Kathleen turned around in a jump at Caspian's voice. Edmund was a few feet in front of her while Caspian was further back, at least that what she had hoped as the Dragon made its appearance once again. Before she could let out a scream, she was pushed roughly down to the sand. With a grunt, she shielded her head from the golden claws that rose just above her. In the set of claws was a boy with raven back hair.
"EDMUND!" She screamed as she pushed herself off the ground and sprinted towards the incoming tides. "ED!" Kathleen watched as the Dragon flew its way towards the Dawn Treader then turned its way back to the island as if purposely taunting the crew the friend the beast had in its hands.
The Dragon disappeared to the same side of the island as it did before. When it did, Kathleen went in a panic. "Oh no." She felt like she was going to be sick. "Oh no!" She turned quickly to Caspain with uneven breaths. "What do we- What do we do? Edmund. He was- he..." She opened her mouth but nothing of sense was coming out.
Caspian went and put a hand on each of her shoulders. "We'll get him back. I promise we will get him back. Right now we have to signal the men. Tell them to come back ashore as soon as possible. Drinian will know what to do on the ship while we-"
"Where's Eustace?" Kathleen couldn't focus properly. Her mind was jumping from one thought to the next. When Caspian didn't answer she asked again. "Caspian? Caspain, where is Eustace?" Her thoughts had begun to go dark.
"I'm sorry." His eyes became glassy. "We found his belongings in a shallow gorge filled with treasure. We think he was tempted by what was in there. Something must have-"
She stopped him again, "Don't." She closed her eyes as her mouth went dry, now feeling dizzy. Her eyes watered, "Please don't finish that sentence." Her voice cracked slightly and she shook her head. "Just, wait..." A cry let out and she quickly held the rest in. "Please." A moment later another cry escape as her chest was quickly rising up and down. She closed her eyes tight, hoping that it will stop the horrible thoughts from coming. When she let out a breath, she realized she was sobbing.
She didn't know when it started or when Caspain put his arms around her shoulders. She just knew that she was crying on an island while Edmund was taken by a dragon against his will and Eustace was gone.
Had she lost them both? Had she lost them both in less than a day? She didn't want to lose anyone else. Jacob and her father now Edmund and Eustace. How could this have happened? How could any of this have happened? There was so much she wanted to tell Edmund, to share with him, and Eustace... He was so young. He just wanted to help Kathleen and she turned him away. Not in a polite way. In a way that was rude and selfish. Kathleen had been so heartbroken thinking that those were the last words she said to Eustace Clearance Scrubb.
Lucky they weren't.
From behind Caspian, beats of wind echoed. Caspian let Kathleen go as he stood up and pulled out his sword with Kathleen following in suit immediately after. She ignored her shaking hands as the Dragon appeared. In his claws was Edmund who was frankly waving his hands out in front of him.
Kathleen barely could hear him shout out the words, "Wait! wait!"
As the beast came closer, the King and the dancer could see Edmund more clearly. He looked exactly as he did minutes ago. How long had it been? Less than ten minutes most likely. The Dragon landed on its back legs as it carefully put Edmund back on the sandy beach. As Edmund jogged away from the creature, the beast dropped on its front arm. It took several steps back retreating to the rocks nearby before it raised one arm to his mouth, biting it.
"Ed!" Caspian gratefully called out, sword still raised.
"It's all right Caspian," Edmund said as he lowered the current King's sword. "It's him. He's-"
"You're alive," Kathleen had dropped her sword the moment she saw Edmund walking towards them. He was calm, which surprised her. He wasn't dashing to get away from the beast behind him. He looked at it as if it was an old friend, not that mattered to Kathleen at the moment. To her, all the matter was that Edmund was alive and well. That is what made her ran up to him in a tight embrace. "Thank goodness your all right!"
Edmund was surprised at the hug. He wasn't expecting it. He didn't know how to react until he felt Kathleen's arms shaking on top of her shoulders. That's when he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist, closing in the embrace. Her face was pink and her cheeks were wetly stained when she slowly pulled away, but her trembling hands didn't leave her shoulders.
"I- we-" She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, "I thought I lost you, too." Her arms tensed up as she tried to squeeze him too tight. Kathleen could feel her throat tighten as she tried to catch her breath.
Edmund moved his hands from Kathleen's waist to her hands. He took a baby step back to see her properly. The under of her eyes were puffy and her cheeks now matched the color of strawberries. Her breathing had slowed but her hands her still shaking. It was at that moment Edmund realized that he never wanted to let her go. He squeezed her hands, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Kathleen nodded and looked at the sand beneath her. She let out a shaky breath, "Edmund. I know about Eustace- How are we- His mother! How are going to tell her?" Tears threatened to fall again. A headache began to form with how much she was holding them back.
"Hey," Edmund said softly, "It's all right. I found him." Kathleen snapped her head up, now looking face to face with the boy in front of her once again. "Well, actually he was the one who found me. Again."
A breath caught in Kathleen's throat as Caspian cut in with a rush, "Well, that's great! Where is he?"
Edmund didn't say anything. He dropped Kathleen's left hand and turned around, facing the dragon that sat behind them. The dragon was still biting its arm as if it had a flea.
"You're joking," Kathleen said in a breath. "Is that- Is that even possible?" Her legs felt like it was her first day on the Dawn Treader.
Thinking back with how the dragon was acting, it almost made sense. The dragon went to a location that it- he was familiar with. Eustace would want to come aboard the ship as soon as he realized he was different. He couldn't fit on the deck of the ship so he stood upon the mast, having it act as a stand and a shield. With the crew shooting at him, he must have been panicking out of his mind. He wasn't trying to rip the mast. He was holding on to it for his dear life.
As the boys talked about how to call the others back to, Kathleen slowly let go of Edmund's hand and made her way to the dragon. She had to be sure it was him. Some kind of confirmation to ease herself into believing that the big beast in front of her was the Eustace she tutored in mathematics. She needed something, anything, to say that it was him.
"Hey there," she said hesitantly as she reached a yard away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself when the dragon froze and stopped biting his arm. As he slowly pulled his arm away, Kathleen noticed what was bothering him. On his left arm was a golden cuff so tight, the curved edges dug into his skin.
His scales.
The dragon stared at Kathleen with wide eyes then turned its head, as if ashamed. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said before she let out a sniffle, "I left my sword over there." She used her left hand to point behind her as her arms still held on to her elbows. The dragon let out a huff through its nose and turned away. His following action surprised Kathleen more than she thought.
She let out a playful scoff and then another sniffle as she asked, "Did you just roll your eyes at me?" When the dragon looked down, not saying anything, she got her answer, "My goodness, you did, didn't you!" She let out a chuckle, "It is you. Eustace! You're alive!" She ran up to his stomach and pressed herself against his scaly chest. She felt his whole being move rigidly before she stepped away. "Right," she breathed, "Sorry. You were never really one for physical contact."
The Dragon- Eustace had a small smile on his face as she slowly backed away. Kathleen hadn't been aware of Edmund and Caspian successfully signaling the crew to come back ashore. Before long, Drinian, Lucy, Rhine, Gael, Reepicheep, and the minotaur Tavros had all reached the beach with the same loaded questions, which Edmund was able to somewhat provide.
"I'm fine. Honest, I am." Edmund said after Lucy asked if he was hurt for the third time. "And the dragon wasn't a dragon. It was Eustace!" As the others turned the Dragon Eustace, he was biting at the cuff on his arm again.
Kathleen was by his side, still slightly pink in the face but no longer wet from tears. Other than her glassy eyes, she has looked like herself again. She held a small smile watching Dragon Eustace try to get the jewelry off himself. The cuff didn't seem to budge. He growled in frustration as he roughly dragged his arm against the ground.
Edmund took a closer look at Dragon Eustace's arm, "He must have been tempted by the treasure." He turned to Kathleen as she held on to her vest. She frowned but nodded in understanding. Eustace being tempted by treasure made sense to her. She looked up to Dragon Eustace. That must have been his temptation.
Caspian shifted his weight, "Well, any knows that a dragon's treasure is enchanted." As he turned to the other's and was upheld by a snarl from Eustace and a raised eyebrow from Kathleen. He cleared his throat, "Well, anyone from here."
Kathleen playfully rolled her eyes and quickly followed it with a smile. She began to take a step towards Eustace but stopped when she noticed Lucy doing the same. The Valiant Queen looked at the older girl and nodded. Together they made their way to their friend as he hops uncomfortably on his arm and legs. Each girl made their way to Eustace's arm.
Kathleen took a step back to look at Eustace, "May we?" she asked. He was hesitant but reluctantly held out his arm further as he fixed his balance. She smiled and took a hold of one side of the cuff as Lucy took hold of another. "One the count of three," the older girl said as she looked up at the dragon. She turned to Lucy, "We'll start on one."
Lucy squinted her eyes for a moment and then widen. She quickly turned to Eustace and back to the girl next to her. She pressed her lips into a line then nodded.
"All right. Ready Eustace?" She called. When she heard a huff she called out, "One!" With that the two girls pulled the cuff right off, resulting in everyone hearing an angry roar. Kathleen then pressed her lips together, trying to hold back a smile. Lucy didn't bother. Kathleen gave the rest of the hold to Lucy, knowing that she will have a better idea of what to do with the enchanted jewelry than she would.
"Is there any way to change him back?" Edmund asked in a calm yet desperate manner.
Caspian leaned back on one leg and rose his eyebrows for a second, "Not that I know of." He turned to Drinian who didn't say anything.
Eustace darted his eyes back and forth between his cousins and the Narnians. Silence.
Edmund looked to his transformed family member, "Aunt Albert will not be pleased."
Eustace let out a huff. He then dropped his now cuff-less arm to the ground, disappointed and angry.
Reepicheep took a few steps to Eustace, with his hands sheepishly closer together. "Sorry about the hand, old boy," the mouse apologized, "I can be a little overzealous at times," Eustace replied with a low growl.
"The boats are ready, Sire," Tavros called from shore.
Kathleen and the Royals looked at each other for what to do next. Lucy stated that they couldn't leave Eustace on the island alone, causing Drinian to point out to her that they couldn't bring him on board. As Eustace looked to everyone nervously, Caspian said for Drinian and the other crew members to take one boat back to the ship, leaving one for the Royals, Kathleen, Reepicheep, Rhince, and his daughter on the island. The fisherman would have gone back to the ship, but Gael insisted on staying with Lucy.
The plan was to stay until morning to figure out how to move on with the now Dragon Eustace. There was no way he could rest on any part of the ship due to his size and there was still no sighting of the Blue Star. They wouldn't be able to tell how much longer the ship and crew could go on but patience was wearing thin.
The night started to slowly form as Kathleen sat down by Eustace's side, which happened to be by his left arm, the one with the deep cuts from the cuff. His head was resting on his good arm as he stared at the ocean. He sighed.
Kathleen sat as if she was putting on her pointe shoes, "Hey, uh, Eustace," She paused as he didn't say, or growl, to her. "I'm sorry about your arm." He huffed. "I know it was sneaky, but you would have been tenser if Lucy and I pulled it on three rather than on one." He turned his head to her as he raised his muscle above one of his eyes. "You of all people know it to be true," Kathleen stated back to him in a chuckle. He dropped his muscle and rolled his eyes. Kathleen showed a small smile, but it faded quickly as she looked at his red marks. "I truly am sorry."
She wondered if Eustace felt the sincerity because he nudged his snout to her shoulder. It caught her by surprise. Dragon Eustace's head was a foot away from her's. She wasn't sure what to do so she carefully put her hand on the top of his rough and bumpy snout. She petted slowly twice before he retreated his neck, placing his head back on his good arm, this time facing her.
Kathleen leaned back on her hands, "I still have that cream the Teldor gave me. The fuan from the Lone Islands?" She turned to see if he remembered. He nodded. "I was thinking we could use that on your arm." She shifted her weight on her left hand and stretched her arm to Eustace. He lifted his head as she rotated her arm, "They're just white scars now. They stopped aching a while ago. We could give it a go."
She could see that he was about the nod but his face sank for a second as if remembering something. Eustace turned away from her, looking back to the ocean. "We will figure this out, Eustace. You won't stay like this forever. I promise." Eustace sighed and slowly dropped his head on his good arm again. "I'll let you rest."
Kathleen was hesitant about stepping away from Eustace. This was a new situation for both of them and she did not know what precautions to take. Should she be by his side, making sure he doesn't drown in his sorrow, or does she walk away, letting him collect himself to speak or growl when he's ready? This was a lot more to take in than when she first entered the world of Narnia.
She couldn't help but think of everything that has happened since she entered the magical world as she made her way around the dying fire. The boys went to have a second look around the island, this time searching for anything to fuel the fire in front of her. Lucy and Gael were setting down a blanket to sleep on for the night to her left while Reepicheep was splitting their rations to her right. She asked him if he needed help but seeing as there wasn't much to split he politely declined.
She sighed to herself as she sat down by the rocks. Her mind became a film of everything that happened since she emerged from the water. How long ago was that? Three weeks ago? A Month? Kathleen had lost track of keeping time since before the storm. She didn't even know what day of the week it was.
Kathleen placed her braid on her right shoulder and laid down on the sand. In an attempt to make herself comfortable, be placed her hands behind her head. It quickly unsuccessful as she felt the grains of sand on the back of her hands. She sat up brushing the grains away as she thought of a new plan. Undoing her waist belt, she took off her vest and folded it three times behind her. Then, laying down again, she placed her hands behind her head and rested them on the article of clothing.
"Getting cozy, are we?"
Kathleen jumped at Edmund's voice.
The boys returned to the campsite with an arm full of dry wood each. Kathleen opened her mouth but closed it at the sight. It was a surprise to her that they could even see anything this late at night, much less carry collections of supplies without tripping.
Kathleen propped herself up on her elbows, "Are you sure we have enough wood for the night? Seems like we could run low."
Edmund set his set of wood a few yards away from her as Caspian and Rhince did the same. "Would you believe me if I said there's more?"
Her eyes and smile widen at what she expected was a joke, "You serious?"
Caspian walked in the direction they just came from. "Yes, actually. He is," The older King said in a chuckle.
Kathleen's smile dropped, "Oh!" She sat up, "Well then let me help you get the rest." She stood up but didn't get a chance to begin to brush off the sand from her trousers when Caspian declined.
"There will be no need," Caspian said as he looked at the pile then to Kathleen, "The rest can be gathered by just Rhince and myself." He turned to Edmund, "I was hoping you could get started on a ring around the fire." Edmund nodded. "We won't be long." With that Caspian and Rhince had left the site, leaving the young ones alone.
Kathleen sat back down with a thud as she swallowed a sigh as Edmund made way his way past her to the rocks onshore. He knelt on the large rocks closest to him. He picked up one with little struggles and checked the areas around the mineral. He then placed it down on the right of him and continued to look at the rock beside it.
Kathleen sat on her calves on his left and welcomed a familiar feeling in her stomach, "Is there anything, in particular, you're looking for?"
Edmund felt around the rock as he answered, "Wet spots. We can't have any of the rocks wet or a spark from the fire could make them crack or explode." When Kathleen didn't respond, he assumed that she didn't understand. "When a wet rock is rapidly heated, the wet spot-"
"Will turn to steam, causing pressure in the rock, making bits and pieces fly off." Kathleen finished for him. When Edmund turned to face her, he was surprised to see her a few inches further away than he expected. Carefully inspecting a rock in her hands. "I remember learning about it in Geology, though it wasn't my favorite subject." She placed the rock to her left as she began to inspect the next one.
They were silent as they worked. In about twenty minutes they were able to collect enough dry rocks to create a barrier that the now-dead fire needed.
As Kathleen picked up the first one, she slipped a little in the sand. Taking a tighter grip on the rock, she made her way to the new pile of wood that Edmund created. Once placed the rock on the ground, Edmund stood up.
"I can finish the ring, Katie."
This caught Kathleen off guard, "What?" She stood up, confused. "but I've only begun."
"I know," Edmund agreed, "I just think a simple task that I can do on my own." His eyes widen as the words came out of his mouth.
Kathleen hugged her stomach and raised an eyebrow, "And you think it's such a simple task that I wouldn't be able to complete it?" She couldn't hide her hurt tone.
"No, it's not that. I don't think that of you." His words were coming out in a rush. He took one step forward, making Kathleen take one step back.
"Then what is it?" The last syllable came out more forceful than she intended, but she still waited for an answer.
Edmund turned to the ocean then back to Kathleen, "It's just that-," he stopped himself. "You're-you..." He couldn't find his words or what to start with, but Kathleen understood differently as her head went dizzy once again.
"Yes, Edmund. I'm me but that does not make me a damsel! I can help you!" As her voice raised, the fire burst to life on the newly placed logs, causing the two of them to jump. Kathleen turned to Eustace whose eyes were wide but for a new reason. The fire glowed against his face as a growl was heard. As she turned back to the fire, it suddenly reduced to normal size. Kathleen put her hands over her mouth. Her heart sank at her own voice. She slowly put her hands back down.
Moments passed by before either of them said anything. "I'm sorry," Kathleen's voice had become shaky, "I didn't mean to shout."
There was silence between the two teenagers. The only thing that could be heard was the crashing of waves. Neither of them had noticed Lucy taking Gael to another part of the beach or that Reepicheep had chosen to closely follow the girls.
Kathleen couldn't recall the last time she shouted at someone, or at all on her World, but she seemed to be doing it more frequently in Narnia. She shouted at Eustace earlier today and again just now to Edmund. She didn't mean to shout at him. It was just everything that happened that day felt an arrow pointed to Kathleen. It was as if everything that could go wrong did. It was a surprise to Kathleen that it took this long for her break. But still.
She was ashamed of herself.
She sat down by the edge of the rocks while holding on to the sleeves of her tunic. She held down the lump in her throat as the sand next to her shifted.
They sat a foot away from each other. Neither of them was willing to move yet neither of them was willing to speak first. They were scared of confessing their guilt. That doing so wouldn't change anything. That maybe they would end up hating them. And that was the last thing they wanted. With Edmund's red ears and Kathleen's nervous hands, they say still watching the unguarded fire, waiting to hear something other than crashing waves.
