Big Bang Fic: The Red Leather Trousers Escapade (15/17)
Title: The Red Leather Trousers Escapade (15/17)
Author: wingedflight21
Rating: K+
Word Count: ~24K
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia do not, never have, and most likely never will belong to me.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Occurs in an AU of The Silver Chair.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to snitchnipped, rthstewart, and especially accidentalsquid as well as anyone else who helped me through these last few months and numerous chapters.
Summary: An assassination attempt gone wrong sends Jill and Eustace off to solve the mystery behind the attacks, all while playing dead. SCAUverse.
-X-
Chapter Fourteen
-X-
“I don’t understand what you expect to find in there,” Teriko complained again.
Eustace didn’t even respond. He was curled up on the mattress of their inn room, his book on his lap as he flipped through pages of numbers. At Teriko’s heavy sigh, Jill looked up from where she was reading over Eustace’s shoulder and said briefly, “There could be a chance the payment is explained in her records.”
“But why does it matter? We know it was one of the Narnians - can’t we just go search their rooms now?”
“There could be another explanation,” Jill answered, “If it were for a legitimate reason, it would be recorded here.”
“Not necessarily,” Eustace muttered quite unhelpfully, “But there’s a good chance.”
Teriko sighed again. “But I want to do something.”
Jill wanted Teriko to go do something, too, so she would stop irritating them. “Wait for Isak to get back.”
Teriko thumped her foot against the floor in frustration. “He’ll just agree with me.”
Eustace turned another page. “Huh.”
Two pairs of eyes turned back to him. Buried as he was in examining the page, Eustace didn’t even notice.
Jill cleared her throat. “Did you find something?”
He paused, running a finger down the column. “Not… quite. That is, it isn’t record of a payment or anything. But…”
He turned the next page and studied the numbers carefully. Teriko crossed the room to the side of the bed, squinting down at the page with a frown before shaking her head in incomprehension. “But?”
The door swung open. Jill had jumped off the bed before she realized it was just Isak, pushing his way into the room with a large basket in his arms.
“You’ll have to have a disguise again, of course,” he announced, jumping straight into the middle of a conversation. “Can’t have anyone recognize you.”
Eustace glanced up from his book. “Oh?”
“A noble from the other side of the island is arriving in Monakai today and will be staying at the Puwaili. We’ll have you go in as a part of his retinue. Although -”
A creeping unease began to crawl up Jill’s back. “Although?”
“You won’t like this,” Isak admitted, still looking at Eustace.
“Won’t like what?”
He held up the basket unwillingly, “You’ll have to wear the uniform. The Akili’s colours are red.”
For a moment, Eustace’s face had turned the same hue as his most hated trousers. “No. Absolutely not. No!”
-X-
“I never thought I would say this,” Jill whispered to Eustace, “But I think I’ve gotten used to the sight of you in those red trousers of yours.”
“I hate you right now,” he retorted. “Nearly as much as I hate these trousers. Although you can rest assured that I will never hate anything so much as I have come to hate these trousers.”
“I can well believe that,” she snickered.
He elbowed her so she would stop giggling, and Jill was barely able to compose herself before the chief of staff turned their way.
They were inside the Puwaili grounds by this time, having mingled with the bustling servants that formed the noble’s retinue. Everyone was dressed in bright crimson pants and white tunics, the bright colours easily allowing Jill and Eustace to fade into the group.
Less easy would be the task of breaking away from their cover. The party was steadily nearing the busier halls, where there would likely be someone who would recognize the two of them regardless of disguises. Jill hadn’t bothered to wear her chain, either - Eustace would still be exposed, and if anyone caught sight of him and looked hard enough, they would doubtless see through the magic of her own disguise anyway.
Akili Konolik appeared in the hall opposite the group, his arms spread wide in greeting. Eustace gripped Jill’s arm. “We have to get out,” he hissed in her ear.
There was a little-used door the group had just passed. Jill nodded discreetly to it and the two of them began to sidle down the hall. No one appeared to notice; everyone was too wrapped up in Akili Konolik’s speech.
-X-
“I still don’t know where to look,” Jill mumbled. Once again, they were staring at a hall of doors, only this time she knew the purpose each held. Ambassador Glozelle in this room and Lord Transcor in the next and so on down the row.
“Lady Jill?” The eager voice echoed down the deserted hall, but the source had come from somewhere low to the ground. “Lady Jill, is that you? My fellow secret keeper?”
“Setev?”
From the shadows emerged the cheerful mongoose. He pranced happily about Jill’s feet and only stopped as he noticed that she was not alone. “Sir Eustace? Is that you? Are you alive and not dead as well?”
“I - yeah,” Eustace responded. Jill glanced at him and was surprised to see that he was frowning.
“The both of you alive and not dead! But Setev will keep this a secret because he is a secret keeper, he is.”
Jill bent down, resting on her knees so she could be closer to the mongoose. “My friend,” she began carefully, “Do you know if any of the Narnians have been acting different lately?”
“Different?” Setev paused. “Besides alive and not dead?”
“Yes, if you please.”
His tail moved in slow swipes as he thought carefully. “Master Frind’s hair was not so long.”
“Not so long?” Eustace asked skeptically from up above.
“I think he means it was cut,” Jill replied. She frowned, trying to phrase her question in a way the mongoose might understand. “Was there anyone who was not upset that Eustace and I were dead?”
Setev tipped his head to the side as he considered. “The thin lady was sad but impatient. The big man was pleased but sad.”
“The big man? Who is the big man?”
And then Eustace was yanking her to her feet. “Hide!” he hissed in her ear and pushed her towards the nearest door.
“Wait -” But then he’d pushed inside and they’d closed the door behind them.
It was Ambassador Glozelle’s chambers that they had entered. Similar to her own rooms, if larger, the main chamber was brightly lit and filled with Haluan-styled furniture. There were couches in the centre of the room, a low table between them, sets of shelves lining two of the walls, and an ornate desk beneath the window.
The handle of the door began to shake. Jill exchanged a look with Eustace and they tumbled towards the curtains. There wasn’t much room behind the light fabric and Jill was so very afraid that their silhouettes could still be seen from the other side.
Jill became suddenly aware of how close she was to Eustace. He’d wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her in and she could feel the heat of his skin even through the fabric of her tunic. His short breaths tickled her forehead.
The door creaked open. Jill knew the moment Eustace had stopped breathing because she could no longer feel it against her skin.
And then: “Lady Jill? Lord Eustace? Why are you behind the curtains? Are you wanting to mate?”
Eustace let out his breath in a large huff that made her wince. Setev continued, “Because it’s all right if you want to mate. Sometimes other animals like to mate in tight places. But why do you want to mate now? It isn’t the lady’s time of month. I could tell you when it is, if you would like. I could do that.”
Jill pushed aside the curtain rather sheepishly, avoiding any movement that might mean she had to look at Eustace.
“I could fetch a hound if you’d like. Hounds have better noses. I could do that for you.”
She took a deep breath. “I… I think that’s fine, Setev.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t mind.”
Eustace found his voice. “Thank you, but no.”
The fright and subsequent embarrassment had drained Jill. She sank down into the chair in front of the large, ornate desk, playing with the handle of the top drawer so that she wouldn’t have to look at Eustace.
“I guess -” His voice was weak and Eustace coughed, then started again. “I guess we should start looking through the rooms.”
“Or the big man,” she replied, still fiddling with the drawer handle. “Setev, who was the big man?”
Absently, she tugged the drawer out. And there it was - not hidden in a lockbox in a cabinet, not buried within the pages of a ledger, but quite obvious on the top of a pad of paper. In fact, there wasn’t just the one, but many in a stack.
Little black, leather pouches tied with gold thread.
“It’s him,” Jill said in horror. “It’s the ambassador. The ambassador arranged for us to be killed.”
Prologue| Chapter 1| Chapter 2|Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5| Chapter 6| Chapter 7| Chapter 8| Chapter 9| Chapter 10| Chapter 11| Chapter 12| Chapter 13| Chapter 14| Chapter 15| Epilogue|
Author: wingedflight21
Rating: K+
Word Count: ~24K
Disclaimer: The Chronicles of Narnia do not, never have, and most likely never will belong to me.
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Occurs in an AU of The Silver Chair.
Author's Notes: A huge thanks to snitchnipped, rthstewart, and especially accidentalsquid as well as anyone else who helped me through these last few months and numerous chapters.
Summary: An assassination attempt gone wrong sends Jill and Eustace off to solve the mystery behind the attacks, all while playing dead. SCAUverse.
-X-
Chapter Fourteen
-X-
“I don’t understand what you expect to find in there,” Teriko complained again.
Eustace didn’t even respond. He was curled up on the mattress of their inn room, his book on his lap as he flipped through pages of numbers. At Teriko’s heavy sigh, Jill looked up from where she was reading over Eustace’s shoulder and said briefly, “There could be a chance the payment is explained in her records.”
“But why does it matter? We know it was one of the Narnians - can’t we just go search their rooms now?”
“There could be another explanation,” Jill answered, “If it were for a legitimate reason, it would be recorded here.”
“Not necessarily,” Eustace muttered quite unhelpfully, “But there’s a good chance.”
Teriko sighed again. “But I want to do something.”
Jill wanted Teriko to go do something, too, so she would stop irritating them. “Wait for Isak to get back.”
Teriko thumped her foot against the floor in frustration. “He’ll just agree with me.”
Eustace turned another page. “Huh.”
Two pairs of eyes turned back to him. Buried as he was in examining the page, Eustace didn’t even notice.
Jill cleared her throat. “Did you find something?”
He paused, running a finger down the column. “Not… quite. That is, it isn’t record of a payment or anything. But…”
He turned the next page and studied the numbers carefully. Teriko crossed the room to the side of the bed, squinting down at the page with a frown before shaking her head in incomprehension. “But?”
The door swung open. Jill had jumped off the bed before she realized it was just Isak, pushing his way into the room with a large basket in his arms.
“You’ll have to have a disguise again, of course,” he announced, jumping straight into the middle of a conversation. “Can’t have anyone recognize you.”
Eustace glanced up from his book. “Oh?”
“A noble from the other side of the island is arriving in Monakai today and will be staying at the Puwaili. We’ll have you go in as a part of his retinue. Although -”
A creeping unease began to crawl up Jill’s back. “Although?”
“You won’t like this,” Isak admitted, still looking at Eustace.
“Won’t like what?”
He held up the basket unwillingly, “You’ll have to wear the uniform. The Akili’s colours are red.”
For a moment, Eustace’s face had turned the same hue as his most hated trousers. “No. Absolutely not. No!”
-X-
“I never thought I would say this,” Jill whispered to Eustace, “But I think I’ve gotten used to the sight of you in those red trousers of yours.”
“I hate you right now,” he retorted. “Nearly as much as I hate these trousers. Although you can rest assured that I will never hate anything so much as I have come to hate these trousers.”
“I can well believe that,” she snickered.
He elbowed her so she would stop giggling, and Jill was barely able to compose herself before the chief of staff turned their way.
They were inside the Puwaili grounds by this time, having mingled with the bustling servants that formed the noble’s retinue. Everyone was dressed in bright crimson pants and white tunics, the bright colours easily allowing Jill and Eustace to fade into the group.
Less easy would be the task of breaking away from their cover. The party was steadily nearing the busier halls, where there would likely be someone who would recognize the two of them regardless of disguises. Jill hadn’t bothered to wear her chain, either - Eustace would still be exposed, and if anyone caught sight of him and looked hard enough, they would doubtless see through the magic of her own disguise anyway.
Akili Konolik appeared in the hall opposite the group, his arms spread wide in greeting. Eustace gripped Jill’s arm. “We have to get out,” he hissed in her ear.
There was a little-used door the group had just passed. Jill nodded discreetly to it and the two of them began to sidle down the hall. No one appeared to notice; everyone was too wrapped up in Akili Konolik’s speech.
-X-
“I still don’t know where to look,” Jill mumbled. Once again, they were staring at a hall of doors, only this time she knew the purpose each held. Ambassador Glozelle in this room and Lord Transcor in the next and so on down the row.
“Lady Jill?” The eager voice echoed down the deserted hall, but the source had come from somewhere low to the ground. “Lady Jill, is that you? My fellow secret keeper?”
“Setev?”
From the shadows emerged the cheerful mongoose. He pranced happily about Jill’s feet and only stopped as he noticed that she was not alone. “Sir Eustace? Is that you? Are you alive and not dead as well?”
“I - yeah,” Eustace responded. Jill glanced at him and was surprised to see that he was frowning.
“The both of you alive and not dead! But Setev will keep this a secret because he is a secret keeper, he is.”
Jill bent down, resting on her knees so she could be closer to the mongoose. “My friend,” she began carefully, “Do you know if any of the Narnians have been acting different lately?”
“Different?” Setev paused. “Besides alive and not dead?”
“Yes, if you please.”
His tail moved in slow swipes as he thought carefully. “Master Frind’s hair was not so long.”
“Not so long?” Eustace asked skeptically from up above.
“I think he means it was cut,” Jill replied. She frowned, trying to phrase her question in a way the mongoose might understand. “Was there anyone who was not upset that Eustace and I were dead?”
Setev tipped his head to the side as he considered. “The thin lady was sad but impatient. The big man was pleased but sad.”
“The big man? Who is the big man?”
And then Eustace was yanking her to her feet. “Hide!” he hissed in her ear and pushed her towards the nearest door.
“Wait -” But then he’d pushed inside and they’d closed the door behind them.
It was Ambassador Glozelle’s chambers that they had entered. Similar to her own rooms, if larger, the main chamber was brightly lit and filled with Haluan-styled furniture. There were couches in the centre of the room, a low table between them, sets of shelves lining two of the walls, and an ornate desk beneath the window.
The handle of the door began to shake. Jill exchanged a look with Eustace and they tumbled towards the curtains. There wasn’t much room behind the light fabric and Jill was so very afraid that their silhouettes could still be seen from the other side.
Jill became suddenly aware of how close she was to Eustace. He’d wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her in and she could feel the heat of his skin even through the fabric of her tunic. His short breaths tickled her forehead.
The door creaked open. Jill knew the moment Eustace had stopped breathing because she could no longer feel it against her skin.
And then: “Lady Jill? Lord Eustace? Why are you behind the curtains? Are you wanting to mate?”
Eustace let out his breath in a large huff that made her wince. Setev continued, “Because it’s all right if you want to mate. Sometimes other animals like to mate in tight places. But why do you want to mate now? It isn’t the lady’s time of month. I could tell you when it is, if you would like. I could do that.”
Jill pushed aside the curtain rather sheepishly, avoiding any movement that might mean she had to look at Eustace.
“I could fetch a hound if you’d like. Hounds have better noses. I could do that for you.”
She took a deep breath. “I… I think that’s fine, Setev.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t mind.”
Eustace found his voice. “Thank you, but no.”
The fright and subsequent embarrassment had drained Jill. She sank down into the chair in front of the large, ornate desk, playing with the handle of the top drawer so that she wouldn’t have to look at Eustace.
“I guess -” His voice was weak and Eustace coughed, then started again. “I guess we should start looking through the rooms.”
“Or the big man,” she replied, still fiddling with the drawer handle. “Setev, who was the big man?”
Absently, she tugged the drawer out. And there it was - not hidden in a lockbox in a cabinet, not buried within the pages of a ledger, but quite obvious on the top of a pad of paper. In fact, there wasn’t just the one, but many in a stack.
Little black, leather pouches tied with gold thread.
“It’s him,” Jill said in horror. “It’s the ambassador. The ambassador arranged for us to be killed.”
Prologue| Chapter 1| Chapter 2|Chapter 3| Chapter 4| Chapter 5| Chapter 6| Chapter 7| Chapter 8| Chapter 9| Chapter 10| Chapter 11| Chapter 12| Chapter 13| Chapter 14| Chapter 15| Epilogue|