Authoress's Note: apologies for the delay, dear readers. The next few chapters will be in more bite-sized chunks.
Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia. No copyright infringement is intended.
"And [Aslan] led me a long way into the mountains. And there was always this moonlight over and round the lion wherever we went. So at last we came to the top of a mountain I'd never seen before and on the top of this mountain there was a garden—trees and fruit and everything. In the middle of it there was a well. . . .like a very big round bath with marble steps going down into it."
Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Chapter 7.
Chapter the Forty-third: The Mysterious Garden
31 Greenroof 2076
The heavy, grey drizzle set in anew just after dawn, shrouding the island's sharp ridges in mist. The sailors went about their duties in uneasy silence as Commander Randolph readied a landing party to explore the island. The fear of more dragons lay heavily on the crew, and Commodore Torin shared their concern.
"You'll have to relieve me of command, your highness," was his stern response to Lyra's request to join the initial landing party.
So, the princess and her knight watched at the rail from beneath their hoods as the longboats pulled away from the Jewel's side. Galen glanced off to the South, where the Valiant swayed to her anchor just beyond the point. From there, she could relay messages between her flagship and the Huntress, which patrolled the East shore of the eerie island.
"Not even the gulls dare break the Island's silence," Galen mused, and beside him his lady nodded without taking her eyes from the rocky ridges.
"This is not a country that welcomes visitors," she murmured.
The drizzle thickened into light rain over the course of the morning, and the two friends withdrew to the wardroom to await the landing party's return. Just after noon, the steady splash of oars told of the longboats returning. After a little while, the Commodore and his first officer joined Galen and Lyra in the wardroom. Upon entering, Commander Randolph cast aside his drenched cloak and hood.
"We saw no sign of dragons, my lady," he answered the question in the princess's eyes as he took his seat and reached eagerly for a hot cup of tea. "Dense green woods surround the bay and run into the hills to the north. We saw flocks of wild goats there and up on the ridges. Waterfalls over the cliffs converge in a strong, clear stream just to the South. We should be able to resupply with a few good hunting parties."
"The Huntress reports no sign of life from the Eastern shore," Torin added thoughtfully. "Sir Galen," he turned to the Narnian, "what do you make of this place? Is it the land you seek?"
"I do not believe so, my lord, but I would like to survey the whole coast to be sure."
"Very well," Torin nodded. "If you wish, I will recall Huntress and you may embark with her to circumnavigate the Island. In the meantime, we will send hunting and work parties to resupply the ships. Though we have seen no indication of dragons, we should be about our business as quietly as possible."
"The Island itself enforces the silence all too well," Randolph remarked solemnly as the others agreed to the commodore's plan.
But the weather had other ideas that afternoon. A drenching rainstorm beat down upon the Island, pitching the ships fitfully over the grey waves. Their occupants slept equally fitfully that night.
The next morning, however, the sun peeked through the cloud cover. Having been recalled during the night, Huntress re-embarked early with its new passengers. Galen watched eagerly from the quarterdeck's port rail as the smaller vessel pulled away from the flagship and began to skirt the southern shore. Captain Anderson and his marines accompanied the princess even here, and through the corner of her eye Lyra perceived the marine officer conspiring with Captain Scott. They exchanged a folded cloth bundle, and the princess's heart warmed at their devotion as she presently saw her standard unfurled beneath the Archen flag at the ship's stern. The two officers took pride in formally transferring her flag, and she smiled to herself as she continued to survey the shore beside her Narnian friend.
Oblivious to all else, Galen scrutinized the mountains and hills through his telescope. The sloop cut through the waves precisely and more quickly than her heavier fleet-mates, but the passengers felt the sea's motion more dramatically. The silent shores fell to the stern steadily. Noiseless waterfalls cascaded from the wooded mountainsides, and all appeared utterly deserted.
Just after noon, Huntress rounded the skirts of the Eastern-most mountain. Its green sides sloped up to a gentle peak shorter than her Western sisters and, thus, it had not been visible from the Jewel's anchorage in the bay along the Island's western shore. A ray of sunlight glanced sharply white against something at the peak. Galen eagerly followed the glint and scrutinized the mountain with his telescope.
"What do you see, my friend?" Lyra inquired, smiling to herself at his single-minded focus.
After a long pause, Galen finally answered, almost breathlessly.
"A ruin!"
"A ruin?" She echoed excitedly.
"I can see a white stone pillar, weathered and with its capital partially broken away," he elaborated as he continued to scrutinize the mountain top.
"I think I make another pillar out through the trees," Lyra added; she now swept the peak with her own telescope.
As the ship flanked the mountain and passed away to the North, Galen's gaze lingered on the ruin.
"I must see that ruin for myself," he resolved quietly as it fell from view. Lyra straightened at the conviction in his voice. This solemn place silenced all levity.
"Then—may Aslan be with us—there we shall go," she answered gravely.
33 Greenroof 2076
Loathe as Commodore Torin was to agree, the next morning found the Jewel anchored off the Eastern shore of the island. As first light threw rosy tinges on the water's now glassy surface, Galen, Lyra, and a small contingent of marines skimmed towards the silent shore. They landed on the narrow beach that ran along the mountain's skirts, which rose sharply from the sand. After securing the boats and throwing their light packs over their shoulders, the party struck a path around the mountain's side. The day turned fine, and warm sunlight filtered through the densely packed treetops above them as they ascended.
The Narnian proved himself a woodsman worthy of his father's legacy as he led the party deftly through the alpine forest. They climbed ever higher as the day wore on, laboring in the silence that pervaded that strange land. Now and then, some small animal scurried into the brush or a startled bird fled in a flurry of wings.
At noon, they halted in a wider opening that a clear, cold waterfall cut in the mountainside. It pooled at the base of the rock face beneath which their path led.
"This is an old trail we follow, I think," Galen remarked as they ate. Through the trees, they could see the vast blue sea stretch away to the horizon from the Island's Northeastern flank.
"Indeed?" Lyra responded, "I did not realize we followed a path."
"Aye," Galen nodded, "it is long abandoned and overgrown, but traces remain that tell of its making. A cut stone half-buried here and there, for example, to reinforce the steep banks," here he pointed towards the path ahead, and the Archenlander could see the evidence for herself. "And much of this way had to have been cut in the mountainside to admit us."
"I wonder who lived here," she puzzled thoughtfully. The Narnian nodded. Eventually, he stood to continue the trek, offering an accustomed hand to his lady.
The afternoon wore on much the same as the morning. The party steadily ascended the slopes, working around the mountainside in a circuitous track. Each person seemed satisfied with the company of his own thoughts. The very air resisted any speaking louder than a whisper.
As the afternoon light waned, their path approached the summit and became less steep. Flat white stones, cracked and stained with age, paved their route now. At last, wide, shallow stairs lead to the summit. The remains of an ancient wall encircled the mountaintop. Weathered pillars stood sentinel, and the silence pressed heavily.
Slowly, Galen ascended the last few stairs and passed through the pillars. To his surprise, a stately garden of fruit trees spread before him. He stepped carefully onto the white stone pavement, and only then did Lyra and the marines follow. The pavement ran to the other end of the garden, where the low, weathered wall formed a semi-circle overlooking the sea. Broken pillars studded the wall there, and in the center was a wide, clear well with shallow steps leading down into it like a bath. The purple dusk reflected in its mirror surface.
"What is this place?" Lyra breathed in wonder.
"It is more solemn than the rest of the Island, even, yet its feel is more wholesome," Galen observed softly. "This is a sacred place-and ancient."
After a moment's contemplation, the Narnian suggested they make camp at the garden's edge, just within the Western wall.
"I do not think it wise to light a fire in this place," he added, and Lyra nodded in agreement.
"Captain Anderson," she addressed the marine softly, "let us allay the commodore's concerns."
In response, he and one of his men lit a signal lantern and moved to the sea-facing wall. After closing and opening the lantern shutters to make the appropriate signal, they returned.
"The Jewel acknowledges, my lady."
"Very well," the princess nodded.
"Would it be right, do you think, to eat of the garden's fruit?" One of the marines asked in reverent tones.
After a moment, the young knight answered affirmatively. "I believe we are meant to," he spoke solemnly and did not explain further.
They ate, again, with only whispered conversation to break the silence. After a while, the marines divided up the watches and established a bivouac at the western edge of the garden. But Galen could not sleep. He found himself wandering the eastern edge of the garden and gazing out upon the sea. The cool night air carried no bite; it felt soft against his face, though it did not move with any breeze. Far below, the Jewel's lanterns winked cheerfully in the , the Narnian settled beside the pool, wrapping his cloak around him and gazing into its depths. It reflected the dark purple heaven and its thousands of bright stars. The Leopard was not in its proper place, he mused. Too far west for this time of year. The young man's thoughts ranged far away now, laden with many cares. After a while, his eyelids drooped.
Gradually, as if in dream, he perceived moonlight softly gleaming behind him. He could not bring himself to turn but instead found himself drawn to the pool. Moonlight gleamed silver on its surface. As he watched, the reflection of a great, golden Lion, softened by the moonlight, appeared on the surface and looked at him deeply. Galen gazed into the Lion's eyes—how long he could not say. Peace washed over him, and he lingered there.
1 Sunbend 2076
Galen awoke to pale light flushing the Eastern sky. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then gazed at the surface of the pool once more. Only pale light reflected there now, rosy against the white stones at its clear bottom. After a moment, the young knight reverently dipped a hand into the pool's clear, cool water. He felt the water eddy past his fingers and wondered. Eventually, he stood and looked out to sea, continuing to ponder as he heard his companions begin to stir at the other end of the garden. After a little while, he felt his lady's hand alight on his arm. He smiled at her, and she drew close to him.
"Did you find what you sought, my love?" She asked softly as they gazed upon the dawn.
"I think so," he answered thoughtfully, his eyes bright. "The moonlight does remarkable things in this place," he added after a few moments' silence.
At this, Lyra looked up at him, her brow furrowed.
"But there was no moon last night, my dear. ''Twas a New Moon."
Her knight straightened at her words.
"Then I indeed found what I sought."
The Archen fleet departed the Dragon's Island that evening. The landing party returned without incident, and the ships set sail for an island to the southeast that Galen had just been able to make out with his telescope from the mountaintop garden. He did not speak of what else he had seen there, pondering and treasuring it instead.
The island to the southeast proved a mere outcropping of rock, flat and covered in sand and scrub. The fleet continued to sail east and a little south, with a fair breeze behind it. Everyone aboard breathed more easily as soon as the Dragon's island disappeared beneath the Western horizon.
Authoress's Note: Many thanks for reading! A review wouldn't be amiss.