Susan Of Narnia

The Not-So-Familiar Path

Susan climbed down the hill and tried to see if she could find her way to Cair Paravel. Woods surrounded the hill entirely, although Susan knew to follow the sunrise. "The castle on the Sea Coast," Susan recalled Mr. Beaver telling her and her siblings all those years ago. The sea was East, and with it being March the sunrise lies in the East.

"Come on Susan, let's go," she mumbled to herself before venturing into the deep thicket of trees. The woods had no roads, so Susan maneuvered in which she kept traveling East. No creatures lurked the woods, something that was very odd to Susan until the Queen had to keep reminding herself that this was an isolated, lonely world. Susan did remember Aslan saying there would be evil souls, the ones banned from the New Narnia, such as herself. Susan indeed was glad to not encounter any bandits or such, but had the queerest feeling that someone was following her.

Carrying on, Susan fidgeted with her hair and fanned herself constantly. Her armpits grew moist with sweat and her mouth parched. As a habit, Susan reached down to her right hip and expected a purse of makeup to be there. Alas, Susan forgot her task at hand again.

"I bet Aslan is having a laugh at me."

While her physical appearance could not be altered, Susan scanned the perimeter of the woods looking for water. Not a drop in sight, nor had the Queen recognized any landmarks. Feeling defeated, Susan sat against a tree and let out a single tear.

"It's been hours and nothing. The sun is still faint and now it has started to change its position. What could save me now?"

Usually, a speech like that would summon someone to save the Pevensie children. Susan awaited a magnificent knight or wise centaur to carry her off to the doorway of the New Narnia. Nothing happened. Susan sat against the tree awaiting something that was never coming.

Shaking the dirt off her dress, the Queen continued her journey east. Susan knew a river led up to where Cair Paravel stood. Only a few years ago Susan, Peter, Lucy, and the Beavers crossed the melting river while heading towards Aslan's Camp. More hours passed and Susan longed for a drink of water. The water was not vast in Narnia, besides the sea, which was still about a two day's journey.

Finally, Susan decided to rest in a thicket of trees. Not wanting to be seen by any prowling creatures, Susan made sure to try and cover herself with leaves. Sleeping was a challenge when battling with the cold when conscious and then battling with nightmares of Aslan while asleep. No place felt safe for Susan, and she ultimately had the most restless night of her life, well it would have been if she still were alive.

Susan awoke drowsy and with a major hunger headache. Considering she was already dead, Susan did not expect to be in such pain. The Queen's form of logic towards her torture was that Aslan was punishing her. Continuing east, Susan kept an eye out for the river and some fruit. The trees were withered and the closest thing to fresh apples were their old, decayed cores on the brown grass. Narnia's luscious geography was gone and replaced by this uninhabitable prison.

Suddenly, Susan heard the hooves of horses, or perhaps centaurs. Regardless, Susan hoped to be welcomed by this other life form. Heading slightly north, making sure to remember which way was east, Susan managed to catch the attention of three centaurs before they trotted off.

"Pardon me, mighty centaurs. If you would be so kind, may one of you give me a ride to Cair Paravel?"

The centaurs all smirked simultaneously. The one in the middle, the biggest and most handsome, bowed.

"We would be delighted to help a damsel in distress."

Susan let out a giant sigh of relief.

"Thanks you, kind sir."

"I am Caballon, leader of the remaining Narnians in this wretched land."

"I'm Susan."

The three centaurs galloped towards the east, Susan mounted on Callabon. After about an hour or two of vigorous sprinting, the four rested at the river Susan had been looking for the day before. Also, narby were some ripe red apples, the first bite so scrumptious that Susan could not help scarfing it down. While washing their faces and hands, the four began to chat.

"How came Aslan's decision to ban you from the New Narnia?" asked Caballon.

"I... I helped in the annihilation of Narnians. I was a Telmarine."

"So you can fight? The women of Telmar are known for being stay at home mothers."

"I... I proved my worth in training."

Susan lied, in attempts to heed Aslan's warning of the beings left in Narnia. While these centaurs were helping her, why were they considered infected souls?

"I was a Narnian knight at the war of Aslan's How," started Caballon, "I attempted to give King Miraz the war tactics of Prince Caspian and the Kings and Queens of Old in exchange for a pardon of my life. The dwarf Nikabrik had pursued me and killed me before I had a chance."

"Why did you doubt our rulers? You could have killed the lives of many more Narnians."

"I know, I was scared. I had lost my family to previous battles and I didn't want to end my bloodline. I was a coward, which is why I guess I'm stuck here."

Although Callabon proved to put himself before others, Susan trusted him and felt Aslan had misjudged him.

Yards away from the group was the smallest of the centaurs, Shoof. Shoof had said nothing to Susan the whole trip so far. He made Susan uneasy, and for a moment Susan was just staring at him. Callabon noticed Susan's gaze, urgently getting up and walked over to Shoof. Susan looked away, not wanting to eavesdrop on the pair's whispers.

"Were you named after Queen Susan the Gentle?" asked the second biggest centaur named Gallant.

"Yes... My parents admired the stories of the Kings and Queens of Old-"

"You kind of look like her a bit," cut in Callabon who now had Shoof at his side.

"I used to get that a lot after Caspian X was crowned."

Susan pretended to be in a hurry to try and change the subject of her true origins, so the four travelers continued down the river. The sun was an elegant pink with patches of glorious blue. The sky of Narnia always seemed to make Susan cry. Nearing Cair Paravel, Callabon pulled out a bow and quiver from his side and handed them to Susan.

"I trust you learned how to use these."

Susan nodded, stroking the bow's smooth frame and the arrows' finely pointed tips. She clasped them in hand for the rest of the journey. These centaurs are certainly not evil, according to Susan. Hopefully, they could come along with her to the New Narnia.

By midnight, the four entered the gates of Cair Paravel. The castle remained ruined as it did in Susan's last trip to Narnia. This time although, it was completely populated with dwarfs, hags, wolves, and even a few friendly creatures such as fauns, centaurs, and dryads. Susan dismounted Callabon and loaded her new bow. She turned to her companions to signal them to prepare for a fight, but their swords were already pointed at Susan.