I know you guys have several questions. I promise most (hopefully all) of them will be answered by the end of this story. It will just take some time. But, hopefully, this chapter at least provides some insight for your questions, if it doesn't answer them completely.
Also, update today because there will NOT be one on Monday. Apologies. Enjoy!
Chapter 15: The Unfortunate Fate of Eustace
As the phoenix, Ana gently placed Lucy on the ground and transformed back. Caspian was standing on the beach, a little shocked. Whether it was from their sudden arrival or seeing Edmund carried off, Ana couldn't tell. As Lucy rushed to his side, Ana was scanning the sky for any signs of the dragon.
It was coming back around, towards the beach. Edmund was still in his claws, but she couldn't tell if he was still alive. Ana transformed again and Caspian drew his sword. Both prepared to fight the dragon and rescue Edmund. Though neither had quite worked out how to do that without harming the Just King.
Fortunately, they didn't have to worry. As the dragon drew closer, they could tell Edmund was very much alive. He was not-so-gently released from the dragon's grasp and he fell into a roll. If Ana wasn't mistaken, the dragon looked a little sheepish at that. It landed behind Edmund and she transformed back to herself, slightly confused.
As Edmund stood up, both royals rushed to his aid. Caspian charged at the dragon with the intent of killing him while Lucy ran to embrace her brother. She was so relieved to see him alive that she disregarded the threat of the dragon. But Edmund quickly dodged his sister and moved to intercept Caspian.
"Wait!" he said, hand raised to stop him. Caspian did, as equally confused as Ana was. "It's not what you think… He's harmless."
"Edmund?" Lucy asked, stepping closer to him. Ana also moved closer to hear them better.
"It's… It's Eustace," Edmund answered as an explanation.
"What?" Lucy gasped.
"H-how can that be?" Caspian stuttered. Ana was just as shocked at this revelation.
Edmund shrugged and directed the conversation to Lucy. "We found a valley full of treasure. When we investigated it, we found Eustace's clothes. They were slightly burned but there were no other signs of him there. I thought he was dead, killed by something. We found another lord and his sword, indicating Eustace wasn't the first to suffer a terrible fate. As we were making our way back to the ship, he," here Edmund turned to point at the dragon, "decided to pick me and fly me around."
The rest of Edmund's explanation was interrupted by the arrival of the others. Drinian had brought both Reepicheep and Tavros with him. Rhince and Gael had tagged along as well, but they stayed back when the rest approached.
"Sire!" Reepicheep exclaimed. "I am most pleased to see you alive."
Edmund smiled. "I am as well, Reep. Fortunately, this dragon is a friend of ours. I was just explaining that Eustace has gotten himself turned into a dragon."
Eustace bowed his head and looked away, almost in shame. Reepicheep barely restrained himself from laughing while the others stood in shock. It was quite a surprising turn of events for everyone.
"He must've been tempted by the treasure," Edmund remarked as Lucy walked closer.
"Well, everyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted," Caspian commented. This statement caused Eustace to send him a glare and he quickly amended it. "Well, anyone from here."
There was a shiny gold bracelet on Eustace's dragon arm. He started dragging it through the dirt in an attempt to get it off. Lucy slowly approached and he hopped backwards. When she held out her arms, Eustace offered her his appendage. She pulled the bracelet off as he roared in pain. But he seemed pleased to finally have it off. Lucy smiled and walked away from him, still holding the large bracelet.
They all watched the exchange carefully before Edmund looked at the others. "Is there any way to change him back?" he asked.
"Not that I know of," Caspian answered. He looked to Drinian and Ana to see if they had any suggestions.
Ana tried to recall what she had read about dragons. But she couldn't remember anything to do with transformation. So she merely shook her head and frowned. The Captain didn't seem to recall anything useful either.
Edmund sighed and looked back at his cousin. "Aunt Alberta will not be pleased."
Reepicheep approached the dragon. "Sorry about the hand, old boy. I can be a bit overzealous at times." He tried to apologise but Eustace wasn't pleased. He sent the Mouse a glare in response.
While they had been discussing the turn of events, Tavros had seen to the boats. "The boats are ready, Sire," he announced, interrupting the conversation.
"We can't leave him alone," Lucy stated.
"We can't bring him on board, Your Majesty," Drinian told her. Ana felt bad for Eustace but everyone knew there was no place for a dragon aboard the ship.
"Drinian," Caspian ordered, "you and the others take one boat back. The rest of us will stay here till morning and… work out what to do." He handed the Captain the second sword they had found. Drinian turned to do as instructed but was interrupted.
"But you have no provisions," Rhince protested. "And no means of staying warm, Your Majesty,"
Before Ana could even think to help, Eustace quickly scanned the group. He reared his head back and then breathed fire onto a stick. Everyone took a step back in surprise. Both Lucy and Reepicheel chuckled while the two Kings smiled. He had solved one of their problems.
"You were saying?" Reepicheep asked, chuckling. Rhince was forced to smile as well.
In the end, everyone decided to remain on the island. Gael had been torn between returning with her father or staying with Lucy. So he offered to stay on the beach with her. The others had merely offered to stay, not providing a reason as to why. Caspian had granted them permission nonetheless.
The group went to work searching for more sticks and kindling for the fire. Tavros pulled some small blankets from the longboats. He offered them to the others and one was spread out for the ladies to sleep on. The others settled around the fire but Caspian approached Ana before she could get settled.
"We need to talk," he said as he took her arm and pulled her away from prying ears.
Unfortunately, Caspian grabbed her arm where Ana had been cut. She had forgotten all about it until he put pressure on the small wound. She did her best not to show any discomfort but Caspian noticed something was off. He released her, frowning.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.
"Nothing. My arm's a little sore is all," she answered, trying to be as honest as possible. Ana knew he wasn't convinced.
"What happened?" he pressed, crossing his arms.
Ana sighed. "It's nothing, really. I got nicked when I tried to stop you and Edmund from fighting." She didn't wish to make him feel bad, but she didn't want to lie either. "It's fine, honestly. It didn't even hurt until you grabbed my arm."
"Was it me?" he asked with a touch of embarrassment in his voice."
"What?" She frowned, a little confused.
"Was I the one who hurt you?"
"I-I don't know." He looked away from her as if he was ashamed. "Caspian… I'm fine. It's nothing more than a scratch."
He looked back at her and Ana sent him a reassuring smile. She didn't blame either of them for what happened. They weren't quite themselves. If anything, it was her fault. It was foolish of her to try and jump between them. But the wound was minor and wouldn't cause any problems. It would just be a little sore for a while, as most cuts tended to be. She just needed to convince Caspian that she was fine and it wasn't his fault. Thankfully, he seemed to understand without her saying anything.
"Are you alright?" Caspian asked and she knew he wasn't talking about her arm.
"I'm better," she admitted.
He nodded but seemed hesitant to speak.
"Are you?" Ana asked instead.
His brows furrowed a little. "Me? I'm fine. It was a little scary seeing you like that. And then when you wouldn't leave your room… Well, it was worrisome, to say the least. Brought up some memories of similar events."
She nodded. "I'm sorry…"
Caspian was the one to sigh this time. "Why do you…" he muttered before trailing off. "I hope you know… Y-you don't have to hide around me. You're the strongest person I've ever met. I wouldn't think any less of you." He smiled softly before walking away.
Ana was left alone with overwhelming emotions. The strongest person he knew? Those words had struck a chord with her. She always thought she was strong. She had to be, at least a little. When life bruises you, you keep going. You fight when you have to, you protect every time you can. You simply do it, without much thought. But… the strongest? Ana would've never thought to claim that title. She just did what she had to in order to survive. But to be held in such high esteem by the King left Ana speechless.
In a way, she was glad Caspian had left her alone after that. She didn't know what to say in response, wasn't even sure she had understood him correctly. Ana felt that the way he spoke told her there was something he was trying to say. For just a brief moment, her heart was racing and she felt it clouding her judgment. She needed to clear her head. Surely she had just misinterpreted it.
Caspian was a King, but more importantly, they had become friends. He was always kind and supportive in both his role as King to the people and as a friend. He always seemed to have the right words to encourage his subjects. Always seemed to know what to say. So his words to Ana must've been just that. A way to encourage a friend he saw was hurting. She couldn't allow herself to think there could be anything more. Even if the way he spoke, the sound of his voice, and the glow in his eyes, made her heart flutter. She was just imagining it all.
Shaking her head a little, Ana joined the others. She found a spot near Lucy and settled down for the evening. Gael was laying beside Lucy on the blanket. Caspian and Edmund spread out not too far from them. The rest of the crew found a spot near the fire somewhere between the Kings and Eustace. He slept the furthest from the fire, but Ana knew he probably needed the warmth the least. Reepicheep laid the closest to the dragoned-boy.
Ever since the nightmare, Ana slept very little. She had tried, but thoughts of what happened plagued her mind. So she usually ended up tossing and turning all night long. By the time she grew tired, it was morning again. It felt rather pointless to try by then. But she was hoping this night would be different. As she relaxed for the evening, she stared up at the sky and tried listening to the conversations around her.
However, the talk with Caspian was still on her mind. After getting over his words, Ana realized he never mentioned anything about her hurting him. Just that they had found the sight quite disconcerting. Edmund had said the same, avoiding any mention of Phoenix. And Lucy… well they both had resolutely ignored the topic. Ana frowned, recalling the memory very vividly. It couldn't have been in her head. The other stuff she knew was just messing with her mind. But attacking Caspian… There was no way she imagined that, right?
She assumed any injury had been treated. Possibly even cured by Lucy's cordial, if only to avoid others asking questions. Ana hadn't seen much of him since the event and couldn't tell if he was still hurting from it. So she rolled over to study Caspian. She observed that he was absentmindedly rubbing his chest. Perhaps it still bothered him.
She turned back to the sky with a sigh. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths to clear her head. After a few moments, Ana let her breathing relax. She felt the eyes of the others on her and was content to feign sleep. Eventually, they must've fallen for it as quiet conversations began.
Caspian and Edmund had made amends at some point. They were talking as if they were close friends again, perhaps even brothers. Edmund noted different constellations than usual. This led to Caspian opening up a bit. He brought up his father and his hopes of seeing him in Aslan's Country. Ana knew very little about his father, as Caspian didn't talk about him much. But from what she could gather, his father cared somewhat for the Narnians and was distraught about what his ancestors had done.
Gael mentioned that she missed her mum and Lucy admitted that she did as well. But when she promised they would find her, the young girl questioned Aslan. She was confused about how He could help them if He didn't prevent such events from happening in the first place. Lucy didn't have an answer for her. Ana could've chosen to wake up and give them some advice. However, she knew whatever she said would be of little comfort to Gael. Aslan had His reasons for everything, even if they didn't understand them. So she kept pretending she was sleeping.
The conversations dwindled off after that. Ana could tell by their breathing that many had fallen asleep. Only herself and Eustace were still awake. The poor boy was too distressed to sleep. She made to get up and offer him some comfort. But just as she rolled over to do so, Reepicheep shifted and awoke. He approached instead and Ana turned away to give them as much privacy as she could. She eventually fell asleep listening to him tell Eustace a story about pirates and dragons.
"Lucy!" a voice called, waking Ana from her much-needed slumber. "Lucy, wake up! Look!"
Both girls sat up abruptly and turned to see what Gael wanted. Their eyes widened at the sight before them.
"The Blue Star," Lucy gasped. "Everybody!" The rest of their party stirred at her call. Most awoke quickly, thinking there was a threat.
"What?" Reepicheep groggily asked. "What is it?"
"Everybody, wake up! It's the Blue Star!" Lucy responded with excitement.
"Come on, old boy," Reepicheep ordered Eustace, elbowing the dragon in the jaw as he did so. "Wake up!"
Everyone quickly cleared the beach and loaded everything into the longboats. Reepicheep excitedly approached Eustace and asked for a lift. To everyone's surprise, he allowed the Mouse to climb onto his back. Everyone else clambered into the boats and they headed for the ship.
After awakening the crew, they headed further east. This time, the star was their guide. While most were excited, their troubles were far from over.
