Caspian and Lucy walked alongside of one another as they led the way back to the beach. Raelyn determinedly kept herself a few yards in front of Edmund who remained silent on the trek back. His eyes would continuously flit her direction, but the tightness of her shoulders would prevent him from saying anything. She was still bothered and upset by what was said in the cave. Any attempt to make amends would quickly be shot down. The silver lining from it was that he could take some time to think about what he was going to say to her. Back at the rowboats, the crew was loading up their baskets as they waited for the royals to join them.

"What food did you find?" Caspian inquired, glancing down at the small amount inside. Raelyn frowned at how little they were able to acquire.

"It's volcanic your majesty. Not much grows." Mr. Rince informed apologetically.

"It's still better than nothing. Thank you for getting what you could." Raelyn smiled in assurance at the man. Meanwhile Lucy glanced around the area, her brow furrowing as she realized someone was missing.

"Where's Eustace?" she questioned.

"I believe he's out not helping us load the boats." Reepicheep commented wryly.

"Eustace…Eustace!" Lucy called, receiving only the sound of her echo in return. She turned around to face her brother worriedly.

"Edmund I've got a bad feeling." Edmund frowned in distaste. He huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll go find him." he muttered, turning to head back inland.

"I'll come with you." Caspian added, looking to Edmund gently. Ed nodded his consent, and his forgiveness about what had happened in the cave. Both were remorseful for what had been said and done and Caspian's offer to help solidified that there were no hard feelings left between them.

"I can wait here and make sure nothing happens to the boat while everyone else goes back to the ship." Raelyn chimed in quietly. Ed glanced back at her sharply but refrained from protesting like he normally would. Instead he nodded stiffly. Raelyn frowned in confusion, watching him intently. Without another word he handed her the extra sword they had acquired from the cave.

"Just in case. We'll be back soon." He murmured gently. With that he turned back around and headed off into the hillsides with Caspian following along.

...

The two men made the trek up the mountainside, taking turns in calling out for the lost boy. Turning a corner, they paused and stared out at the field of gold within the canyon.

"Treasure." Edmund whispered.

"Trouble." Caspian countered knowingly. Edmund looked back at the sight and leaned forward as he spotted something familiar. Sliding down the side of the cliff he jogged over and gently picked up the singed shoe.

"Eustace…" he muttered, his face dropping in mild horror. Walking further along he spotted the rest of his cousin's clothes smoking in a pile.

"No…" Edmund knelt, frantically rifling through the clothing. Gingerly he picked up the diary Eustace always carried with him.

"My cousin." He whispered sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry." Caspian offered his condolences.

"He was just a boy. I never should have left him." Ed licked his lips, his voice full or remorse. He had acted so horribly to Eustace and now his cousin was gone. Caspian glanced around, searching for clues as to what had happened.

"What could have happened to him?" Edmund wondered. Caspian's eyes didn't leave the skeleton by the wall.

"In this place, anything." He stood and walked over towards it.

"And he wasn't the first. It's Lord Octesian. We should find his…" Caspian trailed off as he turned and saw Edmund picking up what they needed. Ed pulled the sword out to do a quick inspection of it before sliding it back into its sheath.

...

Down at the beach Raelyn sighed, leaning her head on her fist as she waited for the boys to come back. The rest of the crew and Lucy had returned to the ship which left her sitting alone with the rowboat. Raelyn sighed again, standing up to stretch her legs. They should be coming back any minute now. The silence was broken by the sound of a guttural type rumbling. Her head turned in that direction. There hadn't been any noises like that before…..It rumbled again. Raelyn stood straighter and kept her eyes pealed for movement. That noise did not come from any physical feature of the island. Something else was on it with them. The sound of wind whipping around caught her attention and she turned towards the sound. Raelyn's eyes widened in awe and terror as a large golden dragon emerged from behind the mountainside. It screeched viscously and made its way towards the beach. The beast's head whipped around as if it were searching for something. Raelyn froze, her eyes widening as the dragon locked her eyes onto her own. It swiftly turned and headed straight for her. Raelyn looked around wildly, unable to find anywhere she could hide. Running over she hesitantly picked up the sword Edmund had left for her. She could use it but….did she really want to get that close to a dragon? Placing the weapon back down she turned and began powering up her hands. Focusing on the type of light she enhanced the brightness and color before placing them together and aiming the light at the dragon's eyes. The golden beast screeched in pain and shook its head rapidly in distress. Turning away from its path the dragon fled away from her and headed out to sea….towards the ship.

"Oh what have I done!" Raelyn lamented, bringing her hands up to her forehead in dismay. She had just redirected the dragon towards the rest of the crew. From there all she could do was watch as it landed on the mast after circling the ship. The dragon flew haphazardly and tried to sit on the mast but after some struggling it was forced away. Raelyn watched as it turned back towards the island, taking a less direct route this time.

...

Just moments after the dragon's disappearance, Caspian and Edmund were quickly making their way back towards the rowboat left for them. At the sight of them Raelyn whipped around frantically, startling the boys. Ed quickly picked up his pace and left Caspian behind.

"Ed…there.."

"Ray what's wrong.." the two of them stuttered over one another in a rush figure out the situation.

Caspian kept his leisurely pace as he watched with a small smile. As he walked the wind picked up behind him. Caspian paused, listening to see where it was coming from. He turned back just in time to duck down as the large golden dragon barreled towards him.

"Raelyn! Ed!" he shouted in warning but was too late. The duo turned around at the dragon was just on top of them. Ed pushed Raelyn aside on instinct just as the clawed hand wrapped around his torso, pulling him up into the air.

"Ed!" Raelyn shouted in distress. The dragon turned its head in her direction.

"Uh oh." She muttered, realizing her mistake.

"Ray run!" Edmund shouted as he struggled in the scaly grip. The redhead took his advice and raced down the beach, turning frequently to shoot beams of light at it. However, with the movement her aim as off and the dragon easily dodged the attacks. Soon enough another claw reached out and picked her up, gently cradling her against its chest. She screamed, unsure of what to do as the dragon took off even higher into the air. The dragon held onto the its captives as it swooped around past the ship and scaring the crew as they realized who were being carried.

The two of them struggled in the creature's grip as it flew them over the mountainsides and down into the valleys.

"Ed where are we going?!" Raelyn shouted as she twisted around in the dragon's grip.

"I don't know. This is all new! Just hang on." He told her, glancing back worriedly. As they cleared a particularly large mountain stopped Edmund stopped struggling, spotting the letters in the lava below. Ray glanced at what he was looking at and frowned incredulously.

"Does that say what I think it does?" she asked, looking over at Edmund in disbelief.

'I AM EUSTACE' Was Spelled out in red among the black rocks. Edmund's jaw dropped.

"You have got to be joking." He deadpanned, staring at the words. The dragon, Eustace, turned back towards the beach. As they flew back Raelyn craned her neck to look up at him, frowning as she caught his frightened expression.

"It'll be alright. I don't know how….but I'm sure we'll figure this all out." she quietly assured, setting a hand on his scaly neck. Eustace glanced down at her, his eyes grateful for the kind words.