Makeeda woke up to a gentle touch running back and forth on her back. She smiled at the touch, looking up at Edmund, who was wide awake.

"Morning." she said, her voice hoarse.
"Morning." he replied. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept."

He watched as she sat up, rubbing her head.

"We should talk…"
"Why did you sleep here?"
"I didn't want you to be alone. I was having nightmares, and I knew you were too. I wanted you to sleep peacefully."
"Ed… You've hurt me."
"I know I have. I've hurt myself. I just thought I would get the hurt over with now, but I can't stay away from you. You are mine, and I don't have to stay away. I love you."
"I don't want you to ever do that to me again, Ed." she told him, her voice stern.

He touched her face gently.

"I don't either. I'm sorry. I love you."
"I love you…"

He pulled her closer, pushing his lips to her own.

"I doubt the lords stopped here, my liege." Reepicheep said as they rowed the longboats onto a new found island. "There's no sign of anything living."

"Right." Caspian said. "Well, once we get ashore, take your men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues."
"Hang on, you mean the five of us." Eustace said from the back of the boat. The others looked to him. "Come on, please don't send me back to the rat."
"I heard that." Reepicheep said.
"Big ears." Eustace mumbled.
"I heard that too."

They laughed together for a moment. After setting foot on land, Caspian, Edmund, Lucy and Makeeda all went scouting, trying to find clues of any recent residents.

"We aren't the first ones here after all." Caspian said as they approached a rope that led to a crevice.
"The lords?" Edmund asked.
"Could be. What do you think could be down there?"
"Let's find out."

They all made their way down inside the crevice. They found a pool of golden colored water. They looked around for a moment, trying to find more clues.

"What is that?" Caspian asked.
"Looks like some sort of gold statue." Edmund replied. He broke off a branch from the wall of the cavern and dipped it into the water. Gold slowly climbed up it, consuming it completely until Edmund let go of it.
"Poor man. He must have fallen in."
"Poor Lord." Edmund said, pointing to his shield.
"The crest of Lord Restimar." Caspian said.
"His sword!" Edmund said, pointing.
"We need it."

Edmund drew his own sword, dipping the tip into the water and hooking it to the other sword's hilt. He slowly drew it out of the water, Caspian pulling him back to safety.

"Your sword hasn't turned to gold." Lucy pointed out.
"Both swords are magical." Caspian reminded her.

Lucy looked back down to the man.

"He mustn't have known what hit him." she said sympathetically.
"Maybe." Edmund said, picking up a shell. "Or maybe he was onto something."
"What are you talking about?" Caspian asked.

Edmund took the shell and dipped it in the water. He quickly let go of it as it turned to gold then held it up to his face.

"What are you staring at?" Lucy asked.
"Whoever has access to this pool could be the most powerful person in the world." he told her. Lucy exchanged glances with Makeeda, then looked back to Edmund. "Lucy, we'd be so rich. No one could tell us what to do or who to live with."
"You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund." Caspian said.
"Says who?" Edmund scoffed.
"I do."

Edmund stood at this. He had an odd aura to him, one that Makeeda had never seen before.

"I am not your subject." he said.
"You've been waiting for this, haven't you? To challenge me, you doubt my leadership."
"You doubt yourself."
"You're a child."
"You're a spineless sap." Makeeda knew this would not end well if it wasn't forcefully stopped. Lucy seemed to know this too, as she stepped forward to grab Edmund's arm, but he yanked it away. "I'm tired of playing second fiddle. First it was Peter, and now it's you. You know I'm braver than both of you. Why do you get Peter's sword? I deserve a kingdom of my own. I deserve to rule!"
"If you think you're so brave, prove it!"

Caspian pushed Edmund, who swung his sword in retaliation. They started fighting for a moment, but Lucy stepped in between them.

"Stop it!" she said, looking back and forth from one man to the other. "Both of you! Look at yourselves! Can't you see what's happening? This place has tempted you. It's bewitching you. This is exactly what Coriakin was talking about… Let's just get out of here."

Caspian followed her out, Makeeda watching Edmund as he tossed the shell into the pool. She took his hand to comfort him, leading him out of the cavern. They made their way back to the shore, not speaking as they did so.

"What food did you find?" Caspian asked upon returning.
"It's volcanic, your majesty. Not much grows." a man said.
"Where's Eustace?" Lucy asked.
"I believe he's out not helping us load the boats." Reepicheep said.
"Edmund I've got a bad feeling…" Lucy said after looking around for a moment.
"I'll go find him." Edmund said, his voice annoyed.
"I'll go with you." Caspian said.

Makeeda watched as they walked away for a moment, then got in one of the boats to return to the ship. After waiting a short while, a loud, familiar roar was heard from the island. Makeeda's head snapped up, her heart quickening.

"Was that a volcano?" Lucy asked hopefully.
"That was no volcano…" Makeeda said as the roaring continued.

She could hear the beat of wings as Drinian ordered the archers to prepare themselves. Makeeda, however, could not bring herself to ready her bow. As she had suspected, a large golden dragon came flying into view

"You're our best archer, take aim!" Drinian commanded.
"Captain…. I will not… I can't…" she replied, stepping in front of Lucy so as to protect her.

The dragon was roaring, fire coming from it's mouth as it flew over the ship.

"Take your positions!" Drinian told the men.

The dragon landed on the mast, though the archers didn't make it easy for it to stay there. It flew back to the island after Reepicheep stabbed at him. It came back, though, carrying Edmund as it flew around.

"Edmund!" Makeeda screamed.

They readied a boat to go back to the island immediately after the dragon landed on the shore. Upon reaching Caspian and Edmund, however, they were told that the dragon was, in fact, Eustace. He had a golden cuff on his front leg.

"He must have been tempted by the treasure." Edmund said.
"Everyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted… Well, anyone from here." Caspian said.

Makeeda stepped forward, taking the cuff off of him.

"Is there any way to change him back?" Edmund asked.
"Not that I know of." Makeeda replied.
"Aunt Alberta will not be pleased." Edmund told Eustace.
"The boats are ready, sire!" a minotaur yelled.
"We can't leave him alone." Lucy said.
"We can't bring him on board, your majesty." Drinian told her.
"Drinian, you and the others take one boat back. The rest of us will stay here till morning, and work out what to do."

Eustace blew a flame of fire, showing he could be of use for the night. As the sun set, and darkness took over the sky, Makeeda could not sleep. She laid awake until she heard a low growl from Eustace. She sat up, seeing large tears escaping his eyes. She sat by him, although he turned away from her.

"All is not as lost as it seems." she told him. "I'll stay up with you, if you wish…. I'll wager you didn't even believe in dragons this morning. You know, extraordinary things only happen to extraordinary people. Maybe it's a sign that you have an extraordinary destiny. Something greater than you could have ever imagined."

Eustace turned back to her, laying his head down by her as she spoke.

"Believe it or not, you are not the first dragon I've encountered." she told him. "I used to have one for a companion. I used to be a Dragon Rider."
"Tis true." Reepicheep said, joining their conversation.
"Reep tells it better than I…."

Makeeda let the mouse tell stories of dragons, falling asleep to his tales, as did Eustace.