Caspian, being a man of very few reckless acts surprised both Rian and the strange boy by grabbing him by his collar and telling him firmly that she was neither stupid nor unwanted. She was part of the crew and that was where she would stay, Caspian had threatened to toss him back into the water, stating it was where the boy belonged. The strange boy now wore a look of complete embarrassment as did Rian, but recovering earlier then the man as she always had been quick to do, Rian struck out at the strange boy as her hand made contact with his left cheek, the silence echoing through the crew.
"You are the vilest Son of Adam I have ever had the misfortune to meet, just die."
Rian being a woman of great composure shocked the crew once again, and only then at her words did the boy gather his own composure as he turned on his heel and walked over to the girl named Lucy whispering harsh things under his breath.
The day passed with nothing more than a few small arguments, concerning where the strange people would sleep, what they would eat, were there enough food and those sorts of things. It had ended up that Lucy would sleep in the same room as Rian, and the small boy named Eustace would bunk down below along with the awful man who was named Peter, who had taken a harsh liking on Rian.
The next few days were spent in a state of absolute solitude, Rian had taken it upon herself to feint sick once again, complaining of stomach pains and aches in her head. The last part was true, for an entirely different reason, she was feeling a pulling feeling inside her heart that would settle in her mind and make her feel strange things, usually involving the horrid boy below. Days went by when she heard him and Cas talking just outside her cabin, talking about a man named Peter, and of a woman named Susan who Cas had told Rian many stories about. She sounded lovely, different from her sister Lucy and her brother Edmund. Rian was jealous of the way Cas talked about this strange woman, that much she knew, he spoke of her gently, his voice filling with a great sorrow when he spoke of her tender yet defiant ways. It was as if she herself had met Susan a long time ago, maybe even grown up with her, as she also was strangely jealous of Susan as a person, being all that she could not possibly become.
Five days went by until Caspian thought himself ready to visit Rian, claiming that she was no longer ill and to beg her to spar with him, as he only enjoyed sparring with her, her swift, forceful jabs making it all the more fun to duel. Rian had complied after, red faced and all, begged Cas to leave her room while she changed into more suitable clothing as he had walked in on her half naked.
She exited her room a few moments later dressed in tight black pants, a white billowing blouse and a wide blue sash wrapped around her slender waste. She chose to go barefoot, as she found it easier to move, or dance as she called it. But to her surprise, she found herself facing not Cas, her beloved savoir, but the horrid boy, Edmund. He wore a less condescending face then before, and looked at her as if they were equals. A sudden change that took Rian by surprise, but nonetheless, she complied and faced him as she would. Reepicheep was sitting upon the girl, Lucy's, shoulder and gave the OK for them to begin.
It was true what she had heard outside her door, the words Cas spoke to Edmund were true; all of his praise and quick instructions were all completely flawless. He was an amazing swordsman and he wore it well. They fought neck and neck for at least an hour, sweat dripping from their brows, and every so often, the slightest smile, or laugh, would escape their lips as they looked at each other as friends, forgetting the previous events.
Most of the crew had left them by them, either bored of their ongoing sparring session or to go off to do their duties. Several more minutes passed until they were face to face, taken by surprise Rian slacked off her grip on her sword and blushed violently. Ed, taking this as an immediate win struck out at the wood before her feet, causing her to jump back, straight into a less then happy looking crew member, sprawling out onto the ground in the process, her sword flying a few feet to her left, resting dangerously close to the edge of the ship.
What happened next was a strange occurrence to say the least, they boy, Edmund, got down on one knee and held out his hand, saying that he could not accept his win. Rian blushed once again, and placed her hand in his, grasping it firmly as he pulled her up from the deck and closer to him as well.
Her heart beat violently as she fell against his strong chest, his strong arms clutching her to him. She had glanced up to look at his expression, to see if he had meant to do it on purpose or not. His face showed a look of sheer embarrassment, his cheeks were a bright, crimson red as were his ears, his eyes facing upwards as if he was too embarrassed to look her in the eye. So, accepting this as an act of admiration she stepped back from her grasp and spoke in a first wavering then firm voice
"T-h-thank you for helping m-me, I won't need it again... It's unnecessary".
He blushed once more, and then wiped the look right off of his face, turning it into a look of sheer disappointment, and left her standing there, feel utterly abandoned as she had the day her parents gave her up to slavery without a fight, and it was like being 10 years old all over again. Except her heart made a different kind of pain, and it was horrible, worse than being set on fire for your owners enjoyment, worse than watching your parents collect their payment as you were hauled away. She was that close to feeling what Cas felt for the woman Susan, the sister of the boy that she hated but also liked at the same time, it was the harshest feeling, being close to something that she wasn't meant to have.
She concluded these thoughts as being overdramatic and sat on the edge of the ship, watching the water crash against the ship, contemplating whether or not to talk to Cas. She picked the lesser answer, and stayed sitting, knowing that she should be doing something more productive, but as her hair whipped around her face, and her shirt blew around her small frame revealing some of her more appealing features, all she thought of was the strange boy that appeared out of the water, he was unlike any of the stories that Cas has told her of the great four; High Kind Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, Queen Lucy the Valiant and King Edmund the Just.