A Meeting with the King

[King Caspian X]

Caspian thought now, temptation poking him in the shoulder. He could ask the tiger to tell him now, something that the tiger couldn't refuse. But, the friend inside of him told him that Susan could tell him when he was ready. Caspian thought. No, he wouldn't ask the tiger. And he wouldn't ask Susan. She could tell him when she wanted to. His wife must have a reason to keep it from him. Then Caspian felt hurt. She really was keeping something from him. He had never kept anything from her, not counting the wedding proposal in Cair Paravel, but that was different. That was not to ruin a surprise. But this was different. This sounded serious. You don't know that. A voice inside him said. You don't know what it is that she's not telling you. Maybe it's a good thing. Caspian wanted to listen to it, but the way the tiger's ears perked made him uneasy. No. He would wait for Susan. It was the right thing to do.

[Cotnar]

"But how could you not have known?" He asked not truly able to understand. "How couldn't you have been able to see that Reepicheep, Trufflehunter, and several other Narnians are gone? Glennstorm was missing long before your wedding. And you haven't noticed that something could be wrong? You are the king, you should keep track of your people, much less your warriors, better than you do. I'm just afraid I don't understand."

[King Caspian X]

"Stop it!" Caspian yelled. "Susan will tell me when she when she wants to!" he said childishly. He didn't like being insulted either. He didn't like having people tell him how to rule the country, unless of course it was Susan or one of the Pevensies who were talking to him. "Go away." he told him.

[Cotnar]

The beast bowed his head and turned away. But before he left he looked back to his son. "The girl lives by her own strict code. If you ask her she will tell you."

[King Caspian X]

"But I want her to want to tell me." Caspian argued. "I don't want to make her do anything that she doesn't want to do or say." He leaned back against the tree, seeking comfort from the wood. "Just tell me this, is it important?"

[Cotnar]

"Very much so." The tiger said sadly. He knew it was so, but again, not his place to say. But if never said then Narnia could be crumbling without him even realizing it was happening. Things were not as they should be, and yet, only a few moments before he had believed they were safe. This was far from reality.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian turned and walked back to the Castle, breaking into a run about half way. It wasn't long before he was at the gates, looking for Susan. He wasn't mad. Well, not at her anyway. But he did want to know what was going on. "Susan?" he called for her calmly. Caspian didn't want to ask her anything. He would give her a chance to tell him before he inquired. "Susan?" he called again.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

Susan was asleep when she heard his voice, her dreams nothing frightening for once. When she sat up she rubbed her arms realizing how cold she was. It had been months since she woke up without him beside her, holding his cuddle-bug close and keeping her warm. "Someone's up early," She said still tired and yawning. "Do you have something planned?" The last time they had woken up extra early was on the day of their wedding. She woke him so they could see the sunset and he took her to their secret place and they were engaged then married the same day.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian could've slapped himself. He didn't realize how early it was. "No." he said, crawling onto the bed and snuggling up next to her. "I was just wondering if there was something you needed to tell me?" Caspian asked sweetly. He kissed her cheek softly. He felt awful for waking her up.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

Susan looked away unable to keep her eyes met with his. "Someone told you," She mumbled sadly hoping he couldn't hear her, but she was wrong, "Probably your dad. He promised me he wouldn't tell." her fingers knotted together and her knuckled whitened as she strained to bend them, though there was no place for them bo bend too being twisted so painfuly around themselves.

[King Caspian X]

"No, he didn't tell me. He said it wasn't his place, and I told him that you whatever it was that you would tell me when you were ready. But he said something about Glennstorm and Reepicheep and Trufflehunter, and that it was important." Caspian said, and kissed her again. He took her hands in his and separated them. "Don't do that." he said, and rubbed her fingers. "Are you ready to tell me?" Caspian asked. "Cause I can wait too, if you want me to."

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"No," she said sadly leaning against him as if his warmth would make the memory pass. "It happened a while ago, maybe a month or so, and Lucy had wandered off again. Last time she left she was taken so I wouldn't relive my last mistake and let her go. So I looked for her. That was when Glennstorm came. I hadn't seen him in months, long before we even left for the dark isle. He had started saying something about how the stars prophesied doom, but conviently left out who or how or why. But he said I was needed and he pulled me on his back. We rode for a few hours before he stopped and actulay bucked me off him. For the first while I just thought something spooked his horse instinct or something along those lines, but I was wrong. Just as I made sure the babies were alright I looked up an a minotaur hit me with a club and I passed out." She stopped for a moment as the first of her tears began to form. "When I woke up I was tied and surrounded by narnians. Reepicheep was there and Trufflehunter and Trumpkin, even Nikabrick. At first I thought they might save me, but then I realized they were shouting at me. I wanted to say that there was some mistake, that what they were doing was wrong, but there wasn't a chance. I heard something loud, something I don't actualy know what it was, and every body was silent. The crowed parted down the middle and there, riding a narnian unicorn, was Lamont. He grabbed my throat and pulled me close to his face. At first I thought he was going to hurt me again, in front of the narnians to see. But he didn't, he said 'Are you certain you bear the child of Caspian?' I didn't understand, so I didn't say anything. When I didn't he turned to everyone and said 'the trial has begun,' and the narnians roared 'How dose the accusd plead?' I wanted to tell him I didn't understand, that I have done nothing wrong. But then he said 'You have been charged with murder of a narnian who has done you no harm. Do you deny it?' And I like an idiot refused to lie, even here. They started screaming again, some of them saying things I can't stand to repeat. I heard Trumpkin say 'We have no future with a Telmarine leader, our kind will be murdered off by our rulers.' I told them they didn't understand, I did it to protect our children. The Reepicheep said 'For the sake of the royal child we all pay sacrifice.' I wanted to say more but Lamont silenced them. 'So now judgement is to pass. What be the payment of the spill of innocent blood?' They all screamed the answer: death to the murderer. But Glennstorm stood first 'It is not the woman who kills without need, but for her children she will. It is the child's blood that must pay the price, not hers.' and all of them screamed." Again she stopped before forcing herself to continue with a voice that now began to shake. "Then I saw him silence them. Again he took my throat and said the same thing 'Are you certain you bear the child of Caspian?' and again, this time out of fear, I was silent. I saw him take out something that caught the moonlight almost beautifuly. But then I realized what it was and my thoughts changed. It was the knife you gave me, the one I promised to keep and to use when I needed to, the one he stole from me. 'The blood of the child will be payed,' he said. And then . . . then he drove it . . . into my stomach." Now she burried her head against his chest and cried full force. "I thought . . . I thought I would die there, but I didn't. I remember falling, bleeding, the babies panicing, and then nothing. When I woke your father was there. He said he saved me from them."

[King Caspian X]

Caspian felt dead. Shocked. Like a failure yet again. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. Once again, Caspian had let her down. He brushed away her nightgown to look at her belly, and sure enough, there was the wound. His voice went shakey, as if he really was ashamed of crying now. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her, hurt. A month was a long time, especially to keep something like this away from him. "You know that you can tell me anything. I'm your husband." He gently touched it, wondering if the knife really had struck one of his children. Wondering how much longer she was planning on keeping this from him. Was he really that much of a loser? "Are they dead, Susan?" Caspian begged the answer to be 'no'. He couldn't bare to think of even one of the babies as dead. His eyes met with her's. "Please tell me." he beseeched. "Please. I want to know." Caspian reached out for her hand.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"I don't think so." She cried, "I'm sorry, I should've said something before, but I was too afraid, to ashamed of it. I didn't want to tell you they might be dead and then they would be safe. You remember how terrifying it was just to think they were dead the last time Lamont came at the church. I didn't want you feel that again if you didn't have to. I spent every day since then praying at the church for Aslan to move them again, but Aslan won't ever help me. I'm sorry." the cuddle-bug hid her eyes from him too ashamed. She understood why Aslan wouldn't help her: she loved Caspian over Aslan.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian touched her chin, bringing her eyes back to meet his. "Susan." he said her name. "You don't ever have to feel ashamed in front of me." He smiled weakly at her encouragingly. Behind his grin was a hurting man. It was true that she had kept it from him to keep him from hurting, which was a kind thing to do -from her perspective. But to Caspian, it only hurt more to know that the truth would be kept from him if she thought that it might hurt him too much. It made him feel oblivious. It made him feel like a child. "Aslan will help you again." Caspian told her reassuringly. But he didn't stay long on the topic of the Lion. He glanced back down at the wound again. "Are you alright, though?" he asked. "Did you get medicine for this?" Caspian pointed to the place where the knife stabbed her belly. He shuddered at the thought of Susan being stabbed. The King himself had been stabbed during sword practice on a number of occaisions, but those were merely accidents. Even still, they had bled and made him feel weak. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be puposefully cut.