Susan Was Always First

Truth and Information

Elda still was shocked. All her life, she had been told Aslan was a myth told by those in power to sway the populace into following them. She had never imagined Him to be real, and He terrified her now that she saw Him. Edmund had chatted easily with the Lion while He was there before them, but the teen could not bring herself to speak until after the Lion had left, telling them He was going to visit the other remaining king. 

"He's...real?" Elda spoke, turning her head towards Edmund. The Just King had quickly begun to wash the dye out of his hair, regretting it after the Lion told them they would be freeing his family soon and that he would not need to hide. Elda would have laughed at him, had her fear of Aslan not silenced her.

Edmund raised his brow, using the cloak he had to dry his hair. "Of course He's real! Who did you think created this place?"

"I just... all my life I've been told He's a lie, a figure that you royals created to trick people into following you."

"Why would you believe we'd do that?" 

Elda shrugged. "I don't know. It's just what I was told so I believed it." 

"He was here when you were a child!" Edmund shook out his hair, the color lighter but not bleached. 

"Exactly! I was a young child when your family took the throne! I never saw him!" Elda crossed her arms. "Besides, whenever Greed or the others mentioned the Lion or Aslan, it was always in tone that sounded mocking, like they were making fun of a concept, not a being!" 

"Well, He's very much real." Edmund spoke quickly, though then his tone softened. "But who am I to react in such a manner to you? I too once did not believe and let myself be drawn in by another. The White Witch held sway over me when I was only a few years younger than you, and it took me quite a while to admit that I was wrong to not believe." 

Elda paused, realizing there was little she actually knew about these people she was supposed o hate. Edmund admitted to his faults? Had she misjudged them, believing only what she had heard instead of letting herself form real opinions? Had she tortured people who were less guilty of sins than she? Were the golden king and queen genuinely good people with the same faults that befell normal people exaggerated by those who wanted to use her as a tool of torture? 

"Can you... tell me more about your family? And Aslan?"

-----

Lust realized he had made an error in entering the room where the royals were being held as soon as Peter knocked him to the ground and pinned him down, hand pressed on his throat. For being locked up for a while, the king still had strength in his arms. 

Resisting the urge to make a comment about the position they were in and about choking- a comment that would likely result in the king actually strangling him- Lust remained silent and glanced towards Lucy. He was sure she was aware of the potion now, and now that it was know she would no longer be held under it. Her beautiful eyes were pained as she looked at him, touching her full lips and shaking her head. 

He was a lucky man that she was going to be his. He had come to whisk her away, to treat her to an evening of romance so as to woo her most thoroughly and to hopefully seduce her. He did need a child from her, after all. But, that was going to be difficult if he brother continued to hold him down. He had to try something...

"You know, I knew you were unmarried, King Peter, but I didn't  know you were a confirmed bachelor." Lust chose to throw that  euphemism at Peter, hoping to startle the king. 

However, Peter didn't shift his hold. "I was courting a woman for quite a while before all this started, though it is likely now that courtship will be broken since it has been months without contact between us and I would not expect her to wait for me when we had yet to tell anyone that we had finally begun the proper steps of courtship that would require families to be notified."  

Lust noticed both Lucy and Susan had raised a brow, likely realizing that their eldest brother had kept this information from them. That could prove useful to him, if the family really did have some secrets he could weed out. He saw the women turn as if they were going to speak; however, before they could comment on this, Peter continued. "And since I can see you expected a much different response from me, I suggest you try to find something that would actually be an insult as yes, I know exactly what that euphemism was meant to imply and I do not see that as an insult."

"Well, aren't you quite the progressive thinker." Lust laughed, though his plan had indeed backfired. Not only had the king known what the euphemism meant, but it had neither affected him nor had it been true at the even the surface level. However, there was one more tactic he could try, if he could get Peter to buy into a lie. "I suppose then you are also fine with one sharing their body with another outside wedlock, as your youngest sister and I did?"

Peter didn't so much as blink. "Lucy, did anything happen between you?"

"Aslan above, no!"

"There. My sister says nothing happened, and do you really believe I would take your word over hers?" 

Lust was growing tired of this man. Was the king really that rational that he would not bite into the bait? Would he have to try something else, something that could also backfire on him and get him killed? Or, should he remain as he was, pinned down by King Peter, until Insolence came to see where he was with Lucy?

Somehow, that final option sounded the most promising now...