Chapter Three

The Mermaid of the Lone Islands

"Lucy, come away from there and play chess with me," said Peter. He was sitting on the portside deck of their flagship, the Splendour Hyaline with a chessboard that lay open on top of a barrel that he was using as a makeshift table. He had already played several rounds with most of the crew of the Hyaline since this early morning and he had beaten them all severely. This was not surprising since no one was really adept at chess among the Narnians because the Pevensies had only introduced the game a few months ago. Only General Oreius had managed to put up a long enough fight, but in the end Peter still managed to checkmate him after three quarters of an hour. Peter was longing for a bit more of a challenge in competitors. He missed Edmund, who was the undisputed master in the game, though Lucy would come as a close second.

Lucy however, had not paid any attention to him. She kept standing by the railing of the ship watching the sea intently as if she was aiming to find something there.

"Lucy, what are you looking for?" he asked when she didn't answer.

"A mermaid," she replied without looking back at him.

"A mermaid?" he asked. "Lucy, we left the mermaids at the coast of Narnia."

"This one's different, she lives near the Lone Islands and as the Captain said, we're nearly there." Lucy stared at the sky. "It's a few hours before sunset. She might come up soon."

Peter abandoned his chess set and stood next to Lucy. "What's so special about this mermaid?"

"The mermaids in Narnia says she might know what's beyond the Lone Islands. Maybe she can tell us where Aslan lives."

Peter smiled at her. Lucy had told her before how much she longed to sail to the east and find Aslan's country. Peter couldn't promise that they could do so, but told her that if there was an opportunity for them, if the Lone Islands and the rest of Narnia was secure and they had time, they would go sailing with Edmund and Susan and perhaps find Aslan's country.

Right now, however, Peter was just content to sail to the Lone Islands. It was their first voyage out in the open ocean and they both found it to their liking. There was nothing like feeling the fresh sea breeze in your face and the occasional spray of salty water that showered them every few minutes.

It was a grand adventure, made even more exciting by the fleet of ships that followed their grand swan-like galleon. Peter had learned much in the weeks he spent on the Hyaline. He enjoyed doing everything from learning how to navigate with a compass and steering to the manual and heavy tasks of rowing below deck and pulling up sails with the rest of the crew. He almost wished that the voyage would go on longer for he felt there were so many things he could learn on the ship. In addition, he rather enjoyed commanding troops at sea. It was a lot more complex due to the different communication strategies he had to employ from ship to ship but it proved excitingly challenging for him. He was sure Edmund would have enjoyed it if he were here.

"Land Ho!" came the cry from the look-out post. Peter and Lucy immediately went up to the fore along with most of the crew.

"What do you see?" cried Peter to the look-out dwarf who carried with him a spyglass.

"Felimath, the western-most island is in view, Sire," replied the dwarf. In a few minutes we'll be seeing Doorn. The third island, Avra is hidden by the mountains of the two islands. It's not likely to be visible from our location." He peered at his spyglass again. "It's too early to say anything but I see the hills lush with vegetation. No snow—a good sign."

"Do you think the White Witch's forces are no longer there?" asked Lucy.

"I'm hoping for it," replied Peter. "But I want to be sure. I don't want to land there blind. Sallowpad! Gryphon!"

The two winged beasts alighted, ready to take orders.

"Fly forward and tell us what you see," commanded Peter.

The beasts immediately obeyed and set off. They waited almost an hour and in that span, their ship managed to come closer to the Islands enough that Peter could peer into his own spyglass from the poop deck and have a clear view of the beach of Felimath. It was deserted but as the look-out described, further inland was thriving with vegetation. He could see it was composed mostly of grasslands. Peter offered the spyglass to Lucy for a look but she was busy staring at the sea again in search of her mermaid. Peter let her be.

"Gryphon returns!" shouted the look-out.

Peter turned to his spyglass and saw the griffin return without Sallowpad by his side. But even more alarming was that he seemed to be having difficulty flying.

"Give him room!" ordered Oreius and the crew cleared an area in the top deck for the griffin to land. When he finally did he collapsed on the wooden floor of the deck and Peter could see why. A spear pierced his left wing and he was bleeding badly. His feathers on his back were blood-soaked but Peter saw it wasn't because he was injured there. On his back lay Sallowpad who was barely breathing.

Lucy pushed her way to them, and quickly brought her cordial to the lips of the injured raven and griffin. Gryphon recovered immediately and stood up. Sallowpad however was taken to a small cushion to rest.

"Hags, cyclopses, wolves and probably werewolves in their human form attacked us in Doorn, reported the griffin.

"How many?" asked Oreius.

"Not that many. They can't be more than two hundred. They are concentrated on the area that used to be the town of Narrowhaven. Felimath appears to be just deserted grasslands and there are a few settlements in Avra. We saw a few humans and red dwarves in chains being made to work by some of the wolves. They appear to be slaves."

"Then we must liberate them," said Peter. He had more than a thousand strong troops. He was confident that they could take the Islands.

"I believe you are right, your majesty," agreed Oreius. "With our troops we could capture them. Time is at our advantage. Tonight is the beginning of the new moon. The werewolves will remain human and the other creatures of the night will not have as much power as they have during a full moon."

Peter nodded. "We head for Doorn and overwhelm them. Signal to the rest of the fleet to prepare for battle." He stopped as he looked at Lucy who was wiping off the blood from Gryphon's back with a washcloth. A sudden feeling of uneasiness came over him that was totally unrelated to the battle. He didn't know why but somehow he felt like it would be a long time since he will be seeing Lucy again. He made a sudden resolve.

"Send a different message to the Siren Stealth," he added, indicating one of the lesser ships in the fleet. "Queen Lucy and Mr. Tumnus are transferring to her."

Lucy looked up at him in puzzlement.

"Before she falls back," continued Peter.

"What?" gasped Lucy. "Peter, you're not sending me home. Gryphon said they're not that many. We could take them."

"I'm not sending you home," said Peter. "Not yet, but I'm not letting you land either."

"Peter, I can fight." She unsheathed her dagger.

"Absolutely not!" said Peter sternly. "Mr. Tumnus?"

"Sire?"

"Make sure she keeps away from the Lone Islands until I send for you when it's safe. I leave you in charge."

"Peter, I'm Queen!" protested Lucy hotly. "If anyone should be in charge—"

Peter ignored her and continued to address the faun. "Keep an eye out for the battle through spyglass but keep your distance. Wait until sunrise. If I don't send a message by then, sail directly home to Narnia."

"Peter, I ought to think—"

"If anything happens to me, I leave the command to Edmund. He'll know what to do." He thought of his brother and sister left at home and a certain sadness came on him similar to the one he was feeling about Lucy. He suddenly wished he had held them longer before he left Cair Paravel.

"Peter, I want to fight!" shouted Lucy.

"NO!" Peter roared. It silenced not only Lucy but also the rest of the crew. But she recovered immediately and faced him with anger flashing in her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Because I can't bear to lose you like I almost lost Ed! I promised Su I'd keep you safe! I promised Mum that! I PROMISED MYSELF THAT!"

Lucy didn't say anything but looked away. Her accusing silence was killing him.

"Don't argue with me, Lucy. I don't need this now! Just go, that's an order!"

"Alright," she said softly, evenly.

The Siren Stealth was already next to the Hyaline and they had a plank across for Lucy and Mr. Tumnus to walk over to transfer ships. Lucy followed Mr. Tumnus on the plank but she stopped halfway and ran back. Peter thought she was coming back to argue some more. However, she surprised him by rushing to him and hugging him tightly.

"Come back safe," she whispered in his ear and he heard her bite back a sob. He hugged her back and felt tears stinging his eyes. He couldn't understand why he was being so emotional about this. He had every confidence in his army. He knew he would succeed in this battle, yet why did he feel like he was saying goodbye to his youngest sister?

His kissed her forehead deeply then reluctantly let her go. He watched her board the Stealth and they stared at each other until their ships drifted apart.

"Sire?" Oreius asked.

"It's time."

Peter went to the top deck of the Hyaline where he knew his entire fleet could see him. He raised his sword Rhindon high in the air and uttered a battle cry: "For Narnia! For Aslan! And the freedom of the Lone Islands!"

Lucy watched in apprehension as the entire Narnian fleet sailed on at top speed towards Doorn. Her initial anger at Peter's decision to keep her away from battle had completely melted away when he hugged her. She knew he would win but a nagging feeling hammered in her heart that something was going to happen that would keep them apart.

A sudden loud splash broke into her thoughts and she looked down to the water below. There at a little distance from the starboard side of the Stealth, staring up at her was the face of a woman with long dark locks that framed her shimmering face. She appeared to be quite aged and the gills on the side of her face were no longer as bright green as those of the younger mermaids Lucy knew. But she wore a pleasant smile and her eyes were lighting up brightly with something like recognition and relief.

"Luciana!" the mermaid cried. Her voice was gravelly and appeared to be very weak.

But at that moment Peter's battle cry was echoed by the entire fleet. It sounded like thunder and the mermaid appeared to be frightened and dived into the waters.

"Wait!" Lucy cried. "Don't go!" She peered out into the sea and caught sight of a tail just below the surface but couldn't see farther as the ship's railing prevented her from moving further. Lucy climbed over the railing. "Oh please, don't go!"

"Lucy!" shouted the alarmed Mr. Tumnus. "Come back inside the railing!"

Lucy paid no heed to him. She was desperate to see the mermaid again. She leaned farther, her feet dangling over the edge of he railing and only her hands held on for support. There was a splash and the mermaid appeared again.

"Come," she whispered weakly. "I don't have much time!" She held out a wrinkled hand.

Lucy didn't know why but she somehow felt she could trust the mermaid. She let go of the railing and let herself fall.

"LUCY!" she heard Mr. Tumnus desperately shout but his words were drowned out by a second battle cry from the fleet. A moment later, even that roaring noise faded away as the water closed in on her.