Narnia: The Princess and The Pirate

Author's note

I do not, in any way, own Narnia or any of C.S Lewis' characters but I do own my OC. And I do hope that everyone who will come across this story will enjoy it. Please review to let me know about my mistakes or if you think that maybe I should discontinue the story. Thank you and please enjoy!

And special thanks to :

puregarnet

annmath13

Chapter 2: The Reason

Cynthia let out a scream as the sword pierced her arm. She saw sword fights before. She saw how a soldier would wince from the pain if a sword pierced inside him. But it wasn't the same at all. Witnessing and experiencing wasn't the same. But as her eyes fell onto Edmund's unscathed body, she smiled and allowed herself to fall to the ground, her eyelids closing.

In just a minute, Cynthia had ran forward and pushed Edmund out of harm's way. Edmund didn't know what was going on until the sword pierced into her delicate skin and her scream of pain filled the room. With fury in his eyes, Edmund gripped his sword in his hand and didn't show any mercy to the men in the room. Edmund didn't want Cynthia to get hurt. In fact, in his heart, he had sworn to protect her as he did with his crewmembers and friends. The fact that she got hurt because she saved him, it made him feel guilty.

He didn't kill those men though, he just knocked them out. He made his way to Cynthia and checked her pulse. Her heartbeat seemed to be fine. It was like she fell asleep from exhaustion. He carried her in his arms, wanting to take her back to the ship to get her arm healed. But then an elderly man appeared in front of him. Lord Rhoop looked at the girl before turning his attention to Edmund.

"Don't forget the sword. Or it will be too late!" Lord Rhoop started his rambling again. Edmund looked at Cynthia. She looked a little pale. Edmund sighed in relief as Oreius appeared before him. Oreius stared at Cynthia before taking her limp form in his arms with a nod. Edmund went to get the sword. There was no need for words to be exchanged between them.

As they reached the Dawn Treader, the crew started asking about what happened as they stared at Cynthia. Edmund looked away. " We were attacked by another group of pirates." He explained before trudging ahead with Oreius to a room below deck that Cynthia has never been to before, the infirmary. Edmund looked at the centaur that was in the room. " Cloudbirth, please heal her."

The centaur took one look at the girl and a smile graced his lips. " That I will do indeed. Do not worry, captain. The girl is in safe hands." Edmund bowed at the centaur and left the room. He needed to get back up on deck. He needed to feel the wind on his face and the smell of salt before his guilt got to him. The crew knew to stand clear of their captain. They knew of the pain that their captain hid in his heart.

In the meantime, Oreius, Reepicheep, Tumnus and Beaver stared at their loot, one of the Seven Swords. " We have to find five more." Tumnus muttered under his breath. " Five more." Beaver, Reepicheep and Oreius nodded their heads in agreement. They had been brave for a long time. They just needed to hold on to that bravery for awhile longer.

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Cynthia groaned and rubbed her eyes. It took awhile for her to remember what happened. She got up quickly and looked around. It looked oddly familiar. " Don't worry, you are onboard the Dawn Treader, milady." Cynthia looked at the far off corner of the room to see a centaur there. "I am Cloudbirth, the healer on the ship." He explained. Cynthia blushed. She always felt that people could read her like an open book.

He made his way to her and held her injured arm up. He placed his free hand over it and before she knew it, the wound disappeared. Her eyes widened in amazement. "But how did you.. that was... What was that?" The centaur chuckled with a bemused expression.

"That was magic. To be specific, it is healing magic." Then, he stared at her. It looked like he was debating with himself before he finally decided what he wanted to say. " I learned it from Lady Lyra." Cynthia gave him a confused look. " The Lady Lyra was a gifted person. She was good with herbs and from there, she learned more about magic. She discovered healing magic and taught it to us centaurs. And I believe that you will be able to do it as well." Cynthia shook her head.

"Oh no, I can't possibly do anything like that. But I must thank you for your help. I should probably go help the crew." She explained quickly as she left the room. In truth, she wanted to see how Edmund is. She spotted him at the helm. But before she could get there, Reepicheep was already in front of her with a huge smile.

"You are alright, milady! I am ecstatic to see you!" He exclaimed and Cynthia chuckled.

Beaver and Tumnus made their way to her as well. " I knew you are a fighter, Cynthia." Mr Beaver praised and Cynthia blushed at the compliment.

"Are you getting sick, Cynthia?" Tumnus asked, looking worried. Cynthia shook her head. " You should take it slow. It won't do if you're getting sick."

" I am indeed well, Tumnus. Do not worry about me at all. I was just blushing because of the compliment Beaver gave me is all." Tumnus chuckled with his hand resting behind his head. He looked sheepish as he finally realised it. " If you'll excuse me," She told them while making her way up the stairs to the helm. She gave a small smile to Edmund as she was unsure as to how to approach him.

Edmund nodded his head at her with an impassive face as usual. " Good to see you up and about...Cynthia." Cynthia's head jerked upward to look at Edmund's face. That was the first time that Edmund said her name and she liked it, no, in fact, she loves it. She felt happy that he was finally acknowledging her presence on the ship. She beamed at him before remembering her purpose of seeing him.

" Are you alright, captain? I do hope that you weren't injured during that scuffle." Edmund nodded his head at her question, turning to look at the sea. She held back a sigh and gave a small smile. " Well, I won't disturb you then. Good day, Captain." She walked away, feeling a little disappointed. Edmund watched her walk away. He was debating with himself. He didn't know what he wanted to do. On one hand, it was to thank her for saving his life. On the other hand, it was to scold her for being so reckless. He didn't want her to get hurt ── especially not for him.

Cynthia was talking to Reepicheep when she turned her head to see the sword that they recovered from the manor two days ago. She had to know. She wanted to know. She turned her curious stare to Reepicheep who halted his talking when he realised the sheer intensity of Cynthia's stare. "Is something the matter, Lady Cynthia?" They were below deck eating dinner with the rest of the crew except for the Captain.

"Why are we hunting for the swords? What is the meaning of it?" For once in his life, Reepicheep was lost for words. He tilted his head to the other crewmates, silently pleading for help. Oreius stopped his eating and met Cynthia's stare.

" We gather the Seven Swords in the hopes of finding the only treasure strong enough to kill the White Witch." Oreius explained. Cynthia looked down as she processed the centaur's words. Before she could ask any more questions, Beaver gave her a sad smile which was unusual. Cynthia wasn't used to seeing any of the crewmates with a sad look.

"Cynthia, my wife was captured by the White Witch. My wife who never did anything wrong in her life. True, she made me take a bath once a year but she would not harm even a fly! She didn't deserve what the White Witch did to her. And that's why we're all here. All of us had someone taken from us by the White Witch." Beaver had a faraway look in his eyes. "And we intend to rescue them."

Cynthia heard about the White Witch. Anyone who lived in Narnia would know about the White Witch who declared herself as the Queen of Narnia. She heard about how cruel the White Witch was to those who rebelled against her. The White Witch had no heart as she turned all those against her into stone.

Cynthia felt sorry for the crew as all of them shared a downcast look. She knew what it was like to lose someone. She placed her hand on Beaver's paw, hoping to share some of his pain. Tumnus forced a smile to his face. He looked like he wanted to say something but every time he opened his mouth to speak, he closed his mouth just as quick.

Then, he hardened his gaze. " I used to work under the White Witch." He confessed to Cynthia. Cynthia looked at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe that someone that looked so sweet and innocent could be capable of working under the most cruel person alive. "I was scared... I know we were all scared and that was no excuse. I chose to serve the White Witch to save my own skin." He scoffed, feeling disappointed at himself. Then, he smiled. " But I met someone. A little girl called Lucy Pevensie. She's a bright and charming girl. And because of her, I realised the error of my ways."

Cynthia made her way to the faun and enveloped him in a hug. "We'll save her. We'll save all of them. I have faith in all of you. I have faith in us." Cynthia assured them with a determined look. She didn't want to allow her friends to continue wallowing in their sorrows. Tumnus smiled at Cynthia.

"You remind me of her, Cynthia. The same bright smile and sweet personality." He complimented the girl. Cynthia blushed before she realised something.

"Lucy Pevensie? Isn't that...?" She trailed off as she knew the answer by the look on their faces. Lucy Pevensie is the captain's sister. Everyone on this ship was doing their best, risking their lives to save those they love. Cynthia rose to her feet from where she was hugging Tumnus. She made her way to the deck after waving bye at the crew. She made her resolve. She knew what she had to do.

She approached the figure that stood at the bow of the ship. Edmund nodded at her to show her that he noticed her presence. She smiled at him before staring out into the ocean just like Edmund was doing.

"Captain." She started while glancing at him from the corner of her eye. " I want you to teach me how to fight with a sword."

Edmund whirled around quickly to face her. He didn't keep the shock from his expression as he furrowed his eyebrows. " Fight with a sword?"

Cynthia nodded her head. " Indeed. I want to help you and the crew. I will help you find the remaining five swords and I will not be some damsel in distress any longer. And besides," Cynthia paused while flashing a bright smile at Edmund, " I heard that you're the best swordsman on board."

Edmund stared at her, unsure about what to make of her before he smirked. Maybe Cynthia isn't as bad as he first thought. Maybe, just maybe, she could make things much more interesting in a good way. " We begin tomorrow at sunrise." He told her while making his way down. A ghost of a smile played on his lips. " And, try and get enough sleep, Cynthia."

Hoped I managed to spice things up a little bit more with this chapter. And I'm sorry for making this chapter short. I'll try to type more next time!