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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 12, 2008 20:28:43 GMT -5
Susan hadn't been out of Cair Paravel all week. Usually she could slip away easily, find some time for herself; time to just be Susan. Not Susan the Gentle. As much as she loved being the Queen, she liked to be Susan, too. She liked being herself, away from everyone- even her siblings. Susan pulled her red cloak on over her shoulders, lifted the hood and settled it on her head, before hurrying from her room and down the corridor into the courtyard and out toward the entrance. Thirty minutes later, Susan neared the Stone Table runes; a sense of serenity washing over her as it always did whenever she approached the runes. It was as if Aslan himself was there, only not as grand because he most certainly wasn't.
Susan finished the walk up, her fingers trailing over the stones gently as she perched herself on a random rock out of the way. She needed some guidance, some help to realise things, to find herself again. The runes usually brought that to her. It gave her a way to reflect on who she was. Peter, Edmund, and Lucy; they all seemed to get life so easily, but she didn't. Perhaps it was the romantic in her – the one that always looked for the Mr. Charming, or perhaps it was the realist in her – the one that always told her that she wasn't happy and she wouldn't be until she was okay with herself.
With a quiet sigh, Susan pulled her hood off her head and lifted her face to the sun. It was Summer in Narnia, but Susan was always very cold. The cloak was just something that kept her arms from getting goose bumps. Lucy always worried that she was ill when she wore cloaks out in the heat, but Susan couldn't help it – she got cold chills easily. Peter never asked her about it, but she noticed him watching her carefully. She wasn't ill. She was just at unease. Susan closed her eyes and unclasped her cloak, letting it fall off her shoulders onto the rock around her. She needed the feeling of bliss to wash over her. Even if it meant she was cold.
Susan opened her eyes at the crack of a branch and turned her head slowly, not feeling defensive, nor tense, but just subtly surprised. There was no one in sight, however, and still Susan did not feel uneasy; "Hello?"
Reason For Edit: Just testing something.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 12, 2008 20:52:51 GMT -5
It's been a long way from Cair Paravel and Allen still had a long way to go, where? he wouldn't know, a village, a town, wherever. Somewhere to refill his canteen would be good. Tell some gossips in the local tavern, mock someone and maybe get some coins.
Walking calmly thinking of what to tell in the next tavern. Speaking as if he was there in front of many people. "Larzuk... ahh poor guy, he wanted to stand on a table to tell a joke to get a bit of fame, but fell on everyone's drinks..." "ummm... no no... that doesn't sound ok..." "Ah! Larzuk, the idiot that... uhh.. no no... how to tell it..." he sighed deeply "let's better forget that one, yah, it's a bit stupid".
He looked around and noticed the place was getting a bit rocky, maybe getting closer to the old stone table. He sighed a bit and walked a bit slower, his paws didn't like rocky ground.
Didn't hear Susan and kept walking. He scratched his head a bit and sat down to rest, dropping his bag on the ground, making some metal sounds since his gauntlet and sword were inside.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 12, 2008 21:44:29 GMT -5
A figure soon appeared from the direction of the sound Susan had heard. A fox, though he didn't seem to realise she had spoken to him. Waiting another moment, and steadily watching him, Susan observed him sit down and drop his bag to the ground. He looked perplexed, though, not lost; which was a gentle comfort to Susan. After a quiet moment of observing, Susan tilted her head and cleared her throat; "Hello? Are…are you alright?" The concern for the fox was swimming over her. She was too easily concerned. It came with being the eldest girl of four children. Peter was too laidback sometimes, Edmund too surly, and Lucy sometimes too childish. Where did that leave Susan? The level-headed one. The logical one. Sometimes she hated it. Most times she hated it.
She didn't dare confide this to anyone, though. She was perpetually happy whenever she was around her siblings. Her confidence so strong that most people wouldn't be able to believe that she felt out of place to begin with. It wasn't that Susan felt out of place with her siblings, or in Narnia, it was just that they each had their own thing and Narnia went on easy enough without her interfering. What made Susan special aside from archery? Nothing that she could think of, nothing that mattered.
Pulling herself from her thoughts, Susan stood from her place on a rock and approached the fox easily, sinking onto a rock across from him; "Long travels?" she asked politely, showing genuine interest.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 12, 2008 22:00:23 GMT -5
Allen turned to look at Susan and got a bit nervous, Queen Susan is present. He pulled his sheathed sword from the bag and stuck it on the ground, it seemed a bit too big for him, but the thin blade made it easy to wield. He stood up and bowed a bit. He spoke quietly, trying to sound civilized "I am alright... just a bit tired from traveling from Cair Paravel. But a bit of rest will work fine." He looked up shyly, trying to not to be disrespecting "May I ask what brings your majesty so far from the throne?"
He was shaking little bit and his fur stood up a bit from the surprise. His sheath looked a bit crude, not very nicely crafted wood, the paint was partly lost but what could be seen of the blade seemed fine. His fur was a bit messy, clean but messy, nervousness could be seen in his eyes. He isn't fully loyal at all to any rulers but tries to stick with the protocol to stay out of trouble.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 12, 2008 22:19:24 GMT -5
Susan tilted her head slightly, a small smile tugging at her lips at his slight bow. She always forgot how formal people were outside of the castle. She didn't like being bowed to, but early on she had found that it was inevitable. She didn't say anything to encourage it, though, and she found it insulted quite a bit when she asked them not to. So, instead she smiled and nodded in response most of the time; as she was now. When he answered her question, she couldn't help but detect the hesitancy in his voice. "Well, I do hope a bit of rest will help. If it doesn't, do let me know and I will see that you get to where you want to go at a much quicker pace than you are travelling now." Her smile was kind, gentle – no wonder she was so named.
Then it was his turn to ask her a question, but before she answered she observed the way he shook only slightly and the way his fur seemed to stand on end. She could tell he had been travelling a long way, for travelling from Cair Paravel was a long journey – especially by foot; but she didn't hold it against him. Most Narnians travelled long distances by foot. With a soft sigh, Susan looked at the runes of the stone table; "I come here to think at times. It's the place I feel Aslan the most." She had surprised herself with the honest answer she gave him, but it wasn’t as if she would have lied. She just probably would have answered differently.
Susan looked back at the fox and smiled gently again, "Please, do relax. There is no nervousness between fellow travellers."
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 12, 2008 22:40:22 GMT -5
Allen relaxed a bit and fur came back down. He closed his eyes for a bit and opened them again, looking a bit calmer. He sat down slowly back where he was and placed his sword back into the bag. "No... don't worry, it isn't that bad."
He looked at Susan who was looking at the runes and thought for a bit. "Aslan... I wonder... why everyone says the same... they look at the place he spent the worst time in his life, instead of the place where the White Witch was defeated... the place of victory... will not understand it anytime soon." he looked up at the broken table and sighed a bit. "to be honest I didn't believe in the prophesy back then... I did believe in Aslan's army..." he moved his sight back to Susan "and when he was brought here... I thought battle was lost...but I have to confess I admire the way you and your brothers commanded the army..." he let out a deep sigh. Feeling a bit more confident.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 12, 2008 22:55:52 GMT -5
Susan smiled to herself when the fox seemed to relax a little bit, telling herself that it was small steps first. She knew they wouldn’t be chatting like old friends, there would still be some intimidation there, but at least he wasn't being nervous about his words – not nearly as much.
"Aslan... I wonder... why everyone says the same... they look at the place he spent the worst time in his life, instead of the place the White Witch was defeated... the place of victory... will not understand it anytime soon." Susan thought about that, biting her bottom lip as she looked at the stone table. It was a strong emotion for her, to be here. The memories of that night were strong in her head, every time she thought about Aslan. She never spoke of it, though. It was a private memory.
She pulled herself from her thoughts to look at the fox as he spoke about her and her siblings. She looked down at the mention of when the White Witch brought Aslan here, memories of that night flashing through her head. When he was finished, she looked back up with a smile; "We couldn't do it without Aslan, or the rest of Narnia." She hated taking credit for winning against the White Witch, it was not her and her siblings' doing. It was Narnia's. Her eyes flickered to the stone table again and she said in a more sombre voice, "I think everyone feels him stronger here because while it was his lowest moment, it was also his highest." She looked at the fox and smiled again, "He did come back here, as well."
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 12, 2008 23:15:17 GMT -5
He stopped for a bit and closed his eyes again while thinking. He always had the habit of closing his eyes to think. "Never thought of it that way..." he whispered. "Of course... he returned here."
He let a deep sigh out and opened his eyes at her comment, about them not being able to win without Aslan. "Aslan just gave the last blow in battle. I always thought he was a better commander than fighter". Allen took his tail in his forepaws and brushed it slowly. "Sorry I don't know much about this... just stories."
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 13, 2008 20:46:08 GMT -5
Susan shrugged and rubbed her palms on her green dress, splaying her fingers on her thighs and looking at them, "That’s okay. Most people don't unless they remember; and they don’t. Everyone seems to remember the negative things easier than they do the positive things." The only reason she could remember that Aslan returned here was because she had seen it. She had walked him to the table with Lucy, she had watched him be humiliated, and she had cried with her sister afterward. And then…they had seen him rise back; visiting the runes one last time before battle. She had felt the elation when she had hugged him, the strength. "It was his greatest moment," Susan whispered mostly to herself.
She looked up at the fox and shook her head, "Aslan would have been in the battle if he could have been. That last blow was all that was needed from him by the time we arrived. Peter…wouldn't have made it without him, and I don't know how me, Lu, and Ed would do without him." She was rambling off in her own little world now, and she slowly pulled herself back with a small smile, "But he does make a great commander. However, there isn't any war going on as of now – and I would like to keep it that way." Susan the Gentle, she thought with a wry smile.
Watching the fox brush his tail, Susan looked very curious; "Stories? I would love to hear one. Care to share?" Her smile was bright, friendly, as always.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 14, 2008 12:44:52 GMT -5
Allen listened silently while brushing his tail and closes his eyes for a bit again then sighed again. "Peter... I don't like King Peter at all..." he looked down a bit and continued "Please excuse me for this... it's just... that he seems a bit too arrogant to me..."
He let his tail alone, stayed silent for a bit and whispered quietly. "Things seem better than before in Narnia... so I cant complain..." "And back to the stories. They just describe the battle and add some fantasy elements to it, also says Aslan comes and goes, you may see him one day and the next day you may not... I have to admit Aslan is a very mysterious one..." Allen searched in his bag and pulled out some string and a little metal hook, as well as a small bag of little pieces of bread. "Ah... I simply don't know how to put it in respectful words. I will try to catch some fish, it isn't much and it isn't as good as Cair Paravel's food. would you like some anyways?"
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 14, 2008 13:14:45 GMT -5
Susan looked shocked at the fox's words. He didn't like Peter? That was something that she had never heard before. Narnians loved Peter, he was so charismatic. She wasn't aware that some saw Peter as arrogant. "Oh…" Susan said after a moment, looking down at her feet, "Well, I'm sure it doesn't really matter any, considering it's coming from me – his sister – but Peter isn't arrogant at all. Edmund's the arrogant one." She rolled her eyes here and then tugged on her skirt subconsciously. They had always had trouble with Edmund, he always caused problems. She loved her younger brother, though, even if he did cause her headaches every now and then.
She nodded at what he said about Narnia before she turned and looked around, "It is much prettier in Summer than it is in Winter, isn't it?" She smiled softly and looked as a bird flew over their heads, circled, and then soared away again. "Yes, I must say I love Narnia as it is now." Susan shrugged here and then pulled her long brown hair over her shoulder, running her fingers through it as the fox spoke of the stories. She thought it would be interesting to hear about the battle from another's point of view, but she didn't press – he didn't seem too eager to share. She didn't like making people do things that they didn't want to do. Then when he spoke about Aslan, Susan let out a quiet laugh; "You are quite right, Aslan is mysterious. He may show up one day and then be gone the next. However, he's always with us in spirit."
With a tilt of her head, she watched him pull out a string and a hook, with some bread. Then she smiled gently, "I'd love some. I'm rather hungry. Would you like some help?"
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 14, 2008 13:49:44 GMT -5
Allen tilted his head a bit "Edmund? I didn't notice it all. The only thing I don't like about him is that for some reason he gave information about Aslan's camp. The Witch wasn't supposed to know the location... but okay, these things are past already"
He picked up a branch and tied the string, trying to make something similar to a rod then tied a nut shell near the hook to work as a float. "Well... winter isn't that bad... makes my nose a bit cold and makes it a bit harder to fish. Being winter so long is the hardest part... and no Christmas for 100 years, even if I didn't get anything for Christmas, I liked the festivities. Ahhh.... those were real parties, they used to celebrate a lot, since they knew there wouldn't be another Christmas soon."
He looked up at Susan after she offered some help "ummm... I cant really ask anything to a queen other than asking her to rest and try to be comfortable. I can handle both the fish and the fire" he smiled at her a bit shyly and stuck a piece of bread on the hook. "My memory is not the best one around... I forgot to tell you my name... it is Allen, Allen Gorobel I am from a small village in the western woods."
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 14, 2008 23:08:16 GMT -5
Susan tilted her head slightly again, this time in confusion; "But Edmund didn't lead her to the battlefield. He was supposed to lead her to us. Well, like you said; no matter, that is the past and this is the present." She smiled brightly, happy to forget the terrible past and the mistake of her younger brother. Edmund was still, and always would be, forgiven for what he had done. If anyone held a grudge against him for it, they did not speak of it. Aslan had forgiven him, Susan had forgiven him, Peter and Lucy had both forgiven him. They had come so close to losing him, how could they not have forgiven him? Even if he was an arrogant butt at times.
She smiled, delighted, when he spoke of Christmas; "Yes, Christmas festivities are something else entirely, aren't they? Have you spent a Christmas at Cair Paravel?" She paused here, her mind racing back to memories of dancing, feasting, laughing. Last Christmas she had opted out of the party. She hadn't been feeling too festive, even then. "It's something completely different," she finally said with another small smile.
It was then that Susan asked if there was anything she could help him with, and as she expected; he said no. If she had been anyone else, he probably would have allowed her to help – but because she was Queen Susan the Gentle, she was denied the possibility of doing something normal, "Alright, then. But if there is anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask." She bit back a comment about how she wasn't an invalid. That wouldn't do much good. The fox then introduced himself and Susan smiled brightly, "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Allen Gorobel. So, tell me, do you spend your days travelling all the time?"
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 15, 2008 13:03:58 GMT -5
Allen got up slowly, picking his bag. He nodded slowly in thanks. "I travel a lot, yes... cant stay in the same place for long, don't like the idea of letting life pass. I also need to get some coins, for things I cant make myself." He started to walk slowly and looked at her "do you feel like coming with me to the river? And if you don't mind getting a bit dirty, you could try to fish?" He started to look for something into his bag and took out a small net, very old though. "you could use the rod." He tilted his head lightly, waiting for an answer.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 15, 2008 14:23:08 GMT -5
Susan listened, showing her interest. She rarely travelled. She was always in Cair Paravel, locked up in the castle as if it were a prison rather than a palace. If she ever did travel it was to Tashbaan, and really…Susan didn't want to go to Tashbaan. She hated that place, not because it was filthy and crowded and not pretty at all, but because it held doom for her – doom in a sense that she really couldn't stand. She felt a sense of foreboding whenever she entered Tashbaan, as if her life was going to end there and the last thing she would see would be the terrible Prince Rabadash. Oh, her stomach churned at the thought of seeing him again.
Luckily, Allen pulled her from her thoughts by asking her along to the river. She smiled brightly and stood from the rock she had been sitting on, "I'd love to," even though the idea of dirt wasn't at all appealing to her, the idea of companionship was and besides - she had said she would help. Susan fixed her dress, and then nodded easily before pulling her hair over her shoulder and braiding it quickly with skilled fingers. She always braided her hair before she was about to go and do something. She wrapped a leather strip around the end of it and then flicked it over her shoulder with a brilliant smile in the fox's direction.
"Alright, I can't say I'm any good at fishing. So, this will be an interesting experience. Lead the way, good sir."
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