Aboard the ship, the crew circled the edges cheering boisterously as King Edmund and King Caspian dueled. The two parried down the aisle before coming to a more open area of the deck. Caspian swiped at Ed's head, who leant back to avoid it. The men grinned at one another. Ed made the first move, bring his sword down Caspian parried it as Edmund spun around before ducking under Caspian's foot. Ed swung his weapon low and the men cheered as Caspian lept over it. They swung fiercely at one another, swords clashing while they grinned. Ed made another swipe as his head which was dodged and the two took a step back, reanalyzing their next move.
They circled one another before Caspian lashed out, his sword connecting with Edmund's as they continued to parry. Ed held firm as Caspian attempted to spin the sword out of his grip. The two continued twisting their weapons until finally they slid in, their swords at one another's throats in a draw. Everyone cheered once again while the two panted for breath, grins never leaving their faces.
"You've grown stronger my friend" Caspian complimented, clasping the younger boy on the shoulder.
"It seems I have." Edmund smiled back.
"Alright back to work." Captain Drinian barked, jolting the crew back into action. He assisted Raelyn in hopping off the railing, smiling fondly as she girl dashed off towards the stairs. Edmund made his way over towards his sister leaning up against the railing where she was sitting on some barrels. Soon after Raelyn joined the two, holding out a cup of water which Edmund took gratefully. He gulped the water down, shifting so Raelyn could lean on the railing next to him.
"Edmund do you think that if we keep sailing to the end of the world that we'll just…tip off the edge?" Lucy asked him seriously.
"Don't worry Lu, we're a long way from there." Edmund assured her. Eustace shakily opened up the hatch, making his way over towards his cousins with a scowl on his face.
"I see you're still talking nonsense." He muttered, leaning against the railing with a pout.
"Feeling better?" Lucy inquired sincerely.
"Yes, no thanks to you. Thankfully I have an iron constitution." He retorted.
"At least your humor is still intact." Raelyn joked with a smirk. Ed and Lucy hid their grins while Eustace scowled in embarrassment.
"As effervescent as ever I see. Find your Sea legs yet?" Reepicheep asked, perching on some rigging beside Lucy.
"Never lost them. Simply getting over the shock of things." Eustace hastily defended. Edmund shot him an incredulous frown.
"Mother says I have an acute disposition, due to my intelligence." Eustace added. Edmund spat out the water he had been drinking, prompting Raelyn to rub his back. She hid her face in his shoulder to bite back her laughter.
"I don't think he has a cute anything." Reep muttered in amusement.
"I'll have you know that as soon as we find civilization I'm contacting the British Console!" Eustace insisted.
"You really think we're still in that world? Eustace we arrived through a painting." Raelyn pointed out. This caused the boy to frown thoughtfully as she had a logical point.
"Must have been some of you lot's magical voodoo. I'll have you all arrested for kidnapping in addition to hexing me." Eustace snapped, refusing to believe anything but facts. As he stormed away he collided with a solid chest. Looking up he paled as Caspian stared at him in bemusement.
"Kidnapping is it? That's funny, I thought we saved your life." The man mused pointedly.
"You held me against my will!" he defended shrilly.
"Ha!" Reep scoffed.
"And I must say it was in unhygienic quarters. It was like…like a zoo down there." Eustace sputtered, turning to look at each of them as he pleaded his case.
"Eustace it's a boat not a hotel." Realyn countered. Eustace sputtered, mumbling out some lame excuses that everyone had begun to tune out.
"He's quite the complainer, isn't he?" Reep mused.
"He's just warming up." Edmund drawled in exasperation.
"Land Ho!" a voice from the crows nest above shouted. The alert caught everyone's attention as they moved to look over the side of the ship. In the distance they could just make out the shape of the islands on the horizon.