The Real Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Thank you all for your lovely supportive reviews! :D
Please Review! I Love Reviews!

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Edmund asked as he wavered near the door.

Susan let go of the blanket around her and stood up. "Yes, I'm fine. Go, get some sleep." Susan said gently.

"I'll go check on Gael." Lucy said as she followed her bother.

Peter gave Susan a half smile and lightly patted her on the back as the three of them left the cabin. Susan flinched and held her shoulder as Caspian lingered behind.

"Are you hurt?" He asked concerned.

"I must have hit my shoulder against something." She said in a low voice.

"May I see?" He asked in a gentlemanly manner.

The pain was aching too much to just ignore so she agreed. She turned her back to him bashfully, placing her hand on the top of a chair, holding her steady as she remained in only her, now-dry, nightshirt.

Caspian took a step towards her and moved it down her right shoulder, exposing more of her soft, tantalizing, porcelain skin that he longed to kiss and caress. He swallowed hard as he felt his fingertips tingling as he touched her skin. He saw three small brown freckles on her shoulder blade, making the shape of a small triangle. For some reason, it became something else that he loved about her as he traced his thumb over them.

Susan repressed a large shiver as she closed her eyes briefly at the feel of his warm, loving touch. Her heart was beating rapidly as butterflies flew in her stomach.

Caspian shifted her nightdress slightly, revealing a large bruise beginning to form.

"What is it?" She asked softly.

"Your back is bruised." Caspian said, almost painfully.

"Oh." She felt Caspian's fingers lightly run along her bruise in a feather light touch. She turned and looked at him over her right shoulder. Their faces were only inches apart. "Thank you. For saving me." She said softly as her eyes slowly moved from his lips up into his ardent gaze.

He reached up and caressed her left cheek softly. "My pleasure." He replied in a low husky whisper.

Feeling a wave of boldness he slowly leaned in to kiss her. Her heart was beating wildly and she momentarily gave into it as she also leaned in. Susan's clouded mind screamed in her head, reminding her of her depth of fear. Their lips almost brushed against each other, when Susan suddenly pulled away from him with a small gasp escaping her lips, as she looked at the floor. Caspian straightened both hurt and confused.

"We can't." She whispered.

He studied her eyes that were filled with conflict; he saw her struggle to make sense of anything. "Why? Why can't we?" He asked in a voice mixed with longing, passion, frustration and torment.

She turned and looked up into his eyes that were filled with anguish and determination as her own filled with tears. She opened her mouth to reply, but Lucy walked in.

"Gael's fast asleep. Best to leave her there. "She said.

Caspian continued to look at Susan as she just stared into his shoulder, trying to pull herself together as she remained standing with her back to Lucy.

"We should all try and get some sleep." Susan said dully.

Caspian glanced over to Lucy who smiled at him and he nodded, his eyes filled with torment.

"If you need anything—"

"We know where to find you" Lucy said smiling at him.

"Goodnight."He said a little disengaged as he left them both standing there.

A lone tear rolled down Susan's cheek as she heard the door shut. She quickly wiped it away and forced her face into a small smile as she turned back to Lucy who was already tucked up in bed. Susan could see how she remained sat upright looking down at her hands.

"Lu? What's wrong?"She asked gently.

Lucy looked up shamefully into her eyes, her own on the brink of tears. Susan quickly sat on the bed in front of her.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered in a broken voice.

Susan stroked her hair. "What for?"

"I stole a spell off Coriakin. To make me beautiful. To make me look like you." Lucy replied in a quiet voice as she struggled to keep eye contact with her sister.

"Ohh, Lucy..." Susan's voice was filled with sadness.

How could she not have seen how upset her sister was? She had often caught her looking at her on the voyage with a strange look in her eyes. She knew how hard going through puberty was, especially for a girl, and poor Lucy had to go through it twice!

"I just wanted people to look at me the way they do you. I didn't want to be the ugly one." Lucy sobbed.

"Oh, Lucy, you are not ugly! Far from it. Your 15 years old and you have no idea how lovely you are for your age. Every teenage girl goes through the stage where they feel self-conscious about how they look and who they are. It's just part of growing up. And you've gone through it twice!"

"You were never self-conscious about the way you looked." Lucy pointed out.

"I was at first, but mum and Mrs. Beaver were a great comfort. They knew exactly what to say. I just wish you had told me sooner." Susan said softly.

"I was ashamed that I felt so jealous of you."

"We all struggle with who we are. Some struggle with who they are on the outside, others on the inside..." Susan said wisely.

She had gone through the minor self-conscious stage about how she looked when she first reached her teens but that faded away. She wasn't a vain person but she knew she was rather pretty; she just never cared about shoving it in people's faces. Susan's struggle had always been with who she was on the inside. Something that so many people overlooked because of the way she looked on the outside.

"I know that you blossom into a beautiful young woman, whom every one adores, for who you also are on the inside. I was the one who had to look at you all the time in the golden age, believe me I know." She added smiling at her.

"But I don't feel beautiful. Everyone always tells you how you are even more radiant than the sun." Lucy whispered as a tear fell down her cheek, as she sat picking at the thread of the blanket.

"But not all flattery makes you feel that way Lu. It's nice when it comes from people who know me for who I am. But I never liked suitors because they treated me nothing more than a pretty thing. It doesn't make you feel wanted, or beautiful, or special. It makes you feel as though you are hollow." Susan explained gently.

"I never thought of it that way..." Lucy said sniffing a little. "The way Caspian looks at you..."

"Caspian is... different. In both worlds, he's the only one to ever make me feel every bit as beautiful, and as precious as others may say." Susan said smiling slightly with an undertone of sadness in her voice.

"It explains why you blush when you catch him staring at you."Lucy said smiling as she began to feel much better.

"One day, you'll meet someone who makes you feel the same way, but don't go chasing after beauty, Lu. All beauty fades in time; we will only be left with who we really are on the inside. And your heart is a beacon of light, full of hope and faith. Don't ever change who you really are." Susan said smiling gently at her.

Lucy returned her smile, her eyes sparkling once more as she moved over to hug Susan. She really was the best big sister ever.

...

The next day the seas were calm, the storm had passed. The crew were clearing the deck; the green mist was filtering out of the mops and cloths that they used. Drinian watched them intently as he heard them whispering to each other and looking up to Drinian with distain in their eyes.

"How much longer?"

"Where are we?"

Drinian felt his insides churn. He knew this would happen, he warned them. Caspian, Edmund and Peter walked out of the study.

"What is it Drinian?" Caspian asked. He sounded weary and withdrawn.

"The storm has blown us off course."

Edmund mulled over the situation rather quickly. "So keep heading east."

"And when we run out of rations?" Caspian said to him gently.

"It's just not that simple Ed." Peter said moving forward to look at the crew.

Edmund glared at them both. They were patronising him! Like his opinion didn't even matter. Like he was a child, not a king!

"I don't like the looks we're getting. Something's got into the men." Drinian said in a low voice.

"What's going on?" One crew member asked with his hands on his hips.

Caspian stepped forward, observing the looks in their eyes. This was not good.

"Where are we?"

"They got us lost."

"Look, just order them." Edmund said to Caspian, confused to see him hesitating. A king should never hesitate to show his authority, he could see Caspian clearly still doubted himself.

"It'll just provoke them." Caspian said gently. Though he was only half right in the matter.

Susan walked out of the pantry door onto the main deck behind the crew, after just speaking with Eustace; she stood still, quietly observing them. She did not have a good feeling about this.

"Your majesties, what some of ours have been wanting to ask for some time now is how are we going to get home?" One man said stepping forward. "We'd like to know what hopes we have of seeing Narnia again."

Caspian turned to Edmund who felt like his blood was boiling. Why doesn't he just order them? Not even Peter was taking control, which was rather a surprise, he allowed Caspian to be at the top of the chain of command. He should be the one giving orders, it seemed like he was the only king on this ship who had a back bone.

Caspian didn't even know himself, he feared, he doubted, yet he knew he had to remain strong and not show weakness in front of them. The pressure of being king were currently weighing heavy on Caspian's shoulders as everyone looked to him for answers he just did not have. He quickly glanced to Peter who discretely nodded to him. He pushed aside his negative feelings and took on an assertive and calm presence as he walked down the steps.

"Gentlemen, I understand how you feel. But our mission is to continue east." He said assertively. Drinian walked past him and stood in front of the men on the main deck.

"No."

"How much longer?"

"We wanna go home. Turn us back."

"What's the matter with you all? This is just your fear talking." Mr. Rhince shouted at the men.

"We demand you turn us back."

"Are you threatening Mutiny?" Drinian asked. His presence was threatening and powerful as the men shuffled uncomfortably.

"Gentlemen." A gentle, soft voice was heard from behind the men.

They turned as some of them parted, making way for Susan to walk forward. Caspian and the men couldn't help but feel enchanted by her as she walked through them. Strands of her hair were falling from her messy bun, blowing in the wind as her beauty and authority radiated from her like the sun as she slowly glided through with pure grace and dignity of a queen. She stopped in front of the one that demanded, yet she spoke to all of them as she held some rope in her hands.

"Have your fears blinded you so, that you refuse to follow the orders of your King?" She was neither angry nor threatening, her eyes held only disappointment and sorrow.

The men looked down shamefully.

"We do not know where we are, we may never see home again." One mumbled

"Do you not fear Your Majesty?"

"Everyday..." She said softly, looking into his eyes. "But I will continue to fight, for Narnia and for Aslan and for your King... "Her voice was assertive but gentle as she slowly held out the rope to the main crew member that spoke out to them."Won't you fight your fears with me?" The men looked at her completely entranced as her presence calmed them, gave them the courage. The man took the rope from her and nodded a little reluctantly. She gave them all a small gentle smile as she stood tall, being every inch the queen she was.

"Land Ho!" A man shouted from the crow's nest.

Everyone turned to see the land on the horizon.

"Well? Land ho!" Drinian shouted, motioning for the men to get back to work. They looked at Susan who nodded calmly to them and they got back to work.

Drinian moved over to Caspian, Edmund and Peter who had made their way to the main deck. "And not a moment too soon." He said making his way over to the wheel whilst Edmund left for the study to cool his temper down.

Caspian glanced to Susan and she gave him a small supportive smile before she went into the cabin.

"She calmed the men so easily." Caspian said admirably as he remained looking after her in complete awe.

"Yeah. Susan's always been rather perceptive and understanding. Kind of annoying really, when you'd rather keep something to yourself. She'll just read people like they are books." Peter said with a slight smile, but he saw the weight on Caspian's shoulders.

He knew all too well the heavy burden of being at the top of the chain of command, and he shared his burden with his siblings the entire time. Caspian however had been baring it all on his own for quite some time now. Something Peter didn't think he would be able to have done as well, if it was him on his own in his first reigning years as king.

"You're doing a good job." Peter said, putting his hand on Caspian's shoulder. "Don't give into your doubt; the mist is testing us all."

Caspian felt a small amount of the weight lift from his shoulders as Peter gave him the confidence to stand tall once more as Susan's words echoed through his head.

...

Susan sat next to Lucy at the end of the boat, opposite Caspian. She couldn't help but watch how his muscles worked beneath his clothes as he helped row the boat. A lump rose in her throat as she admired the handsome king. He looked up at her and saw her staring at him and she quickly looked away. She clearly had feelings for him, why was she tormenting him so? He flashed back to how they were so close to kissing, yet she pulled away even though she clearly desired it. It made his heart feel heavy, adding to the pressure he felt being a good king. But she also made him want to be a better man, a better king. He needed her to help him feel strong. He needed her to return the deep love her bore for her, so he would have the strength to continue.

"I doubt the lords stopped here, my liege. There's no sign of anything living." Reepicheep shouted across to Caspian from the other boat.

"Right. Well, once we get ashore, take your men and search for food and water. The five of us will look for clues." Caspian shouted across to him.

"Hang on, you mean the six of us." Eustace said. Caspian, Peter, Edmund and one of the crew members stopped rowing as they all turned to him with incredulous looks on their faces. "Come on; please don't send me back to the rat." He begged. The four went back to rowing as Susan and Lucy smiled at each other.

"I heard that." Reepicheep said loudly.

"Big ears." Eustace muttered rolling his eyes as he turned away from him.

"I heard that too." Reepicheep said.

They all chuckled in the boat as Eustace felt once more pushed aside in this rotten place.