~Caleb's POV~ (A/n: We really haven't done that in a while!)
After dinner, I had returned to my room before Eustace could. Lucy and Reepicheep are chatting merrily. Kalyn and Caspian were playing a double game of chess with Edmund and Marina. Now was a good time to rethink my life – not that I was unhappy about it though.
Since I'd been thrown into another world – by a twist of fate – my life had drastically changed – for the better, but then again this was a new life, and I already knew what mission I was supposed to carry out during this lifetime. Without a doubt, I had been enriched by my stay here. It'd been a very fruitful two years. I had made many friends and I missed them all.
What temporarily drew me away from my thoughts was Kalyn's laughter, consecutively followed by Caspian's. Well, well.
Anyway, Kalyn had always been someone I could rely on. I hated to admit it, but ever since she and Caspian had this thing going on, she had found her happiness and I did congratulate her, but I, on the other hand, felt more or less lonely even though I knew I wasn't alone. Seeing her so blissful in love, I began to wonder if I'd ever find my own happiness with someone who loved me as much as I loved her.
There wasn't particularly anybody I could seek advice from. Drinian's a good friend, but we're not close and we wouldn't really talk about relationships. I sighed, knowing he's engaged now and I was still single. Granted, he was a little older than Caspian so it wasn't a surprise. And I wasn't in a hurry to get married or enter a relationship – it's just that when the right person came along, I would be ready to give her my all.
Approximately a year ago, before the voyage and around the time when Caspian's engagement to Kalyn was announced, Trufflehunter told me there was wide, but not publicized, speculation regarding who my – well, consort would be. I never made public speeches, but some frivolous ladies, upon acknowledgement that the young, handsome King was taken, had redirected their affections towards me, the to-be Queen's brother. What was I now? A last resort? I snorted at how silly they could be. They weren't really that different from women from Earth. Some even suspected Marina and I were secretly an item. I thought that idea was just completely ridiculous; it made me laugh, actually. It was just implausible. I didn't know if Marina had heard of these whispers, but I would never confront her about it. Though cheesy, I had to say, she's not my type. She's very independent – almost as if a love life wasn't a necessity – rather, it was a luxury that even though she could afford, she probably wouldn't go for it. Now I saw why Kalyn thought that Edmund was a potential match for Marina – he would banter with Marina, and I wouldn't. They would never openly say 'I love you' to one another – they'd convey their affections through other means while I'd rather cuddle with a woman I could call my love. Really just somebody who could make me feel needed. I wanted to be her first choice, not an alternative she might or might not take into consideration. Who would deny that they long for somebody to love?
Now, in my previous lifetime, I had met many women. Glamorous women. Mercenary women. Attention-seeking women. So it was certainly very refreshing to meet a lady who wasn't talking to me just for the sake of getting publicity or money off my bank account. Lucy, on the other hand, was different. Special. She's down to earth and never talked nonsense. She's kind to everybody, and ever so forgiving, even towards Eustace. She did not mind doing work on the ship at all; she's a Queen of Old and no sailor, not even Caspian, would make her do chores, but she volunteered to help out – I couldn't think of anybody else in my previous life who would be so willing to help, except for my sister. I'd taken such a liking towards Lucy not because of her legacy, but because of her personality – she's beautiful even though she never acknowledged it herself. What a strong contrast with women from Earth who liked to show off when there wasn't really anything they should be proud of, if not their families' connections to mine. And at age 16, Lucy's quite mature and sensible I reckoned. She just might be the one I'd spent my life – or lives – searching for.
Yes, I did realize that I was, in terms of rank, not qualified to court a Queen. But I felt rather certain I could make her happy. She wasn't looking for excess wealth or unworldly fame and neither was I, frankly speaking. She appreciated and even embraced simplicity – happiness was easy to achieve, for her.
I admired her. But this kind of adoration – dared I call it love? I was attracted to her – it wasn't really that much about looks. It was heartfelt, rational, and made sense, really.
I had come to the conclusion that I might have a crush on Lucy Pevensie.
I heard Eustace's footsteps – yes I had spent enough time on this ship to tell who's coming which way just based on the sounds their shoes make. Philosophical talk with self – adjourned. Let's see where fate was going to take me with this.
~Narrator's POV~
Marina had gladly accepted Gael as her roommate – no one would let the little one bunk with the seamen, of course. Marina had always wanted a little sister; now she had a foster one.
And the next morning, little Gael was the first to wake. She apparently had had breakfast already and was very much energized. In no time, she had rushed back to her room zealously and almost gave Marina a heart attack when Gael squealed excitedly. "Daddy said we're gonna be on land again!"
"Really? What's the islet called?" Marina was exhilarated too.
Gael thought hard for a moment, took a deep breath, and recited. "Terror-been-thee-ah!"
Though Marina still didn't catch its name, she appreciated Gael's efforts in pronouncing an awfully long polysyllabic word for a ten-year-old who had never really received proper education. To be honest, Gael was considered fortunate to have never been captured by slavers – her mother didn't have that luck, however.
"Terebinthia." Edmund corrected when he walked past their room. "The Merpeople's nation. Tiny islet, but filled with resources and supplies. A great stop I'd say." His tone was rather serious and kingly.
"Good morning, Edmund." Marina giggled lightly.
Edmund froze for a moment before mumbling, "morning," and briskly jogged to the main deck.
Marina, after watching Edmund hastily leave – or, escape – chuckled, and started to make the bed.
"I'm sorry, my lady, I don't quite understand the joke. Is something meant to be funny?" Gael asked timidly.
Marina laughed. "There's nothing to apologize for, little one. Though I believe, drawing reference from the terminology originating from the world where King Edmund is from, 'cute' is the word to describe him."
Gael still looked puzzled, but she shrugged anyway. "I'm sure when I'm older I'll understand."
"Listen up now!" Drinian spoke in a loud voice. "Assemble yourselves into teams to collect as much food, water, and everything we'll need for the next fortnight."
Caspian returned to the State Room and delegated duties. "Kalyn, stay with Marina and guard the ship." He stated. Caleb seemed pleased by this arrangement. "Edmund, Lucy, Caleb, we'll look for the missing Lords."
"What about that little – Eustace?" Marina tolerated him only because he's Edmund's cousin.
"I'm not letting him guard the door the again." Edmund frowned. "He's going to get us all killed." (A/n: or worse, expelled!)
"He's staying." Caspian stated as Marina groaned. "Worry not. Reep will make a warrior out of him." Caspian chuckled as they got off the ship, Lucy carrying Susan's bow-and-arrow set.
Some Terebinthians who worked by the bay greeted the Narnians, but warned them to take caution because there was a Naiad affected by the Green Mist and had turned evil ever since.
"Perhaps we could help defeat it for you." Caspian offered. He was an excellent swordsman, and Terebinthia was nevertheless a duchy under Narnian sovereignty.
"It inhabits the pond. If you seek to destroy it, I can only wish you the best of luck and offer nothing more, I'm afraid, my liege." A Terebinthian man advised. "But beware, travelers, it may suck out your soul and absorb your energies until there is nothing left of you."
"We might as well finish it the same way. Till there is nothing left of it." Edmund said, as they all thanked the Terebinthians and headed on. They had a demon to slay.
When they approached the pond, the ground began to shake vigorously. "What's happening?" Lucy held on to a tree, but one branch fell off and she screamed and dodged it.
The sight before their eyes was petrifying – a 50 feet tall monster came to life, madly splashing water onto them. It howled and the skies turned grey. Black, even. And when the creature gave a thundering roar, lightning struck.
Caleb poised and drew his twin blades from the leather shield he carried on his back. He took several steps back and began sprinting towards the monster, whose heavy body was, at the same time, slithering ponderously towards Caleb too.
And then, Caleb leapt as high in the air as his legs would take him, landing on the creature's neck. It had at least three arms – and more limbs sticking out, which was a very disturbing scene to watch. The enormous monster, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had let out a deafening howl when Caleb used his blades to stab its gigantic bulbous yellow eyes, blinding it.
Losing its sense of sight, the creature's great blunt head was weaving drunkenly, while a pair of its arms grabbed Caleb and its fingers curled, suffocating Caleb in its firm grasp that he couldn't wriggle out of. He quickly lost the upper hand and couldn't even breathe, let alone cry for help.
Caspian and Edmund were lashing at the possessed naiad, their swords repeatedly stabbing the monster, but the wounds the two kings tried to inflict on the creature seemed to have no bearing on it – then they realized that it had self-healing abilities and upon every injury it endured, its skin would regenerate, making it much more difficult to be slain.
And then Lucy aimed an arrow at the monster's neck, and fired a shot before it could asphyxiate Caleb. When the arrow's sharp end punctured the creature, blood was streaming to the floor and the flailing monster was spitting in agony. It swayed as blood began to pour out from all its pores, even from its scaly nose. Suddenly, the sword blades began to pierce through its skin and it let out a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Inky fluids spurted out from its body in torrents. The spot where the arrow had hit it had burned a sizzling hole right through it.
Of course, this phenomenon was explained by the fact that Father Christmas had instilled magic into Susan's set of bow and arrows, the naiad shrunk to the floor, liberating wafts of green mist that, much to their surprise and relief, did not haunt them but instead floated away. What's left of the creature had burst into flames and was destroyed.
Caleb was writhing in pain on the floor. Lucy retrieved her healing cordial and it was Caleb's second time drinking from it. His breathing then returned to normal. He did get bruises and cuts on his arms, but those scars soon faded when Lucy's cordial took effect. Although his eyes couldn't quite focus on any particular object, he could guess that the villagers had come out of hiding and were presently congratulating them for defeating an evil force.
Caleb stumbled to his feet. When he tried to get up, his knees were still too weak to support his weight, Lucy offered to help him up, but he roughly pushed her away. "I don't need a girl's help." He snarled, but was just disappointed in himself that his attempt in showing that he, too, was an able warrior, had failed, offending Lucy, but Caspian and Edmund were too overwhelmed by the Terebinthians cheers.
"Well, you're welcome." Lucy frowned, taken aback.
"I was handling myself just fine." Caleb snapped, balancing himself.
"Just fine?!" Lucy retorted. "If it weren't for me you would have had your soul devoured!"
"I told you; I don't need your help." Caleb spoke what he would like to believe.
Lucy's face turned red. "A simple thank you would suffice."
Caleb ignored her and rolled his eyes.
"Fine. If you don't need my help, I'll just leave you on your own." Lucy stormed off and Caleb lost sight of her in the cheering crowds.
Some Terebinthian healers offered Caleb some medicine that would restore his strength and energy. It was getting dark and the Terebinthians were spontaneously holding a feast for the Narnians, so Caspian announced that they would stay for the night.
A/n: Aha! So a Mortal Instruments reference and a Harry Potter reference all mashed up in the same scene! Funny how I had planned Jamie Campbell Bower to play Caleb when he plays Jace!
Teaser for the next chapter:
The rest of the world fell away until it was just Caleb and Lucy, as if they stood on a spotlighted stage in an empty auditorium.
