So this chapter actually has some plot in it, haha, maybe to make up for the last one. This is more like how it happened in the movie.
Read, REVIEW, and enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I came down with a fever, not surprisingly. For the next three days, I stayed below, my temperature high. I had vivid nightmares of wolves hunting me down, snarling and tearing at me, howling with hunger, their yellow eyes glowing and white fangs bloody. Even though it had been centuries ago in Narnian time, I still had nightmares about the Secret Police coming for me, in that cold, frozen landscape, like they had for my faun friend. I woke thrashing about in my sleep, only to wake up in a cold sweat to Edmund's worried eyes.
But finally, the afternoon of the third day of my illness, my fever broke. I was suddenly soaked with sweat as my body tried to bring my temperature back down to normal after fighting the infection. I was ravenously hungry and ate quite a lot to catch up on what I'd lost. I immediately wanted to get up, but Caspian and Lucy and Edmund all said it would be best for me to spend one more day in my cabin, getting my strength back. I grudgingly obliged, knowing they were right.
But the next day, nothing they could do could stop me from escaping my cramped, stuffy cabin. I quickly bathed and dressed in a loose cotton shirt and my breeches, rolling them up to below my knees and going barefoot. I put my hair in its usual braids and went up to the deck.
I immediately noticed that the wind had changed and was now blowing from the north instead of the western wind we'd had. The air was noticeably cooler, almost chilly, and the water was gray and choppy. The clouds were low and dark, heavy with rain, but not storm clouds, I was glad to note. But almost immediately, fat raindrops began to plop onto the deck.
I muttered under my breath and then went and found Caspian, standing up on the highest deck of the boat, where Drinian steered the ship at the ornate wheel, the spokes twisted branches and Aslan's face carved in gold in its center. They were passing a looking glass back and forth.
"What're you looking at?" I asked, curious and not wanting to be left out. I hated not knowing what was going on.
Caspian lowered the glass and addressed me. "Well, it is hard to tell because of the damn rain, but we think we've spotted land off the port bow."
He handed me the glass and I lifted it to my eye, leaning over the right rail. Yes, it did seem there was a shadow through the mist of the now heavy rainfall. I expressed my thoughts, and they agreed.
"Yes, I suppose we will sail in that direction then. Give the orders," Caspian said, climbing back down the ladder to the main deck.
Drinian called down to him, "By your leave, Sire, we will try to get under the lee of that country by rowing and lie in harbor, maybe till this is over."
Caspian thought for a moment, and then nodded. "All right then."
I went below to help with the rowing, but Edmund pushed me back out. "Not with you so soon over an illness. We'll manage fine without you."
I scowled at him, but he ignored it. It took all of that day and into the evening before we managed to get the Dawn Treader into the natural harbor that was formed by the island. We anchored for the night, with orders that no one was to go ashore that evening.
I was up early the next morning, eager at what new wonders this foreign land might hold. I dressed about the same as the day before, but adding my boots and dagger, my sword and scabbard, and my quiver and bow across my back.
We lowered the rowboat and several empty water barrels and began rowing ashore. I studied the land through watchful eyes as we rowed toward a stream on the starboard side, noting that it was mostly covered in scruffy evergreen trees. It was also mountainous like Dragon Island, though prettier, in a melancholy way.
I hopped out and helped drag the boat up onto the beach, my feet slipping as I tried to maintain my stance on all of the smooth round pebbles that covered the beach. Then each of us hoisted a water barrel up onto our shoulders and set off up to a good spot to drink and fill them.
When we were finished and the rain had stopped, Lucy said, "Let's explore the island, shall we? Just hike up that hill over there and see what can be seen."
Caspian agreed, and so we sent the sailors back with the water and started off through the trees.
It was a rather strenuous hike, even for me, because it was so steep and slippery. But finally we reached the top and looked around.
The island was small and without game, mostly heather and trees and rocks. After we had finished gazing off at the eastern horizon, we started back down, this time looping down to the other stream, the eastern one.
This was a much prettier place than I had expected. There was a small mountain lake, the kind that are extremely deep and clear, surrounded by steep banks of exposed rock, except for where the mouth of the stream was.
Just then the heavy gray clouds burst, and the rain began coming down in sheets.
"Damn, I should have thought to bring my cloak," I said as my hair was plastered to my skull.
Immediately, two oilskin cloaks were thrust at me, one from Caspian, the other from Edmund.
As I didn't want to insult either one or take either's, I said, "Oh, it's all right. I'll be fine."
We looked around for some kind of cover, and finally I found a small cave. Edmund shone his flashlight into it, and then we ventured inside.
I went first, eager to get out of the cold rain quickly. "Ah, that's better! I rather hate being we—" I cut myself off with a scream as I suddenly dropped down through a tunnel. I landed on a hard-packed dirt floor and fell back onto my bottom.
"Rose! Rosie! Are you all right?" Caspian and Edmund called down from the cave above.
One at a time, they dropped down too, after securing a rope to get back out again and helping Lucy down. I quickly scrambled to my feet, brushing the dirt off my pants.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," I said quickly, my face red with embarrassment.
We looked around at the cavern we were in. There were several other holes and cave like entrances around the room, and rock columns held up the ceiling. Roots reached down from the outside, and the walls were made up of swirled reddish rock. A crystal clear pool of water made up one half of the room.
The storm must have passes quickly, like many thunderstorms do, because suddenly the cavern was filled with a warm golden light. It filtered down through the holes around above us, and glinted off of something in the water.
Eustace had just knelt down to drink when I cried, "Look!" and pointed down into the deep pool.
At the bottom of the pool lay a life-size golden statue of a man, his arms stretched out over his head. The clouds parted as we looked down into the pool and the statue glittered brightly.
"Well! I wonder what that's doing there! I wonder if we can get it out?"
"We could dive for it, sir," Reepicheep suggested.
I shook my head. "Not if that's solid gold, it'd be much too heavy."
Edmund agreed. "And that pool's much too deep, it's ten or twelve feet at least. Hold on though, I've got my hunting spear. Let's see how deep it is."
Caspian held onto his hand as he leaned out over the water to lower it into the pool.
"I don't think the statue's gold at all, it's just the light. See? Your spear is the same way." I furrowed my brow just as Edmund dropped it into the water with a grunt.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I couldn't hold it! It seemed so heavy," he gasped.
We leaned over, kneeling at the edge.
"There it is at the bottom," Caspian said, "And Rose is right. It looks the same color as the statue."
We were puzzling over this when Edmund suddenly jumped back and shouted in the voice he used to command armies with, "Get back! All of you! At once!"
We immediately did and stared at him, wide eyed. "What's wrong, Edmund?" I asked.
"Look at the toes of my boots," he said, holding one foot out for us to see. The tip of it was yellow and shiny.
"They look a bit yellow," observed Eustace.
"They're gold, solid gold. Look at them. Feel them. The leather's pulled away already. And they're as heavy as lead!"
I looked up at him in shock. "By the Lion's Mane! You don't mean to say-"
He nodded. "Yes I do. The water turns things to gold. It turned the spear to gold, which was why it was so heavy. And it was lapping against my feet, and turned the toes to gold. And him at the bottom…well, you see."
"So he isn't a statue at all…" Lucy said quietly, horrified.
Caspian shook his head. "No, the whole thing is plain now. He must've seen the treasure at the bottom. Then he dived in and-"
Lucy threw up her hands, shaking her head. "Don't! What a horrible thing."
I nodded, the reality just sinking in. If Edmund had slipped just then, if the spear had pulled him in…I closed my eyes, sending up a prayer of thanks to Aslan.
"And what a close call we've had," Eustace said in answer.
"Close indeed," Reep said. "Anyone's finger, anyone's foot, anyone's whisker, or anyone's tail might have slipped in at any moment!"
Caspian was lost in thought, staring at the form lying on the bottom. "All the same," he said, "we may as well test it."
Edmund nodded and crouched down at the edge, picking up a curled seashell. He very cautiously dipped it into the water for a moment, then quickly pulled it back out and dropped it onto the bank. Before our eyes, it transformed to solid gold.
Edmund stared at it in wonder. He turned to me and Lucy. "Whoever has access to this pool," he breathed, "could be the most powerful person in the world."
I felt myself frown slightly, noticing a strange look in his eyes, something that hadn't been there before. Caspian glanced at me and Lucy, and we gave him the same look back.
Edmund turned specifically to his sister. "Lucy, we'd be so rich. No one could tell us what to do, or who to stay with."
I noticed Caspian staring at him, and then he said, "You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund."
Without looking up from the shell in his hand, Edmund asked, "Says who?"
"I do," Caspian said.
Edmund turned to him, his eyes almost black. I suddenly felt very nervous, seeing the way he and Caspian were looking at each other.
Edmund suddenly stood up and strode over to Caspian, tucking the shell into his pocket. "And what if I do?"
Caspian glared at him, holding his dark gaze with his own. "I am king," he said ominously.
A muscle in Edmund's jaw twitched. "I am not one of your subjects, and you can't order me around! I have always been second place! First to Peter, who was the High King, and now you!" he snarled at Caspian. His hand was clenched around the jeweled hilt of his sword.
"So it's come to that, King Edmund, has it?" Caspian shouted back, drawing his own sword.
They clashed, swords flashing in the golden light of the cavern, the metallic sound ringing around the walls of the room. Eustace cowered back away from them, and Lucy cried out, "Stop!"
I whipped my sword out of its scabbard and ran forward, trying to get between the two of them. When their blades parted, I thrust mine between them and followed with my body.
"Stop it! Stop it both of you! Don't be so stupid!" I shouted at them, nearly in tears. "Don't you see what it's doing to you? You're both going to end up the same as Eustace did, because of your greed! It's the damned gold that's making you act like fools!"
They looked past me at each other through narrow eyes, panting slightly. Edmund was the first to break eye contact, jabbing his sword back into its sheath. "Fine. Let's get out of here," he said icily, striding back to the rope and quickly climbing back up into the cave entrance, leaving Caspian to glare after him.
I followed soon after, still shaken about what had happened in the cavern and worried about what might've happened.
