A redemption story taking place during the Golden Ages. Contains some dark themes. Such themes in the beginning of the story relate directly to this being a redemption story. Other dark themes evolve much later in the story.

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Narnia.

He ran his fingers up and down the blade, a smile slowly spreading across his face. It had been so long since he had held a genuine sword from Archenland, his homeland. Honestly though, he was simply glad he was going to be doing his old work again, something he hadn't done since he had worked for the White Witch. Since her demise, he had been on the run from the surprisingly efficient children kings and queens, which rather ruined his reputation as the best mercenary around. And the border had far too many dryads for his to leave. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that his first job since then was to assassinate two of the new Kings and Queens. Revenge and a well-paying job. Thankfully, they were older now. Darius wasn't so sure he would have ever had the heart to kill children, even when he himself had been hardly more than a child. But the kings and queens were adults now, and it was the oldest two he was to kill.

It had been a week since the Tarkaan Varash somehow tracked him down and they made this evil deal.

Flashback

"I'm here, though I much rather not be," Darius said, walking up to the Calormen's with his arms crossed and glaring. He had only shown up because the letter Varash sent had made it clear that there would be repercussions should Darius not attend. And having done a job for Varash before, Darius was well aware he would follow through on the threat. He still hoped that he could somehow talk his way out of whatever job it was Varash had for him. "What is it? I no longer do mercenary work. And don't use your ridiculous Calormen flattery on me. I despise it."

"Ahh, Darius, the best, most esteemed mercenary-"

"No! I just told you, I no longer do anything like that. I have my sister and her children to think of. If I get captured or die, they have no one to support them. Not to mention, if anyone finds out I even met with an agent of the Tisroc's it could lead them here and they'll arrest and execute me. And since meeting you here is endangering me right now, I think I will leave." He turned around and began to walk out, with the tiniest hope that Varash just might leave him alone. He shouldn't – couldn't – do anything that may cause harm to his dear sister Lisette or her children. He owed life to his older sister, so he could not refuse when she managed to track him down and said she needed him to move in with them to help her care for her children after her husband left her. And he quickly learned to love his nephew and nieces as well. He swore to himself that would not do anything now that might put them in harm's way, even though his past put them in danger's path.

"What if the job I were to offer you could provide for them and yourself for the rest of your lives?"

That made him stop. He and Lisette had been struggling for some time, especially since the fortune Darius made off of mercenary work had quickly disappeared as he paid people off when trying to escape the kings and queens. When he moved in with his sister a few years ago after her husband left her, he had very little money left and had to take whatever jobs he could find that wouldn't expose him. Now that Lisette's eldest, Pheneus was able to work, it had lightened a bit for a little while, but then they had to move again because of suspicious neighbors, taking quite a toll in their savings. But even if they weren't struggling, the thrill of doing his previous work would have been sorely tempting.

But if I die or am captured in the attempt, they receive nothing and have lost me. But if I should succeed, then no more worries. This one last job isn't wrong is it? I know Lisette despises this sort of work, but if it were to solve all our problems…

"What is the job?" he asked, turning around slowly.

Varash grinned a devilish grin. "The Narnian High King and older Queen are going to return to Cair Paravel from Anvard in just a few days as they finish off the treaty. For obvious reasons, the Tisroc (may he live forever) would not be happy with an alliance between two of our greatest enemies. Assassinate the High King and his sister and make it look like you were sent by Archenland to do it."

Darius instantly shook his head no. There was no way that job this damn big would go unnoticed. His family would have to go on the run for the rest of their lives. If Darius managed to actually do the job in the first place. "Absolutely not."

"But just imagine the reward we will give you. Riches beyond your wildest imagination. Jewels of-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Darius said, rolling his eyes. The Calormens who wanted to hire him always said the same damn things. "But what good are those to me if I'm dead? Even I can't get away with assassinating them. No deal."

"Your family will get the reward even if you are executed," Varash offered, in a desperate attempt to appease him.

"And if I die or am captured before killing them?" Darius said, crossing his arms. He was sorely tempted to take the job, exciting by the idea of the thrill of the hunt, the challenge it would bring, but was held back by his promise to his sister.

"Hmm…" Varash said, stalling for time. Darius turned and started walking away, knowing that if he stayed much longer he would give into the temptation. Varash began panicking.

"Wait, wait!" he shouted. The other Calormens interpreted this as an order to stop Darius from leaving the cave and blocked the exit. Darius narrowed his eyes. He had two daggers hidden on his person, but preferred to not cause any bloodshed and draw unwanted police attention to the area where he lived.

"What it is?" he growled, refusing to turn around.

"What we really need is them to believe Archenland has betrayed them. Kill at least one of them, make sure to imply you were sent by Archenland, and I promise your family will be compensated for your brave deed."

"And if I die or am captured before killing either of them?" Darius said, putting a strong façade but was sorely tempted by the reward and the thrill having this sort of job used to bring him.

"I trust that you are far too excellent at this sort of work for that. You've never failed the Tisroc (may he live forever) before."

"What happens if I die or am captured before killing either of them?!" Darius growled. Of course he had never failed the Tisroc before. He had been in practice and none of the jobs were nearly this big.

"Convince them that you are part of an Archenland plot, and your family will be given compensation for your death. However, if the kings and queens should find out that Calormen was connected to the assassination, it will not end well for your family. The same if you do not take this job."

Darius grimaced, realizing there was little choice. At least he had managed to make the deal go in his favor much more than it might have otherwise. He finally turned around to face Varash. "I'm not going to sign on to do a job without rewards agreed upon beforehand in a contract, without the basic information, and without any weapons."

"So you will do it?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

Darius turned the sword over in his hand once more. He sheathed it and walked quietly into his house, tiptoeing to avoid waking his family. He grabbed a bag and stuffed it with some food for the journey. A grin slowly crept across his face. He hadn't been this excited in years. Not only would this challenge provide for his family, but he could have his revenge for the kings and queens for forcing him into hiding for so long.

"Uncle Darius," a young boy's voice whispered. "What were you doing out so late?"

Darius froze. He turned around and saw his nephew Pheneus staring up at him. He knelt to look at his nephew in the eye.

"What I'm doing will change our fortune for the better. While I'm gone, you're the man of the house, you understand? Take care of your mother and sisters."

"Yes, Uncle Darius. Of course. I'll pray to Aslan that you come home safe."

"We're Archenlanders! We don't have to pray to Aslan! Besides, I highly doubt he's real," Darius hissed. Not to mention, rather cruelly ironic to pray to Aslan when I'm trying to kill the High King and Queen.

"I'm going to pray for you anyways," Pheneus said, hugging his uncle. Darius ran his fingers through his precious nephew's hair, wishing he could give a proper good-bye to his family. There was a good chance he'd never see them again, but at least they would be provided for.

The High King pressed the Narnians to travel as fast as possible once they left Anvard, in case Archenland was planning on trying any treachery while they were travelling. The treaty had gone well, but he was still hesitant to fully trust the Archenlanders. They finally stopped for this night and set up camp.

"Brother, I would like to sleep under the stars, if you do not mind," Susan said with a smile.

"Of course. I will too, and anyone else who so wishes," he said with a grin. As it turned out, most of the Narnians wanted to sleep outside. It was warm enough that it was comfortable and the skies were clear enough that the stars looked simply majestic.

Susan stared at the stars, silently naming the constellations. Suddenly she saw a rustling in the forest and looked over and saw a man up in a tree, looking at them. An Archenlander, by the look of his clothes. She glanced over at Peter, but he was still fast asleep. She crawled over to where her horn was hanging and hid it in the folds of her dress. She didn't want to wake the others for no reason and after all, if she had her horn with her, how dangerous could approaching the man be? Even if he was dangerous, her horn could always call for help. She walked up to him, as he started disappearing into the woods. She pressed on, not sure what was compelling her to follow him. Something about him intrigued her and she simply had to know who this man was. It made very little sense for her to follow a random Archenlander after spending so much time with them, but she moved on anyways.

"It's alright! I'm Queen Susan of Narnia," Susan whispered brightly. "I'm a friend. I want to find out who you are."

Suddenly she heard a thump behind her and felt a strong arm reach across her breasts and pull her backwards and a dagger being held against her neck. Susan could tell by the feel of his body against hers that her capturer was a man, probably the one she had been following. Her heart began pounding fast and she was sure the man could feel it. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming, not wanting him to use her as a shield against the Narnians attacking. There might be a chance that she could talk her way out of this.

"Oh, sorry," the man said, moving his arm from her breasts to nearer her neck.

"Usually people trying to capture me aren't so polite about protecting my honor," she observed dryly. The man chuckled darkly.

"Not that it matters much. You'll be dead soon, unfortunately," a voice whispered. "I thought I had messed up when you saw me, but instead you practically deliver yourself into my hands. I supposed that's why you have a reputation as being gentle. I'm actually hoping the next half of my job is more difficult, or else this all will be too dull," he said sarcastically. He pulled her tighter as she tried to struggle.

"Who are you? What are you after?" she asked, stalling for time as she strained to reach for her horn.

"You, your majesty," he said flatly.

"I figured as much seeing as you have a knife at my throat. My brother the High King will reward you if you let me go," Susan said, calmly. She knew losing her calm demeanor would only be more likely to ensure her death.

"Not as much as Archenland will for your death!" the man said, pressing the knife to her neck a bit harder but not actually piercing her skin. Susan was shocked and frightened.

So Peter was right to worry. But why? King Lune seemed to want the alliance and friendship as much as we did! Susan thought. She kept her wits about her however and managed to grab her horn.

"What's that?" the man suddenly said. He grabbed her arm before she could raise it to her lips and pried the horn from her fingers and tossed it aside. In the struggle for the horn, he temporarily loosened his grip on her and she managed to escape his arms. However, he quickly grabbed her long hair and twisted it between his fingers to pull her back.

"Not so fast, your majesty," the man said in a mocking voice.

"Please let me go," Susan cried, struggling and trying to pull away, but his arms were too strong. "My brothers and sister will track you down if you take me away and-"

"Well then good thing I'm not being paid to capture you. Just to kill you," he said, suddenly letting go. Susan hit the ground hard and looked up at the man, confused. He then drew a Archenlander sword, and lifted it so he could kill her with one strong blow.

Peter stirred. He thought he had heard someone call his name. He opened his eyes and saw he was in a grassy field. He looked around confused. He heard his name being called again and began walking. He walked past a hill and saw his sister.

"Lucy?" he asked incredulously. She was a little girl again.

"Peter! Peter!" she cried out, running towards him to give him a hug. He got down on one knee to be her height and hug her back.

"Peter, would you do anything for me?" she said, adorably smiling, showing a missing front tooth. She sat down and gestured for him to sit by her.

"Of course!" Peter exclaimed while sitting. "I love you!"

"Would you kill a stranger if it would help me?" she asked, suddenly sad.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" Peter said, drawing back in shock.

"Answer the question. Pleeeeease Petey pleeeeease," she said, giving the adorable dimpled smile that always made him melt.

"Of course I would. I would do absolutely anything for you! But why do you ask such things?"

"Why? Why would you hurt another family just to help your own family? Why would you kill others for me? That doesn't seem like its fair," she asked gravely, touching his cheek.

"I wouldn't want to, but I would do it. And no it isn't fair, but my family always comes first to me," he said reaching out to her. He then pulled his arms back as a blinding yellow mist came from inside of Lucy's heart and enveloped her. When the mist evaporated, there stood Aslan.

"Aslan? What happened to Lucy?" Peter asked in shock, quickly bowing reverently to the Lion.

"Lucy was never actually here. But remember what you said. And when other make the same mistake you just admitted you would make, do not judge them too harshly for their crimes."

" Edmund's handling all the court cases right now. Why did you come to me and not him?"

"Peace, Peter. You will understand when the time comes. Now wake, your other sister needs you."

Aslan breathed on Peter and he awoke, confused by what he had seen.

"Susan?" Peter whispered, knowing she would want to hear all about Aslan's visit. Peter looked around for her. "Susan? Susan? Susan?!" He suddenly noticed her horn was gone. All thoughts about his strange dream vanished instantly, replaced by fear for his sister's life.

"Narnians, awaken!" he called out. The various creatures groggily woke up. He ordered, "Now!"

"What is it?"

"It's not morning yet!"

"Susan's missing," Peter said. At the name of their beloved queen, the Narnians were all instantly awake and alert.

"Sire, I recommend we split up into small groups to search for her," a centaur named Levitus offered. Peter nodded and the centaur quickly formed groups, placing Peter with himself and two ferocious tigers in case someone was targeting the monarchs.

"Well then good thing I'm not being paid to capture you. Just to kill you," Darius said, pushing the queen to the ground. She hit the ground hard and looked up at him. He was surprised to see not fear, but acceptance in her eyes. And something else… almost like she felt sorry for him. He then drew a sword, and lifted it so he could kill her with one strong blow rather than dragging it out. He rarely had been sadistic in his murdering technique, in part because he wanted it over quickly to not think about what it was he was doing. But now even killing her quickly was hard. After all, he was no longer the hardened, ruthless killer he was before. And there was simply something about her, so strong and yet so vulnerable. So beautiful…He involuntarily began to lower his sword.

"May Aslan have mercy on your soul," she said softly.

The name Aslan reminded him of his nephew and why he took this job. He swung his sword down.

He suddenly got tackled from the side by some flying furry object which was screaming, "I found her! Help!"

"What the-" he said as he realized he was being attacked by what appeared to be an oversized talking mouse. The mouse didn't weigh enough to knock him down, but was enough to make him loose his balance and his sword swing wide, missing the queen by a few inches.

"Stay away from her majesty, imbecile!" the mouse said shrilly, stabbing a tiny sword into Darius' side. A man suddenly ran up, sword in hand.

"For Narnia!" he cried, while swinging his sword at Darius. Darius brought his sword up just in time. He narrowed his eyes. The man looked fairly different from the drawing of the High King that Varash had shown him. But that wasn't too surprising since royalty often wanted their best features accentuated and any bad features to disappear when being drawn. His drawing was much closer to his actual looks though than any drawing of the Tisroc that Darius had ever seen.

The man faked to the right and then swung from the left. Darius easily intercepted it, not at all fooled by the fake. He saw the man's eyes glance down for a moment and took a second to look at his feet and jumped just in time to avoid being stabbed in the foot by the mouse. A much larger animal that Darius wasn't familiar with pounced from behind the bushes and knocked Darius over. He grunted in pain as the animal dug its claws into his chest. Darius braced himself and put all his strength into flinging the animal off of himself. He aimed for flinging the animal into the man and it worked! The animal flew off and hit the man in his chest. Susan screamed, terrified that they might die for her sake. The man dropped his sword as he fell over. Darius quickly grabbed the man's sword and poised the Archenland sword and the stolen sword over the man, ready to kill him. Maybe Darius wouldn't have time to kill the queen before the animals took him down, but he would have the chance to kill the High King and his family would be rewarded.