One Fine Day

Chapter 4

Silent Anger

"Where is Aaralynn? Where is my wife?"

I couldn't expect Edmund to go very long without asking about Aaralynn. In fact, I was rather surprised at how long he did hold off. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared to give him my answer.

"Rynelf! Just in time," I said, glad for the distraction. Rynelf handed us all a glass of simmering rum. "Drink up, Edmund. Aaralynn would have both our heads if we caught cold." I tried acting as though Aaralynn's absence meant nothing, but one look at Edmund told me he saw through my act. However, he still drank.

"Caspian, where is Aaralynn?" he asked again. His voice was still calm, but I could tell the next time he asked it wouldn't be. Before I could think of any other distraction, Reepicheep spoke up.

"Her Majesty Queen Aaralynn is on the Lone Islands."

The look Edmund gave me then said he knew there was more to the story than that, but before he could ask about it, Lucy provided me with another delay. She sneezed.

"What a poor fool I'm being. Spiced rum will do no good if we remain in wet clothes. Now, I'm afraid I have no female clothes on board for you Lucy, but I'm sure you can find a way to make do with some of mine. You can take Aaralynn's cabin for the time and Edmund and your cousin can bunk with me. This way."

I hurried along to my cabin making sure I never really gave Edmund a chance to ask again. I rummaged through my drawers and pulled out four sets of clothes. I found the smallest ones I could for Lucy.

"Reep, will you show Queen Lucy to her cabin please. Ed, you can change in here. I'll see to it that these clothes are taken to your cousin and then I must speak with the Captain. You may find me in the poop cabin when you are ready."

And then I left quickly.

XXXX

Drinian was already in the poop cabin when I arrived, fresh in my dry clothes. Drinian was usually a man with a steady and cool countenance, today was no different. He face did not betray his emotions. But his eyes…his eyes showed the worry I felt.

"We knew this question would be asked sooner or later by someone in the crew," Drinian said.

"I know." I ran a hand through my hair. "But I was hoping to have an answer for when it was asked. I never expected Edmund and Lucy to arrive. I mean, I am glad to have them on board, of course I am. They're great friends of mine. It's just…"

"It's just Queen Aaralynn…"

"Exactly! What am I supposed to tell Edmund when he asks again, and I know he will ask again. And when he does it will not be as polite as the first few times."

"You will tell him what you can, Sire. It's the only thing you can do."

"At least I won't have to tell Reep just yet."

"Aslan's mercy! You'd never hear the end of the Mouse's honor speech then."

At that moment the cabin door opened and in walked Edmund, Lucy, and Reepicheep. Edmund did not look pleased. I cast a sidelong glance at Drinian. Here we go, I thought.

"Thank you, Reep," I said. "You may return to your post."

"I asked Reepicheep to join us," Edmund said in a voice that could not be questioned. "That's not a problem, is it Caspian?" Even Lucy's eyes widened a little at the challenge.

"Of course not, King Edmund," I replied swallowing hard.

"Good. Now, I'm only going to ask this one more time, Caspian. Do not make me do it again. Where is Aaralynn?"

Reepicheep looked up at Edmund in confusion. "But, Your Majesty, I have already informed you that Queen Aaralynn is on the Lone Islands."

Edmund gave the Mouse a tight, diplomatic smile. "I know that is what you may have been told, Reepicheep, but I think it is time we both heard the truth. Caspian?"

I sighed heavily and sat in one of the available chairs. There was no escaping it now. I knew I must simply tell him everything I knew and take whatever wrath the Just King issued.

"Aaralynn is on the Lone Islands…the last we heard. She sailed there nearly a year ago aboard Drinian's old vessel, the Duchess. The plan was for her to stay the two weeks the Duchess would be docked and then return to the Cair. Only, when she arrived she decided to stay until I joined her a year later. She wasn't there alone though; Drinian left behind the Duchess' First Mate, Kohl."

Edmund's expression softened a little simply because he knew he was receiving the truth. He was still upset, however, and now a little confused as well.

"If the plan was for her to leave after the two weeks, then why would she stay?" he asked.

"Because she felt she needed to, for the people. She felt…she didn't think they were ready for my state visit. She stayed to help them."

"Then why lie to Reepicheep about it? And forgive me if I presume too much, but I believe he is not the only Narnian you have lied to."

I sighed. Edmund was right. Very few knew why Aaralynn chose to stay on the islands, and fewer still knew of the possible danger she was in.

"I am sorry, Reepicheep," I apologized to the Mouse before answering Edmund's question. "But we thought it best that few knew the whole truth." Then I turned my attention back to Edmund and addressed him. "Aaralynn was not on the islands as a Narnian Queen. She was there in secret, under the name Estelle."

"Estelle?" Edmund sounded surprised.

"It was her mother's name," I explained. This seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

"I think I knew her reasons for choosing the name Estelle better than you."

"Edmund," Lucy admonished gently. Edmund closed in eyes in what was surely meant to be a moment to collect himself. When he asked his next question, he had the illusion of calmness once more.

"Why the secrecy?"

"She felt it necessary."

"Why?" He was growing impatient again.

"Perhaps to answer that question Your Majesty must first retreat to explain the reasons behind your own voyage and the Queen's concerns that arose from that," Drinian suggested.

"I think that's an excellent idea," Lucy chimed. Edmund merely nodded for me to continue.

"Very well then," I said. "As you know, after the war the depths of my uncles' treason began to be revealed. Among his crimes was the alienation of me from any of my father's supporters through banishment, imprisonment, discrediting, and even killing. Any Lord who may have supported my rise to the throne, Miraz eliminated. There were seven Lords who alone of the Telmarines did not fear the sea. And so Miraz sent them aboard a Galman vessel and with a Galman crew to sail east and discover the lands that were there. As he hoped, they did not return."

"I remember Dr. Cornelius telling us that one evening at dinner," Lucy said. "And at your coronation you vowed to discover their fate."

"Indeed," I replied. "So once there was peace, Aaralynn and I began making plans for a voyage east. Drinian and a crew of Galman ship builders arrived from Galma to assist us. Aaralynn oversaw most of the plans for the ship's design. She wanted it modeled after and ancient Narnian vessel."

"The Splendor Hyaline?" Edmund's question wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.

"Yes! That's the one. Does it do her justice?"

"I haven't seen much of her yet, but if she looks like the ship in the painting then I do think there is some resemblance," Lucy said.

"What painting?"

"Forget the painting for now; we can tell you our story later. First I want the rest of yours. I assume you have now set sail to discover the fate of the seven Lords. What concerns arose that bothered Aaralynn?" Edmund asked.

"It was the Islands themselves that concerned her. After you left, we sent word to the surrounding kingdoms informing them of our new reign and we began trying to make peace, renew alliances. In time we heard from all and established relations with all, including Calormen, save for the Lone Islands. They have been silent since Caspian the Conqueror.

"That is what worried Aaralynn. She went to discover why they were silent. What she found was worse than what she anticipated. In her letters she has spoken of injustice roaming free, and of the people living in constant fear of persecution. She stayed behind to try and help them."

"Her letters? So she has been in frequent contact with you?"

I sighed heavily again. So far things had gone fairly well, but I dreaded his response to my next answer.

"For a while she was." Edmund's eyebrows rose. "We received letters almost weekly. She even reported to having found one of the Lords there, so we believe."

"You believe?"

"The letters were coded. She didn't say anything out right in case they were intercepted."

"That was probably wise. So what happened? You said you were receiving letters frequently, 'for a while.' What changed?"

"We don't really know. Her letters started arriving less frequently. Sometimes it seemed as though we had missed a letter altogether. The urgency with which she wrote increased, and the letters themselves became shorter. After her last letter, Drinian and I thought it was time to take action. We moved the start of the voyage up by two months. The Dawn Treader wasn't set to leave Cair Paravel until the tenth month, and yet here we are just a few days out from Narrowhaven."

"And how long has it been since you've heard from Aaralynn? A month? Two months?" Edmund asked.

"It's been more like five months, and closer to six."

All the color but red seemed to drain from Edmund's face. His eyes narrowed into thin slits and his cheeks hallowed. Meanwhile Lucy gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Reepicheep bowed his head in solemnity. When Edmund spoke again, his voice was laden with unbridled anger, as I feared it would be.

"Six months? You haven't heard from my wife in six months and this is the rescue you have to offer? Where is the fleet? Where is the army?"

"There is no fleet, and the army is back at the Cair," I replied, a little surprised by his question. "My voyage is still one of peaceful diplomacy. You would not take an army to a diplomacy meeting."

"I would if I had not heard from my wife in six months and I knew she was there with no protection!"

"Edmund," Lucy said as she tried to calm him down.

"She had protection. Kohl was with her and she has her own skill to keep her safe," I said.

"Aaralynn has never been a skilled fighter. She is decent with the bow, but when it comes to fighting with a sword she has never had the concentration for it."

I would have let Edmund speak poorly about me all day, but the moment he spoke ill of Aaralynn, I lost it. I rose from the chair with such speed it pushed the chair into the wall with a bang.

"Aaralynn is a decent fighter; she has worked hard to improve her skill. She spent time in the training yard every day since you left. She put all of her spare time and energy into becoming the skilled fighter you wanted her to be. She is very capable of defending herself. If at any point I doubted her skill I would have sent the entire Narnian army aboard the fastest vessel to bring her home. DO NOT doubt my concern for your wife. She has become a very dear friend, and I would risk anything to keep her safe."

"It has been many years since you have seen her, Your Majesty," Drinian said. "If you cannot trust in the Queen's own new found skill, then you can trust is Kohl's. He has won many championships for his skill with the sword. Furthermore, I know he would give his life for that of Queen Aaralynn's." Drinian's mannerisms were still calm, but I could hear the edge in his voice.

"Have you ever thought to consider, Captain, that your man has already given his life, leaving my wife in jeopardy?"

Edmund's silent anger was far worse than a screaming rampage. I knew, without a doubt, that I had greatly disappointed him as a King and even more so as a friend. As Edmund left the cabin I sunk into my flung chair. My head hung low.

"I'm sorry, Caspian," Lucy apologized for her brother. "He doesn't mean to dishonor you. These last three years have been really hard on him. It's like he's a different person without Aaralynn. He's colder, crueler. Once he's back with her, he'll realize what an ass he's being."

"That's if we find her well in hand," I said, suddenly doubting we would.

"We will," Lucy replied with all the confidence. "I do not believe Aslan brought us back this time only to break Edmund's spirit. Just wait, you'll see."

"Thanks, Lucy." I was able to smile faintly as she reached out to place a hand over mine. Then her eyes widened in excitement.

"Now, speaking of seeing, I would like to see this ship. What did you call her? The Dawn Treader?"