Yeah, yeah. So I hardly ever actually update when I say I'm going to... at least I seem to be updating earlier than when I said...right? Usually I update sooner because finished a chapter and got really excited, today I update early because I've been feeling a bit depressed these past few hours and I need some cheering up. So to do that, I'm hoping to make you happy by posting the next chapter early, then hopefully your happiness will spread to me.

So I personally think that this chapter is sad but sweet, and I hope ya'll get that too. Enjoy!

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 5

Ava was livid!

Caspian did it! He actually did it! He locked her in the cabin, just as he told Dr. Cornelius he would.

Ava was furious! She could not believe he actually went through with it. She yelled out his name a few more times and tried to turn the handles. She even beat her palm against the door jam, but it was no use. No one came to let her out.

As she calmed down, she could hear Caspian and Drinian shouting orders. The siege had begun. Ava decided to tap into her Naiad powers and sense the Narnians on board so that she might better determine what was happening. As the Naiad Princess, Ava could tune into the Narnian's thoughts; it was how she knew if they were in danger or great distress. It worked best when their emotions were strong, such as in a battle, but it took a great deal of magic and she could only do it for a brief period of time.

Ava chose to focus her mind on the two Fauns, Voltinus and Mentius, because she knew Reepicheep's thoughts would overwhelm her and Tavros would be busy commanding. Ava felt free and light for half a second before being bombarded with emotions that weren't her own. The ship was indeed a Terebinthian pirate ship and it had already drawn up beside the Dawn Treader. Ava felt the Faun's concern as they unleashed another arrow; the pirate vessel was preparing to board. The Narnians were in danger!

Ava came back to herself angrier than ever. Her people needed her and Caspian had locked her in a cabin! She spun around with a grunt as she leaned her back against the doors. She stared out the glass doors to the balcony in front of her.

The balcony!

Caspian could not have locked those doors. Ava sprinted across the cabin to the balcony doors. She pulled the doors open and stepped out into the sunlight; as she did, she could hear the volley of arrows and commands more clearly. Ava knew she had to help out, but from the balcony there was only one way out and that was down.

Ava hurried back inside and removed her sword; it appeared she would not be using it after all. Next she quickly kicked off her shoes and set them by the bed. She stepped back onto the balcony, and with a deep breath she hoisted herself up on the ledge and jumped into the water below. It felt cool at first as it rushed over her body. Her clothes quickly became heavy and water logged and began to weigh her down, pulling her to the ocean floor, but once she let her magic take over she became weightless. She was no longer sinking in the water. She was the water.

XOXOX

Caspian stood amidst the crew on the main deck firing arrows at the Terebinthian vessel. The pirate ship had quickly caught up with the Dawn Treader and came along her starboard side. The Narnians had not ceased their arrow attacks, and yet the enemy was not retreating. Caspian thought briefly of Ava as he reloaded his crossbow, and was thankful that she, at least, was safe.

Caspian looked back up in time to see the Terebinthian vessel drop wooden planks onto the side of the Dawn Treader.

"Do not let them board!" Caspian shouted as he rushed forth and tried to push one of the planks off. Caspian felt he put his whole strength into pushing but the plank would not budge. When Tavros lent his strength though, they managed to throw the plank over board together. Caspian knew there would be no way they would be able to push every plank off before they were boarded, but that did not keep him from trying.

Suddenly a wall of water rose up between the two ships and washed the planks, and any Terebinthian pirate on them, away. Just as that wall faded away, another wall arose and crashed down on the Terebinthian ship breaking one of its smaller masts and tearing the sail of the main mast. As that wall faded a great wave rose up between the ships and pushed them apart.

"I've never seen the sea act so strange, before," one of the crewmen said.

Caspian had!

"Ava," he muttered angrily through his teeth. Caspian hurried to the State Room and turned the key that was still in the door. He pulled open the doors and found all the evidence he needed. The balcony doors were open and the cabin was empty.

The balcony!

A continuous roll of waves arose between the Dawn Treader and the Terebinthian pirate ship, pushing them in opposite directions. Before long the ships were out of range of arrows and soon after that the waves were only pushing the Dawn Treader.

"It's Lady Ava!" one of the crewmen shouted. "Huzzah! It's Lady Ava!"

Caspian stepped back out onto the main deck, anger boiling inside him, as thunderous applause and joyous cheering broke out amongst the crew. They cheered Ava's name and sang her praises.

"I thought you locked her in the cabin?" Drinian questioned as he came up beside Caspian.

"She jumped off the balcony," Caspian replied through his teeth as he tried to keep his anger in check.

"Well, she was quite determined to fight. I suppose she found a way to get what she wanted after all," Drinian responded with a glint of knowing in his eyes. Caspian, however, did not find it amusing.

XOXOX

Ava remained in the water awhile, swimming alongside the Dawn Treader. She felt the Narnians' joy and the heard cries of praise from the men. She waved at them and giggled before dashing to swim ahead for awhile.

Ava loved the feeling she had when she swam. Freedom. Absolute freedom. There were no pressures or tiresome burdens, no worries or obligations; Ava's mind was completely free. In true Naiad form, Ava was weightless. She gave herself over to her magic and became one with the water. A crewman had described her appearance back at the cape on Terebinthia. He said she was a beautiful, translucent maiden with a body as clear and as blue as the water in which she swam. The man had been trying to gain her favor, having been enchanted by her magic, but Ava could only giggle in response to his compliment before swimming off. She was truly carefree.

Ava finally decided to return to the ship after what she thought was only a few minutes, but really was closer to an hour. Ava rose up to the side of the ship on a funnel of water and sat on the railing with her feet dangling over the water. Rynelf, one of the crewmen, had seen her emerging and quickly came over to assist her on board. He held out his hands, which she gladly accepted as she swung her feet around, and helped her step down from the rail.

"Thank you , Rynelf," Ava said.

"It was my pleasure, Lady Ava. And might I extend, on behalf of the crew, our thanks. You were brilliant back there and a great help."

"Thank you, Rynelf, but really it was nothing. I was only doing what little I could to help. I only wished I could have come sooner. I hope no one was severely injured?"

"No, my Lady, all are fine. Their arrows were weak against our shields."

"I am glad to hear it," Ava said as her eyes began to roam over the deck.

As Ava looked around she saw that there was hardly any damage at all, and her heart remained light. That is, until she saw Caspian. He was standing just outside the doors to the State Room, his arms folded over his chest. His face bore an expression of anger so great that Ava had not seen one like it before. His eyes were dark and hard; his stance was stiff. He looked as angry as she felt when she realized she had been locked in. Without a word or a signal of any kind, Caspian turned on his heels and walked inside; Ava knew she was meant to follow.

"It would appear that not everyone is as pleased with my actions as you are, Rynelf," Ava said warily.

"His Majesty is a wise King. In time he too will come to realize your value."

"Thank you, Rynelf."

"Good luck, Lady Ava," he said with a nod. Ava smiled her thanks once more before following after Caspian.

XOXOX

Caspian and Ava were in the Royal State room arguing for several minutes. Sometimes their voices were raised and sometimes they were hard whispers. Ava was angry because it seemed that Caspian had so little faith in her. Caspian was angry because Ava had blatantly refused his order yes, but more so because she didn't seem to realize how dangerous the situation could have been. He tried to explain this to her but he could not seem to find the correct words and his frustrations only made him angrier. And it seemed, that the angrier he became the more he yelled, and the more he yelled the angrier Ava became as she grew determined to defend her actions.

After several minutes of heated words in which neither party wanted to cave, Caspian stormed out of the State Room while Ava formed a ball on the floor and expressed her frustrations through unyielding tears.

XOXOX

Several hours passed and Ava remained in the State Room. She tried sleeping, but every time she closed her eyes she replayed the fight with Caspian. They had fought on multiple occasions before, but it had never gotten as bad as it had that afternoon. There were several times when Ava walked out onto the balcony and nearly jumped off again, ready to return to Narnia, but something always seemed to stop her.

Ava was thankful that the emotional link she could form with the Narnians was only a one way thing and that they could not sense her distress. In her loneliness Ava had become so depressed that she did not realize how hungry she was until the Faun Mentius brought her a tray of dinner.

XO

There was a soft knock on the door. Ava stood up from where she had been laying on the bed and smoothed out her dress. She opened the doors a small crack, big enough only to see who stood on the other side. When she saw that it was Mentius with a tray of food, Ava opened the doors wider and allowed him to enter.

"You did not come to dinner, Princess. I thought you might be hungry."

"Thank you, Mentius." Ava's voice was scratchy from yelling and crying all afternoon. "You may place it on the table there."

Ava followed behind the Faun as he walked the short distance to the table. Ava only stared down at the food. She was hungry, but she did not think she could eat. Mentius went back to the door, but turned and watched her carefully before leaving. He may not have been able to sense her emotions as he knew she could sense his, but her despair was written plainly on her face.

"Voltinus has taken His Majesty's dinner down to him," Mentius said hesitantly.

Ava raised her head, but did not look at him. "Caspian didn't go to dinner either?"

"No. After leaving here, he retreated to his cabin below deck, and he has not been seen since.

Ava was silent for a minute or two before she turned her eyes to the Faun. "Thank you for my food, Mentius."

Ava pulled out a chair and sat at the table, while Mentius insisted it was his pleasure and left, leaving Ava alone with her thoughts once more.

XOXOX

Ava walked down the ladder to the lower decks as quietly as possible. The moon had been out for a few hours now and most of the men were asleep. She reached the bottom and turned around, coming face to face with a man's chest. She began to let out a startled gasp before the man's hand quickly clasped over her mouth and silenced her. She looked up into the, once more, warm eyes of Caspian. He placed a finger over his own mouth before pointing up; Ava nodded.

Caspian silently moved around Ava and climbed the ladder. Ava followed behind. Caspian held his hand out to help Ava up when she neared the top and she gladly accepted. With her hand still clasped in his, Caspian led her back to the State Room. Neither spoke a word for several minutes. Unable to face Ava just yet, he turned his eyes to the painting of a woman just beside the door as he gathered his thoughts. Ava had noticed the painting before and she had noticed Caspian staring at it before, but Ava had not been able to bring herself to ask who the woman was; until now.

"Who is she?" Ava asked barely above a whisper. For moment she thought Caspian hadn't heard her because he had not responded. When at last he did, he spoke just as quietly as Ava had.

"My mother." His voice had a hint of sadness to it as well.

"She was very beautiful."

"Yes, she was. You remind me of her," Caspian said, looking her way finally.

"How so?"

"She too was very strong willed."

Ava glanced to the floor bashfully.

"She did not take an opinion on many things," Caspian continued, "but what she did, she fought for passionately. It was her idea to hire Nurse for me." Nurse had been Caspian's caretaker before Ava's father, and it was she who first told stories of Old Narnia to Caspian. "And I think she knew of the stories Nurse told me."

"Why do you say that?"

"It is just a feeling I have. The way she would look at me sometimes, as if she knew."

"How old were you, when…"

"I was seven when she died. I was too young when father died to remember much of him, but I have always remembered mother."

Ava and Caspian fell silent once more, and then, as if out of nowhere…

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time. Ava smiled.

"I'm sorry, Caspian. I should not have disobeyed your orders."

"And if you hadn't we would have been boarded by pirates and we would be much worse off than we are now. The truth of the matter is, you saved us Ava and for that we—I owe you my thanks. I know the crew has already given you theirs. I too am sorry. I should not have yelled at you."

"I yelled as well, and for that I apologize."

"I also apologize for locking you in the cabin. But you must know, that I didn't do it because I didn't believe in you or because I didn't trust you. I did it because I care a great deal about you, Ava, and I did it to keep you safe, for the Narnians. I have seen the way they look at you. You have given them so much hope and so much joy.

"You are their Princess, Ava. I fully believe that I was only able to restore peace so easily because you believed in me, and the Narnians believed in you. They would do anything you ask them to, even put their faith in a Telmarine King to keep his promises."

Ava shook her head in protest. "You had their trust long before I was their Princess, Caspian. I played no part in restoring peace."

Now Caspian began to shake his head. "Ava, you have always been their Princess. If you do not believe me, then ask my former horse, Destrier."

Ava smiled weakly. "Does this mean we're friends again?" she asked after a slight pause.

"Ava, I really hope that you did not believe a simple disagreement could ruin our friendship?"

Ava let her head drop as she hid her face.

Caspian lifted her chin with his hands. "Ava?"

"Sometimes I am like any other Lady, Caspian, and I doubt."

Caspian pulled Ava to his body as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on the top of hers. Ava slowly returned the embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"You should never doubt my feelings for you, Ava. They are too strong to ever falter. No matter what happens, you will always be my greatest companion."

Caspian pulled back slightly and saw a tear escape Ava's watery eyes. Without hesitation he moved his hand to her cheek and wiped the tear away with his thumb. His hand remained pressed softly against her face and she nuzzled into it. Her eyes closed gently as she flushed at his tender touch, her body swelling with heat. She did not know how Caspian could not have felt it.

Caspian swallowed hard and his body burned with a fire as Ava nuzzled her face into his palm, her lips brushing lightly over his skin. He had been aching to feel the softness of those pink lips again, ever since that ever too brief kiss he had received on Galma. But she was the Naiad Princess. How could he ever compete with the Narnians for her affection?

He dropped his hand and took a step back, breaking what was left of their embrace and putting distance between their bodies. Ava's eyes snapped open at the sudden departure, and for a brief second, Caspian thought she looked hurt. She masked it with a yawn though.

"You used a lot of magic today?" he asked. Ava nodded. "And I am certain you received no rest this afternoon."

"My mind would not let me, though I tried."

"Neither would mine. And you cannot sleep while I am here, so I shall you leave you now. Good night, Ava."

"Good night, Caspian," Ava said with another yawn.

Caspian wanted to hug her once more before parting, but feared that if he did he would not be able to pull away. So he settled for a small nod instead, and left Ava alone in her quarters.

BTW: I saw the new Pirates movie today (On Stranger Tides). It was good, but not as good as the first 3! The new eye candy "Philip" was decent enough, but he was no Will Turner (or King Caspian ;) )! I'll still buy the DVD and watch it several times though.