The Last Temptation of Susan
Chapter Two: The Mirror of Toh-Ledom
"Ha! Got you, Mr. Owl!" Queen Lucy's excited shriek rang out through the great banquet hall of Cair Paravel. She was practicing her archery with the new ivory-inlaid bow that Benruz Tarkhaan had presented her with at supper.
"Oh, dear. Mr. Owl? Are you all right?" Narnian feasts were never very formal. The whole crowd leapt to their feet and ran down to the far end of the hall, Lucy leading the way.
"It's lucky for my sister that Aslan gave her a healing cordial that instantly cures all wounds," sighed Queen Susan. Since all the servants had run to help Lucy with her wounded owl, there was no one to object when she poured her own wine and drank deeply. Susan was feeling low, and she didn't understand why. It was like being homesick during the middle of a school term, and yet that didn't make sense. Narnia was her home, after all.
Wasn't it?
"Doubtless your sister's potion heals some wounds better than others," said the grave voice of the bearded Tarkhaan. The Calormene ambassador gave Susan a knowing look. "Wounds of the body can often be cured by gifts, O Queen. But only the right sort of gift can cure a wounded heart."
"What sort of gift might that be, O wise Tarkhaan?" Susan hadn't smiled all evening, yet she felt her spirits lighten a little as Benruz offered her a flat, cloth-wrapped parcel. Everyone else was busy with Lucy, and it was nice to have a quiet moment just between the ambassador and herself.
"Oh, a mirror. How lovely!" Susan flashed the ambassador a slightly naughty smile. "My royal brothers and my sister are always teasing me about my vanity. It's a fitting gift, isn't it?"
"Your beauty, O Queen, is worthy to be admired by all," said the Tarkhaan in his warm, mellow voice. "Yet there is one who pines for a sight of your face, who will never see you again."
"You mean Prince Rabadash." Susan frowned at her face in the mirror. Something was off. Her eyes looked darker than usual, smoky and mysterious. "He behaved very badly, Benruz Tarkhaan. I cannot love a man who would use violence to get his own way!"
"Love is what drove our prince to break the peace, and love is what torments him still. Yet with this mirror you may see and speak with Rabadash, with no danger and no dishonor."
"And what makes you think I want to see the prince again?" Susan slipped the mirror back in its cloth case. She gave the bearded Calormene a regal look, cool and disapproving.
Benruz Tarkhaan bowed slightly. "The Mirror of Toh-Ledom is yours, O Queen. It can only reflect your true desires."
"Are you really telling me that Rabadash thinks I could still want him? After all the horrible things he's done?" Susan flushed, the heat rising to her face in a way that made her feel flustered and agitated and very un-queenly. Her slim white hands shook as she poured herself more wine.
"The prince wanted to carry you away from Cair Paravel," the Tarkhaan replied. "Are you happy here, Queen Susan?"
****
It was no use trying to fall asleep. Queen Susan of Narnia had been tossing back and forth in her huge canopy bed for hours, yet every time she closed her eyes she remembered kissing Prince Rabadash on the battlements of Cair Paravel. Everything had been so simple then, and they had both been so happy. Rabadash understood the part of her that her brothers and her sister couldn't accept. He had shown real kindness to her friends and she had felt a deeper goodness inside him. But the moment she confessed her love and they journeyed to his country his personality had changed. How had things gone so wrong between them?
Susan knew that there was only one way to find the answers. She had to look into that mirror.
When she climbed out of bed, the moonlight was falling across the emerald green lawns of Cair Paravel, turning all the fountains to crystal and the stone statues to silver. It was a scene of such great beauty that her heart skipped a beat. Yet she felt a bit guilty as she caught a glimpse of the great stone lion in the center courtyard. It was only a statue of Aslan, not the real thing, and yet . . . Susan didn't allow herself to finish the thought.
Sitting down at her pretty rosewood dressing table, she lit a lamp and drew forth the mirror from its cloth wrappings. She peered curiously into the glass, and again she saw a mysterious, smoky fire in her eyes that she didn't recognize. And then all at once the mirror started to glow, growing bigger while she watched. Feeling dizzy, Susan rose to her feet. She tried to back away, but instead she tumbled forwards, falling straight into the Mirror of Toh-Ledom.