lucy missed the Narnian design and feel of the Splendor Hyaline.
Staring up at the stars, Lucy wondered if Aslan had caused the storm that set the Telmarine ship off track. Surely it was in His will for some purpose. Lucy wondered why Aslan had brought her all the way to Telmar, just to turn around and return to Narnia. She thought that maybe it had to do with Eugene. Maybe the thief was more important in the grand scheme of things than she realized. Maybe Lucy was supposed to find Eugene and return him to Narnia. Maybe that was why she was kidnapped.
It still bothered Lucy that Eugene Fitzherbert didn't believe in Aslan. She had spoken with him several times on several occasions, but the man didn't listen to her. It drove Lucy insane the way he would nod and agree with her but didn't retain any information that she told him. His reactions were so aggravating! Lucy hated it, but she didn't hate him.
Strange. Lucy didn't hate Eugene, but she did hate Flynn. Was that possible? After all, the two men seemed to have completely different personalities. Eugene was the man who was in love with Rapunzel, and Flynn was the thief who broke her sister's heart. They were two completely different people.
The Valiant Queen heard footsteps come up from behind her and a physical being lean against the rail next to her. "What are you thinking about?"
"Home," Lucy said. She looked at the man standing next to her. "What are you thinking about?"
"Same thing, I guess, even though I never really had a home," Eugene sighed. "I guess home is wherever Rapunzel is."
"So you really do love her?" Eugene looked at her as if she was an idiot. "Don't give me that look," Lucy said. "Rapunzel and I are friends and I don't want her to get hurt. Look, Eugene, you're my friend, too! And even though I know that Eugene Fitzherbert is not Flynn Rider, and I'm not holding a grudge, but I worry about Rapunzel. I…" Lucy didn't know if she should tell him what flew to her mind. She decided that telling Eugene, who was crazy in love with Rapunzel, about Rapunzel's feelings for Edmund and vice versa wasn't a good idea. It might just make him upset and crazier or something. "I just don't want you to hurt her."
"I'm not going to, Lucy," Eugene said. "I have a bad past, but like I said, Rapunzel is home for me. I am myself when I'm with her. She made me realize that I was not a good person and she made me who I am today."
Lucy looked out at the water dark water. She liked Eugene. He was a good friend of hers, and she didn't want him to get hurt either. If he returned to Rapunzel and she was in love with Edmund, he might do something bad. Lucy couldn't bear to see Eugene upset because he was obviously head over heels in love with Rapunzel. She knew that they will have been gone from Cair Paravel for several months by the time they get back, so what would Eugene do if Rapunzel loved Edmund when they returned?
"Eugene," she began carefully, not wanting to upset him, but knowing that he needed to know the truth. "What if, when we get back, Rapunzel has…moved on? I'm not saying that she will or has, but…what if she accepted the fact that she wouldn't see you again and she found someone else?"
The man looked sullenly out on the waters. After a time, he took a deep breath and blinked meaningfully and said, "I don't know. I just hope she won't. But if she does…If she does, I'll leave again, I suppose. But I'll stay close enough by to be there for her if she ever needs me. I don't think I'll ever be able to move on, Lucy."
"I see," she said, fully hoping in her heart that things would work out for Eugene and Rapunzel and Edmund, in the end.
High King Peter the Magnificent walked along Calormen's coastline. While he couldn't stand to be in the same room as Prince Rabadash or the Tisroc, the Narnian King found the beaches of Calormen exquisite. They were different from the Narnian beaches in so many ways. The beaches of Narnia were white and the waves seemed magical. The beaches of Calormen were tanner and hotter and the water seemed murkier and, somehow, more dangerous, which was probably true.
When the High King had travelled unannounced to Anvard, the Archenlanders had been thrilled to see him, but there was no sign of Lucy in Anvard and Peter didn't really believe that the people of Archenland had taken his sister. It was out of character for King Lune's people.
He had travelled further south to Tashbaan. The Calormenes were outraged to hear that Peter thought they had kidnapped Queen Lucy. So outraged, in fact, that Prince Rabadash nearly started a war with Narnia, with the only thing to stop the war would be Queen Susan's hand in marriage. Needless to say, Peter was about to start a war with Calormen, but the Tisroc insisted that no Calormene took the Queen and there was no reason to start a war. Peter didn't quite believe the Tisroc, but he really didn't want to go to war with a treacherous nation. After all, if the Calormenes had taken Lucy, they probably would've forced a ransom by now. A ransom from the Calormenes would probably go something like: We will give you Queen Lucy for Queen Susan's hand in marriage to our crown prince, Prince Rabadash. That would be a good reason to go to war.
Peter rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why Prince Rabadash was so taken with Susan even though they had never met in person. The entire two days he spent in Tashbaan were spent avoiding Rabadash, who was constantly trying to convince Peter that he and Susan were made to be together. "It is written in the stars!" he had told the Narnian King.
"Well, then I would know about it from our centaurs!" Peter had retorted hotly, and immediately turned and walked away. In retrospect, Peter should probably have been glad to be alive after that argument with the brutal Calormene Prince.
The High King let the seawater wash over his boots. In the distance, he saw a child playing at the edge of the waves. Smiling at the child's innocence, Peter approached the little girl. "Hello!" the little girl said as he walked up to her, sitting on the sand next to her. Strangely, she reminded Peter of Lucy, even though she couldn't be more than seven or eight years old. "Who are you?"
"I am Peter," the King said.
"I'm Aravis Tarkheena, the only daughter of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Rishti Tarkaan, the son of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Illsombreh Tisroc, the son of Ardeeb Tisroc who was descended in a right line from the god Tash," she said proudly. "Where are you from? You don't look Calormene."
"I'm from Narnia," Peter said. "You know your lineage very well, don't you?"
"Yes," the little girl answered confidently. "Are you a prince? Why do you wear a crown?"
"I am High King Peter the Magnificent."
"I heard that the Narnian kings and queens are barbarians."
Peter was not surprised that the Calormenes were being taught this from a young age. "Who told you that?"
"Everyone knows that," she said. Aravis carefully made a clump of wet sand and through it into the water, where it made a splash. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Yes. I have one brother and two sisters. They, too, are King and Queens of Narnia. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
Aravis scowled. "I have a brother, but he is a baby. My older brother just died."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's alright. He was a lot older than me."
"Say, Aravis, have you heard anything about Queen Lucy being in Calormene."
The young girl screwed up her face as if she was trying to remember something, but eventually said, "No."
"Well, thank you anyway, Aravis." Peter looked at his surroundings and saw a dwarf walking over to them. "I'm sorry to leave you, Aravis, but my ship is leaving tonight and I cannot miss it."
"Okay. Goodbye, Peter," she said, staring down at the sand.
"Maybe we shall see each other again one day," Peter said. And for some strange reason, Peter believed it. Once it was clear that the little girl was not going to say anything else, Peter walked away from her and toward the red dwarf.
The two men walked in silence back to the collection of small dinghies where the Narnians were meeting before going back to the Splendor Hyaline. They were setting sail to Galma and then to the Lone Islands to find out if Lucy had been taken through those ports. Peter could only hope that they would find Lucy, and quickly.
Queen Susan walked through the halls of Cair Paravel in a daze. She felt as if she had been numb or unconscious or something of that sort, even though she could remember nearly every detail of the last two and a half weeks clearly. It was strange. She regretted everything and pretended that she had no control over the situation, when, in reality, the situation was completely and utterly her fault. And she felt awful about that, but she wanted to deny it until she was blue in the face.
Aslan would be angry. Aslan…
The Queen wouldn't be surprised if the Great Lion denied her in front of his father, the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, because of what she did. She wouldn't be surprised if she was denied access from Aslan's Country. She wouldn't be surprised if her siblings never spoke to her again, if she ever saw her siblings again.
The only redeeming factor in Susan currently was the fact that she was repenting and she realized that Narnia's fall to Telmar was entirely her fault.
And everything made so much sense to Susan now. The previous night, Susan had remembered her conversation with Aslan from months before. He had warned her that Narnia would be in her hands (Check, she thought bitterly.) and that there would be a betrayal (Check again, she thought.). Susan just didn't realize that she would be the one to betray Narnia.
By placing her in charge of Narnia and the sole monarch at Cair Paravel, Susan had Narnia's fate in her hands.
And by surrendering to the Telmarines, she had betrayed Narnia. Her siblings were going to brutally murder her if the Telmarines didn't kill her first.
While Susan was angry with the Telmarines for attacking and with her siblings for leaving her, she was mostly angry with herself. Or disappointed, rather. She wished that she could go back in time and change everything that she had done. It was all her fault and she hated herself for it.
When Prince Khalil had come back to Cair Paravel, Susan was surprised and somewhat flattered. They had attended dinner together, flirted and chatted and flirted some more, and then everything had gone wrong. A Telmarine soldier (which should've thrown Susan off at the beginning and made her realize that something was wrong) entered the private dining area and said something privately to Prince Khalil. As soon as the soldier left, Khalil had placed his napkin on the table, next to his plate, stood, and walked around so that he was standing behind Susan…
Prince Khalil daintily placed his hands on her shoulders and Susan smiled as they flirted more. His hands were comforting and Susan liked it. She closed her eyes as he gently rubbed her bare shoulders. Wanting to seem somewhat alluring, she had worn a dress that was off the shoulders. It was a good thing that Peter was not at the Cair. But then her eyes shot open as she felt a cool metal blade pressed to her neck.
"Khalil, what's going on?" she asked cautiously.
"Telmar is taking control of Narnia, my dear. You are unfit to rule."
Carefully, Susan eyed a sharp knife on the table. Slowly, she lowered her hand as if to place down her fork (despite the fact that it would be on the wrong side of the plate; she could berate herself later for her disregard of table etiquette) and immediately grabbed the knife. Susan flung it up to his wrist and nicked his tan skin. In return, he scratched her neck, but she didn't notice because they were immediately caught in a skirmish for control. She jumped out of her chair and to her feet, wishing that she had worn something a little more practical. What had happened to the ever practical and realistic Susan of old times?
After a short struggle around the table, Susan reached the door and threw it open. "Help!" she cried. "Telmar is attacking!"
"They already know," Khalil said seductively. She jumped as she realized that he was right behind her, whispering into her ear, "Don't worry your pretty little self."
"Get away from me!" Susan said threateningly, holding the knife out before her. If only she could get to her room to retrieve her bow and arrows…
"Now, my dear Queen Susan, you are going to come with me and we are going to go to your throne room, where we are going to wait until the battle is complete, Narnia having lost, and you will abdicate your throne to me or we'll kill you."
"Peter, Edmund, and Lucy will not stand for this," Susan growled.
"Ah, but they are not here, are they?" he said, mischief glinting in his eyes.
Susan realized that there was very little that she could do. So she immediately kicked him in the shin and stomped on his foot and dashed from the room away from the sounds of battle and toward her room. She needed her bow and arrows. Oh, if only she'd kept her horn and not given it to Rapunzel! Susan screamed as she felt the back of her dress grabbed. How did Khalil run so fast when injured?
He grabbed her arm tightly and dragged her to the throne room. His grip was so tight! She hoped that maybe she could find Queen Julia and King Harold and tell them to go find Edmund and bring him back, but as she was pulled toward her throne, she knew that wasn't a possibility. Khalil threw her down on her chair and she fixed her crown, which had fallen askew. Might as well look dignified to the very end. After all, Queen Susan was known for being beautiful and gracious.
She waited patiently for the bad news to arrive, or for help to come to her rescue. Oh, why did she have to be the one left in charge? Finally, Khalil spoke with one of his soldiers and then walked over to her, grinning widely. "Narnia is falling, Queen Susan. Your army is dying quickly. We Telmarines will spare the rest if you surrender. No one else will be hurt. We will even allow you to retain your title, as well as your siblings. Lucy will not be harmed, but returned to you. Peter can come home and be a figure head, but with no real power. And Edmund can do whatever he was doing before.
Susan's mind was fighting itself. Part of her wanted to be faithful to Narnia and her siblings and Aslan, but part of her wanted to take the easy way out. After a few seconds of deliberation, she made up her mind. She took a deep breath, blinked slowly, and calmly said, "Narnia surrenders."