Chapter 11


The storm lost some of its power during the night and, while the sun still hid, hearts were lifted as the light of the blue star broke through the clouds and rain. It was only an occasional sight, but enough to help soften the memories of torturous dreams. At least, it was enough for some of them.

Edmund worried about Lucy; she was too quiet, her face too pale. When they had first wakened, Edmund had tentatively attempted to get her to tell him her nightmare, but she remained tight-lipped about it. He might have pushed the issue, but Caspian had deflected his inquiry with a pinched look that told Edmund that the older king somehow had become Lucy's confidant in the matter. It was frustrating, and a little hurtful, that Lucy would confide in Caspian over him, but Lucy looked so drawn that Edmund pushed the thought away. He could do more good with an air of even feigned cheerfulness.

The sightings of the blue star helped, and those increased as the days passed Edmund also began a ritual of making sure Lucy was comfortably in bed before he made his way to the crew quarters, a little time together for the two siblings. By the day the sun finally blazed from behind white clouds, Lucy looked to be fully recovered from whatever night terror had haunted her.

The sun's light lifted many hearts, but there were still worries. The storm had damaged parts of the ship, and supplies, though still enough for a couple of weeks on half rations, were a burden on everyone's mind. If they did not reach land soon, crew morale would easily sink. So it was with great relief when the lookout spotted a sliver of land on the horizon. The blue star shone brightly in that direction, which further satisfied the crew. However, when they neared the island, it was clear to those who had seen Coriakin's enchanted map that this was not Ramandu's Island. While this was disheartening to some, Lucy, who had regained her good cheer, thought it nothing to fret about. "After all," she said, "some of the lords could be here; we need to search for sign of them, at least. Plus, we need to stop for repairs and to search for supplies; perhaps the blue star know how far we still have to go and that we must restock here before journeying further."

The argument was sound, and so two longboats put ashore. In yet another attempt to give Eustace a chance to willingly help out, they brought him along, complaining all the while. Edmund privately agreed with at least one of the complaints: the island looked much less hospitable than Coriakin's Island. It looked larger, in fact, but a cursory glance revealed little vegetation. Edmund hoped perhaps the interior of the island was different, or else he doubted they would find much to bolster their supplies.

Once on the island, they split into three groups: one would hold down the point of egress, a group led by Reepicheep would forage for food, while the kings and queen would search for signs of the missing lords. Scouting parties like they had used on Coriakin's Island seemed less necessary here, where open terrain would guard against an easy ambush. Still, the two groups that would go beyond the beachhead would follow standard scouting procedures, as well as carry out their tasks.

Edmund would have preferred that their party have more of a guard, for Lucy's sake at least, but he understood Caspian's decision to send the majority of the landing party to search for food. With such apparently barren soil, they would need the numbers in order to acquire enough to satisfy an uneasy crew. He did hope, however, that someone of the food gatherers made sure Eustace found food and not inedible or poisonous materials.

While Reepicheep and his group prepared to move along the lower reaches of the island, Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy headed north towards a patch of hills. Caspian reasoned that it would be a good place to take in the lay of the land, and that the lords would have gone there first: Telmarine conditioning would have had them searching for a high, defensible position before looking for supplies. The path up the hills, while steep, was surprisingly easy; years of weathering had created pathways all the way to the top of the tallest, flat hill.

The rocky ground was desert-like, unusual considering the present temperature and humidity. Edmund was comfortable in his layered clothing, and Caspian's brown leather coat did not seem to bother him either. Compared to the dry heat of the Great Desert in Calormene, this barren island was quite cool, and the cloud cover was substantial. The dichotomy made Edmund uneasy, especially when he saw signs of recent rainfall. The soil seemed burnt, more than anything else, not what he would expect in such a climate. Edmund was really getting tired of these islands that made no sense at all; it seemed to be a foreshadowing of nothing but trouble.

"Look!" Caspian jogged ahead slightly, then leaned over a small crevice in the ground. He held up an old, frayed rope that was still securely tied around a rock. "Someone's been here before us."

Lucy grabbed a pebble and dropped it into the chasm. They listened and, by the sound the pebble made hitting bottom, they could roughly calculate how far down this went. It ended up being quite a ways, and Lucy frowned at the fraying rope. "Edmund, you brought the long rope, right?"

Edmund was already pulling a coil of rope out of the pack he carried. Even before leaving the Dawn Treader they had noticed the rocky, steep nature of the island, and so certain members of each group going to the island were tasked with carrying packs of items that could be useful on such terrain. The length in Caspian's pack might have been enough, but it was probably better to take Lucy's suggestion and have the extra slack, just in case.

After Lucy tied off the rope, Edmund volunteered to be the first one down. He was rather surprised when the other two simultaneously and vigorously objected. "I'm the heaviest," Caspian hastened to explain. "If I can make it down, you two should have no trouble." Edmund was not sure that his explanation covered the truth behind the objections, but it was a true fact regardless and so Caspian rappelled down first. Once at the bottom, he called up an all-clear.

Then Lucy insisted that Edmund be next down, which Edmund refused, not willing to leave Lucy on the surface by herself. Still, Lucy could be stubborn when she wanted, and stood her ground. Edmund, not wanting to leave Caspian alone for long in an unexplored cave, but unwilling to leave his sister, grew frustrated. "Lucy, why are you being so hard-headed about this?"

A ghost of the despair that had haunted Lucy's face since her nightmare returned. "Please, Edmund, just go." It was that look, which Edmund had hoped had disappeared with the storm, which broke his resolve. Sighing, he gave in and began his rappel. He would just have to make sure to hover while Lucy descended, in case something went wrong and there was no one at the top of the rope to help her.

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Caspian waited patiently at the bottom of the crevice for his friends, all the while keeping an eye on his surroundings. He was not surprised by the delay; he had no doubt Lucy was arguing who should be the last down. Grimacing, Caspian nudged a rock with his foot, knocking it into a pool of water. Edmund had apparently been too busy worrying about his sister to notice, but Caspian had seen full well these past few days how Lucy had stuck to Edmund's side like glue, manipulating things as she could to keep her brother away from the more dangerous jobs on the Dawn Treader. After hearing her nightmare, Caspian had no compunction about aiding her in this endeavor.

Kicking another rock, Caspian sighed. His own nightmares still niggled at the back of his mind, and he struggled to push them away. Edmund's descent from above – Caspian knew Lucy would win that argument – was a welcome distraction. Caspian steadied Edmund as he reached the cavern floor, and both kings hovered as Lucy took her turn at a pace entirely too fast for their comfort.

When all of them finally had their feet safely on the ground, it was time to explore for indications that the lords had been here. Sun shone through cracks and crevices above a series of tall caverns. The kings and queen followed the outline of the glistening pool; while they knew better than to drink stagnant water, if the lords were desperate they might have done so and left clue to their path in the caves.

After some time – the caverns were extensive – Caspian caught sight of something odd in the water. "Edmund, Lucy, over here!"

The two came and stood by Caspian, looking as he pointed to a glinting figure just beneath the surface. Lucy scrunched her forehead in confusion. "Who would throw a life-sized gold statue in the water? And where would they have gotten it in the first place?" For indeed, a statue of a crouching man, stretching as if to cup water in his hand, lay on the shallow floor of the pool.

"A ritual, perhaps?" suggested Edmund as he glanced at Caspian.

Caspian shrugged. "Not any Telmarine ritual that I have ever heard about. And when Lord Bern spoke to me of the others, he never mentioned that they took large, gold statues with them."

Edmund frowned, but beside him Lucy gasped as she caught sight of something else in the water. When the kings looked at her, she pointed to the area next to the statue. "Whether the lords threw it in or not, they apparently threw something else." The men looked to where she pointed and saw one of the Eternals shining silver in the sunlight.

"That…would definitely be a sign that they were here," said Caspian, stating the obvious. Next to him, Edmund searched the cave and found a dried-out woody vine. Breaking off a thick, curved stick, he dipped it in the water to try to hook the sword and lift it out. Caspian watched and his eyes widened when, even as it first touched the water, the branch grew exponentially heavier in Edmund's hands, a sparkling sheet of gold creeping upwards over the dried bark. "Edmund, let go!" The younger king instantly complied, dropping the branch before the shining gold could reach him, and the three watched the now golden, metallic branch sink to the bottom of the pool.

They stared for a moment, processing what they had just seen. "Did that…?" Edmund trailed off.

"Yes, it did," said Caspian faintly. Then he frowned. "But the sword still looks like steel."

Edmund drew his own sword, the first of the Eternals found. "Coriakin did say that Aslan hallowed the stone…" He cautiously touched the water with the tip of the sword. When it did not turn to solid gold like the branch, he started maneuvering the sword to catch the hilt of the other Eternal. Edmund had to lean over the water a bit to do this, so Caspian kept a firm hold on his left arm to counterbalance the weight.

Finally, Edmund was successful and lifted the fallen sword out of the water. He let it fall to the dry ground; no one wanted to touch it until it had dried, in case it only took a few drops of water to spread the golden curse. As it was, Edmund sacrificed a handkerchief to quickly dry the tip of his own sword – interestingly, the handkerchief only turned partly gold even as Edmund dropped it to the ground – and returned the weapon to its sheath. That accomplished, the two kings looked over at Lucy, whose face was pale in the streaming sunlight. "Lucy?" asked Edmund, sensitive to the dark look on her face.

Lucy was staring at the gold figure in the water. "I…What if it's not a statue?"

Her meaning hit the other two, and they followed her gaze to the water. A sickening feeling came over Caspian and he crouched down to look more closely at the details. A shield bearing the Telmarine compass lay to the side, partially hidden by rocks. And the ring on the statue's hand… "The crest of Lord Restimar." Caspian stood, his face troubled. "It looks like he tried to drink the water, or…" He did not want to say the rest. The lord could have easily been pushed in by one of his companions, even accidentally.

"The poor man," murmured Lucy, and Edmund placed a comforting hand on her should while giving Caspian a sympathetic look.

While Caspian did not remember Lord Restimar, it was still distressing to find him dead, the first lord they had found since the Lone Islands. He wondered if, should they find the other lords, that they would even tell of Restimar's fate. After all, the knowledge of such a place, such a treasure, would be beyond value. But no, Caspian thought, they would tell him at least; he was their king, after all. "This should remain a secret," he said out loud, his eyes fixed on the water.

"What?" asked Lucy with a frown that Edmund matched.

Caspian's mind was whirling. "The king who owned this pool would be the most powerful king in the world. No one else must learn of it."

Edmund stepped towards him, a strange look in his eyes. "So you're just planning on keeping this for yourself, are you?"

Caspian looked away from the golden pool and glared at Edmund. "I am the king of Narnia."

Edmund's hand twitched closer to his sword, an action Caspian mirrored with Rhindon. "You're a king of Narnia. I am not one of your subjects; if anything the water should belong to the brother of the High King," declared Edmund.

Anger boiling in his chest, Caspian stepped forward so he was toe to toe with the younger king. "You don't want to try my lenience on this, Edmund," he warned darkly. King of old or not, Caspian was not going to let Edmund thwart his power and authority here. If Edmund would not support Caspian's kingship…

And it seemed he would not, for Edmund's hand purposefully gripped the hilt of his sword. "Is that a threat? You don't have the guts to go against me."

Caspian growled in fury, but Lucy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Leave it to boys to think fighting solves everything. You're both acting like children."

Neither king was listening to her complaints. Caspian reached for his own sword as he glared further at Edmund, furious at the other's insinuation of cowardice. "I can threaten you all I like, and I can back up those threats to their fullest. I'm not a weakling."

Weapons were drawn at the same time, rage fueling the two Narnian kings. As Lucy shrieked her displeasure, Caspian slashed at Edmund, taking perverse pleasure in using Rhindon against Peter's brother. Caspian was not going to take Edmund's disapproval and displeasure, he would fight for all his worth; he would not let the other king put him down, or take over his authority.

Caspian blocked a strike by Edmund, but the blow was hard and the shock reverberated up his arm. Further incensed by this, Caspian increased the speed of his own strikes, the two men engaged in a deadly dance on rough terrain. Caspian defended against hard, swift blows, dealt his own in turn. Soon, the two had maneuvered close to where the wall of the cavern dipped into the wondrous pool. As Lucy shouted angrily at them, and as swords rang with each hit, the unexpected happened.

With his concentration fixed on the swords, Caspian only really saw it happen vaguely. But Edmund's left arm had gone backwards for balance, pushing against the wall of the cave to add force to the strike of his sword. It was a fine strike, and Edmund stepped forward to follow up on it, when he was suddenly jerked back: the black, woolen rope, which was coiled as usual around his left wrist, had snagged on a piece of wooden vine. The unexpected jolt caught Edmund off guard, and suddenly his footing was precarious. Caspian, anger overriding everything, took advantage of the distraction to strike at Edmund, a blow the younger king barely parried.

But it was a defense that would cost him dearly. Edmund's sword fell from his hand, but worse, the force of the blow overbalanced him and he lost his footing completely. Caspian watched as time seemed to slow in front of him. Edmund, wide-eyed, stumbled and began falling inexorably backwards, falling towards the pool of water that would mean his death as much as it had Lord Restimar's.

In that interminable moment, Caspian was seized by an insidious voice that whispered he should do nothing. Let Edmund fall, let him become a statue of gold, a symbol of the folly of going against the King of Narnia: Caspian need no longer fear Edmund's disappointment, his disapproval. Let him fall, and Caspian need not worry of his own position; he would be the only king in Narnia, and the only person whose disapprobation he feared would be no more.

Yet even as the voice whispered its desires, Caspian's heart felt sickened, completely revolted at his thoughts. And his body reacted in complete harmony with his soul. He dropped Rhindon with a clatter and reached, grabbing Edmund's right arm and pulling. In doing so, Caspian lost his own footing and fell backwards, thankfully pulling Edmund towards him and away from the water. The two kings ended up in a tangle of limbs, trying to scramble frantically away from the pool, while slipping precariously on the unsteady ground.

Another set of hands entered the fray and, with Lucy's help, Edmund and Caspian crawled further away until they were at a safe distance. The two kings were breathing heavily, and for a moment no one moved. Then Caspian slowly forced his trembling hands to release Edmund. The younger king looked much too pale as they three stood shakily. "We should go. Now." Caspian did not argue, nor did Lucy. Without another word, they picked up the three swords and quickly moved back to where they had first climbed down to this cursed cavern.

Edmund ascended first, his movements seeming more automatic than anything. As he did so, what had happened fully began to hit Caspian. He had nearly killed his friend, his brother. And over what? A pool of gold? Power? He felt sick, even sicker as he recalled the part of him that had wanted it to happened, had wanted Edmund dead. How could he…? What kind of person did that? No, he knew what kind of person did that: fratricide had its provenance in his Telmarine blood, that blood that had led to his own father's death. And he, Caspian, had nearly become his greatest fear.

His heart fell further at the dark look Lucy gave him as she shoved by him to reach for the rope. "Lucy, I'm sorry…" he murmured brokenly, automatically.

At his voice, Lucy whirled on him, her fury obvious. "Don't," she hissed." Don't say another word to me. I told you my dream, I told you how much it terrifies me to think of Edmund dying, and now you try to kill him?"

"I…"

Lucy actually shoved his chest. "No! Right now, you leave me alone. You leave both of us alone." Then, her eyes softened slightly turned more grieved than angry. "I…I can't do this. I know…there was some sort of enchantment…but I can't…I can't forgive you. Not yet." She turned and began making her way to the surface, leaving a morose Caspian to follow after.

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The three walked back to the beachhead in utter silence. Lucy hovered, but did not touch Edmund who walked with an aura of brittleness, as if he would explode or break apart if touched. Caspian felt the same way; from his guilt, from the fear that had crept back into his mind. If the enchantment in that cavern had revealed anything, it was that Caspian's past was still haunting him. Would he never overcome his Telmarine heritage? How easily he had become as tyrannical and power-hungry as his forebears! Add in Lucy's stark disappointment in him and Edmund's tangible silence as they walked… he had certainly not proven himself to be the Narnian king they had hoped for.

They arrived at the boats at the same time as half of Reepicheep's party returned. The results of the foraging expedition were not encouraging, but Reepicheep was buoyed by the fact that the harbor seemed filled with fish. "The land is very barren, your majesties, and we found only the burnt remains of forests and plants; there was little to salvage. We can try our hands at the fish, though. We have the spears."

Lucy, having learned the art of spear-fishing long ago, offered to lead that attempt. Reepicheep thanked the queen, as fishing was not one of his specialties, and then innocently asked if the other party had found signs of the lords. And, unfortunately, he was also looking straight at Caspian for an answer. What was he to say? If he said nothing of the golden pool, it would seem that he had not learned the price of his selfishness. Yet to spread word of water that turns things to gold might prove too tempting to others, leading to trouble. Caspian would get no help from Lucy, who was inspecting the fishing spears, so he glanced at Edmund. Thankfully, the younger king had regained what little color he had, and was well enough to answer Caspian's unspoken question with a shake of his head. "We found indications that Lord Restimar is dead." Simple, truthful, and not likely to cause trouble.

Reepicheep sighed. "That is grievous news. Is there any way we may avenge his death?" he asked hopefully.

Caspian answered hurriedly. "It looked like an accident, I'm afraid. Maybe we'll learn more when we find the other lords."

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the second half of Reepicheep's group. They did not carry any more supplies, but that was not what seemed to worry Reepicheep. "Nothing?" the Mouse asked.

Rynelf, who headed the group, shook his head. "No sign of him. He may have headed north after their majesties," he said, nodding at the kings and queen.

"He?" asked Edmund in concern.

Reepicheep looked rather sheepish, or at least as sheepish as a Mouse could look. "I fear Eustace saw fit to slip away from his duties once more."

Caspian rubbed his temple where a headache was beginning to form. How much more could this island throw at them? Beside him, Edmund let out a frustrated breath. "You should concentrate on the supplies. I'll go look for him."

At those words, Lucy looked up, her eyes wide as she was caught between her duty to help with the fishing and her fear of letting Edmund go off by himself. Caspian saw this and, since he was also uneasy about sending Edmund to look for Eustace alone, he announced that he would go also. The older king held back a wince at Edmund's wary glance, but he was determined: he would watch Edmund's back and perhaps find the courage to apologize, even if he did not deserve forgiveness. Besides, it was one way to begin to make thing up with Lucy, who still looked concerned, but also grateful for his actions.

After Caspian handed the extra sword to Rynelf, the two kings set off to find the wayward Eustace. As could be expected, they started in silence, trying to focus their attention on searching for clues as to Eustace's wanderings. They kept to the side of their previous trail, since any tracks there would be covered by their own. Time passed, and finally Caspian could no longer take the silence. "Edmund, I know it's hardly enough, but I'm sorry." Edmund looked up at him, startled, but Caspian continued. "Whatever enchantment there was, it doesn't excuse my words, thoughts, or actions. I can only beg your forgiveness."

The older king could not look straight at Edmund out of guilt, so he missed the surprise and rueful smile that crossed Edmund's face. Therefore, it was his turn to be surprised when Edmund let out a small laugh. "Well, here I was trying to get the courage to apologize to you."

That puzzled Caspian. "For what?"

Edmund's smile turned pained. "For provoking you and fighting, instead of walking away. And don't say it's nothing," added Edmund when Caspian tried to protest. "None of us acted as we should have, enchantment or not. And for that, I'm sorry."

Edmund held out his hand, which Caspian gratefully clasped. "I am thankful we came to our sense before the worst happened. And not only because I would not have lasted long after you, once Lucy got her hands on me." It was a poor joke, but any humor was needed at that point; the air had grown too solemn.

Though he laughed, Edmund's smile was still wan. "Yes, despite what nearly happened, it was probably a good thing that this got caught." He held up his left arm, where the prayer rope given him by Mickey was still wrapped around his wrist, the crossed tassel dangling triumphantly. Caspian agreed; however, privately he wished it had not taken something so drastic to save them from the enchantment. The two kings continued on their search, hearts lighter for their reconciliation. The memory would remain, but it had less power over them once forgiveness was given.