Back at the beach, Eustace had landed which allowed Edmund and Raelyn to explain what was going on. Eustace limped as he stood by them, keeping one of his large paws off the ground. Raelyn frowned and looked over at it, realizing there was a large bracelet digging painfully into his forearm.
"He must have been tempted by the treasure." Edmund suggested, looking at the gold band.
"Everyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted." Caspian cut in. Eustace growled, shooting the man an offended glare.
"Well anyone from…here." Caspian amended apologetically. Raelyn pursed her lips and walked over towards the dragon. Edmund tensed, watching as Eustace shifted away from her warily.
"I hardly think this is the time to be stubborn. Let me help you." Raelyn scolded, holding out her arms impatiently towards the band. Eustace's ears flattened in embarrassment and he reluctantly reached his limb out towards her. With a tug the band came off; Eustace yelping in pain as it did. Raelyn quickly tossed the bracelet aside.
"Is there any way to change him back?" Edmund asked once Raelyn had returned to his side.
"Not that I know of." Caspian trailed off, looking to Drinian for help. The captain merely shrugged, just as clueless as Caspian was.
"Aunt Alberta will not be pleased." Edmund winced. Raelyn scowled and smacked him.
"Ed!" she reprimanded, looking over at Eustace who was glaring at the ground.
"Sorry about the hand old boy…I….I can be a bit overzealous at times." Reepicheep apologized, smiling sheepishly up at the large dragon. Eustace eyed him skeptically.
"The boats are ready sire." Tavros, the minotaur, called as those who had come back to shore were gearing up to leave. Realyn whipped around to look at Caspian and Edmund pleadingly.
"We can't just leave him alone." She pointed out.
"Well we can't bring him on board." Drinian countered.
"Drinian you take a boat back to the ship. The rest of us will stay here till morning and….figure out what to do." Caspian instructed, blowing out a breath of frustration.
"But you have no provisions. And no means of staying warm your majesty." Mr. Rince pointed out worriedly. As if on que a burst of air swept across the beach, causing a shiver to course through them. Eustace frowned thoughtfully and spotted a piece of driftwood. He swirled his tongue in his mouth experimentally before blowing out a burst of fire, setting the wood alight instantly. Everyone jumped back in surprise.
"You were saying." Reepicheep gestured to the fire pointedly. The group chuckled in delight, while Eustace licked his mouth at the foreign feeling.
"Well done Eustace." Raelyn praised. The dragon glanced down at the sand bashfully.
...
That night everyone was circled around the fire, settling in for bed. Caspian and Edmund lied awake staring up at the clear sky above.
"I've never seen these constellations before." Edmund mused.
"Me neither. We're a long way from home." Caspian agreed.
"When I was a boy I used to imagine sailing to the end of the world…and finding my father there." Caspian hummed; his head tilted up to stare at the stars. Edmund glanced over at him.
"Maybe you will." Caspian smiled softly and glanced down at the man. However, Edmund's gaze was now locked at a lone figure sitting on a rock outcropping, staring up at the stars.
"You should go talk to her." Caspian encouraged. Edmund winced.
"I'm not sure she'll want to talk. I was pretty awful." He admitted.
"I think she's already forgiven you. But you can't let it just pass by. You need to talk to each other." Caspian pressed once more. Edmund sighed, knowing he was right and stood up. Taking in a deep breath he made his way over to join her.
...
As Edmund walked closer towards Raelyn, he watched her face admiring how the firelight from the small stick of driftwood she brought highlighted her features. He stood there for a while, just staring at her with a small grin all the while wondering what he could possibly say.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" her quiet voice caused him to jump. Raelyn turned her head to look at him, waiting for his next move. Edmund glanced up at the sky.
"Yea, nothing like I've seen before." He admitted walking over towards her. As he approached Raelyn shifted over, giving Edmund space to sit down next to her. The small fire sat just in front of them on the rock. It gave off just enough heat to keep away the bulk of the chill in the air. Edmund sighed, sitting with his knees up as he fiddled with his fingers. Raelyn remained silent, waiting for him to speak.
"I'm sorry about what I said in the cave." He finally told her. She nodded.
"I already forgave you." she admitted gently. Edmund's head whipped around to look at her.
"I just want to know why you thought that?" she asked, searching his face intently for an answer. Edmund's clenched his jaw tightly.
"I don't really. It was just the mist talking." He dismissed uncomfortably. Raelyn smiled ruefully at him.
"That's not how it works, Ed. The mist amplifies our deepest fears, whether we are aware of them or not. It doesn't make things up." She pointed out knowingly. Ed grimaced, hoping they wouldn't have to get into it. Running a hand roughly through his hair he looked out over the dark water, unable to look at her as he explained.
"I just…..I've never been first pick for anything. Peter was the oldest, so everyone looked up to him and he was responsible to keeping all of us protected. I'm the third so all I had was Lucy under me, and I spent so many years abusing that. Lucy doesn't need me like she does Peter. No one ever needed me to be there for them…." He began, his voice tight as he continued staring blankly ahead. Raelyn frowned but didn't interrupt him.
"…and then we came to Narnia and I was a king. But not the High King. It wasn't as much of a big deal then. This time Peter isn't here and I thought maybe this was my chance to prove myself as the leader. Instead I'm still behind Caspian. No one looks to me for anything." He looked over at the redhead beside him and grinned sardonically.
"You were the only one that needed me like that. I finally had someone who I could take care of. I liked that; it made me feel needed. But you started defending yourself, taking care of things without me and I was afraid of losing you. I'm not saying you can't be independent or don't need to take care of yourself because you have every right to. I was just hoping that you would want me to do it for you. I don't want to be left behind again." Edmund whispered honestly, his eyes glassing over. He blinked hard, pushing the wetness back.
"I'm sorry." He told her again, staring hard at the rock below them. The tense air that followed his admission was broken by her warm hand reaching out to grasp his. Edmund tilted his head up to look at her. At his broken expression she shifted closer and enveloped him in a hug.
"Ed, I'm sorry you feel that way. But it's not true. You may not always be the one in charge but you are always there for when things go south. Second doesn't mean forgotten, it means you're the most trusted person in the group. The one people turn to when the leaders can't handle it. As for this trip I just didn't want to become a burden to you and wanted to be able to take care of things myself. It has nothing to do with me not wanting you around. I will always need you, but I want you to be able to depend on me too. I just wanted to be your second." She told him seriously, burying her head into his neck. Edmund reached out and returned her hug, pulling her tightly against him. The two of them sat in silence for a while, just content to be in one another's arms. As the small fire began to die out Raelyn let out a yawn. Ed chuckled and looked down at her endearingly.
"Ready to head back?" he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She nodded sleepily. With a gentle grin Edmund helped her up and wrapped his arm around her as he led to back towards the main fire. Once she had settled down comfortably, he slid in behind her and wrapped his small blanket around the two of them.
...
The next morning the fire had long died out and everyone was still fast asleep. Gail was the first to wake and when she did, she let out a gasp of delight.
"Lucy. Lucy wake up!" she whispered excitedly, shaking the girl next to her. Lucy jolted awake and looked up to where the small girl was pointing.
"The blue star." She grinned, spotting the bright blue orb just above the horizon.
"Everybody! Everybody wake up, it's the blue star!" Lucy called, rousing everyone from their sleep. The group slowly sat up to see what she was talking about. Realyn rubbed her eyes and looked up at the glowing light with a grin. Finally, something was going right.