Hi! Remember me? SweetSunnyRose...I'm kinda writing this little story about a Naiad and a handsome Narnian King...Wow, it feels like it's been so long since I've updated. I really hope no one has forgotten about me. It took longer than I hoped it would (I've kind of had a small problem with the dreaded writer's block, yuck!) but chapter 16 is here at last. Just in case anybody needs it, here is a little recap of what happened last.

13) Ava receives a warning from Coriakin that her feelings for Caspian are making her magic weaker.

14) Ava has a terrible dream in which she confessed her love for Caspian and lost her magic, then all the Narnians became injured and she could not heal them. Dream Caspian died.

15) The Dawn Treader reached a volcanic island. Edmund and Caspian, while enchanted, fought over Ava's heart. Eustace disappeared. Ava, Edmund, and Caspian found Eustace's burnt clothing. Ava blames herself for not keeping an eye on Eustace. On the walk back to the Dawn Treader, a dragon nearly takes Ava away. Edmund saves her, but is taken instead. (Oh yeah, and they found the remains of 2 more lords.)

That brings us to here... Enjoy!

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 16

Caspian rushed to Ava to help her up, but she leapt to her feet and hurried after Edmund leaving Caspian to follow behind. Ava followed the dragon and Edmund around the corner, but it didn't take long for the dragon to lose Ava as it flew over a small peak. She ran around the next corner and the next but it was too late; there was no sign of Edmund or the dragon.

"No! Edmund!" she called out before dropping to her knees and crying hysterically, once more burying her face in her hands.

"Ava," Caspian laid his hand on her shoulder as he knelt before her.

"He's gone… I've failed…" Ava wept.

"Ava, come on. We need to find, Edmund."

"It's too late."

"Wh—what do you mean it's too late? Can you sense…" Caspian's face paled at the thought of his friend being…he couldn't even give voice to the possibility in his head.

"Ava, is Edmund already…?"

"No… I don't know. If he's not then he might as well be. It's too late to help him. It's gone. There's nothing I can do."

"Ava, what are you talking about?"

"I'm going to lose everything."

Caspian had enough of Ava's senseless rambling so he lifted her by the elbows and removed her hands from her face. She had no choice but to look at him.

"Ava, what are you going on about? What's lost?"

"My magic, Caspian. It's gone…or it's almost gone. It's what Coriakin warned me against. It's been growing weaker every day. Even if somehow we got to Edmund, I wouldn't be strong enough to heal him. I'm going to lose everything, just as I did in my dream."

"Weaker? Why is it growing weaker?"

"Because I l…" she stopped herself just in time. She had been going to say, "Because I love you." It's what she thought, what she knew to be true in her heart, but she dare not give voice to this feeling for fear of what would happen.

Caspian didn't need to hear the full sentence to know what she was going to say. It was something he already knew; something he felt too. He cupped her face in his hands and moved in closer to speak gently to her.

"Ava, listen to me, Edmund will get through this. He's not like Eustace; he will fight."

"Against a dragon?"

"Yes, against a dragon. Aslan is on his side. I promise you, he will make it out."

"Caspian, you can't prom…"

"I promise you, Ava!" Caspian said a litter stronger. Ava knew he would not allow her to argue, so she didn't. "Now, do you still have your sword?" She nodded. "Good, then we will find Edmund together and get out of here."

Caspian reached down to grab her hands and give them a gentle squeeze. She squeezed back before he let go of one hand to draw his sword. Still holding on to the other hand though, Caspian began to lead the search for Edmund.

XOXOX

"Unbelievable," Edmund thought as he walked along the mountain path. How could something like this happen? Well, he knew how it happened. He remembered tales from when he and his siblings ruled at Cair Paravel, but he had never known anyone who had personal experience with something such as this. Now, he was that someone. "What an unfortunate change of events," he thought.

"Ed!" Caspian called joyously as Edmund rounded a corner. "See, Ava, I…"

"Edmund!" Ava interrupted with a gasp. She dropped Caspian's hand and ran forward to embrace her friend, but halfway she stopped abruptly as something else rounded the corner. It was the dragon.

"Look out! Ava, get back!" Caspian yelled as he ran toward the dragon with his sword poised to attack.

"No! Caspian stop!" Edmund jumped between the dragon and Caspian and held his arms out.

"What are you doing, Ed?"

"It's not what you think. This dragon won't hurt us; it wasn't trying to hurt us before. It just needed to show us something. The dragon didn't kill Eustace, it is Eustace!"

"What?"

"Eustace was turned into a dragon."

Caspian lowered his sword while Ava stepped closer to Edmund and the dragon. "Oh, Eustace," she said sadly as she held her hand out to him. "I'm so sorry."

Eustace the dragon nuzzled Ava's hand with its giant nose as if to say, "It's not your fault."

"Edmund! Ava! Caspian!" Lucy shouted from afar.

"Lucy," Edmund said, looking in the direction of the shore. "How will she take this news?"

"I think she'll take it better than the alternative," Caspian said.

XOXOX

Lucy had been nearly frantic with worry ever since she saw her brother being carried away by the dragon. She was even about to demand that the Captain to take her to shore at once, but she saw him already preparing the long boat. Within in mere minutes, Lucy and Drinian were on their way back to the desolate island; Kobar, Reepicheep, and Rhince went along as well.

Edmund and Lucy reunited at the shore with a tight hug. Lucy was glad to see Ava and Caspian as well. She was going to ask how they had escaped when the dragon walked around the corner. Drinian and the unsuspected crew had the same initial reaction as Ava and Caspian, but just as he had been with them, Edmund was quick to explain things.

"How did this happen?" Lucy asked.

*"He must have been tempted by the treasure,"* Edmund replied.

*"Anyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted,"* Caspian said.

"Caspian," Ava whispered pointedly.

*"Well, anyone from here."*

Eustace grunted lowly and rubbed his front right leg over the ground bringing attention to a gold band. Lucy stepped forward and with a swift tug, pulled the band from his leg. He roared in pain and shook his leg out once it was free.

"Can he be changed back?" Rhince asked, casting his eyes to Ava. She knew what he was hinting at.

Caspian knew what Ava was about to do when she stepped forward. "Ava, I don't think that's possible," he tried warning her against it, but she wouldn't hear it.

"Caspian, I have to try," she whispered back.

Ava used the fresh water from the pouch on her hip and formed it into a ball. She could feel her magic pulsating inside her as the sphere of water grew and engulfed Eustace. Ava tried with all she had, sending pulse after pulse of magic through the dragon. Those standing around witnessed something truly unique as Ava morphed into her Naiad form. Her body became as clear as water, starting with her hands and spreading down her arms all the way to her ankles. Only her feet remained unchanged as she stood on them. But it was all in vain. Eustace remained a dragon.

Ava gasped as if she had been holding her breath and released her magic, her body instantly resuming its solid form. She stumbled slightly but Edmund caught her before she could fall.

"It's no use. I can't do it. I'm sorry, Eustace," Ava panted.

"Perhaps his isn't a condition which can be healed by your magic," Caspian tried assuring Ava. He knew what she was thinking, and he felt her despair when she looked upon him and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"So now what do we do? *We can't leave him alone,*" Lucy said.

*"Well we can't bring him on board, Your Majesty,"* Drinian said logically.

"Drinian, you and the men return to the Dawn Treader. We'll spend the night on shore and work out what to do in the morning."

"But how will you stay warm?" Rhince asked. Though everyone tried to think of a way in which they could stay warm through the night, it was Eustace who thought of the solution. He let out a quick burst of fire breath and set a piece of driftwood aflame.

*"You were saying?"* Reepicheep asked with a laugh.

XOXOX

That night Edmund and Caspian sat around a small campfire gazing up at the starlit sky. Ava and Lucy were a few feet away, already sleeping soundly. Eustace was the furthest from the fire, but Reepicheep stayed close to his side; just as Ava did, the noble mouse felt a bit of responsibility for the young boy turned dragon.

The sky was striped in dark teal, midnight blue, and black. The moon was full but partially hidden by a fluffy cloud. The stars were as numerous as seeds on a strawberry, and they weaved intricate patterns that the crew had never seen before. A part from the crackling of the fire, the steady breathing of the girls, and Edmund and Caspian whispering quietly between themselves the island was silent.

*"I've never seen these constellations before,"* Edmund whispered quietly.

*"Me neither,"* Caspian replied.

"We must be a long way from Narnia."

"Well, we're nearly two and a half months sailing from Cair Paravel. You've been with the crew for half of that."

"Really? Is that all? These last few weeks have felt like months on their own."

"I know what you mean."

They gazed quietly at the sky for a minute or two before continuing their conversation.

"Astronomy used to be Lucy's favorite past time when we reigned. She would often stay up late to see the constellations emerge. Sometimes she would even wake up in the middle of the night to see them. Peter and Susan used to get so angry with her for doing it, but I never saw the harm. Occasionally I would stay up to watch them with her."

"Astronomy was my favorite subject as well," Caspian remarked. "Dr. Cornelius would come for me in the middle of the night a few times a week, and we would go to one of the private towers. Of course, I think I enjoyed those times more because that was when he would tell me the old tales."

"I remember this one time," Caspian continued. "It wasn't long after we started studying astronomy so I was still quite young, I asked him if everyone could see these same stars or if they were distinct only to Narnia. He said he wasn't sure, but he suspected that the further east one went then the more the night sky would change and by the time they reached Aslan's Country at the end of the world, the sky would look entirely different. That was the first I'd ever heard of Aslan's Country."

"I wonder if we're close then, because this sky seems entirely different already." Edmund paused. "Do you think after we've found all seven lords and defeated the Green Mist that you'll continue to sail eastward towards Aslan's Country?"

"That all depends. We've seen how testy the crew have already become. But I'd like to continue onward, yes. I used to imagine doing such a thing and finding my mother and father there, standing with Aslan."

"Well, maybe you will."

Caspian sighed. "I don't even know if my parents made it into Aslan's Country. Dr. Cornelius told me that if we live by Aslan's guide then when we die we will live again in Aslan's Country. But who's to say that my parents did that?"

"From what I gathered the last time we were here, your father wasn't like the other Telmarine Kings. So, perhaps he is in Aslan's Country."

"Ava has said something very similar," Caspian said with a faint smile. Edmund suddenly felt a wave of uncomfortable awkwardness and guilt wash over him as he remembered the cavern.

"I'm sorry about earlier; I didn't mean anything I said in the cavern," Edmund apologized.

"Nor did I; I'm sorry too."

"And I want you to know, I don't really think of Ava like that…not any more, at least."

"Any more?"

"I admit that when we were here last I might have fancied her a bit. She was only about two years older than me then, and she was unlike any girl I've ever met. Not many serving maidens would run through a castle trying to escape while it's being attacked, nor would they stand up to an armed solider twice her size and come out alive. And when she was free, she never hesitated to serve, even if we told her she didn't have to."

"She hasn't changed that much. When we were fighting the giants she insisted that she stay near the campsite so that she could tend to the wounded. She would spend all day inside the wounded tent doing anything she could to make the soldiers feel comfortable. And she is still just as stubborn. When we came across the pirates she insisted on helping out. I tried to stop her by locking her in the cabin."

"You locked her in?" Edmund asked incredulously. "How long was she in there before she escaped?"

Caspian chuckled. "Only a few minutes. She jumped off the balcony."

"You didn't really think that one through, did you?"

"Give me a break. I was a little distracted with trying to keep her safe. So…when did you figure out that I had feelings for her?"

"Honestly? I don't think I really did until just now," Edmund chuckled lightly. "I knew you cared for her a great deal, but you actually…"

"Love her? I do. I love her more than I ever thought it possible to love someone."

"Good, because she deserves it. I know she will make an excellent queen; I am sure you two will be happy together."

Caspian's smile faltered. "That's the thing, Ed. There is no 'together' with us. She has chosen not to 'abandon the Narnians' as she calls it."

"Abandon the Narnians? Why does she think she would be abandoning them by marrying you?"

"She can't be with a man and retain her magic. She would have to give up her role as the Naiad Princess."

"That is true, but I still don't see how she would be abandoning them. She may cease to be their Princess, but she would become their Queen. I could not think of a greater quality for a Queen to have than to be willing to sacrifice herself for the betterment of her people."

"I wish she would view it in that light." Caspian sighed heavily. "But if I have learned anything from this trip, it would be that it is nearly impossible to change her mind once she has made it. And she has made it clear to me that she has chosen to keep her magic. My feelings for her only complicate the matter, and they have already begun to weaken her. If she truly wishes to remain the Naiad Princess, then I believe it is time that I stop dreaming of a life with her as my Queen."

Edmund was speechless; he didn't know what to say, or if there was even anything he could say. He could see that his friend, one he'd come to view as a brother, was hurting but he didn't know how to respond. Peter had never been in a situation like this before; he had always focused more on ruling a kingdom than finding a wife.

With a simple whispered good night, the two kings settled in for some sleep. Little did they know, but from where she lay on a blanket she shared with Lucy, Ava had heard every confession.

:( Poor Caspian.

I apologize if this chapter seems like slop (it does to me at times). Writer's block can be a very pesky thing that interrupts the thought process. Do you know what the cure is? Positive feedback and encouragement! So, I'm counting on you to help jump start the updates again. Also, if you see anything that is really, really wrong with this chapter, please let me know and I'll find a way to correct/improve it.

So, during my stint of writer's block, I pretty much decided that I'm going to write Finding Home and I even wrote out the first chapter! (Hey, I had to keep the creativity flowing for fear that I'd lose it entirely.) I don't plan on posting it until after the trilogy is finished, but I may write on it here and there when Ava and Caspian are being stubborn (you know how they are). But...if you are interested in a super special sneak peak just ask nicely and I'll PM ya a few lines. :D Also, it's not too late to cast your vote for who the lead male should be if you haven't already (it's been narrowed to Caspian, Rilian, and Edmund).