I don't own Narnia or the Pevensies. I only keep writing about them because I've pledged ten thousand words for every movie stub.
"I'm all right, Lu, really," Edmund protested as she wrapped his scratch-covered arm in white linen. She was in his cabin; Peter sat on his hammock and watched the whole process looking rather pale. Lucy's face was streaked with frustrated tears. She was unused to this sort of healing. She felt useless without her cordial, unable to do the thing that people looked to her for, and was resolute on not needing help herself. When she felt Peter's hand on her shoulder, she felt a surge of irritation – she didn't need the comfort. Turning with angry words poised on her tongue, she faltered at the sight of his concern-filled gaze and bit them back.
"There," she said stiffly, tying off the last bit of Edmund's bandages.
"I'm never sleeping again, if this is what happens," said Peter.
"It's a good thing you were asleep," Ed countered. "Or else you would have heard the sirens, and I don't think you could have ignored it as well as I did." There was no trace of smugness in his voice. Captain Parry had been surprised at Edmund's reaction to the sirens, but had judged that the boy had been just that – a boy, and not yet prone to the desires of men older than him.
Lucy muttered a goodbye and left the room, shutting the door behind her. She could feel her brothers' eyes follow her out. Biting her lip irritably, she let herself be angry with them for patronizing her while ignoring the infuriatingly reasonable voice within her that assured her that they were just worried. But the voice would not be brushed off so easily, and found a more corporeal way to express itself.
"Lu," Susan said, emerging from their room. "Come above and talk with me, will you? We're getting quite close and I should like to see the riverbank before we land."
Lucy knew instantly that Susan had other reasons for wanting to speak to her alone. Holding back a sigh, she nodded grudgingly and allowed her sister to lead the way up the staircase and into the fresher air. Susan walked over to lean against the port railing and smiled warmly at her younger sister, who crossed her arms and stared at the deck resolutely. A moment passed, salty spray tingling on their faces.
"Come on now, Lucy, where's your smile?" said Susan at last. Her sister scowled.
"I'm not a baby anymore," she said. "You don't have to talk to me that way."
She expected Susan to laugh and say something about always being the baby of the family at heart, so her head snapped up in surprise when her sister replied,
"No, you're right. I'm sorry."
It was such a simple thing to say; Lucy didn't know why it made her rush forward into her sister's waiting arms and bury her face in her shoulder. The crying came shortly after. Susan's right hand was making slow, calming circles on her back while her left smoothed her hair tenderly.
"It's hard being the youngest, isn't it?" Susan said quietly. "But Lucy, you understand that you're needed with or without that silly potion."
Lucy cried harder, arms about her sister's waist. A passing sailor gave the two a questioning look but Susan returned it with such a calm, queenly gaze that his eyes dropped to the deck in shame. They held each other for a long moment. When at last Lucy's weeping had slowed, she raised her shaking head and looked up at the serene face of her elder sister.
"Wh…why do you have to understand everything?" she sniffed. Susan merely smiled and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.
"Not everything. Just some things." She turned her head to the side and looked out over the railing. "Oh, look, we're almost there. Just a bit longer, then we can finally get off this dratted ship."
Lucy gave a watery chuckle and watched the shoreline also.
About an hour later, the ship beached on the riverbank and a long plank was put into place, creating a ramp from the upper deck to the ground. Sailors scurried up and down it, bringing out the things needed for a camp, and the four Pevensies took what they needed from the ship and made their way down onto solid earth.
Lucy looked around happily. Where the Cappis River met the ocean there was a great pool of water, rather like a large pond of mixed salt and fresh water. On its other side, the river flowed out from a dense forest that started almost as soon as the sand stopped. People were setting up canvas tents all around her. She half-skipped to where Susan and Peter were working together to force wooden pegs into the ground, beaming at them as they finally draped the canvas over the shaky frame of the tent and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.
"Phew," said Susan, laughing. "I certainly haven't done that in a while."
Her older brother grinned and fell backwards to lay on the sand. The sky was growing darker now, the first colors of sunset dusting the horizon. Smiling, Lucy walked over, laid beside him and rested her head comfortably against his shoulder. Susan sat and watched them fondly for a moment.
"I think I'll leave you two alone and find someplace to bathe," she said. "I'll be back in a while."
Peter nodded and shifted slightly, his hand coming up to ruffle Lucy's hair affectionately. Whatever Susan had said to her earlier had obviously helped; the sulkiness was gone now and had been replaced by the real Lucy. She curled against his side. He lifted his head slightly, noting that Edmund was a ways off, reading a book and dangling his feet into the river. With a sigh, he let his head fall back onto the ground and moved his free hand to grasp the hilt of his sword.
Lucy frowned. For a moment, it had seemed her brother had been able to forget about his worry.
But then again, she thought with a grin, that was Peter – he hadn't quite found that concept of self.
