A Promise to keep

[Cotnar]

"I am sorry." The dog whimpered like a pup, "I know nothing. But Lamont told Swordfeather to tell the troops to fall back. I doubt they will strike today." The mutt stood for the first time, his eyes for the window. A growl formed in his throat as he left the grip of his son. He ran for the wall's opening, but it was not a dog that reached it, but a griffon. The flying lion roared as he dove, his wings at his side. When he returned he struggled to fit his wings through the frame before he pulled them into his back becomming a simple lion. Between his jaws he held the loud, flapping body of the spy. He pinned the bird between his paws and bit hard on one of his wings. He would not fly away tonight."

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

Susan wanted to scream at the sight of the falcon of her nightmares. The black falcon will steal him from you. without giving herself enough time to think she pulled Caspian's heavy sword from it's sheath. Rage and fear gave her enough strength to hold it high enough to drive it through the bird's ribcage and into it's heart. She dropped the sword as blood flowed from Swordfeather's wound. Her body shook visibly as she realized what she had done. Again she fell to her knees ignoring the enemies blood that stained her clothes.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian rushed over to her, pulling her away from the body after she had pierced it. He embraced her and his hands rested on her back. It would be a lie to say that Caspian wasn't pleased with the quick actions that she did, the way the light faded from the falcon's eyes the way lightning fades from the sky. He only wished that they might have gotten some information out of the bird, but he wouldn't tell this to anyone. It wouldn't do any good. The falcon was dead. So now Caspian held her close to him once more, ignoring the pool of blood that was forming on his bedroom floor. "Brave Susan." he called her. He would never be able to understand, try as he might, the fear and chaos that the bird had struck into her dreams. He rocked her back and forth, and looked up at the lion. "What happens now?" he asked. The question wasn't really directed at anyone. It could have been to himself, to Susan, or to his father. But it hung there in the air like smoke.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

She still trembled as he held and rocked her. Murderer. the voice said now. No matter how she could tell herself that more horrible things would come frome it living she would always remember how defenceless it was. Murderer. What was her fear letting her become? She killed the bird and wanted Lamont to join him. He deserved the fate if it was to come. Murderer. her mind screamed with no end. She could not shake what was happening. Not even noon and she had gone from tired to happy to afraid to happy again and then to being terrified and paralized by fear. Murderer. Who was she to be a mother when she let her emotions drive her to kill an enemy, even as defenceless as it was. It was diffrent with Lamont, he had his magic to protect him. But the only thing the bird had to himself, his flight, was lost to him and now so was his life. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. "Make it stop." She pleaded, "Make it end," She couldn't hear the lion's panting, couldnt hear Caspian's voice. Only the voice in her head. Murderer. . .

[King Caspian X]

Caspian didn't know what to say or do. He didn't quite know what she was talking about. Make what end? Make what stop? As far as he knew, she had done all that herself when she killed the bird. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Make what stop?" Caspian put a hand on her shoulder. "You just ended Lamont's spying. You've blinded him from us. His only eyes that he had on us are gone. Why aren't you pleased with yourself?" Caspian couldn't figure it out.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"This voice in my head!" She nearly screamed. "It hurts me with no end. It tells me things I cannot stand to hear. It tells me we cannot marry, it calls me murderer. And I let it hurt me becuase I know what it says is truth. Even if he was Lamon't servant I cannot say it was by his will. I have spilled Narnian blood that hasn't been proven guilty. He should have stood trial before he was condemed. I killed him. I am a murderer." She half expected the voice to come again, to tell her something else. But it was silent, as if satisfied by her suffering at last.

[King Caspian X]

"No Susan, you are not a murderer." Caspian said. "You are a protector." he tried to give her a new way to think of it. "You were protecting your child and protecting your family. If that bird flew back to my cousin, demons would have attacked us and even more lives would be lost." He kissed her softly and wiped away her tears. "You faced your nightmare, you are brave." Caspian told her.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"Just because he's gone dosn't stop him. Lamont will see that his spy didn't return and know something's up. Then he'll come. I didn't stop anything, I made it worse." She continued to cry and her body continued to tremble. Her eyes were closed tight, but the water still flowed from her eyes. "After you asked me to marry and I started to be afraid again the voice told me this: The black falcon would come and steal him away. Somehow it knew. It knew what was happening."

[King Caspian X]

"I'll find a decoy that we can send back to Lamont with false news. That isn't a problem." Caspian said to her, comfortingly. He listend as she told him about the voice. "Steal who away from you?" he asked. Anything in the world would Caspian give to make her feel better. Anything to make her happy again. Anything to see that smile on her face, to hear her laugh. He stroked her hair, never letting go of her. He felt as if Danger himself could appear in the window and snatch her away from him.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

She had thought the asnwer was obvious, or at least there wasn't anything else Lamont would want. "He want's the baby. It is his son and he will come. I'd think he would know the diffrence between one of his followers compared to one of ours. Each Narnian is diffrent in some way or another. Sooner or later it will show and things will be even worse." She finally forced herself to stop crying and opened her eyes as the voice came again.I was right about the child and it's father, it said, who is to say I cannot be right about your wedding. It will never come to be. . . "Stop it."

[King Caspian X]

"Lamont doesn't care about his followers. He only cares if they work for him. Do you think that he'll take the time, or care enough, to notice the difference?" Again Caspian's question was just hanging in the air, not directed particularily at anybody, just hoping it would be answered. "And the baby isn't ready to be born yet. Still eight months." Caspian said. "Why would he come for the baby now?" He looked over to the window and stood to close and lock it. No one would hear their conversation. Then he knelt back down beside his Susan and sat next to her, stroking her hair again. She was his only happiness now. Everything else was dark and deathly. And now that she was sorrowful, Caspian could only pray for her joy. Pray for some idea to make her happy. "We can still be married." he told her. "We are not under attack, and because they fear Lamont they won't do anything until he says something. And he won't be saying anything for a while, until his spy returns. It might take him days to realize that he's missing, and that's after we send in a decoy. We could be husband and wife by then." Caspian said, trying to bring back hope to his lovers heart.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"Really?" She said with the first bit of happiness in her voice. To have it be able to be done today with the voice in her head finally proven wrong would bring her heart happiness beyond what she had ever known. "If we got Peter it could be done now, without ceremony, without waiting." The Cuddle-bug wrapped her arms around him as the child kicked. It was the first time the child had been able to put enough force in his movement to hurt. Though normaly pain brought sadness she smiled. He was strong, just like his father. "He is like you."

[King Caspian X]

"He does?" Caspian asked, looking down at his baby that grew inside Susan. "How can you tell?" The man watched her belly curiosly again, as if it would move because of the child. He liked the sound of getting married today. With each second it seemed that you could never be sure if tomorrow was yours aswell. He hugged Susan with one arm and placed the other on top of his child. "Can he feel my touch?" Caspian asked.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"I'm sure he can feel everything we say and do. It's a matter of him understanding. Sooner or later he'll be able to reconise our voices and he'll know who we are. By the time he's born he will already know his father by his voice." She said these things knowing them from the classes she was required to take in England. It was only once she said them did she realize she had answered her own question. "That's why Lamont wants him now. If he knows Lamont as father there's no way he'll be able to say the same for you."

[King Caspian X]

"Well I won't let him have you or the baby." Caspian said. His voice was calm, and matter-of-factly, as if anything else happening would have been impossible. He stood up, and offered Susan his helping hand for her to take and stand. "C'mon." he said. "We have wedding things to do." for the first time since the dog had entered his room and told his tale, Caspian smiled. They could still be married today, and things could only go up from here. The demons wouldn't attack. For now, Narnia and Telmar were both safe. The spy was dead. His cousin was no where near them. And danger kept a far distance from them for the time being.