3
"Since you left us, the giants of the north have surrendered unconditionally," Caspian said, pointing to a map on the table, "And we defeated the Calormen armies at the great desert." He looked up at his three friends, "There's peace across all of Narnia."
"Peace?" Edmund asked in surprise.
"In just three years." Caspian said proudly.
Lucy tucked some of her hair behind her ear, "And have you found yourself a queen in those three years?" Maxine looked over at Caspian, very interested to hear his answer. Although, if the moment between them before was any sort of explanation, she'd have to say…
"No." Caspian said, "Not one to compare with you, anyway." He looked at Maxine when he said this. She only nodded once.
"Hang on," Edmund said, "So if there are no wars to fight, and no one's in trouble, then why are we here?"
"That's a good question," Caspian said, "I've been asking myself the same thing."
"So, where are we sailing to?" Edmund asked, looking at the map before them.
"Before I took back the throne from my uncle, he tried to kill my father's closest friends and most loyal supporters." He turned to where seven sketches of seven men hung on the wall, "The seven lords of Telmar." He turned back around, pointing to where a group of islands were drawn on the map, "They fled to the Lone Islands. No one's heard from them since."
"So, you think something's happened to them?" Edmund asked.
"If there has," Caspian began, "It's my duty to find out."
"Well," Maxine began, looking over the rest of the map, "What's east of the Lone Islands?" Her fingers skimmed over the blank side of the map.
"Uncharted waters," Maxine looked up at Drinian, captain of the Dawn Treader, "Things you could barely imagine. Tales of sea serpents and the worse."
Edmund laughed, "Sea serpents?"
"Alright, Captain," Caspian said with a smile, "That's enough of your tall tales." Drinian nodded once and headed out of the room. Maxine assumed he left to go back to whatever captaining duties he had.
"You know, now that I think about it," Lucy said, "Eustace hasn't come up from below deck. Do you think he's sick?"
Edmund scoffed, "He deserves to be a little sick. Karmic justice at last!"
"Edmund!" Lucy said in appall, "If he's sick, we should go and help him. He's our cousin!"
"He's a brat! Let him suffer a bit for all the torture he put us through." Edmund said. Lucy grabbed his arm and began dragging him out of the room.
"Well, you're coming with me to check on him whether you like it or not." Lucy said firmly, Edmund groaned.
"Aw, come on, Lu!" He whined, the door to the room shutting behind him, leaving Maxine and Caspian alone in a room, once again. Maxine looked over at him, and he smiled at her. She didn't smile back, and his smile disappeared.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, Maxine sighed, reaching a hand up to rub at her neck.
"Well… Yes and no." She said, "I mean… I'm glad you're still single and all, but…"
"…But?" Caspian egged.
"But, you shouldn't be." Maxine said, "I mean, three years Caspian? You should have found someone by now."
"What? Did you think I could just… move on? Find someone better to be with?" Caspian asked her, amazed that she was talking about the subject.
"Not better, but maybe good enough!" Maxine said, "Caspian, it's been three years. You need a queen, don't you? To give you an heir for your kingdom?"
"Can you blame me?" Caspian asked, "Maxine, I love you. I didn't want to be with anyone else!"
"I know you love me…" Maxine muttered, turning away from him, beginning to pace, "I love you, too, but… Damn, Caspian! It's kind of important that you have a queen! I mean, it's been three freaking years!" She turned and jumped back in surprise when she saw Caspian was right behind her. "I thought… You would have moved on." Caspian grasped her hands in his.
"And how long has it been for you?" Caspian asked.
"One year." Maxine said.
"And have you moved on as well?" Caspian asked a sad look in his brown eyes. Maxine quickly shook her head, reaching up and putting her hand on his cheek.
"No… How could I?" She asked, Caspian put his hand over hers, "Caspian, you're the first person that loved me that I actually loved back. How in the world could I move on from you?" Caspian's hand tightened around hers.
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that." He said, he leaned down and Maxine didn't stop him as his lips met hers in a sweet kiss. Caspian's hand went around her waist, and Maxine's went around his neck. As the kiss became a bit more intense, Maxine pulled away.
"Caspian, this is important." She said firmly, "You're not going to make me forget about this just because you started kissing me." Caspian leaned down and started kissing her again.
"I can try." He said, Maxine felt the smile on his lips, and she let out a small giggle.
"Yeah, well, keep trying." She said as he moved her so she would sit on the table, his hands still at her waist. She wouldn't dare tell him she was enjoying this. Oh, no. Not at all.
"Oh, I will." Caspian said as he kissed her smiling lips, "And I will keep trying," He kissed her again, "And trying," Another kiss, "And trying," Maxine giggled quietly, "And trying." Maxine laughed aloud as he kissed her cheek and began travelling up to her ear.
"Your majesty, there's— Oh." Caspian and Maxine instantly stopped, looking to see Captain Drinian at the door. Maxine instantly jumped off the table, blushing deeply, not looking at the man as Caspian tried to straighten himself up. "I didn't mean to interrupt, sire, but we do require your presence on deck."
"Of course, Drinian," Caspian said, going out the door. Drinian looked back at Maxine, who avoided his eyes shamefully. The man only 'hmm'ed and shut the door behind him. Maxine let out a long stream of air, smoothing out the wrinkles Caspian may have put in the clothes she wore, and stepped out of the room, deciding to get some fresh air. She walked around the deck, smiling at Lucy when she came up to her.
"Hey," She greeted when she walked up to the young girl, "Where've you been? I thought you were right behind me and Edmund."
"Uh, that's a bit of a long story…" Maxine said, blushing slightly at the memory of what happened when Lucy and Edmund left the room. Not wanting her thoughts to linger on it, she changed the subject, "Lucy, I got a question for you." Lucy nodded, "That other kid who came with you… What was his name?"
"Eustace." Lucy said, Maxine nodded.
"Right, Eustace…" She said, thinking what a terrible name that was, "You said he's your cousin?" Lucy nodded, "And you're related to that freak?"
"He's not a freak." Lucy said, Maxine gave her a look that said, 'Really?' "Okay, maybe he's a little odd, but he wasn't raised the same way we were."
"Lucy, I was 'raised'," She made quotes with her fingers, "By over a hundred different parents. I'm sure that at one point I was raised by the same parents he has."
"He never reads any fiction," Lucy said, "He has practically no friends, he only reads books on sciences and biographies, and his favorite past time is to pin bugs on walls." Maxine grimaced.
"Okay, maybe I haven't been raised like that." She said, Lucy laughed as they walked to the front of the boat, "What's the matter with him anyway? Still freaking out over the Narnia stuff?"
"No, he just got a little sea sick." Lucy said, "I gave him some of my cordial, he should be coming up soon." Maxine nodded.
"I see." She said, as they came to the head, Maxine noted delightfully that the front of the boat was shaped like a dragon's head, and there was a ladder leading up to the top of it. She and Lucy began to climb up it, hearing a song as they kept going.
"Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow ever sweet,
Doubt not, you Reepicheep.
To find all that you seek,
There is the utter east." As the two girls came to the top, they saw Reepicheep standing on the dragon's nose, singing the song.
"That's pretty." Lucy said.
"Ah—! Oh!" Reepicheep jumped at the sound of her voice and turned around to see her and Maxine smiling at him. He smiled back and came over to the two girls, "Thank you. A dryad sung it to me when I was just a mouseling. I can't divine the meaning, but I've never forgotten the words."
"So, tell me, Reep," Maxine said, getting his attention, "What do you think is beyond the Lone Islands?"
"Well, I've been told the furthest east one can sail is to the end of the world; Aslan's country." Reepicheep said, Maxine raised a doubtful eyebrow.
"Do you honestly believe that sort of place exists?" She asked him.
"Well, we have nothing if not belief." Reepicheep said.
"…Do you really think you could sail there?" Lucy asked him. Reepicheep shrugged.
"Well, there is only one way of finding that out." He said, moving to go back to the tip of the dragon's nose, "I can only hope I will, one day, earn the right to see it." He smiled at the two, "Your majesties." He nodded in a sort of half-bow before going back to the dragon's nose. Lucy and Maxine shared a smile, and Maxine was about to climb back down, but Lucy stopped her.
"Max, look!" She pointed to the ocean and Maxine looked to see two beings made completely of water that resembled mermaids. They were diving through the water like dolphins, swimming alongside the ship. Every time they jumped out of the water, a small rainbow would shine through the droplets that fell off of them. One of them smiled at the two girls and waved at them. They waved back at her before diving underneath the water where they couldn't be seen.
Maxine sat beside Lucy as they watched Edmund and Caspian engage in a friendly duel. The entire crew was watching as well as the swords of the two royals clashed together. Maxine watched as Caspian swung at Edmund, who easily dodged it and swiped underneath Caspian's leg, which he lifted up before the strike could land. The two circled each other in a sort of dance for a moment, their swords gleaming in the sunlight. Maxine cheered for Caspian, and Lucy cheered for her brother as they kept swinging at each other. Their swords connected in an 'X' and Caspian tried to maneuver the sword out of Edmund's hand, but he was prepared. The duel ended with their sword at the other's throat. The crew applauded the performance they had given, as did Maxine and Lucy. They pulled their swords away and Caspian clapped his hand on Edmund's shoulder.
"You've grown stronger, my friend." He said.
"Seems I have." Edmund replied with a smile.
"All right!" Drinian's voice bellowed from the helm, "Back to work!" The crew went back to whatever job they had been doing previously, and Edmund made his way over to Maxine and Lucy. Maxine handed him a cup of water to drink.
"Thanks." He said, Maxine only nodded in return as he took a large gulp.
"Edmund," Lucy said, getting his attention, "Do you think if we keep sailing to the end of the world we'll just… tip off the edge?"
"Don't worry, Lu." Edmund assured as Eustace came out from below deck, "We're a long way from there."
"I see you're still talking nonsense, the two of you." He said, getting the attention of the three of them. He wrinkled his nose as he looked Maxine up and down, "And just who are you?"
"Max." She replied shortly, looking him up and down as well.
"Hmm, a masculine name for a masculine woman." He said, Maxine glared at him, looking ready to punch his lights out, but Lucy stopped her by putting her hand on her shoulder.
"Are you feeling better?" Lucy asked sweetly.
"Yes, no thanks to you." Eustace said, "It's lucky I have an iron constitution." Maxine and Edmund rolled their eyes.
"As effervescent as ever, I see." The four of them looked up to see Reepicheep climbing down the shrouds towards them, "Find your sea legs?"
"Never lost them." Eustace said quickly, "Simply dealing with the shock of things." Maxine shook her head with a smirk, shaking her head, "Mother says I have an acute disposition, due to my intelligence." At the mention of Eustace's intelligence, Edmund spat out some of his water into his cup in laughter. Lucy held back a giggle behind her hand, and Maxine smiled.
"I don't think he has a cute anything." Reepicheep said. Maxine let a laugh escape her throat at his words. He looked at her confusedly as she laughed.
"Oh, Reepicheep," She said, "You're so funny when you aren't trying to be."
"I'll have you know as soon as we find civilization, I'm contacting the British Consul!" Eustace said angrily, jabbing his finger at Maxine and Reepicheep as he walked away, "Have you all arrested for kidnapping!" He stopped when he bumped into someone's chest and looked up to see Caspian.
"Kidnapping, is it?" Caspian asked, stepping forward as Eustace stepped back. "That's funny. I thought we saved your life."
"You held me against my will!" Eustace cried.
"Ha!" Maxine and Reepicheep said at the same time.
"Did I?" Caspian asked with a laugh.
"In, what I must say, are the most unhygienic quarters!" Eustace said, "It's like a— It's like a zoo down there!"
"He's quite the whiner, isn't he?" Maxine asked, turning to Edmund.
"He's just getting warmed up." Edmund groaned, taking another sip from his drink.
"Land ho!" A voice shouted, Caspian ran up to the helm, and Maxine, Lucy, and Edmund looked out over the side to see an island in the distance.
"That must be the Lone Islands!" Lucy said happily.
"Finally!" Eustace said, "When I contact British consul, you're all going to get what you deserve!"
"Free food and leaving you behind?" Maxine asked jokingly. Eustace scowled at her and stomped off.
"Bloody Americans…" He muttered, Max scowled.
"What was that?" She called at him, Eustace jumped, obviously not expecting her to hear him.
"Uh, nothing!" He said quickly, dashing away from her.
"That's what I thought." Maxine muttered, looking back at the islands.
Maxine leaned over the railing as they came closer to the islands, not really noticing those around her. She looked down at the ocean, seeing the sunlight reflect off of the waves, and began to think about the previous day's events. She wondered about her mother, and her brothers and sister. She wondered if when she returned home, it would be like before, and she would just return to the place she came from, having no time pass at all. If that was true, she would end up back in the river, in the car, with the seatbelt stuck. She shivered at the thought of it. That had been one of the scariest moments in her life. She wasn't exactly looking forward to returning to the river.
"Hello, Maxine." Caspian's voice said, she turned and saw Caspian standing to her side, "What are you thinking about?"
"How would you know if I was thinking?" Maxine asked him, "I could have just been spacing out."
"It's not that hard to tell when you're thinking." Caspian said, he reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her face, his finger gently caressing her cheek, "When you are deep in thought, you tend to chew on the inside of your right cheek." Maxine looked at him in surprise.
"How did you know that?" She asked. Caspian leaned up against the railing with her, a light blush on his cheeks.
"I used to watch you when you thought I wasn't looking." Caspian said embarrassedly, looking away.
"You used to watch me?" Maxine said in surprise, Caspian shrugged, "When was this?"
"When you first came to the castle," Caspian said, "Now, what is it you were thinking of?"
"Well…" Maxine said, turning back to the ocean, "Some things have changed since we last met."
"Such as?" Caspian asked.
"I found my parents." Caspian whirled his head to her in surprise.
"You found them?" He asked, Maxine nodded.
"Yeah, my mom is living a few hours away from me," She smiled slightly, "With my two younger brothers and younger sister."
"You have a family." Caspian said with a smile, Maxine nodded.
"Yeah," She frowned, "But she's too young to be the mother of an eighteen year old."
"How old is she?" Caspian asked.
"32." Maxine replied, "She was fourteen when I was born. Can you imagine? It must have been awful for her." Caspian nodded wordlessly, Maxine sighed, "And I know where my dad is, too."
"Where is he?" Caspian asked.
"Rotting in prison." Maxine said with a scowl, "My father was a sick man. A serial rapist and killer." She rested her head in her hand, "He deserves to be in prison." Caspian put his arm around her shoulders in a one-arm hug.
"What is your mother like?" He asked, glad to see a smile on Maxine's face.
"She's amazing." Maxine said, "Did you know she never wanted to give me up? She wanted to keep me, she wanted to raise me herself. She was just too young to do it alone, and my grandparents wouldn't help her out because they wanted her to give me up. She tried to raise me on her own, but it didn't end so well." Caspian gently rubbed her arm.
"You must be very happy to have met her." He said, Maxine nodded.
"Very happy." She agreed.
"Your highness!" A voice called, the two of them looked to see Drinian calling to Caspian, "You should see this." Caspian and Maxine ran up to the helm, where Edmund was with him as well as Taveras the minotaur, looking out over the shore of the Lone Islands as they came closer to it. Drinian handed him a telescope to get a closer look at them, "The Lone Islands, the port of Narrowhaven."
"Strange," Caspian said, handing the telescope to Drinian, who handed it to Edmund, "Not a Narnian flag in sight."
"But the Lone Islands have always been Narnia's." Edmund said, before looking through the telescope.
"Seems suspicious." Drinian said, staring at the walls of the city.
"I say we prepare a landing party." Edmund said, he looked over at Drinian, who looked a tad awkward, "Drinian?"
"Forgive me, your majesty," Drinian said, "But the chain of command starts with King Caspian on this ship."
"…Right." Edmund said disappointedly.
"We'll use longboats." Caspian said, "Drinian, pick some men and come ashore."
"Aye." Drinian said with a nod. Caspian looked up at the minotaur, walking past him.
"Taveras, if you would." He said, the minotaur nodded and turned to the deck.
"Man the longboats!" He shouted, "Furl the sail and prepare to drop anchor!" The crew bustled about, doing as the minotaur had commanded. Maxine followed Caspian down the stairs to the deck.
"I'm coming with you." She said, Caspian stopped and turned around to her.
"No, you're staying here." He said, Maxine frowned.
"Caspian, after all this time," She began, "Are you still being so protective of me when I'm fully capable of taking care of myself?"
"Are you still on that?" Caspian asked as he kept walking, Maxine scowled and grabbed the back of his shirt, jerking him backwards so he would look at her.
"Hey!" She snapped, Caspian removed her hand from his clothes with a small, humorous smile.
"Maxine, I was only joking." He said, "If you wish to come, then you may come. I know you can take care of yourself." He kissed her forehead, "Go and prepare yourself, you may ride in the same longboat as me." He walked away and Maxine stood stunned for a moment, then she smiled to herself, going to the room Caspian had given her and Lucy to share to get her things.
Maxine sat next to Caspian as the longboat was rowed closer to the shore of the island. Reepicheep sat comfortably at the head of the boat. Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace (Who still thinks there's a British consul in Narnia) sat in the very back of the boat as four other men rowed the boat across the waters.
"Onward!" Reepicheep said happily as he jumped onto the docks of the island, "The thrill of the unknown lies ahead."
"Couldn't it have waited 'til the morning?" Eustace whined as everyone left the longboats.
"There is no honor in turning away from adventure, lad." Reepicheep said, talking as if he were explaining the world's most obvious thing to a child. Caspian came onto the land before Maxine and offered his hand to her. When she came onto the docks, she noticed something.
"Listen!" She said, everyone stopped and listened, "It's so quiet…"
"Where is everyone?" Lucy asked to the silence.
"Come on, Jelly legs." Reepicheep said, offering his paw to Eustace as he tried to get off the longboat.
"I'm capable of doing it myself!" Eustace snapped stubbornly. His legs shook uncontrollably and he fell onto the stone steps. Reepicheep sighed and rolled his eyes. Caspian watched the spectacle with a raised eyebrow.
"And you're certain he's related by blood?" He asked Lucy and Edmund. They looked back at their cousin as he clamored up onto the land and followed Caspian, Lucy, Maxine, and Edmund as they went closer to the entrance of the city. Caspian pulled out a crossbow and held it out, ready to fire if needed. Edmund and Maxine kept their hands on their swords, and Lucy kept hers on her dagger. Reepicheep scurried up ahead of them, looking around.
Everyone jumped when they heard the sound of a bell tower ringing somewhere in the city. Maxine pulled her sword out just the slightest bit as everyone began heading up the stairs to the city gates.
"Reepicheep," Caspian said, "Stay here with Drinian's men and secure the place. We'll head on. If we don't come back by dawn, send a party."
"Yes, your majesty." Reepicheep said, going over to join Drinian's men as everyone else, including Eustace, ran up towards the gates, weapons drawn and ready.
Maxine looked around the city sadly, seeing all the boarded up windows, and seeing no people on the streets. The entire place had a creepy aura to it.
"It's… like a ghost town…" She murmured quietly, Caspian nodded in agreement. They moved as quietly as they could through the city. As they came closer to a church, they knew what the ringing had come from. Maxine looked around for Eustace, seeing him looking through one of the boarded up windows, then running a little closer to them.
"Yeah, it looks like nobody's in." He said quickly, "So, d'you think we should head back?" Maxine raised an eyebrow at his blatant attempt to get them to leave. Edmund turned to him.
"Do you wanna come here and… guard… something?" Edmund asked, wanting to do anything to get his cousin to be quiet. Eustace nodded quickly.
"Ah, yes!" He said, running over to them, "Good idea, cousin. Very, um… logical." He stopped running, looking at them expectantly. Edmund looked at Maxine, who looked over at Caspian, who sighed and walked over to Eustace, giving him a long dagger to use as a weapon. He turned away so they could head back to the church, "I've got it. I've got it. Don't worry." Everyone gave Eustace a dry look when he said this, his back turned to them, holding out the dagger. They opened the door to the church and walked in. Maxine gazed around at it, seeing multiple large bells hanging from the ceiling. Alongside the walkway they were on were strange statues of headless kings holding out their own heads. "Uh, I'm ready to go when you are!"
Edmund held out his flashlight as they walked through the building. They all approached a table in the middle of the hall with small piles of large books on top of it. One of them was wide open, with lists of names and numbers, some of them scratched out.
"Who are all these people?" Lucy asked, seeing the names.
"Why have they been crossed out?" Edmund asked.
"It looks like some kind of… fee." Maxine said, looking at the numbers beside the names.
"Slave traders." Caspian said grimly. The bells in the church began to ring loudly, and everyone jumped up, on high alert. They saw men sliding down on the ropes for the church bells and coming around their group, surrounding them. Caspian shot one of the men with his crossbow, and he fell to the ground. Everyone else pulled out their blades and quickly engaged in the battle with the men. Maxine found herself fighting two men at once, which was a very difficult feat for someone who hadn't been sword fighting for very long. She did her best to block their blows, but she was mainly on the defensive side because of it. Their blows came too fast for her to do anything to strike back at either man.
A shriek rung out through the hall and everyone stopped, looking at the entrance where Eustace was being held by a man with a knife at his throat. The man shut the door behind him and pushed him forward.
"Unless you want to hear this one squeal like a girl again," The man said, "I'd say you should drop your weapons."
"Like a girl?!" Eustace cried out in offense.
"Now!" The man insisted, putting his knife closer to his throat. Lucy glared at the man as she threw down her dagger. Caspian put down his sword, and Maxine and Edmund threw down theirs.
"Eustace…" Edmund growled angrily.
"Put 'em in irons!" The man said to the others, who quickly followed their orders. Maxine was only partly compliant with the men as they put her hands in the cuffs, finding their hands were wandering a bit farther than she would have liked. The man holding Eustace hostage grabbed onto his ear and pulled him along.
"Get your hands off me!" Eustace cried, not doing anything to get away as he kept yanking at his ear.
"Let's take these three to the market," The man said, gesturing to Maxine, Lucy, and Eustace, "Send those two to the dungeons." He pointed to Edmund and Caspian. Maxine resisted as the men pulled her along, so, to get her to walk, one man grabbed at her behind and pushed her. She yelped and stomped on his foot.
"Ah! Damn!"
"Watch the hands!" Maxine snarled at him. Caspian saw this and glared viciously at the man holding Eustace hostage.
"Listen to me you insolent fool!" He growled at the man, "I! Am! Your! King!" He tried incredibly hard to get out of his grip, but the man wouldn't let up.
"Let him go, you bastards!" Maxine growled. One of the men holding her slapped her across the face.
"Sell her first," One of the men suggested, "Buyers love when they resist." Maxine and Caspian glared fiercely at the man.
"You're going to pay for that!" Caspian growled at him as the man grasped painfully at his arms.
"Actually," A voice said, they all looked to see a man dressed in elegant robes and fine jewelry coming towards them, "Someone else is going to pay." A smug smirk came on his face, "For all of you." They began dragging them away from each other, and everyone resisted the entire way.
"Edmund!" Lucy cried, trying to get to her brother.
"Lucy!" Edmund shouted back, trying to go to her.
Maxine shrieked as one of the men lifted her up in the air as she kept trying to run away. "Caspian!" She cried, "Caspian!"
"No! Maxine!" Caspian tried to get to her, but the slave traders had a good hold on both of them, "Maxine!" They dragged them out of the church, Lucy, Eustace, and Maxine being dragged to the slave market, and Caspian and Edmund being dragged to the dungeons.