The Dying Wish (Response to Weekly Drabble challenge #13: Fate)
First, I'm sorry the drabble is quite long, but I had problems with the 100 words limit this time...So do excuse me for that, hope you guys still want to read it ;)
So, here's my try!
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The Dying wish
A fog hung over the battlefield. Caspians body hurt of tiredness and the few wounds he had on his arms. His black hair stuck to his cheeks, and his lips felt dry and salt. The hand he held his sword with was badly injured, but he couldn’t feel it. All he could feel, was anger. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. The Telmarines weren’t supposed to fight back like this. But they were influenced by his uncle Miraz. These people must have been so scared of his punishment; they now stood on his side and fought against the Narnians. Fauns and many other creatures lay dead on the grass. Narnians died while trying to restore peace. Caspian looked around. No Telmarines in sight, and that gave him time to think and overlook the situation. His first thought: Find Susan. She was by his side when the fight started, when the battle of the era began. But he had lost track of her, and fear for her life clouded his mind. He stumbled over dead or injured men, all Telmarines. He felt hate, but sadness too. These people had been his family, the species of which he was one. Blood spread out over the green grass, forming a very cruel contrast. Caspian closed his eyes and tried not to think about the lost ones. He looked forward and saw her. Her dress was ripped around the area of her shoulder, and one side of her arm looked like it was bleeding.
“Susan!”, he screamed, desperately trying to catch her attention.
He thought she heard him, because she moved her head towards him. She couldn’t see him, and he called out to her again. He walked on, wanting to reach her. His breath was fast and he tripped every now and then. Just when he thought she saw him, something happened that would change his life forever, that would hunt him at night and torture him during the day. An image he wouldn’t be able to forget.
The knife belonging to a fierce Telmarine found his way into her chest. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened. Susan reached for the knife and held the handle. She had to feel it. Feel this was really happening. The moment she realized it was as real as something could be, the pain overwhelmed her. But she knew the knife had to come out. She pulled and screamed as the knife came out. Caspian ran towards her on the moment she fell to the ground. Her knees met the wet grass and so did her hands. She was on all fours now, trying to breath. The pain was unbearable and like not one, but a thousand knifes were stuck into her. She rolled over and her head found the soft surface. She needed sleep. But he was coming. She could feel him from miles away, knowing he would come to save her. It took a while, or maybe it was only a few seconds, until the hand reached her cheek.
“Susan…”, a voice whispered.
She opened her eyes, realizing she closed them earlier. She tried to form the word Caspian with her lips, but they were stiff and her energy to move them was gone. She heard Caspian mumbling, and she tried to hear what he was saying.
“He hit you… under the heart… you’ll live”, were words she understood.
But this wasn’t right. His words couldn’t be the right ones.
“No…”, she whispered, and found her voice back.
Caspians tears dropped on her neck, and they felt soothing.
“I… will die… But… too long… You… put it to an end”, she said, and closed her eyes.
She didn’t hear the sound of breathing anymore. Then, it came back, faster than before.
“Susan, you won’t die! You’ll live, I’m just going to have to stop the bleeding”, he mumbled, but Susan shook her head. It hurt, and she saw stars flash before her eyes.
“No… You can’t help me anymore. It’s going to be long and painful, and I don’t need that. Put an end to this”, she cried out, regaining strength.
“See, you can talk already!”, Caspian smiled, acting like he didn’t hear what she said.
She felt a warm hand against the most painful spot on her body. She lifted her hand and put it on his.
“No Caspian. Stopping the bleeding won’t… help. It’s my heart… I think he hit an artery or something near it…”, she whispered, her eyes closed in pain.
“But if it was your heart, you wouldn’t still be alive”, Caspian said, still not believing her. Susan shook her head again.
“No… I would. He didn’t hit my heart itself…”, she answered, and squeezed his hand. “You cannot help me. Not here, not in Narnia. I need medical help you can only find in the modern world. And even then… I don’t think that would… be enough”, she said, gasping for breath. Caspians tears fell down quicker.
“You can’t ask me to do this. My Queen…”, he said, and his voice disappeared. The world turned black.
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“Susan..? Please stay with me”, she heard, and came to senses again.
She didn’t know for how long she blacked out, but it felt like hours.
“I can’t do this any longer… How long have we been here?”, she asked.
“Only a few minutes… Hold on my Queen, I’m stopping the bleeding with my hand and fabric from my own shirt”, Caspian said, and Susan looked at his chest. His right sleeve was ripped of.
“Caspian… This is helpless”, she said, but his head bowed over hers.
“My Queen, what you’re asking me is something I cannot do. It is impossible to ask this from me. I could never hurt you”, he said, and kissed her forehead.
“If you love me, you would be able to do this. Would you rather see me in pain like this, slowly fading away, than to give me the chance to have a quick and painless death?”, she asked him.
“Susan, stop, please. I… I’m doing a good job stopping the bleeding here”, he whispered, but Susan knew it was a lie. The bleeding was way too strong.
“Where are these medical creatures when you need them? There were many of them at the start of this fight…”, Caspian mumbled, and looked around.
He saw only dead bodies of Telmarines and dead Narnians. Distanced from him, he saw a small group of Narnians.
“Hey! I need help… please?!”, Caspian shouted towards them. They looked his way and one creature nodded.
“Someon's coming”, he said to Susan, but she frowned.
“Caspian, they’ll say the same thing… That it’s best to make it a quick death than to let me suffer here… Take the knife, Caspian, and be a man”, Susan said, and closed her eyes again. She began to feel cold and dizzy.
The next thing she saw, was the face of a goat hanging above her head.
“This is quite serious, my King… I don’t… I’m sorry… She’s a daughter of Eve, isn’t she? Queen Susan Pevensie…”, the goat said, with a soft voice.
“She is… Can’t you do anything for her? But, there must be something!”, she heard Caspian say, almost shouting.
“I’m very sorry. The heart is a vulnerable thing, and I’m afraid nothing will help…”, the goat said, and a tear rolled from his eyes.
“And… What about Lucy Pevensies magical potion? It was supposed to cure people, right?”, Caspian said, sounding positive.
“I’m afraid there is no more potion. The last drop of it was used on Lucy herself. She got seriously injured while engaging herself into the fight. Against Aslans will, that is. I have to go, there are Narnians near us, still alive. I need to help them. Susan Pevensie... You were a true Queen to us. We will never forget you. You have written history and saved us from dangers. We will do anything in our power to give you an honorable goodbye”, the goat answered, and tears fell on Susans chest.
"Goodbye...", she heard, and the goats face was gone again.
“No. This can’t be happening…”, Caspian said, and his face appeared.
“Susan… My Susan”, he whispered, and stroked her hair with his free hand.
“Caspian, do it. It’s my fate to die, grant my last wish, to die quick. Do this for me”, she said, and grabbed his shirt in her desperation.
The fabric felt so soft, and she lifted up her head from the ground. A dizzy feeling came over her again. But she managed to lift her upper body from the grass, and she fell against Caspians shoulder. There she sat, with his hand against her wound, with her head on his shoulder and her face buried into his shirt.
“Do it. Take the knife and stab me in the heart”, she cried.
Caspian looked around and saw the thing he would hate forever. The blade sparkled in the daylight. Susan coughed. A stream of blood ran down her jaw.
“Susan! This isn’t good!”, Caspian shouted.
“Stating the obvious”, Susan answered, and coughed again.
“This will soon be over. But I don’t want to die because of the stab of a Telmarine who hates the Narnians”, she said.
“But I AM a Telmarine”, Caspian said, confused.
“You’re not like them. You are… different”, Susan said, still holding on to his shirt.
“And that’s why you have to do this”, she continued.
Caspian reached for the knife with his free hand, cursing it. It felt cold and heavy in his hand, and he knew this was his decision. He could let her starve with a lot of pain and without pride, or he could put an end to it and let her die immediately, knowing her death was caused by her love. He struggled between her fate to die and his faith she would overcome that fate. The faith he could change it, and let her live. His hand shook and he tightened his grip on the knife. Tears streamed down Susans face, and Caspian knew she was in a pain she couldn’t bare. He closed his eyes, making a choice. The hand with the knife came closer to Susans chest. It shook uncontrollably. He opened one eye to see where he had to stab. He couldn’t believe he was actually doing it. He closed the eye and took a deep breath. His hand moved slowly, and he expected to feel the resistance of her hand, stopping him. But in the end, it was something else.
The tip of the blade touched her chest, but then it fell down, into Susans lap. There was a short flash when the light went over the blade. The instrument looked threatening and tried to make Caspian feel guilty about not doing it. But Caspian just stared down on it. He couldn’t do it, but maybe this was for the best. He looked at Susans face. It was teary and looking up to him with a confused look. He grabbed his left sleeve and ripped it of his shirt. He folded it around her chest, and took her chin into the palm of his hand.
“I’m not giving up”, he said.
Susan said nothing and showed no expression. Caspian didn’t know if she was angry, sad or happy. He didn’t care, and he whispered:
“Susan, please don’t give up on your life. Fold your arms around my neck”.
Susan did so, and Caspian stood up, carrying her weight around his neck. The fabric of the left sleeve he used got pink; the blood was going through it.
“I’m taking you to the castle. It’s not far away from here”, he said, and she didn’t struggle. He took her legs and lifted her from the ground.
“Peter… Edmund… Lucy”, Susan coughed, and blood ran down his shirt.
“I don’t know where they are, Susan. But something in me tells me they’re safe”, he said, trying to comfort her.
The anger got worse; if the Telmarines killed the rest of the Pevensies, he couldn’t bare the pain that would cause inside of him. They were his friends, the first inhabitants of this world. He needed all his energy and attention to make it out without falling. He saw the castle, coming closer. They would make it and Susan would live, he just knew it. The grass was slippery and Caspians thirst got worse. He pulled Susan as close as he could. His feet met bricks after a while, and he knew they had almost reached their goal.
“I need help!”, he screamed, standing before the huge, steel gates.
Help came and Caspian carried Susan into the castle, surrounded by a few Narnians. Others surrounded them, asking questions about what had happened. But Caspian didn’t. He needed to make sure Susan was safe. The first room was on his left, and he kicked the door open. He laid her on the big bed and kneeled beside her.
“You’re safe. You’ll make it”, he whispered, and kissed her hand.
He wasn’t sure of her life; the bleeding began again and Caspian prayed with all his life the medical Narnians could save her. Susan opened her eyes and looked at her savior. Her lips curled and she smiled. Caspian needed nothing more to know he did the right thing.
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Susan Pevensie made it out alive, the bleeding got stopped in time. She had to recover for months, but there was no coughing blood anymore. The outside wound healed but left a scar she wouldn’t forget for as long as she lived.
The other Pevensies were also safe, already inside the castle. The Telmarines and Narnians who survived the worst battle they ever fought, made peace.
Caspian and Susan married after another month, and never spoke about that day. The day, love overcame fate.
- The End.