Battle of Fear and Trust

She's Not Susan

I watch Jadis make a pot of tea on my stove for my two unsuspecting brothers. "Now, what should I serve with the tea? You wouldn't want them to have nothing with their tea." she taunts me through her thoughts as she moves away from my stove and starts searching through my cabinets.

Stop this! I don't want you anywhere near them. I tell her, or I think to her, which is all I can do at the moment.

"You can't stop me, Susan. Your brothers are in my grasp now and their deaths are long overdue." She picks up a knife and fiddles with it and puts it down. "But no, I won't kill them right away, first I'll be tying them up and cutting off fingers and toes, making sure they see each other suffer. The little king will be the first to go; I'll let the traitor suffer a little more before I rid myself of him." She says, and I find myself wishing more and more that I'd never listened to her in the first place. Now that Jadis has control, no one is safe. "It's a shame your sister isn't here, but I'll get her soon enough, along with the old man, his friend, and the others who might stand in my way," she adds as she grabs a few biscuits, putting them on a tray along with the pot of tea and teacups.

No! I don't want you laying a hand on them. I demand.

"Really, Susan? I thought you wanted nothing to do with them. It shouldn't matter to you whether they live or die," she tells me.

She's right, why should it matter what happens to them? They're the ones who rejected me. They're the ones who tried to control me. They deserve to suffer. Of course, that's what Jadis told me and she's the one who got me trapped in my own mind. I don't think that my brothers would have done that, even if they could.

"Ed, she needs to know what's going on- even if she won't believe it". I hear Peter whisper as she turns towards the couch where they're sitting.

"I know, but don't you think it's odd how she was so welcoming to us. A few days ago Lucy was crying after her visit with Susan. " I vaguely hear Edmund whisper.

"I see your point, but Susan has changed so much it's hard to know what's going on in her mind." Peter says.

"Tea's ready," Jadis interrupts while entering the room, causing both to turn towards her, or me. "I also have some leftover biscuits I thought you both might like." I watch my brothers intently while putting the tray down on the coffee table. I wonder if either one of them can tell I'm not the one talking to them. What will they do when they find out? What will she do?

"Thank you, Susan, that's very kind of you," Peter replies after Jadis sits down in the chair beside the couch.

"Of course, you know I always make my guests feel welcome." She says softly through her fake smile; at least I think she's smiling; I can't actually tell.

"That's not what Lucy told us. She said you almost slammed the door in her face." Edmund says, watching me as though he didn't believe what she said. Does he see there's something off about me? Though he can't possibly guess the truth. It's not common for a witch to take over someone else's body; it sounds crazy to even think about.

"I did let her stay for breakfast, and I tried to be a good hostess while she was here. She's the one who didn't appreciate my generosity," she says while pouring the tea.

"Lucy was really upset after leaving here the other day. She barely ate anything at the dinner." Peter says and I wish I could roll my eyes. Is the whole reason they're here because of what I said to Lucy? Are they trying to get me to apologize? Not that I could if I wanted to.

"Well, she was being disruptive, and I had to ask her to leave. I'm not responsible for how she reacted. Now, I'm sure there's more to your visit than telling me about our sister." She gets up from my chair and heads to the kitchen, looking at the knife on the counter. I'm guessing that at this point she's growing tired of them. My heart would be racing if it wasn't frozen. True, they were part of the reason I'd wanted her to freeze my heart. But do I want her to kill them?