PRUDENCE VERSUS PASSION

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Talia had a suffocating feeling she hadn’t felt in years, not since the last time she had witnessed a scene frighteningly similar to this one. And last time Saedra had really died. Talia was sure Aslan wouldn’t send her back to life this time.

As Talia watched Remanda painstakingly drip droplets of Lucy’s cordial onto parts of Saedra’s colourless, deathly body, she chewed her lip until she drew blood. She ignored the murmurings of the other Creatures huddled around the grand bed to which they had carried Saedra’s limp body. Ironically, this room had once been Peter’s—it had been the closest bedroom, and they had taken Saedra here unaware (or uncaring in light of her plight) of the importance of this room to her.

Remanda the Dwarf’s voice was full of horrified pity as she paused and whispered to Tumnus.

“What?” Talia snapped, not meaning to be rude but desperate to know what was being said. “What are you saying?”

The murmurings of the others in the room quickly died out. Remanda glanced at Talia and then away.

“Princess Saedra will need privacy when she awakes,” Tumnus said to the gathered group. “Thank you for your help, but I ask that everyone leave and give her some peace.”

The group reluctantly obeyed, and soon only Talia, Remanda, and Tumnus were in the room. Saedra was on the bed, as dead-looking as ever.

“What’s wrong with her?” Talia asked as soon as the door was shut behind the last gawker.

Remanda applied the cork to the cordial. “I believe a better question would be ‘What isn’t wrong with her?’” she said in a low voice. “She has been abused in the most vicious ways and has been exposed to the winter cold for too long.”

“Then why aren’t you putting more cordial on her?” Talia demanded. “Here, let me do it—”

“Your Highness, I have applied the correct amount of cordial,” Remanda said sadly.

“Then why isn’t she waking up?!” Talia cried. She knew she was being irrational—there were times in her life where she almost wished Saedra was dead! But being faced with the prospect of being left in the uncertain world without her mother was unsettlingly horrifying.

“Look, Talia!” Tumnus said excitedly, gesturing toward the bed.

Saedra’s eyelashes were flickering.

Talia rushed to the bedside and leaned over. “Mum!”

Saedra focused on her and muttered, “Talia.”

“How are you feeling, your Highness?” Remanda asked.

“Remanda,” Saedra said, recognizing her. “Quite tired, thanks for asking….”

Talia released a huge breath at the slight smile on Saedra’s face. She was going to be all right.

“What happened to you, Mum?”

Saedra swallowed. “Harden was attacked. By Calormenes.”

Tumnus frowned. “I think you mean, by Telmarines?”

Saedra shook her head in the pillow. Her grey-tinged brunette hair was splayed out all around her. The colour was returning to her face as she talked. “Calormenes. No mistake about it.” She looked at Talia. “They killed Grandfather.”

Talia staggered back in shock.

Saedra continued: “It was like they had planned it already. They killed everyone except me and Edina—Tina, the guards, everybody. They took us aboard their ship…They had quite a few ships, if I remember correctly…”

“Then what happened?” Talia asked.

Saedra told how she met the First Wife and how the First Wife seemed to know her. Then she related how she was thrown in the dungeons.

“Some time later, they brought me back up to the First Wife’s cabin. Edina was there.” She looked at Talia pointedly. “She was looking very…blank. There was a priest of Tash there as well.” She relayed how the priest had muttered incantations with the wand—“Which I now realize was the White Witch’s wand”—and how it had started spinning in mid air. “Then Tash appeared—very shadowy at first, but then more corporeal as the priest kept chanting.”

“Tash?!”

“Yes,” Saedra nodded. “Tash. He was even more hideous than in the drawings….the stench…Anyway, the priest pulled Edina forward and started beseeching Tash to lend his power to make Calormen greater in the world. He cried, ‘Oh, Tash, our great and wondrous god, god above all other gods, please grant a humble priest’s request and release the soul of Jadis from the death world and allow that she might be implanted in this girl!’ At first Tash didn’t seem interested—he merely inclined his head sceptically—but then the First Wife stepped forward and rattled on and on about how harnessing the power of Jadis will make Tash more powerful in the world.

“During this, I, of course, was trying to interfere as much as I could from where I was tied to my chair, but they all ignored my protests. Eventually, Tash seemed pleased with it all and inclined his head. The priest then took the wand, which was glowing an eerie blue and I took to contain the soul of Jadis (which sounds ridiculous to say, but it seemed that way at the time). And then the priest…plunged the sharp end of the wand right into the top of Edina’s head.”

None of the listeners reacted—they were too dumbfounded.

“I fainted after that, as you can imagine. It was terribly gruesome….The next thing I knew was a strange pecking noise from outside my cell, which I had been returned to. The sound was Fallowtan the Raven, who was trying to wake me up. He had stolen the keys to the cell, and he passed them though to me, saying, ‘Quickly, your Highness! I have devised a way to get you home!’”

“But how did he find you?” Talia asked.

“You sent him, remember?” Saedra replied. “After the battle started at Anvard, you sent him to make sure the rest of Archenland had received the messengers you sent out. Well, we hadn’t received our messenger yet—either he got lost or travelling though the snow impeded him too much. Anyway, Fallowtan arrived just as I was being taken onto the ship. He was unable to do anything at the time, but he put together a plan to help me escape.

“He passed me the keys through the barred window in the door, and I unlocked the door. We snuck through the ship—it was nearly morning and very quiet on deck. Then he instructed me to climb overboard quietly. Waiting in the water were a group of mermen and mermaids, who took me and held me above the water and carried me to shore. I’m embarrassed to admit I passed out again, and I don’t know the rest.”

“The Centaur must have carried your Highness the rest of the way on land,” Remanda surmised. “That’s who brought you here to Cair Paravel.”

“I owe them all my life,” Saedra sighed. “Especially Fallowtan.”

“But what is all this business about Edina? What were they trying to do with her?” Tumnus asked.

“From what can guess is that they have been accessing her for some time now—I don’t know how, but it couldn’t be too hard. All they would need is to use a servant at Harden. When they met with her, they were doing some Calormene ritual to gain control of her mind. She was nearly theirs before they implanted Jadis in her (if it worked, of course). As Talia can testify, Edina has not been herself for the past few weeks, getting progressively unpredictable.”

Talia nodded, eyes locked with Saedra’s. They had an unspoken understanding that they were still not going to reveal that Edina killed Lune. How could they now, almost a week after the murder, admit that they had known all along who the assassin was and that they had essentially lied to protect Edina?

It made sense now. If someone had been gaining access to Edina when her family wasn’t around—which wasn’t hard since Edina was free to wander Harden castle’s grounds at will—it explained why Edina had killed King Lune. Edina in her right mind would have absolutely no quarrel with Lune and wouldn’t even be able to fathom something as evil as murder. Whoever had been tampering with Edina’s will had taken advantage of Saedra’s drunkenness and Talia’s self-absorption and pity to meddle with an innocent child who should have been better cared for.

Guilt overtook Talia when she realized that it was just as much her fault as Saedra’s that Edina had been so susceptible to tampering. What had the Calormene agent done to tempt Edina to trust them? It could have been as simple as listening to her child-size problems or making her feel special, the way any normal mother or sister should have.

“Well, we are relieved you’re safe, Princess,” Tumnus assured. “After both you and Talia have rested up, we can plan what our next move is. Apparently we have a threat from Calormen as well as Telmar…”

Saedra nodded and hesitated. “Caulitha is here, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

Saedra swallowed, looking both anxious and curious.

“Shall I have her brought to you?” Tumnus offered.

Saedra jumped. “No, no! I don’t want to disrupt her schedule. I’ll find her later so we can meet properly….She probably doesn’t even remember me.”

“She knows of you,” Tumnus said, looking sympathetic.

“What does she know of me?”

“Nothing that you should be ashamed of. Lord Peridan taught her that you are a beautiful Duchess who loved the High King very much, but that it is painful for you to be in Narnia. She knows you have a duty to Harden, which is another reason you haven’t visited. Caulitha is very aware that she is to be Queen, and understands that for her safety we are keeping her here at Cair Paravel, so visiting you in Harden was not an option.” Tumnus looked at Talia. “She also knows she has a step-sister who was the delight of everyone’s eyes. Even now everyone speaks of you warmly, Princess.”

Talia looked down, feeling that she had not lived up to the Narnians’ expectations of her. She wasn’t the delight of anyone’s eyes anymore, nor was capable of being so.

“We’ll leave you two now,” Remanda said, catching Tumnus’ look. “Do excuse us, your Highnesses.”

Saedra waited until they were alone to speak. “Tal, I have something to tell you. I guess it took almost dying again to realize that I should have told you the truth.”

“About what?”

“Corin. I lied when I told you he didn’t love you.”

“I know, Mum. I know.”

Saedra was genuinely surprised. “How did you know?”

“I didn’t know then, when you were talking to me. It’s actually just something he said before I left Anvard with Crista. He said something along the lines that he regretted his rash decision to marry Crista because it drove us apart. He had…a look…in his eye. I can’t describe it…but I understand that he feels the same way for me.”

“I know the look,” Saedra murmured. “But what now, Tal? What now that you have reached some sort of understanding with him?”

“Nothing. Nothing’s going to happen. I judged Crista too harshly, Mum. She’s quite decent—I actually like her a great deal.”

“You know very well that’s not enough. I liked—loved—Rahai like a sister.”

“I can’t explain it. I just know, deep down, that everything’s going to be okay. I have this peace that now that Corin and I have cleared the air that we can move on. I truly believe that things will be all right. Crista’s pregnant, and I think that will bring her and Corin together. Corin always did love kids.”

Saedra didn’t look completely mollified, but she looked open to accepting what Talia said. As for Talia, she meant every word. She was at peace, at least when it came to Corin and Cristabelle.

“Well, I apologize for lying to you, Tal. I was cruel.”

“Don’t apologize. I understand why you did it.” Talia could see that Saedra wanted to belabour the point, so she changed the subject. “Tell me about the First Wife. I didn’t know Rabadash had a wife. He never struck me as the marrying kind.”

“He did want to marry Susan, but that may be because he couldn’t have her any other way. The First Wife isn’t what you’d expect: she’s pretty, but she’s no Rahai-type beauty. She does seem very intelligent, and I think she’s actually leading the Calormene navy.”

Talia blinked. “They allow women to do that now?”

“Apparently. Maybe she has Rabadash wrapped around her finger and is master-minding all of this. You recall that Aslan made is so Rabadash can’t go far from Tashbaan.”

Talia grinned. “I consider that one of the highlights of my life, seeing Rabadash as a donkey; I rather wish he would try to come again!”

Saedra chuckled. “The reason I think the First Wife is master-minding all of this is because she seemed to have a vested interest in all of this. For some reason, she took great delight in making me suffer! She even knew who I was, and was offended when I didn’t recognize her.”

“Did you get her name?”

“No. But she seems to think that I am the cause of some trouble in her past.”

“What did she look like?”

“She wore a lot of makeup, but I’d say she has the typical dark eyes and hair, a strong nose, and thin lips. She had a large freckle on her chin that she had tried to cover with makeup, I recall. Other than that, nothing remarkable...” Saedra’s voice trailed off as she observed Talia’s white face. “What is it, Tal?!”

“It’s Zahar,” Talia breathed. “The freckle—I remember, she always hated it. It’s Zahar.”

“Who’s Zahar?”

“She was a friend of mine when I worked at the Tisroc’s palace. She was with me the day I met you, remember? We were doing Susan’s and your hair.”

Slow comprehension dawned on Saedra’s face. “Oh, yes...I recall that.”

Talia felt the sick feeling you get in your stomach when you realize you’ve forgotten to do something important and the deadline was missed. “Mum, Zahar and I had a deal—we were going to stick together. But we got separated the night after Rabadash used her. She must have been taken to the brothels. When you helped me escape, I was too wound up to think to look for her. Later, when we got to Harden and were settling in with the adoption, I vowed that when I was older I would look for her. But as I became more and more adjusted to life as a Duchess’ daughter and my new friends, I...forgot.”

She hung her head in shame. “It started as being too shy to ask for you to help me find her, but it evolved into rationalization and selfishness. I reasoned that I’d never be able to find Zahar, especially not after a year! And the longer I waited, the more ridiculous and unlikely the notion seemed. And eventually, I gave it up all together.”

Saedra took Talia’s hand. “Well, Zahar’s made her way in the world. She’s married to the Tisroc!”

“And bent on revenge! Do you think it’s possible the only reason she’s heading north is to get revenge on me for leaving her there? If that’s so, Grandfather’s death is on me!”

“It’s on both of us. I was the adult then. I should have considered that Zahar needed rescuing just as much as you.” She squeezed Talia’s hand. “But now we just have to make sure that she doesn’t get her revenge, as deserved as it might be.”

--

Susan was frowning at her embroidery in the garden when Peter found her. She barely acknowledged him when he lowered his lanky form next to her silently. She merely glared at the offending cloth and the even more offending stitches that adorned it.

She had taken Mrs. Beaver’s comments to heart—Susan did need to learn how to be a woman. Being around Queen Bria and Princess Priyah proved it. Both women, especially the Queen, were very dignified. They talked smoothly, always looked perfect and clean, and never make a snarky joke or bad comment about anyone.

Susan was determined to follow their lead and thought embroidery was a harmless endeavour that she could quickly learn. Obviously, she was wrong.

Peter was quiet as he watched her pick at her stitches. She expected a teasing comment about why she, the fun-loving, breezy Queen of Narnia, was stitching when she could be practicing archery or swimming or riding. But he was silent; perhaps he was thinking of an especially sarcastic comment for the occasion.

Hoping to avert an instance in which she would not be able to contain unladylike retorts, she tossed the embroidery onto the grass and was about to speak when—

“I’m going to ask Priyah to marry me.”

Shocked silence.

“Come again?”

“You heard me.”

Susan cleared her throat as her mind raced. What in the blazes was Peter thinking?! The Telmarines had barely been at Cair Paravel for a fortnight. And he was thinking of marrying a Princess he had just met? True, Peter and Priyah had been literally inseparable, but that meant they were attracted to each other, not ready to pledge love until death.

“When did you decide this?” she managed.

“Today. After I took her out on the Splendor Hyaline.”

“Ah. And what inspired this well-though-out resolution?”

“I like her. A lot.”

“As do I. But as you see, I am not asking for her hand in marriage.”

One of Peter’s blonde eyebrows rose. “Har dee har har. The embroiderer jokes.”

“I’m serious! Peter, you hardly know her!”

“I know her better than you do.”

“I should hope so if you’re even considering marriage. But golly—you’re only seventeen! And she’s only eighteen!”

“And I’ve been King of Narnia for over four years! I hardly think age rules apply to us: we’re different. We’ve grown up a lot faster.”

“I thought so too, but you’ve just changed my mind on that account! Have you talked to Stamprin about this?”

Surely Stamprin would talk Peter out of such an impulsive decision. The aged Dwarf was Peter’s most trusted advisor; Peter almost always did what he said.

The High King grinned smugly. “Yes. And he thought it was brilliant.”

“Brilliant?!” Susan knew she sounded shrill, but decided shrill was a better tone than shrieking.

“It’ll make a historic alliance with Telmar! It’ll open up endless trade and treaty possibilities! Why else?”

Susan closed her eyes and wished Edmund and Lucy weren’t spending the summer in Anvard. They would be able to back her up on this! She knew they would be on her side.

“But why, Peter? Why marriage? Can’t you just start courting her?”

Peter’s face turned red and he looked away.

Susan’s jaw dropped. “You haven’t done anything...improper...with her, have you?!”

“Of course not! I just don’t see the sense in waiting. We really like each other. She’s just...perfect.”

“So I’ve observed,” Susan said dryly.

“She loves everything about Narnia, and you can just tell she isn’t faking. She gets along with the Animals splendidly, and she’s so bright—she speaks all of these languages and has visited so many places...I just know with her. She’s ‘the one.’”

Susan could plainly see her brother was hopelessly smitten, but couldn’t let pity overtake her good sense.

“Have you asked her parents?”

“No, but I’ve no doubt King Meridian will approve. Have you not noticed how he has encouraged us to spend time together?”

She tried a different tactic.

“Fine then, announce your engagement. But I beg you: don’t get married until next summer. You’ll need time to make sure this is right.”

“I was thinking a fall wedding would do well, don’t you think? With all of the different colours of the leaves and all?”

“But that’s three months from now!” Susan sputtered. “Peter, don’t get me wrong: I like Priyah. She’s superb, in fact. If there was anyone in the world I would have to pick to be my new sister, I would pick her. But for the Mane’s sake, have a little common sense! You’re the High King!”

“And isn’t Ed always telling me to loosen up a bit more? This is perfect!” He grinned. “He’ll be so shocked when he gets back! Lu too.”

“I can guarantee that they most definitely will be shocked,” Susan agreed, adding silently, If they arrive and I haven’t stopped you from doing something idiotic.

Susan loved her brother, and that was why was going to do anything to make sure he didn’t make a foolish mistake.

She was going to have a little chat with Stamprin.