Being Deaf Sucks

The boat rocked peacefully back and forth on the waves. I stood on the bow of the ship, oakpipe in hand, and blew out a single tune. It sounded like wind chimes tapping lightly together in the breeze. The salty smell of the ocean wafted its way into my nose. In the distance the shape of an island grew clearer as the ship approached. I could already make out the lush green trees encased by white, sandy beaches.

I took in a deep breathe of the salty air, it felt like home. I smiled, feeling at peace.

"Hair so long and as soft as silk,

and eyes as green as emeralds,

she sings to me in my darkened days,

and offers me some light,"

The words of the old chantey flowed easily from my mouth in my soprano voice. I used to always sing the chanties I heard from sailors whenever I went swimming. I would sit up on a rock somewhere in the middle of the Pacific and just sing my heart out. It always brought me peace and made me feel safe, as well as exhilarated and energetic. By why it does that, I'll never know.

"May it be a shining star,

that guides me to my heaven,

a soft and gentle whisper,

that flows from mouth to ear,

for the mermaid of the seas,

shall be with me,"

The last note had only just flowed from my lips when the voice came from behind me "I've never heard that one before." the voice commented.

I turned, startled, and clutched the golden instrument tighter in the palms of my hands. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding at the sight of Peter leaning against the rails of the ship. He was watching me closely with one eyebrow raised above the other, I shrugged, insisting I must've picked the old song up from one of the crew members. Peter wasn't convinced in the slightest, I could tell that much, even though he had yet to say anything.

"Well I just wanted to check on you." he said, finally. "You've barely said anything since the cave."

I took a deep breath at the mention of the cave. That had been yesterday, but it seemed more like an eternity ago. My tail had come back already; I only had about five minutes of carefree bliss without it after we left the magic cave entrance. I shrugged again "It's nothing." I insisted, knowing that it was a lie, but hoping Peter would buy it.

I fingered my charm bracelet, I had yet to tell anyone, even Edmund, what it really was. I had a bad feeling about sharing that information just yet. It felt like if the wrong person found out, it would end in disaster. I couldn't let that happen, there was no way I would take the chance of dragging any of my friends into this.

I could tell Peter would've argued, however, he never got the chance. The boat lurched to the side as if we had hit rocks, but I knew we hadn't, there would have had to be scrapping after the lurch. Instead, it lurched again, but this time to the opposite side. It was almost as if someone, or something, was attacking us. As if responding to my thoughts, the air around us grew colder. I looked up at Peter, wide eyed, it couldn't be possible. Could it? But I knew my suspicions were correct once the commotion started. The kings and queens all began shouting Peters name all at once. The two of us ran out onto the main deck and up to the Pevensie's and Caspian, they all had their backs to us. In front of them, though, was the real problem. The White Witch stood before us all, calm as ever, as she fingered her staff.

I itched to summon my trident, but I knew that would only make matters worse. The White Witch eyed me lazily at first, but her expression grew to shock as she took in my appearance. "Well, what do we have here?" she taunted.

Edmund took a protective step in front of me, I grabbed hold of his arm, thankful for the comforting feeling it gave me. The White Witch just laughed "No need to be so cautious, little king." she spat out the last part as if it were a huge insult.

Edmund glared at the witch and pulled me even farther behind him. The witch smiled coyly "A Gemmel," she observed "How interesting. I was beginning to think the lot of you died out. Clearly, I was wrong."

The White Witch took a step forward, Edmund tensed, and the others just rested their hands on their weapons. My hand clenched by my side, thunder shook the skies. The witch smiled "No need for that, Daughter of Eve, what is your name?" she asked.

I hesitated before answering "Katherine."

The witch smiled "Well, Katherine, you sure are the spitting image of Amelia. Shame she gave her allegiance to Aslan, tell me, will you make the same mistake?"

Edmund glared "Go to Hell." he muttered.

The witch turned her gaze to him "I don't believe I was talking to you, little king." she turned her gaze back to me "Shame then, you have potential."

She twirled her staff in her hands once more as a pillar of snow whirled around her. When the snow cleared, the witch was gone. But none of the crew had time to register her absence. Just then the boat lurched to the side again "Oi!" the Captain yelled "She's taking in water fast!"

"Man the deck!" Peter yelled to the crew who wasted no time following his orders.

The boat lurched to the side again. I hade to dive to my left in order to avoid the giant wave that splashed its way onto the deck. I turned to Edmund, the look in his eye told me he was thinking the same as I was "I need to get below the deck! There's too much water up here!" I yelled over the thunder clap that shook the skies.

I tried focusing my energy on calming the incoming storm, but my powers weren't developed enough to match that of the White Witch. Edmund nodded but the other kings and queens looked at me puzzled. "This isn't the time to be worrying about getting wet!" Susan yelled over the sound of the now violent waves.

I held my palm out in front of me just as a wave hurdled towards me at unbelievable speed. The wave parted around myself and my friends. Drops of water began slowly falling from the skies, I knew I had to get out of there. Fast. Edmund noticed this too, and the Captain chose that time to reappear "I need some help down here!" he shouted from below deck.

I used this as my excuse and bolted to the door leading to the underwater leaks in the boat. The Pevensie's followed, Caspian stayed above deck to help the crew. The damage to the ship was worse than I expected. Three holes were gouged into the side of the ship, water flowed freely from them. The holes were just under the surface of the water, since the crew was able to pour bucketfuls of water out of a porthole near the ceiling. Water was accumulating fast, it was clear there was no way the crew could keep up with the flow of ocean water. The boat lurched as another incision was made in the wood. A long spear forced its way into the wall, only to leave another gaping hole as it was pulled out. Something was in the water. And it was trying to sink the ship.

"We need the rest of the crew if we want to make it to the island!" Caspian's voice came from the deck.

"We can't spare any more crew members." Peter muttered to the Captain.

They shared a grave look, I glanced at Edmund, hoping he would understand the message I was trying to send with my eyes. "Let them go." I told Peter "I can handle this."

He looked at me incredulously, I gave him a reassuring look "Trust me, Peter. What other choice do you have?"

He studied my face for a moment, "Peter, the ships going down! Our only hope is to make it closer to shore!" Edmund shouted over the sound of rushing water.

Peter nodded, finally, and signaled the Captain to give the orders. The crew wasted no time to follow orders, the Captain going with them in order to direct us safely to land. Another spear crashed into the wall, I could sense the ship sinking slightly lower into the water. The five of us jumped backwards as the water line rose up. We were standing on the stairs now. I held my palm to the flow of water, it slowed slightly. Energy coursed through my arm as the flow of water slowed a little more. Frustrated, my left arm flew up to meet my right. The water flow barely changed this time. I had another idea. Energy coursed through my entire body this time as a ring of golden light emanated from my palms. Ice crystals began forming in the holes of the ship. The water flow slowed even more until it was almost stopped completely. A thick sheet of ice was now plugging the holes, preventing any more water to flood the ship.

I was about to congratulate my work when an ear splitting shriek filled the air. It was so high pitched I was amazed my human ears were capable of hearing it. My hands flew to my ears as my knees buckled, causing me to fall to the floor. Edmund caught my waist before I had a chance to fall down the stairs. My concentration had been broken, however, and the ice sheets had shattered from the water pressure pushing against them. Water was now flowing even faster into the room. Holding up my hand to the flow of salt water, I prepared myself to create a thicker ice barrier. The loud scream pierced my ear drums again, preventing me from working my magic. I let out my own ear splitting scream as I covered my ears once again. My eyes flew shut as I cradled my throbbing head in my knees.

"Kate!" Edmund yelled as he made a move to grab my waist once again.

I buried my head in his chest in hopes that his warmth would help ease the pain pounding in my ears. "Make it stop! Make it stop!" I begged as another shriek filled the room. Why wasn't everyone in the same state as me? Couldn't they hear it? Why wasn't the noise hurting them as well?

"Kate, what are you talking about? What's going on?" Edmund asked, frantic. I looked into his eyes, a look of utter helplessness filled the chocolate brown orbs.

"Can't you hear that?" I asked.

Edmund looked at me puzzled, he opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by another one of my blood curdling screams as a result of another shriek. It sounded like it was getting closer, or at least louder. "That noise!" I screamed.

The rest of the Pevensie's were at my side by now, they all were holding onto some part of my body, trying to help in any way they could. The Captain burst through the door of the room then "Your Majesties! We're under attack!" he yelled breathlessly.

"What is it?" Peter asked, urgency seeping into his voice as he went into King Mode.

The Captain looked at all of us before answering gravely "A Shrieker, your Majesties."

Peter scrunched his brows together, "Why would a Shrieker be attacking us this close to land? I thought they were suppose to only be found in the middle of no where."

Edmund's eyes went wide and he looked at me, concern flooding his eyes "The White Witch." he stated, looking back to the group "She's after Kate."

I was confused by this point, I had never heard of the creature they were talking about. Then again, the name suited the horrible shrieking I was hearing. But why was it only me hearing it? "What's a Shrieker?" I asked.

Edmund was the one to answer me "It's a rare sea serpent," he began "It can make loud shrieking noises that only one creature can hear..." he trailed off toward the end, obviously worried to continue.

"Which creature?" I asked, Edmund looked away from me.

I looked expectantly around the room, waiting impatiently for someone to answer me, the Captain was the only one to speak up. "According to the Legend, of course, mermaids."

I felt the blood drain from my face, had I heard him right? "Edmund! Why the Hell didn't you tell me that!" I demanded.

The Pevensie's gave me a questioning look, but Edmund looked at me apologetically "Well I didn't think we would come across one!" he defended.

I was about to yell at him some more but I was interrupted by another deafening shriek. I screamed at the very top of my lungs, which is pretty loud since I'm a mermaid. If I really wanted to, I could make everyone in this room go deaf. I clutched my ears frantically "I need to get in the water!" I screamed. I knew the water could help muffle some of the sound.

"Not an option, Kate! That thing's close enough to kill you if you can hear it from here!" Edmund replied.

A vision flashed across my minds eye; it was getting ready to attack the ship. It knew I was here, that's why it kept shrieking. To prevent me from being able to defend the ship. If I didn't do something now, I would be too weakened by the time it got here to help. "No, it's doing this on purpose! It's trying to weaken me, I have to do something." I said, my tone dripping with finality.

I glanced at the group around me, all of them held expressions of utter shock and disbelief on their faces. "Busted?" it came out like a question.

Up on the deck the crew was frantically running around trying to direct the ship towards the island. I was using my powers to avert the rain droplets away from me. Peter shouted orders to the crew, telling them to prepare for the attack. A vision forced its way into my mind, "It's coming!" I shouted the warning to everyone.

Not even a second later the serpent broke through the surface of the waves. It rose higher and higher until it towered above the ship, causing the crew members to run around in search for weapons. "Keep heading towards the island!" I yelled over the storm.

Edmund nodded at me in understanding, "Well?" Peter challenged when he saw the crew hesitate to follow my orders.

I summoned my trident and got into a fighting stance. I realized too late, however, that this was a huge mistake. The serpents jaws opened and out came the terrible shrieking from before. Now, though, it was ten times worse. I clutched the sides of my head, dropping the trident in the process. Letting out a deafening scream, I feel in a heap on the deck. Edmund rushed to my side and pulled me into his lap. I removed my hands from my ears, they hurt like Hell.

My eyes found themselves traveling to Edmunds face. His mouth opened and closed as if he were talking, but no sound came out. My eyes drifted to my surroundings. Peter stood over me now, his eyes alarmed as he made the same speaking movement as Edmund. My eyes lazily scanned the rest of the ship. I could see the crew running around the deck shouting orders and screaming as some were pulled over board from the force of a wave. The serpent parted its jaws once again, but this time no agonizing pain came. Lightning lit up the skies as the serpent prepared to strike. But no sound came from anything. I opened my mouth in an attempt to speak. Slight vibrating feelings came from deep in my throat, but no sound followed. I found myself reaching up to touch my ears. Pulling away, I found crimson blood flowing freely from my eardrums. I looked back up at Edmund who had a horrified expression on his face. His lips moved one again, no sound came.

'Kate? Kate! Can you hear me? Kate, please say something!' the words came from the very back of my mind in a voice other than my own or Amelia's. It was slightly deep, like a man's voice. It almost sounded like Edmund.

'Katherine!' the voice blended into my thoughts as Edmunds mouth moved once again.

I furrowed my brow in confusion. Maybe...

'Edmund?' I tried. It started as just a thought, but then changed as I molded it into a wordless message. My head buzzed slightly as I felt my mind being stretched, molding into another. Then it hit me. Jumbled thoughts flooded my mind, penetrating and reading my own. Visions played through my mind like memories. However, they weren't my memories. All of them had something to do with Edmund.

Edmund looked at me in bewilderment, his mouth stopped moving as he seemed to be at a loss for words. 'Kate? Can you hear me?' Edmunds voice rang in my mind.

I nodded my head in response, his eyes grew even wider and his mouth hung open. I laughed, again feeling the vibrations in my vocals but not hearing anything. 'I can't hear anything other than your thoughts.' I sent the telepathic message to Edmund.

He nodded his head in understanding 'How?'

I shrugged 'I've only had telepathy links with Amelia and the Hydra back in the cave. I've never shared actual thoughts with either though.'

As a response to my words, I felt Edmunds thoughts begin to whir around in his mind. I could vaguely see his thoughts and read his emotions. I guessed he could do the same with me. One thought stood out in particular though, it was of Edmund opening the passage to the Golden Oak chamber of the cave. I saw the golden light spread from his palm as he touched the solid rock wall. Edmund must have felt my confusion and bewilderment so he just shrugged 'I don't know what it was either.'

Edmund looked off to the side for a moment and I realized someone had spoken to him. Lucy's words rung through my mind as soon as Edmund had registered them; she had asked what was going on. I watched Edmunds lips move as he spoke the words he was thinking 'She's deaf.'

You know, this telepathy thing could really come in handy. All of this had happened in only a matter of seconds. Then it dawned on me, the serpent. Edmund read my thoughts and our thoughts clicked together as we came to the same conclusion. I couldn't fight without my sense of hearing, the monster would kill me. In one swift motion I scooped up my trident from the deck and placed it in Edmunds hands. 'It's the only way to defeat that thing.' my thoughts stretched into his.

Edmund nodded and clasped his hands firmly on the weapon the moment he felt the finality in my decision. We both stood, Edmund helping me swiftly to my feet. I placed a firm kiss on his lips before pulling apart and placing a hand on his cheek 'I love you.' I thought to him, sending all of the emotion I felt for him with it.

His eyes grew wide as his mouth opened slightly. We had always known we had strong feelings for each other, but neither of us had yet to say those three little words. A grin plastered on his face before he pulled me into him, crushing his lips against mine. 'I love you.' he replied.

I saw from Edmunds thoughts the serpent was about to strike. With one last glance, I took a slow step away from Edmund before turning and diving into the cold ocean.

The water cased itself around me like an eggshell. I sunk slowly below the surf as my legs began to fuse together. My senses grew stronger as I became more aware of my surroundings. My eyesight grew sharper and more adapted to the dark waters as my scales began forming. And in one swift tug of the current, my legs were completely gone. I flicked my tail, successfully darting quickly from side to side. Even after all this time, I hadn't lost my touch. I looked to my right, the serpents tail swung around the currents as it lunged at the ship. I knew Edmund wouldn't want me to stay where I am, and his thoughts only proved that.

'Go!' Edmunds voice rang out in my mind.

With one last glance at the ship I propelled myself through the currents and towards the island. I stopped swimming once I approached the rocks near the shoreline. Popping my head up above the water, I pulled my body onto one of the rocks. My emerald tail was half hidden in the water while my top half was visible. I shivered slightly as I only had on my emerald bikini like top which appears whenever I switch to mermaid form.

My eyes darted around in the direction I had come from. The ship was still a good ways away from the island, but close enough for life boats to be sent out if necessary. The serpent had made a good sized dent in the side of the ship. I could still hear Edmunds thoughts, even though they were slightly fuzzy. I guessed this was because of the distance between us. My head shot up as Edmunds thoughts went blank. No emotions, words, nor images floated from his mind into mine any longer.

Without thinking I jumped into the water and propelled myself toward the ship. Water crackled with electricity as I felt my powers surge. The boat was even closer to the island now, close enough to let down the anchor. As if responding to my thoughts, I made a sharp turn as the anchor fell right where my head had been. Letting out a sigh of relief, I flicked my tail towards the surface. I broke through the surf as the crew let down a single life boat. The kings and queens of Narnia sat rowing the boat to shore. The rest of the crew scrambled around throwing ropes up at the Shrieker, the rest were Preparing to let down another boat.

I swam towards the beach as the bunch of royalty pulled up on the shore. I perched myself on a rock and watched in horror as Peter and Caspian dragged a limp Edmund onto the white sand. Blood spilled from a wound in his side, his chest heaved in uneven patterns.

"Edmund!" I screamed, causing the group around him to turn and look in my direction.

I pushed myself back into the water. With a few flicks of my tail I was just close enough to land to sit in the sand with my upper torso above sea level. Caspian looked down at Lucy and said something to her, but I still couldn't hear. He looked back over to me and began wading in the water, waves lazily lapping up to his knees. When he was about three feet from me, I instinctively backed away. My instincts still told me to steer clear of humans while in this form. Caspian immediately stopped, I saw his lips move but I couldn't hear him. I shook my head and pointed to my ears, he understood. I slowly became aware of the fact that the muscles in my arm were still tensed. I relaxed them and slowly inched back to my original spot. My waist was still submerged in the water.

I looked back to Edmund. Lucy was pouring a few drops of her healing vial into Edmunds mouth. Moments later his body lurched forwards as if he were coughing, then his siblings helped him to sit up. Lucy was the first one to lock him into a bear hug, Susan followed, Peter just gave him a manly pat on the back. I smiled and sighed in relief, the telepathy link came back full force. 'Kate? Kate!' Edmunds voice called frantically in my mind.

I smiled wider 'Turn around.'

He turned his head to the side and our eyes met, he smiled. I looked back up to Caspian's questioning gaze. I just rolled my eyes and laughed. I dived back into the surf, dragging myself onto the white sand behind a large rock. I wasn't quite ready for the Pevensie's to see my tail. Holding my palm above the glistening green scales, steam began to curl off of my body. Moments later my tail shimmered slightly before my legs returned. I was completely dry.

Brushing myself off, I fixed my hair before darting out from behind the boulder. Caspian was out of the water now, and Edmund stood surrounded by his siblings. He read my thoughts and turned as I sprinted towards his open arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he twirled me around in a circle. I giggled as we stopped spinning, my arms still wrapped around his neck. Edmunds arms wrapped tightly around the small of my waist. I smiled as we just stared into each others eyes for a moment, then his lips came crashing into mine. We pulled apart as I registered someone clearing their throat from Edmunds thoughts.


It's ALIIIIIVVVEEEEEE! OMQ IT'S BEEN SO LONG! But you know, they don't have computer access in Carithium. Well they do...but I was too busy preparing a war against Delithia. Good thing their ruler, Delilah, just decided to move. So there is no longer cause for a war! But now I have to worry about how to topple a Goddess because she obsesses too much. Yes, being Queen of Carithium came be stressfull sometimes. But I manage to not loose my sanity. What is Carithium you ask? Why it's a planet, of course! But not just any planet, MY planet! Ruled solely by me: Cari!

Ok, so I might have made up an entire new language last year. It was suppost to just be so that teachers couldn't read our notes that we passed around in class. But then my group of friends and I decided to name it Cariaus. And then that lead to Carithium. And then that lead to pandomonium. And what's Delithia?

I just made that up two seconds ago actually...Delithia is a neighboring planet of Carithium, but the two planets are rivals. Yea it's ruled by Delilah because my friend Delilah was the one to get fed up with Carithuim and bugged everyone about stopping it. So now her and her evil planet are the prime rivals of Carithuim!

don't ask...

Telby- So what took so long to update?

Cari- Well, Telby, one thing just led to another...

Telby- Like?

Cari- Well let's see...I lost inspiration and ideas for a while, got sick, computer acted up, christmas chaos, birthday chaos, my cat died, got a palat expander put in, projects, homework, AND MY POWER GOT CUT OFF!

Telby- Why'd your power get cut off?

Cari- Mom didn't pay the bill! Claimed she "Didn't know they could cut the power."

Telby- Woooooowwwww!

Cari- WOWZERZ!

Telby- Anything else we should add?

Cari- EVIL TACO LAWN GNOMES ARE INVADING OUR STORES! I HAVE PROOF!

Telby- You mean that picture you sent me of the green garden gnomes at Marshall's?

Cari- YES!

Telby- Wow...

Cari- AND they made a vase fall on an innocent bystandard!

Telby- Uhm?

Cari- OH NO!

Telby- WHAT? What is it?

Cari- Why didn't I see the signes sooner!

Telby- What signes?

Cari- THE NINJA PSYCHIC PINNAPPLES ARE COMING!

Telby- Uhmm...?

Cari- If you befriend a ninja psychic pinnapple, they'll tell you which stocks to invest in!

Telby- Uh-

Cari- AND THEN THEY SHOVE YOU DOWN A WELL!

Telby- What?..?

Cari- But they weren't using their usual tactics then...SHE MUST HAVE KNOWN THE PINNAPPLE CODE!

Telby- who? What pinnaplle code?

Cari- THE CIVILIAN! She must have befriended a ninja psychic pinnaple! But she also must have known the pinnapple code! That's why the ninja psychic pinnapples tried to crush her under the force of a mighty foot tall vase! She was staying away from wells! And it's not like ninja psychic pinnapples can move anything other than a foot tall vase!

Telby- Cari...What did I tell you about leaning forward too far when your using sharpies in art class?

Cari- I'm not even in art class anymore! Which is good since I saw the teacher eyeing my table suspiciously when the clay *insert health class word* was thrown across the room!

Telby- CARI?

Cari- WHAT! Don't look at me! Geez Shelby, I may have done many weird things to a particular face in that class, but I never made a clay *insert health class word* before! If I wanted to do that, all I'd need is a cucumber and a couple of lemons!

Telby- You've done things to a face?

Cari- yea, I cut out his eye sockets and shoved a pencil up his nose.

Telby- ...?

Cari- What did I do now?

STAY TUNNED! CT TV WILL BE BACK IN A MOMENT!