I think this chapter is my very favorite... *waggles eyebrows* Perhaps this will make up for the painfully short last few chapters? ;)
I commend and hand out cookies to: HumanAlien, DragonStar35232, Lady Enigmatic, chibimaker, SunnySweetRose, Firestorm Nauralagos, and a very kind annoymous reveiwer. I hope you guys enjoy this! And the rest of who who didn't review... well, I hope you enjoy this so much that it inspires you to review. :)
Caspian rubbed a hand to the back of his neck. His eyes were bleary from poring over maps and charts all day. Now that night had come, Drinian had lit a single rheumy candle, and the poor lighting was only adding to the monotony.
"Caspian?" Drinian prodded from the other side of the table.
Caspian shook his head in attempt to clear it. "Hmm?" He answered without actually saying anything.
Drinian began to roll up the current map. "I think you should call it a night, Sire." He clapped a hand to Caspian's shoulder. "You haven't been paying attention for the past hour."
Caspian knew he should protest; insist that they finish. But in actuality, he was relieved, and couldn't wait to just sink into his hammock. He nodded and let Drinian gather up the notes they had written out. "Thank you," he sighed. "I'm terribly sorry. We'll finish this up tomorrow?" he asked slowly, already blinking heavily
Drinian nodded. "You need a good night's sleep – you're not of use to anyone when you can't think straight." He spoke as a friend rather than the captain.
Abigail paused in braiding Lucy's hair. Gael had fallen asleep a while ago, but Lucy had begged Abigail to put her hair up for the night, insisting that she wanted something different and that she couldn't do it herself. Abigail had doubted that the latter statement was true, but she didn't object, as it felt good to have her hands busy. During their long days below, she had tired to experiment with Gael's hair, but Gael had grown very quiet and finally confessed softly that her mother had always loved to run her fingers through her daughter's hair. Abigail had felt terrible, and hadn't attempted to touch it since.
"Lucy… now that the storm has passed, what do you think will happen?"
"What do you mean?" Lucy tilted her head up in effort to look up at Abigail.
Abigail fumbled with and then dropped the half-finished hair. "Don't move your head. Now I have to start all over." Once she had gotten Lucy's hair under control again, she rephrased her question. "I mean, what happens now? Does anyone know where we are, or when this blue star might be spotted?"
Lucy started to shake her head, but stopped herself when Abigail gave a warning tug. "I don't really know… I believe we're low on supplies, so we'll probably stop on the next body of land we come across, regardless of the whereabouts of the blue star."
Abigail blew a breath out through her nose. It was all so frustrating – even though the storm seemed to have passed, there was still yet another tedious stint of waiting ahead of them. She didn't say anything, but finished Lucy's hair in silence. "All done," she reported, tying it off with a piece of leather similar to her own.
"Thanks," Lucy said thoughtfully, reaching up to run her hand over her drawn-up hair. She stood, then paused before turning around. "We'll get through this, Abigail." She gave a half-smile. "Trust me, one of these days you'll be wishing for this peace-filled time."
She left Abigail to ponder this.
Abigail awoke the next morning to utter silence. No one seemed to be awake. The stillness of the air was almost unsettling – but not quite. More captivating than unnerving, like standing in whiteness of new fallen snow. She sat up, careful not to disturb the other girls. She didn't think it was the middle of the night; the fire had burned down to dull, throbbing embers. She crawled over Lucy, and slid off the edge of the bed. She decided to go up on deck and see what – if anything – was going on, seeing as there now was no chance sleep.
She donned her clothes and boots and crept to the door, but when it was opened, a wall of cold air that had built itself up against the wood crumbled down and danced around her ankles. Lucy made a small noise in her sleep and rolled over, tightening the blankets around her chin. Abigail quickly shut the door and retrieved a blanket that was loosely folded on a chair. She hugged it around her shoulders and attempted the door again. This time, the cold air swam straight to her face, and she had to blink to wet her eyes. She shut the door hastily behind her.
Up on deck, the air was sharp and bright as well as cold. Abigail's nose was cold within seconds, and, though she tried to tuck them into the blanket, the tips of her fingers were glaringly icy. However, she could feel the sun barely reaching its fingers of warmth through the pale swath of clingy clouds, and she knew it wouldn't stay cold for long.
Caspian woke up with his neck still feeling sore. He sighed, pushing himself up on the heels of his hands. He rolled his head to the side, and was rewarded with a satisfying crick. That's a terrible habit, he thought to himself absently and …out of habit.
He took in the morning. The portholes revealed that it was barely light out. The bitter cold strengthened his thought that it was very early. He groaned and flopped back down, determined to go back to sleep. He laid there for several minutes before having to resign to the fact that he wasn't going to get any more sleep. He had been so tired the night before – why wasn't he able to sleep in later this morning? Regardless of his mental protesting, Caspian pulled himself out of the hammock. He instantly regretted it, nearly diving back under the covers when the cold took full grip. He slapped his hands together, and then rubbed his upper arms. Maybe getting out in the sun would help… He might as well go up on deck; the majority of the crew would be awake soon enough, and there would be work to do.
Once on deck, it didn't seem to be any warmer. If anything, the breeze was even colder. Well, the sun is coming through the clouds, anyways. Or rather, it's starting to, he corrected himself, estimating that the sun would begin doing its work in less than an hour.
He walked to the helm to check with the crewman on night duty there; he may as well put himself to some sort of use. When asked, the man in charge of the current shift assured him that all was running smoothly, and that there had no problems. While he was glad to hear it, Caspian now felt listless again. He bade the man farewell and walked back down the stairs slowly, watching the rigging move in its usual taunt sway. This is ridiculous. Last night he had been fatigued with all there was to be done, and this morning he couldn't seem to find anything to do!
Vaguely, he wondered if Drinian was up and about. Probably – the man woke with the sun every morning without fail. But as he scanned the deck, he didn't see the tall, commanding figure anywhere. He had just resigned to go below and look for Drinian in the study when someone else caught his eye.
Abigail sat tucked nearly out of sight beneath the stairs. She had chosen a spot out of the way, though there didn't seem to be very many sailors walking about at this hour. There was little shelter from the biting breeze, and she was very glad for the blanket around her shoulders. She sat listening to the creaking of the ship mingled with the wind slithering through the wood, and her hands played with an intriguingly frayed edge of her blanket. She leaned against the smooth, cool for a moment before hearing footsteps walking towards her. She tucked her feet in the let the sailor pass, and prepared to nod cordially at them.
"Well then, what are you doing up at this hour?" It's Caspian – I…She pushed the inexplicable excitement in her heart down. She wasn't going to react that way anymore, she told herself; he wanted distance, so she would comply.
She put on a small smile, trying to keep her feelings at bay. "I woke up early, and thought I'd pass some time up here." She gave a small shrug. "I don't know how long I'll stay here, seeing as it's so cold, and I don't want to be in the way when people start working, and –" She caught herself prattling on. This is too hard. I can't keep this up. Oh, yes you can, and you will. She was one hundred percent prepared to grab her little voice be the ear and toss it somewhere it would never see daylight again. Now, to find that ear…
Caspian nodded indistinctly, and just stood there for a moment. "Why do you never stand by the railing?" He asked the question so suddenly that Abigail was thrown off a little. She fumbled for an answer.
"Well… I don't really know. This is the only time I've been on a ship, and I guess I'm just scared of the edge – or rather, of falling off it." She laughed hesitantly, having a slight feeling that she knew where he was going.
He seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then he smiled slowly. "Here – come with me." He offered his hand, but she kept hers where they were.
"What?" She felt a genuine smile creeping in against her will. "I'm not going over there, if that's what you mean."
"Of course it is. Come on; just let me show you."
She gave her head a quick shake. No. She didn't want to go, and she didn't need to. He's teasing me, I'm sure.
No, he wasn't. He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet. She resisted, the blanket shed from her shoulders, but a smile played constantly around her lips. It was hard not to smile, in spite of the nervous knot in her stomach. Whether that was from the thought of standing by the edge or by his hands, she didn't know.
"Trust me." She bit her lip, and finally nodded. She followed him with trepidation over to the railing. A few feet short, she stopped.
"I… I don't think I want to…" …to go any further. She didn't voice the rest of her thought, feeling very foolish.
"Yes, you do." He reached back down and took her hand firmly in his, and gave a gentle tug. She reluctantly followed, wondering how she'd let him charm her into doing this.
Now, she stood on the edge, and she tightened her grip on the railing with her free hand. The water made lazy slapping sounds beneath her, and the wind flowed unchecked across her skin. As she carefully relaxed, she did realize that it really was beautiful, facing all the open space.
She felt his hand start to pull away, and she impulsively tightened hers. "Don't let go." She didn't want him to… for several reasons. The foremost was that she didn't feel safe without someone to hold onto. The second… the second was something she couldn't delineate. She let out a breath of relief when he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"If you like." Something in his voice… what was he really saying? Now then, I thought you'd promised not to think like that. Abigail decided to stuff her little voice in a box. She might regret it later (as her inner voice was usually telling her things she felt she should know), but she couldn't bring herself to let go. Please, can I have this moment, just this one, to myself? Whether or not his intentions were what she thought them to be, she would forget about it all for now, regardless of the impending heartbreak.
Caspian watched her face as it changed from unease to delight. He smiled. "There now. Happy to be over here?"
Her eyes shone as she tipped her head back into the breeze. "Oh yes." A smile tinted her cheeks. He wasn't quite sure why this meant so much to her (after all, how different could the railing be from the center?), but as he watched her shining face, he knew he would do it again if he could. Just to hear her to beg him not to let go, just to have her there. He had prayed to Aslan to help him, to show him what to do – was this the answer? Just maybe… then again, how could it be? She would return to her world, and he would return to his kingdom. There was no contesting those facts…was there? All those questions… if only he could make up his mind.
Abigail took one last deep breath. She didn't know why the air felt so different here. Maybe she really was closer to the ocean, maybe it was the early morning, or maybe… maybe it was the young man standing next to her, affecting her senses. She guessed the latter. "I should probably go back down to the cabin, or I'm going to lose my nose to frostbite."
He laughed. "Well, we wouldn't want that, would we?" His finger lightly tapped the tip of her nose. She blinked at the butterfly-like touch, then smiled. Her cheeks tingled, and she was sure she was blushing. Then again, her cheeks were already tingly from the cold, so she couldn't be certain about that.
"Absolutely not. I like my nose right where it is."
His smile deepened. "I do too." The butterfly feeling transferred to her stomach at the slight shift in his voice. Whatever resolve she may have had dropped to the floor, forgotten.
"I – I should get the blanket before I leave." She stumbled over her words, suddenly nervous.
"All right, then. We'll get it." His tone still held the same deepness it had a moment before, sending a shiver behind her neck. He never let go of her hand as they walked back under the stairs. When she wriggled free to pick up the throw, her hand felt cold in more ways than one.
She fumbled with the thick blanket, folding it just to stall for time, though she didn't know why. She hugged it to her chest when she was done, and turned to find Caspian standing much closer than he had been before. It was suddenly very, very hard to breathe. "Caspian?" She whispered him name; a question, but at the same time an invitation.
His knuckles lightly brushed her jaw, carefully and with great gentleness, as if she might break under his touch. She felt as if she just might. "You know," he said, so close and his voice so low that she could feel the vibrations, "I want to apologize for avoiding you." She couldn't have answered even if she knew what to say.
Then he cupped his hand to the side of her face, and kissed her.
She nearly let go of the blanket she was clutching with both hands. It was the lightest touch, the most delicate of feelings. A most wonderful moment – a moment she would never be able to put into words.
He pulled back all too soon, and just watched her face, searching her eyes. Well, if that's how he apologizes, I suppose I should say thank you. She dropped the blanket to the ground, and took the sides his face in both hands. With that, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him herself.
Well? Cm'on... *knocks on the screen* I know you guys are out there... Do me and my internal editor a huge favor and REVEIW!
By the by, there is an illustration for this chapter up on my profile - you have SunnySweetRose to thank for that. :)