Lucy came up onto the main deck to find that the temperature outside had gotten much colder in the last five minutes. She could see her breath coming from her mouth in small puffs. Pulling her vest so that it was tighter to her body, Lucy walked further onto the main deck to see that Caspian and Edmund were sword fighting once more for play.
Reepicheep and Drinian's attentions were split between watching the duel and laughing drunkenly at their breath protruding from their mouths. Lucy gave herself a mental eye roll before she strode the rest of the way onto the main deck to stand right beside Drinian and Reepicheep.
"Boys," she said to them. The Captain and the Noble Mouse turned to look at her in a daze before they recognized her. They blushed and began to apologize profusely for their state but she smiled and told them to get some rest. Hopefully, they would feel better in the morning.
"Thank you for pardoning us, your Grace," said Drinian to Lucy, bowing as low as he could without losing his balance.
"A thousand times thank you," added Reepicheep, who kissed her hand. Lucy giggled and shooed them off and down the steps to the bedrooms. Once they were gone, she turned to face her brother and her boyfriend. Neither of them had noticed her presence at all and were still fighting and laughing.
"Edmund. Caspian," she called softly, slowly walking up to them. She felt the moonlight on her face and it was a comfort to her to know that she could be seen. That way, Edmund and Caspian would not hurt her by accident. When both Kings did not turn to face her, she cupped her hands to her mouth and yelled their names. This would have had the same effect on them as whispering and Lucy found herself huffing in annoyance. She turned to look up at the Captain's Balcony, upon which Tavros or some other Minotaur could be found at night. They guarded the ship and so Lucy was surprised when she found no one who could prove strong enough to pull Edmund and Caspian away from each other. In fact, there was no one on deck besides her and the two Kings.
Just as she was turning back, she heard a huge splash behind her. Whirling around, she saw that both Kings were no longer standing aboard the deck. She could also hear no splashing to signify that the two Kings were treading water to keep their heads afloat. She ran over to the side of the ship and peered into the waters of the Eastern Sea. Nothing was there.
Lucy then began to panic as she realized that Edmund and Caspian had changed into their fighting armor and still had their swords. If they had fallen in and hadn't been able to take their armor off, they would be sinking straight down into the depths of the sea. She let a cry of anxiety escape her lips as she searched frantically for something upon the rail. At last, she found it. A rope that was over 20 yards long and was used to help tie the sails down. Untying it from its large pole, she tied one of the ends to her waist and the other around the mast. Making sure that both knots were secure, she stood upon the rail of the ship and dove into the water. Or at least, that was what she had planned to do. Instead, someone had caught her in mid-jump and was pulling her back on board.
"Let me go! You don't understand, the Kings are overboard! Let me go! As Queen of Narnia, I command you release me!" she shrieked. Opening her eyes, she found that it was not a person at all who held her, but a green mist. And she was floating in its embrace.
For some reason, fear engulfed her and she drew her dagger. The green mist set her down and began to compact in the immediate space beside her until it resembled a lion. Then the lion turned golden. It was Aslan!
"Aslan?" Lucy gasped, not sure whether to sheath her dagger or not.
"Dear One," began Aslan. "Sheath your weapon. There is no need for it."
"No need for it?" repeated Lucy in a screech. "My brother and Caspian are over board and I might have to cut them loose from their armor. Aslan, excuse me but I have to help them!" She made a running start and dove off the rail again when the mist caught her once more and pulled her back. Once more, the Great Lion formed.
"Your brother and Caspian are dead," the Lion said in a voice that seemed to vibrate through Lucy's entire body. She felt a cold pang in her stomach that began to grow throughout her body.
"That's not true," she said. "I can still save them." Tears sprang into her eyes and she looked over to where the sea rolled a few feet away from her. She wiped them away angrily. "Aslan, I must save them."
"They are dead, Dear One. Or do you no longer believe in me?" The words that Aslan spoke were full of suspicion and slight disgust. Lucy sunk to her knees before him.
"Of course I do. You know that I do."
"Then believe me when I say that your brother Edmund and his Majesty King Caspian are dead. They are in my country now." At this, the Lion took a step closer to Lucy. "Dearest Lucy, do you believe in what I say?"
"Yes, Aslan."
"Good," was all the Lion said before he began to walk away. Lucy felt the cold feeling that had been in her stomach creep its way through her entire body now. She was consumed with it.
"They can't be gone and yet they are," she whispered.
"Lucy," called Aslan. The young Queen looked up and the moonlight shone on the both of them brighter than it had before. She could now see that Aslan was slightly transparent.
"Aslan, are you alright?" she asked the Lion, who nodded. Just then, the rope that was around her waist tightened, squeezing her stomach. The air rushed out of Lucy's lungs. She tried to scream but when she opened her mouth, the end of the rope that was tied around the mast ran its way across her mouth, gagging her. Then the two ends began a violent dance around her, wrapping her and pulling tighter and tighter against her. Lucy began to cry and she struggled against her bonds.
"Do not struggle, Dear One. It will only tighten quicker," said Aslan in the soft coo of a mother speaking to her child. Then He dissolved into a cloud of green mist that floated away. Lucy was petrified. She couldn't reach her dagger and she was being squeezed to death. She felt blackness consume her and she passed out, not knowing if what the mist Aslan had said was true.
