Chapter 6: Torture

Caspian relived the moment when Lillian left Narnia for her tribe alone in the darkness. For an unknown reason, that part of his recent encounter with Lillian had etched into his memory like a nightmare as if that was the last time he would ever meet her. It was a chilly night in the plains, and his small number of soldiers that he and his lords had brought along. They all had agreed that retrieving the princess back was of the greatest importance.

"Your Highness, is something of the matter?" Caspian's captain from the Dawn Treader asked him.

During their adventures, the captain had helped him a great deal and had always been next to him. It had been a while since his friends Lucy and Edmund had been here at Narnia now that he looked back.

"I was… I couldn't really fall asleep I guess…" He just looked at the stars as a slight emptiness crept into his heart.

"It's the princess isn't it?" The captain gently pried. The captain could tell there was a special bond between the King and the princess, but did not dare to ask directly in fear of upsetting his King.

"Could you tell?"

Caspian tried to hide his embarrassment by poking at the fire. He had never thought about his friend so much, not in this matter anyway, it was as if he was desperate more than ever.

…

On the other hand, Lillian was unable to sleep throughout the night. By sunrise, she was extremely weak and not confident that she could resist the Sorceress at all. Throughout the night, she had cried silently in despair. She finally realized that the Sorceress had wanted not only the army, but also her powers to take over all of Narnia. And if that was not enough, she could not bear the thought that she was to one day, be unable to resist the sorcery and fall under the Sorceress's influence.

Soon, once the sun was fully up and radiating much heat, the tent flap finally opened. Lillian's face was downcast and exhausted. The only energy that seemed to radiate through her seemed to be expressed through the anger and hatred from her eyes. The Sorceress came in with a look of disappointment once she found Lillian in this state.

"I thought that you would resist much more than this. Have you already given up in trying, princess?" She taunted at Lillian.

Lillian didn't answer. What was the point? She thought to herself. She could just end all pain and separate herself. But something, one aspect of her life seemed to drag her down, and she did not dare to think of seemed to give her only the minimal amount of life to her.

"No…" she whispered and slowly raised her head. She would not cower to such an evil force.

The Sorceress finally smiled. Oh, she was going to enjoy this. She circled the worn out princess once, and decided on a thought.

"Let's see how long you resist me then. I want to be able to break you before using you as a puppet for my… grander plans."

With that, the Sorceress and Lillian, who were the only two in the tent, stared at each other until the Sorceress summoned up a memory in Lillian.

In shock, Lillian took inhaled deeply. The Sorceress was able to pry through her defenses easily and then showed her a memory of how other tribes fell. How her friends and foes alike came under the Sorceress's spells. For the rest of the day, bit by bit, the Sorceress showed Lillian the memories, replaying the most painful parts. As this went on, Lillian's despair grew and made her almost lifeless as the day went. Although it wasn't physical torture, it became emotionally exhausting.

Once night fell, the Sorceress finally stopped showing Lillian the memories. The only memories that she did not show Lillian was that of the princess's tribe. It would have killed the princess to see how brave and courageous her father had been. How much trust he put in his own daughter once he realized that she was a safe distance away from all the chaos, death, and sadness.

Rather, the Sorceress wanted to save this memory to deliver the final blow for the Lillian. She really savored torturing the princess and wanted this moment to continue.

Looking at the emotional wreck the princess was in, the Sorceress quietly gave Lillian a peck on the forehead and exited the tent.

Lillian on the other hand, felt like she was unraveling, unable to know who she was anymore. Rather, she just wished that she could no longer feel the pain. The only thing that she could think about at the moment was how terribly the people around her had fallen. And that she would resist as long as she could in order to save Narnia and the only man she would love for the rest of her life.

However, what the two did not expect was Caspian's small army ever so approaching carefully towards the tribe, only two days' ride on horseback away.

….

The next day, Lillian was physically tortured throughout the day as the Sorceress interviewed the princess for more information all the while enjoying the princess slowly unraveling and losing control of her willpower ever so slightly. However, what the Sorceress could not grasp was what was exactly protecting the already weakened mind of the princess.

At this point, Lillian felt like she could no longer resist. It seemed so easy to let go. But she remembered the promise that she made with Caspian and that was the only thing that kept her just sane enough to resist all she could. But even with the physical torture, she could feel the Sorceress's constant and growing attempts to take control over her mind and body.

But for some reason, that night, the Sorceress untied Lillian from her bounds and left her in the tent as if Lillian would never dare to leave the tent. Confused, Lillian sat there for a while, until she finally sensed something. Someone was coming near the tribe. As her powers enabled her to control the elements, she had been trying to count the number of men if she wanted to run. However, the rapid movement of horses had surprised her and she focused on that. And as she knew that it could not have possibly been men to help the Sorceress, she could only feel dread.

It was Caspian. She was sure of it. That fool of a friend had brought himself closer to danger that she wished that he had not. And as her bounds were taken away, she left the tribe in secret once she had the chance. She risked everything to put some sense to Caspian. She could not risk it. Before he crossed the river, she had to force him to turn back. Otherwise, everything would have been for naught.

And if any of the guards had been more careful, they would have spotted a very worn and exhausted figure creeping away from the tents, hiding her tracks using her powers.