The * indicates direct quotes, from the movie.

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 15

Ava sat up in bed with a start and found herself back in the cabin she shared with Lucy aboard the Dawn Treader. Not even a second after Ava had awoken, Lucy shot up with a cry of "Aslan!" The two girls looked at each other with wide, fearful eyes and tears threatening to escape.

"Bad dream?" Lucy half asked and half assured herself.

Ava nodded. "It felt so real. I really thought…"

"Thought what?"

Ava hesitated before shaking her head. She didn't want to give voice to her fears just now; they were far too great. "Nothing. It was just a dream. There's no need to dwell on it."

XOXOX

Several hours later, Lucy and Ava walked out onto the main deck. It was the first time in two weeks that they were able to do so without being completely soaked in seconds. Not long after leaving Coriakin's island the Dawn Treader came upon a terrific hurricane. Waves washed over every side of the boat while lightning nearly kept the black sky fully illuminated at every moment. Ever crewman worked around the clock to keep the Dawn Treader in shape and to rid her of any water that she had taken on; Ava had been a great asset in that area which is why, she believed, she had slept so long and had such a horrid dream.

Actually, most of the crew had nightmares while they slept that night. Lucy dreamed that she had read the Infallible Spell again and somehow created a world in which she did not exist, and subsequently Peter and Edmund did not know about Narnia. Edmund had dreamed of the White Witch re-conquering Narnia with the aid of the Green Mist. Caspian had terrible dreams of disappointing his father. And many of the crew dreamed that they never returned to Narnia or their families. It was an all around awful night for dreaming.

As Lucy and Ava looked around the main deck they spotted the kings speaking with the captain on the forecastle, and they soon joined them. They were discussing the island that had been spotted earlier that morning. From their current distance the island didn't appear to be very fertile, but they had little choice on whether or not to stop. During the storm, three casks of water had obtained holes and were dry now, and several food casks had become spoiled. The Dawn Treader had to stop at the island in hopes of replenishing their supplies. It was decided that while Drinian and the crew were searching the island for supplies, the kings, Lucy and Ava would look for clues for the Lords. Within the hour, two long boats were rowing towards the rocky island.

Ava stepped onto the dry, rocky beach and frowned. She couldn't see a speck of green or plant life anywhere. She bent down and scooped up a handful of the sand and let it run through her fingers. Her frown deepened; the sand was so dry. Ava knew that the crew would have a hard time finding any sort of food.

"Caspian," Ava called out, gaining her King's attention. "I think perhaps I should go with the crew to find food. This island is very dry. The best chance of finding food will be to first find fresh water."

"Alright," Caspian nodded. "Drinian, take Ava with you and the three of us will search for clues."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Drinian replied.

*"Hang on, you mean the four of us,"* Eustace corrected Caspian. Lucy, Edmund and Caspian all gave Eustace a curious look. *"Come on, please don't send me back to the rat."*

*"I heard that,"* Reepicheep replied, though he was some distance away.

*"Big ears,"* Eustace replied under his breath while rolling his eyes.

*"I heard that too."*

Caspian, Lucy and Edmund chuckled but Eustace didn't seem to find it too funny. "Stay with Ava, Eustace. You'll be fine," Edmund replied before him, Caspian and Lucy turned to head off in one direction; Ava led the crew in another.

One aspect of Ava's magic allowed her to sense fresh water so she always knew how to find a source if she needed to. Usually she didn't have to worry about this too much since Narnia had plenty sources of fresh water. But on this island, she was thankful to have that sense and she used it as a guide over the rocky terrain. As they searched for food and followed Ava's lead, none of the crew noticed Eustace falling behind, nor did they miss him when he had disappeared for good.

At last Ava found the source of water she was looking for. It wasn't much, just a small pool and stream that led down to the sea. As she suspected, the only sign of life or food that they had come across thus far on this island, was located around this pool.

"I'm afraid this is the best we're going to find here, Captain," Ava said solemnly.

"There's no other source of water on this island?" Drinian asked.

"None with water this pure. The island is volcanic; all the other pools are too high in sulfur to be safe."

"Very well then. Men, see what food we can find around here. Princess, would you mind filling the water casks for us?"

"Not at all, Captain." A crewman placed the three repaired casks at the edge of the pool and Ava began to fill them with water while the other crewmen collected what little food they could find.

XOXOX

Meanwhile, on another part of the island, Caspian, Edmund and Lucy had found a cavern beneath the island's surface. They followed a rope down into the cavern and found a pool of water. This was not one of the pools that Ava could sense, because it was protected by its own magic. The water of this pool turned anything and everything into pure gold once the water touched the object in question, even a living person. Lord Restimar discovered that the hard way when he accidently fell in on his visit.

After discovering the identity of the golden man in the pool, Edmund searched for his sword and spotted it in the pool; he fished it out of the water using the sword of Lord Bern. Though both swords had touched the magical water, they were not turned to gold for they were protected by Aslan's magic which had been infused in them. As Edmund pulled the sword from the water, a strange longing came over him. The man that had access to a golden pool would be the richest man in the world. To test his theory further, Edmund dipped a nearby conk shell into the pool and watched, dazzled, as it turned to solid gold.

Lucy saw the strange glint of bewitchment in her brother's eyes and it worried her. She had seen that look before, when he had tasted of the White Witch's food three years ago. Lucy carefully questioned her brother on this matter as he stared at the now golden conk shell, fearful of his answer. Sure enough, Edmund responded with an equal sense of bewitchment in his voice.

*"Lucy, we'd be so rich. No one could tell us what to do, or who to live with,"* Edmund said, breathing heavily as if he were out of breath; his cheeks were flushed.

*"You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund,"* Caspian replied.

*"Says who?"*

*"I do."* Caspian's voice turned hard and cold. Lucy cast him a wary glance and saw that he too had the same look of bewitchment in his eye. Lucy knew this couldn't end well.

Edmund gave Caspian a look of pure hatred as he grabbed his sword and turned to face the King. "You forget; I am not your subject. I am one of the Sovereign Four, and you are only King under my brother the High King. You cannot order me around like you do the Narnians."

"Edmund! You know Caspian isn't like that, and this isn't like you. You're bewitched, Ed," Lucy pleaded but her words fell on deaf ears.

"You may be one of the Sovereign Four, but you are still under allegiance to the High King the same as I. You are ranked no higher," Caspian replied coolly.

"Well I should be!" Edmund shouted as he stepped forward; he was now inches from Caspian's face.

"Edmund!" Lucy pleaded as she grabbed his arm but he pushed her back.

"You are not the King Narnia deserves! The King Ava deserves! She deserves to be loved by a better King!"

"And you think you're that King?" Caspian scoffed. "You're a child! You could never be the one to win her heart! She will be my Queen."

"Caspian! I know you're stronger than this," Lucy tried pleading with him, but it was as if neither King could hear a word she was saying.

"Why would she choose a second rate King?" Edmund asked

"If you think you're so much better, then why don't you prove it?" Caspian said harshly as he shoved Edmund backwards.

Edmund didn't let the shove trip him up; he quickly swung his sword around to attack his one time friend. Caspian was prepared though and easily blocked Edmund's attack. And so their duel began. Their ringing swords echoed in the underground cavern as they circled each other. Lucy had seen them duel aboard the Dawn Treader, but it was nothing like this. Now they were serious; now they were out for blood. Lucy knew they would not stop until one had injured the other, and she could not wait for that to happen. At the first chance she could, she whispered a pleading prayer to Aslan and jumped in between the clanging swords.

*"Stop it! Both of you!"* Lucy yelled, holding out her arms and cringing hoping they would not strike her. Fortunately, they did not, but they remained poised to strike at any moment.

*"Look at yourselves,"* Lucy pleaded with the two boys as she looked back and forth between them. "*Can't you see what's happening? This place has tempted you; it's bewitching you.* This is exactly what Coriakin warned us against. I am glad that Ava was not here to witness you behaving in such a way."

Lucy remained standing between the two kings; her eyes darting between the two. At last, they stood straighter and lowered their swords as the bewitchment slowly faded from their eyes. Edmund looked at the golden conk shell he still held for a moment more, before tossing it into the pool. Lucy sighed in relief as Edmund returned his sword to its sheath.

"Let's get out of here," Lucy said before walking off, Caspian and Edmund quickly followed her.

XOXOX

Ava and the crew hadn't been loading the boats for long before Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy returned; Drinian was the first to notice their approach. "Did you find an sign of the Lords, Your Majesties?"

"Yes, they stopped here. We found the…remains of Lord Restimar," Caspian replied. *"What food did you find?"* He frowned when he looked down at the baskets and saw that they weren't even half full.

*"It's volcanic, Your Majesty. Not much grows,"* Rhince responded.

"We'll have to try fishing when we get back out to sea," Ava said despondently. She was not at all thrilled with the idea of using her magic to catch defenseless fish, but she had to put the Narnians first.

"Where's Eustace?" Lucy asked suddenly.

"I thought he went with you."

"No, I told him to stay with you," Edmund said.

Ava's face paled. "Drinian, please tell me you know where Eustace is."

"I'm afraid I haven't seen him," Drinian replied.

Ava felt like the wind had been knocked from her chest. She couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred with tears she fought to contain. How could she have let this happened? She was supposed to be responsible for Eustace, and she lost him!

"Ava!" A pair of hands gently grabbed Ava's arm to gain her attention. She turned her head and saw Edmund speaking to her.

"Ava, it's not your fault. This is just the sort of thing Eustace would do," Edmund tried assuring her, but Ava could hardly hear him for the ringing in her ears.

"We have to find him, Ed," Lucy said.

"I'll go look for him; you go back to the ship, Lu."

"We shouldn't split up," Caspian said. "I'll go with you."

Edmund nodded somewhat hesitantly, and Lucy eyed the boys cautiously. She hadn't forgotten what transpired between them only minutes ago. Caspian handed over Lord Restimar's sword to Drinian before he and Edmund started looking for Eustace; the crew continued to load the boats. Meanwhile, Ava still stood frozen. She couldn't believe she had lost her best friend's cousin.

"Wait!" she called after Edmund and Caspian. "I want to go too."

"Ava, you don't have to come," Edmund replied.

"I want to, Edmund. Eustace was my responsibility and I shouldn't have let him out of my sight. I'm sorry."

"Ava, I told you, this isn't your fault."

"There's no use in arguing with her, Edmund. I know that look well: fierce determination," Caspian pointed out. "Besides, it won't hurt to have her with us since she has formed a sort of friendship with your cousin."

Edmund relented with a nod.

XOXOX

"Eustace!"

"Eustace!"

Edmund, Caspian, and Ava took turns calling out for the lost Eustace. They had been searching the island for close to an hour but there had been no sign of him yet. There was still a slight bit of tension between Caspian and Edmund even though they both knew that neither meant what they had said in the cavern. Edmund in particular was perturbed by what he had said. He hadn't meant to bring up Caspian's obvious attraction for Ava, he figured if Caspian wanted him to know he would tell him, but something just came over him and he couldn't stop the words from spilling out of his mouth.

"What's that?" Ava asked curiously. There was a sort of glowing gold light coming from around the corner ahead. As they rounded the bend the source of the glow came into view. Thousands of gold pieces and various jewels sat in a deep trench, the sun reflecting off of each piece created the golden glow.

*"Treasure,"* Edmund whispered.

*"Trouble,"* Caspian replied. Ava did not notice the cautious look the boys shared with each other for she was too busy gazing into the trench.

"You're right," Edmund sighed. "But that's just the sort of place Eustace would have gone into. We have to check it out."

Edmund and Caspian carefully climbed down the steep incline, aiding Ava down between them. The trench weaved through the rocky mountain creating many crevices and tunnels in which things could hide. Every inch of the trench was lined with piles of treasure. There were silver medallions, gold coins, golden platters, silver goblets, chest plates, and jeweled crowns among many other valuable treasures. The sides of the trench rose above them and steadily increased in height so that the back of the trench was clouded in shadow.

"We should be careful. This is the sort of place dragons like to dwell," Caspian warned.

"I suppose he found that out the hard way," Edmund said pointing across the way. Ava shrieked and jumped in fright when she saw what Edmund was pointing to: a skeleton.

Caspian carefully approached the old skeleton and examined it closely. "This man was Lord Octesian; I can tell by his signet ring. We need to find his…"

"Sword," Edmund finished as he pulled a sword out from under a pile of rubies and gold. Ava was looking around another pile a few feet away when she suddenly gasped and dropped to her knees.

"Ava, what is it?" Edmund was closer to Ava so he reached her first. "Oh, no." He dropped to his knees beside Ava just as she erupted in sobs.

"Eustace…" Edmund murmured as he shuffled through a pile of burnt clothes that once belonged to his cousin. *"I never should have left him."*

"I'm…so…sorry…" Ava said between sobs. When Edmund did not immediately respond, she sobbed even harder mistaking his silence for anger.

"It's not your fault, Ava," Caspian said.

Edmund had every intention on speaking up and comforting Ava, but at the moment he was at a loss of words. And when he did find the right thing to say, there came such a roaring cry from the back of the trench that it interrupted every thought process.

"We need to get out of here, now!" Caspian said firmly.

Edmund rose instantly, knowing as well as Caspian what must have caused the noise. When Ava did not move on her own both Kings had to heave her to her feet and pull her back towards the front of the trench. Getting out of the trench proved harder than they thought, especially since Ava was so distraught over Eustace's fate and could hardly walk on her own, but eventually they did make it out and they began hiking back to the shore as quickly as possible. Caspian took the lead as they walked and Ava dragged behind in the rear with her face buried in her hands. Edmund remained close to her as he tried to console her and encourage her to move faster.

They weren't far from the long boat left for them when Caspian suddenly heard a strange flapping sound. He looked around for the source of the noise and saw a great red dragon flying towards them. The dragon held its giant paws out before him like he was preparing to grab something and that's when Caspian realized a most dreadful thing. The dragon was heading right for Ava! Caspian knew he could never get to her in time.

"Edmund!" he shouted.

Edmund heard the fear in Caspian's cry and turned around to see what could have caused it. He saw the dragon lowering, preparing to capture Ava, and he knew instantly what Caspian was thinking. Ava, on the other hand, was absorbed in her sorrows and did not hear Caspian's cry. She was hardly aware of her surroundings at all until she felt a great push on her arm and she fell to the ground; she barely managed to remove her hands from her face in time to catch herself before slamming into the rocks.

Ava looked up to see Edmund standing in the spot she previously occupied. Edmund had run to her side and pushed her out of the way just before the dragon could take her. The dragon did not miss entirely though, for its talons had found a new target: Edmund. The dragon did not seem to care that it had captured the boy and not the girl as it carried Edmund off over the mountain.

As promised, there's chapter 15 posted by Wednesday. Wish I could say when the next chapter is going to be posted, but I can't. I am going out of town on Thursday and won't be back until Sunday evening. My computer will not be coming with me, but I will have paper and pen and I know I will be sitting out by a pool. Keep your fingers crossed that I get a lot of writing done!

Oh, and a million thanks to everyone for reading!