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Chapter 2, Part 6: Two Heads are Better than One

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Strolling quickly side by side, Lucy and Susan were silent. Susan still could not make out the sight of Aslan, though he walked but a dozen paces before them… And Lucy found herself tongue tied with emotions long-forgotten and unfamiliar.

The Queen of the Silver Crown had seen her sister and Caspian looking each other over… And already, Lucy was resigning herself to the fact that the prince would become another of Susan's love-bitten swains. It wasn't fair for Susan to be loved and admired so very much while she is left alone… It gnawed away at the younger girl's thoughts; after all, why would any man love her when he could love her sister instead?

Lucy shook her head at her foolishness. She could not allow such thoughts to plague her. Aslan chose her to follow him… Lucy could not allow disparaging thoughts to weigh her mind in the midst of fulfilling her treasured duty to the Lion. Firming her resolution thus, the silver queen pushed thoughts of Caspian and Susan to the furthest corners of her mind. Releasing them with a sigh, she approached her sister, saying, "Susan… you and I were once so close…"

A nostalgic haze appeared in the elder girl's eyes as she nodded her agreement. Still, Susan said nothing. Lucy decided a change of tactics was in order…

"Remember our travels to Tashbaan?" Lucy persisted, smiles lighting up her face. "How we would float along the river in the shaded pleasure-boats? The clothes we would have made there? The silks, gauzes, and all the other light, luscious textiles? The famous milk baths? The exotic fruits? The warm climate?"

Susan was now glowing with beatific recollections. "Oh yes," she replied, a soft smile of joy bringing her fine features new life. "All the balls and parties…"

"…of which you were the belle!" the silver queen laughed gaily, not begrudging her sister the honest praise.

Susan flushed prettily from the selfless admiration. Accustomed as she was to being complimented ardently by her suitors and teasingly by her brothers… such sincere tribute from a fellow female was compliment indeed. Although, Susan chided herself, in Lucy's case, it was not an uncommon thing to hear. The girl was kind and painfully sincere, finding the good in everyone she met. The gold queen heartily admired these qualities in her sister, trying at every opportunity to emulate Lucy's example. And even though known as 'the Gentle,' Susan was never sure that she actually succeeded.

"You know that you are beautiful, don't you Lucy?" Susan wondered, clasping her sister's hand in her own as they continued to walk.

Lucy's reply was a noncommittal noise… neither a 'yes' or a 'no.'

This was a point that Susan was often concerned about. As much as her beauty was a treat, it was also a trial, though the negative aspect she felt most keenly was where it affected her sister. The gold queen enjoyed the attention, the flattery, the suitors – yes. How could she help it? She is only human… But poor Lucy! Susan feared that her own popularity undermined her little sister's self-estimation of her own worth. This worry trumped all other ordeals Susan suffered due to her physical appearance; she could handle crazed suitors (like that love-crazed, two-faced Rabadash) and she could handle being set apart by others (worshiped and admired instead of loved and cared for)… but having it affect Lucy – that cut her to the quick: most especially because there was no way that Susan could see to combat it.

Lucy had always been different from her. As little girls, Susan had been fond of playing with her dolls – an activity she was glad to have her sister participate in. But Lucy… she was often too busy trailing after Peter, playing sports or roughhousing with Edmund, or daydreaming by herself to join in. Sometimes, the little girl would politely change the dolly's dress or sit and let Susan style her hair… but Susan could see that Lucy's heart wasn't in it.

It may seem a little thing, and Susan had to admit, it was, but somehow the dolls were a metaphor for the sisters' entire relationship. As much as they loved one another – they had nothing in common. And as such, the older girl had no notion of how to soothe away the complex wrinkles of her sister's thoughts. Susan – as well as she did in school – always drew a blank when it came to Lucy.

And now that the girl was finally at an age in which she is beginning to notice boys… things were bound to become more difficult. (The Golden Age never really counted – even then, Lucy had never quite seemed to age emotionally…)

Now, as potential rivals in love… Susan could see her relationship with Lucy sailing into disaster. But she wouldn't let it. She couldn't. As much as she was pleased by the wide-range of admirers her beauty and status invoked… Susan's greatest concerns and affections had always been for her family. She had never forgotten that. Not in Narnia when she had agonized over whether her siblings would survive their battles – Peter against the giants of Ettinsmoor and Lucy and Edmund against Rabadash (a situation she had indirectly caused)… Nor had she forgotten in England, where she tried to re-assimilate them into the world they were born in – even going so far as to shake off many all-too-lingering thoughts of Narnia in order to make things more bearable for them all in the long-run.

In England, all her efforts had been in vain. Because she shrugged off Narnian memories, her siblings looked at her askance, troubled and disappointed by her behavior. But Susan meant no slight – not to them, or Narnia, or her friends of old, and especially not to Aslan, himself. She was just trying to be practical… and now look where it got her. Susan had not paid heed to Lucy's sighting of Aslan. And now, they might be late for whatever fate Aslan held in store for them tonight.

Susan could have groaned aloud at her mistake. They were clearly following something through the woods. And Lucy had always been strangely connected to Aslan where the others had not. Looking ahead, Susan caught a brief glimpse of a moonlit-gold figure passing through the trees.

Squeezing her sister's hand in excitement and realization and shame, Susan glanced at Lucy, flushed with joy and indignity. "About Aslan… I—I believe you," she whispered, loud enough only for her little sister (and perhaps a Lion) to hear her. Lucy gleamed and glowed from within at the admission.

Susan sighed a little in contentment. Somehow, she could almost feel the straining threads of their relationship loosen and begin to re-stitch themselves into a tighter weave. It was a blessed relief to the Gentle Queen.

Meanwhile, Caspian was in the midst of relating Edmund's plan of action to defeat Miraz. "Edmund told me of the many times the two of you participated in tournaments abroad," the prince told Peter, while the Red Dwarf and King listened. "He believed that the easiest way to triumphing over the Telmarines would be to engage Miraz in single combat on behalf of both armies…"

Peter's face lit up with a brilliant grin. "That's Edmund for you;" he laughed, "mind of a scholar, heart of a poet!"

"Eh?" Trumpkin asked. "How's that?" Caspian, too, appeared confused.

"Caspian the Ninth was killed by Miraz, correct?" Peter reaffirmed. The two nodded, for while it was never proven, the possibility that Caspian's uncle did so was fiercely overwhelming in their minds. "Well then," Peter smiled, "since his singular action caused the most recent episode of tyranny for the Narnians… don't you think it would be poetic justice if he were to be personally defeated by the Narnian King?"

Caspian looked up, bewildered. "Why could it not be me? I want to avenge my father…"

The High King shook his head. "But wouldn't he just laugh at a challenge from you? I mean, we know that you are a king and a warrior, but he thinks of you as a kid," he placated.

"But sire…" the D.L.F wondered. "Would he even accept a challenge from you? He knows he has the stronger army."

"Very likely he won't," King Peter agreed cheerfully. "But there's always the chance. And even if he doesn't, we shall spend the best part of the day sending heralds to and fro and all that. By then, Aslan may have done something. And at least Edmund and I can inspect the army and strengthen the position. I will send the challenge once we arrive at the How. I hope you have a pen and ink there…"

Caspian shrugged, "I'm sure the Doctor has some on his person…"

"Good," the High King nodded.

The next few meters were trod over in silence; there being little for them to say. Peter, simultaneously, was gazing at his sisters who appeared to be making stilted conversation for a while. However, after Susan took Lucy's hand and made some sort of awkward admission, the tete-a-tete became easy and rushed – as though they had so much to say to one another that couldn't possibly wait.

Caspian, too, seemed to notice the turn in the conversation. Idly, the prince remarked, "They seem very close."

Peter grinned crookedly. "As close as they could be, I suppose." Caspian turned to him with a questioning look in his eyes. Trying to clarify it for the youth (and simultaneously sound out his feelings towards his sisters), Peter explained, "They're both so different, you see."

Caspian nodded. "They seem dissimilar," he agreed.

The High King scrutinized the younger man askance. Quietly, he observed, "I could see that you noticed so… Yet, I am interested to hear what precisely you think of my sisters."

Caspian could tell that this was a loaded question. He must be complimentary to both. He must be honest, however, as well. And favoring one over the other would not likely be well received… "They both more than live up to the stories I had heard as a child," he found himself tactfully responding.

"A most diplomatic reply!" the King exclaimed, laughing. Suddenly, Peter felt as though he was returned to the Golden Age with the ambassadors' vague and politic words. Growing taller in his companions' eyes, the man continued, "But your answer reveals little of your thoughts. Tell me truly, Caspian, what do you think of my sisters?"

Trumpkin looked on the two with undisguised interest. He was eager to hear Caspian's response, for a king must have queen… And if the queen happened to be a queen in her own right… so much the better! Besides, the D.L.F. was fond of both girls already, even with the limited length of their acquaintance.

Caspian took a moment to think before answering the High King. "Queen Susan the Gentle," the prince began, "is a beautiful young woman. I can see why so many men fought for her favor in the Golden Age. She seems virtuous and worthy and well-bred…"

Peter nodded along with the description of the gold queen, internally judging Caspian's words. All correct. All polite. All vague.

"Lucy, on the other hand," Caspian compared, with an affectionate grin, "is warm and wild and brilliant… She is unlike any girl that I've ever met, and I do not that I would be able to whether the situation I am currently in without her support."

The prince's tone was warm, and Peter could hear the difference in his voice as he spoke of the younger girl. Peter almost grinned in relief at the obvious partiality Caspian seemed to have towards Lucy. It was splendid that someone Lucy held in high regard at long last was fond of her rather than her sister.

Wryly, Peter decided that the only difficulty would be in convincing Lucy he preferred her to Susan. Well, that and the question of whether or not Aslan would be sending them back to England soon…

Still, while Lucy could be sharp-eyed enough with others' relationships, she could be a bit dense about how people felt about her…

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Sorry that I missed a week… homework has been a time-consuming killjoy. Still, I hope this is sufficient for now.

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