I took a few liberties here, to really expand on the Lone Islands. Oh, and in case you were wondering, this will be mostly book based, but with a few movie elements thrown in. Hope you enjoy!

One Fine Day

Chapter 6

Land Ho

"Land Ho!" Rhince, whom I had learned was the First Mate, called down from crow's nest. Everyone on deck turned and looked in his direction, and then in the direction he was pointing. There, on the horizon and barely visible, was a small gray mass which any sailor could identify as land. Caspian jumped up a deck to where Drinian stood at the helm. I caught Lucy's eye before slowly making my way to join them.

"What do you make of it?" Drinian asked as he handed me the spyglass he and Caspian had been sharing. I took my time and studied the gray mass carefully.

"How long have we been at sea?" I asked.

"We are now in the twelfth day sailing from Cair Paravel," the Captain replied.

I pulled the spyglass from my eye. It was still early dawn and the wind was good.

"We'll come in too quickly if this wind keeps."

"Furl the sail!" Drinian commanded; his request was promptly seen to.

After our talk two days ago, I'd informed Caspian that it would be best to enlighten the entire crew of the situation. Every man and creature deserved to know of the possible danger we faced. The crew's decrease in morale was noticeable even to Lucy and I who hardly knew them. I could only surmise that their fondness for Aaralynn was strong and their concern for her was great.

With the sail furled our pace slowed. The wind and waves were still enough to keep us moving toward our destination however. Rhince came down from the crow's nest and joined the rest of us.

"I think it is time we hear this plan of yours, King Edmund," Drinian suggested.

"I am pressed to agree with you."

"Shall we do it in the map room then?" Caspian asked.

I nodded and led the way; the rest filed in behind. Spread on the desk was a map of the Eastern Sea, from the northern coast of Ettinsmoor to the southern realms of Calormen. The Lone Islands were a small blotch and one island was barely distinguishable from another. Lying over the uncharted portion of the map was a separate map of the Lone Islands alone. I used this map as my focus. Some of Aaralynn's key letters were close beside for easy access.

"Our destination is here," I said once everyone was in and the door closed. I placed my finger on the southeast corner of Avra. "Bern's Stead."

"Bern's Stead?" Caspian asked.

"Or Bernstead, perhaps," I corrected. "You told me you believed Aaralynn had found one of your missing Lord's on the island. After reading through the letters, I agree, and I believe she found Lord Bern." I grinned slightly; I couldn't help it when I thought of Aaralynn's determination. "You may not have been expecting my arrival, Caspian, but I believe she was counting on it. Many of her references you would not have picked up on because they are specific to the last time she and I visited the Islands.

"The port of Narrowhaven, as you know, lies here," I continued, moving my finger. "If we sail south around Doorn and come upon the south side of Avra, we can pass Narrowhaven unseen. Arriving at dusk will provide us with light enough to see and yet enough cover from unwanted eyes."

"But Edmund, do you really think Aaralynn will still be there if she's in trouble?" Lucy asked.

"No, I don't think she'll be there at all."

"Then why go to Bern's Stead at all? Why not sail into Narrowhaven?" Rhince asked.

"Because it is her last place of known origin. Our best chance of discovering where she might be now is to search Bern's Stead."

"And if we are not the only ones looking for her, then we do not want to arouse suspicion by asking around in Narrowhaven," Drinian chimed in.

"Precisely, Captain. Now…" Before I could say anymore the door suddenly opened and Eustace barged in.

"Why have we stopped? Why isn't the sail out? I heard land was spotted. Why aren't we moving towards it?"

"This is a private meeting, of which you are not privileged to attend," Reepicheep said, bounding forward towards the door. Eustace grimaced at the Mouse, but he did not back out.

"I demand to be taken to shore at once," he said as he tried to take a wide berth around Reepicheep and came to a stop at the desk. "I want to lodge a complaint and have you all arrested for kidnapping!"

"By the grace of Aslan, Eustace, if you…" I began but Lucy quickly jumped in.

"You haven't been kidnapped, Eustace…"

"Who would want to kidnap him?" Rhince mumbled softly to Drinian.

"And we haven't stopped moving," Lucy continued. "We have just furled the sail to…maintain its good condition. The wind and waves are strong enough to keep us moving. It's a common sailing practice to maintain the sail when possible." Lucy's lies never sounded like lies, and her talent served us well in the moment.

"What rubbish!" Eustace spouted. "What's the point in having something that's no good to use all the time? Just another shortcoming of this blasted tub you call a ship."

"Eustace…"

"Come on, Eustace, let's step outside and I'll show you just how well we're still moving," Lucy said, once more cutting me off. She took a firm hold of Eustace's arm and dragged him out of the cabin.

XXX

The sun was just where I wanted it to be when we dropped the anchor just off the south coast of Avra. A few ships were rowing into Narrowhaven on Doorn for the night, and I knew more would follow so one extra vessel sailing around wouldn't be as noticed. We lowered two long boats and took a small party, which included Lucy, Caspian, and Drinian, ashore. The Native Narnians stayed on board with Rhince in command, with the exception of Reepicheep. Everyone knew there would no convincing the Mouse to stay, and so no one bothered to try.

We rowed the long boats up to what appeared to be public docking. Everyone was silent as we climbed out, and I soon noticed that everything was silent. It was strange. Our light would not last long though. We had little choice; we needed to carry on and find Bern's Stead.

Lucy came to stand beside me, and she whispered, "Are you sure this is the right place?" I'm sure she had noticed the silence too.

I quickly pulled out one of Aaralynn's letters, I knew exactly which one I needed, and pointed to one of the spots where I made notes. Lucy quickly read over the note before glancing up at the town before us.

"Well, I suppose it does look a little like a fish's tale," she said.

I nodded curtly. "We carry on as planned," I said to the party. "But everyone be extra wary, I don't…What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay on the ship."

Eustace scoffed. "And I said I wanted to be taken to the Consul. Now, which way is it?"

I ignored his inquiry, and offered one of my own. "Who even let you on the long boat?"

"I did," Lucy said. "Come on, Ed, you know he never would have stayed on the Dawn Treader. And I thought that maybe this would finally convince him that he's not in the other world anymore."

"Fine, but he's your responsibility. Now, let's get moving before we lose all of the light"

We moved into the small town quietly. Drinian and Caspian walked near me while Lucy held back to walk near Eustace. I had told everyone the key signs we were looking for so they were on the lookout as well and it wasn't just me.

As we moved through town things remained quiet. The streets were mostly empty and the few people we did see quickly scurried away at the sight of us. With each minute that passed I became more on edge, and with the fading light my sensible instincts were telling me to return to the Dawn Treader and come back in the day light.

My desire to find Aaralynn quickly though, was not sensible. We kept on.

We wandered through town, turning here and there. The silence that overlaid the town fell on us too and no one spoke. Not even Eustace. At last we came to the far side of the town. We were on a once well-trodden dirt road that was now beginning to be overrun by grass and weeds. Before us, on the top of a hill that overlooked both the bay and the sea, were the remains of what appeared to have once been a grand estate. I paused for a moment to catch my breath at the sight of it. I had to mentally remind myself that I wasn't expecting to find Aaralynn still hiding out there, but I think a small part of me was hoping to prove the rest of me wrong.

Caspian and Drinian did not notice my pause and carried on. I soon followed. There was an iron wrought fence that surrounded the property, but the gate was knocked off its hinges. I was making my way through the opening when the ground shifted beneath my foot. I was standing on part of a broken sign, and when I pieced the two halves together it read:

Bernstead

"Long Live the True King"

"The 'True King?' Do you think he means Aslan?" Lucy asked, reading the sign over my shoulder.

"Could be, or he could be referring to Caspian since Miraz was sitting on the throne as a usurper when Bern was sent away."

Our progression up the hill was like the rest of our journey so far, silent. The grass was wild and high in some spots, and low and charred in other spots leading me to believe that some fires were more recent. We passed the burned remains of a field house and what looked like a small stable; I hoped there were no horses inside at the time of the fire. There was destruction upon destruction on the grounds of Bernstead, and the main house didn't seem to fare any better. Everywhere I looked my eyes saw blackened timber and crumbling stone. I may not have been hoping to find Aaralynn at the estate anymore, but I was surely hoping she got out in time.

We had been shifting through the debris for maybe ten minutes and the last of our light was dwindling to nothing when Lucy suddenly called out.

"Ed!"

I turned quickly in her direction and saw that she was holding something akin to paper.

"You…you might want to see this," she said, holding the paper out to me.

By now the last of the sunlight was completely gone, but I had my handy torch (kindly returned to me by Caspian after I left it here on our last trip) on hand. I pulled it out and clicked on the light. The piece of paper was actually a wanted poster with a crude sketch in the center.

"What does it say?" Caspian asked. I looked up to find that he and the rest of the party had joined Lucy and me, so I read the poster aloud.

"Wanted, for crimes against His Sufficiency. Crimes include, but are not limited to: theft, resisting The Keepers, jail break, general debauchery, and treason." My eyes raised at the last crime listed. "Reward offered. It appears they've increased the reward a couple of times, the most recent one is nine hundred crescents."

One of the crewmen, Rynelf, whistled. "That's a hefty sum. Who are they looking for?"

I studied the sketch carefully. It was very crude and roughly done, and the expression on the face seemed unnatural. I concluded that the artists must have taken some liberties to make the face appear more sinister. The longer I studied the sketch, though, the clearer the natural features became. I looked to Lucy, and I knew just by looking at her that she'd already figured it out. And so had I.

"It's Aaralynn."