DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis.

Author's Note: Chapter 9: let's go! A big something happens, hope you enjoy!


Chapter 9

The ship was magnificently grand. It was big enough to hold the entire royal party: Peter, Susan, Edmund, Lucy, three centaurs, an important griffin, a satyr, two dryads, a leopard; the servants; enough food for a few weeks; everyone's luggage and of course rooms for everyone to stay in.

Lucy had insisted that I come along, not as her lady-in-waiting, but as a friend and one of the royal party. After many refusals from me and even more insistences from her, I had no choice but to accept. I was given my own large room, next to the leopard's room, which was even more lavish than my room at Cair Paravel. Lucy's room was not far from mine and although I came along as her friend, I still came every morning to help her dress and do her hair. On the journey there, it took some time for me to get used to living on the ship. It was slightly ironic that as a water nymph, I didn't enjoy being at sea. I was by far the most sea-sick of all the people on board, and somehow I didn't feel right being on a ship. Maybe it was because I was surrounded by water but unable to touch it that I didn't like it. Edmund said I just needed to become accustomed to the ship but I thought I would never feel right.

The journey to the Lone Islands took four days. When the islands were finally spotted on the horizon, I rushed up to the deck to see the distant spot of land for myself. I couldn't wait until we arrived.


When we finally did sail into the harbour, I was ready to run off the ship. The streets quickly became flooded with people coming to see the royal party and I grinned and craned my neck to catch a glance at everyone. The people were all tanned with dark hair and eyes. The island was green and lush but the city was a bustle with noise and activity. It was the first town I had ever properly seen and I couldn't seem to get enough of the sights. Lucy laughed and grinned along with me as we rode our horses up through the town.

There was no castle or palace in the city but there was a large and imposing house that was definitely big enough for the entire royal party and the servants to stay in. Even inside though, you could still hear the noise of the streets outside and when it didn't die down as night fell, I wondered how we would ever sleep.

The next morning after I had helped Lucy with her hair, we made our way down to breakfast. Just as she had made sure I was going to be treated like one of the royal party and guest rather than her lady-in-waiting and a servant, she insisted that I had to sit right next to her and the other royals at the royal table in the dining room. Unfortunately for her, I didn't think this was such a good idea and tried to put up a fight.

"This isn't like the small breakfasts at Cair Paravel where there is only one table! I'm not elegant enough to sit with the royals! I'll embarrass myself and you." I had said to Lucy when she had mentioned it before we had left Cair Paravel.

"Nonsense! You're beautiful and more elegant than me. Beside, you're practically part of the family so of course you have to sit with us." She looked appalled at my objection.

"But what am I supposed to wear? I don't have fancy clothes that would be suitable for the royal table." I tried another excuse. Lucy narrowed her eyes, scrutinising me.

"Mi, I can get you the most expensive, most elegant dresses you've ever seen to wear if that's what you're worried about, but you're going to sit with my brothers and sister. You're my best friend and I would really like you to be there."

I had eventually given in, and so had been dining at the royal table since we had set out for Cair Paravel; but I still felt uncomfortable.


My dress for the day was a soft green colour and my hair was loose and fell down far below my shoulders. At the large breakfast table for the royals, the four sibling monarchs sat next to one another and I sat next to Lucy. The food was wonderful and I enjoyed every bite.

After breakfast, Peter was going to give a speech to the people living on the island. The city's town's square had been decorated for the visiting monarchs and after Peter's speech would be a large feast, given by the mayor who was, in fact, a water nymph. Peter's inspiring speech was all about how he wanted to make sure the Lone Islands would be a peaceful, happy place. He ended his speech like he did with all his others, "For Narnia and for Aslan!" To which the crowd cheered uproariously and I swelled with pride and respect for Narnia and our Kings and Queens. After Peter's speech, the Mayor guided the way to his home by the beach. For a mayor it seemed rather modest, but for a water nymph it seemed just right. Lucy introduced me to him as soon as possible.

"Mayor Cinwik, may I introduce my best friend, Mitha. She is also a water nymph." Lucy smiled and Mayor Cinwik looked happy to meet me.

"Mitha, how wonderful to meet you." Just as the four monarchs did, we shook hands.

"It is wonderful to meet you, Mayor. The Lone Islands are beautiful." The Mayor smiled at my compliment and we fell into conversation about the islands, our Kings and Queens and just general small talk. He was a fairly young and unmarried water nymph who I found I had a lot in common with besides the obvious love of water and music.

The royal party had planned to stay a month in the Lone Islands to relax, explore all the islands, meet and engage with the people. The Mayor travelled around the islands with the royal party and showed us a good time, hosting many enjoyable feasts, giving welcoming speeches, and keeping everyone's spirits high. As time went on, Mayor Cinwik and I grew closer and became good friends. It wasn't until we were on the third (out of six) island that Lucy brought up the subject that I had previously not wanted to think about.

"Where are you going?" It was half past four in the afternoon and I was walking out the door of Lucy's room where we had been sitting and reading.

"For a walk with the mayor." The mayor and I went on regular walks together and we had planned to meet down by the beach that afternoon.

"You and the mayor seem to be very friendly lately." She had a strange smile on her lips and her one eyebrow was raised.

"What do you mean? Of course, we're friends." I didn't understand what she was obviously trying to imply. She sighed exasperatedly when she realised I didn't get it, "You and the mayor seem almost more than friends lately." With the final realisation, I furrowed my brows with surprise.

"The mayor and I are not in love, Lu. We're just friends." I could feel myself blushing because I knew that if Lucy thought something was going on between Cinwik and me, others would probably be thinking the same thing.

"If you say so..." She winked suggestively at me and turned back to her book while I left quickly and tried not to think about it. My attempt failed terribly though as I couldn't get the idea out of my mind.

The mayor was a good person: kind, gentle, thoughtful, funny, handsome and a good leader to the people of the Lone Islands. This much I knew. But whether I thought of him as something more than that was something I had no clue about. He and I were good friends and I liked him a lot, but I didn't know whether I felt love for him.

"Mitha," Cinwik's voice broke my train of thought and I was surprised when I saw he was right in front of me. I smiled subconsciously at the sight the sight of him.

"Cinwik,." unlike with King Edmund, I had called Mayor Cinwik by his first name soon after we became friends without any trouble at all. Cinwik smiled warmly back and held out his arm which I immediately took. With our arms linked, we walked down to the beach. Being water nymphs, we were subconsciously drawn to the water. The sand was warm and soft under our feet and with the sun's rays on our backs, we walked parallel to the water down the beach.

We talked while in the back of my mind lingered the words Lucy had said earlier. I wondered whether I did feel anything more than friendship towards him. I felt determined to find out.

For the next few days I thought about Cinwik almost constantly. Not because I felt passionate love for him, but because I didn't know how I felt about him and was curious to know. I didn't have any ideas on how to find out and he didn't seem to have thought of the possibility.

When the royal party was on the fifth island we attended yet another feast. The food was as good as ever and with the music, the wine and the lateness of the hour, I felt in a particularly good mood. It was after midnight, while the other guests were still enjoying the food and drinks, when Cinwik leaned down and whispered to me to meet him in the passageway in five minutes.

The passageway was dark and I, innocently, wondered what Cinwik wanted me alone for.

"Cinwik?" I whispered into the shadows.

"Here," a hand wrapped around mine and pulled me along, down the corridor. I could smell alcohol but somehow didn't register that it was coming from him as we walked for a minute or so before coming to a window with a seat in the windowsill. The sky was filled with a large moon and many brilliant stars that transfixed my gaze. We sat on the window seat and stared out together. There was silence and I noticed that Cinwik had not let go of my hand.

"Mitha?" his voice was silky as he spoke and broke the silence.

I looked from the sky to his face and saw some of the moon's light was shining across his face. There was something different in his eyes that I couldn't identify.

"Yes?"

"You're beautiful," having never been complimented in such a way by someone like him, I had no idea how to answer but to say politely, "Thank you, Cinwik." He smiled at my answer and his fingers gently began to stroke my hand which he held in his. Slowly his hand moved up my arm to my shoulder, neck and finally to my face. I struggled to breathe as his hand then moved behind my head before gently pulling my face towards his and pressing his lips to mine.

I had never been kissed before, it was something some of my sisters had done, and my parents had done, and something I guess I had wanted to do someday but I never really gave much thought to what it would be like to be in love myself or to be kissed. When Cinwik kissed me, although I realised then in my heart I didn't love him, my body reacted without my knowing it and I leaned into him and kissed back.

My back was pressed against the window with Cinwik pressing up against me, his hands moving over my body and my hands moving over his body.

After a while I came to my senses and realised that I needed to stop this. I pulled my hands off him and tried to push him off me. With a moan, he pulled away. I didn't know what to say but knew I needed to tell him I didn't love him. He looked at me with hungry eyes and I managed to begin with, "Cinwik-", but he cut me off as he stroked my legs, leaned back in to kiss my neck and almost growled, "Mitha, I want you." I suddenly understood that he must have drunk more than I had thought before; his actions and feelings were exaggerated by the wine. His voice was husky with lust and his lips moved down to the base of my neck where they would have continued down if I had not pushed his head and his hands away. I needed to stop him.

"Cinwik, please stop." Somehow, he wasn't listening and took my hand, stood up before kneeling in front of me and speaking again,

"Mitha, I love you. Will you marry me?" I felt truly cornered. Although he was my friend and I didn't want to hurt him by rejecting him, I knew he was drunk and would probably not remember this the next morning. I also certainly did not love him and could not marry him. I swallowed, took a breath and said, "I can't marry you Cinwik." His brow furrowed and he looked confused.

"What do you mean? Why can't you marry me?" He was a good friend and I didn't want to be rude or horrible but I found no way to put what I had to say in a nice way.

"I don't love you Cinwik. I can't marry you," the look that he had had in his eyes disappeared and was suddenly replaced with a hard, cold and hurtful stare.

"If you don't love me then why did you almost make love to me?" This was a huge exaggeration but he shouted it so loudly I was terrified someone might have heard him. Somehow, even though I knew he was drunk, this made me angry. "I didn't almost make love to you, I would never make love to someone I don't love," without knowing it, my voice had risen as well.

"Don't lie to me, if you hadn't stopped me, I could have easily taken you right here." His voice was even louder and angrier but I too was angry and seemed not to notice as much.

"I would never have let that happen, I do not love you. And if you love me that much, you would have waited until we were married!"

His anger rose, the wine taking even more control, and he seemed unable to hold it back anymore. His hand swung out and slapped me across the face. Taken by surprise by the blow I became temporarily unable to speak. Someone else spoke instead in a sharp, authoritive voice, "Mayor Cinwik."

At the sound of the voice so nearby, Cinwik whirled around and came face to face with King Edmund.

Cinwik was so surprised and obviously scared that Edmund had heard our conversation, he bent into a quick, low bow and said, "King Edmund," before he, without a glance back at me, turned and almost ran down the dark passageway.

For a minute, there was silence as my brain sluggishly comprehended what had happened while Edmund stood looking down the dark passageway. Then he turned his head to look at me, back still pressed against the window. Our eyes met.

"Did he hurt you Mitha?" his eyes held concern and I was touched that he would bother to ask. Compared to Cinwik, he was a true gentleman.

"No, I'm fine." I decided I couldn't remain sitting and so I stood up, curtsied and was about to walk away quickly when Edmund's hand caught my shoulder and stopped me. He pulled me back and I turned back to face him. He still looked concerned and I felt guilty that he looked so worried about me.

"I didn't mean to, Mitha, but I heard your conversation." My face turned red as I blushed at the thought of Edmund hearing what Cinwik and I had said to each other. He hadn't finished speaking though, "Did he force himself on you? If he did, please tell me. I can have him arrested Mi, he shouldn't have taken advantage of you." There was something menacing in his voice and again I felt a pang of guilt for his concern for me.

"He didn't force himself on me," my voice was filled with embarrassment, "but thank you, King Edmund." I locked eyes with him and tried to convey my gratefulness across with my eyes as I curtsied low. Before I could quickly turn and leave, Edmund smiled and said, "Mitha, it's no problem. I'm just glad he didn't hurt you. Let me escort you back to the feast." As much as I really just wanted to go to bed, I knew I had to go back to the feast so I agreed and let Edmund guide me by the arm back to the large hall where the feast was still continuing. I sat down and tried to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Cinwik sat three seats away; Edmund hadn't wanted me to sit next to him so he let me sit in his place while Edmund took my old seat. Lucy hadn't been in her seat, but talking to a centaur on the opposite side of the room, so it was only when she came back to her seat that she noticed I had reappeared again.

"There you are Mi, where did you go? I was just talking to a centaur who fought alongside Pete, Su, Ed and me in the battle against the White Witch. He was telling me the most amazing story about this fight he had with this minotaur." Although I tried my hardest to act as if I were fine, Lucy could tell there was something wrong and whispered to me, "You're going to tell me what's wrong later, right?" I gave a small nod.

It wasn't until the next morning that Lucy and I got a chance to talk. The royal party was due to leave for the final island that afternoon and so with all the packing and making sure everything was ready, Lucy and I barely found ten minutes to talk alone without being overheard. We walked towards the forest that lay to the north of the beach and we strolled through the trees as I told my best friend what had happened the night before. She looked shocked at Cinwik's actions and relieved that Edmund had shown up when he had.

"Thank goodness, Ed arrived! Oh, Mi, I'm so sorry the Mayor turned out to be so awful," she stopped walking to give me a hug and although I never shed a tear over the matter, I was very hurt inside. I just wanted to get my mind off Cinwik and I told Lucy, "I don't want to say this, but I'm actually sort of glad we only have one more island left before we go home. I can't wait to never see Mayor Cinwik again."

The sixth island was beautiful but the experience was very much soured by the constant presence of Cinwik. He himself was sour but for some reason seemed to enjoy seeing me look uncomfortable by his presence. We stayed two days on the island before it was time to leave. There was yet another feast; this time a farewell feast; and again I felt the guilty pang of being so happy to be leaving the Lone islands. King Edmund was a good friend to me and we even went on one or two walks before we left. He was very gentle with the subject and I found myself most relaxed around him.

When we finally left the Lone Islands, I was so happy I had even managed a stiff-lipped, "Goodbye Mayor," to a silent, scowling Cinwik before I got onto the ship. Edmund had seen the one-sided exchange and later congratulated me saying with a laugh, "Well done Mi! I think he'll pray he'll never see you again for fear of complete embarrassment on his part." I smiled and laughed with him and even though I hated being sick on the ship, it felt almost like a sanctuary after Cinwik's awkward presence.

The four day journey seemed to take less time than I had expected. I also found myself not being able to wait to get home and see my family. The Lone Islands had done their job in providing me with a bit of adventure and I was now eager to go back to reality.


The first thing I did the day after we arrived back at Cair Paravel was go and visit my family. My mother cried when she saw me.

"My baby! A whole month I didn't get to see you! Ask your father and sisters; I wished you would hurry back every day you were gone. How was it? What happened? Who did you meet? What were the Lone Islands like?" I sat with them for hours and answered all their questions and listened to their silly talk and basked in the warmth of being back with my family and familiar, homey surroundings. I told them about Mayor Cinwik but never mentioned anything about how he had proposed. To them, Mayor Cinwik was just a water nymph who was the mayor. I gave as little detail about him as possible and my family luckily didn't even notice.