I PULLED GAEL as far away from the serpent's body as I could, but it seemed to be everywhere. It was encircling the ship with its body. For a few moments I didn't understand the plan. In those moments of panic and chaos all thought of plans were replaced with the simple thought that I had a small girl next to me that had no place in a fight. I had to get her to safety. Making my way to the cabin I took Gael and left here there with orders not to leave unless someone came to get her. She nodded, now understanding why she must obey. I ran back up to the deck of the ship and realized what was happening. The serpent was going to crush the ship with its body.

"It's crushing the ship!" I cried and withdrew my sword.

With one quick slash I managed to break the skin. It flew off in a roar and went for anyone that happened to be near the head. What followed was very confusing, unless you were in on what was happening. From the dragon's mouth of the ship a light shone. It was Edmund's flashlight. He was leading it away from the men. All the while I was holding onto anything to keep from flying off the side of the ship. The serpent almost bit off the entire head of the wooden dragon.

"Edmund!" I cried, thinking the worst had happened.

Grabbing one of my many knives from my leg, I threw it with precise aim and timing so that it hit just above the serpent's eye. Vaguely, through the darkness and the mist, I could see Edmund. He was alive.

"Still here!" he taunted.

To my left I saw Lucy knocking an arrow. She shot and it hit the serpent square in the eye.

I turned to her, "Nice shot!"

"Brace yourselves!" Caspian called.

A few seconds later the serpent was rammed into a bunch of rocks. Instead of blood, green mist escaped from it. I seemed to have forgotten it was still something made from the mind and not technically real. It started to glow bright yellow around the middle as it screeched in fury.

The body had grossly opened up to expose a bug like underbelly. To lunged toward the boat.

I took this opportunity and slashed off a piece of it close to the head. My knife was crudely sticking out of its eye. With little thought, I pulled it out. The piece I had cut off dissolved into green mist. A harpoon was thrust into my hand.

"Come!" Caspian ordered.

Obeying I followed him and most of the crew to the side of the ship.

"Ready?" Caspian called out. "Now!"

We threw the harpoons into the serpent's gross underbelly. A few wisps of green mist could just barely be seen.

"Pull its head down!"

We did so. But it was so heavy and strong. It was thrashing.

"Heave! Edmund do it!" Caspian shouted.

Looking up I saw Edmund looking straight into the mist. The party was looking the grip we had on the serpent. It was going to get away.

"Edmund!" I shouted.

"Do it!" Caspian shouted again.

Edmund's sword was glowing blue. The serpent made a bite at Edmund. It pulled back and, what looked like, blue lighting was coming or shooting at the serpent. The serpent fell back into the water. The clouds were dispersing, letting in beautiful beams of light. The green mist was now gone.

I looked up the mast and saw Edmund coming down. "Edmund!"

"Lucy, look!" I said. "The spell's lifting." Lucy ran to me and pulled me into a tight hug before letting me go.

Out of the darkness small boats. The people that had been lost to the green mist. Gael and her father emerged to try and find Helaine. "Mummy!" Gael shouted. "Helaine!"

Both father and daughter jumped the boat to swim to the woman who was emerging from the fading darkness. I looked to Edmund, who had finally joined me, and smiled. "You're an idiot you know."

"How so?" he frowned, thinking that my goal was to pull him down off his victory high. "You did something that could have gotten you killed."

"But it didn't."

I pursed my lips together, "Not the point. I was worried about you."

He chuckled and pulled me closer to this side. His hand on my hip. "I love you too."

The moment was interrupted by a familiar voice from the water. "Hey! Hey, I'm down here, Lucy. Over here! Hey, Lucy. I'm in the water. Lucy!"

We moved to the other side of the boat and found Eustace trying to tread water.

"Eustace." Lucy smiled.

"I'm a boy again. I'm a boy!"

Reepicheep joined us, "Eustace! I see your wings have been clipped. Ha, ha!" The mouse then joined the newly humanized Eustace in the water.

"Where sky and water meet, Where the waves grow ever sweet~. It's sweet." He drank the water. "It's sweet!" He pointed to a whiteness that seemed to spill from the sky into the water. "Look! Look!"

There could only be one thing that lay behind something with such beauty. Aslan's Country.