Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia or the Nautilus – or Venus, or anything else that you recognize from before reading this fic…To complete the disclaimer for last chapter, Father Christmas's recitation of his names is based on Gandalf's similar line, relayed by Faramir in The Two Towers (bk. 4, chapter V). Cookies to Calyn, Fastred of the North, and thunderbird shadow for correctly identifying the quote! (::)(::)(::) Sorry, digital cookies are the best I can do over the internet…

Thank you as always to BrokenKestrel for betaing the chapter, especially for helping me get started again after the prolonged hiatus!

Chapter 17

"Where can they have got to?" grumbled Edmund. As best as he could tell without seeing the sun, going by a warrior's sense of time, it was now noon.

Edmund had looking for the others all morning. He had found Caspian quickly, and it had been another hour perhaps before they had found Lucy and Reepicheep. But it had been several more hours now, and they had found no trace of Eustace or Vasiliev.

"All the animals we've seen seem friendly at least," said Edmund. "And it's a warm day, but not too hot. I don't think they should be in any immediate danger."

"Except from each other," said Lucy, turning to look at Edmund. "Do you think Eustace is safe with Vasiliev?"

"The Queen's cousin is a brave lad, but no warrior yet," said Reepicheep.

"We don't know that they are together," Edmund pointed out. "But if they are…" He stared off into the distance. "I do not think Vasiliev intends to kill again, but the night of the storm, he had a spell of madness. If the fit came on him again – who knows what he might do, even by accident." He paused and looked down at the ground. "When I saved him – Vasiliev – I didn't intend for him to be a danger to anyone else."

"The dangers each one of us faces is for Aslan to decide, Your Majesty," said Reepicheep.

"And the best thing we can now do is find them quickly," said Caspian. "It's our duty to Eustace anyway. Maybe we should tell the crew, ask them to help."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Lucy asked. "They'll most likely kill Vasiliev if one of us isn't with them and they find him."

"Bother Vasiliev," said Caspian with some heat. "We've done quite enough for him, keeping him alive this long."

"He's under my protection now," said Edmund. "But we've been looking for hours. They're expecting us anyway, to tell them if we've found anything."

Lucy was the obvious choice to inform the crew. The crew had been willing to defy their captain out of gratitude to her, despite their well-justified loathing of Vasiliev. Lucy had to convince the boys and Reepicheep to let her go back to the Nautilus alone while they stayed behind in case Eustace or Vasiliev turned up.

"Look," she said, "we're wasting time arguing. the main thing is to find Eustace. He's more likely to need your help than I am. I can manage a small boat, especially for a short way. Who knows what trouble he's gotten himself into?"

When Lucy reached the Nautilus, Jakub was waiting on the bridge.

"Have you found where we are?" he asked as Lucy climbed up.

"No," said Lucy. "We haven't seen anyone who could tell us anything, just wild animals. And we have a problem – Eustace and Vasiliev are missing."

Jakub's face tightened. "Missing? Both of them? How long?"

Lucy was about to answer when Jakub held up a hand. "No, you want the crew to help search for them. They need to hear the story from you."

The crew was assembled in a matter of minutes.

"We still don't know where we are," she began. "But my cousin Eustace is missing, as is Vasiliev. We haven't seen either of them since yesterday. Will you help us find them?"

Voices broke out even before Jakub finished translating. Lucy guessed the answer before Jakub told her.

"They are all willing to come," said Jakub, a slight smile on his face.

"Can you tell them Vasiliev is not to be harmed?" Lucy asked.

Jakub's smile faded. "You know what sort of man Vasiliev is," he said. "He has murdered children far younger than your cousin. What if he decides to kill again?"

"I have been in war before," said Lucy quietly. She touched the dagger at her side. "I should say – he is not to be harmed, if that is possible." She took a deep breath. "I know it is not always so."

One of the crew spoke – it sounded like a question. Jakub's face creased with worry once more.

"They are asking about Captain Nemo," he said softly. He looked down the passageway towards the captain's cabin. "They're right – we cannot leave him alone. At least one of us will have to stay here."

"Do you think he might help us?" Lucy asked tentatively.

Jakub looked at her. "Have you learned so little of the captain, Your Majesty? He is not easily swayed in the best of times. I have never known him to change his mind when he thinks he has been betrayed."

"It couldn't hurt to ask," Lucy pressed. "Could it?"

Jakub was quiet a moment. "I suppose not," he said. "Things can hardly be worse than they are."

He turned on his heel and walked briskly towards the captain's cabin. He took a deep breath at the door before knocking rapidly.

"Captain!" he called.

After a moment, he rapped the door again. Again, there was no response.

"Captain Nemo!" Lucy called.

After another long silence, Jakub jiggled the door knob. His eyes widened in alarm when the door opened.

There was no one in the sparsely furnished cabin. Jakub turned and began searching the rest of the Nautilus.

As impressive as the Nautilus was, there were only so many places a man could hide. It was not long before the search confirmed what they already knew – Captain Nemo was no longer aboard the Nautilus.

"Pray to your Aslan that your cousin is less of a fool than your brother," Jakub told Lucy. "If he is with Vasiliev, and he tries to protect him – the captain will not stay his vengeance a second time."

Author's Note: Hello, everyone, I hope you all had a blessed Christmas season!

In the interest of full disclosure – Anonymousme brought to my attention another book by Jules Verne called The Mysterious Island, which incorporates the official version of what happened to Captain Nemo and the Nautilus. I was unaware of this continuation of the story when I began this fic and naturally, there are significant differences between published canon and the backstory I created. I'm sure everyone will be shocked to learn M. Verne's story does not include a trip to Perelandra…

Anonymousme, sorry the update took longer than you were hoping for – I was visiting family over Christmas and unfortunately didn't have much time to write. But I did enjoy The Mysterious Island – thank you for recommending it.