It Is Time

[Cotnar]

A growl escaped him as he became chimera. She was not growling, not turning away. She still did favor the humans. She did borrow the strength of one of them, a foolish move that has cost many lives, but that was all she did to harm them. If it had been any of her own kind she would have driven herself to the brink of death trying to keep them away from her. These human's had to be removed. With a growl and a great swing of his paws he seperated the two lovers throwing the boy against the wall. He gripped the princess's arm between his teeth and dragged her back through the waterfall, like a tiger and his kill. The force of the falls was heavy on his back as he passed through them, but he ignored the pain of it. When he was far enough away he readjusted his grip on her and made a movement, almost like flicking his head, and releicing her at the last moment. He watched for a moment as her still body tumbled for a moment before crashing into the colundren pool. He had solved both his problems at once. She, though she is a good swimmer, will not have the strength to pull herself out of the raging waters of the pool alone. Only by some mirical would Caspian be able to catch her. The current was unforgiving in the pool, no one dared enter for fear of tempting death. Then he went back inside and went to Firemane. He stared at her for a moment. "There was no need for it," She groaned, "She was helping me." He only growled and slashed his claws over her back.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

When Caspian pulled her away a small bit of her life returned to her. She looked up at Caspian smiling for a moment. She was lucky and seeing his mother only made her believe it more. He could have just as easily been as heartless as Cotnar, only staring at her as she fought through life and death to bring his children into the world. But he was not, and for that she was happy. There was an instant of peace before it was broken by the monster, as always. She screamed his name as he was seperated from her. She moved to escape, but was not fast enough. His jaws clamped on her and dragged her away. She would have called for Caspian again but the waterfall poured into her mouth and lungs making her choke and cough before she could do anything. When she was free of the water and could breath again she tried to free herself but he had already let her go. The freezing cold of the water surrounded her as she clawed her way to the surface. Her weakness and wounded arm slowed her but she could still breath. She was good at swiming, winning awards of it in england before she left it behind. She picked a place on the edge where she could pull herself out and tried to reach it. The unforgiving current would not allow it. Within moments of her attempted escape she was pulled towards the fall and thrown under it so far she could not see light. The instant force of the water caused the wind to get knocked out of her, her life's air floated to the surface. It was a long time before she could resurface only for the cycle to be repeated with each time falling farther and farther beneith the water. The time between her resurfacing and meeting the falls was decreasing, she was using the strength to pull herself out. Her body and her arm burned like fire, moving only by her will to survive. But she was unseure of how long it would last.

[King Caspian X]

"NO!" Caspian roared. He felt no pain as his back hit the wall. Nothing was pain to him anymore tonight. He scrambled towards the falls and scanned the area below for his lover. There she was, at the mouth of the crashing waters, where the waves clashed together like a mob of angry soldiers with the freedom to fire at will. The King slid down the slippery hill that led to the cave, and was now bringing him closer to the cauldron pool. He searched for something to pull her out with, because he knew that if he jumped in, then he would only make things worse. Caspian could not swim with a broken wrist. Not against these currents. The desperate man bolted over to a tree, ripping a branch off of the wood. He was lucky. He hadn't even checked to see if it was a living tree that could feel what he was doing. But it wasn't. He carried the long branch over to her. "GRAB THIS!" he shouted over the roaring water. He extended it over the pool, where her hands could surely reach it. Within the cave, he could hear his mother's growl of pain when Cotnar had cut her. Caspian bit his tongue and thanked Aslan that humans had the ability to love. To others, it might have seemed like a weakness. But to him, it was a precious gift. Life without love was not a life at all. And he was about to possibly have his love torn from him. He had lost count of how many times this had happened, but each time it did, his heart only raced harder and harder. "GRAB IT SUSAN!" he shouted again.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

She gripped the branch he held over her as the current pulled her past it. The grip was weak and one-handed with her second in too numb from the cold and her injury to do much else. More pain tore through her as she tightned her grip and the water tried it's hardest to seperate them again. She coughed the water from her lungs and waited. Caspian would have to free her now.

[King Caspian X]

"Don't let go." he said, though it wasn't neccessary. Caspian knew that she wouldn't let go. He pulled backwards with all his might, Susan and the current pulling the other way. Pain erupted through his arms as he brought his broken wrist forward to help his good hand pull. He bit his tongue to keep from howling, and continued to pull backwards. Then one at a time, his feet began to step back, slowly pulling his wife out of the cauldron. "Kick your legs!" he said. "The current's too strong."

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"I already am!" She shouted back hoping he could hear her. Her every muscle was pushed to the point of breaking as she fought for her frail existance. If he is not strong enough you will drag him down with you unless he lets go, an unlikely option. No, he couldn't fall. She wouldn't let it happen. The thoughts fueled more strength into her and she fought harder and the pain faded gently. I will not lose him. She neared the earth and took hold of the rocks with her wounded arm. Pain shot through it, but she didn't care. She half dragged herself, heavy with her soaked clothes, up the stony slope where Caspian was and sat on her knees beside him shivering.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian wrapped his arms around her, though he knew it wouldn't do much because he himself was only half clothed. "Are you alright?" he asked. The man looked at her arm as he held her. "We should go back to the castle and get you some new bandages." he said, pointing out that the ones that she was wearing were sopping wet. But a howl from inside told him otherwise. If they were to go back to the castle, Lamont and his beast would surely stop them. They were better off here now, where at least they might help one person rather than be hurt by his cousin. They couldn't lend his mother anymore strength, because neither of them had strength to give her, but at least they could offer comfort, something that she rarely or never got.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"I-I'll be al-lright." She studdered through chattering teeth. She nodded wanting to go back but stopped the thought at Firemane's howl. She was hurting again. "We'll stay and help her," she said making the sentance more of a question than a statement. She wanted to stay, but if he thought it would be best for her otherwise she would go back. She knew that more attacks were in store as they fought to stay. Cotnar would never have her exposed to true love for fear of her longing for it. She wasn't entirely sure of the theory, but it made since.

[King Caspian X]

Caspian thought for a moment. He thought it was wiser to stay here. Either way, they would be attacked. But should they leave for the castle, they probably wouldn't even make it there. If they stayed, at least they could help the hurting animal in the cave. Then, at least, one person would be aided. But there was a chance, though slim, that they could make it back to the medical chambers and get her bandages changed. "What do you want to do?" Caspian asked her. He wanted her opinion first and foremost. He would do whatever she wanted.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"I think we should stay," She told him squezing the water from her hair. "We might not be able to help much and Cotnar and Lamont are probably going to fight us, but I still think we should. She's never, with maybe the exception of when she was with your father, felt love before. Maybe by us helping her or by her seeing the love you unjustly have for me she will come to want that love and join us."

[King Caspian X]

"What do mean 'unjustly'?" he asked, helping her up and supporting her incase she should fall. "I have every reason to love you, and no reason not to." he said, and kissed her wet cheek. "Do you not see what you've just done? You rode out to your enemy to help her give birth, and you almost died for her. You were thrown into the cauldron pool for your actions, again almost died, and now you are going back to help her again. You have mercy and kindness that no one else could ever possess. You have a goodness in your heart that no one else has or has ever had. Forgiveness. You can forgive so quickly it's not even funny. You are a magnificent person." Caspian told her. "I don't love you unjustly." he told her, smiling.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"I do it because if I don't I feel even worse." She sighed. "I cause you so much trouble and pain that to not help anything that crossed my path to repay every hardship I caused would be to destory me inside. I live to love you, nothing else. Everything else is only a side effect to it." Maybe this case was the only acception, though it did tie to it in a way. All the hurting she had done to Caspian, having another's child, causing all the conflict with her father, losing Lucy and Galen on the same day, was more than she could allow herself to handle.Each night she wanted to cry knowing what she did, but he would hold her and the pain would go away for a moment. She truly did live for love and nothing else. Not even Aslan could stop her from loving Caspian, her proof was in coming here to begin with. Somehow Firemane had to understand this feeling that never went away. She would have to expeirence love before she could die.

[King Caspian X]

"You cause me only joy." he said to her, trying to comfort her. "When you're in love, all the pain slips away." Caspian told. "Bad things cannot be when good things are there to fight them. My good things only come from you. Everyone just gives me grief and troubles." The man began to lead them back to the cave, where the moans only grew louder.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"We've had this fight to many times before," She sighed and stepped towards the cave, "Let it go this time." She didn't want to go over this yet another time. No mater what he said ther was always something to convnce her that she still caused more bad than good. She hated it and wanted it to leave and trust that Caspian was right for once and she could sleep well at night, but fate was never kind. "I'll go an see what I can do to help her." Again she went in and sat beside the lion ready to fight should Cotnar or Lamont strike. She reached out to touch her side but remembered what it had caused and stopped. "Isn't there anything we can do that won't kill us?"

[King Caspian X]

Caspian followed her into the cave and sat down where he had been, his fingers running through her mane again and stroking her face. He examined the bloodied scratches on his mother's side that were from Cotnar, and touched them gently. She raised her head and snarled, but did nothing more. "Don't touch those." she demanded. "He'll just give me more." Her eyes darted up at the male demon, as if just by looking at him she could murder him on the spot. Caspian stroked her side and rubbed her back, but nothing could really ease her pain, only comfort her from it. "I don't know." said the creature. "I can't take anymore of your strength..." Caspian reached up to her head and scratched behind her lion ears, and she closed her eyes. What could they do for her?

"Maybe you should drink something." Caspian said to her.

"What?"

"Maybe you should drink something." he said again. "You've lost a lot of water, and you might be dehydrated. Maybe it would give you a little more strength." Caspian suggested.