The morning that followed didn't start very well. First, none of the crew got much sleep. There was a plague of visions or bad dreams and no one could tell if it was one or the other. Next, Edmund had woken up Kathleen to go ask if there was any help needed in the kitchen, as promised. Yet sadly, the nausea and acidity in Kathleen's throat finally caught up to her, making her run out to the deck of the ship and vomit overboard.
She had gotten another two hours of sleep, which was hard to do even with the lack of snores. Instead, she listened to the storm die down. The Dawn Treader was now sailing in calm waters and blue skies. Unfortunately, this didn't help with the tension of the crew.
To start with the disappointment, the crew in charge of rations said they didn't need any help because there was nothing to help with. Rations had already been cut in half, and so did the help. As of now, their main concern is making sure no one is stealing food. They allowed Kathleen to help them search for food if they reach land.
"You mean 'when' we reach land," Kathleen corrected. The crew said nothing.
The morale had dropped, and now they weren't going to hide it. Kathleen asked if Edmund noticed, which he did, then asked if he knew any way to boost it. His idea had taken her off guard.
"You want us to duel?" Kathleen questioned. He couldn't be serious?
"I am. When Caspian and I did it, the whole crew gathered around to watch and cheered us along. Same with Reepicheep and Eustace. For us, it's a form of entertainment, and not to mention I think it's a perfect time to practice your dueling skills. You've been improving since before the storm."
Kathleen didn't listen to the last part of his sentence. Her mind was running back to the nightmare.
"I'll go easy on you." He playfully offered.
"No," Kathleen said a little too quickly. She huffed before continuing. "If we fight, it will be a fair fight."
Hesitant, Edmund nodded then led Kathleen to the main deck. He unsheathes the sword and waited for her to do the same.
As Kathleen did so, she went over every little step that Edmund and Caspian had taught her. Tight grip. Loose arm. Keep the blade up. Strength. Flexibility. Speed. Precise form. Fluid. Reactive. Balance. Force. Everything they had ever said to her, she reviewed it mentally while trying to ignore the symptoms of her recent expel. Her head felt foggy, but the rest of her body felt fine. Her stomach was in the smallest pain soon after it happened, but it disappeared after a few minutes. Edmund had given her water and hasn't left her side all morning. In another circumstance, Kathleen would have been bashful at the attention, but right now she left as though she couldn't move without Edmund breathing down her neck. She had to remind herself that she wasn't useless. That everything from the night before was just a dream. But still...
Once Kathleen was ready, she put up her blade with a tight grip. For a few moments, nothing happened. "Are you not going to strike?" she asked innocently.
"The first to strike is usually the one at the disadvantage," Edmund informed.
Kathleen smiled, "So I've heard." With this small distraction, she lunged forward hitting his sword to the side. He quickly tightened his grip and pulled the blade back in front of him. "I've also heard it's best to strike when the enemy is distracted."
"Well done," Edmund said slowly with a smirk. And then he lunged, watching Kathleen's mouth drop. Then the duel began. Like before, the crew had come down to watch, but this time, they seemed less amused. Nonetheless, they still instigated the teenagers into the fight.
"Don't be going easy on her, your Majesty."
"Hold nothin' back!"
"Put him in his place!"
This did make Kathleen more forceful with her strikes. She had yet to do something to be in the offensive position. Every defense was redirected back to Edmund, but she aimed it away from anywhere vital. They had stayed in the same spot at the began. Edmund had purposely moved around to stay away from the others, but he could see something driving Kathleen to go further. Each strike stronger than before.
With each swing, he took a step towards Kathleen, making her step back on instinct. As they had gotten closer to the railing, Edmund brought his sword over his head and swung it down to Kathleen's head, making her bring up the short sword to block the blow. She pushed the weight off her feet and into her arms, but Edmund was doing the same. If you hadn't already seen them fighting, you could say that they were using each other's weight to keep themselves balance on the swords. The other knew that the one in front of them wasn't going to shift weight because if they did, an advantage would be open. Their faces were inches apart.
"Caspian said you were good at defense," Edmund said, grunting slightly.
"Did he now?" Kathleen strained as she ignored the side of the blade pulling into her hand. "Anything else?"
Edmund held his ground, "That you were a fast learner and observant. All of which I already knew of."
"Really?" Kathleen said, pushing more of her weight. At this, she had an idea. All of this had been played in her head before. Back in the church at the Lone Islands.
She gulped and very subtly loosened the pressure of her arms, making Edmund easily push his weight of the sword onto hers. Just as before, she used something off to the side as a spot to turn, which happened to be one of the rafters on the other side of the ship. By putting more pressure on her arms just for a second, she put one leg behind her and span out of the sword connection, making Edmund fall flat on his face.
"Did he also say that I know how to keep my balance?" Kathleen said while catching her breath. She smiled as Edmund sat up and rubbed his jaw.
"No. Figured that one on my own." He looked up to her and smiled when he saw her offering her hand.
Kathleen laughed through her nose. "And that was just now, I'm assuming?" she grunted slightly as she helped him up.
"No, " he said, hand still holding to hers. "I always knew. I knew balance is a big part of the ballet, so I figured I would give you the chance to use it in a duel."
Kathleen froze, slowly dropping her smile. She let go of Edmund's arm and retracted her hand to her chest. "Wait. Give me the chance?" She put both hands on the hilt of the sword that was now facing down. "Wha-? Edmund," she paused and lowered her voice. Her mind was more clouded than before. "Did you? You didn't let me win, did you? Just now?" Edmund pressed his lips together, giving Kathleen her answer. Her head went dizzy. She whispered harshly "I told you not to go easy on me."
Edmund put his sword back in its sheath. "I wasn't going easy. I just meant to give you an opportunity to be prepared and use the skills that you know. That way, if it ever happens-"
Kathleen cut him off, voice still in a harsh whisper, "The enemy won't give me an 'opportunity', Edmund! And it already has happened. Twice! They didn't know or care if I had seven years of dance or that it was my first time in a fight with a sword. All they wanted to do was hurt me. Nothing else mattered to them."
Edmund closed his mouth tightly before he spoke again, "This world is not a safe haven. There are people who can really hurt you, Kathleen."
She sighed hotly, "I know that now! I do. Yet here I am, still pushing forward. I'm not going to keep being someone who can't fend for themselves. I'm not useless!"
His voice became softer as he dropped his head, "I never wanted you to think that you were."
She looked at the top of his head and sighed. Taking a step back, she whispered one sentence then began to walk to the cabin. "You just did."
Kathleen ignored the shuffles and murmurs behind her as she said her way to the main gallery door. Had she just caused a scene on the ship? She was sure that she kept her voice low, hoping that Edmund could only hear her, even if she was barely audible to herself. Still, that doesn't mean the rest of the crew couldn't see the tension that was forming between the two teenagers.
As Kathleen walked through the hallway, she entered Caspain's Cabin. Immediately after entering, she closed the door behind her and pressed her right ear against the door, listening to the noise on the other side. She couldn't make anything out. It was like her head was underwater while the others were trying to reach her, but she couldn't make anything out. She fidgeted with her vest. Why had she said that? Why had she said that to Edmund? For those brief moments, it was as if someone else was using her mouth to speak. Like she had no control and could only watch. Yet at the same time, she knew they were her thoughts. Those thoughts were going through her head and she couldn't stop them from running. No thinking, just saying the first that came to her mind. And more so, her head still felt dizzy, but it wasn't the same as when she had seasickness from the ship. It felt worse.
Maybe she caught something? A sickness going around. Or maybe she overreacting and it was just another wave of seasickness. Two weeks of being tossed like an antagonist sidekick had to have some consequences. Right?
She huffed to herself while rubbing her temple as she entered the now "Ladies" cabin, even though she still slept in the port. As she turned around, she noticed two pairs of eyes staring at her. Gael had been helping Lucy with smaller tasks on the ship. As of now, they were sewing a few items of clothing that had been damaged during the storm. Kathleen straightened her back and lowered her arms that were pressed against the door and walked towards the two ladies who were sitting at the table.
"Wow," she breathed. "Uh, you two really have your work cut out for you." On the table were shirts, trousers, and a few socks piled high next to two younger girls. "The storm did a lot worse than I thought."
Lucy nodded, "Yes. You should see how many socks had holes in them."
"Too many to count, I bet." Kathleen had been fidgeting with her vest again. "Would you, uh, like any help? Three hands better than two," she offered with a shrug.
Lucy thought for a moment, "Sure. Gael, would you please get needles and thread from the crates below the deck. Tell Wilter that I sent you."
Gael smiled and hopped off her chair, skipping with glee to be of help. Once the door was closed behind her, Lucy looked to Kathleen with concern.
"What happened?" The Valiant Queen asked, getting right to the point.
"What? I didn't- I mean. What do you mean 'what happened'?" Kathleen's voice went out of breath with Lucy's stare.
"I mean, what happened? I could tell something happened right when you walked in." she paused.
Kathleen didn't say anything as she sat in a chair next to Lucy.
Lucy put her hand on top of Kathleen, "Did it have to do with last night? We heard you scream."
Kathleen pulled her hand away and immediately said, "No!" then she blinked. "Maybe. I-," she sighed loudly, "It just made me think, and then Edmund had done something when we were out on deck practicing and it made me think even more, but I-." She paused and let out another sigh, picking at the seams of her sleeve. "I may have gotten us into a little bit of a row."
Lucy nodded in understanding, "If it was something he said, it wasn't attended to hurt you. Edmund is not that well with expressing how he feels with words."
"Of course not," Kathleen grumbled, "He's a boy." Lucy widens her eye and lets out a laugh, making Kathleen join in, feeling relaxed for just a moment. "Though, I can't be one to say. Being that I'm no good at it either. And it wasn't something he said. It was something he did."
Lucy leaned on her forearms, "Edmund wouldn't hurt you on purpose."
"I know," said Kathleen, crossing her arms. She paused for a moment. "He doesn't seem like a person who would hurt another for personal gain," she sighed again. "It's just... It's just I don't think he realized what he did. How it hurt me. He didn't apologize after he saw I was upset, yet I feel fuzzy about it, and not the good kind. Like there's something in my head that I can't get out. I'm a little surprised at myself if I'm being honest." She put her elbows on the table, "I'm just glad he didn't follow me to the cabin. Gives me time to figure it out."
With that, there was a knock and the door flew open.
"Lucy! They were able to find two spare needles, but they said that we are running low on thread."
Kathleen out a breath she didn't know she was holding. The little girl hurriedly walked over to Lucy, waiting for the Queen to answer.
"This is more than enough. Thank you, Gael." The Valiant Queen said to the little one. Gael beamed as she skipped back to her chair, going back to her task with a smile on her face.
The three of them spent the next few hours sewing with small conversations on the side. Kathleen would chime in every once in a while or when something was questioned to her, but other than that she was quiet. She was grateful that Gael had a fascination with Lucy. Most of the time it was just her asking Lucy what had it been like during the Golden Age of Narnia and what was the differences between her world and their own. Gael was surprised when she heard that they didn't have any talking beast in their world.
Their conversations ended when there was a knocking at the door. It was Wilter informing them that land had been spotted, and a landing party had begun preparation.
Lucy gave a small quick questioning look to Kathleen, who nodded in return. She couldn't hide from Edmund. Especially on a ship.
Kathleen went to help the kitchen staff load supplies to take on the island. The crew didn't seem hopeful from what they could see. The island was volcanic. A volcano was smoldering behind the rocky mountains and green was nowhere in sight. Still, the crew packed longboats for the row.
The kitchen crewmen's boat had already been filled so Kathleen went in the longboat with her usual companions. As Edmund and the others began to load in, she stared at seaming in her vest, too guilty to say anything.
Reepicheep had been on another boat and had not noticed the awkward silence, "I doubt the lords stopped here, my liege," the mouse called from his boat to the other once they rowed closer to the island. "There's no sign of anything living."
Kathleen turned her body around. She was facing her back to the island. The only one who was facing the right way was Lucy, so she could steer the boat in the right direction.
Caspian turned his head around as he continued to row the boat. "Right," he called back. "Well, once we get ashore, take your men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues."
"Hang on, you mean the five of us." Eustace voiced, causing everyone in the boat to turn to him questioningly. Even Kathleen looked up from distraction to raise an eyebrow at the boy. "Come on, please don't send me back to the rat."
"I heard that," Reepicheep said annoyed.
Eustace turned his head and quietly mumbled, "Big Ears."
"I heard that, too."
The rest of the companions in the boat smiled or chuckled at this.
Kathleen smiled at this but looked back at the needlework in her clothing. She cleared her throat. "Actually, it will just be the three of you. I promised the crewmen in the kitchen that I would help look for food once we found land."
Caspian turned his head around to Kathleen then to Edmund, who was rowing right behind him. Edmund hadn't said anything either since boarding the boat. His self-esteem had gone low, and he felt he deserved it. He had no intention to hurt Kathleen, either physically and emotionally. He thought he would show Kathleen about using experiences and techniques that could come in use when she least expected it. Soon after she walked away, he realized that it may have seemed that he let her win, which he knew was the exact opposite of what she wanted. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that the fight might have looked like an insult to her skill, which was something we never intended to do. Kathleen was still upset at him and he knew that he would have to respect her distance from him, no matter how long he wanted it for.
"Very well then," the King said as they continued to row to the unknown island.
