Mist and Mystery at Calormen's Grove

Tormented

10. Tormented

The sun's early rays searched its way past the thin curtains and landed on the figure in the wide bed. Susan yawned as she awoke to this cascade of light and warmth running across her face like a lover's caress. She basked in its touch for a second before she froze beneath the covers. The touch upon her skin was warm, but it was not the touch of any rays outside. It was the caress of a hand and at once the young woman was wide awake.

She opened her eyes, turned to gaze beside her and gasped in surprise. Lying next to her atop the pale bedspreads was none other than the Telmarine king. His long, dark hair flowed free around his toned shoulders, barely visible beneath his loose shirt. His dusky eyes burned with a passion that had Susan's heart stop for a second and his tanned hand traveled across her face as if he'd done nothing else his whole life.

"... What... What's this?" the brunette managed weakly as she curled further into the covers but couldn't make herself move away from his caresses. "You should not be in here."

"You want me to leave?" his whispered thick accent almost made Susan forget her plan.

At length, she shook her head. "You should leave."

His hand continued to caress her cheek and slowly sought its way towards her slender neck as the handsome man leaned closer. "That was not what I asked."

Before she had a chance to argue his lips pressed against her with a fervor. His arm traveled downward until he enveloped her slim waist and pulled the young woman closer. Susan found her resolve weaken and her own hand somehow wound up in his long locks as she enjoyed the sensation of his body pressed against hers.

When the king moved to deepen the kiss, the woman felt rationality strike her mind and made her think clearly again. She couldn't do this, it wasn't right. She had her plan and this certainly did not fit into it. Detachment had been the key and this was quite the opposite. Gently she pushed on the man's shoulder as she pulled her head away from his.

As he once more tried to capture her lips in an endless kiss, she whispered, "Don't."

Caspian faltered and pulled back an inch. His passion was momentarily exchanged for perplexity and dismay. His hand tightened around her waist as he brought her even closer to his body. He whispered into her ear, "Why deny ourselves the pleasure?"

"This isn't right," Susan muttered as she struggled against his strong form. The man beside her wasn't acting like she had expected. Something was certainly awry with this image and she needed to get away to make sense of it. "Let me go."

"Afterwards..." he mumbled into her ear as he roughly pushed on top of her. He pressed her hands down on the pillow and the more she struggled, the harder he tightened his grip. Susan hissed at the added pressure but ignored the pain as realization struck her; this was not her Caspian.

With all her weight she rolled out from beneath him and with agile movements managed to get atop of the Telmarine king. He still had her hands captive but there was a distant smirk across his bearded jaw that sent shivers of fright down her spine. "Who are you?" she demanded to know, but there came no reply.

The man beneath her moved with shocking speed as he sat up and grabbed a firm hold of the queen's neck. With no further delay the man suddenly threw the Pevensie woman from the bed. Susan landed hard on the stone floor and felt the wind knocked out of her. She had landed straight on top of her bruised back and felt powerless to get up.

She gazed up and saw the sinister smirk had returned to the man's lips as he started to descend from the bed.

"Caspian, no!" the young woman cried out as he lowered himself towards her.