I had some time to myself this weekend so I pulled out my Blu-ray version of VDT (I know, who watches DVDs anymore?) and took a look at some of the extras. This helped me get a better description of the ship, though not much changed from what I had. I also learned that Caspian recaps some of the adventures they had before the Pevensies returned, so I made a few changes to the previous chapters based on that. Nothing major plot-wise but if anyone wanted to reread them chapter 2 had the most changes, making it the longest chapter thus far. Anyways... Enjoy chapter 5! :)


Chapter 5: Investigating the Lone Islands

With a nudge from Lucy—although she wasn't sure why—Ana left her alone with Eustace. She joined the Captain and the two Kings on the poop deck as they made plans for their arrival.

"The Lone Islands," Drinian announced. "The port of Narrowhaven."
"Strange," Caspian stated, handing the spyglass off to Edmund. "Not a Narnian flag in sight."
"But the Lone Islands have always been Narnia's," Edmund remarked.
"Seems suspicious," Drinian stated.
"I say we prepare a landing party," Edmund ordered. "Drinian?"
"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Drinian answered, "but the chain of command starts with King Caspian on this ship."
"Right..." There was that strange tone in Edmund's voice again. Ana wondered what exactly it meant.
Thankfully, Caspian agreed with Edmund's suggestion. "We'll use longboats. Drinian, pick some men and come ashore."
"Aye," the Captain replied. "Tavros!"

Tavros had been standing nearby, waiting for orders. He immediately turned to the crew. "Man the longboats! Furl the sail and prepare to drop anchor!" he bellowed.

As the crew scurried to do as they were ordered, Ana headed inside the stern to retrieve some weapons, with Lucy following. She knew Edmund and Caspian wouldn't be far behind. Lucy took a Dwarf sword as well as her dagger and cordial. Ana had two daggers and her bow and arrows. Caspian was armed with a crossbow, sword, and a few daggers. Edmund borrowed one of Caspian's swords and he decided to bring his torch along as well.

The sun was low in the sky as they clambered into the longboats. Eustace insisted on coming with them, despite his cousins' protest. But Ana could understand not wanting to be left alone with strangers. So she would just have to deal with whatever came of it when the time came. For now, they all quietly made their way to shore having very little to discuss.

As soon as his boat had docked, Reepicheep leapt out excitedly. "Onward!" he exclaimed. "The thrill of the unknown lies ahead."
"Couldn't this have waited till the morning?" Eustace groaned. One of the sailors, Rynelf, helped the two girls out of the boat as Reepicheep turned to face him.
"There is no honor in turning away from adventure, lad!"
"Listen," Lucy said and they grew quiet. "Where is everyone?"
Eustace struggled to get out of the boat and Reepicheep offered him his paw. "Come on, jelly legs!"
"I'm quite capable of doing it myself!" he grumbled before face-planting into the steps. "Oof!" Reepicheep sighed.
"And you're certain he's related by blood?" Caspian asked, watching Eustace struggle.

Lucy's face fell a little at the question but neither Pevensie answered. Ana noted they seemed to have different opinions on what they thought of their cousin. Lucy seemed sympathetic and Edmund seemed annoyed by him, but both also cared. It was partly why they didn't want him coming with them.

The Islands were quiet and vacant. There wasn't a soul in sight. The only noises were the sounds of the water lapping against the boats and quiet chatter from the men. It was curious and very strange, so the group approached with caution.

Suddenly, a bell tolled and several of them jumped. Ana scanned the area as Caspian aimed his crossbow in the direction of the sound. It came from a Bell Tower in the center of the town, but they were too far away to see anything. They most certainly wouldn't be able to hit anything from that distance. But the only thing that moved were some birds that must have been nesting in the tower.

After pausing for just a moment, Caspian pressed forward. Reepicheep began to follow but was halted by his King.

"Reepicheep," Caspian ordered, "stay here with Drinian's men and secure the place. We'll head on. If we don't come back by dawn... send a party."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ana heard the sound of his rapier being tucked away as Reepicheep rejoined the Captain.

Caspian led a small party consisting of only the three royals, Ana, and Eustace. They approached carefully, looking for signs of life. But it appeared to be abandoned. The windows of the houses were boarded up as were some of the doors. While it wasn't unusual for there to be few people that late in the day, the lack of anyone was just plain eerie. Ana didn't like it one bit and she could tell the others were a little on edge as well.

Every so often, Caspian would signal for one of them to check out a house. But all the doors were locked and they could only peer through boarded-up windows. Seeing no one, they continued towards the center of town. The Bell Tower was the only place that showed any signs of activity since they arrived. It was the place they wanted to investigate first.

Eustace was sent to look at a few houses along the path as the others continued towards the Bell Tower. His voice cut loudly through the silence.
"Yeah, looks like nobody's in. Do you think we should head back?" Ana frowned at his tone of voice, suspecting he was lying.
"Do you want to come here and guard... something?" Edmund asked, unsure if there was really anything to guard.
"Ah, yes!" he said, running to join the others. "Good idea, cousin. Very, uh... l-logical."

Caspian walked towards the door but then stopped and turned around. Pulling his dagger from its scabbard, he handed it off to Eustace. After all, the boy was unarmed and he couldn't very well guard anything without a weapon. Though it was obvious to Ana, and the others, that he had no idea how to wield it.

As they made to enter, Eustace whirled around to face them. "I've got it. I've got it," he said, hand shaking a little. "Don't worry."

Despite his assurances, the four exchange worried glances. Then they stepped through the doorway. Caspian walked in first and Ana took up the rear. It was easier to watch their backs when she was behind them.

"Uh..." Eustace stated, voice echoing in the empty hall. "I'm ready to go when you are." Ana refrained from rolling her eyes. They barely had time to investigate and the boy was already begging to leave.

There was a little light coming from the doorway and high windows, but it grew dimmer as the sunset. So Edmund used his torch to help them see a little better. The hall held old statues that were starting to crumble and a small stand made out of stone stood in the center of the room. But other than the ropes for the bells, the place seemed empty. Still, the stand was a curious thing and they all approached it.

The feeling of unease in Ana only grew as they drew closer. Upon the stand was a book containing various names.

"Who are all these people?" Lucy asked.
"Why have they been crossed out?" Edmund added.
"Looks like... some sort of fee," Lucy observed and Ana realized what this was. She immediately went on alert and began carefully scanning the shadows.
"Slave traders," Caspian answered, but Ana barely heard him. She felt it was a trap.

Suddenly, the bells rang again as people began sliding down the ropes. "Look out!" Caspian warned, firing a cross-bolt at a man behind Lucy. Ana had just enough time to pull her bow from her quiver and knock the next man out before they were engaged in a fight. There were only four of them and the men kept coming. She only managed to release two arrows before a high-pitched scream caused everyone to freeze.

The four turned to find the source of the scream. Eustace stood in the doorway with a dagger at his throat. The man behind him closed the door and pushed him forward.

"Unless you wanna hear this one squeal like a girl again," the man sneered. "I'd say you should drop your weapons."
"Like a girl!?" Eustace exclaimed, clearly offended. But Ana thought it was better if he kept his mouth shut.
"Now!" the man demanded, pulling Eustace closer when they didn't move. Ana aimed her bow at him but waited for Their Majesties' orders.

The others lowered their blades, but Ana didn't move. She knew she could easily take the shot and kill the man holding Eustace hostage. But it was a risky shot and wouldn't dare to do so without permission from the others. Especially given the fact that he was related to the Pevensies.

"Put it down, missy," the man stated, drawing the blade closer to Eustace's neck. "I won't ask again."
"Stand down, Ana," Caspian ordered.

At his command, Ana lowered her bow. Lucy's sword clattered to the ground as she tossed it aside. The others were more gentle with their weapons, choosing to set them on the ground. Ana slipped the quiver of her back and tucked her weapon away before putting them down and withdrawing her daggers. Slowly, she also set them down.

"Eustace," Edmund muttered. His voice was angry, but whether he blamed his cousin or was frustrated with the situation, Ana couldn't tell. But she had no choice but to do as they said.

The slavers moved in quickly, surrounding them. The man pulled the blade from Eustace's neck and dragged him by the ear. "Put them in irons!" he ordered.
"Come on! Come here, you!" the slavers demanded, pulling at them.
"Ah!" Lucy cried after one grabbed her roughly. "Get your hands off me!"
"Let's take these three to the market," the man decided, pointing to the two girls.
"Let go!" Ana protested. She didn't like being manhandled and these men certainly weren't gentle about it.
Gesturing towards Edmund and Caspian, the man said: "Send those two to the dungeons!"

All four continued to struggle against their captors, unwilling to go without a fight.
"Listen to me, you insolent fool!" Caspian shouted, pulling away from the slavers. It took three to keep him back. "I am your King!"
Edmund kicked one of his captors and received a slap to the face for his efforts. "You're going to pay for that!"
"Actually..." came a voice from the shadows. They momentarily stopped fighting to find the speaker. "Someone else is going to pay... For all of you." He smiled darkly and Ana knew that this man was the governor. The man left in charge of running the Islands had decided to turn them into an auction for slave traders.

Lucy called out to her brother, realizing they were being separated. "No! Edmund! Edmund!"
"Lucy!" he called back, fighting hard against his captors to protect his sister. He almost got away but they managed to hold him back.
"No!" she cried as she was dragged out of sight. "Edmund!"

During all this, Ana had become frozen. She couldn't move, couldn't react. Vaguely she thought Caspian might've been calling her name. But the moment the irons were shut around her wrists, she was somewhere else entirely.

The cuffs were pulled tightly, cutting into pale skin and making them bleed. Ana stumbled as she was dragged, barely able to walk. The man laughed and tossed her into her cell. He attached the chains to a bolt on the floor for added humiliation. She didn't have the strength to walk let alone try and break out. The man's dark eyes stared down at her.

'Pathetic,' he said. 'I would've thought it took more than that. But you're weak. You're not meant for anything. You're nothing more than a slave!' He jeered and spat at her. Then kicking her for good measure, he walked away and slammed the cell door shut. All Ana could do was curl up and wait for the pain to end.

The door opened sometime later and feet walked past her head. Ana didn't even bother to see who they belonged to; it didn't matter. Her chains were unhooked and they began to drag her back. Back towards the room where all she felt was pain. She began to weakly struggle against her captor, unwilling to return to that place.

'No. Stop. No,' she pleaded. 'Stop!'

"No! Stop!" Ana cried out, crashing back into reality. She fought violently against her captors, hitting them hard enough that they managed to let go. She was having a hard time determining what was in her head and what was real. So, Ana kept fighting and she could feel Phoenix rising to help her fight back.
"Ana! No! Stop!" It sounded like Caspian but she frantically looked around and couldn't find him.
"Stop! Leave her alone!" someone else ordered. But before Ana could figure out who it was, something hard connected with her head and she knew no more.