PREVIOUSLY IN SHARDS...
"You," said Peridan in a whisper. "If you're not trying to kill me, what do you want with me?"
"Don' worry," said the wolf in a thick brogue. "If we wanted ta make a potion that'd kill ya, we woulda made it."
A lightning shock went through Peridan, and he bolted up onto his elbows. "Confound it!" he breathed. "You did this to me?"
"Aye," said the wolf. "Narnia needs a King...and we need a favor."
"Why would I help you? You fill me with a potion, and you kidnap me and bring me out here."
"We did it to save your arse," said the lion in a cold baritone. "That means you owe us, Son of Adam...and you owe us something big."
AND NOW, ON WITH TODAY'S EPISODE OF SHARDS...
Prompt #7: Give a "bad guy's" perspective, whether Jadis, Miraz, or someone else. Are bad guys "bad" through their own eyes?
† Malcontents in Narnia †
"Right, then," said Peridan as he pulled himself onto the crunching grass. "You drug me and kidnap me, and you expect me to do you a favor?"
"Oh, ya'd better, lad," said the wolf. "Because if ya don't, we're gonna hand ya over to Juma, and he's gonna finish the job."
"Wait a minute..." Peridan threw out a hand to stall the wolf's words. "What does Juma have to do with this?"
"Everything, basically," said the lion. "He's the one leading Narnia for Narnians, and he's the one who wanted you dead."
"Why should I believe you?"
The wolf smiled and held up a paw with a little glass cordial. There was a bead of liquid that glistened in the moonlight, and empty air otherwise. "Go on," he said, "have a smell."
Peridan did, and another lightning shock went through him. All his senses were intensified, and the lingering taste of cinnamon and berries was strong and rich.
"That's how you did it," he said in a breath. "You sprinkled it into my food so it would taste even better, and then it would put me to sleep."
The lion snickered. "Call it a food coma."
"A what?"
"Er, never mind."
"So you did all this for a favor?"
"Of course not," said the lion. "Like we said, Narnia needs a king. But we'd like a King who serves everyone, not just his special friends. Besides, we figured you wouldn't grant us a favor unless we did something to deserve it, so when we found out Juma was trying to kill you, Iain took his poison and replaced it with that sleeping cordial."
Peridan's eyes went wide, and a wave of queasiness swept through him. "You couldn't have known all this unless you were working with them."
"I am," said the wolf, "but I'm what ya call a mole. I spy on Narnia fer Narnians, and I pass off my infermation to people I trust—Philip, namely. M'name's Iain, and I'd be at yer service. But I'd prefer it if ya be at ours..."
"And my name's John. I'm not with Narnia for Narnians, although that could certainly change..." There was the slightest hint of a growl coming out of the lion's furrowing face.
"All right, fine, fine," said Peridan lazily. "Just tell me what you want."
"It's simple, really," said Iain. "We want you to make use of us."
The King cocked his head skeptically. "You mean a job?"
"Aye," said the wolf. "A long time ago, I came to Narnia lookin' fer work. I don't have a lotta useful skills, and I was a bit slow about a great many things. Plus, I had a limp, which didn't help things any. I figured if anyone had a place for me, it was Narnia. But no—the Four didn't give me a job. They wouldn't even heal my leg. Fortunately, yer Queen Lucy came 'round and took me in, but Aslan overruled her, and he said he'd break my leg again if I didn't leave. When I heard about Narnia fer Narnians, I found people like me—people who hated the regime as much as I did. But the deeper I fell in with 'em, the more I came to hate 'em. They're not just tryin' to keep the humans out; they're tryin' to kill any Talking Beast who's loyal to Aslan. Despite how much I hate Narnia, I can't let Juma get away with murder."
"Nor can I," said the lion. "I was born and raised here. My parents loved the Lion with all their hearts, and so did I. But no one wanted anything to do with me. I was kind and friendly to everyone, but all they did was ignore me or condescend to me. Worse, I came to acquire certain romantic proclivities, and they're not the kind Aslan would approve of. I had no intention of acting on them; in fact, I begged Aslan to take them away and give me normal affections. Instead, he left me with these vile affections, and he ignored all my letters. As a result, I've been treated like a plague. Narnia keeps shunning me, and the army keeps turning me away. That's why we're coming to you: We have no choice."
With a dull glare, Peridan sighed and leaned back against the trunk of a tree. So this is why I'm King? To be extorted by a useless wolf and a sodomite lion? All I've heard is these two whine about how Aslan has been cruel to them. Then again, these two are going to throw me to Juma if I don't do what they want. And Aslan forbade me from creating a treaty with Taresh Kazan, so perhaps there's some truth to their words...
A long pause filled the glade, and the only sound was the wolf's and lion's tails swishing over the grass. And with a dull sigh and a shrug of finality, Peridan went up on his feet and said:
"Name your price."