~By the Lion's Mane: See You Again~

Chapter Twenty-Six

~Rilian~

Every time, there was a long moment of in-betweeness, where I was lost in shadows and everything was soft, out of focus. The clarity was just out of reach, but approaching, like swimming up from the dark floor of a lake. The light and world above the surface became brighter and clearer as I approached, my lungs burning and my arms aching from fighting against gravity, slowly approaching the barrier...

And then I am free, breaking through to fresh air and a clear mind. Every time before, it is she that I see sitting before me, a small smile on her red lips as she watches me writhe and struggle against my restraints. I spit and scream and curse her until my throat is raw and my voice depleted, my clothes soaked through with sweat, and the flesh beneath my bonds red and bloodied. 

But this time, it is not her perfect, pale face I see when I look up as I break through to conciousness. Two children, perhaps slightly older than children, and a Marsh-wiggle stand before me, wide-eyed. The Witch is nowhere to be seen.

"Quick! I am sane now!" I say in a loud, clear voice. They seem startled, but I continue to explain in a fast, clear voice. "Every night I am sane. If only I could get out of this enchanted chair, it would last. I should be a man again! But every night they bind me, and so every night my chance is gone!"

I took a breath. "But you are not enemies, I am not your prisoner. Quick! Cut these cords!"

The Marsh-wiggle took a step back, glancing to the children. "Stand fast! Steady," he told them.

I let out a ragged breath, trying to fight back the desperation rising up in my chest. I knew not why they were here and not she, nor from where they came, but this could be my only chance left. 

"I beseech you hear me," I said in a voice that I struggled to keep calm. "Have they told you that if I am released from this chair I shall kill you and become a serpent?" I paused to see their reactions. "I see by your faces that they have, and I must tell you, it is a lie. It is at this hour that I am in my right mind, and the rest of the day that I am enchanted."

I could see that they were unsure, but they had made no move toward me, nor said anything. "You are not Earthmen nor witches, why should you be on their side?" I pleaded. "Of your courtesy, cut my bonds!"

They steadied each other, and I felt my fragile composure begin to slip. "What wrong have I ever done you, that you should side with my enemies to keep me in such miseries? And the minutes are slipping past. Now you can save me, but when this hour has ended, I shall be witless again-- the toy and lap-dog, the pawn and tool, of the most devilish sorceress that ever planned the woe of men! And this night, of all nights, when she is away! You take from a chance that may never come again!"

The girl's face betrayed her crumbling composure, she turned away from me to hide her face. But they remained yet unswayed. 

Hysteria swept over me, and my voice, which had been rising, gave way to shrieks. "Let me go, I say! Give me my sword! Once I am free, I shall take such revenge on Earthmen that Underland will talk of it for a thousand years!"

I began to strain even harder against the bonds, writhing and sweating. 

"Now the frenzy is beginning," said the boy to the Marsh-wiggle. "I hope those knots are all tight."

Who were these cruel onlookers to stand and watch me in my misery, and do nothing?

"Beware!" I screamed at them, causing them to jump. "One night I did break them. But the witch was there that time."

"Cunning, isn't he?" the Marsh-wiggle said to his companions.

And I knew they were not to be convinced; the lies that the Earthmen and my enchanted self had told them were too strong--they believed I was in a fit of insanity.

I felt such a desperation then, like I had been drowning but then seen a glimpse of land or a ship and hope in sight, only to have it have been yanked away at the last second. But I could not give up now. I had to escape, I had to see the sunlight once more, and feel the wind, and see my father's face...

With tears now rolling down my face, I cried out, "Once and for all, I adjure you to set me free! By all fears and all loves, by the bright skies of Overland, by the great Lion, by Aslan himself, I charge you--"

The three bystanders gasped all at once, cutting off my pleas. "It's the sign," said the Marshwiggle, and they turned and began to discuss something between them.

A stab of pain went through me, and I cried out. My hour was nearly up, my descent back into enchantment beginning. As the pains increased, so did my screaming and my desperation. Here I had been so close, only to fall back into oblivion once more.

But then, through the darkening cloud of my pain, I heard three voices chorus, "In the name of Aslan!" and then, one by one, my bonds springing away from my damaged flesh. And then the last one about my waist was cut, and the clarity hit me like a bolt of lightening, and I sprang from the chair.

I crossed the room to size my sword from its place on the table, and wheeled around to the monstrosity that had bound me for years. "You first!" I cried, and focused every ounce of my fury and hatred into the muscles that held my blade, and I brought it down upon the gleaming silver.

It gave way beneath the edge of my sword like tinder, and released a blinding flash of light and a sound like thunder.

When my sight returned a moment later, I stood, panting and sweat-drenched among the twisted fragments of my prison. A smell like sulfur hung in the air.

"Lie there, vile engine of sorcery, lest your mistress should ever use you for another victim," I spat, my voice hoarse.

And then I slowly straightened up and turned to face my liberators.

I allowed myself a weak smile now, my relief crashing over me like a wave. "Do I see before me a Marsh-wiggle, a real, live, honest, Narnian Marsh-wiggle?" I asked.

The girl, small and dark-haired, spoke up. "Oh, so you have heard of Narnia, after all?"

I reached over to take my scabbard and fasten it about my waist, sheathing my sword before answering her. It felt so wondrously good to finally be able to be in possession of my memory, and to speak these words. 

"You may well believe that I know Narnia, for I am Rilian, Prince of Narnia, and Caspian the great King is my father."