Throne of Secrets: A TBC Short Story

"A fine mess you've gotten yourself into brother,"

He glared up at his sister, rattling the chains around his wrists. "Just get me out of these already,"

She sighed. “Remind me what you did to get locked up in my father’s dungeon, Caspian?”

“You know, Ashen—”

“Your Highness?” A guard rapped on the iron bars of the cell.

“Yes?” Ashen asked.

“His majesty wants you to bear witness to the bastard Prince Caspian’s crimes and be at his trial.” The guard said. Caspian winced.

“Of course,” Ashen said coolly, as the guard left. “You know, Caspian, that I can’t really get you out of there.”

“Just stage a coup or something. It shouldn’t be that hard, right?” Caspian asked.

“Stage a coup?” Ashen said incredulously. “That would be harder than getting into the king’s guard as a girl!”

“He already thinks I was going to, so mine as well make it true.”

“And what if our, well, technically mine, but what if our older sister finds out?”

“She’s helped me out a lot. She looks like the perfect, loyal, crown princess, but she’s gotten me out of a lot of scrapes I’d rather not have to explain to the king. Not quite sure how she does it though. I’ll have to ask her some time.” Caspian said.

“Yes, there really are a lot of them. I’m surprised you haven’t told Ashen about them.” A voice drifted down the dungeon corridor, followed by the sound of footsteps. “Such as the fact he can’t swim. Also, Father would let a girl join the king’s guard. I can win against the most powerful and strong men in the kingdom.”

“You heard everything?” Ashen swallowed nervously.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t say anything. Oh, Caspian? Your life just got much, much worse. And so did yours, Ashen.”

“Why? What happened?” They asked in unison.

“There isn’t going to be a trial anymore. Father thinks he’s found evidence that the both of you are either going to stage a coup, or assassinate him. So he wants Caspian dead, and you, Ashen, either dead as well, or exiled, stripped of your titles, and under armed guard. They’re doing it tonight. Good luck. Ashen, if they come for you?”

“Yes?” Ashen asked.

“Nevermind.”

“Nim, if you can do anything, —”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I’ve tried.” Nim said, walking away and out of the dungeon.

Moments later, another guard walked to the cell door. “Your highness? His majesty wants you to keep his bastard son company tonight, before his trial tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Ashen said, sliding down the wall and sitting down as the guard left once again.

Hours passed, and the darkness of the dungeon swallowed the last scraps of light. Ashen's eyelids grew heavy, and fatigue consumed her. She leaned against the cold stone wall, unable to fight the exhaustion any longer. Eventually, sleep claimed her, and her thoughts drifted into dreams.

Nim placed a finger to her lips as Caspian and Ashen startled awake, their eyes wide with surprise. The darkness of the cell made it difficult to make out the figure standing beside Nim, but her presence was comforting amidst the chaos.

Ashen's heart raced as she watched the mysterious girl approach Caspian. With a quiet determination, the girl produced a small key from her pocket and unlock Caspian’s chains. Once she finished, she pulled a sopping wet cloth from her pocket and held it over Caspian’s mouth and nose.

His eyes widened in surprise, then they slipped shut and his body fell limp. Ashen leaped up. “What did you—”

Nim pressed her finger to her lips, the gesture even more urgent than before. “Trust me,” She whispered, pressing what looked like a flask filled with water into Ashen’s hands.

Ashen drank greedily, her throat parched. Her vision swam, things drifting in and out of focus. Then, everything went black.

“Bree, grab Caspian. I’ll get my sister.” Nim whispered, gently picking up Ashen as not to wake her, Bree doing the same with Caspian.

***

Ashen woke up, the sound of rushing waves surrounding her, not sure where she was. “I knew I shouldn’t have drank what was in that flask.” She grumbled.

“What did you think I was going to do?” Ashen jumped. “Kill you?”

“When did you get here? I never heard you. And this floor is uncomfortable.”

“I walked down the steps.” Nim said.

“Speaking of killing, Nim, no one came after Caspian and I last night, like you said they would.” Ashen said.

“They did.” Nim said quietly.

Realization dawned on Ashen’s face. “He sent you?! Wait, what about Caspian?! He’s dead, isn’t he? And I’m on my way to exile?” Ashen asked, her voice filled with sorrow. “By your hand? How could you?” She said angrily. Ashen tried to stand up, using her wrist to push herself off the floor, but a sharp pain shot through her wrist and ankle. “You would never disobey Father, would you?!”

“We’re on a ship, headed away from the kingdom. You need to get those injuries healed. Can you walk?” Nim didn’t wait for Ashen to answer. “Actually, you probably can’t, since you couldn't even stand up. Cas, would you mind helping me get Ashen to the infirmary?”

“Sure,” Caspian said, walking down the stairs into the room. Nim lifted Ashen up, and supported one side of her, with Caspian supporting the other. They walked up the stairs and across the deck to the infirmary, keeping the weight off of Ashen’s ankle. Nim and Caspian set her down on a cot, and Caspian stepped aside so Nim could lower the rest of Ashen’s body to the bed. Ashen lay there, grimacing in pain.

A shout rang out across the deck. “Sirens!” Nim swore.

“Nim, if I become dangerous, kill me. Swear you will.” Caspian said.

“Cas, no!” Ashen said.

“I’ll make that decision.” Nim replied.

“Nim, you’ll need to restrain me so I can’t hurt anyone.” Caspian said, grabbing a coil of chains out of a drawer and held them out to Nim.

“I know what sirens do, Caspian.” Nim froze. “We’re really close to them now.” She said, pulling Caspian over to a pole.

“i was wondering why there was a pole in here.” Caspian said, as Nim grabbed the chain and wrapped it around Caspian and the pole, and then lit a torch and put it to the two ends of the chain, melting them together.

“Ashen, stay here. I’ll be back.” Nim said.

“It’s not like I can walk, Nim.” Ashen replied.

Nim left the infirmary and locked the door behind her. She could hear the sirens voices. Just like always, they were haunting but beautiful. Unfortunately, if any boy or man were to hear a siren’s song, they’d attack their companions and then dive under the water and drown themselves, even if they knew how to swim.

As the haunting melody of the sirens' song washed over the ship, a figure emerged from the depths of the sea. It was a siren, her pale skin shimmering in the moonlight. With a graceful and hypnotic sway, she made her way up onto the deck, her ethereal beauty captivating everyone's attention.

Nim turned towards the siren, a flame sputtering to life in her hand. She could hear Caspian struggling to escape the chains. The siren’ haunting melody had enthralled him, just from being near the rocky siren’s island even though they had stopped singing.

“This ship is under my protection, you know that.” Nim said. Thank God siren’s could both speak normally and sing. But even their normal voice sounded melodical.

“I only came here with a warning. We mean no harm. There’s a pirate ship not far off, and it seems they are planning to pillage your ship.” The siren said.

Nim turned to look into the distance where a ship was quickly approaching. “You can go now, but when the time comes, would you mind helping me?”

“Of course,” The siren said, diving into the water and heading back to the rocky island.

Nim watched the pirates board her ship. Unfortunately for them, nobody was left on their ship.

“Welcome, welcome,” One of the pirates said with a sardonic smile.

Nim laughed. “Welcome? That’s what I should be saying, as you certainly won’t be leaving this ship for a while, given the fact that a kraken has gotten a hold of it.” They all looked, and sure enough, a giant kraken was crushing the pirates’ ship. “What did you come here for?”

“You’d fetch a pretty ransom from the king, Crown Princess, and we intend to get it.” An older pirate said.

“There’s no point.” Nim said, as her ships' crew of roughly 20 people swarmed out of the doors and surrounded the pirates.

“Alright!” The pirate said. “We surrender.”

“Take them to the galley and take their weapons. I’l deal with them later. And only the boys. The rest can stay here.“ Nim’s crew swiftly rounded up all the pirates but the three girls, and sent them into the galley, taking their weapons and locking the door from the outside and two crew mates took up posts at the door.

“I’m assuming you three were on that ship for a reason?” Nim asked.

The first girl grinned. “Yes. My name is Harmony by the way. I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.” Harmony said, throwing a dagger directly at Nim’s heart. It froze mid-air before clattering to the deck.

Nim sighed. “You really shouldn’t have done that. It’s against the law to attempt to murder me, you know. Have you noticed you can’t move?”

Harmony struggled to move her body but found herself immobilized. Fear washed over her face as she realized she had been caught in an unseen trap. Nim's crew efficiently surrounded Harmony, and took her to the brig, locking the door.

“Your highness? She won’t be paralyzed for long. Do you know if there is something on the ship that we can use?” One of the crew mates asked.

“Yes. We have the chain I had to use with Caspian sent over. When you hear a thump inside the brig cabinet, it’ll be in there for you.” Nim replied as the rest of the crew left to do their respective jobs. “Why are you two here? And what are your names?” She asked, turning to the two girls that were left standing there.

“My name is Asterin, and this is Aurea, your highness.” Asterin said, motioning to the girl next to her. “We wish to follow in our parents footsteps, and serve you, and be by your side till our end, if it pleases you, your highness.”

“Why should I trust both of you? You were just in the company of one who attempted to kill me.” Nim said warily.

“We would swear the blood oath to you, for all time, and you make have us to tell the truth, and we would, as there is no way to lie if told not to when bound by the blood oath.”

“I need time to think about it. I will send for you when I have made my decision. But know, taking the blood oath is not to be taken lightly.”

Asterin and Aurea both bowed to Nim. “Of course, your Highness,” They said in unison.

“Bree, would you mind taking care of these two? And make sure they are fed. And how is Harmony doing?” Nim called.

“Of course, Nim. And she won’t be paralyzed for very long.” Bree said, walking over and leading the two girls away.

“It will be there for them soon, don’t worry.” Nim said, walking into the infirmary. As she walked down the steps, she could see Caspian straining against his chains, a dangerous blank gleam in his eyes. Nim walked closer and Caspian snarled at her. “Ashen, are you awake?”

“Awake but in pain still.” Ashen winced.

“I’m just going to free Caspian from the siren’s call, and then I’ll try my best to heal your injuries, I promise.” Nim said, grabbing a flask of salt water and spraying it in Caspian’s face.

Caspian spluttered. “Nim, why in the name of the king’s underwear did you do that?! And why am I chained to a pole?!”

Nim sighed. “You seriously don’t remember? Does sirens or the fact you told me to kill you if you got too dangerous ring a bell?”

“Oh.” Caspian’s eyes widened. “Oh God. I didn’t hurt anyone right?”

“Not that I know of, but don’t worry. But stop tightening the chain so I can take it off.” Nim said, walking around the plow to the back where the ends of the chain were melted together. She grabbed a lit torch off the wall and put it to the melted spot where the chain was connected, and once it was melted enough, pulled it apart and let the ends cool before letting them drop to the ground.

Caspian went to step over the chain and tripped, and Nim caught him. “Well, that worked well,” She said, grabbing the chain off the floor and coiling it up. She placed it back in the cabinet. “Other side,” She murmured, as a thump came from the cabinet.

“What happened out there?” Caspian asked.

“Oh, the sirens came and left. Pirates boarded the ship and attempted to pillage it. One of them tried to kill me. The men are being held in the galley, and one of the three girls is the one who attempted to kill me.” Nim paused. “The other two girls wanted to swear themselves into my service, by way of the blood oath, they seem pretty loyal. I told them I’d think about it. That’s pretty much it.” She said.

“Nim, you should let them swear the blood oath, especially if someone tried to kill you. Who knows if there will be others!” Ashen said wearily.

“I love the fact that my little sister is worrying about my life.” Nim said, ruffling Ashen’s hair. “I can take care of my self, don’t worry. And besides, I should be more worried about you. You’re probably in a lot of pain. And you need to get your injuries healed.”

Ashen gave a half-laugh before wincing in pain. “Isn’t that what you’re here for? At least I wasn’t stabbed.”

“Ashen. You’re bleeding. What happened?” Nim said.

“Okay, I might’ve lied about not being stabbed.” Ashen replied.

“What happened?!” Nim said worriedly.

“This wasn’t your fault, Cas. You weren’t in control of yourself.”

“I stabbed you?!” Caspian said.

“Not really. You just threw a really sharp dagger at me. It hit my side. I’m fine. I don’t think it pierced through my dress.” Ashen said, as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious.

Nim’s eyes widened before she jumped into action, leaping up to grab a case of salves, vials of medicine, and wraps, as well as big bolts of cloth bandages. “Cas, is there any pillows?”

“No,” Caspian replied.

“Hold up her head, gently.” Nim said as Caspian climbed up onto the cot and cradled Ashen’s head in his lap.

Nim gently turned Ashen on her side. There was a deep gash roughly a foot long down her side, and blood was flowing out of it quickly. Nim grabbed a bundle of cloth and pressed it to Ashen’s wound, just as her eyes fluttered open. “Hey, Nim? It’s just a scratch, there's no need to be worried.” She said.

“Oookay, she’s delirious, isn’t she?” Caspian said.

“I think so,” Nim said, grimacing.

“So, Caspian, you’re going to turn yourself in, right?” Ashen said, her face getting paler by the minute.

“She’s definitely delirious,” Caspian said.

“It’s getting worse.”

“Nim, are you sure its safe for Ashen to stay awake?”

“Crap. Probably not.” She said, turning to Ashen and pressing a hot hand to her forehead.

“What . . . ” Ashen said faintly, as her eyes slipped shut once again.

Nim lifted the cloth off of Ashen’s wound and saw that it was no longer bleeding. “Caspian, pass me that vial of water on the table please?” She asked.

“Sure,” Caspian said, grabbing the vial and passing it to Nim.

She grabbed the vial and unscrewed the cap, then dampened a white handkerchief and wiped the blood off of Ashen’s wound. It came away bright red. There was barely any white left visible. Nim stood up and grabbed a jar of salve off the shelf and opened it, setting the cap down on the cot and dipped her fingers into the salve.

“Hey, Nim?” Caspian said.

“Yes?”

“She’ll be okay, right?”

“She’ll live.” Nim replied, spreading the salve onto Ashen’s wound, and wiping her fingers on a small cloth, just as a loud screech split the air.

“What was that?” Caspian asked.

“Just a messenger hawk. Would you mind dressing her wound while i’m gone?” Nim said, walking up the stairs and onto the deck.

“Sure,”

“Just make sure it goes around her whole cut, and waist so it’s strong, since I can’t stitch it back together right now.” Nim held out her arm and a hawk flew down and perched on it. Tied to it’s leg was a small scroll bearing the royal family’s crest. She quickly untied it and unrolled the scroll and began to read. It was from her father.

My dearest Nim,

I hope you are doing well on your mission. The healers say my condition is getting worse. They think I only have a few days left. It’s very likely you will come home and have to ascend the throne because I’ll be gone. I won’t say anymore, in case of spies, as well as the fact I don’t want to worry you.

Your father,

King Acernis

After she had finished reading, she pulled out a blank scroll and began to write.

Father,

I am well. The mission is going very well. If this is the last letter you receive, I want you to know that I will make you proud.

Nim Acernis

She rolled up the scroll and tied it to the hawk’s leg, and it flew off to deliver the message to her father, as Nim returned to the infirmary. “How’s she doing?”

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