Serena stared at the landmass looming 100 feet above their heads. It seemed as if there were no way around it—nothing but a narrow passage though the middle.

"The Serpent's Pass?" Lucy said curiously. "But... I thought that was only a legend."

"Apparently not," Edmund muttered under his breath.

"It's supposed to be," said Reepicheep, appearing at Caspian's side. "But no one has ever sailed this far out to sea—and lived to tell the tale that is."

"There are said to be untold dangers awaiting anyone who dares venture through this pass," Trumpkin added, gazing solemly at the narrow path. "Dangers you couldn't even imagine..."

Trufflehunter gulped audibly, earning himself a glare from Reepicheep.

Lucy looked around at everyone. "Well we can't go back now!"

Serena cleared her throat quietly. "She's right. We've come this far already..." she paused to look back at the canyon. "Besides, I don't think there's any other way around it."

Trufflehunter looked to the left, then to the right. "Maybe we could keep sailing and see if we can get around it."

"No," Caspian, who had been silent through the entire conversation, finally spoke up, closing the lid of his compass as everyone turned to look at him. "This pass is due North, if we sail another way we will be going on a different course completely."

Everyone paused in thought, all that could be heard were the shouts of crew members around the ship.

Edmund sighed and placed his hands lazily behind his head. "Well that settles it."

Caspian nodded, locking eyes with Serena. "We are going."

She nodded back in response, shifting her gaze to the canyon. Taking a deep breath, she turned and followed her new friends.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

With Caspian at the wheel, the Dawn Treader glided through the dark blue water, drawing closer and closer to the entrance of the pass.

Lucy, Edmund, Serena and Trumpkin were all stationed at different sides of the ship—with Reepicheep by Caspian's side—ready to alert the young King should the ship run into anything.

Serena's heart pounded painfully in her chest as they sailed on—now only a couple of feet from the entrance. Fog clouded over the water near the pass, engulfing the ship as they sailed through.

The air thicken in her lungs as the ship broke through the threshold of the entrance. The walls seemed to run up to the sky, and it was way too narrow to turn the ship around—there was no going back now.

"Rocks! On your left!" Edmund shouted up to Caspian, who lightly turned the wooden wheel of the ship and dodged them with ease.

A cold wind rippled through the water, sending a shiver throughout everyone onboard. Serena clutched her quiver tightly, trying desperately to bite back her rising fear. I can't get scared now, she told herself, looking over at Lucy. The young girl stood tall, her left hand resting on her dagger as she scanned their foggy surroundings, her hard expression daring anything to attack them. I need to be brave... like Lucy.

"My Lor—!" A voice yelled desperately before being cut off by a small splash, followed by complete silence.

Serena whipped her head around, her raven hair flying into her face as she scanned the right side of the ship where the voice came from. Nothing was there. She frowned, thinking she had imagined the sound before realizing how empty the space seemed. Her eyes widened slightly, and she couldn't help but think that there a faun standing there a minute ago.

She caught sight of Lucy standing beside her out of the corner of her eye. Lucy seemed to be thinking the same thing. Lucy turned her hazel-eyed gaze to Serena before they both took cautious steps to the side of the ship.

Serena gripped the edge with trembling hands and peered into the water.

The still, dark blue water was rippling ominously. The girls shared a quick glance before a tremor passed over the water, making a low rumbling sound before dying away. Everyone turned and looked around, trying to determine the source.

A second rumble rocked the ship gently, this one louder than the first. Lucy and Serena peered back over the edge of the ship, when something suddenly shot out of the water.

Acting on impulse, Serena grabbed Lucy's arm and pulled on her sharply, yanking her away from the edge of the ship. Lucy shrieked as they both tumbled to the ground, landing with a thud. Cold water sprinkled over the ship allerting the crew of the danger as the object rose high above them. They shifted their attention to whatever had come out of the water, drawing their weapons as they shouted orders at one another.

"We're under attack!" A faun shouted.

"Everyone get ready!" One of the centaurs bellowed.

Lucy and Serena sat, frozen as they stared at the object that had come from the depths. On the way down it wrapped around the edge of the ship, dangerously close to Serena and Lucy's feet before sliding back beneath the water as quickly as it had come. They had been able to notice its pink colour and slimy looking surface before it had disappeared completely, leaving an eerie silence among everyone on the ship. It left a trail of cloudy white goo on the side of the ship, as well as large circular markings.

Serena's eyes were wide, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She recognized it all—the pink, slimy looking surface, its almost cone-like shape that grew skinnier as you got to the top, the way it curled itself around the ship, the unmistakable circles layed out on it. "It can't be!" She gasped outloud.

But she knew that it could—her many childhood projects and trips to the zoo confirmed her suspicions.

It was a tentacle.

Edmund was at Serena's side in a flash, helping her to her feet as Trumpkin did with Lucy. Before she could think, Edmund had his sword drawn, holding it infront of his body defensively. She blinked out of her stupor and followed his lead by drawing an arrow and fitting it to her bow.

Trumpkin loaded his bow as well, along with a number of other dwarfs and fauns.

"Stay on your guard!" Caspian deep voice echoed over the water as he made his way over to the group, a large bear now manning the wheel of the ship.

Silence hung in the air as they waited, no one daring to breathe.

Caspian drew his sword and positioned himself at Serena's side, Reepicheep following in suit. Her hands shook violently as she gripped the arrow, her heart beating a mile per second. Edmund, Lucy and Trufflehunter stood with their backs to Serena, Caspian and Reepicheep, watching the other side of the ship.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion—and before anyone could think, it all sped up again.

A short, slimy tentacle grabbed the side of the ship and tugged it sharply—nearly tipping it over. Trumpkin released his arrow, and the creature shrieked as it pierced its tentacle. It released the ship and squirmed in the air before vanishing beneath the water once more.

Two more tantacles gripped the opposite side of the ship, tilting it under its weight. Edmund and Lucy approached it cautiously, before the ship jerked in the other direction.

Still with their back to back with Edmund and Lucy, Caspian and Serena watched as a second, larger creature gripped the ship and hauled itself up until a round, dark pink head rose above the water, no more than 4 feet in length.

"It's an octopus!" Reepicheep shouted as it opened its eyes to releal two black irises.

"And there's more of them!" The bear at the wheel roared as a third octopus gripped the back of the ship.

"Try to shake them off!" Caspian shouted rushing forward as he swung his sword at the closest tentacle.

The crew cried as they charged at the tentacles binding the ship, hacking at them with their sharp swords. Pale green blood gushed from the cuts and chunks of pink tentacle that lay on the deck.

High pitched screeches filled the air as Edmund slashed savagely at the creature on the other side of the ship, Lucy and Reepicheep stabbing with their daggers/dagger-sized swords as well.

Knowing that she had to help, Serena faced the octopus on her side of the ship, raising her bow with trembling hands and shakily drew the string back, taking aim before firing—

And missing her target.

The arrow sailed harmlessly past the creature's massive head before falling into the water. Serena's air left her lungs in a whoosh and her mouth was slightly agape. What happened? Panicking, she quickly drew another arrow and fired it at one of the giant creatures. Only to miss once more. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps now and her eyes were wide. What's going on? Why do I keep missing?

The largest of the three creatures let out a deafening roar and released the ship, before diving beneath the water with a great splash. The other two retreated as well, slipping under the water after the first one.

The silence the followed was almost as deafening as the creature's roar.

Staring out at the water, Serena held her bow tightly as hysteric thoughts rushed through her head. What if her skill with a bow really wasn't her skill at all? What if it had left her completely?

Caspian pushed some of his hair off of his forehead, panting slightly.

Without warning, the Dawn Treader shook violently. Serena lost her balance and clutched Caspian's arm to right herself. "What was that?" She asked, clearly shaken.

He looked around, his brow furrowing in confusion. "I do not know."

The ship shook again, and Trufflehunter waddled to Caspian's side. "Uh oh..." he mumbled.

Serena and Caspian turned to look down at the badger. "What?" They urged.

Trufflehunter slowly looked down at his feet. "They've taken hold from below—"

And then the ship shot forward, sending everyone tumbling to the floor, aside from Trufflehunter, who went rolling almost all the way to the back of the ship, shouting the whole way.

Caspian just managed to refrain from impaling himself with his sword as he fell on his back, Serena landing heavily beside him. He sat up with difficulty, gravity pulling him on the ground. From the wind and spray from the salty sea water that was hitting his face, blowing his dark brown hair back, he could tell that they were moving really fast, though the fog kept him from seeing clearly.

Edmund attempted to stand up, only to be knocked back over as the ship jerked upward suddenly. He hit the deck with a loud thump and a grunt of pain, causing everyone to look over at him.

He rubbed the back of his head and sat up slowly, a pained expression on his face. "I think it's safest if we all stay seated!" He announced, raising his other hand in the air.

Trumpkin scoffed and rolled his eyes. Obviously. The dwarf took hold of his beard to keep it from blinding him, and looked towards the back of the ship. From where he sat he could barely make out pink tentacles rising slightly above the water as they pushed the ship forwards.

Caspian wrapped an arm around Serena's waist and helped her sit up. "Are you alright?" He yelled over the wind.

Her hair flew behind her as she turned to look at him. "I'm fine!" She replied, her eyes wide as she gripped her bow tightly in her other hand.

"What are they doing?" Lucy shouted from where she sat beside Trumpkin.

The Dawn Treader continued to glide rapidly through fog-covered the water for a couple of minutes, the nose of the ship tilted upwards from the speed—when suddenly, the fog was gone.

Serena shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight that flooded over the ship. Squiting from the newfound light, she peered from behind her hand to observe their surroundings.

The narrow pass was gone, and water stretched far on either side of the ship, as if they were on a lake. The walls of the pass still remained, running for miles and miles around them. It took her a moment to realize that they were still traveling at the same swift speed, heading toward the centre of the clearing.

Lucy crawled up to Serena, her eyes squinting as the wind hit her face, sending her brown hair trailing behind her. "What's that?" She shouted, extending her arm as she pointed forward in the direction they were headed.

The water not a half mile ahead of them began to shift, back and forth before meeting in the middle. The crash of two waves meeting sent white water flying into the air, sprinkling back on the surface of the water. Then it started spiralling. Small at first, but then it grew, wider and wider until finally a small hole appeared to be sinking below the surface, opening up more as it continued the spin. It continued growing, and growing until the occupants of the Dawn Treader were staring at a whirlpool the size of a small forest.

Everyone froze, watching in shock as the whirlpool continued to grow, its pulling current adding to their already rapid speed as the ship drew closer to it.

The octopuses weren't helping them, they were herding them—dragging them to their doom.

A/N

So yeah, so sorry for taking forever and a year to update this story, but I hope you all liked it =]

Reviews are always welcome!