Susan Was Always First

Come, Dear One...

Caspian clutched Susan's hairpin to his chest as he lay upon their bed. Lucy and Edmund sat on the floor beside him, eyes red and cold.  Their general had just reported that there were signs of a struggle found near where Peter vanished days ago, and that a piece of Peter's top hap been found. It did not look good for their brother, and they feared that perhaps... perhaps he had been murdered. The thought lingered between them all, a rising panic growing in their chests while grief ebbed at their hearts. They had to find him one way or another. They could only hope it was alive...

Susan still was gone without a trace as well, though no clues were turning up anywhere. Until a sign of her was found, the three remaining rulers were staying near each other, not risking one of them being on their own for even the smallest of moments. However, with what they found near where Peter was... they feared the worst possible scenario had befallen her as well.

"Aslan wouldn't let this happen... why is this happening?" Lucy asked quietly, her voice breaking a silence that had only been met with sobs and small sniffles before.

Edmund's hand rested on his younger sister's shoulder. "I'm sure he will show up and help us, Lu."

"I know he'll show up, Edmund. I just want to know why our sister and brother had to be taken from us!" Lucy raised her voice, standing quickly. "It's not fair! It... it's not!"

Caspian moved quickly to pull his sister-in-law into a hug. "It's true isn't fair, but we have to trust Aslan that they're not-...that they are okay."

"But what of your child? This much stress on Susan-"

"Lucy." Edmund shook his head at her, telling her not to think of that. Caspian had lost one child already; he did not need to be reminded that the second had also probably been lost even if Susan had not been.

"Susan and the babe will make it through this." Caspian repeated the words he had been telling himself in his mind, though they did not sound as confident spoken as they could.

"Yes, you're right..." Lucy said, though it was a half-hearted reply just to try and soothe Caspian. "They will all be fine..."

Still, as night fell and the royals began to try and sleep, Lucy couldn't shake the feeling something was very, very wrong...

---

Peter's eyes blinked open slowly, the king feeling as if he were in a daze. Every part of him, he knew, ached and burned, but he was not conscious enough to register the pain. How long had he been unconscious? How many hours, days, had passed by as he lay comatose from the brutality brought onto his body by Wrath? He tried to move his arms, but found they would not. Then, his legs, though they too would not move. Carefully, he turned his head, glimpsing Susan crying on the bed. He couldn't remember if the candles that lit the room had been there this whole time, or if they were new.

"Sss-" He tried to speak, but his throat was raw, and the noise was more a wheezed hiss than anything coherent. It must have been rather quiet as well, for his sister did not glance his way. He tried once more, but his lips were chapped and mouth dry, and words just would not come.

Choosing then to observe her as he could not speak, Peter kept his gaze locked on her as best he could. He watched as her hands folded and unfolded, as they rested on her stomach while she whispered to the child growing within her. He watched as she played with the bracelet Caspian had gotten for her. He heard he repeat Caspian's name, heard her cry out to Aslan, plead for the safety of the rest of their family.  

He could feel himself drifting off again, the pain starting to intensify and become too much. In his last few conscious moments, he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of gold...

---

Lucy awoke that night in a cold sweat. Her dreams had been so haunting that she shuddered a the mere memory of them. Quietly, she stood, not wanting to disturb Edmund or Caspian. The two men were in and exhausted rest, Caspian sleeping in his and Susan's bed and Edmund on a bedroll much like the one she had just been in. 

She only needed a few moments to herself, to clear those awful images from her mind. She had seen Susan in a bloodstained gown, curled into herself in a dimly lit room while sitting on a small cot. Her sister had been weeping, speaking to herself and to the child she carried. Her hands crossed and uncrossed, had played with the bracelet on her wrist. She had begged that Peter would live,  had cried out for Caspian, for Aslan, for anyone to help them, though when Lucy had tried to reach out to her she found that she could not move and that she was stuck watching her sister in this terrified state. The dream had felt so real, so vivid, that for a moment she had actually believed herself to have found Susan, but it was nothing more than a dream. They were still no closer to finding her or Peter, and Lucy feared more and more that they would only find bodies...

Walking down the long corridors to shake the dream, Lucy felt herself being pulled towards the garden. The air was chilly on her skin, wind piercing through her thin nightgown. Her hair billowed around her, covering her eyes every few moments.

"Come, dear one..." 

Lucy knew that voice, knew it near as well as her own. It was Aslan! He had to be here to save her family, to return Susan and Peter to them safe and sound. There was no way he would allow for this to happen any longer. He just had to be there...

Sprinting, Lucy found herself in the middle of the garden, near an old apple tree. She glanced around frantically, hoping for a glimpse of the majestic lion. However, Aslan was nowhere in sight. Instead, at her feet, lay a bloody bracelet, gold with blue gems...