Author Note: Thanks for the few reviews I've gotten. They make me happy.

Chapter Four

Rhince, Lucy and Jennifer were all talking when they heard the lookout shout to the rest of the ship that the Lone Islands had been sighted. The three of them rushed down to the main deck to see as close as possible. Caspian, Drinian, Reepicheep and Edmund were already there.

Jennifer, in an attempt to get a better view of the distant islands, didn't pause, but ran right past the others onto the high front deck, and climbed onto the woodwork that was the carved dragon's neck at the front of the ship. To keep her balance, she squatted down (very un-ladylike, Drinian, who was watching, noticed) and held onto the wooden scales of the dragon's neck. This way, she got a much better view.

Drinian, as I said before, was watching all this and worried that she might loose her balance and fall. So he came to the front deck and yelled up to her.

"Jennifer!" (He was careful to use her first name only.) "Come down; it is dangerous up there."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Like I care," she mumbled. Over the past few days, she had come to despise the Captain more and more.

When Drinian saw that she was ignoring him, he tried again. "Listen Miss," he said in a sterner voice. "I am Captain of this ship…"

"Good for you," Jennifer called down.

"And," Drinian continued, angry that she was interrupting him, "I have the authority to order you down. Now come back down to the deck, immediately."

Jennifer gave an annoyed sigh and slid down the neck, landing on her feet in front of Drinian. "Okay, Captain Grumpy," she laughed, in an attempt to make him angry. It worked.

Before Drinian could respond, she swiftly walked back down the stairs to where the others were and walked off with Conican. Drinian gave a tired sigh and rubbed his hand across his face. He had just been worried about Jennifer's safety, and she got all angry. Why did she have to be so difficult? Sometimes he thought that she was harder to handle than that annoying brat, Eustace. Good thing she was attractive, because that was the only thing going for her as far as Drinian was concerned.

She was so disobedient, rude… and her temper was definitely a problem. Any woman with a speck of honorable blood in her veins would try to cover up her temper and inner feelings as well as she could.

But not Jennifer. No, she had deliberately tried to anger him. Such rudeness was never heard of in Narnia. Young girls were taught this long before they reached Jennifer's age.

Drinian soon found that he was trying to convince himself that he hated Jennifer as much as she seemed to hate him. He didn't know what came over him. Why was he trying to find out every single thing that was wrong with her? Everyone had flaws…

"But not as many as her," Drinian found himself thinking angrily. Hopefully she wouldn't prove troublesome once they reached the islands.

…

When they finally came to the first island, (its name was Felimath) Caspian suggested that the Dawn Treader drop them off on it and let them walk across the island and have the ship pick them up on the other side. Felimath was a deserted island, and there really wasn't a reason to land on it, but Caspian, Lucy, Edmund, and especially Eustace were getting tired of the ship and wished to stretch their legs.

"Would you like to accompany us?" Caspian asked Jennifer.

"Sure," she said. Her intent was to get as far away from "Captain Bossy" as possible.

"Good." Caspian then turned to Eustace. "And you'll come, will you?" he asked in a friendly manner.

Eustace smirked. "Anything to get off this blasted boat."

"Blasted?" said Drinian, seemingly amused. "How do you mean?"

"In a civilized country like where I come from," Eustace began. "The ships are so big that when you're inside, you wouldn't know that you were at sea at all."

"In that case," Caspian said, "You might as well just stay ashore. Drinian, lower the boat."

Jennifer leaned over to Eustace. "I know what you mean about those big ships. I've been on them twice. They are nicer than this, I have to admit."

Eustace threw his hands up in the air. "Finally, a decent person who understands logic!"

Everyone looked at them questioningly. Jennifer paused. "Actually, I'm failing my logic class."

Drinian and Jennifer glared at each other when she went past him into the boat with the others, and she was pleasantly surprised when Reepicheep joined them.

Sure, she was friends with the others, but with Reepicheep she had a deeper friendship, and she enjoyed his company much more. He wasn't afraid to act, or say what he thought, unlike the others were all polite and (at times) prissy.

Jennifer usually judged people harshly like this when she was mad. In truth she thought that Caspian and Edmund were honorable people (even though they talked like her Grandpa) and Lucy was nice. Eustace… well, she couldn't judge Eustace nicely even if she tried. (Who could?)

When the boat landed on Felimath's beach, Jennifer and Reepicheep were first to jump onto the sand. Caspian sent the boat back to the ship, and the six of them started out on their walk.

It was pleasant to get off the ship, and it was Jennifer's first time to be on land in this world she had come to.

Soon, they started heading inland and up a fairly steep hill. They walked for a while until they could no longer see the Dawn Treader.

"Hullo!" Edmund said presently. "What's this?"

A little farther up ahead, there was a band of six or seven rough looking men, all armed, sitting beside a tree.

"I don't trust them," Jennifer said immediately.

"Don't tell them who we are," Caspian said suddenly.

"And pray your Majesty why not?" Reepicheep asked.

"My question exactly," Jennifer agreed.

"It just occurred to me," Caspian replied. "That no one here can have heard from Narnia for a long time. It's just possible that they may not still acknowledge our over-lordship. In which case, it might not be well to be known as the king."

"Oh come on," Jennifer said exasperatedly. "What's the big deal? Are you afraid?"

"No I am not…" Caspian started.

"I agree with the lady, sire," Reepicheep chimed in. "We have our swords."

"Yes, Reep, I know we have," said Caspian. "But if it is a question of re-conquering the three islands, I'd prefer to come back with a rather larger army."

"Yeah, okay whatever," Jennifer sighed, but she saw that Reepicheep had seen the wisdom in this.

Well she hadn't.

They were getting quite close to the seven men now. One of whom called out to them, "A good morning to you."

"And a good morning to you," Caspian returned his greeting. "Is there still a Governor of the Lone Islands?"

"To be sure there is," said the man. "Governor Gumpas. His Sufficiency is at Narrowhaven. But you'll stay and drink with us?"

Caspian thanked him and said that they would.

"I still don't trust him," Jennifer said warningly in his ear.

"Neither do I," Caspian whispered back to her. "But I cannot refuse. We must be polite."

Jennifer threw up her hands in an exasperated gesture. "Politeness again! What is with you people? No one cares about being polite." Caspian stared at her as if he was shocked. "Well not where I come from," Jennifer said in return to his stare.

The six of them came and sat down with the men, but they weren't able to have a sip of the drinks offered them. As soon as they were distracted drinking, the dark haired man who had addressed him gave a nod to his companions, and soon they were engaged in a violent scuffle.

Jennifer, who had refused the drink they had given to her, and had also remained standing (she didn't trust them) was more prepared than the others. She quickly drew her sword, and the training that Reepicheep had given her finally came in handy. She had soon engaged one of the men into a fight of their own. But in a real quick flash, he threw a knife at her (not directly, but at her sword arm) and it grazed the side of her arm.

The pain caused her to drop her sword and look at the wound which had turned out to be a gash, with blood dripping from it.

"Oh no you didn't," Jennifer said, in a tone she had heard Drinian use a lot when speaking to her. But now that she was disarmed, they had no trouble in binding her like the others. "Apparently, you did," Jennifer mumbled after she had been tied.

Reepicheep, meanwhile, was still engaging in a scuffle. "Coward! Poltroon!" squeaked Reepicheep. "Give me back my sword and free my paws if you dare!"

"Whew!" whistled the slave merchant (for that is what he was.) "It can talk! Well I never did. Blowed if I take less than two hundred crescents for him."

"So that's what you are," said Caspian. "A kidnapper and a slaver. I hope you're proud of it."

Jennifer blinked and slightly raised her eyebrows. "Do they still have people like that?" she whispered to Lucy.

"Yes," she said, and Jennifer then saw that she was holding back tears. "And now we shall be sold as slaves too!"

Jennifer took two steps backwards. (She was never one for getting into emotional drama and the like.) "Whoa okay, chill out," she said in an attempt to keep her from crying. She couldn't stand seeing people crying.

When she Jennifer saw that she wasn't doing a very good job, she turned her attention back to the slaver who was speaking to Caspian.

"Now, now, now, don't you start any jaw. The easier you take it, the pleasanter it will be all around, see?"

"Weird man say what?" Jennifer said. "'Don't start any jaw?'" she thought. "Where did that line come from?"

"Where will you take us?" Lucy said, getting the words out with some difficulty.

"Over to Narrowhaven," the slaver replied. "For the market tomorrow."

"Great," Jennifer said to herself. "I'm gonna be sold like some bag of potato chips." Then she turned to Caspian. "Told you I didn't trust them."

"Oh don't rub it in," Caspian said, angry at himself for not seeing this coming.

Author Note: There you are, folks! Chapter four. Please REVIEW! I'm getting lots of hits, but hardly anything in the review category.

Thank you to StaR-758 and Amera Aiyana Walker for being nice, and taking the time to review.