Inheritance: Scales of Change

Chapter Twenty Two - Negotiations

Caspian turned to you. "I'm not voluntarily putting you in harm's way."
"I beat him once. I can beat him again." You responded adamantly.
"That's why he wants you... for revenge. You won't be catching him off guard this time..."
"I'm also not fighting through a crowd of his men to get to him." You looked up at Caspian. "If I were any other soldier of yours, you wouldn't hesitate."
"But you're not any other soldier. You're my future Queen."
"So I must be willing and able to make the same sacrifices you would for our kingdom." You reminded him. "It's this or war."
He looked down at his hands over yours. "He won't fight with honor. He's going to fight to win."
"I know."
"This is a fight to the death..."
"I... I know."
He looked into your eyes, tears forming in the corners of his. "Draw on that ferocity My Starlight. If there were ever a time to let it out..."
You nodded. "I love you."
"And I love you."
You forced yourself to pull away from Caspian, and turned to face Vorsud, drawing Morùnsearc slowly from its sheath. All the men took a few steps back, as the General moved towards you, unsheathing his menacing curved blade.
"At last, my desert flower, I get you all to myself..."
You both stood in combat stance, neither one daring to blink.
"I hope you remember the last time you crossed blades with me, General." You stared him down.
"All too well, I will not be underestimating you again, wife." He smirked.
You waited, wanting him to make the first move. He took a step to his right, and you did the same, keeping your distance equal. He took another, baiting you to circle.
"I hope you know I would have much rather just taken you home, this was unnecessary..." His eyes didn't leave yours.
"My home is right there." You tilted your head in the direction of the island, not turning away from him. "You're the one keeping me from it, which makes this all very necessary."
"I can assure you, you would be happy in my care. Just ask your mother."
    Your blood boiled. "I can assure you, she was not happy with you raping her over and over, forcing her to bear your children, keeping her from her family..." This man, this monster, stole precious years from you. Years you could have spent with her. Years she could have been happy, and healthy. He was the reason she disappeared from your life in the first place, and the reason you only got two weeks with her after.
"I will never let you do that to anyone ever again." You swore.
    You had both moved enough that your back was now to his men, and you could see the faces of your own, Raxe, Caspian, and your father. You could see the worry in his gaze. This was for your mother, your father, your sister... all of you who had suffered at the hands of this heartless bastard. You couldn't wait any longer, you lunged at him with all your strength.
    He caught your blade with his own, and the curve made yours slide off the end. He took a swing at you in turn, and you dodged. You had to be careful, his reach was longer than yours. But he's not faster. You danced out of reach as you swiped at his calf, forcing him to step out of his stance. He slammed his sword down over your head as you turned, just in time to parry.
    The loose fabric of his robe made it difficult to watch any specific leg movements, and he was good enough that he didn't give any indication of his actions with his eyes, so you had to stay quick on your toes. He favored hacking at you from above, taking advantage of his height over you. But that also made him predictable. Once or twice you thought you had the advantage over him, only to lose it immediately.
    On one such instance, you had his back to you, and you attempted slicing at it, but his long blade came around his side, and before you knew what happened, you felt a stinging pain on your thigh, followed by warmth seeping around your pants. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Raxe holding Caspian back, and Vorsud had a very pleased look in his eye, which could only mean he got a piece of you.
Your hand instinctively went down to touch the gash on your leg, and the General's eyes followed, a glint appearing as he noticed the ring on your finger.
    "Oh for the love of Tash... don't tell me that's from him?" He didn't have to specify who for you to know he meant. "Stupid woman. You are already married to the highest rank you could ever dream for. No one in your foul country would accept you, a lowly commoner, a whore, a nobody, as their queen."
    Your could feel with your hand how much of you Vorsud took with that slash. Your pant leg was soaking with blood, but there was no pain, not yet anyway. With your injury combined with his belittling taunt, something awoke inside you, something you were unfamiliar with. It was as powerful as your rage, and as intense as your love for Caspian and your family, but it felt different. Ignoring the gaping wound on your thigh, you adjusted your stance, your back straightening proudly as you stared straight into Vorsud's malicious eyes.
    "I am Pirate Lord of the Scale of the Sea, Commodore of the Narnian Royal Navy, National Liaison to the King, and future Queen of Narnia. I have battled you, your men, and your damn country and come out the victor each time. Your disrespect to me, my family, my people, and my King has gone far enough, and you will be punished for your insolence." You were surprised not to hear even a hint of anger in your voice. You spoke your words calmly and firmly, and found you felt a sudden justified sense of authority. No longer was this a vendetta for you alone, today you fought for all of Narnia.
    If a human could have shot literal steam out of their ears, you swear Vorsud would have. "And who is going to punish me? You?"
"Yes." You responded plainly.
    He charged at you, his sword raised, ready to slice you in half. And maybe it was the blood loss, but you didn't feel panicked. On the contrary you felt an odd sense of calm, and patience. You waited as he rapidly closed the distance between you, until he was just within reach, and he swung down. You dropped in place, watching in slow motion as he tumbled forward above you, his blade slicing the air where your neck was a second ago. From your crouched position his robe fluttered just enough so you caught sight of his foot, and in one quick movement, brought your edge up and sliced right in the back of his ankle, severing the tendon.
He fell, landing on his side, as he screamed in pain. You brought yourself to your feet, and stood over him, pointing the end of your blade to his throat. All the other men on deck fell silent.
"Surrender General." You commanded calmly.
Vorsud stared up at you with a combination of loathing and fear. "Bitch." He spat.
"I am giving you an opportunity to end this with honor. Surrender."
"I will not. You will have to kill me."
    You seriously considered it, it was more than he deserved, but... what kind of Queen do you want to be? "I will not kill you. But this is finished." You demanded down to him. "You will command your fleet to return to Calormen, and your men to return to your ship. And once we see them at a safe distance, we will return you to your ship as well. And you will leave all Narnia and all its territories in peace."
He glared up at you as you waited for a response. You almost didn't hear it, the distant twang, followed by your father gasping. In less than the time it took your heart to beat you felt an aggressive thrust from your side, and you were falling. Your head hit the deck with such force you saw a light flash in your eyes. Your sword was knocked from your hand, and you thought for sure one of Vorsud's men was going to be running you through with it any second.
    You blinked, and for a moment nothing happened. You looked down your body to see your father partially laying on top of you, an arrow jutting from his heart. You could feel your heartbeat in your head as you attempted to process the scene. Your mouth dropped open, and though you don't remember trying to form any words you heard yourself scream. "NO!"
    Someone else shouted, "They tried to kill her!" And in a maddening rush shouting voices erupted from all around you. You couldn't move, your eyes were glued to the image of your father on this side, sprawled on your legs, blood pooling around the point of entry on his chest. You realized you were being dragged to your feet from under your arms, and in a panic you swung your hand out and punched the person as hard as you could.
"Ooof. It's me, we have to get you out of here." You heard Raxe's voice at the impact.
You blinked, and looked up behind you, trying to focus your attention.
"Get up, Bun."
    You forced your legs under you, and stood up, looking around you. Slowly the shock and confusion began to fade from your mind, and you began to understand what you were seeing. Caspian and a few other men were lifting your father's body up off the deck. Vorsud was already on his feet, being ushered away by his men who were clashing swords with your own. Raxe had Morùnsearc in hand, and was trying desperately to drag you by the arm towards your cabin as a chaotic battle ensued around you.