Disclaimer: I'm broke, meaning I barely own the clothes on my back ,let alone the copyrights to a movie or literary dynasty.
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Chapter 4: Crossing The Threshold
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She stared.
And stared.
And, for a change of pace, she stared some more.
Mrs. Otter's brows furrowed. "Caitlin? Did you hear me, child? I said that -"
"That I am very possibly in another world where four children from England came 1,300 years ago, defeated a snow-demon-woman, ruled until they were old with a gigantic lion for a sidekick, then disappeared." Caitlin deadpanned.
"Yes," Mrs. Otter began. "And then they suddenly -"
"Only to come back after aforementioned world had been overrun with people who had stumbled over it in the back of some island cave and went all Third Reich on the talking animals…"
Mrs. Otter nodded, a bit mixed up by the allusions. "And with them back, the King -"
"The King could usurp his uncle's throne, which was actually his throne in the first place, and then have a quick war involving dancing trees and a river eating a bridge, ending in the same old Kings and Queens disappearing back through a tree…" Caitlin puffed out a breath, thoroughly confounded.
"Umm…yes, dear. Yours is a rather abridged version, but I believe that you understand what's happened."
Face contorted in thought, Caitlin clasped her hands together and set them in front of her on the kitchen table. "Okay, I have an alternative theory."
Mrs. Otter sat up a little straighter in her seat.
Caitlin stared her straight in the eye and said, "I'm dead and this is some off-key version of Heaven."
The otter chuckled softly. "My dear, you would not have ended up here if you'd died. You, along with every other mortal that ever took a breath, are bound for Aslan's Country for eternal youth and peace. I think that you should just further entertain the idea that you are in a separate place than you were last night." With a motherly pat on her hand, Mrs. Otter pushed back from the table and walked over to Caitlin's side. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a quick look at your shoulder to see if it's looking any better. You took quite a hit last night, little one."
Caitlin didn't move as Mrs. Otter worked to re-bandage the sizeable gash that spanned both her shoulder blades. In her head, there was mass confusion as she tried harder to find some logical explanation for how the heck she'd ended up in the river. Nothing made sense in the slightest, and yet here was this talking animal that was able to produce an explanation offhand, as if Caitlin was an expected guest. The oddest part was that, despite the uncertainty of her situation, Caitlin felt no fear or anxiety to be gone from it. She had always been one to worry to the point of madness, and anxious to a fault at the slightest occurrence, but here she was, calm and at the mercy of a maternal otter.
Shuffling outside the den made Caitlin snap back to awareness, and Mrs. Otter stood up with a happy sigh. "Here they come, home at last! Oh, Caitlin, you may want to prepare yourself for-"
"HEY! THE DAUGHTER OF EVE IS AWAKE!!" screamed an overenthusiastic child's voice, and Caitlin felt her heart melt at the sight of four otter pups scrambling to get into the dugout. They were easily the goofiest-looking runners she'd ever seen, but their awkwardness was endearing as they tripped over one another with their soft, loping bodies.
"OH MY GOODNESS, I THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE NEVER GONNA WAKE UP!!"
"PAPA SAID YOU SPLIT YOUR HEAD OPEN! CAN I SEE?!"
"OH, I WANNA SEE TOO! CAN I, MAMA, CAN I?!"
Caitlin swallowed nervously, regarding the little fuzzballs with bewilderment. "Um…"
"Oh, by Aslan! Children, just let the girl be!" Behind the children was a portly otter that carried a woven basket over his shoulder. He closed the door behind the squabbling pups and nodded courteously to Caitlin as his wife came to kiss his cheek. "Sorry, they're just a bit eager from being away from home all day."
The girl just nodded quickly and eyed the otter pups worriedly.
"Did you catch anything today, darling?" Mrs. Otter said as her husband placed a kiss on her cheek.
Mr. Otter set a woven basket on the kitchen table proudly. "Yes, dearest; the children actually caught them this time, though." Caitlin raised an eyebrow as he unceremoniously dropped several large fish in a pile in front of her. "And the little ones also gathered some berries for more tarts."
Caitlin felt a tug on her shirt and looked down at one of the pups. It was obviously a girl, since it had a flower chain dangling around her neck. "Daughter of Eve? Isn't your mommy looking for you yet?"
The horrible pooling of tears in Caitlin's eyes started again, but she bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. "I don't know. She might be." Caitlin's thoughts rushed back to home, imagining the look on her parents' face if a cop rang the doorbell. They would have no way of knowing that she was safe and warm and taken care of, no way to know that she was scared and lost.
The little otter frowned, thinking hard about something. After a long moment, she looked back up at Caitlin. "Okay, then. You can share our mommy with us. Like you're my big sister!" Behind her, the other three nodded vehemently with smiles on their faces.
One of the boys said, "Now can we see your split-open head?"
It was in that moment that Caitlin fell in love with her otter siblings.
Mr. Otter walked over to the little group and made a big sweeping motion with his paws towards the door. "You little ankle-biters go out and practice your diving until supper!"
The pups let out a collective whine. "But we wanna stay and hear about Daughter of Eve!"
Caitlin cleared her throat a little bit and looked at the little pups. "You don't have to call me Daughter of Eve; my name's Caitlin. And if you go outside like your father says, I can tell you about it later."
The pups consented very unwillingly, but within seconds they were giggling and loping outside and into the late-afternoon sun, the splashing of water following soon after.
Caitlin watched the pups for a moment out of a little window, grinning despite herself. She turned to Mr. Otter, trying to sound very earnest and heartfelt. "Thank you for saving me last night, sir. I…I can't thank you enough for it, honestly."
The otter smiled and waved a hand her way. ""Twas no trouble at all, Milady. I should hope that you or any other beast in Narnia would do the same for me, were I to find myself in such a jam." Mr. Otter glanced over at his wife, who was busily constructing more than a dozen raspberry tarts. "Well now, dearest. How long until we're able to have a pinch of those tarts, eh?"
His wife shook her head. "Honestly, darling, your head is ruled by your stomach!"
Mr. Otter grabbed a handful of the leftover raspberries and popped one into his mouth. "And you rule my heart, sure enough." The pair shared a loving smile.
Wow, I've been sucked into a Hallmark card… Caitlin thought as she surveyed the two otters chatting amiably. After a minute or two, Mr. Otter glanced sideways at her and pushed a few
raspberries her way with a little smirk on his face. "If you think those are good now, Milady, wait until you taste my wife's tarts! They're the closest thing to perfection that has ever been made in a kitchen."
Mrs. Otter smacked his arm playfully. "Flatterer!"
"I can't wait to try them, if they're anything like that fish-potato-onion stuff." Caitlin said, trying to keep her mouth from watering at the very thought of the delicious concoction.
Mr. Otter turned in his chair suddenly, so that he was looking Caitlin right in the eye. "So, my dear, I've not yet heard how you ended up here in the first place; would you regale me with your tale, Milady?"
"Well, first off," Caitlin said, "we need to stop with this 'Milady' business. You can just call me Caitlin. You can call me Ms. Caitlin, I guess if you feel the overwhelming desire to add a title."
The otter cleared his throat sheepishly at the young woman's blunt manner of speech. "Sorry, Mila-Caitlin, it is just a force of habit to refer to another in such a way."
Caitlin sighed. "It's really not a big deal, I'm just not used to such…I don't know…mannerly references being made at me. People don't do that where I'm from, unless it's a child to a grown-up."
After a few more raspberries, Caitlin reasoned that she was best off trying to get back to the issue that was sitting heavily on her shoulders. "What can I do to repay your kindness? I'll do anything, really. I can clean and stuff, if you want. Or get berries and fish and…you know, whatever else you guys eat."
The otters both sighed and Mr. Otter spoke up. "You'd best put those thoughts aside, Milady. We were glad to help you, and are still glad to have you as our guest until you are ready to leave."
The girl shook her head. "No, no. I owe you big time. I mean, I can't even imagine how problematic it must've been to have an unconscious girl flung onto your doorstep."
Mrs. Otter patted her hand comfortingly. "What sort of mother would I be if I ignored another mother's child when she was hurt? Not a good one at all, I should say."
Her husband, meanwhile, stroked his chin in thought. "Actually, I think that we could use a bit of your help, Milady, with taking watch over the pups? They're more problematic than a surprise houseguest, most assuredly."
Caitlin smiled and nodded. "Okay, awesome! I've been told I'm really great with kids, and it's the least I could do." She stood up, grabbing the last two raspberries to Mr. Otter's silent dismay and taking a step towards the door. "What exactly are they doing out there?"
"They're just practicing diving and such; it's great fun to them." Mrs. Otter said, casting a frown her husband's way.
The girl glanced out the window again. "Is it okay if I go see what they're up to? I'm sort of curious."
Mr. Otter nodded. "Certainly, Ms. Caitlin, I'm sure the pups would revel in a adult's attention!"
Caitlin's smiled brightened and she took her first hesitant steps out the door before it closed behind her.
As soon as the girl was out of earshot, Mrs. Otter abruptly spun around and hit her husband's paw with a rolling pin with absolutely no mercy.
"BY THE NAME OF ASLAN, WOMAN!" Mr. Otter bellowed, snatching his paw away and cradling it to his chest. "Whatever was that for?!"
Mrs. Otter dusted off her rolling pin and then crossed her arms. "You needn't have told Caitlin that she needs to earn her keep; that girl is completely alone in the world, and it is the very least we can do to make sure she has a roof over her head and food in her belly."
Her husband sighed and stood up, taking hold of his wife's shoulders. "Dearest, I did not suggest such a thing with malicious or selfish intent. But, if I'm correct, she would feel much worse were she to be denied the chance to repay us, even if it is not necessary."
Mrs. Otter sighed deeply and gently removed her husband's hands from her shoulders. "I still find it very unkind to encourage her oddly-chivalrous idea."
"Look at it from another's eyes, dearest." Mr. Otter led her over to the kitchen window, where Caitlin was sitting on the riverbank with the pups swimming jubilantly around her feet where they met the cool water. The young girl was talking animatedly, her hands moving about rapidly as she pantomimed her adventure to the little ones. "She is at ease, knowing that she is able to assist us. I believe that it is a strong part of her character, to be constantly selfless and helpful, and perhaps that peace is the best thing we could offer her right now."
Rather crestfallen at a sudden thought, Mrs. Otter nodded. "That is, darling, until the time comes that she must tread her own path."
Her husband shrugged and tugged at the door, eager to join his children and the young stranger and learn more about her. "We shall face that when it is time, dearest, but right now, let us make her feel welcome!"
With a small smile, Mrs. Otter walked out to the mudbank beside her husband.
As soon as they saw their parents, one of the little pups let out with an overjoyed scream.
"MAMA, SHE REALLY DID SPLIT HER HEAD OPEN!!"
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Hello all! I know you want more Caspian, but Caitlin is relatively important, you know? She's up to a few interesting adventures before she runs into Mr. Tall, Dark and Royal, haha! As always, I'd love to hear from you, so review! Love, Fausta