Chapter 8: Spying and a Duel
After they realized that Edmund, Lucy, and their dreary cousin would be aboard for several more days, new sleeping arrangements were made. Ana offered her cabin to Edmund and Caspian happily gave up his for Lucy and herself. Given that they were the only ladies on board it made sense to put them together. The two girls didn't mind sharing a cabin as Caspian's were plenty big and gave them privacy from the men. But Ana didn't know where Caspian planned to sleep and felt a little guilty for taking his rooms. However, she also knew it would be a futile effort to convince him otherwise.
Their cousin was stuck sharing quarters with the one crew member who was currently alone: Reepicheep. None of the other crew members cared to share with a mouse, even if it was a talking one. Unfortunately, this did nothing to brighten the boy's mood and seemed to make it worse. If anything, he was even more irritable than before. He was rarely seen on deck, only coming out to get away from Reepicheep. And when he was present, he was always complaining about something or demanding things from the crew.
Ana often spotted him hiding in various locations, scribbling something into a journal. She made the mistake one day of trying to make conversation by asking him about it. But Eustace had only glared in response before tucking it away and finding a different hiding spot. Obviously, he didn't want anyone to know what he was writing about.
For days, they sailed on the open water with no signs of land. Ana hadn't spoken to Caspian much since they departed from the Lone Islands. He seemed content to leave things as they were. She figured as long as she didn't have any more episodes, they could pretend they never happened. During the day, she was fine. The fresh air seemed to help a bit. At night, it was a different story.
She wasn't sleeping well and she was sure Lucy had noticed. She hadn't said anything to Ana as of yet but knew she would eventually. The others were likely to notice too if she didn't get some proper sleep soon. She hoped she could explain that she just had a hard time sleeping at sea. At least that was a believable excuse. She didn't need them worrying about her all the time.
As the days stretched, Ana observed that any chance Edmund had was spent cleaning his sword. After years in a cave, the blade was completely covered and unusable. Reepicheep was very interested in it though, often stopping by to check on his progress.
"It's going to be magnificent," she heard him say. "Does it come in a smaller size?" the Mouse laughed.
"Peeving marmot!" Ana overheard and immediately began looking for Eustace.
She found him hiding behind some barrels, journal in hand. He was glaring at his cousin and Reepicheep, but she couldn't say specifically which one. Eustace wasn't too pleased with either of them.
"He's even more deluded than my cousin!" he huffed.
Reepicheep, then, she thought. But who's he—oh. Ana noticed a seagull had landed nearby and the boy had struck up a conversation with it. But the bird wasn't a Talking Beast so all it could do was chirp in response.
"In England, we have mouse traps for that sort of thing. Speaking of food... you don't know where I can get any, do you?" Eustace was apparently unsatisfied with his ration and wanted more. Ana shook her head and was about to approach when Tavros spoke up, drawing their attention.
"Uh..." he said. "Why are you talking to that bird?"
Eustace glared at him. "I just naturally assumed he can—"
Tavros cut him off with a laugh and turned to the sailor next to him. "He's talking to birds!"
"He's mad as a loon, that one!" the sailor teased, lightly hitting Tavros in the chest.
"Yeah!" Tavros agreed, slapping Leif much harder on the back.
Eustace was seemingly embarrassed and offended about being teased. "Shoo!" he told the bird, using his hands to shoo it away. "Go on, get off!"
"Hey!" Ana shouted, referring to Tavros and Leif, but drawing the attention of all three and others on the deck. She then stepped closer to chide them more privately. "You shouldn't make fun of him for not knowing the difference. It's easy for us to tell when we've been around Talking Animals all our lives."
The two looked at least a little embarrassed and she approached Eustace. Quietly, she said: "I'm sorry about them..." she told him. "They don't understand that this is all unusual to you."
"This is all insane is what it is!" he groaned, standing up and tucking his journal away. "You're all delusional!" Eustace shoved his way past her and stomped off. Ana sighed, watching him leave before climbing the steps to join Tavros.
"I know that Eustace is rude and inconsiderate towards others, but making fun of him will only make the situation worse," she told both of them. "Being able to tell the difference between Talking and Dumb Beasts takes time and patience, neither of which Eustace has right now. He doesn't understand any of this. It's all new to him."
"I'm sorry..." Tavros said, hanging his head.
"I am as well," Leif admitted.
"It's not me you should be apologizing to. Just try to show him a little grace and compassion. It could go a long way." They both nodded and she retreated inside to let them think.
She knew the royals were inside somewhere and Ana decided to see if she could join them. After a quick check in one of the rooms, she heard muffled voices coming from the Map room. Ana quietly approached the door, but just as she was about to open it she heard Lucy speak.
"Caspian," the young Queen began, voice full of concern. "Did something happen to Ana?"
"Not as far as I'm aware," he answered. "Why?"
"It's just..." Lucy seemed hesitant.
"What is it, Lu?" Edmund spoke up, concerned as well.
"She's not sleeping... At least not at night. I thought it might've been the sleeping conditions."
"But...?" Caspian pressed and Ana could hear him frowning through the door.
"The Lone Islands... You saw what happened when that man started shouting at her. But even before that, there was something off. Right after we were captured, she seemed very out of it. We all witnessed how she panicked when they chained her up. She almost let Phoenix out right then."
Had she? Ana wondered. She honestly didn't remember most of the events on the Islands.
"She has seemed a bit..." Edmund struggled for the right word. "... distant ever since we came back from the Islands."
"And you were nearly frantic when we couldn't find her afterwards," Lucy said. "I'd ask Ana myself but..."
"She's just going to tell you she's fine," Caspian finished for her. Ana heard him sigh and knew he was going to tell them everything. Hand on the handle, she was ready to burst in and stop him.
But something held her back from bursting in. So she was stuck, frozen in place. She didn't want them to know; they didn't need to. Ana didn't think she had been acting that strange. At least not enough for them to notice. But for some reason, she couldn't shake what she had seen. Couldn't escape the images, the memories, that plagued her mind at night. Things had been relatively fine up until the Lone Islands. Now the visions were getting worse, becoming more frequent. Ana feared they would start happening again during the daytime. Something didn't want her to let go of her past. Something wanted to break her down.
She shook her head and started eavesdropping again. Normally Ana would feel guilty, but they were talking about her and she couldn't bring herself to move. To go back out onto the deck or go inside the room.
Silence had descended. Ana assumed Caspian was debating telling them. But his lack of an answer was enough for Lucy.
"Something did happen!" she surmised with a gasp.
Caspian was forced to sigh. "Not recently... I thought she was fine. It's been over two years and she is a lot better than she was before. Almost back to normal. But I think some things are triggering past nightmares."
"What happened?" Lucy pressed and Ana could hear both siblings shuffle closer.
"About a year into my reign, we had some visitors from a foreign land. They unintentionally brought trouble with them. In trying to keep me safe, Ana ended up in the hands of a very evil person. I couldn't find her in time... Not before..." His voice was cracking a bit and he had to stop. It seemed the memories were painful for him as well.
After a moment, Caspian continued. "She never talked about it—still refuses to—but her injuries... It was obvious that she had been tortured, to the point she nearly died." There was a sharp intake of breath from both siblings but he didn't let them speak. "Ana fought it for a while, clinging to life somehow. But eventually, she grew too weak to fight it on her own. We weren't even sure if your cordial would save her. She was that far gone. But thanks to Aslan, she lived.
"The physical injuries healed... The mental... Those took a lot longer. A random noise would find her staring off into the distance, someplace far away. She was jumpy and on edge for quite a while, understandably so. But it happened often enough that I didn't want her to leave the castle. I was afraid of what would happen if there was a battle. But when I had to leave, I couldn't order her to stay back. She wouldn't have listened. I tried once, but Ana just snuck away and followed us. Even with guards watching her. She was furious with me for leaving her behind. And terrified..."
"Terrified that you would get yourself killed because she wasn't there to protect you," Edmund interjected. "She got the same way when Peter ordered her to stay behind."
"He started treating her like a child, trying to protect her when she had just as much right as any to fight!" Lucy exclaimed. Ana realized the Valiant Queen had been just as angry at that decision as she had. "And she probably thought you were doing the same."
"I wasn't! I was just trying to keep her safe," Caspian explained. "I could've locked her up, forcing her to stay behind, but I feared that would make it worse."
Ana hadn't realized how stressful those first few months were for him as well. Both were worried about the other. He was worried about her and whether she would be able to focus during a battle. She was worried he would be killed if she wasn't there. All this time, he was trying to protect her because he cared, not because he thought she was some small child in need of protection. Ana felt guilty for thinking that, but that had been the issue last time. If only they had communicated better. They might've had fewer fights and she wouldn't have pulled away from him. If she had known, then perhaps she could've told him how terrified she was when he wasn't near.
Ana almost sighed at her foolishness. But Caspian's voice reminded her she was just outside the door.
"I don't think she slept much then either," he said. "She looked exhausted and weary. From what you've just told me, it appears that Ana has reverted back to some of those habits. And I think something from the Lone Islands has triggered them."
"The slave traders?" Lucy suggested.
"Possibly..." Caspian hummed. "But I think she had a bit of a memory before we even reached the Islands."
"Could it be the Mist? Or something to do with it at least?" Edmund asked.
"That is my fear," Caspian stated. "And as we sail closer to the source, things may get worse."
"But the rest of us are fine," Lucy frowned. "Shouldn't we all be affected?"
"Perhaps..."
"So maybe it is something else," Edmund suggested.
"Either way, we'll need to keep a close eye on her. We don't want to lose her to whatever's happening in her head."
"It's time we looked after her for a change," Lucy said. "She's always looked after us, kept us from losing ourselves when things got hard." The two Kings murmured their agreement.
Ana felt touched by their concern and embarrassed because they knew. So when she heard Lucy move towards the door she quickly fled as quietly as possible. She didn't want to be caught spying on them.
꧁ 𝑽𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 ꧂
By the time Ana made it back to the main deck, there was a bit of a commotion. Lucy found her rather quickly—not that Ana had been hiding—but whatever she wanted to discuss was interrupted by shouting.
"Trying to run away?" Reepicheep demanded, chasing Eustace. Ana sighed as it appeared the boy had done something to upset the Mouse. "We're on a boat, you know."
"Look, can't we just discuss this?" Eustace pleaded. Ana frowned when she noticed he had a blade in his hand and Reepicheep had drawn his.
"That was for stealing..." Reepicheep sliced at his tunic. "That was for lying..." He stabbed at the orange tucked inside the tunic and then hit Eustace across the face with it. "And that... was for good measure!"
Eustace's hand shook and he raised the blade to take a swing at the Mouse. Unfortunately, he was no swordsman and it was easily dodged. Reepicheep laughed as he jumped onto a different barrel of supplies.
"That's the spirit! We have ourselves a duel!" he exclaimed. "Catch!" He tossed the orange from his sword and Drinian easily caught it.
The duel drew the attention of the rest of the crew. It was obviously very one-sided from the start, but Reepicheep took it as an opportunity to actually teach Eustace something. The boy didn't know the first thing about handling a blade and kept swinging wildly. Given the events on the Lone Islands, it would be good for him to learn at least a little bit. Unfortunately for him, the duel was meant to embarrass Eustace just as it was to teach him. Even normally cheerful Reepicheep had gotten annoyed by his continuous sour mood and wanted to knock him down a few pegs.
As the duel continued, Reepicheep balanced himself precariously on the ship's railing. After Eustace swung a few well-aimed hits, he pretended to fall into the sea. When the boy went to look, Reepicheep climbed the ropes next to him and used his tail to tap Eustace's opposite shoulder. When Eustace turned around, the Mouse swung himself forward and pushed the boy. He toppled into a basket and both fell to the deck floor. There was a scream as the basket fell over and Ana approached.
"Look..." she announced, Lucy right beside her.
A hand reached out of the basket and then a small girl emerged. The two immediately recognized her as the girl whose mother had been taken by the Mist. Her father had ordered her to stay behind but she somehow managed to stow away and hide aboard the ship.
"Gael? What are you doing here?" Her father questioned once he realized it was her. He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "Here."
The Captain started to approach and the crew parted to let him through. Gael tried to hide behind her father while Rhince looked away. Ana noted that a look akin to embarrassment crossed his face. Everyone knew that stowaways weren't often welcomed and sometimes forced overboard. As it was his ship, the decision of what happened to Gael was left in the Captain's hands.
"Looks like we have an extra crew member," Drinian announced. He then handed her the orange and she shyly took it. Her father smiled in relief as the Captain walked away.
Lucy stepped forward to introduce herself. "Welcome aboard!" she greeted, smiling brightly.
"Your Majesty!" Gael replied, giving a small curtsy.
"Call me Lucy," she said. "Come on."
She wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders and escorted her through the crowd of sailors. Ana followed after them, knowing they would have to shuffle everyone around again. There was no way Lucy was letting that girl out of her sight. Nor would Gael be allowed to sleep anywhere but with one of the two other ladies on board. They just needed to work out what was best for everyone. Ana only hoped it allowed her to get better sleep than she had been—not that different sleeping quarters were the problem to begin with. But it would certainly make it easier to hide she wasn't sleeping if she wasn't in the same cabin as Lucy.
