CHAPTER THREE
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AT THE GATES OF TASHBAAN "Mr name," said the girl at once, "is Aravis Tarkheena and I am the only daughter of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Rishti Tarkaan, the son of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Ilsombreh Tisroc, the son of Ardeeb Tisroc who was desded in a right line from the god Tash. My father is the lord of the province of Calavar and is one who has the right of standing on his feet in his shoes before the face of Tisroc himself (may he live for ever).My mother (on whom be the peace of the gods) is dead and my father has married another wife. One of my brothers has fallen in battle against the rebels in the far west and the other is a child. Now it came to pass that my fathers wife, my step- mother, hated me, and the sun appeared dark in her eyes as long as I lived in my fathers house. And so she persuaded my father to promise me in marriage to Ahoshta Tarkaan. Now this Ahoshta is of base birth, though in these latter years he has won the favour o<tt></tt>f the Tisroc (may he live for ever) by flattery and evil sels, and is now made a Tarkaan and the lord of many cities and is likely to be chosen as the Grand Vizier when the present Grand Vizier dies.
Moreover he is at least sixty years old and has a hump on his bad his face resembles that of an ape. heless my father, because of the wealth and power of this Ahoshta, and being persuaded by his wife, sent messengers me in marriage, and the offer was favourably accepted and Ahoshta sent word that he would marry me this very year at the time of high summer.
"When this news was brought to me the sun appeared dark in my eyes and I laid myself on my bed a for a day. But on the sed day I rose up and washed my fad caused my mare Hwin to be saddled and took with me a sharp dagger which my brother had carried in the western wars and rode out alone. And when my fathers house was out of sight and I was e to a green open pla a certain wood where there were no dwellings of men, I dismounted from Hwin my mare and took out the dagger. Then I parted my clothes where I thought the readiest way lay to my heart and I prayed to all the
gods that as soon as I was dead I might find myself with my brother. After that I shut my eyes and my teeth and prepared to drive the dagger into my heart. But before I had done so, this mare spoke with the voice of one of the daughters of men and said, "O my mistress, do not by any mearoy yourself, for if you live you may yet have good fortu all the dead are dead alike.”
"I didnt say it half so well as that," muttered the mare.
"Hush, Maam, hush," said Bree, who was thhly enjoying the story. "Shes telling it in the grand ene manner and no story-teller in a Tisrocs court could do it better.
Pray go on, Tarkheena.”
"When I heard the language of men uttered by my mare," tinued Aravis, "I said to myself, the fear of death has disordered my reason and subjected me to delusions. And I became full of shame for none of my lineage ought to fear death more than the biting of a gnat. Therefore I addressed myself a sed time to the stabbing, but Hwin came o me and put her head iween me and the dagger and discoursed to me most excellent reasons and rebuked me as a mother rebukes her daughter. And now my wonder was so great that I fot about killing myself and about Ahoshta and said, `O my mare, how have you learo speak like one of the daughters of men? And Hwin told me what is known to all this pany, that in Narnia there are beasts that talk, and how she herself was stolen from thence when she was a little foal. She told me also of the woods and waters of Narnia and the castles and the great ships, till I said, `In the name of Tash and Azaroth and Zardeenah Lady of the Night, I have a great wish to be in that try of Narnia. `O my mistress, answered the mare, `if you were in Narnia you would be happy, for in that land no maiden is forced to marry against her will. "And when we had talked together freat time hope returo me and I rejoiced that I had not killed myself. Moreover it was agreed between Hwin ahat we should steal ourselves away <mark>..</mark>together and we pla in this fashion. We returo my fathers house and I put on my gayest clothes and sang and danced before my father and preteo be delighted with the marriage which he had prepared for me. Also I said to him, `O my father and O the delight of my eyes, give me your lid permission to go with one of my maidens alone for three days into the woods to do secret sacrifices to Zardeenah, Lady of the Night and of Maidens, as is proper and ary for damsels when they must bid farewell to the service of Zardeenah and prepare themselves for marriage. And he answered, `O my daughter and O the delight of my eyes, so shall it be. "But when I came out from the preseny father I went immediately to the oldest of his slaves, his secretary, who had dandled me on his knees when I was a baby and loved me more than the air and the light. And I swore him to be secret and begged him to write a certaier for me. And he wept and implored me to ge my resolution but in the end he said, `To hear is to obey, and did all my will. And I sealed the letter and hid it in my bosom.”
"But what was iter?" asked Shasta.
"Be quiet, youngster," said Bree. "Youre spoiling the story. Shell tell us all about the letter in the right place. Go on, Tarkheena.”
"Then I called the maid who was to go with me to the woods and perform the rites of Zardeenah and told her to wake me very early in the m. And I became merry with her and gave her wio drink; but I had mixed such things in her cup that I knew she must sleep for a night and a day. As soon as the household of my father had itted themselves to sleep I arose and put on an armour of my brothers which I always kept in my chamber in his memory. I put into my girdle all the money I had and certain choice jewels and provided myself also with food, and saddled the mare with my own hands and rode away in the sed watch of the night. I directed my course not to the woods where my father supposed that I would go but north a to Tashbaan.
"Now for three days and more I khat my father would not seek me, being deceived by the words I had said to him. And on the fourth day we arrived at ..he city of Azim Balda. Now Azim Balda stands at the meeting of many roads and from it the posts of the Tisroc (may he live for ever) ride on swift horses to every part of the empire: and it is one of the rights and privileges of the greater Tarkaans to send messages by them. I therefore went to the Chief of the Messengers in the House of Imperial Posts in Azim Balda and said, `O dispatcher of messages, here is a letter from my uncle Ahoshta Tarkaan to Kidrash Tarkaan lord of Calavar. Take now these five crests and cause it to be sent to him. And the Chief of the Messengers said, `To hear is to obey. "This letter was feigo be written by Ahoshta and this was the signification of the writing: `Ahoshta Tarkaan to Kidrash Tarkaan, salutation and peace. In the name of Tash the irresistible, the inexorable. Be it known to you that as I made my jourowards your house to perform the traarriage between me and your daughter Aravis Tarkheena, it pleased fortune and the gods that I fell in with her in the forest when she had ehe rites and sacrifices of Zardeenah acc to the of maidens. And when I learned who she was, being delighted with her beauty and discretion, I became inflamed with love and it appeared to me that the sun would be dark to me if I did not marry her at once. Accly I prepared the necessary sacrifices and married your daughter the same hour that I met her and have returned with her to my own house. Ah pray and charge you to e hither as speedily as you may that we may be delighted with your fad speech; and also that you may bring with you the dowry of my wife, which, by reason of my great charges and expenses, I require without delay.
And because thou and I are brothers I assure myself that you will not be angered by the haste of my marriage which is wholly occasioned by the great love I bear your daughter.
And I it you to the care of all the gods. "As soon as I had dohis I rode on in all haste from Azim Balda, fearing no pursuit and expeg that my father, having received such a letter, would send messages to Ahoshta o to him himself, and that before the matter was discovered I should be beyond Tashbaan. And that is the pith of my story until this very night when I was chased by lions a you at the swimming of the salt water.”
"And what happeo the girl - the one yed?" asked Shasta.
"Doubtless she was beaten for sleeping late," said Aravis coolly. "But she was a tool and spy of my stepmothers. I am very glad they should beat her.”
"I say, that was hardly fair," said Shasta.
"I did not do any of these things for the sake <dfn>..</dfn>of pleasing you," said Aravis.
"And theres ahing I dont uand about that story," said Shasta. "Youre not grown up, I dont believe youre any older than I am. I dont believe youre as old. How could you be getting married at ye?”
Aravis said nothing, but Bree at once said, "Shasta, dont display ynoraheyre always married at that age in the great Tarkaan families.”
Shasta turned very red (though it was hardly light enough for the others to see this) a snubbed. Aravis asked Bree for his story. Bree told it, and Shasta thought that he put in a great deal more than he needed about the falls and the bad riding. Bree obviously thought it very funny, but Aravis did not laugh. When Bree had fihey all went to sleep.
day all four of them, two horses and two humans, tiheir jourogether.
Shasta thought it had been much pleasanter when he and Bree were on their own. For now it was Bree and Aravis who did nearly all the talking. Bree had lived a long time in en and had always been among Tarkaans and Tarkaans horses, and so of course he knew a great many of the same people and places that Aravis knew. She would always be saying things like, "But if you were at the fight of Zulindreh you would have seen my cousin Alimash," and Bree would answer, "Oh, yes, Alimash, he was only captain of the chariots, you know. I dont quite hold with chariots or the kind of horses who draw chariots. Thats not real cavalry. But he is a worthy nobleman. He filled my nosebag with sugar after the taking of Teebeth." Or else Bree would say, "I was down at the lake of Mezreel that summer," and Aravis would say, "Oh, Mezreel! I had a friend there, Lasaraleen Tarkheena. What a delightful place it is. Those gardens, and the Valley of the Thousand Perfumes!" Bree was not in the least trying to leave Shasta out of things, though Shasta sometimes nearly thought he eople who know a lot of the same things hardly help talking about them, and if youre there you hardly help feeling that youre out of it.
Hwin the mare was rather shy before a great war-horse like Bree and said very little. And Aravis never spoke to Shasta at all if she could help it.
Soon, however, they had more important things to think of. They were gettiashbaan. There were more, and larger, villages, and more people on the roads. They now did nearly all their travelling by night and hid as best they could during the day. And
at every halt they argued and argued about what they were<s>藏书网</s> to do when they reached Tashbaan. Everyone had been putting off this difficulty, but now it could be put off no longer. During these discussions Aravis became a little, a very little, less unfriendly to Shasta; one usually gets oer with people when one is making plans than when one is talking about nothing in particular.
Bree said the first thing now to do was to fix a place where they would all promise to meet on the far side of Tashbaan even if, by any ill luck, they got separated in passing the city. He said the best place would be the Tombs of the A Kings on the very edge of the desert. "Things like great stone bee-hives," he said, "you t possibly miss them.
And the best of it is that none of the enes will go hem because they think the place is haunted by ghouls and are afraid of it." Aravis asked if it wasnt really haunted by ghouls. But Bree said he was a free Narnian horse and didnt believe in these eales. And then Shasta said he wasnt a eher and didnt care a straw about these old stories of ghouls. This wasnt quite true. But it rather impressed Aravis (though at the moment it annoyed her too) and of course she said she didnt mind any number of ghouls either. So it was settled that the Tombs should be their assembly pla the other side of Tashbaan, and everyohey were getting on very well till Hwin humbly pointed out that the real problem was not where they should go when they had got through Tashbaan but how they were to get through it.
"Well settle that tomorrow, Maam," said Bree. "Time for a little sleep now.”
But it wasnt easy to settle. Araviss first suggestion was that they should swim across the river below the city during the night and not go into Tashbaan at all. But Bree had two reasons against this. One was that the river-mouth was very wide and it would be far too long a swim for Hwin to do, especially with a rider on her back. (He thought it would be too long for himself too, but he said much less about that). The other was that it would be full of shipping and of course anyone on the deck of a ship who saw two horses swimming past would be almost certain to be inquisitive.
Shasta thought they should go up the river above Tashbaan and cross it where it was narrower. But Bree explaihat there were gardens and pleasure houses on both banks of the river for miles and that there would be Tarkaans and Tarkheenas living in them and riding about the roads and having water parties on the river. In fact it would be the most likely pla the world for meeting someone who would reize Aravis or even himself.
"Well have to have a disguise," said Shasta.
Hwin said it looked to her as if the safest thing was to ght through the city itself from gate to gate because one was less likely to be noticed in the crowd. But she approved of the idea of disguise as well. She said, "Both the human will have to dress in rags and look like peasants or slaves And all Araviss armour and our saddles and things must be made into bundles and put on our backs, and the children must pretend to drive us and people will think were on pack-horses.”
"My dear Hwin!" said Aravis rather sfully. "As anyone could mistake Bree for anything but a war-hors however you disguised him!”
"I should think not, indeed," said Bree, sn aing his ears go ever so little back.
"I know its not a very good plan," said Hwin. "But I think its our only ce. And we havent been groomed fes and were not looking quite ourselves (at least, Im sure Im not). I do think if we get well plastered with mud and go along with our heads down as if were tired and lazy -and dont lift our hooves hardly at all - we might not be noticed.
And our tails ought to be cut shorter: not ly, you know, but all ragged.”
"My dear Madam," said Bree. "Have you pictured to yourself how very disagreeable it would be to arrive in Narnia in that dition?”
"Well," said Hwin humbly (she was a very sensible mare), "the main thing is to get there.”
Though nobody much liked it, it was Hwins plan which had to be adopted in the end. It was a troublesome one and involved a certain amount of what Shasta called stealing, and Bree called "raiding". One farm lost a few sacks that evening and another lost a coil of rope the : but some tattered old boys clothes for Aravis to wear had to be fairly bought and paid for in a village. Shasta returned with them in triumph just as evening was closing in. The others were waiting for him among the trees at the foot of a le of wooded hills which lay right across their path. Everyone was feelied because this was the last hill; when they reached the ridge at the top they would be looking down on Tashbaan. "I do wish we were safely past it," muttered Shasta to Hwin. "Oh I do, I do,”
said Hwin fervently.
That night they wound their way through the woods up to the ridge by a wood-cutters track. And when they came out of the woods at the top they could see thousands of lights in the valley down below them. Shasta had had no notion of what a great city would be like and it frightened him. They had their supper and the children got some sleep. But the horses woke them very early in the m.
The stars were still out and the grass was terribly cold a, but daybreak was just beginning, far to their right across the sea. Aravis went a few steps away into the wood and came back looking odd in her new, ragged clothes and carrying her real ones in a buhese, and her armour and shield and scimitar and the two saddles and the rest of the horses fine furnishings were put into the sacks. Bree and Hwin had already got themselves as dirty and bedraggled as they could and it remaio shorten their tails. As the only tool for doing this was Araviss scimitar, one of the packs had to be undone again in order to get it out. It was a longish job and rather hurt the horses.
"My word!" said Bree, "if I wasnt a Talking Horse what a lovely ki the face I could give you! I thought you were going to cut it, not pull it out. Thats what it feels like.”
But in spite of semi-darkness and cold fingers all was done in the end, the big packs bound on the horses, the rope halters (which they were now wearing instead of bridles and reins) in the childrens hands, and the journey began.
"Remember," said Bree. "Keep together if we possibly . If not, meet at the Tombs of the A Kings, and whets there first must wait for the others.”
"And remember," said Shasta. "Dont you two horses fet yourselves and start talking, whatever happens.”
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