Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: This fic is a response to the 8th Drabble Challenge on susancaspian (evil). AU. Thanks to Sedri for the beta.

Cold Fever

King Caspian the Navigator was having a bad day. A bad week, really. The chambermaids whispered among themselves and sprang apart whenever he stalked past. The cook and the stable master had spend a good hour gossiping over their wine and had come to the conclusion that the king’s mood was undoubtedly the result of the good Queen Susan denying him his marital privileges.

The truth was that not even King Caspian himself knew the cause of his foul mood. It had plagued him all week now; distracting him in daytime and keeping him up at night. Not even Susan had been able to solve it last night, though she had succeeded in distracting him for a while.

Caspian wished she was were now—perhaps she could distract him again. In his foul mood he had brought Rilian’s squire to tears and had only increased the tension in the already troublesome Council. But Susan was not available; she and Rilian had gone riding and would most likely not return before dinner.

Deciding he needed some other form of distraction, Caspian made a beeline for the practise arena. He could vent his frustrations, even if he didn’t understand them.

The General was pleased and slightly intimidated by Caspian that day. The general was a true Telmarine and often disapproved of the fact that the King often held back to prevent injury, or mercifully paused to give his opponent time to get back on their feet. In the general’s opinion mercy was weakness, and behind closed doors it was said that the king was growing as gentle as his queen.

But not today. Today King Caspian attacked relentlessly and did not cease when the general stumbled and dropped his sword in an attempt to break his fall. Rolling aside quickly to avoid the blow, the general made a wild grasp for the sword and sprang to his feet in a crouched stance.

“Very good…” the general panted with a smirk. “The king has… decided to follow… my instructions then?”

Caspian merely grunted and replied with a vicious blow that the general just barely managed to block. Counterattacking, the general forced his king’s sword aside and aimed for the king’s right side, but Caspian’s defences were impenetrable. Their swords clashed loudly, and the general was thrown backwards again within a minute. He fell quite ungracefully but luckily the king did not notice for a messenger ran onto the arena at that moment, looking quite distressed.

“My Lord,” the messenger gasped, “you had better come quickly. The Queen Susan and Prince Rilian…”

“They’ve returned?” Caspian face broke into the first genuine smile of the day. “They are early.” He nodded at the general who was getting up from the ground clutching his side, and made for the entrance hall.

“Y-Your Majesty!” The messenger took a few quick steps to catch up with his king. “It’s the Queen Susan, my Lord…” The poor man’s voice seemed to falter, and Caspian’s brow furrowed impatiently; his foul mood playing up once again. “She’s unwell, Sir.”

“Unwell?” Caspian quickened his step. “What is amiss with her?”

“That I do not know, my Lord.” The messenger struggled to keep up with his King’s long strides without jogging. “I was only asked to look for Your Majesty.”

Caspian hurried across the castle grounds and noticed the horses, sweating in the sunlight and clearly pushed to their limits, but nothing of their riders.

“My Lord, they are in the Lady’s chambers,” the stable master called out when he saw he liege approach. “She was brought straight to her chambers.”

Caspian did not answer the man, but turned on his heel and redirected his steps to the castle. He was growing increasingly worried about Susan and he was anxious to see her. He found Rilian standing just outside his mother’s chambers, looking frantic, and the boy’s voice broke as he greeted his father.

Caspian saw Susan before he even entered the room. Three nurses and a healer were bent over her bed, but her face was visible, and the sight of it shook Caspian to the core. So pale! Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat, and her expression was one of obvious agony. Caspian rushed inside, and the nurses and the healer sprang aside respectfully when they caught sight of their king. Caspian touched Susan’s face and was shocked to find how cold it was. How could a body be sweaty and cold at the same time?

“How is she?” Caspian hardly recognised his own voice.

“Not good, I fear. I do not know what illness it is the queen is suffering from. In all my years, I have never seen anything similar.” The healer looked at the ground as he spoke, afraid to face his lord as he brought him the ill news. “It seems to spread from the hand, and we have treated the wound, but there is nothing we can do to stop the cold fever.”

Caspian looked at the hand the healer indicated, and he took it gently. Where Susan was sickeningly pale, the hand was positively blue and icy to the touch. Caspian brought the hand the his mouth and breathed on it, hoping to warm them like he did on the cold winter days. Kissing the fingers, Caspian looked at his queen’s fair, cold face.

“My sweet Susan, when evil has gotten hold of you?”

“’Twas a snake, father,” Rilian, who had stood and watched from a distance, spoke up with a feeble voice. “She was bitten in the hand by a foul green serpent near the mountains in the North. I searched everywhere for the beast, so I could slay it, but it could not be found.”

His son was upset. Even though all his worry for Susan, Caspian still heard the voice of his young son. His Rilian, who always fought to appear as strong as a Prince was expected to be, was about to break. Caspian tore his gaze away from Susan’s face momentarily to smile at his son in a way he hoped looked encouraging.

“Go to the kitchens, my Son. You’ve had enough trials for today.”

As Rilian left, Caspian put a hand on Susan’s forehead, wiping the cold and wet hair out of her face while he still clung to her cold hand. Willing to take the evil poison out of it… to make it all undone. Then he remembered the he had held her in a similar fashion just the night before; kissing her fingers and stroking her sweaty forehead. Strangely enough, it was this happy thought that wrenched the first strangled sob for his throat. The healer and his nurses knew there was nothing they could do, and respectfully left the room with bows that Caspian did not notice.

Susan passed in the next minute while Caspian kissed her fingers and stroked her forehead; his face buried in her shoulder.