The whirlpool in Narnia closed and Caspian brushed his fingers through his hair. "What if it hadn't worked? What if Lucy and Edmund were lost forever? What was I thinking sending Eustace?" He scolded himself. "He was only a child."

Right as he was going to lose hope, there was a shout for help from the water. Caspian opened his eyes and rushed to the starboard side. He couldn't believe his eyes. "We need help!" He shouted for the crew and jumped into the water himself like he had when the younger Pevensies and Eustace had come.

There were two people in the water who were swimming towards the ship but their outfits were dragging them down. Caspian got ahold of the female and heard a very sweet and familiar voice. "Caspian!" She exclaimed.

"Susan!" Caspian couldn't believe his eyes once again. But that disbelief was for a much different reason. She pulled him into a big hug when they heard another voice.

"I'm here as well." Peter commented sarcastically.

"Peter!" Caspian exclaimed when breaking out of the hug.

Once they had gotten onboard the ship, Caspian rushed to get them dry towels. "Here." He handed them the spare ones from the deck and was about to introduce them when Peter went first.

"I can't believe that we are back!" Peter was almost on the verge of tears.

"Peter, concentrate." Susan tried to bring him into the moment.

"Right." He sighed, controlling his emotions.

"I'm glad that you are back." Caspian told them.

"Caspian, where are Edmund and Lucy?" Susan asked him, her heart beating faster every second that she couldn't see her siblings.

"Oh no." Peter whispered and Susan looked at him. "We've left Eustace behind!" He exclaimed.

"Will he be alright?" Caspian had to make sure that Eustace was not going to be in any danger.

"I'm sure that he would find his way to the Professor's house." Susan stated, worried about him, but she was more worried about her siblings.

"But where are our siblings?" Peter asked, acting like his High King self.

"We better go down to the cabins." Caspian suggested and the other two agreed.

On the way down, Caspian couldn't help but look at Susan with wonder. The elder Pevensies weren't supposed to come back and he had lost all hope of ever finding someone who made his heart flutter like Susan did. He couldn't believe that she was looking as beautiful as he had remembered.

On the other hand, Susan was trying not to look at Caspian. She was still trying to accept that she was back in Narnia. She couldn't bear to look at him and see his dark eyes that she could get lost in.

As these two were getting challenged by their feelings, Peter was just happy to be back. It felt surreal but he was going to enjoy it as long as it went.

"Caspian, what happened?" She asked as they were inside the cabin.

"Peter. Susan. I have failed to protect them. It happened out of nowhere really." Caspian took a deep breath. "One moment Lucy and I were talking on the back deck and the next moment, the ship was rocking left and right. I assumed that it was some rough waves at first. We went up to the deck and Edmund confronted us about merpeople attacking our ship. They climbed onto our ship and instead of trying harder to talk to them. I got frustrated and ordered my crew to fight. Then, this mist appeared and made it too hard to see. We thought that the merpeople ran away but it turned out they took your siblings with them."

"Now, I don't know where they are, and who would have done such a thing." He added after taking another breath.

Peter and Susan had no words. And so, they continued to listen. "I am truly sorry I hope to find it in your heart to forgive me, though I don't deserve it."

"It's not your fault." Peter said genuinely and Caspian could feel guilt wash over him. "Of course, it was his fault!" "We've made mistakes in the past regarding them as well." He continued and looked at Susan, knowing that she would know which incident he was referring to.

"Ed and Lu wanted to make us see something that would save everyone's life, but we were too busy to care about them." Susan added and touched Peter's arm. They couldn't believe that their siblings were held in capture and they knew that they needed to figure a way out to save them.

"But it is my fault." Caspian said. "I've not only wronged them but it is because of me that they are not here at this moment."

"Caspian. Like Peter said, It is not your fault." Susan persisted.

"But Susan…"

"No buts." Peter interrupted. "We all make mistakes sometimes and it is up to us to make up for them. You, Caspian, are clearly trying very hard to get them back. My respect for you has only increased because of that."

"Thank you, Peter. I'm glad you understand how much I want them back. You all are like family to me." Caspian told him, waiting for a response.

"I'm glad to call you part of our family, Caspian." Peter said with a smile.

"You seem a little too calm Peter." Susan commented. "This isn't how you would normally act in a situation like this."

"Susan, deep down, you know I'm terrified. I don't know what to do, or where to start. They could be anywhere, and not even alive for all I know! But, as the High King, I need to keep calm. But honestly, I don't know how long it is going to last."

"Oh Peter, I'm scared too." Susan said as she embraced him. She pulled back once she knew that Peter was alright. "Caspian, do you have any idea of which direction they went?"

"Judging by the direction we were heading I would have to guess south. We should start there."

"Well you are the King." Peter told him. "Let's head south and find Edmund and Lucy." He said with determination. Whoever took his siblings was going to pay.

Later that evening, Drinian called out to Caspian. "Sire! We have captured a merperson! I think she knows where the royal highnesses are!"

Caspian, Susan and Peter heard this call and ran towards the cabin, where a mermaid was trapped in a net. She was very beautiful with long, flowey, blond hair. She flinched as Caspian walked closer to her. "I'm not going to hurt you." Caspian promised as he took the net off of her.

Peter and Susan were confused as to why he would have done this. Caspian noticed their confusion and responded. "Like it or not, she is a Narnian and she has Narnian rights." He looked back at her. "What is your name?" He asked in a soft voice despite the situation.

"Melinda." She said as she leaned as far as she could away from him.

"Well, Melinda. Can you please tell me where King Edmund and Queen Lucy are?" He asked in a calm manner.

Caspian, Peter and Susan had very different approaches to interrogation. Peter would have demanded to know the information. Susan would have been gentle at first but eventually would turn aggressive. But Caspian would not raise his voice unless he had no other option.

"I can't." Melinda said.

"Why not?"

"I just can't." She replied. Peter was about to step in with his approach when Caspian stopped him. "Well could you just tell me one thing about their location?" Caspian asked, not losing his patience.

"Okay." Melinda hesitated. But as soon as Melinda said that she started coughing and had trouble breathing.

Susan dropped to her knees and tried to help her. "Melinda, what's happening?"

"Tenebris Island…Tenebris Island!" She got out as she was gasping for air. "Find them…"

Silence overcame everything as she dropped dead on the cabin floor. The only thing you could hear was the sound of the calm ocean waves as the boat continued moving south.

"How dare she!" The gloomy voice echoed through the caves as the merperson lost her life. "That's the price for betraying me." He scolded the others. "Don't try to pull anything or else you will owe the same payment."

His servants quivered before him. "Never, master." They pleaded for their lives.

"That's better." He stated, smiling evilly.

Thank you all for reading! See you next weekend with new chapters! Bye! -23LucyGrace