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bungakertas) wrote2010-12-14 09:03 am
bungakertas) wrote2010-12-14 09:03 am
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The Trials of King Edmund - Chapter Seven
The Trials of King Edmund - Chapter Seven
Disclaimer and general Author's Notes are in the first entry, which is linked at the bottom.
Chapter Seven Author's Notes: With this chapter I have caught back up to the original schedule I'd planned, so it is the end of the chapter-a-day updating. The next update will be posted on Sunday, December, 19. Thanks for being patient with me everyone. :)
*~*~*
Over the course of their stay, Sallowpad continued bringing them reports from various portions of Tashbaan. He rarely observed any one thing for very long, to ensure that he was not caught out. Rabadash's irritation with Susan's apparent indecision appeared to have grown to a fever pitch. The shipping in and out of Tashbaan continued merrily with no sign of an attack or nearby enemy. But the garrison of soldiers only grew larger, and now, with the infantry and cavalry and—most alarmingly—heavy defensive armaments, there were about five thousand men-at-arms stationed in the city.
Although Edmund could've guessed this last himself, or near enough. They could hardly step out of the house without seeming to trip over some soldier or other, and it was never the same man twice.
However, it was late into their third week that he brought Edmund the worst possible news.
He fluttered in that night, out of breath, and clearly concerned, just as Edmund was about to put away his book and go to bed for the night.
"Sallowpad?" Edmund asked.
"Your majesty!" Sallowpad said. "I have been watching the garrison again, and I am afraid, sire, that I have worked out what prompted this increase in Calormene troops in the city."
"Oh?"
"Us, sire. Or, more specifically, your party. The initial increase of troops in Tashbaan coincides almost exactly with Rabadash's return from Narnia and his request to the Tisroc to bring Queen Susan here for a visit."
The terrible suspicion that had been growing in Edmund's mind coalesced into a horrible conclusion. "He does not care about the wedding settlement at all," he whispered. In fact, unless he missed his guess, Rabadash had no intention of letting Susan do anything but marry him, whether she agreed to the arrangement or not.
"Sire?" Sallowpad asked.
"Rabadash no longer seems to be negotiating with the goal of reaching an agreement with us," Edmund explained quietly. "And the force at the garrison is easily sufficient to defend this city against any attack, is it not?"
Sallowpad nodded. "I believe so."
"Sallowpad, your days as a spy are over as of now. From now on, I think it best if you remained with us in the house. It may very soon be the case that you will be the only person able to take a message to Narnia," Edmund said.
"Very well, your majesty," the raven said. "However, with your permission, I would prefer to stay in the courtyard, barring rain."
"All right," Edmund nodded. "But stay close." He did not even see when the raven flew out the window. His mind was stuck on another, much more difficult, puzzle. How were they to get out of this city? By the lion's mane—no. He was far too angry with Aslan right now to even contemplate actually asking him for anything. Even guidance.
The next morning, however, he realized that the true disaster had waited to strike. They were required at a river party to the west of the city. That morning, the Narnians all rose and left their house early in the morning and went down to the river, preceded, as usual, by a crier before them.
Peridan had a rather disappointed look on his face as they fell in behind the crier to travel through the city. Edmund looked at him curiously. "My lord? Is something wrong?"
"Not precisely, your majesty," he replied. "It's simply that I wish we could travel through the city without summarily pushing aside everyone in our path. I dislike it, sire."
Edmund smiled. "I find that I agree with you, Lord Peridan, but the alternative is to shut ourselves up in that house, which would not go over well with our hosts."
Peridan got a rueful expression on his face at that. "Perhaps not, sire, but we would get a decent rest if we did so."
"A fond memory I have of less cautious times," Edmund agreed sadly, thinking of what he had learned from Sallowpad the night before.
"Your majesty," Tumnus said suddenly behind him.
"What is it?" Edmund asked, turning to the faun.
"Your majesty, where is Prince Corin?" he asked.
"He's right…" Edmund began to point to where Corin had been, but stopped himself as he looked around. He scanned their entire party twice before looking over the faces around them on the street, but it was no use.
Corin was nowhere to be seen.
Peridan gasped softly as he arrived at the same conclusion. "Could he have been taken?"
"If he has been," Edmund replied darkly, "it will not have been by anyone who would admit it to us." He glanced around again and made a decision. "Pass the word among the Narnians, but do so quietly. Whatever you do, Rabadash and his attendants are not to hear of this. If they don't know already, our telling them will not be helpful. Corin must be found, by us, as soon as possible."
The word passed quickly, so that by the time they boarded the river barge, every one of the Narnian party was keeping an eye open for the missing prince. Susan, though she covered well, was utterly distraught. She barely looked up when Arvish Tarkaan and his wife Lasaraleen were introduced and picked at her food all during lunch. Peridan, who to his utter misfortune was sitting next to Lasaraleen again and had to endure her unending giggling, managed to maintain a courteous demeanor towards her, but Edmund could tell his mind was elsewhere.
Sadly, they were not to receive any better fortune after they left the boat. They were swept immediately back to the palace. By dint of clever misdirection, Edmund was able to get Mikelston and Thornbut free from the main group and sent them back to their house to get Sallowpad and Rence to search the Splendor Hyaline, and anywhere else that any of the four of them could think to look.
However, as it turned out, they were not the only ones in the Tisroc's court that day looking for someone. Edmund and the entire Narnian party were stuck spending the afternoon observing court yet again, and conversing with the various tarkaans and viziers and generals and so forth there, when Edmund noticed a man who was very subtly making his way around the edges of the room, speaking with everyone he encountered. After watching the man for several moments, Edmund was sure he was on the approach and so simply waited for a bit.
After a few moments the man was introduced to Edmund by a nearby tarkaan as Kidrash Tarkaan, lord of Calavar. Edmund very interestedly began talking with the only man to have caught Pariva out on her false poetry, and was quite impressed by what he discovered.
Unlike Rabadash, who seemed to know nothing about how Tashbaan functioned, exactly, Kidrash was not just familiar with the internal workings of his province, but was a capable agronomist in his own right, and he and Edmund spent several minutes in pleasant discussion of the ramifications of politics on trade agreements—a subject Edmund usually found a horrible bore—before Kidrash finally brought up the reason he had been working his way around the room.
"I understand that you have been staying in Tashbaan for some time now," he said.
"Indeed, so, sir," Edmund replied. "I find the city has much to recommend it."
"Have you, by any chance, encountered a tarkheena named Aravis while you have been here? Perhaps in the company of Ahoshta Tarkaan?"
"The Grand Vizier?" Edmund asked in surprise. Of all the men in the Tisroc's court likely to attract women, Ahoshta Tarkaan was near the bottom of the list, Grand Vizier or no. "No, my lord, I have seen no tarkheenas with him, nor have I encountered anyone of that name. May I ask what she has done?"
"She has…" He frowned deeply. "She is my daughter, your majesty. I fear we parted on something of a misunderstanding, and it is my wish to put it right." The depth of distress on the man's face was almost heartbreaking.
Edmund nodded. "I fear, sir, that I can be of no help to you. I have not seen her."
Kidrash's face fell. "Very well, then. I must offer my apologies for my rudeness, but I believe it best if I continue searching."
"No apologies are necessary," Edmund replied, well understanding the man's worry from his own fright over Corin. "May Aslan bless your search, sir."
The man nodded and moved on.
It was only that night, when they had finally gotten back to the guest house, that Edmund realized the depth of Susan's distress.
As soon as the doors were closed on their Calormene escorts, Susan very calmly walked to the salon, picked up a vase, and flung it with all her strength at the far wall with a cry.
"Susan!" Edmund admonished in surprise.
"What difference does it make, Ed?" Susan said. "Oh, what are we to do? How can we face King Lune again with news like this? Where is he?" She started to sink to the floor and Edmund caught her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, crying desperately. "Where is Corin? He has to be safe, Ed! He has to!"
"We'll find him, Su," Edmund told her. "Courage, my lady."
She sighed and said, "You're right, of course, Ed. Oh, I can't think. I can't…"
"Go to bed," Edmund told her. "Go to bed, and we'll tell Rabadash you're sick tomorrow morning."
Susan nodded and allowed herself to be led away, still crying to her room. Edmund wandered over to the shattered pieces of the vase she'd thrown, picked up the largest he could find, and flung it into the wall himself.
The crash was not nearly so satisfying as he wished, but having vented as much as he felt was justifiable on the furnishings, he sank down into the closest chair and put his head into his hands. This was how Tumnus found him several moments later when he came in.
"Your majesty?" Tumnus said quietly.
Edmund raised his head tiredly and looked at their old friend.
"Sallowpad has reported back from the Splendor Hyaline," Tumnus told him, referring to the raven who was with them on the journey. "He says that Prince Corin is not there."
"It was unlikely that he would be," Edmund said, nodding.
"Sire, surely Corin will be making every attempt to rejoin us," Tumnus said.
"And we must hope that his efforts are successful," Edmund replied, "because if we can not locate him, it is the end of Narnia. We can not defend ourselves against Harfang and Archenland and Calormen all at once."
Tumnus frowned deeply at that.
"What is it, Tumnus?" Edmund asked.
"Sire, if I may, I believe my news can wait. When we have settled the matter of Prince Corin, I shall tell you," Tumnus replied.
Edmund sighed, realizing that this meant that whatever Tumnus had to say was more bad news. Considering he would have to tell him what he suspected soon, he understood. Corin going missing had chased it entirely out of his mind. "All right then. At least until tomorrow evening."
"Yes, sire."
Edmund put his head back in his hands, desperately trying to think of some way they could justify searching the city tomorrow. Perhaps he could request another tour? But no matter how he wracked his brains, nothing sufficiently thorough came up.
Finally, he looked away, into the fire. He could think of no solutions nor see any hope. And, almost as if Aslan were in the room with him, he could swear he heard the lion's voice.
"Do you trust me, Edmund?"
He thought about it. He had followed Aslan his whole life, but he had never been so afraid in his whole life.
Except that wasn't true, now that he considered it. He'd been held by the White Witch, and as far as he'd know, all of Narnia was going to be overtaken by her—again—and his brother and sisters would all be killed by her along with himself. He would've lost everything. And Aslan had not abandoned them then, no matter how bad it had seemed.
Did he trust Aslan or not?
"Yes." The answer was suddenly so firm that it took him a moment to realize he'd spoken out loud. He did not understand anymore what Aslan wished to lead him to, but he would not turn back now. "I suppose we shall simply have to do our best," he sighed.
Now if only he wasn't so tired…
He found himself waking up on that chair the next morning. A light blanket had been placed over him, and the shoes he had been wearing the previous day were set neatly beside the chair. A new vase had been set in place of the old, the pieces of which were nowhere to be seen. He sighed, wishing he had the energy to properly appreciate these gestures, and got up.
After he had changed clothes, he, Peridan, Tumnus, and Rence went up to the palace for breakfast.
Edmund found himself seated near Rabadash, who said, after the requisite pleasantries, "So tell me, sir, when your sister intends to make me the happiest of men?"
Edmund blinked and said, "It is a very fortunate man indeed who is so certain of a woman's mind."
"Queen Susan, the lovely jewel of the northern kingdoms though she be, has yet to give me a firm answer in any direction," Rabadash replied, "but she shall not say no. Of this, I am sure."
A cold hand of fear seized Edmund's heart. And though he hated to malign his sister, he had to say something. So he laughed lightly and said, "Women, your highness, are as changeable as the wind, as you must know. And my sister is the best of women, but she is one of their inscrutable number. I would not be so certain, sir, of her answer."
Rabadash's eyes narrowed, and though he never once was less than courteous, a cold thread was in his voice now. "You must understand, sir, that we in Calormen do not share your northern weather. Our winds are not so fickle. I am afraid I do not take your meaning."
Edmund did not like that answer at all. "I only mean that women are prone to changes in heart, and often are not certain themselves of what they will do." He would ordinarily have preferred to cut off his own tongue than to say Susan was incapable of making up her own mind, but this was his last resort.
"Women in Calormen are not," Rabadash replied. "And your sister, sir, is indeed in Calormen."
Edmund's heart sank. Rabadash's subtlety was as much on display as ever. So they were prisoners and would be kept there until the prince had what he wished. And if he got it by force, Narnia would be forced to go to war with Calormen. And if he did not get it at all, Calormen would attack them. It was certain now. The course was set. Though Edmund maintained a polite presence throughout the rest of the meal, he did not taste a bite of it.
He left the palace in the worst of spirits.
"That was troubling, your majesty" Peridan observed beside him, as they turned down one of the paths out of the palace. "Irukan Tarkaan had a great deal to say to me on the subject of Narnian arrogance this morning."
Edmund sighed. "Lord Peridan, if only that were our only problem." He looked down as they came to the end of that way, and turned on to the main street. "You see, my lord—" Edmund looked up and was about to continue when someone in the crowd behind Peridan caught his attention. He raised his hand, pointed, and said, "There he is! There's our runaway!"
In two strides he crossed the street and seized Corin by the shoulder, hauling him away from the crowd and smacking him, and then giving him a firm shake. "Shame on you, my lord! What could you have been thinking? Queen Susan's eyes are red with weeping because of you. You were missing the whole night! Where have you been?"
Corin, who was dressed, for some reason, in rags and bare feet, looked up at him in terror and astonishment, and for one second Edmund thought that he had never seen this boy before. He looked like he wanted to run away. In fact, he actually seemed to be looking around at the crowd for help for a moment, but then seemed to give up and just stared at the ground, quaking in fright.
Edmund frowned in consternation. Corin ran everywhere and got into trouble and had boundless energy. Whatever was frightening him must have rattled him quite badly indeed. He motioned to Peridan. "Take one of his lordship's hands, Peridan, if you would, and I'll take the other."
Corin looked even more depressed at this, but Edmund knew his fears would be better eased away from so many eyes. "And now, on. Our royal sister's mind will be greatly eased when she sees this young troublemaker safe with us."
They moved forward again. Edmund looked down at Corin's head and said, "What, your highness, could have taken you from us all night? It must have been terribly important to justify disappearing without so much as a by-your-leave."
Corin said nothing, looking at his feet.
Edmund considered shaking him again, just to get some sort of reaction from him, but it was no use. Corin's eyes were firmly fixed on his feet.
"And do you have any idea how terrified Queen Susan has been for you? It was poorly done of you, indeed, to do this to us," Edmund continued.
Corin, who seemed utterly defeated at this point, flatly refused to speak.
"And now you're all mum," Edmund sighed. "I must plainly tell you, prince, that this hangdog silence becomes one of your standing even less than your escape. To run away might pass for a boy's joke with some spirit in it. But the king's son of Archenland should stand by his deeds; not hang his head like a Calormene slave."
Nothing came from the prince. Edmund looked at Peridan in consternation. Peridan looked back in equal confusion.
It was only a few moments later that Corin was safe in the house, and Edmund breathed more easily than he had done since yesterday morning. When they entered the upstairs chamber, where the queen was attended by Thornbut, Mikelston, and Sallowpad, Susan caught sight of Corin instantly and flew across the room to shower him with hugs and kisses.
Corin did not resist, but Edmund could not like the absolute shock he saw on the boy's face. He seemed totally bewildered by Susan's concern. Something was deeply wrong with the boy.
"Oh Corin, Corin, how could you?" Susan demanded. "And you and I such close friends ever since your mother died. And what should I have said to your royal father if I came home without you? It would have been a cause almost of war between Archenland and Narnia, which are friends since time out of mind. It was bad, dearest, very bad of you to use us so."
Corin did not speak.
Susan, who had pulled back some, but had her hands still on his shoulders gave Corin a shake of her own. "Where have you been, Corin?"
Corin opened his mouth and Edmund hoped for a moment they would find out what had happened.
"I-I don't know."
"There it is, Susan," Edmund said in consternation. "I could get no story out of him, true or false."
"Your majesties!" Tumnus said, in a voice Edmund had not heard in years. It had been a long time since Tumnus called him to account like that. "Queen Susan! King Edmund! His highness has had a touch of the sun. Look at him! He is dazed. He does not know where he is."
Edmund did not miss that Corin looked absolutely shocked on seeing Tumnus, and was not entirely sure that sunstroke accounted entirely for his confusion. However, whatever else there was to the story, it was plain they were not going to find it out at that moment, so he pulled Corin into a chair, patted him on the shoulder and said, "We will speak later, Corin. For now, do rest."
Susan put him on the couch, with several pillows, gave him an iced drink, and said, "Now rest and do not speak. You shall be quite all right in a little while." And Edmund had to admit that he did look better than he had since they'd met in the street.
Once Corin was dealt with, he turned to Susan. "Now, madam, what do you think? We have been in this city three full weeks. Have you yet settled in your mind whether you will marry your Calormene suitor, this Prince Rabadash, or not?"
Susan shook her head and Edmund, although he knew this assured a war between Narnia and Calormen in the near future, was more than pleased to see it. He could never have been happy seeing Susan married to a man who would have had her by force should she have tried to say no.
"No, brother, not for all the jewels in Tashbaan."
"Honestly, sister," Edmund said, "I would have loved you less if you had taken him. And I must say that from the time the Tisroc's ambassadors came into Narnia to discuss this marriage, and later when the Prince was our guest at Cair Paravel, it was a mystery to me how you ever could find it in your heart to show him so much favor."
"That was my mistake, Edmund, for which I must beg your mercy," Susan answered sadly. "But when he was with us in Narnia, truthfully, this prince was different from how he is here in Tashabaan." She looked around. "You all remember the wonderful feats he did in that tournament that our brother the High King put on for him, and how meek and courteous he was to us for the space of seven days." She sighed.
Edmund remembered no such meekness or courtesy, but decided not to challenge Susan on it, since it wasn't terribly important.
"But here, in his own city, he has shown another face," she sighed.
Sallowpad, the raven, croaked, "Ah! It is an old saying: see the bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions."
"That's very true," Mikelston agreed. "And another is, 'Come, live with me and you'll know me."
"Yes," Edmund agreed quickly, to forestall more quoting of adages, "we have now see him for what he is: a proud, bloody-minded, wasteful, cruel, and self-pleasing tyrant."
"Then, in the name of Aslan, let us leave Tashbaan today," Susan said.
Edmund shook his head. "There," he said, "is the rub, sister." He sighed. He had to tell everyone eventually, but what he had to say still disturbed him a great deal. "Now I must tell you everything that has been worrying my mind for the past two days and more. Peridan, if you will, look to the door and see that there is no spy there."
Peridan, looking bewildered, got up to go see. He looked back.
"All well?" Edmund asked. Peridan nodded.
"Good. For now, we must be secret."
Susan came over and took one of his hands. "Oh, Edmund, what is it? There is something dreadful in your face."
*~*~*
Author's Notes: A cliffhanger! What? How horrible of me! Except that Lewis did it first and at exactly this same spot, too, so I feel very vindicated using it. :)
As is an inescapable reality of a retelling like this, we have run into one of the parts where I'm retelling portions of the original story. Virtually all the dialogue from "There he is! There's our runaway!" until the end of the chapter is either taken directly from The Horse and His Boy, or is only slightly paraphrased. As you see, I have not italicized it or made it look different from the rest of the writing in any way, as I feel that breaks up the flow of the story too much and takes people out of the action. It was initially my plan to cut this conversation down some, given that Lewis wrote it first, however in trying to select which bits to cut, I discovered that it is all fairly important to the plot and I did not want to require anyone to drag out their copy of the book in order follow this fic (since that would really take you out of the action). Everything outside the quotation marks is my own work.
Chapter One - A Proposal is Made to Queen Susan
Chapter Two - Prince Rabadash Arrives in Narnia
Chapter Three - Harfang Sends an Envoy
Chapter Four - The Narnians Hold a Tournament
Chapter Five - A Voyage to Tashbaan
Chapter Six - In the Court of the Tisroc
Chapter Eight - The Plan of Mr. Tumnus
Chapter Nine - Escape to Narnia and the North
Chapter Ten - The Battle of Anvard
Chapter Eleven - King Edmund and Queen Lucy
Chapter Twelve - The Return To Cair Paravel
Disclaimer and general Author's Notes are in the first entry, which is linked at the bottom.
Chapter Seven Author's Notes: With this chapter I have caught back up to the original schedule I'd planned, so it is the end of the chapter-a-day updating. The next update will be posted on Sunday, December, 19. Thanks for being patient with me everyone. :)
Over the course of their stay, Sallowpad continued bringing them reports from various portions of Tashbaan. He rarely observed any one thing for very long, to ensure that he was not caught out. Rabadash's irritation with Susan's apparent indecision appeared to have grown to a fever pitch. The shipping in and out of Tashbaan continued merrily with no sign of an attack or nearby enemy. But the garrison of soldiers only grew larger, and now, with the infantry and cavalry and—most alarmingly—heavy defensive armaments, there were about five thousand men-at-arms stationed in the city.
Although Edmund could've guessed this last himself, or near enough. They could hardly step out of the house without seeming to trip over some soldier or other, and it was never the same man twice.
However, it was late into their third week that he brought Edmund the worst possible news.
He fluttered in that night, out of breath, and clearly concerned, just as Edmund was about to put away his book and go to bed for the night.
"Sallowpad?" Edmund asked.
"Your majesty!" Sallowpad said. "I have been watching the garrison again, and I am afraid, sire, that I have worked out what prompted this increase in Calormene troops in the city."
"Oh?"
"Us, sire. Or, more specifically, your party. The initial increase of troops in Tashbaan coincides almost exactly with Rabadash's return from Narnia and his request to the Tisroc to bring Queen Susan here for a visit."
The terrible suspicion that had been growing in Edmund's mind coalesced into a horrible conclusion. "He does not care about the wedding settlement at all," he whispered. In fact, unless he missed his guess, Rabadash had no intention of letting Susan do anything but marry him, whether she agreed to the arrangement or not.
"Sire?" Sallowpad asked.
"Rabadash no longer seems to be negotiating with the goal of reaching an agreement with us," Edmund explained quietly. "And the force at the garrison is easily sufficient to defend this city against any attack, is it not?"
Sallowpad nodded. "I believe so."
"Sallowpad, your days as a spy are over as of now. From now on, I think it best if you remained with us in the house. It may very soon be the case that you will be the only person able to take a message to Narnia," Edmund said.
"Very well, your majesty," the raven said. "However, with your permission, I would prefer to stay in the courtyard, barring rain."
"All right," Edmund nodded. "But stay close." He did not even see when the raven flew out the window. His mind was stuck on another, much more difficult, puzzle. How were they to get out of this city? By the lion's mane—no. He was far too angry with Aslan right now to even contemplate actually asking him for anything. Even guidance.
The next morning, however, he realized that the true disaster had waited to strike. They were required at a river party to the west of the city. That morning, the Narnians all rose and left their house early in the morning and went down to the river, preceded, as usual, by a crier before them.
Peridan had a rather disappointed look on his face as they fell in behind the crier to travel through the city. Edmund looked at him curiously. "My lord? Is something wrong?"
"Not precisely, your majesty," he replied. "It's simply that I wish we could travel through the city without summarily pushing aside everyone in our path. I dislike it, sire."
Edmund smiled. "I find that I agree with you, Lord Peridan, but the alternative is to shut ourselves up in that house, which would not go over well with our hosts."
Peridan got a rueful expression on his face at that. "Perhaps not, sire, but we would get a decent rest if we did so."
"A fond memory I have of less cautious times," Edmund agreed sadly, thinking of what he had learned from Sallowpad the night before.
"Your majesty," Tumnus said suddenly behind him.
"What is it?" Edmund asked, turning to the faun.
"Your majesty, where is Prince Corin?" he asked.
"He's right…" Edmund began to point to where Corin had been, but stopped himself as he looked around. He scanned their entire party twice before looking over the faces around them on the street, but it was no use.
Corin was nowhere to be seen.
Peridan gasped softly as he arrived at the same conclusion. "Could he have been taken?"
"If he has been," Edmund replied darkly, "it will not have been by anyone who would admit it to us." He glanced around again and made a decision. "Pass the word among the Narnians, but do so quietly. Whatever you do, Rabadash and his attendants are not to hear of this. If they don't know already, our telling them will not be helpful. Corin must be found, by us, as soon as possible."
The word passed quickly, so that by the time they boarded the river barge, every one of the Narnian party was keeping an eye open for the missing prince. Susan, though she covered well, was utterly distraught. She barely looked up when Arvish Tarkaan and his wife Lasaraleen were introduced and picked at her food all during lunch. Peridan, who to his utter misfortune was sitting next to Lasaraleen again and had to endure her unending giggling, managed to maintain a courteous demeanor towards her, but Edmund could tell his mind was elsewhere.
Sadly, they were not to receive any better fortune after they left the boat. They were swept immediately back to the palace. By dint of clever misdirection, Edmund was able to get Mikelston and Thornbut free from the main group and sent them back to their house to get Sallowpad and Rence to search the Splendor Hyaline, and anywhere else that any of the four of them could think to look.
However, as it turned out, they were not the only ones in the Tisroc's court that day looking for someone. Edmund and the entire Narnian party were stuck spending the afternoon observing court yet again, and conversing with the various tarkaans and viziers and generals and so forth there, when Edmund noticed a man who was very subtly making his way around the edges of the room, speaking with everyone he encountered. After watching the man for several moments, Edmund was sure he was on the approach and so simply waited for a bit.
After a few moments the man was introduced to Edmund by a nearby tarkaan as Kidrash Tarkaan, lord of Calavar. Edmund very interestedly began talking with the only man to have caught Pariva out on her false poetry, and was quite impressed by what he discovered.
Unlike Rabadash, who seemed to know nothing about how Tashbaan functioned, exactly, Kidrash was not just familiar with the internal workings of his province, but was a capable agronomist in his own right, and he and Edmund spent several minutes in pleasant discussion of the ramifications of politics on trade agreements—a subject Edmund usually found a horrible bore—before Kidrash finally brought up the reason he had been working his way around the room.
"I understand that you have been staying in Tashbaan for some time now," he said.
"Indeed, so, sir," Edmund replied. "I find the city has much to recommend it."
"Have you, by any chance, encountered a tarkheena named Aravis while you have been here? Perhaps in the company of Ahoshta Tarkaan?"
"The Grand Vizier?" Edmund asked in surprise. Of all the men in the Tisroc's court likely to attract women, Ahoshta Tarkaan was near the bottom of the list, Grand Vizier or no. "No, my lord, I have seen no tarkheenas with him, nor have I encountered anyone of that name. May I ask what she has done?"
"She has…" He frowned deeply. "She is my daughter, your majesty. I fear we parted on something of a misunderstanding, and it is my wish to put it right." The depth of distress on the man's face was almost heartbreaking.
Edmund nodded. "I fear, sir, that I can be of no help to you. I have not seen her."
Kidrash's face fell. "Very well, then. I must offer my apologies for my rudeness, but I believe it best if I continue searching."
"No apologies are necessary," Edmund replied, well understanding the man's worry from his own fright over Corin. "May Aslan bless your search, sir."
The man nodded and moved on.
It was only that night, when they had finally gotten back to the guest house, that Edmund realized the depth of Susan's distress.
As soon as the doors were closed on their Calormene escorts, Susan very calmly walked to the salon, picked up a vase, and flung it with all her strength at the far wall with a cry.
"Susan!" Edmund admonished in surprise.
"What difference does it make, Ed?" Susan said. "Oh, what are we to do? How can we face King Lune again with news like this? Where is he?" She started to sink to the floor and Edmund caught her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, crying desperately. "Where is Corin? He has to be safe, Ed! He has to!"
"We'll find him, Su," Edmund told her. "Courage, my lady."
She sighed and said, "You're right, of course, Ed. Oh, I can't think. I can't…"
"Go to bed," Edmund told her. "Go to bed, and we'll tell Rabadash you're sick tomorrow morning."
Susan nodded and allowed herself to be led away, still crying to her room. Edmund wandered over to the shattered pieces of the vase she'd thrown, picked up the largest he could find, and flung it into the wall himself.
The crash was not nearly so satisfying as he wished, but having vented as much as he felt was justifiable on the furnishings, he sank down into the closest chair and put his head into his hands. This was how Tumnus found him several moments later when he came in.
"Your majesty?" Tumnus said quietly.
Edmund raised his head tiredly and looked at their old friend.
"Sallowpad has reported back from the Splendor Hyaline," Tumnus told him, referring to the raven who was with them on the journey. "He says that Prince Corin is not there."
"It was unlikely that he would be," Edmund said, nodding.
"Sire, surely Corin will be making every attempt to rejoin us," Tumnus said.
"And we must hope that his efforts are successful," Edmund replied, "because if we can not locate him, it is the end of Narnia. We can not defend ourselves against Harfang and Archenland and Calormen all at once."
Tumnus frowned deeply at that.
"What is it, Tumnus?" Edmund asked.
"Sire, if I may, I believe my news can wait. When we have settled the matter of Prince Corin, I shall tell you," Tumnus replied.
Edmund sighed, realizing that this meant that whatever Tumnus had to say was more bad news. Considering he would have to tell him what he suspected soon, he understood. Corin going missing had chased it entirely out of his mind. "All right then. At least until tomorrow evening."
"Yes, sire."
Edmund put his head back in his hands, desperately trying to think of some way they could justify searching the city tomorrow. Perhaps he could request another tour? But no matter how he wracked his brains, nothing sufficiently thorough came up.
Finally, he looked away, into the fire. He could think of no solutions nor see any hope. And, almost as if Aslan were in the room with him, he could swear he heard the lion's voice.
"Do you trust me, Edmund?"
He thought about it. He had followed Aslan his whole life, but he had never been so afraid in his whole life.
Except that wasn't true, now that he considered it. He'd been held by the White Witch, and as far as he'd know, all of Narnia was going to be overtaken by her—again—and his brother and sisters would all be killed by her along with himself. He would've lost everything. And Aslan had not abandoned them then, no matter how bad it had seemed.
Did he trust Aslan or not?
"Yes." The answer was suddenly so firm that it took him a moment to realize he'd spoken out loud. He did not understand anymore what Aslan wished to lead him to, but he would not turn back now. "I suppose we shall simply have to do our best," he sighed.
Now if only he wasn't so tired…
He found himself waking up on that chair the next morning. A light blanket had been placed over him, and the shoes he had been wearing the previous day were set neatly beside the chair. A new vase had been set in place of the old, the pieces of which were nowhere to be seen. He sighed, wishing he had the energy to properly appreciate these gestures, and got up.
After he had changed clothes, he, Peridan, Tumnus, and Rence went up to the palace for breakfast.
Edmund found himself seated near Rabadash, who said, after the requisite pleasantries, "So tell me, sir, when your sister intends to make me the happiest of men?"
Edmund blinked and said, "It is a very fortunate man indeed who is so certain of a woman's mind."
"Queen Susan, the lovely jewel of the northern kingdoms though she be, has yet to give me a firm answer in any direction," Rabadash replied, "but she shall not say no. Of this, I am sure."
A cold hand of fear seized Edmund's heart. And though he hated to malign his sister, he had to say something. So he laughed lightly and said, "Women, your highness, are as changeable as the wind, as you must know. And my sister is the best of women, but she is one of their inscrutable number. I would not be so certain, sir, of her answer."
Rabadash's eyes narrowed, and though he never once was less than courteous, a cold thread was in his voice now. "You must understand, sir, that we in Calormen do not share your northern weather. Our winds are not so fickle. I am afraid I do not take your meaning."
Edmund did not like that answer at all. "I only mean that women are prone to changes in heart, and often are not certain themselves of what they will do." He would ordinarily have preferred to cut off his own tongue than to say Susan was incapable of making up her own mind, but this was his last resort.
"Women in Calormen are not," Rabadash replied. "And your sister, sir, is indeed in Calormen."
Edmund's heart sank. Rabadash's subtlety was as much on display as ever. So they were prisoners and would be kept there until the prince had what he wished. And if he got it by force, Narnia would be forced to go to war with Calormen. And if he did not get it at all, Calormen would attack them. It was certain now. The course was set. Though Edmund maintained a polite presence throughout the rest of the meal, he did not taste a bite of it.
He left the palace in the worst of spirits.
"That was troubling, your majesty" Peridan observed beside him, as they turned down one of the paths out of the palace. "Irukan Tarkaan had a great deal to say to me on the subject of Narnian arrogance this morning."
Edmund sighed. "Lord Peridan, if only that were our only problem." He looked down as they came to the end of that way, and turned on to the main street. "You see, my lord—" Edmund looked up and was about to continue when someone in the crowd behind Peridan caught his attention. He raised his hand, pointed, and said, "There he is! There's our runaway!"
In two strides he crossed the street and seized Corin by the shoulder, hauling him away from the crowd and smacking him, and then giving him a firm shake. "Shame on you, my lord! What could you have been thinking? Queen Susan's eyes are red with weeping because of you. You were missing the whole night! Where have you been?"
Corin, who was dressed, for some reason, in rags and bare feet, looked up at him in terror and astonishment, and for one second Edmund thought that he had never seen this boy before. He looked like he wanted to run away. In fact, he actually seemed to be looking around at the crowd for help for a moment, but then seemed to give up and just stared at the ground, quaking in fright.
Edmund frowned in consternation. Corin ran everywhere and got into trouble and had boundless energy. Whatever was frightening him must have rattled him quite badly indeed. He motioned to Peridan. "Take one of his lordship's hands, Peridan, if you would, and I'll take the other."
Corin looked even more depressed at this, but Edmund knew his fears would be better eased away from so many eyes. "And now, on. Our royal sister's mind will be greatly eased when she sees this young troublemaker safe with us."
They moved forward again. Edmund looked down at Corin's head and said, "What, your highness, could have taken you from us all night? It must have been terribly important to justify disappearing without so much as a by-your-leave."
Corin said nothing, looking at his feet.
Edmund considered shaking him again, just to get some sort of reaction from him, but it was no use. Corin's eyes were firmly fixed on his feet.
"And do you have any idea how terrified Queen Susan has been for you? It was poorly done of you, indeed, to do this to us," Edmund continued.
Corin, who seemed utterly defeated at this point, flatly refused to speak.
"And now you're all mum," Edmund sighed. "I must plainly tell you, prince, that this hangdog silence becomes one of your standing even less than your escape. To run away might pass for a boy's joke with some spirit in it. But the king's son of Archenland should stand by his deeds; not hang his head like a Calormene slave."
Nothing came from the prince. Edmund looked at Peridan in consternation. Peridan looked back in equal confusion.
It was only a few moments later that Corin was safe in the house, and Edmund breathed more easily than he had done since yesterday morning. When they entered the upstairs chamber, where the queen was attended by Thornbut, Mikelston, and Sallowpad, Susan caught sight of Corin instantly and flew across the room to shower him with hugs and kisses.
Corin did not resist, but Edmund could not like the absolute shock he saw on the boy's face. He seemed totally bewildered by Susan's concern. Something was deeply wrong with the boy.
"Oh Corin, Corin, how could you?" Susan demanded. "And you and I such close friends ever since your mother died. And what should I have said to your royal father if I came home without you? It would have been a cause almost of war between Archenland and Narnia, which are friends since time out of mind. It was bad, dearest, very bad of you to use us so."
Corin did not speak.
Susan, who had pulled back some, but had her hands still on his shoulders gave Corin a shake of her own. "Where have you been, Corin?"
Corin opened his mouth and Edmund hoped for a moment they would find out what had happened.
"I-I don't know."
"There it is, Susan," Edmund said in consternation. "I could get no story out of him, true or false."
"Your majesties!" Tumnus said, in a voice Edmund had not heard in years. It had been a long time since Tumnus called him to account like that. "Queen Susan! King Edmund! His highness has had a touch of the sun. Look at him! He is dazed. He does not know where he is."
Edmund did not miss that Corin looked absolutely shocked on seeing Tumnus, and was not entirely sure that sunstroke accounted entirely for his confusion. However, whatever else there was to the story, it was plain they were not going to find it out at that moment, so he pulled Corin into a chair, patted him on the shoulder and said, "We will speak later, Corin. For now, do rest."
Susan put him on the couch, with several pillows, gave him an iced drink, and said, "Now rest and do not speak. You shall be quite all right in a little while." And Edmund had to admit that he did look better than he had since they'd met in the street.
Once Corin was dealt with, he turned to Susan. "Now, madam, what do you think? We have been in this city three full weeks. Have you yet settled in your mind whether you will marry your Calormene suitor, this Prince Rabadash, or not?"
Susan shook her head and Edmund, although he knew this assured a war between Narnia and Calormen in the near future, was more than pleased to see it. He could never have been happy seeing Susan married to a man who would have had her by force should she have tried to say no.
"No, brother, not for all the jewels in Tashbaan."
"Honestly, sister," Edmund said, "I would have loved you less if you had taken him. And I must say that from the time the Tisroc's ambassadors came into Narnia to discuss this marriage, and later when the Prince was our guest at Cair Paravel, it was a mystery to me how you ever could find it in your heart to show him so much favor."
"That was my mistake, Edmund, for which I must beg your mercy," Susan answered sadly. "But when he was with us in Narnia, truthfully, this prince was different from how he is here in Tashabaan." She looked around. "You all remember the wonderful feats he did in that tournament that our brother the High King put on for him, and how meek and courteous he was to us for the space of seven days." She sighed.
Edmund remembered no such meekness or courtesy, but decided not to challenge Susan on it, since it wasn't terribly important.
"But here, in his own city, he has shown another face," she sighed.
Sallowpad, the raven, croaked, "Ah! It is an old saying: see the bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions."
"That's very true," Mikelston agreed. "And another is, 'Come, live with me and you'll know me."
"Yes," Edmund agreed quickly, to forestall more quoting of adages, "we have now see him for what he is: a proud, bloody-minded, wasteful, cruel, and self-pleasing tyrant."
"Then, in the name of Aslan, let us leave Tashbaan today," Susan said.
Edmund shook his head. "There," he said, "is the rub, sister." He sighed. He had to tell everyone eventually, but what he had to say still disturbed him a great deal. "Now I must tell you everything that has been worrying my mind for the past two days and more. Peridan, if you will, look to the door and see that there is no spy there."
Peridan, looking bewildered, got up to go see. He looked back.
"All well?" Edmund asked. Peridan nodded.
"Good. For now, we must be secret."
Susan came over and took one of his hands. "Oh, Edmund, what is it? There is something dreadful in your face."
Author's Notes: A cliffhanger! What? How horrible of me! Except that Lewis did it first and at exactly this same spot, too, so I feel very vindicated using it. :)
As is an inescapable reality of a retelling like this, we have run into one of the parts where I'm retelling portions of the original story. Virtually all the dialogue from "There he is! There's our runaway!" until the end of the chapter is either taken directly from The Horse and His Boy, or is only slightly paraphrased. As you see, I have not italicized it or made it look different from the rest of the writing in any way, as I feel that breaks up the flow of the story too much and takes people out of the action. It was initially my plan to cut this conversation down some, given that Lewis wrote it first, however in trying to select which bits to cut, I discovered that it is all fairly important to the plot and I did not want to require anyone to drag out their copy of the book in order follow this fic (since that would really take you out of the action). Everything outside the quotation marks is my own work.
Chapter One - A Proposal is Made to Queen Susan
Chapter Two - Prince Rabadash Arrives in Narnia
Chapter Three - Harfang Sends an Envoy
Chapter Four - The Narnians Hold a Tournament
Chapter Five - A Voyage to Tashbaan
Chapter Six - In the Court of the Tisroc
Chapter Eight - The Plan of Mr. Tumnus
Chapter Nine - Escape to Narnia and the North
Chapter Ten - The Battle of Anvard
Chapter Eleven - King Edmund and Queen Lucy
Chapter Twelve - The Return To Cair Paravel