A/N: Once again, many thanks to the crowd at TheLionsCall and in particular to the eInklings: Online Writing Group. In particular, Inkling Astrophel, Petraverd, and Faithful Pure Light for their invaluable feedback.

Chapter Five

Edmund carefully worked the hair pin in the lock around Lucy's wrist. The chain from his own arm dangled loose where he'd hooked it temporarily on the sash of his gown. The gentle swells surging beneath the ship had not made picking the locks easy, but with a final click from the hidden tumblers, the chain around his sister's arm fell free.

"So Meri, what now?" Lucy looked expectantly at him as she followed his lead and draped the loose chain through her own sash.

He strode over to the only door leading from the hold. Scooping a ladle full of water from the barrel by the exit, he held it out to her. Lucy shook her head; he lifted bowl to his lips, taking a long swallow before returning it to the cask by the hatch.

Leaning against the wood and resting his ear against timbers, he listened carefully for any sounds from about the ship. Over the mournful tones of the flexing hull he could vaguely hear the distant voices of the deck crew and make out the sound of at least one pair of boots on the planking. Lucy sat silently watching him as he remained listening there for several minutes.

Satisfied that there was no one standing guard outside the door and that he would hear their captors approach, Ed turned to survey the hold. Spaced evenly around the room were twelve heavy rings, ten of which having chains locked to them and dangling into haphazard piles on the deck. The lack of sound from nearby rooms in the hold led him to believe that he and Lucy were the only captives aboard the vessel.

"Now, Lily," he inquired softly. "I'll need you tell me what we are up against."

"Me?" Lucy looked at him in surprise. "I told you that I had a sack over my head."

"And I was knocked unconscious. You remember every detail of every party you and Susan have hosted. You could feel, smell and most importantly hear. Tell me what you remember."

--

Ed sat before the mirror in the lady's guest suite. Immediately after embarking him upon the transformation into Mericu Susan had moved him there. 'I want you where I can make sure you practice,' she had teased. He chuckled under his breath at the insanity that caused him to be lodged in such a feminine confection of a room; sitting before an ornate mirror and practicing soft, demure expressions. Schooling his face into a surprisingly attractive pout, he drew the stiff brush through his hair for the one hundredth stroke. Even after two weeks, he could not stop staring at the disturbingly attractive reflection gazing back at him out of the glass.

"Why did I let my hair grow so long," he growled. Nearly unbidden, his hand leaped to his mouth and his eyes widened. He repeated the phrase, modulating his voice to the fetching contralto that his sisters now insisted he use at all times. After saying it several times, he felt confident he could fully express the emotion without breaking character.

With a sigh he stood up and lay the brush on the table. Turning before the mirror, he posed different angles, studying how two weeks of wearing the corset had compressed his waistline to a wasp-like form. Even when wearing a loose dressing gown, as he was now, he had taken on a decidedly feminine figure. If he weren't the boy wearing the outfit, Ed would never believe the girl looking back at him was anything but the real thing.

A soft knock at the door interrupted his examination of the raven haired beauty behind the glass. Lucy's voice drifted through the thick wood, reminding Mericu that it was time to get ready for today's trial. Ed glided across the floor to let her in, the soft material of his dress swaying gently about his hips with each step.

Suddenly realizing how he was holding his arms and walking he began to wonder if he would ever manage to rid himself of the feminine mannerisms. His sisters had been drilling them into him from dawn till well after dusk since the night Susan and Lucy had first dressed him. He was beginning to feel that they were now almost as deeply ingrained as his sword fighting reflexes.

Having entered, Lucy's cocked eyebrow and intense stare sent Ed scuttling back to the mirror. Wincing at the imperfection his sister had spotted, he snagged the tweezers off the silver tray and plucked the three offending hairs from his brow. Lu's gentle laughter continued to echo in his ears as she helped him dress and escorted him to the hall.

At the sight of the throng of young maidens gathered outside the door, Ed blanched. The firm pressure of Lucy's hand in the small of his back kept him moving forward. All of the girls briefly stared at him in an appraising manner; many turning dismissively back to their companions with a flounce.

"Don't mind them, Meri," Lucy whispered. "They're just jealous."