Welcome Back Everyone! (This is part 3 of a trilogy, so if you haven't already then it is highly recommended that you read parts 1 and 2 first.) And so the end begins... :-( But, we've still got a ways to go before things get too sad... :-D
First off, I just want to thank everyone for coming back. As I said at the end of part 2, Ava and Caspian may be together but they've still got a long road ahead of them. There will be some highs and lows, some bumps ;-) and bruises, some happy times and sad times so be prepared and have tissues at the ready if you cry easily (cause I sure do!) and enjoy the show...or the read rather.
One thing I want to point out, is the pacing of this part. Unlike the first 2/3 where the lapse of time is relatively short, there will be many years to pass in this part. So, the pacing will be different. Sometimes we will only jump ahead by a few minutes, sometimes by weeks, sometimes by years. To make things easier for you (and me) when there is a large lapse of time between chapters I will post how much time has gone by and the relative ages of the prominent figures.
You can find the full character biographies on my profile, just follow the links; they will include ages, names, picture(s), birthdays, and other relevant information.
Disclaimer: I (still) do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of it's characters or plots, they belong to C.S. Lewis. Ava is mine though (and maybe a few more characters who pop up later), and some bits and pieces of the plot here and there (especially for this part)
To begin...
Time lapse: A few Hours
Ava's age: 19
Caspian's age: 21
Drinian's age: 31 (yes, he's younger than he looks in the new movie)
Rhince's age: 28
Helaine's (Rhince's wife) age: 28
The Four Lords: 50-60
The Naiad Trilogy
Part 3: The Naiad Queen
Chapter 1
Ava sat alone on a smooth rock. Her feet dangled into the small, clear pool before her. Her dress was pulled up to her knees; yes, she was in a dress again. She hadn't been in one since…she could hardly recall how long it had been. The last several weeks seemed to stretch on and on with each day feeling like a week itself. Today had been no shorter than the others
That morning the entire crew woke up with the first light and then sailed straight into the evils of Dark Island. There they found the last missing lord, the Lord Rhoop, and his sword. Then they faced off in a deadly battle with a fear inspired sea serpent. They had lost a few of their men in the attack; Ava had nearly been one of them, but Eustace, who had been a dragon at the time and a great friend, had saved her. She had nearly lost her life again when the sea serpent managed to sink one of its fangs into her legs, but Caspian had chopped the fang off before a fatal amount of the poison could enter her system. She was weakened, however, and retreated to her cabin for a drop of Lucy's magic cordial.
Ava never made it to the cordial though; she was called away, somehow, by Aslan where she came to see just how deep, and how strong her love for her King was. When Ava awoke she knew she had no other choice but to confess her love; he confessed his too. Then, the worst part of the day came when they sailed to the very edge of the world.
They met Aslan there, but Ava and Caspian also had to bid farewell to their greatest friends. The noble mouse Reepicheep followed his dream, his destiny, and sailed over the wall of water right into Aslan's Country. And then, Ava said a tearful goodbye to Edmund and Lucy, a King and Queen from Narnia's Golden Age, and their cousin Eustace Scrubb. Edmund and Lucy were never to return to Narnia.
Now, Ava sat alone at dusk on Ramandu's Island. Aslan had returned Caspian and Ava to the island a few hours ago. Promptly upon their return Caspian had announced their engagement to the crew the Lord's, and the rescued citizens. The crew had not been surprised in the least, and the Narnians rejoiced.
Engaged.
Ava was engaged. The thought seemed foreign to her; just last night she was convinced that Caspian had already fallen in love with Ramandu's daughter, Liliandil. And now she was engaged. Though, a formal proposal had never been made and there had been no period of courtship either. But Ava and Caspian knew they would marry; there was no question about it. Well there was one question left. When? When would they set the date? Ava knew it would be after they returned to Narnia so that her father could attend, but she didn't know how soon that would be. Caspian was in a meeting now with Drinian, the Lord's, and a few other elite members of the crew to decide when they would leave.
"Hmm, there's my Queen-to-be," Caspian purred in Ava's ear as he sat on the rock beside her; he sat so that his feet dangled over the other side of the rock and their left shoulders brushed against each other. Ava smiled but she could not stop the tear that escaped her eyes.
"You're crying?" Caspian quickly brushed the tear away. "Ava, if you wish to change your mind about our engagement…it is not too, late."
"Caspian!" Ava scolded. "How could you say such a thing? I will not have you speak such thoughts again. I miss our friends," she added in a gentler tone. "I love you, Caspian. Do not doubt that."
"I do not doubt it, Ava. I just know how important your magic was to you. I cannot imagine the arguments you must be hearing in your head, now."
"I do not hear any arguments, Caspian. I thought perhaps I might, but after hearing, after feeling the Narnian's joy how could I deny them of that now?"
"Well, then I suppose you must stay with me for the sake of the Narnian's happiness."
"No. No, I will not stay with you for that," Ava said in all seriousness as she shook her head. "I will stay with you, because I love you."
Caspian smiled. "And I love you." They kissed lightly, sweetly.
"Hmm, I knew I had good reason to fear those words," Ava said as she pulled away. Caspian looked at her curiously. "I knew the moment I said those three words, something unavoidable would happen, and it has."
"What are you talking about?"
"Since I first said those three words aloud, I have not been able to keep from saying them? 'I love you.' See, there I go again. Even when you were not with me, I whispered them to myself. 'I love him. I love him. I. Love. Him.'"
Caspian laughed. "And he loves you." He picked up her hand and kissed it. "He loves you." He kissed her arm. "He loves you"—her shoulder. "He loves you." He kissed her neck and she sighed. "He loves you;" he turned her head and kissed her cheek.
"I love you, Ava," he whispered before kissing her lips. The kiss started out as a tender one, before quickly becoming much more passionate. Caspian's fingers curled into Ava's silky, golden hair pulling her closer, while hers went to the back of his neck. Ava softly moaned and nearly crawled into Caspian's lap as his left hand went to her hip.
"Pardon me, Your Majesties."
Caspian and Ava reluctantly broke apart and turned their eyes to their intruder. "Mr. Rhince," Ava said. "I do hope we will not be making a habit of this." He had caught them kissing when they first returned earlier that evening.
"It is not my intent, Princess," Rhince responded. "We only came to tell you that the food has arrived, and we are waiting on you before we dine."
"Then by all means, Ava, we must leave now. We cannot keep these men waiting for their food for long," Caspian said as he jumped down from the rock and helped Ava down.
"You must be Rhince's wife, Helaine, correct?" Ava asked as she greeted the woman standing with Rhince.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Helaine replied. Ava cringed at the title.
"You will have to get used to that, my dear," Caspian said with a laugh.
"Please, Helaine, Ava will do just fine. I have tried to tell your husband a thousand times and yet he still refuses to call me anything but Princess," Ava said.
"Ah, well he is just like a husband then. They never listen," Helaine responded with a smile.
"Well that is good to know for the future. If you have any other tips, I would love to hear them."
"My dear girl, after ten years of marriage, I have plenty of tips."
"Perhaps you could share a few as we walk; we really must be going," Rhince urged them on.
"Right, sorry. Let's be off then. Oh! But wait, where are your shoes, Ava?"
"I left them on board the Dawn Treader when we returned," Ava said as she linked her arm in Helaine's and they began to walk. Caspian and Rhince walked along behind them. "I prefer the feel of the sand and the grass beneath my feet over that of a leather sole. I suppose that is just the Naiad within me."
"No, I believe that is the Ava within you," Caspian replied.
"I'm not sure how I should take that." Ava smirked over her shoulder
"You should take it with love, always with love."
Helaine laughed. "Have they been like this the whole time, Rhince?"
"No, they were much worse with their frequent glances and their pining looks," Rhince replied.
"Oh? And here I thought we hid it so well," Ava said. "No one ever said a thing."
"It was not our place to say anything, Princess."
Ava had to concede to this idea. How embarrassing it would have been had anyone said something. And, she knew she would have denied it any ways; or tried to at least.
"Before I forget, Caspian, when do we set sail for Narnia?" Ava asked after they had walked a little ways.
"We have decided to winter here. Thus far the winds have been mostly favorable for our voyage east; they have been blowing steadily out of the west. But in the springtime, they will change and begin to blow from the east. It is then that we shall return home."
"Hmm, I wonder what winter is like this far east?" Ava said wistfully. "And what of the citizens? Have you men come to a decision on how to return them?"
"No, we decided to leave that discussion for another day. Perhaps you should come with me next time. After all, once you are Queen you will be expected to make an appearance in court every so often. Why not get in your practice now?"
"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Helaine began. "You should not rush the young girl into boring politics so quickly. She may yet change her mind."
"And we certainly do not want that," Rhince said.
Ava and Caspian laughed softly at Rhince's quip and walked on to the banquet table where another feast sat waiting. Now, this was not the same feast that had greeted the crew the night before; this was a fresh feast delivered just a few moments prior to the foursome's arrival at the table. Every evening a flock of birds would fly from the east and deliver a feast, and every morning, on the first rays of sunlight, the birds would return to gather up what had not been eaten. This was how the food was renewed each day.
XOXOX
As much as Ava really didn't fancy going to the make shift court, she did so anyways simply because Caspian asked her to. The next "session" was the following day. They met around the banquet table which had been cleared of all food a few hours prior. Caspian sat at the head of the table with Ava to his left and Drinian to his right. Filling in the other seats were the Lords Rhoop, Argoz, Mavramorn, and Revilian. Also in attendance were Rynelf, Rhince, Tavros, and Voltinus. They gathered to discuss the transport of the lost citizens.
They had been discussing the matter for over an hour and were no closer to a solution than when they had begun. There had been several suggestions made but none were very favorable. One suggestion had been to merely take the citizens back when the Dawn Treader sailed home, but Drinian pointed out that there simply wasn't room. Another suggestion had been to split them up and take them back in turns, but that wouldn't do either. Still another suggestion had been to build them their own ship to sail back on, but Caspian knew it had been difficult enough to find food for one crew let alone two.
"Aslan, we need your guidance," Ava thought while the men debated on the latest suggestion.
"I am here, child," Aslan replied. At first Ava thought the voice was just in her head, but when she noticed the men had grown silent she looked up and there he was. Aslan stood at the far end of the table as if he had just passed under the arch of roots.
"Aslan," Ava whispered.
Caspian and Ava quickly stood in honor of the Great Lion. The others present followed their lead, with the exception of the Four Lords who sat trembling in their seats. Ava looked to them and noticed their pale faces.
"You are right to fear him, my Lords," Ava said. "But you should also rejoice, for now he is on your side. Now, you are on the side of righteousness."
"Allow me, my child," Aslan said as he walked up to the Four Lords. He breathed on each of them and a new look came about them. The fear in their eyes vanished and their limbs stopped shaking. Their faces appeared to lighten as their burdens lifted. Lord Rhoop appeared to change the most and grow thirty years younger for the lifting of his fears, while Lord Mavramorn changed the least. Lord Rhoop was the first to drop to his knees and kiss the paw of the Great Lion as he murmured, "Oh, Great Aslan." The others followed suite with Mavramorn last. When they were done they arose and returned to their seats. Aslan went and stood by Caspian.
"Will you help us, Aslan?" Caspian asked. "We cannot come to an agreement on how best to return the lost citizens."
"That is why I have come," Aslan replied. "I will return them to their homes."
"How will you do that?" Rynelf asked.
"The same way he returned Caspian and I to this island, by magic," Ava answered. "Am I correct, Aslan?"
"Yes, my child, you are. I can return them as soon as they are ready. Just call for me and I shall return."
"Won't you stay, Aslan?" Caspian asked.
"No. I will leave you to discuss other matters." With that Aslan walked off and he was gone.
"Other matters?" Caspian asked, confused. "Do we have other matters to discuss, Lord Drinian?"
Drinian looked a little reluctant to answer and cast an apprehensive look to the Four Lords.
"Drinian?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Drinian replied with a heavy sigh. "We do have other matters to discuss. The Four Lords approached me last night with a concern they had."
"Very well then, I suppose this court is still in session. Let us resume our seats." Caspian gestured to the stone benches that they had all been sitting on, and they sat once more. "Now, what is this concern you have?"
"Sire, Your Highness," Lord Argoz greeted Caspian and Ava with a bow of his head. "How…fortunate it is that you brought the Princess to court with you for it concerns her too."
Caspian's back stiffened. For some reason he did not like the sound of that. He reached out and placed a hand over Ava's, and with a look he urged the Lord to continue.
"It is about your betrothal to her," Lord Mavramorn confirmed.
Ava smiled; she liked the sound of her engagement to Caspian even when it came from the lips of another. Caspian, though, did not relax at all.
"What about our engagement?" he asked.
The Four Lords exchanged wary glances before Lord Revilian finally spoke up. "We—we do not believe it would be a proper union."
*Ducks flying tomatoe*
Hey! Watch it there. So sorry (ish) that I did that to you, again. But in all fairness, I did warn you that they had a long road to travel still. Besides, you will see the reason behind my madness in due time. Just be patient with me.
Hope you all enjoyed! See you in chapter 2...