YAY another chapter! I own nothing but Amelia!
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It was dark and dull inside the city and Amelia rather liked it, but just being there stirred something inside her she didn't like. She turned to find Eustace peeking in windows. She shook her head. She had little patience for people who were useless, much like this boy.
"Yeah looks like nobody is in so do you think we should head back?" he said loudly across the quiet square.
The four turned and looked at him and Caspian glanced at Edmund like he should do something.
"Do you want to come here and… guard… something?" Edmund asked his cousin.
Amelia held back a bark of laughter at the young boy's face. Is whole demeanor really. He was playing nervously with his fingers and his mouth was in a scared 'o' shape.
"Ah yes!" he said running across the square to them. "Good idea cousin. Very uh… logical."
He stood looking very unsure of himself until Caspian turned around and gave him his long knife. He took it and looked it over then said, "I've got it, I've got it. Don't worry."
Amelia couldn't really believe what she was hearing. Apparently neither could anyone else because they all gave him a strange look. To Amelia's even further amazement, he turned around and held the knife at such a strange angle, she doubted it would be much use if anyone did attack him, but the four continued inside the building. He could be heard outside saying, "Ready to go when you are!" but they paid him no mind.
The building was magnificent, although dark and shabby and smelling of mold, Amelia could see that in its day, it was the most beautiful building around. Edmund shone his torch on a podium in the center of the room. There was a book lying open on the podium.
"Who are all these people?" Lucy asked as they gathered around.
"Why have their names been crossed out?" Edmund wondered.
"Looks like some kind of… fee," Lucy said slowly.
"Slave traders," Caspian said glancing at Amelia.
Before the words were even out of his mouth, bells began to clang above them and shouts could be heard in the rafters. Suddenly men began dropping down on ropes. The next few seconds went by very quickly. Caspian shot one dropping down behind Lucy with his crossbow, then he was engulfed by three men with swords. They were all individually surrounded by men. Amelia tried to keep watched on her comrades, but there were just so many for her to take care of that she couldn't.
She slashed a man's arm, sending him reeling, but it didn't stop him. He was helped up by a friend and they both came at her, swords held high. She blocked one's blow, and pushed him sideways into his friend. Someone behind her shoved her forward into the waiting arms of another enemy. He spun her around to face the one who had pushed her. He tried to punch her. Using the man holding her, she jumped and landed both of her feet on the one in front of hers chest. She kicked out sending both men in opposite directions. The one holding her fell on his back giving her enough time to elbow him in the ribs. She got to her feet in enough time to see how the others were fairing. Lucy had just run a man through, Edmund was kicking and punching more than using his sword and Caspian was in his usual, dominant stance until someone screamed.
Everyone turned to see an older man holding Caspian's long knife to Eustace's throat.
"Unless you want to hear this one squeal like a girl again, I'd say you should drop your weapons," the grimy old man said.
"Like a girl?" Eustace protested.
"NOW!" the man yelled pulling the knife closer to Eustace's windpipe to emphasize his point.
Lucy was the first to drop her sword, rather throw it to the ground in anger. Caspian knelt and carefully placed the weapon down, and Edmund glowered at his cousin. Amelia was not so quick to relinquish her sword. What did she care what happened to this child?
"Amelia," Caspian warned.
Finally she growled and dropped it.
"Put them in irons," the leader said.
They all converged on the Narnians.
"Get your hands off of me!" Lucy shouted struggling.
Amelia kicked one of the guards in the shins and tried to fight them off but finally one of the men elbowed her in the face making her nose bleed. Caspian spared a worried glance at her, but she looked up. Her eyes told him she was fine. For now.
"We will take these three to market," the leader said pointing to Eustace, Lucy and Amelia. "Take those two to the dungeon."
"Listen to me you insolent fool. I am your KING!" Caspian shouted.
Edmund fought them off too, but it earned him a sharp slap to the cheek.
"You're going to pay for that," he hissed through pain.
"Actually, someone else is going to pay. For all of you," a new man said.
He nodded and the men began to drag Lucy, Eustace and Amelia off in another direction than Caspian and Edmund.
"Edmund!" Lucy screamed.
"Lucy!" he shouted back struggling harder against the men.
Finally they were forced to knock him to his knees to be able to drag him away. The gravity of the situation finally seemed to hit Amelia and she struggled like she was possessed. Caspian saw the change in her and knew exactly why. He caught her eyes and was surprised and the terror he saw in them.
"Amelia everything will be alright. I promise!" he yelled to her before she was dragged away and a door slammed shut.
Lucy, Eustace and a very violent Amelia were taken to the front of the building in the court. Their shackles were attached to a chain running through iron rings welded into the rock. It was dark and cold and Amelia was almost in tears. Lucy was shaken, but was more worried about her comrade. Amelia seemed to be very good at keeping her face stoic so far, but what Lucy was seeing now was positively frightening.
"Amelia. Are you alright?" she asked quietly.
All she could do was nod. Lucy waited for the young woman to turn her head to meet Lucy's eyes, but she didn't.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I'm… I'm worried about Caspian," she stammered.
Lucy quirked and eyebrow disbelievingly. Amelia glanced over and a shadow of a smile crossed her face.
"You are very intuitive aren't you?" Amelia asked.
Lucy dropped her gaze and smiled.
"You don't have to talk about it," she said quietly realizing she may have overstepped her bounds.
"I guess there is no time like the present," she said with a sigh. "I was twelve when I hid on a Telmarine ship that was sailing here. I thought it would be fun to see Narnians again."
Amelia took a shaky breath.
"But when we got here, the Telmarines… they… slaughtered all the Narnians they could find. I watched from the ship, and vowed when I got back to Telmar, I'd learn how to defend myself and my friends. That's what I did. I found a sword smith who took me in and taught me all he knew. I learned how to make swords," she laughed. "All kinds of swords, but I wasn't as good as he was. He made my sword. Gave it to me on my fourteenth birthday. He told me it was the only weapon I would ever need."
A comfortable silence settled between them. The only sound was Eustace sobbing quietly.
"What was his name?" Lucy asked.
"I never knew," Amelia answered.
She looked at Lucy with a genuine smile on her face.
"What did you call him?" Lucy asked perplexed.
"Father."
Lucy raised her eyebrows and smiled gently.
"Was he your… real father?" she asked.
Amelia shook her head still smiling.
"I never knew my real father. Narnians raised me from an infant."
Lucy's eyebrows went up further. Amelia smiled at her expression.
"Two fawns," she said.
"Really?" Lucy said happily. "I once had a very good friend who was a fawn."
"They are good creatures," Amelia said. "When I was nine, I explained to them I needed to know who I was and they agreed. They gave me their blessings and let me leave."
She sighed.
"I should have stayed."
Lucy waited patiently but Amelia said no more. She seemed to realize she had said too much for only just meeting Lucy two days ago.
1234
A loud bang woke Edmund from unconsciousness.
"You alright?" Caspian asked glancing at him.
"Yeah," he answered rubbing his forehead.
Caspian continued kicking the gate to no avail.
"It's hopeless," came a voice from the dark corner of the cave. "You'll never get out
Caspian and Edmund spun to face the mysterious voice.
"Who's there?" Edmund asked.
"Nobody. Just a voice in my head," it replied as Caspian moved forward.
He stepped carefully into the darkness until an old man was illuminated. The two stared at one another for a few seconds before Caspian seemed to recognize him.
"Lord Bern," he said.
Immediately the old man's brows drew together in confusion.
"I'm no longer deserving of that title," he said looking down.
"Is he one of the seven?" Edmund asked and Caspian nodded and moved toward the old Lord.
He knelt slowly in front of him.
"Your face," Bern said scrutinizing Caspian. "You remind me of a King I once loved."
Caspian nodded.
"That man was my father."
"Oh I'm so sorry," Lord Bern said covering his face with his hands and falling into Caspian's lap.
"No please. Please," Caspian said helping him stand.
He smiled at Lord Bern but his attention was drawn away by screaming outside. He and Edmund climbed up the slanted wall and looked out the small, barred window. They were just in time to see people being loaded into boats and sailed out onto the ocean.
"Where are they taking them?" Caspian asked Lord Bern.
"Keep watching," he answered.
They did and couldn't believe what they saw. A green mist appeared out of nowhere and swallowed the small boat up. Then it was gone a quickly as it had come leaving no trace at all.
"What happened?" Caspian asked.
"It's a sacrifice," Lord Bern answered.
"Where did they go?"
"No one knows," Lord Bern explained. "The mist was first seen in the east. Reports of fishermen and sailors disappearing out at sea. We Lords made a pact to find the source of the mist and destroy it. They each set sail, but none came back. You see if they don't sell you to the slave traders, you're likely to be fed to the mist."
"We have to find Lucy before it's too late," Edmund said.
"And Amelia as well," Caspian said mostly to himself.
Edmund jogged back to the window and looked out.
"Caspian!" he said happily. "I see them!"
Without hesitation, Caspian leaped up to the window and peered out. The bright sun hurt his eyes at first, but as they adjusted he could see a line of prisoners chained in the town square against the far wall. Lucy and Eustace were first in the line, but Caspian couldn't find Amelia.
"I don't see her," he said, again mostly to himself.
"There!" Edmund said pointing. "The stage."
Caspian followed Edmund's gaze and let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Amelia was on her knees, her head hung and hair curtaining her face.
"She doesn't look to good," Edmund noticed.
"No she isn't," Caspian said.
"What's wrong with her?" Edmund asked.
Caspian sighed as he watched the last bid then her get drug off stage.
"Last time she was here she was twelve and she watched the Telmarines kill every Narnian they could find. It scarred her. We have had a few conversations about it, and she told me, the thing she is most afraid of are these islands. I was surprised she came ashore with us, but I knew as soon as we were caught, she was going to fight as hard as she could to get away, even if that meant hurting herself in the process."
Edmund was staring at the King surprise written on his face.
"Is she a Telmarine?" he asked.
"She is an orphan," Caspian answered. "But for all intensive purpose she is. She grew up on the ports of Telmar. She slept in the riggings of docked ships."
He glanced at Edmund's stunned face then sighed, thinking to himself that he might as well tell him the whole story.
"Two fawns raised her from infancy. When she was nine she left to find out who she was. She came to Telmar as a stowaway. She told me she loved the ship so much, she stayed on the port and lived on docked ships. She learned how to navigate the rigging as well as any sailor when she was only a child, although she did fall a few times." He laughed. "She fell from the crows nest once and broke her arm. She told me she stopped counting the times she got her foot stuck in the rigging and hung up side down all night until someone came and helped her."
He smiled and laughed giving Edmund all the little details he knew about Amelia. All the times she had fallen, broken something. All the times he had laughed with her. The time he saved her from the royal guards for steeling something. The time she had saved him from a wild dog. Edmund listened contentedly. The stories took his mind off his sister and it gave him a look into the relationship Caspian and Amelia seemed to have.
"It's amazing what you can learn about someone in only three years," Edmund said when there was a lull in the story telling.
"It seems like just yesterday," he said sighing then he laughed. "The first time I saw her, she was bent over hammering away at a piece of metal I knew would never be straight in a million years, but she didn't give up. I stood there for an hour watching her. Her face was covered in ash and sweat, but she was so interesting. I just couldn't leave."
"Could she be a sword smith?" Edmund asked.
"No," he scoffed. "She is terrible, but it's the thought that counts."
His hand seemed to instinctively stray to his side where the sword would be.
"But she can yield one. It was true what she told you on the ship. No one on that vessel has ever bested me, except her. Whoever her father was, one thing is for sure. He could do wondrous things with a sword."
"Do you-" but Edmund was interrupted by guards banging the door open.
They grabbed the two and drug them out into the blinding sun. They were on an elevated walkway above the square where the auction was taking place. They could see Lucy then Eustace being auctioned off and Amelia sitting chained in a cart. Suddenly out of all the voices, Caspian was sure he heard Reepicheep.
"I'll take all of them!" he shouted, then all of the crew for the Dawn Treaded threw robes off their heads and began fighting.
Reep jumped off Drinian's shoulder and freed Lucy, Eustace and Amelia.
"Thanks Reep," Amelia said.
She grabbed the heavy chain she had been tied down with and looped it around her hand. She swung it around her head and hit two of the guards with it. She dropped the chain and got one of their swords. She glanced around her looking for her friends. She spied Edmund and Caspian up on the walkway fighting rather well for having both hands bound. Lucy was holding her own, but Eustace was nowhere to be found. Amelia wasn't quite sure why she cared so much about him. He was like a child she had to look after.
At that moment though, it didn't matter because she had to look after herself. She parried right to miss getting run through by his blade. She jumped forward, but he blocked her blow. After a few seconds of sparring, Amelia could see he was good with his blade, but no better than Caspian, which meant she could beat him. Finally she did, but it took her much longer than she anticipated, and she received more wounds than she expected. She stood panting over his dead body, trying to get her strength back when Caspian came jogging over to her.
"Are you alright?" he asked gently placing a hand on her shoulder
"Fine…" she panted. "He was very good."
"But not good enough," Caspian joked smiling at her.
All of a sudden he pulled her into a hug. It surprised her and at first she didn't even respond, but after a second she put her arms around him. He released her and smiled.
"I was worried about you."
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