Edmund groaned as he woke up to the sound of crashing. Another softer grunt of surprise caught his attention and he blinked his eyes open to stare down at Raelyn who was clutching her head sleepily. He reached up to grasp her hand in concern. At the contact she blinked her eyes open to look up at him with a frown.
"Hey. You alright?" he asked softly, contradicting the loud clanging that was going on. Raelyn winced rubbing her head tenderly.
"I think so, just a bit of a headache." She grinned weakly. Edmund nodded as that would be expected when you were hit on the back of the head.
"I'm sorry." He told her with a sad frown, using his thumb to gently rub her temples. She frowned at hs pained expression.
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do it." She pointed out. Edmund sighed nuzzling his nose with hers.
"Maybe so but I couldn't stop it." He pouted. Raelyn stared at him intently, taking note that he really was putting all this guilt on himself for no reason.
"Ed, you can't protect me from everything. It's fine I promise, you're here taking care of me now and that's what matters." She informed him grabbing his hand from the side of her face and kissing the back of it. Ed's lips quirked up in affection. Another loud clang startled them out of their moment and the duo stiffly shifted to look over at the gate. They watched for a moment as Caspian repeatedly flung himself against the metal gate with no results.
"You're just going to hurt yourself if you keep that up." Raelyn piped up, her voice still rough from waking up. Caspian paused his endeavor, glancing over at the now awake duo.
"Sorry for waking you so abruptly. You alright?" the older man inquired, directing his question at the both of them.
"Yea." Ed grunted as he slowly stood up, Raelyn following his lead. Caspian nodded before kicking the door once again, getting an exasperated sigh from Raelyn.
"It's hopeless." A small voice called from a corner of the room. The three of them turned to look for the source but the voice seemed to come from deep in the shadows of the dark room.
"You'll never get out." the mystery voice added.
"Who's there?" Edmund asked, as the two boys stalked closer with Raelyn behind them.
"Nobody, just a voice in my head." The voice sighed. Caspian leaned in closer, jumping a little as a small bearded old man popped his head into the light. The man frowned up at Caspian intently.
"Lord Bern." Caspian breathed, recognizing the man from one of his sketches. The lord's eyes widened in surprise.
"Perhaps once. But I am no longer deserving of that title." Bern muttered.
"Is he one of the seven?" Edmund inquired eyeing the man. Raelyn made her way closer to his side, Edmund reflexively wrapping his arm around her. Caspian nodded in confirmation, turning back to the man. He walked over closer, crouching down beside him. Once Caspian's face was fully in the light lord Bern's eyes shone with recognition.
"Your face. You remind me of a king I once loved long ago." He whispered in surprise.
"That man was my father." Caspian told him. Bern gasped.
"Oh my lord, please forgive me." The old man quickly shifted to bow in reverence. Caspian quickly reached out, stopping him from the action.
"No, please." He gently grabbed the man, helping him to stand. Outside, the sounds of wails and shouts caught Raelyn's attention. Edmund followed as she quickly made her way over to the small window in the corner of the cell. The two of them peered out the barred window at the scene below them.
They watched as a man and a small girl chased after a wagon full of people, frantically shouting for the woman by the edge. The man who was apparently the woman's husband tried to fight his way to his wife but the traders quickly subdued him, throwing him aside as the wagon continued onward. Along the wall Edmund spotted Lucy and Eustace chained beside a number of other slaves who looked at the ground in sorrow as the family was torn apart in front of them.
Caspian came to join them at the window just as the people were being loaded onto boats, shouting in fright the whole time as they protested.
"What's happening to them?" Raelyn asked, her eyes a bit glassy from the scene unfolding in front of her. She glanced back at the old lord who smiled at her sympathetically, feeling for the obviously tenderhearted girl.
"Keep watching" was all he said. Swallowing nervously she turned to look back out the window, grasping Edmund's hand for comfort. The boat was pushed out into the water, seeming to sail itself. Almost instantly the clouds began to turn dark, indicating a violent storm but there was no rain. As the shadow of the clouds neared the boat, a green mist came up from the water, racing towards the boats. Raelyn gasped in pain and clutched at her chest in surprise. Edmund and Caspian turned to her worriedly, Edmund reaching out to pull her tighter against him.
"Ray?" he asked curiously. His frown deepened as Raelyn whimpered and a couple of tears leaked out.
"That…the mist…it hurts….so dark and…evil." She whispered tearfully, frightened by the strong feelings the green mist seemed to bring out in her. It was like her body adamantly rejected being in the presence of the smoke. The boys shared a worried look with one another. Now wasn't the time but they knew this was something they had to sort out later once everyone was safe. Once the initial shock had worn off, Raelyn tentatively looked back out the window despite the lingering nausea that the mist left her with.
...
The green mist quickly engulfed the boat, making all that were inside disappear with a series of frightened screams. As quickly as it came, the mist disappeared along with the storm clouds. Raelyn sagged with relief, Edmund tightly holding her up, as the mist retreated completely.
"What happened?" Caspian asked.
"It's a sacrifice." Lord Bern explained to them. The group turned to face the man fully.
"Where do they go?" Raelyn asked. If the sight of the mist left her with such awful feelings then she couldn't imagine what the source of that mist would be like. The old man shook his head.
"No one knows." He told them hollowly. Caspian walked down towards the aging man. Edmund and Raelyn following after, once he was sure that she could hold herself up. Her reaction to the mist had scared him and the feeling of helplessness on his end made it even worse.
"The mist was first seen in the East. Reports of fishermen and sailors, disappearing out at sea. We lords made a pact. To find the source of the mist and destroy it. They each set sail. But none came back." Lord Bern told them. They all stood there in silence for a moment.
"You see if they don't sell you to the slave trader. You're likely to be fed to the mist." Bern elaborated in their silence.
"We have to find Lucy and get out of here, before it's too late." Edmund commented worriedly. If Lucy was out for sale and the traders were coming back for Raelyn, he had to get them off this island as soon as possible.