THE LAST TEMPTATION OF SUSAN
Chapter Thirteen: Susan The Strong
Susan understood that she was going to Aslan's country. Being tied to a stake and eaten by dinosaurs was a horrible fate, but was it really any worse than being bound to a stone table and stabbed through the heart? If Lucy were here, she would be happy to be going to Aslan in such a glorious fashion. Susan held her head up high, even though the tears kept pouring down her cheeks. It was the least she could do.
"This is all my fault," said a soft voice beside her. It was Rozalina, the angry little girl who had betrayed Susan to the traitor Benruz Tarkhaan. "I wanted to avenge my brother, because your sister Lucy killed him on the battle field. I never thought Benruz Tarkhaan would betray me. I thought my brother's spirit would be pleased if I helped him trap you!"
"I thought my husband would be pleased if I obeyed him," said Zuleika, the big and bulky wife of the Tarkhaan. "Loyalty has been the downfall of both this foolish child and me. For has not one of the poets said, blind obedience is mere folly?"
"Well, I guess all of us loved the wrong people," Susan replied, in a weak, shaky voice. She tried to hold her head up high, to be proud of the fate that awaited her, but she couldn't. In her hour of need, Rabadash was nowhere to be found. Even if it wasn't his fault, Susan had the feeling Aslan was sending a definite message by having her die alone. She had put her own happiness ahead of everything else. As soon as nice-looking boys began to look her way she forgot all about Aslan and the love that endured beyond time.
Even now, of course, it was not too late to turn back to Aslan. All she had to do was smile and say, "be of good cheer, companions, for tonight we dine in Aslan's country."
"B-b-be of good cheer, companions," Queen Susan began. Her full, soft lips were trembling. She could taste the salt in her tears. But she kept on trying. For once she would be strong, like the others. "T-tonight we d-d-dine . . ."
"Tonight we die?" The fear in Rozalina's dark face was awful to behold. She was just a child, yet she knew the truth.
"I said dine, not d-die." Susan tried to smile, thinking it was really a very funny joke. Instead she began to blubber.
Just then there was a noise from the other side of the clearing.
"Quie`n es?" Asked one of the guards, standing up and pulling back the bolt of his machine gun. He peered into the darkness, yet a moment later his head went flying, struck clean off his shoulders.
"The bolt of Tash falls from above!" Quick as a lightning bolt himself, Prince Rabadash charged into the clearing, taking the drug runners by surprise before they could even fire. He beheaded the first two men with his long, curved scimitar. The third man fired wildly, spraying the clearing, but was suddenly cut down from behind.
"The Lion! The Lion!" shouted Prince Corin Thunderfist of Narnia. The remaining criminals fled down the river, and both the handsome warrior princes immediately turned their attention to cutting Queen Susan loose from her bonds.
"It's good to see the two of you fighting on the same side for a change," Susan said, in a wobbly voice, managing a faint smile through her tears.
"It wasn't my idea," Corin protested. "But what Aslan wants, Aslan gets. Funny, he should be around here somewhere. He said something about facing down a great beast at dawn."
"It's almost dawn now," Susan said, nervously searching the pale jungle sky. Just then Rabadash grabbed her arm.
"Hush, my queen. One of our party is hurt."
It was true. Young Rozalina was fine, but a stray bullet had struck the heavy-set wife of the Tarkhaan. She lay in a pool of her own blood, a distant look on her face.
"This is my end," she said softly, as the two boy princes tried to staunch the bleeding wound.
"No, no, you'll be all right!" Susan grabbed her hand and squeezed hard. "Dear Zuleika, you mustn't die! None of this was your fault. Your husband deceived us both!"
"Rozalina," the dying woman whispered. "You and the prince . . . take care of Rozalina. Take her to a world . . . without killing." The older woman gave a deep sigh, and then her eyes fell shut.
"Don't go, Zuleika!" Fierce little Rozalina beseeched, with tears streaming down her face. "I promise I'll never be naughty again!"
"Don't weep, my daughter," Rabadash said gently. "We are a family now. May peace be upon our friend, Zuleika, who was like a mother to all of us. And may her strength live on in us."
"Dash, you . . . you've changed." Susan looked at the prince. It felt stupid to finally realize that she had been right about Rabadash all along. Wishing for it was one thing, but when she saw the proof she didn't know what to say.
He gave her a wide, crooked grin, very different from his usual haughty Calormene demeanor. "Apes may grow honest, lovely queen. Fools may grow wise."
"And the weak become strong." Susan smiled at her own private joke as Rabadash pulled her into his arms. A new and devastating weakness swept her from head to toe as he kissed her. Yet she wasn't ashamed in the least.
Just then there was a roar from the jungle.
"That's not Aslan," Prince Corin said nervously.
"The terrible lizard! Susan, take Rozalina and hide. We two will fight until the Lion comes to our aid." Rabadash broke the kiss with lightning speed, pushing Susan behind him and drawing his long curved blade. Corin immediately did likewise. The thudding crash of heavy footsteps heralded the arrival of the Tyrannosaurus Rex who had haunted Susan's nightmares since the day she first came to this strange land.
"No!" Susan stepped forward, just as the huge creature arrived in the clearing. "No! No! Get out! Go away! I'm tired of you!" To the absolute amazement of the two boys, she ran forward, waving her arms, shouting as loud as she could. Instead of springing on her, the dinosaur paused.
"Go away! Be gone, lizard!" Susan wasn't backing down. She kept shouting. And after a moment, the hideous creature seemed to lose his nerve. He turned and stomped back into the jungle, his tail swishing back and forth.
"How – how did you do that?" Prince Corin's blue eyes were wide with astonishment. "Susan, that was the bravest thing I've ever seen!"
"I changed," Susan said proudly. She reached up to touch Rabadash, gently stroking his brown cheek with her hand. "Just like my favorite donkey prince."
Rabadash brought her slim white fingers to his lips. "With Aslan's help we have done much, my fearless queen. From now on I shall call you Susan the Strong."
"Susan the Strong!" Rozalina clapped her hands in delight, then dropped her arms as her face clouded over. "I wish Zuleika could have seen . . ."
"All of you have done much, children," said a deep voice. "But much work remains, and time is short."
And then Aslan himself stepped into the clearing.