Kathleen is not the most excellent swimmer. She could swim from one end to the pool and back if she needed to, but staying afloat in one place had proven to be difficult for her. As she broke the surface, having to stay above the water had proven nothing had changed for her. She immediately swam to one side then another, looking for the others that had once been in the Scrubb house. She heard Edmund calling out to her, telling her to swim faster, a quick glance behind her told her to start swimming for her life.

The ship, the same one from the painting, was coming towards them at an alarming rate. Swimming as fast as she could, she took notice that there was no shore nearby. No buoy for rest or any other signs of land life. Just four children in an open ocean, swimming away from a once painted ship. Kathleen began to wonder how long they would be able to swim before the editable.

"Kathleen!" a voice interrupted her horrid thoughts, "Kathleen! It's okay! We're alright!" It was Edmund's calling back to her. She turned carefully and noticed a scuffed man swimming towards her.

"You're all right now, miss." he yelled over the water, "You're all right. You're safe in Narnian waters."

Out of instinct, she grabbed on to his shoulder for support. She tried to breathe evenly, but it ended in a coughing fit. She was sure she needed help to keep herself afloat, but she also needed it for the support of his words. "'Narnian waters'"? Could she really be in such a place? The place she heard Eustace utter about in annoyance? The place where Edmund and Lucy would reminisce about when they thought no one is listening? The very place she dreamed about going the second she heard of it?

She turned to look for Lucy and her brother. Lucy was already being put next to a sturdy rope, still and afloat, meaning that there some sorta platform below her left. She also saw a young man, older than herself, helping Lucy at her side.

"Come, miss," said the scuffed man, "The sooner we all get on the Dawn Treader, the better on our skin," he said as he encouraged her to swim forward. She did just that but grown in confusion as she heard Eustace wails from behind.

"I want to go back to England! I was to go back to England!" His voice was sharp and could be heard over the splashes in the ocean he was making. Kathleen felt terrible for the poor man who was helping him.

Kathleen reached the waiting side of the ship as Lucy had been pulled up by the set of ropes on the pedestal. She would have been in awe if it hadn't been for the ocean water going up to her nose and mouth. She tried to subdue the coughing, but it was harder to hold it in while trying to stay afloat.

Edmund must have seen her struggling, because once the pedestal came back to the water, he yelled out, "She's up next!" This caused her to turn to him. If the details were indeed all true, then as a King of Narnia, shouldn't he go up first? Also, in all fairness, he did reach the pedestal before she did.

Kathleen turned to the awaiting platform then back at Edmund, "Together." she said in a difficult attempt to not swallow any more water than she already has. Edmund had turned up to the ship then back at Kathleen and nodded.

With the help of the men in the water, who were mostly helping Kathleen, the two sixteen-year-olds were standing by each other on the narrow platform.

"You may want to hold on with both hands, miss." said the man that was helping Edmund. Out of fear of losing balance, she put her feet with the heels touching and toes pointed out. Edmund had one hand on each side of the rope while Kathleen put both of hers on the side she was on, closest to the ship.

"Well, how safe is- Woah!" before Kathleen could finish, Edmund and herself were pulled out of the water and pulled to the side of the deck. Two men with hooks pulled on the rope and helped the two off the platform. The moment Kathleen stepped on deck, she let out a few more coughs, then it was as if all her focus went to her sight. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She saw Edmund treat the man who helped Lucy as if he was an old friend, and perhaps he was.

The craftsmanship of the ship was beautiful. The redwood that held the ship together was polished and fine. The mast that blew in the wind was rich purple with a crest of lions placed on the center.

Then there was the crew. Not only were their humans, but there were fauns, dwarfs, and even minotaurs. This was it. This is probably what she was feeling about earlier. As if something was arriving. She never thought it would be her. The more Kathleen kept turning her in try to gather the environment around her, the more she felt like she would snap her neck and she almost did when she heard screaming coming from behind her.

It seemed that Eustace had finally been brought on the deck of the ship, but he looked as though he was fighting with a creature above him. "Don't touch me!" he screamed. "Get that thing off me!"

Kathleen jogged and leaned down at his level to try and calm him down. As predicted, it was to no avail. Eustace continued to squirm as he shoved the creature off him. It was then Kathleen discovered that it was a mouse. It was larger than the average pest in Cambridge, but none the less, Eustace and Kathleen were the only ones who seemed concerned.

Eustace began to choke out the water from his lungs. When Kathleen started to rub his back, he was startled, but widen his eyes when he realized who it was. He then pointed furiously to where he had thrown the mouse. "That giant rat thing just tried to claw my face off!" he shouted in her face.

Now Kathleen figured that this was most likely not the case. In all the instances where she heard of Narnia, there has never been a case where there had been anything bad. That was one of the reasons she wanted to see Narnia for herself. It didn't seem like a place where nothing bad could happen.

She was about to try and calm down Eustace again, but someone else beat her to it, and that someone was what Eustace described as the "rat thing."

"I was merely trying to expel the water from your lungs, sir." the rat said as if it was obvious.

The Scrubb and Lewis children widened their eyes and quickly stood up. Kathleen had never been more surprised in her life.

Eustace turned to Kathleen and pointed again, "It talked!" Eustace began to stutter, "Did you see..." he turned to Kathleen and she just nodded, lost for words. "anyone one just hear that? It- It just talked!"

"He always talks," said the man who helped get Kathleen out of the water.

The man who stood next to Edmund had his arms crossed looked over at the two children who still stood in shock, "Actually, it's getting him to shut up that's the trick." the older man said, causing the ship's men to laugh.

"The moment there is nothing to be said, Your Highness," the mouse teased back, "I promise you, I will not say it."

Kathleen stood there gob stopped. She had a difficult time processing the conversation in front of her. She was almost one hundred percent certain that the man next to Edmund was the Prince-now-King she heard them talk about or at least some kind of royalty. And here he was, talking back to a mouse and vice versa.

Meanwhile, Eustace began to shout, "Don't know what kind of prank this is, but I want to wake up right now!"

Prank? Surely Eustace couldn't believe all this was just some elaborate way to prank him, did he? Kathleen stole a quick glaze at Edmund, who seemed as annoyed as she was while in her tutoring session. Normally, Kathleen wouldn't put it past Edmund to do such a thing in order to get a reaction out of his cousin, but this was too far planned out.

Eustace continued to shout at the crew member's using terms that they likely didn't understand. This caused them to chuckle, upsetting Eustace even further. He was on the verge of tears and hastily walked past Kathleen and the crew. "I demand to know!" he shouted at some of the crew, who just seemed to be amused, "Just were in the blazes am I?"

And unfortunately for Eustace, he did get his answer, just not from whom he expected it to be from. "You're on the Dawn Treader," said one of the minotaur's, "the fastest ship in Narnia's navy." And with that, Eustace fainted, causing an uproar of laughter from the crew.

Kathleen would have caught him, but the giant black-furred creature standing a few feet in front of her made her stare in awe. The minotaur looked at Kathleen then to the supposed King who was walking towards them. "Was it something I said?" he asked.

The young man huffed a laugh and asked the minotaur to see to him. The minotaur obeyed and chuckled softly once he saw the sight of Eustace on the floor.

Kathleen replayed the events in her head and grin madly.

If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.

"Men," the young man's voice rose about the crew. He climbed a quarter of the stairs that were on the other side of the ship. He turned to face his crew, "Behold our castaways. Edmund the Just and Lucy the Valiant," Kathleen's smile grew at the titles as he continued, "High King and Queen of Narnia."

At this moment, everyone else on the ship took a knee. She could perfectly see Edmund and Lucy taking their titles in as if hearing them was a beautiful memory. They look on their faces told that they were more than happy, and Kathleen could believe it.

When Edmund and Lucy saw Kathleen standing above the crowd, struck with awe, they became somewhat bashful. Kathleen let a small laugh and shrugged her shoulders and threw her arms out energetically as if saying "why not". She bowed her head and took one knee as the rest of the crew. She could hear the Pevensie children laugh as well.

The crew and Kathleen rose from their knee. Most of the crew went up the greet Edmund and Lucy while the others went back to work on the ship. Kathleen stood by, not wanting to disrupt their happiness, and stared at the ocean surrounding them. How was it that not even ten minutes ago, they were in Lucy's room in Cambridge and now they stood on a ship in another world? The idea is impossible, and yet, here they were.

Kathleen hugged herself as the wind blew against her soaked dress. She noticed how drenched she truly was. The wind didn't help in the sense of the fast sailing ship. The cold air hit her face, but choose to ignore it.

"Kathleen," Lucy's cautiously called her over. She used one hand to wipe her face from the water dripping from her hair and meet Lucy halfway, along with her brother and friend in tow. "Kathleen, this is Caspian." Caspian nodded and reached out his hand, "He's our friend, as well as the King of Narnia."

Kathleen pressed her lips together as her eyes widen. She bowed her head as he took her hand. She put her foot in an over retire position, which was one foot out, and her back foot crossed behind her, extended slight, "Your Majesty."

She could hear him chuckle, "There is no need for that. You may simply call me Caspian."

Kathleen rose from her position, taken back by his words. "As you wish." She smiled and crossed her arms tightly around herself, feeling the wind once more.

"You know," Edmund said grabbing her attention, "you're taking all this surprisingly well."

Kathleen looked at her feet, hiding her smile, then rose her head to the recently confirmed royals. "This is just like the novels I've read. Kings and Queen of a distant land, with talking animals and mythical creatures. It's all just..." she trailed looking once again at the entirety of the ship, not really knowing the right words to say.

Edmund grinned, "Impossible to believe?"

"Unimaginable?" Lucy said while wiping her face with the towel wrapped around her.

Kathleen shook her head, "Absolutely brilliant." she said, causing the other's to raise an eyebrow, "This is everything I've dreamed it could be." She gave a sigh, followed by a small shudder from the wind.

"Are you cold?" asked Caspian.

Before she could respond, Edmund took off his towel and offered it to Kathleen, "Here," he said, "take mine."

Kathleen hugged herself tighter, "Are you sure." she said looking at the towel in Edmunds' hand, "Won't you be cold yourself?"

He scoffed slightly and walked to Kathleen wrapping the towel around her shoulder, "I think I'll be fine for a while." He said while looking at Caspian.

Caspian nodded, "Of course," he said while looking around at his crew, "I sure a few of the crew will have some clothing to spare."

Kathleen hugged the towel around her tight, using her grip to wipe the water that her hair was dripping onto her face. She also used the towel to hide the blush creeping up on her cheeks. When she left the bakery earlier that morning, she let her hair loose. She was starting to regret it, feeling her wet hair stick to the back of her dress.

Caspian motioned for the younger children to follow him. He was leading them up the stairs that he announced the arrival of the "castaways".

"Kathleen," he asked while walking up the stairs. Kathleen almost didn't hear him from walking behind him and Lucy. "How is it that you know Edmund and Lucy?"

Kathleen took a second to answer, "Well," she began, "I tutor their cousin, Eustace." Now, she really just wanted to say that she was friends with the Pevensie, but it seemed an unfair title if Ed and Lucy didn't see her like that. Since she barely talks to them and usually only say hello when they pass each other in the hall. Those were nothing more than small conversations. She saw that the Caspian was in thought as if putting together pieces in a puzzle. "The boy who fainted."

He stopped at the doorway of the room. He turned to look at Kathleen in full seriousness, "May Aslan have mercy on your soul."

As they walked into the new room, Kathleen felt somewhat defendant. "He's not that bad. He's a good person when he's reading, or trying to figure out a set of equations."

She knew that those words weren't a compelling argument for the boy that wasn't there but still believe it wholeheartedly. She was trying to think of another reason for the spoiled boy, but Edmund had walked by her and spoke, "So only when he's not talking."

Kathleen was about to say something, but knowing that it would only prove Edmund right, she closed her mouth, making the three around her laugh.

"All right," Caspian said in a chuckle, "Lucy and Kathleen can stay up here and dry while Edmund and I ask if any crew members for spare clothes."

Everyone nodded with a plan. Once the boys were out of the room, Kathleen used that towel that Edmund had given her to dry her hair as much as she can. She noticed Lucy was doing the same thing. They took off their shoes and socks and put them by the window of the room. It looked like a bedroom with a fireplace and cupboards. Kathleen saw the youngest Pevensie wearing a grin.

Kathleen couldn't help herself, "You seem happy to be here."

Lucy laughed, "It's a little obvious, isn't it.

Kathleen nodded. She pressed her lips together as she had a thought. "Lucy," she said while looking at the flooring of the room, "Won't your Aunt and my mother worry about where we went off to.

Lucy continued to dry herself off with the towel, "Not really," she said as she dried her feet, "time works differently here in Narnia."

Kathleen squinted at Lucy, "How so?"

Lucy began to tell the instances on the other two times her siblings and herself entered the world of Narnia. In those instances, when they returned, it was as though no time past at all. Even when they stayed in Narnia for fifteen years, no time had changed in our world. But as one year passed between the first and second adventure, over one thousand years had passed in Narnia. Now, over a year had passed in their world while only three had passed in Narnia. Time works strangely in Narnia.

Kathleen could see a small frown on Lucy as she shared some of her adventures with her siblings in the first few years that they were in Narnia. When Edmund and herself had already been through at every age as they were now. Kathleen didn't know if she should ask Lucy to stop or keep going with her storytelling, but thankfully Caspian and Edmund had knocked on the door.

"Come in," Lucy said, squinting when she heard her voice crack slight.

The boys had entered the room, each holding an arm full of clothes.

"These might be a little big," Caspian said, "We tried to find clothing that didn't fall at your knees." Caspian had bought his clothes for Lucy as Edmund bought his for Kathleen. She noticed they both had towels around their necks.

"We didn't know your measurement," Edmund while passing the clothes to Kathleen, "These are the best we could do."

Kathleen took the clothes from his arm and examined the off-white shirt they provided along with the other articles of clothing. There was a navy blue pair of trousers as well and a dark red vest that was slightly more eccentric in design. She was positive it was the same style as what the rest of the crew had, but it had a design on the front that she didn't see them wear. In Edmund's other hand, there was a leather brown belt with boots to match. She smiled at the loose top in her hand. "It's perfect."

Edmund smiled and Caspian spoke up, "Right then," he went over and put a hand over Edmund's shoulder, "how about we get you some dry clothes as well and not have you drip all over my ship."

"Right," Ed said in a chuckle. Together, the boys went off, leaving the girls once again.

As Kathleen gathered her new clothes altogether, she could see Lucy giving a knowing smile. "Your brother seems truly happy to be here, as well."

Lucy set her clothes on the chair opposite of Kathleen. "Something like that."