Analeigh emerged from below deck, wondering what task she would be assigned today, since the deck was already clean. Before she could make her way to the captain and ask, a mouse scurried to her side, calling her name. "Analeigh! Would you care for a match this morning?" A swordfight with a mouse? Analeigh had to admit that she had not done anything stranger than that, but there was always a time for a first.
"Alright, Reep, you have yourself an opponent."
"Fantastic! Take out your sword!"
Analeigh grabbed an extra sword from the closet on the deck where the crossbows and extra weapons were kept. Turning to the mouse, she smirked. "Are you ready?" She asked, having no doubt that defeating this mouse would be much easier than defeating Caspian. "I'm always ready!"
The mouse scurried towards her with his blade in hand, striking first. Analeigh defended, feeling slightly odd, striking so low to the ground. After a few swings, the mouse jumped onto the side of the boat, causing Analeigh to turn to defend herself. Even though his sword was much smaller than her own, she had no doubt it could cut her if the mouse landed a blow.
"Come on, now. I'm hardly breaking a sweat!" The mouse chuckled, climbing up the mast then jumping down to her. He landed on her sword, and Analeigh quickly flicked him off and across the deck. A few crew members that were awake had gathered in a circle to watch the match. One of which was King Caspian himself. Analeigh did not notice him at first, nor did she notice the captain who was watching from behind the wheel of the ship.
Reep jumped onto the side of the boat once more, encouraging her to attack. She quickly obliged, jabbing her sword at the mouse continuously. The mouse was too quick for her, however. He managed to scurry around her and place his blade on her neck before she could turn around and defend herself. The crew cheered and laughed.
"A brilliant match, Analeigh."
"Thanks, Reep. You gave me a good run for my money."
The captain shouted for the crew to get to work. Analeigh was about to approach the captain and ask what her job was for the day when Caspian placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn around. "I would like to speak with you. Privately."
What was that? Did her heart actually stop for a moment? Analeigh tried to push the thought to the back of her mind as she followed Caspian inside the navigation room. "What is it, your majesty?" She asked, curiously. Standing in front of the map that was spread on the table, Caspian pointed to the Lone Islands and said, "We should arrive on land tomorrow." "That is good news."
Caspian did not respond at first. Something seemed to have been weighing heavily on his mind. Analeigh took a few steps towards the map, examining it with her eyes. There were x's marked all along the coast of the mainland, one of them was labeled "Storm Brewer attack." Picking up the pen on the desk, Analeigh marked an x near the place where her father's boat was attacked. This seemed to pull Caspian out of his deep thinking. He looked up at her, still saying nothing.
Still looking at the map, Analeigh spoke, "Sometimes I feel like it never even happened… as if it were all a dream… Do you know what I mean?" When she looked up, she saw that Caspian was staring at her. Why did that make her blush? The king was rather handsome with those chocolate eyes that matched his flowing brown hair. Almost in slow motion, Caspian moved around the table towards Analeigh. Instinctively, Anaeligh's hand flexed to her sword, but she had to stop herself. This was not the time for that, even if they were alone.