It Is Time

[Cotnar]

"The heart you treasure has broken." Cotnar told her "This is why our kind has eliminated the workings of the heart from our being. It makes life worth while, so long as it is pleased. But if it isn't it destroys your everything and makes you long for death. If you were to join me I can make the suffering end. But once you give me your word it cannot be taken back."

[King Caspian X]

Caspian finally turned to look at the cave where his lover, his best friend, was still lying in the arms of his cousin. How could she do this to me? he thought to himself. His heart was aching now from all its pounding, but more so from the deep and invisible gash that she had struck though it as if he were nothing more than an old stallion she could just lock up in a stall and shun away, and then spur him wherever she him wanted to go. To the ends of the earth, if she asked him to. But now scars lie on his heart, smothering it like a thorned vine whip. She didn't, the spell did. a voice said, the one that had been encouraging him to punch Lamont. The one that had always told him what would bring him and Susan back together. The voice that was annoying him right now and wasn't really helping his pain much. But how am I to tell the difference between the spell and what she really wants? She pushed me away... she's never done that before. Caspian argued with it. To which it only responded, Because she cried. She wept when you questioned her love. The spell does not weep. The spell does not love. Caspian growled at it, She seemed to love Lamont enough to shun me away and go dancing into his arms like some little Princess who fears a monster. I was the monster she ran from...

"ENOUGH!" The voice was so loud that Caspian fell off the rock he was sitting on. He recognized the voice. His eyes grew wide in shock, and when he tried to speak, no words could come from his mouth. "Silence..." said the beast that aproached him, his voice growing kinder. "Hush." But it wasn't neccessary. Caspian couldn't talk anyway. "Do you have any idea what that girl's been through for you?" the Lion shook his mane. "She came from her home just to be with you. She wrongly blames herself for all of the tradgeties that have occured, but still, it is grief that she feels, wrong or not. She has only loved you since she first laid eyes on you, and you to her. How can you run from her now? She needs you now more than anything. She's crying, you know. She's crying..."

Caspian felt his voice come back to him, but still he was quiet as the Great Lion spoke. "Her sister is dead, and she thinks that it's her fault. She has not shed nearly the tears that are equivilent to this pain, and how can you justify weeping over little things? Your tears only bring her more pain, but your footsteps were the worst of all. And that aweful screech..." the Lion shuddered. "I did not give you a voice to be able to do that. Your voice is to speak happily and kindly to others, and to speak low and soft to the one you love. But that was the most hideous noise I've ever heard. You two were meant to be together. Do you think that she got into Narnia by herself? No. I let her in." Aslan finished, waiting for Caspian to respond.

"I'm sorry..." was all that he could say. He couldn't even ask him if they should be keeping their voices down, especially the Lion's voice.

"I know you are." said Aslan, the anger and disappointment leaving his voice. Then he smiled. "Do you not believe that I can hear your thoughts?" he chuckled. "You are the only one who can hear me right now. Or see me, for that matter. Watch." he walked up to on of the birds and let lose his mighty roar, but the animal didn't even blink. It didn't know that he was there. But he could feel it. Everything around them could feel it. There was happiness in this dark place, and it was Aslan. But no one knew what caused it. No one knew that that Lion was here, but Caspian. "Go to her now." he said quietly. "You may not save her, but you can never go to bed angry at each other."

"Then you aprove of us?" Caspian finally managed to ask.

The Lion laughed. "Would I be telling you all of this if I didn't? Yes, I aprove of the love that you share. I aprove of your marrige. Now go to her, that's an order."

Caspian nodded, and began to walk back towards the cave. He looked back to see if the Lion would come with him, but he was gone. It was as if he was never there. Time resumed, and the King began to walk again towards the cave. "Susan..." he called her name.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

"Scarifice my heart, my love, all these emotions I have for Caspian . . ." she whispered the thought unsure if she truly could do it. He was gone and showed no sign of coming back. She could never love again, maybe never think she could live her old life again. But most of her suffering came from the heart itself, her source of joy and pain. Though she hated it the monster was right. She felt herself leave Lamont's arms and touch his muzzle. It's fur was cold, like that of a dead man. Perhaps a side effect of his cold or lost heart. Once you give your word it cannot be taken back . . . "If it will truely make the sadness end then I will." Not a moment after the words left her she saw Caspian as she called her name. She looked at him knowing the world of pain once more that shown in her eyes. What had she done?

[King Caspian X]

"Susan!" he called her name again as he came up the hill. He had so hoped that she would come running down to him. "Susan, I'm sorry." he said, even before he could see the cave beyond the waterfall. The man slipped once on the wet grass, caught himself, and continued to walk. He parted the water with his hand, and entered the cave...

[Cotnar]

Cotnar felt a laugh grow in his chest as he saw Caspian return. All the better for him. "A promise is a promise." He laughed and pounced. The girl's lightweight body gave way beneath him as he collided with her chest forcing her back and extending his claws. Four identical gashes he left on the skin of her breast above her heart. through them he focused his magic summoning it from all his being. The draining of the strength Firemane caused had weakened him, but he was strong enough to force the spell through her. For a moment he felt resistance as her heart longed to stay with it's host body, but he controlled it now as though he was a puppet master and her heart simply held together by strings. He stepped from her body carrying his treasure around his lion's head neck, partially hidden by his mane. A silver chained necklace that held a pendant of a bow and arrow. Beside it was a necklace, hidden entirely and unnoticed until the bow joined it, this one made of silk and bearing small silver images of a fawn, lion, sytr, griffin, centaur, Pegasus, unicorn, hyppogriff, giant, mouse, badger, and hundreds of other creatures around it. He stared at Caspian ready for anything he might do.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

Susan screamed as she was forced over and she reached for Caspian for what may be the last time if she truly lost her ability to love him. Without the strength to pull herself away she could only cry out in pain as the demon clawed open her skin and used it to chanel his magic. When at last he stepped away her body shook, as if in a seizure, and her breath fell short. She could hardly control her muscles, much less get them to do as she wanted. Her mind was in a daze, blocked and blurry to the point where the Dark Island's voice could not be heard. Her outstretched hand slowly closed over empty air as she tried to control herself. With the only force she could power she screamed praying she was heard and that help would come. Her voice stunned her, no longer the same as it was, but like that of one of the werewolves that had stayed loyal to the white witch after her fall and had been kept in prison for years on end. "ASLAN!"

[King Caspian X]

It was not Aslan who came to her, but Caspian. "SUSAN!" he yelled for her. The man fell at her side and looked down at her. He glared at Cotnar and slowly pulled her away from all of them, as he had always done. "What have they done to you?" he asked. Caspian had only been gone for a moment, and already she was bleeding and screaming to the Great Lion. Caspian knew that he was here, somewhere, but for some reason, he didn't come. Caspian only gazed at her with love and concern now, his anger had vanished. "Susan?" he questioned, wondering if she could even hear him. "I'm so sorry..."

[Cotnar]

The chimera laughed and roared in his triumph. To many battles had been won this day, only one had been lost. "She is beyond your reach." He roared tossing his head as the chain jingled like wind chimes, "No man or beast can save her now. She is one of our kind, only without our power. She has sold us her soul, she is demon now, and all thanks to your careless words boy. for that I thank you." He bowed his heads and his tail shot a jet of flame towards the waterfall turning a small portion of it to steam. "It could have never been done without you."

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

Susan reached for his face with a trembeling hand that fell to her side once more, too weak from the effort. All things worked against her, draining her of all her energy that lifting her arm was a chore. "Caspian . . ." She forced herself to whisper knowing every sound forced her life from her body. "I'm sorry . . . I thought . . . you left . . . I'm so sorry . . . I never should've . . . I didn't wait . . . I was so scared . . . I thought you were gone." Her words spilled slowly unable to keep up with her raceing mind. Her body still tremebled in his arms. Was she truly a demon?

[King Caspian X]

"No no no, I'm sorry." he said, bending his head to kiss her forehead. He understood what had happened, even though nobody had directly told him. Caspian could put two and two together. "Can you still love me?" he asked. It was different from the hurtful question he had asked her before. This time he was asking if she actually could love him. If she was able to. The other question he had asked if she did love him. He knew that she would love him if she could. But could she love him? That was the question that he was waiting for an answer for. Caspian held her in his arms, broken or not, guarding her from any further harm, if that were possible.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

She closed her eyes as he kissed her, but nothing happened. She did not feel warmth pass over her, there was no sudden and impulsive desire to hold his head and meet her lips with his. When she opened her eyes she only could look at him trying to gather enough strength to speak again. "I want to," She answered after a while, "My mind, my real mind not the voice, it tells me to accept you, that logic proves you have done nothing wrong. The Island claims you a heart traitor no better than Lamont. But my heart . . . My heart won't tell me anything. It's as if every memory we've shared, or will share, has no meaning anymore. It's horrible. I can't live like this, even if it is my heart that destoryies me. I want it back . . . Somehow."

[King Caspian X]

"I'll get it back for you." Caspian said. "Somehow, I will." He looked at her sadly, unable to believe that everything they had ever done, escaping the dragon, watching the sunrise, dancing, eating cheese potatoes, were all meaninfless now. "I still love you." he told her honestly, hoping that he might here an 'I love you too' back from her, though he knew that she probably couldn't. Then he looked at Cotnar and snarled. "You!" he hissed. "I want a fair fight. Right now. You and me. I want her to have her heart back." the man raised his one fist, ready to fight. "C'mon." he said. "Transform. Be a human for once and fight me with some courage." He knew that he must have looked foolish, but it was worth it if he could win Susan her heart back.

[Lamont]

Lamont held her tightly, a feeling he rarely was honored enough to be allowed to experience. He enjoyed the fight he was seeing, it drove Susan to be with him instead of Caspian. He didn't question all that came into her mind, only saw what she chose to show. Then things began to change. Susan was hurt, dieing, and the master now had around his neck an new chain to join his old one. He had the old one almost as long as the boy knew him, but he never showed it to anyone, it was only seen by accident. He still never had known where it came from, but seeing what he had proposed and done to Susan he had a decent idea. His body stiffened as Caspian came forth with a challenge. No changeling turned down a challenge.

[Queen Susan the Gentle]

Susan touched him praying she could feel something, anything, but didn't. She wanted to say something back to him, but her words could not come or did not have meaning. But she did not want to remain silent, not now of all times. If anything he needed to hear something from her that told him she at least cared. "I know you do." Was all she could manage.

[Cotnar]

The boy offered what may have been the weakest attempt for vengeance he had seen. But Cotnar changed his form to the disgusting shape of a human just the same. The silk necklace fused with his skin, the markings on it forming tattoos on his neck. But the silver chain of the bow remained a chain. He had not worn it long enough for it to bond with his body. He took from Lamont the very sword he gave the boy and tossed it in his hands. He dropped seamlessly into a fighting stance scanning the land for anything that either could use for an advantage. "Come."