Susan Was Always First

Comfort

Caspian wore his mourning well. The sadness fit him like a glove and matched the darkness of his attitude of late. He had grown reserved and distant where he was normally jovial and sociable. His temper flared, and he was quick to excuse himself whenever Susan was brought up, the pain still too fresh. It ran down his face in streams of hot tears.

But seeing that lock of Susan's hair renewed something in him. As he took the ring from Lucy's hand and undid knot of hair, he could imagine that Susan was alive.

He would go back to their chambers and she would be sitting there, glowing. Her lips would press against his, the swell of their child tight against him as he clung to her. She would tell him that she missed him, would speak words of love late into the night. She would say to him that she had only gotten lost on a walk, and had been taken care of by a kindly old woman. He could imagine it so clearly, so vividly, that she would return somehow.

He knew it unlikely that something as cheerful as that would happen. He still believed the most likely option of her death, as much as it pained him to the very core of his being, and the fact remained that if she did live, there would be no telling what sort of state she would even be in. Would she look at him, cheeks gaunt and hair mattered? Would her fair arms be marred and colored from the abuse she suffered? Would her words still be kind, or broken? He had imagined the pain she had gone through just as vividly as the reunion...

"Might I see that quickly?" Edmund asked, his eyes focused on what Caspian held. Luckily, his words drew Caspian from the horrors he had started to imagine.

Out of all the remaining rulers, Edmund was the one who stepped up the most. It was he who sat council, he who negotiated and managed court. Caspian helped with the movement of troops, and Lucy with the household affairs, but Edmund took over both Peter and Susan's roles and over duties that Caspian and Lucy normally handled until their grief passed. It was his way of coping with their deaths, though he still held hope that they lived.

Caspian passed the items over to Edmund, and the Just king nodded as his eyes roamed over Peter's ring. "This is a fake. It's a good replica, nearly exact, in fact, save one detail; Peter's ring has an engraving on the inside that just says "Courage" on it. I was there with him when it was done, as the inside of mine reads "Patience" to go with it.  However, I do think this is a lead we should follow. Whoever had this made has had a lot of time to study  Peter's ring, but more than likely has never seen the inside of the band."

"Which means that they couldn't remove it, so he's probably still alive and wearing it!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes lit up with hope for the first time since Susan had vanished.

"I would not get your hopes up," Edmund admitted, "but it is a possibility. Also, the hair is certainly the same color as Susan's, but there is no proof it is hers." 

Caspian shook his head. "It's hers. I know it is."

He could just tell, something inside his heart spoke loudly when he held that lock of hair. 

Edmund shot him a sympathetic look, but did not argue it. "We will call up the metalworkers and have them questioned. As for the message..."

Lucy repeated the words quickly, then paused. "It really does sound like this person has them buried, doesn't it?" Her face fell,  and tears threatened once again to slip down her cheeks. 

Caspian pulled his sister-in-law into a tight hug. "We will find the ones responsible for this, and I swear they shall pay."

He would let no one who harmed his family this way live...

---

Envy brushed through Susan's hair while Peter sat, his gaze on them unwavering. He did not trust the woman, did not buy her story. 

"See, aren't you glad I trimmed your hair? The knots were getting too much."

Why was it always only Envy? Peter knew there were others, had seen Wrath and Pride. So why was Envy now the only one who visited them? Why had their leader not returned to the cells to taunt him or Susan? 

"You're kindness is most appreciated."

Envy just smiled and stood. "I had best get going now..."

"Envy..." Susan started, her wording coming out quickly. "Please... I have shared so much with you that I just ask one thing; I need to know what's happening in Narnia. Our siblings...my husband... can you share anything about them?"

The white-haired woman paused as if in thought, then sighed. "I have words, but you will not wish to here them."

"Are they-"

"They are all fine." Envy slowly spoke then, her eyes hiding something that Peter could not place. "But... they called off the search and held a funeral for the two of you. They have decided that you must be gone, and found comfort in each other as they grieve. I have heard that King Caspian is taking things the hardest, barely eating and losing his temper quickly. He rarely leaves your room, or so I have heard though the gossip shared between the others."

"No..." Susan breathed, her eyes filling with tears. "They...no..."

Peter stood, eyes flashing. "But we are still alive! They must know it!"

"I am sorry, King Peter and Queen Susan. That is all I know."

As Envy turned to leave  the cell, Peter swore he could have seen the ghost of a smirk play across her lips. 

---

"I'm so bored." Wrath's arms were crossed and clearly marked with dark splotches that had yet to fade. She had been gone for a while, Envy just saying that Greed had wanted the young girl for a while...  "I want to play with the king, give 'im a little reminder not to get too comfy since he and his sister are still our prisoners."

Pride shook his head. "You are not allowed anywhere near them after you almost lost us one of our bargaining chips, or does Greed need to remind you what happens when you step out of line and think you can follow your own code?"

"Greed's a piece of-"

"Wrath." Envy's cold voice echoed through the room. "I would not finish that thought."

Wrath glared at the older woman, her lip curled. "Going to report me again? Going to put me through hell for something I didn't do again? Well?"

"You show such gratitude for the woman who save you." Envy's words were deeply sarcastic. 

"Do you want to see just how much gratitude I can show you? I told you I didn't poison the bastard but you didn't believe me! And you had Greed..." Wrath shuddered, and in that moment she looked all the more like a scared teenager. "So if you want to play like that," the teen suddenly narrowed her eyes, pulling out a dagger and pressing it against Envy's neck in a swift motion, "then make your move, bitch."

Pride started forward to help his wife, but Envy held out her hand to stop him, and then focused on the girl before her. "You silly, silly child." The woman easily disarmed the girl, pinning her to the floor. "It looks like you'll have to find some comfort in a cell of your own..."