Hi! I'll put my author's note at the bottom so you can just read now! :D

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 13

Ava watched as an invisible door closed behind Lucy and she disappeared inside the invisible house. Once the door closed the voices said they didn't need to stay around. The next thing the Narnians knew, the spears were pulled from the ground and turned invisible once more, and a great thumping surrounded their party. The thumping and the chattering voices slowly faded into the distance.

"They're gone," Ava said curiously when she could no longer feel the presence of the voices.

"Are you certain?" Caspian asked, his chest vibrating against Ava's body; she was still wrapped in his arms, but not for long. She could hear the doubt in his voice and she pushed away from him.

"I am most certain!" she said angrily. "I am glad to see that those who have sworn their friendship trust me so little! At least I can say that Lucy trusts me fully!"

"Well, you did lead us into this mess," Drinian replied; he was being a little nastier than usual because everyone was beginning to feel the stress of the voyage.

Ava had begun to walk away, but at Drinian's comment she turned back around with tears in her eyes. She wanted so desperately to unleash all her anger and all her hurt upon him, and maybe three years ago she would have. But she remembered the last time she voiced her anger before thinking, and she remembered how disappointed Aslan had been with her for it. She never wanted to disappoint the Great Lion again. So, she took a minute or two to think things through before responding.

"My magic led us here, Captain," Ava said at last, slowly. "My magic is all I am. If I cannot trust my magic, then what can I trust?" Ava felt a few tears fall and she quickly wiped them away.

"Ava," Caspian said softly as he stepped forward and reached out for her. Ava shook her head and cringed away from him; she did not want his comfort now.

"Where are you going?" Caspian asked as she began to walk away once more.

"I prefer to spend my time waiting for Lucy in the company of those who respect me."

Caspian watched in horror as Ava walked away from him, with tears in her eyes, and took a seat on the ground next to Eustace of all people. What had he done? How did he let this happen? He hurt her! He doubted her, and he hurt her! How could he do this to her? And what did he have to do earn her forgiveness, that is, if he could he earn it.

XOXOX

Lucy was sick and tired. She was tired of being seen as the "cute little girl" or the "younger sister of Susan" or even as the "youngest Pevensie." She missed being grown, being older, being beautiful, more than she would ever admit to anyone. She remembered what it was like to have suitors come and call on her. She would pretend, before Peter and Edmund, that she disliked the suitors coming for her because she felt she was supposed to in order to remain their baby sister. In secret, the idea of suitors thrilled her; for a few moments it was all about her and her beauty, not Susan's.

Lucy wanted to feel like she did when she was in Narnia the first time. She wanted to feel important, valued, like she was of some use. But more than anything, Lucy wanted to feel beautiful again. She wanted boys to see her the way they saw Susan. Or rather, she wanted one to look at her the way Caspian looked at Ava, with pure adoration and love. That's why when she had a glimpse of the beauty given by the Infallible Spell, she knew she needed more.

Lucy carefully but quickly ripped the page from the Magician's book. As she did a great lion's roar echoed through the room and ruffled the pages. Lucy heard her named whispered amongst the roar by an unmistakable voice.

"Aslan?" Lucy asked as she looked around for the Great Lion. She could see him nowhere. She looked down at the page she held in her hands. She knew it had been Aslan who called her name, and she knew it was probably a warning. But as she stared at the page, her want, her need to be beautiful outweighed Aslan's warning and she stuffed the page up her shirt.

Lucy stepped back up to the Magician's book and read over the pages that were now displayed. "A spell to make the unseen seen," she read aloud. "This is it! *Like the 'p' in psychology, the 'h' in psychiatry*…" she began to read the spell aloud.

XOXOX

Caspian couldn't take it anymore. It had been close to an hour since Lucy disappeared inside the mansion. Which means, it had been close to an hour since Ava had shoved away from him in anger and walked away in tears. As Caspian watched her now, he could see how upset she still was. She sat alone, Eustace had left her side some time ago, with her back to a bush and her knees tucked into her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her head was bowed, her forehead resting on a knee. She had been sitting like that for awhile now, and Caspian had finally had enough of seeing her in such pain. As he walked closer to her he could see her shoulders shaking with sobs.

He sat down quietly next to her. "Ava."

"Go away," she said not even looking up.

"Ava, please…"

"I said go away. I'm angry with you and I don't want to talk to you right now. I don't know if I'll ever want to talk to you again! Not if you don't trust me!"

"Ava, you can't avoid me for the rest of the voyage. We have a long journey before us still."

"I don't…necessarily. I can return to Narnia whenever I please. All I have to do is swim."

Her words caused Caspian so much pain, he could not respond immediately. Had he really upset her that much? Had his doubt, his foolishness pushed her that far? Had he lost her friendship already? She wouldn't really leave him, and give up her time with Lucy, would she?

"We both know you wouldn't do that," he said with conviction after thinking about it.

"And why wouldn't I?"

"Because you wouldn't leave Lucy." He knew that if she were really that angry then she would not stay for him but she would for Lucy. Ava lifted her head and stared blankly ahead. He was right.

"Ava, please look at me," he requested. "Please," he added again before she slowly turned her head to face him. Her eyes still held tears and her cheeks were red from crying. Caspian didn't delude himself; he knew he was the primary cause of her pain.

"I am sorry I doubted you. It was a moment of weakness; 'we all have our moments of weakness at some point.'" He smiled feebly, remembering when she first said those words to him. It was after he nearly resurrected the White Witch; he still had the scar on his left hand from the jagged blade of the Hag.

He shook the painful memory form his mind and continued. "I know how important your magic is to you. I of all people should know that. I promise I will not doubt you again. Will you please forgive me?"

"You should not promise that. You are but a man, I am sure you will doubt me at other times."

"Then I shall promise to always try to refrain from doubting you. Can I make that promise?"

Ava thought about it for a moment before nodding her head. "I suppose that is acceptable," she said with a small smile.

Caspian chuckled warmly and Ava scooted closer to him. She laid her head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her to his body. She, in turn, wrapped her arm around his waist and hugged him back. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead before resting his cheek against it. They sat like that for some time.

"I hate fighting with you." Ava said quietly after several minutes.

"I do not like it either."

"Why do you think we do it so often then?"

"Because we both care a great deal about the other and we do not want them in any situation that might cause them harm. And…we are both very stubborn."

Ava giggled and hugged him a little tighter as he tickled her side at the last statement. "I am glad to hear you admit to your stubbornness as well."

"And I am glad to hear you laugh." He tickled her again. She squealed a little and tried to squirm out of his embrace, but he only held her tighter.

"Caspian, please," she begged for him to stop.

"Alright, I'll stop. I promise. You can come back." Caspian held up his hands in a sign of surrender. Ava hesitated only slightly before laying her head back down on Caspian's shoulder; he returned his arm to where it was around her waist.

"I have thought of another reason why we fight," Ava said.

"And why is that?"

"Because the moments we spend making up are some of my happiest memories."

"They are mine as well."

Ava looked up at Caspian and he looked down at her. His gaze was intense and it made her heart race wildly. As she stared into his eyes, she saw the warmth, the passion that he held only for her, and it made her heart ache. She thought back to their kiss and how amazing it had made her feel. She longed for that feeling again. She longed to feel his lips on hers again. Caspian wanted to feel Ava's lips again too, but after she'd chosen her magic over him he swore to himself that if he were to taste her sweet kiss again it would be at her bidding and not his.

Caspian and Ava were so wrapped up in each other that they did not notice what was going on around them. They did not hear Eustace's cry of "Look! What are those things?" They did not see the strange creatures that were slowly becoming visible around them. The creatures that were no taller than a Dwarf but had only one leg and one very large foot were tending to the garden around the Narnian party. Caspian and Ava also failed to hear the joyous cries from these creatures as they realized they were visible again and they began to jump around and do back flips, and front flips, and sideways flips, and all sorts of other flips.

No, Caspian and Ava saw none of that. They only saw each other. They saw each other's eyes and lips. And they saw the distance separating their lips grow smaller and smaller as Ava tried, and failed, to resist the urge to kiss Caspian. Caspian too fought an urge, the urge to close the distance rapidly and capture Ava's lips with his own. But he stood by his promise; however, the arm that was wrapped around Ava's waist, slightly pulled her forward.

Their noses brushed against each other and now she could feel his warm breath on her skin. Caspian's eyes closed as he waited for the feel of her lips. Unwittingly his other hand came to rest on her neck, ready to bury itself in her hair. His thumb brushed over her soft, rosy cheek. Just as their lips were about to meet, Ava felt her magic flare.

"Oh!" she cried out in surprise as she jumped back. Caspian gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"Oh!" she cried again as she jumped to her feet. "It's him! Look! Look, Caspian, it's him!"

Caspian got to his feet and looked in the direction that Ava was pointing. The mansion had become visible too and now Lucy was walking out of it with a man at her side. The man appeared much older than Caspian himself, and he looked much wiser too. He had a short, pointy grey beard and short dark hair spotted with grey. He was wearing a brown tunic and pants with an intricate green and gold robe. Caspian knew at once that he must be the Magician.

"Ed, look," Caspian said as he approached the young King; he and Drinian had not yet noticed Lucy and the man walking out.

"Lucy!" Edmund exclaimed at the sight of his sister unharmed.

Caspian and Edmund stood beside each other as the Magician approached them. *"Your Majesties,"* the Magician said with a bow.

*"Caspian, and Edmund,"* Lucy introduced them. *"This is Coriakin. It's his island."*

"Yours is the magic I felt pull me here," Ava said in a very dreamy voice as she stepped up beside Caspian. She looked upon the Magician with wide eyed wonderment.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess," Coriakin said as he held his hands out for Ava to take.

"Likewise, great Magician," she replied, placing her hands in his.

"You have done well, Young One. You have brought your friends here just as I have asked. I hope my magic call did not frighten you too much."

"I was never frightened by it."

"Then you are a brave, young Princess indeed. I hope I did not cause too much strife between you and your friends then." At this the Magician's eyes flickered over Edmund, Caspian, and Drinian who all cast their eyes to the ground in shame.

"It was nothing she will not forgive them for later," Lucy said.

"Come; let us head inside while your crew replenishes your stores. They will find a fresh water stream very close to here and they may help themselves to any of the produce." Coriakin made to head back in the mansion.

"Wait," Edmund said stopping him. "What about them? What did you do to them?" He pointed to the creatures still hopping about but keeping their distance from the Magician.

"I have not harmed them, young King. They are Dufflepuds. They find peace and happiness working in elaborate gardens. Some of the plants grew taller than they could reach, so I have given them the ability to reach great heights. They say I have uglified them, but trust me they are a vast improvement from what they were before."

"Why did you call us here?" Caspian asked.

"You follow the path of the Six Lords and you seek to defeat the Green Mist. I have information that you will need if you wish to succeed." This, of course, perked all their interest. "Come inside and I will show you there."

Coriakin turned to go inside again and this time they all followed. Except for Edmund and Ava; Edmund had stopped Ava from following by calling her name. Ava did not fully turn to him for she so desperately wanted to follow Coriakin, but she did turn her head.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I shouldn't have doubted you," Edmund said.

Ava smiled. "It's alright, Ed. All is forgiven," Ava replied before following the others into the mansion.

XOXOX

Coriakin led the six of them, Eustace and Drinian had followed as well, to his library. There he unrolled a large magical map and told them all he knew about the mist. The source of the Green Mist was Dark Island near the edge of the world. On the map the island had columns and towers of black smoke surrounding it; solid land could not be seen through all the smoke. The island looked daunting enough on the map, and Ava dreaded to see what it was like in real life.

Coriakin then proceeded to tell them that to defeat the mist they had to break the spell of Dark Island. In order to do that, they had to find the remaining six swords of the lost lords. When they had all seven swords they needed to lay them at Aslan's Table on Ramandu's Island and to find Ramandu's Island they had to follow the blue star. Sounded easy enough, except that Coriakin warned them that Dark Island sought to extinguish the light from the world and corrupt all goodness, taking any form it deemed necessary and bringing to life their worst nightmares.

*"Beware,"* Coriakin warned as he finished, *"You are all about to be tested."*

*"Tested?"* Lucy asked, confused. Tested how?

*"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you."* Coriakin stepped closer to Lucy and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. *"Be strong."*

Coriakin then crossed to the other side of the map where Ava stood between Caspian and Edmund. He took her hands in his again and looked directly into her eyes. Ava felt the tingling of her magic before she heard the Magician's voice in her head. His lips did not move, but she knew it was Coriakin speaking to her.

"Be wary of your heart, Princess. The stronger your feelings grow for your King, the weaker your magic will become. You have already begun to feel its effects. The simplest tasks are becoming much harder; soon they will be impossible, if you do not reign in your feelings."

Ava's eyes dropped in sadness. So that's what was happening to her. She was losing her magic because she was falling in love. She really couldn't have both. Her eyes flickered over to Caspian and met his gaze. He saw the despair on her face and made to move towards her, but Drinian held him back with a hand on his shoulder. Ava turned her eyes back to Coriakin's.

"Please tell me, learned Magician," Ava sent back to him with her mind without really knowing how she did it. "How does one keep their heart from feeling what it was made to feel? How does one stop a force as strong and as unbreakable as love? How can I choose between my magic and my King?"

Coriakin smiled faintly. "That, Princess, is a question only you can answer," he said aloud before dropping her hands.

*"Don't fall to temptation,"* Coriakin said to the whole group as he stepped away from Ava. *"To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."*

Everyone looked back down at the map to where Dark Island lay in smoke and shadow. The Magician's words weighed heavily on their minds. They all knew, even Eustace knew on some level, that things were about to become much more difficult.

Well, I managed to update in a week. Are you happy you didn't have to wait too long? I couldn't really bear to make you wait any longer. Thanks so much for all the well wishes. Interview went ok, not great but not terrible. To be honest I don't really know how it went, but I do know I have another interview coming up now; different position but essentially the same thing. This interview is in town so I don't have to travel as far which is good.

Well enough about me. How was the chapter and the wait? So Ava is beginning to have a difficult time with her magic thanks to her developing feelings. How will this affect the rest of the voyage? How about 3 cheers for Caspian for being a gentleman and waiting "patiently" for Ava to close the gap...but then Coriakin had to ruin the moment. ;) Sorry about that! I hope to have chapter 14 up within in the week sometime. Thanks for sticking with me!

As usual, the * indicates direct quotes; these are from the movie.