When Kathleen told Edmund and Caspian that she wanted to be part of the landing party, they were both hesitant. She had heard them saying that the island looked inhabited, which Caspian tried to contain a quite worrisome look. Still, she used this information to her advantage, saying how they would have little to fear if that was the case, and how it would be kind for her to stretch legs, seeing how they will probably be on the ship for a while. That once leaving whatever the current situation holds on the Lone Island, they would not know how long they would be on the ship. This made Caspian agree, but Edmund was still hesitant.

Lucy had met up with them at that moment, thinking the same thing her brother was. Kathleen explained again and Lucy had agreed soon after.

Kathleen scrunched her lips, "I assume we wouldn't be alone on this trip. You wouldn't have to watch over me if we were."

Edmund looked out at the island then back to Kathleen. "Yes, but for the unlikely case, you still don't how to swordfight."

Caspian crossed his arms, "Well, that's because someone tried to show off." Edmund turned a light hue of pink that went unnoticed.

"You two already showed me some maneuvers. I'm-I'm a fast learner. And I still say it's like dancing." Kathleen didn't necessarily look at the other's when saying this. She was afraid she would lose the little insight of confidence that she had if she were to look at the expression of the royals' faces.

Caspian smiled toward Edmund, "She'll be fine, Ed. Once we dock, she won't leave our side."

Edmund looked at Caspian then Kathleen. She tried to hold his gaze, but she could feel the prickles in her neck. She gave a soft and quick smile instead, hoping he would catch it. "Okay," He said after a moment, his voice softening. "You'll dock with us, and once we're on land, please, stay close to us. Just in case."

Kathleen's eyes widen. Turning her head up, she couldn't keep her animated grin at bay. She was, however, able to keep herself from jumping up and down on the ship. What sort of homes and towers would the town of Narrowhaven have? If the town was indeed uninhabited, would there be abanded items or did the islanders take everything with them? And what about the islanders themselves? Were they Narian creatures? Humans? Both? So many questions and wonders bounced through Kathleen's head, it became harder and harder to hold herself calm. Edmund seemed to notice her excitement as a smile grew on his own lips, though he tried to hide it by brushing his thumb over his bottom lip. Kathleen would have blushed if she wasn't so excited.

"Well, if she's going then I'm going too."

Edmund dropped his smile and his shoulders, "No. Absolutely not."

Nobody heard Eustace reach behind them at the stairs. "What's says you can say yes to her, and no to me?" Eustace gestured between his tutor and himself. "Just because she reads those fictional books, doesn't mean she knows anything. I want to connect the British Consul, and go home!"

If Edmund had thought that saying no to Kathleen was hard, he was in for a whole academic debate with Eustace. Luckily, Lucy beat him to it.

"You're right Eustace." The four older people next to her stared at the youngest girl in shock. "When we dock, we have a situation to figure out. Once we are done, we'll help you find a way to connect the Consul."

Even Eustace was in surprise, though he didn't voice it. Instead, he straightened out his shirt and said, "That's more like it." He nodded and looked at the island.

"Come on, I'll help you get ready and fill you in. We leave in ten minutes." She walked away with him.

The older three watched in surprised silence as they could barely hear an equally shocked mumble coming from the young boy. "T-ten minutes?"

In the silence, Kathleen started to put the pieces together. Not looking at the boys, she thought her theory out loud, "She probably wants to keep an eye on him, too. Make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Or maybe to have him acknowledge the idea that they aren't in England anymore. Kathleen noticed the way that Lucy spoke to Eustace, it wasn't demanding. Neither of the Pevensies spoke with conviction, but with sometimes better. Sadly, Kathleen couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Maybe...," Edmund said as he watched his sister and cousin walk to the longboats. He looked to Caspian, "I think we should tell our cousin as little as possible. No need for him to run his mouth with panic."

Caspian nodded, "Lucy would know what to say to him." Kathleen had been looking towards the island with her arms crossed as Caspian called to her, making her straighten her back. "Come with me so can get you a weapon to defend yourself. Just in case." Kathleen noticed he added the last part hastily while looking at Edmund. She nodded and tugged the bottom of her vest, following the King.

Caspian led the way to the armory in silence. Kathleen still wasn't completely sure what kind of person Caspian was. So far, the words that came to Kathleen's mind were playful and loyal. She tried to remember the times his name was mentioned when she would eavesdrop on Edmund and Lucy. Apparently, he and Peter didn't get along at first. They had different views on how to go about a situation. Caspian was an observer, much like Kathleen. Her theory about him was that he would rather wait to get a hundred percent of the information of a situation rather than eighty percent and put the first step to effect.

Since this was the first time Kathleen had ever held a sword, Caspian had decided to begin with something light-weight. He led her to the row of swords that came in different sizes. He went on one end, the one where the smallest swords were, and worked his way up, contemplating the match for the girl. He would pass one to Kathleen and she would test the weight. In the beginning, it was so light that it could be blown right out of the hand, or so short that the only damage she would be able to do as if she was right in front of the enemy.

In the end, they had decided on a short sword. The blade was two feet long while the handle was about six inches. The handle was slightly thicker than the blade, making it sturdy in Kathleen's hand. She slowly glided the sword in the air in front of her, feeling the fluid motion through her arm. She maneuvered her way to the stances that Caspian had shown her. Her feet automatically shifted to an open fourth position. One foot slightly in front of the other with her heels line up.

"You are a dancer."

Kathleen widened her eyes, forgetting that she wasn't the only one in the room. She brought the sword to her side a turned to look at the King. "Uh- yes."

He nodded, "Yes, Edmund mentioned something of it." He looked at the sword that Kathleen was holding. "Your grip is too loose. If someone were to come to you, the blade would fly right out of your hand."

Kathleen blinked rapidly. Edmund had mentioned to Caspian about her dancing? Of course, he had mentioned her to Caspian. He had two strangers on his ship. He probably asked Edmund a little about them, to make sure they weren't complete nutters. Though, she was busy processing mentally to notice the King had picked up his sword and angle it to the girl. The glint of the weapon made her jump back, bumping into the row of swords behind her.

"You sure you want to do this?"

There was no hiding her nervousness. Edmund was right. Maybe it was more different than dancing than she was prepared to say. Having someone point a weapon at yourself brings a whole mess of nerves and worries.

Her breath got caught in her throat. She forced herself to look at Caspian's face and croaked out a yes. He was more hesitant than before. He took a step back and lowered his sword.

"Tighten your grip on the hilt, but keep your arms loose. You must become part of the sword."

Kathleen did as she was told. She used the stance he taught her earlier. While trying to perfect her feet, she almost didn't Caspian throwing his sword down at her. Almost.

She dodged right in time. Getting ready to shout at him right before he did it again. "Up!" He swung down again, and she did as she was told. She used both her hands to hold the hilt and blocked his attack. The force shocked her to her toes. She was in awe but had to quickly erase the sensation as he came down again harder this time. Again, she was able to block it. She felt the force vibrate to her shoulders. "Be forceful!" Again, he swung. And again, making it a close call. She noticed she was farther away from the row of swords and closer to the door. She tried to breathe normally, but it was difficult. The exhaustion and anxiety were coming in at once.

She didn't know if Caspian was going easy on her. Her arms were already getting tired, but she pushed herself through. At this certain blow, he had come down, aiming straight for her head, but she didn't dodge. Instead, she stood firm and positioned her blade above her head with both arms slightly bent, but firm. The force had made her go into a lunge. She could feel Caspian power down on her, but she still held it. Gathering the muscle strength she had, she used her legs to push herself up and her arms to push Caspian's sword back. Balanced.

Caspian had stumbled back, only slightly from Kathleen's force. "Good," he said with steady breathing. "That will help if anything, but you will still be at our side at all times. Just remember to stand your ground."

Kathleen nodded, jealous that she couldn't breathe a word out.

He put the sword he was using in his sheaf and then gave one to Kathleen. She was first confused about where to put the blade down, but then just rested next to the wall by the door. She didn't realize how much they had moved. While wrapping the belt around her waist, she thought of how to make sure to plant her feet if anything were going to happen on the Island.

"Is there any reason why you want to learn how to fight?" Caspian asked. His voice drifted, indicating that he was somewhere else in the armory.

"I thought I told you," she said, putting the sword in the sheaf. "I'm not entirely sure what Narnia has on its island. I want to be prepared."

"Besides that." His voice echoed. She couldn't see him but she did hear squeaks of hinges from somewhere around her. "If I may be so bold, does it have to do with Edmund? I saw the way he looked at you."

Kathleen was extremely happy that she couldn't see where Caspian was. Her face was beet red. The way that? That he looked at her? What?

"I think he's more than a little worried about what would happen to you if you got hurt. You not being from this world, that is."

Kathleen let out a breath, now understanding. She knew what he was referring to. She had always tried to be stronger than she looked, especially mentally. While being a tutor and taking ballet classes and helping out in the bakery in her free time, Kathleen didn't have time to socialize with students from her school, much less with students of her age. She would try to befriend people in her ballet class, but after denying almost all social gatherings outside of the studio due to her other commitments, the other students started to ignore her. To them, it made her seem snobby, or that she was too good for them, which was not the case. It bugged her at first, and her family noticed, which is probably why they were so close now. Jacob was probably Kathleen's only friend. When he was shipped out into the war with her father, Kathleen's demeanor changed again.

She cried the first few nights. Her mother did too, but neither of them would say so to each other. Her mum would try to be strong while Kathleen would say she was alright. They were trying so hard to support each other. They both cried when they were asked to bake a "Welcome Home" cake. Not in front of the customers of course. After the baking, Kathleen saw her mother staring at her, like was a porcelain doll. She hated it. It made her remember everything that was happening.

She couldn't talk to her students about it and definitely couldn't say anything to her mother. It stressed her out to the point where it was shown in her dancing. The instructor would compliment her emotions in her dance, yet she couldn't speak about where they were coming from to anyone. One day, when her instructor explained how to use emotions and carry them throughout a routine, a realization came to her. The stress she was holding in was building inside her. If her instructor could see this, and yet know nothing about her home life, surely that means her mother could see it as well. And, what if, at home, instead of keeping quiet, she became an anchor for her mom? Have her mother tell her anything she needs to. Be strong like her mother was trying to be. If she could take the weight from her, and then release her own during rehearsals, then everybody wins. Right?

The answer wasn't definite, but her theory was playing out well so far. Kathleen began small by taking more chores to distract herself. Then she soon took on grocery runs, buying the essentials they couldn't get from their garden. Then taking on more tutoring sessions to help pay for the bills and supplies. That's when she met Eustace and his family. Lucy and Edmund had already been staying at the Scrubb house for a long while. The first time she met them properly was actually a fond memory. Edmund had open the door and for the first ten minutes of the meeting, she thought that he was Eustace, seeing as the actual Eustace hadn't shown up yet. Apparently, he had been upstairs with his bug collection. Not the strangest thing that Kathleen had heard in that house. Kathleen was embarrassed but was happy to know that she would be in the same house as Edmund. Though soon, she began more to feel more embarrassed as the months went on.

The one chore that was the hardest to take on was the letters. At first, the postal service would bring them, but it would take her mother a while to open them. They would do it together, just in case. As the letters became less frequent, the stress had shown up again in her mother. It was on her way back from a tutoring session where Kathleen took it upon herself to make a detour at City Hall to see if there were any letters sent to their address. She took on that responsibility from then on.

She never admitted to her mum that she was just as scared as she was. She would put on a smile so her mother wouldn't have to worry. She needed to help her mother and show her that she could be strong enough for both of them, or at least try to be.

Kathleen didn't realize how long she stood silent until Caspian was in front of her again, carrying a different weapon in each hand. A crossbow and a sword. Kathleen didn't jump at the sight this time. "It's not too late to change your mind," Caspian said, mistaking her silence as hesitation for the idea of a fight.

She looked up at him, "You're right," she let out a breath, "that is bold." She stood straighter, taking in her posture that she had done in the mirror many times before. "I want to do this, for me more than anyone."

"Well then," Caspian smiled, "Welcome to the Dawn Treader, sailor."

She smiled back at him. Sailor. She could get used to that.

They heard shouts and yells from the ship. Orders about longboats and weapons being ready.

"Are you ready?" Caspian asked as if testing the waters for his newest crewmember.

She had that small bubble in her stomach again. Not from the boat rocking, that's for sure. It was the same as she had with Edmund, but the bubble felt smaller. Should she test it? Grab it before it disappears?

She opened the door, still feeling the bubble inside her. She let the feeling warm up. "After you," then she felt the bubble grow. She then went into an open fourth position again, feet slightly in front of each other, and bowed her head, "Your Majesty."

He huffed out of laugh, "I see." He shook his head and walked past her, but not before turning back and saying, "You know, Edmund looks at you that same way you look at him." He then walked away, leaving a shocked Kathleen. Her bubble was gone, disappeared once again, all due to a single sentence about a boy.