6
Caspian's eyes slowly opened as the morning sun rose up. He looked down into his arms, and smiled when he saw Maxine sleeping soundly in his arms. The look on her face held no stress, just complete and total peace. He leaned down and placed a feather-light kiss on her forehead. She shifted slightly in her sleep, letting a small, sleepy sigh escape her lips as she snuggled into the warmth that was Caspian's body, her nose rubbing up against his chest. Caspian smiled and gently smoothed her hair, which had lengthened since the many years ago when he first met her. He fingered a lock of her hair. He liked the way she had matured since they last met. She looked more like a grown woman, in his opinion, but in spirit, he knew she was far from it. She still acted like the teenage girl he fell in love with.
He tried to move her away from her without waking her up, pulling his arms away slowly from her warm body. She frowned in her sleep and moved closer to his body, sleepily moving towards the warmth that he had provided before. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and she looked up at Caspian through her lashes. He smiled down at her and she smiled back.
"Good morning…" She murmured sleepily.
"Good morning." Caspian said, "Did you sleep well?" Maxine nodded.
"Better than last night." She said, Caspian leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.
"Maxine, do you mind if you let me up?" Caspian said, slightly moving the arm that rested under her. She looked at it and pushed herself up.
"Yeah." She said quickly, she stretched her arms as she sat up and Caspian stood up, stretching out his own limbs. He turned around and stopped when he saw large, unfamiliar footprints in the sand. Maxine looked up when he stood still, and saw the footprints as well. She instantly got up.
"Ed." Caspian hissed to the still sleeping Edmund, he went over and shook him, "Ed, wake up." Edmund let out a small groan and looked up at him, "Look." Edmund got up and looked around seeing the large footprints in the ground. He looked around, seeing as they went all around their campsite, and saw that they went over to his sister's sleeping spot.
"Where's Lucy?" He demanded, seeing that she wasn't there. He looked around the camp, calling out for her, waking up the other members of the crew as he shouted, "Lucy? Lucy!"
"Everybody up!" Reepicheep said to the crew, scurrying over to Maxine's side.
"Get up!" Drinian hissed, "Get up, I say!" Maxine and Caspian grabbed some chainmail and their swords.
"This way!" Maxine said, following the direction the footprints left in. Caspian walked beside her as they followed the footprints into the forests of the island. As they left, nobody noticed Eustace was still snoring loudly and sleeping soundly.
The footprints led them to a large, intricate garden, where they disappeared against the short grass. They began to spread out, looking for any sign of the young queen. Edmund saw something glinting in the sunlight and went closer to it, finding something very familiar to him.
"Guys," He said, getting Caspian and Maxine's attention, "Lucy's dagger." They went over to him when he held it. They were about to search more when, suddenly, spears were thrown at them from out of nowhere. Everyone was on their guard as they looked around for their enemies.
"Stop right there, or perish!" A voice threatened. Caspian was stunned as his sword was pulled from his hands, and he was knocked back by some invisible force. Maxine felt her own sword being pulled away, and when she tried to pull it back, something hit her head and knocked her back. When she went for her sword, she looked at it in awe as it seemed to float in mid-air for a moment, then was thrown away. She ran for it, and was knocked back by the same force once more. She looked around and saw the rest of the crew wasn't doing much better than her. She yelped when something grabbed the back of her shirt and began to pull her. Caspian heard her and ran towards her, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the strange forces that were causing all this trouble and behind him.
"What sort of creatures are you?" Caspian demanded of them.
"Big ones." A deep voice said, "With the head of a tiger and the body of a… um…"
"Different tiger!" Another voice put in. Maxine's eyes squinted as she began to see the outline of the creature's bodies becoming visible.
"You don't want to mess with us!" The deep voice said.
"Or what?" Edmund asked, looking around at the creatures.
"Or I'll claw ya to death!" A voice said, Edmund looked in surprise when the creatures attacking them became visible. Maxine quirked an eyebrow when she looked at them, seeing that they were some sort of… dwarf-type things. The only difference between them and any other dwarf was that instead of two legs, they only had one big leg with one big foot. One was held up by another to make them seem taller.
"And I'll run my tusk right through you!" Another one said as he became visible.
"And I'll gnash you," The one with the deep voice said, "With my teeth!"
"And I'll bite you with my fangs!" Another one said, bearing his teeth like an animal, but not seeming to be very intimidating at all.
"You mean," Maxine began with a smirk, "Squash us… with your fat bellies?"
"Yes!" One said, his smile fell when he realized what she had said.
"Fat bellies?" One asked, looking down at his round middle.
"Tickle us with your toes?" Caspian asked with a smirk of his own as he stared at their large feet. The one with the deep voice let out a shout as he suddenly fell from the two others that had been holding him up. Caspian and Maxine chuckled at the sight of him as he sat up. Edmund came over to him, wielding his sword.
"What have you done with my sister, you little pipsqueak?" He asked, pointing his sword at his throat. His eyes widened as he stared at the sword.
"Now… calm down." He said, his voice shaking slightly in fear.
"Where is she?" Edmund demanded.
"You better tell him!" One of them shouted at him.
"Go on, Chief, tell him." Another said.
"In the mansion." The man, apparently the leader of these creatures, said.
"What mansion?" Edmund asked, the leader's eyes pointed over to Edmund's right and he looked to see a large, beautiful mansion appearing in the garden, with vines covering its walls. Maxine looked at it in wonder, amazed at how strange the eastern areas of Narnia's world were. "Ohhh," He said when he saw it, "That mansion."
"You know," A voice said, everyone turned to see Eustace coming out of the bushes, brushing off any leaves, "I'm really getting tired of you all leaving me behind—" He stopped when he saw the strange creatures and the mansion appearing.
"It's the pig!" One said, seeing Eustace.
"The pig's come back!" Another said.
Eustace looked at the small, one-footed men with an odd expression, "This place just gets weirder and weirder!"
"Weird?" One asked aloud.
"He's callin' us weird?" Another asked.
Maxine heard footsteps and looked to see Lucy walking beside an older, bearded man dressed in elegant robes. The men started hopping away from him as he walked forward, calling him 'The Oppressor'. Some of them hid behind Edmund, Caspian, and Maxine in fear of the man.
"Lucy!" Edmund said happily when he saw her. The man beside her bowed respectfully.
"Your majesties." He said.
"Caspian, Edmund, and Max," Lucy said, "This is Coriakin. It's his island." The three of them bowed respectfully to the man.
"That's what he thinks!" The leader of the creatures said. They looked at him as he spoke, "You have wronged us, Magician!"
"I have not wronged you," Coriakin said, walking towards him, and he hopped away in fear, "I made you invisible for your own protection." He spoke to him as if he had explained it to him a thousand times.
"Protection?!" The leader said incredulously as he and the others kept hopping away.
"That's oppression!" One of them said.
"Oppressor!" Another shouted.
"I have not oppressed you." Coriakin said in that same way, sounding a little exhausted by having to explain it.
"But you could've!" The leader said, "If you wanted to!"
"Be gone." Coriakin said, pulling something out of his pocket and throwing it at them. They all shouted in fear about magic spells and how it was 'going to make us more invisible than before!'
"What was that?" Lucy asked him.
"Lint." Coriakin said in a low voice and a small smile, "But don't tell them." Lucy smiled as he walked back to the mansion.
"What were those things?" Eustace asked the magician.
"Dufflepuds." Coriakin said.
"Right, of course, silly me." Eustace said sarcastically as he followed his cousins as they followed him into the mansion. As they walked through the halls, Maxine walked up to him.
"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" She asked him.
"It seemed the easiest way to protect them," Coriakin said, "From the evil."
"You mean the mist?" Edmund asked. Coriakin stopped just before they entered a room.
"I mean what lies behind the mist." He said, he gestured for them to go in, and they did. Maxine looked around as they entered a library, smiling a little as she saw he was using magic to make some of his books levitate in the air. Behind them was an illusion of stars moving along the walls. Coriakin walked to the middle of the room, holding a large, long cylinder of paper. He threw it out, unrolling it to reveal that it was a map. It landed on the floor, and the map changed from drawings on paper to a miniaturized version of the ocean, with islands popping up out of it, and clouds floating above it. Along the corners of the map were pictures of a centaur blowing a horn, and an army racing off into battle.
"It's quite beautiful…" Eustace murmured, looking at it. Maxine, Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian looked at him in surprise, and when he saw them looking at him, he instantly scowled, "I mean for a make-believe map of a make-believe world." Maxine rolled her eyes at his words, smiling a little to herself.
"Here is the source of your troubles." Coriakin said, the map moved until it showed what looked like an island made entirely of dark clouds and sharp rocks, looking quite terrifying, "Dark Island, a place where evil lurks." Coriakin stepped out on the map, his feet making small ripples in the ocean's water without getting his feet wet, looking at Edmund, "It can take any form." He turned his gaze to Maxine, "It can make your darkest dreams come true." He turned to Caspian, "It seeks to corrupt all goodness. To steal all the light from this world."
"How do we stop it?" Lucy asked him. Coriakin turned to her.
"You must break its spell." Coriakin said, he turned back to Edmund, "That sword you carry," He pointed to the sword at Edmund's waist, "There are six others."
"Have you seen them?" Edmund asked.
"Yes." Coriakin said.
"The six lords," Caspian began, "They passed through here?"
"Indeed." Coriakin said, the clouds moving aside as he took a step towards him.
"Where were they headed?" Maxine asked him.
"Where I sent them." Coriakin said, the map began to move again and he stepped away from the map as another island came into view. Coriakin raised his hand and a blue, glowing orb appeared above the island, "To break the spell, you must follow the blue star to Ramandu's Island. There, the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can their true magical power be released." Everyone shared meaningful glances, "But beware, you are all about to be tested."
"Tested?" Lucy asked, Coriakin turned to her.
"Until you lay down the seventh sword," He said, "Evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you." He looked around at everyone in the room, "Be strong, don't fall to temptation." He walked to Caspian, "To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself." Maxine looked over at Caspian curiously, wondering why Coriakin directed this particular statement to the young king.
"That doesn't look too good." Maxine muttered, looking at the huge expanse of dark, grey storm clouds ahead of them.
"Can we go around it, Drinian?" Caspian asked, looking at the captain.
"I'm afraid not," He said grimly, "This storm's far too large to simply go around it, and in these waters, it could take us back to Coriakin's island. Our best bet is to go straight through it."
Maxine sighed unhappily, "Great. I'll go warn Lucy and Ed." She walked away from the two men, heading over to where Lucy and Edmund had been speaking to each other.
Dear Diary,
For reasons beyond my comprehension, we've taken the advice of a senile old coot, who doesn't possess a razor and doddles around in a dressing gown. So, we're back in this tub, and lost in a tempest. Brilliant. As Eustace wrote in his diary below deck, the movements above deck could only be described as pure chaos. Six men were at the helm, maneuvering it as best as they could through the storm. Caspian tossed Edmund a rope as they helped out the crew in taking care of the sails. 14 days of being tossed around like a pancake, and not the slightest sign of land. The only consolation is everyone is finally as miserable as I am. Except for that show-off talking rat. He's one of those annoying 'glass is always half-full' types. Reepicheep sat in the mouth of the dragon's head of the boat as it traveled through the huge waves, an excited smile across his furry face.
In the navigation room sat Caspian, Edmund, Maxine, and Drinian. The captain had summoned them there to speak with them about their voyage thus far.
"So," He began, putting a small cap on a map a little bit away from an 'X' on the map marked 'Coriakin', "We're stuck here." He turned to the three royals, "At half rations, and food and water for two more weeks, maximum." He grabbed on to part of the ship's ceiling as the boat lurched from a large wave, "This is your last chance to turn back, your majesties." Caspian and Edmund shared meaningful looks, knowing the weight of his words, "There's no guarantee we'll spot the blue star anytime soon, not in this storm. Needle in the haystack, trying to find this Ramandu place. We could sail right past it and off the edge of the world."
"Or we could get eaten by a sea serpent." Maxine said, the three men gave her a dry look and she shrugged, "Just… trying to lighten the mood."
"I'm just saying," Drinian continued, "The men are getting nervous." He walked around to the other side of the table the map rested on, "These are strange seas we're sailin'. The likes of which, I've never seen before."
"Then, perhaps, Captain," Caspian said, getting up from where he sat and over to Drinian, "You would like to be the one to explain to Mr. Rhince that we're abandoning the search for his family." Drinian sighed.
"I'll get back to it." He said, referring to the crew. He picked up a robe and put it on, turning back to Caspian, "Just a word of warning. The sea can play nasty tricks on a crew's mind." He pulled up the hood on his robe, "Very nasty." He walked out of the room, and Edmund stood up.
"I think I'll go help out, too." He said, nodding at Caspian and Maxine. He walked out of the room, leaving them alone. Maxine looked over at Caspian, who was staring down at the map in front of him, his finger tapping the cap where the ship was supposed to be, a frown on his face. Maxine got up and went over to his side, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Caspian?" She asked quietly, "Are you okay?" Caspian sighed, bringing his hand up to his temples and rubbing them in slow circles.
"No, I'm not." He said, "This voyage is taking out a lot on our men. Something could go wrong." He looked over at Maxine, "We're running out of rations, and if we don't find land soon, there's a good chance the crew will threaten mutiny." Maxine rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm sure it won't happen." She said, Caspian moved away from her and she frowned sadly. He sat down in a nearby chair and put his head in his hands. Maxine came over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders, gently massaging them, "You need to stop stressing out. I'm sure we'll find the island soon, or some land, and we'll be fine."
"But what if it doesn't?" Caspian asked, lifting his head up, Maxine leaned down and hugged his shoulders to her back.
"It will be." She assured him, "You'll see." She kissed his cheek and Caspian sighed and smiled at her.
"Thank you, Maxine." He said, Maxine smiled back at him.
Lucy stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom she, Gale, and Maxine shared. She couldn't sleep, she was thinking too much about that magic spell she had taken from the book of incantations. The spell that would make her just as beautiful as Susan. She looked over at Gale to see she was sound asleep, and then she looked over at where Maxine was sleeping on a hammock of her own making near the room's window, her breathing calm as she slept. Lucy got up and reached into her pocket, pulling out the piece of paper and reading aloud the words written on the paper.
"Transform my reflection, cast into perfection," Lucy recited, not seeing the green mist as it curled around a lantern near her, "Lashes, lips and complexion. Make me she whom I'd agree holds more beauty over me." She looked around at herself, not seeing her appearance change at all. She sat up and looked up at where a mirror stood on the walls of the room. She got out of bed, and walked over to it, not noticing how the storm had suddenly calmed. She watched as her nightclothes changed into a light blue polka-dotted dress with a green ribbon wrapped around it. She looked at her face in the mirror, seeing it transform, making her just as beautiful as her sister, with the same rosy cheeks, baby blue eyes, and ruby red lips. She touched her face, unable to believe it was happening. She reached out and touched the mirror, and was surprised to see it open up like a door to her home world, where lively music played in someone's backyard. She walked out of someone's pavilion.
"Ladies and gentleman," A man announced, "Miss Pevensie." She smiled as her entrance was applauded. Her smile widened as she overheard some of the young soldiers saying how pretty she was. She looked over in as Edmund came up next to her, wearing a suit, taking her arm.
"Edmund!" She said in surprise.
"You look beautiful, sister." He said with a smile.
"As always." A voice said from behind her. She looked behind her and saw Peter coming up behind her taking her arm, wearing his own suit.
"Peter!" She said happily.
"Excuse me, Miss," A camera man said, coming over to them, "Can I get a photo?"
"Oh, Mother's going to love this!" Peter said as the three of them stood still for the man to take the photo, "All her children in picture."
"Smile!" The camera man said, preparing the camera to take a photograph.
"Hang on, where am I?" Lucy asked, looking up at Peter, who looked at her confusedly, "I mean, where's Lucy?"
"Lucy?" Edmund repeated in confusion, "Who's Lucy?" The camera flashed and she tried to move away from her brothers, suddenly finding herself very uncomfortable.
"Susan, what's wrong?" Peter asked, trying to keep her still for the picture.
"Come on, now, Miss." The camera man said as he went to polish his lens, "Nice, big smile."
"Edmund," She said, looking at him, "I'm not sure about all this. I think I want to go back."
"Go back where?" Edmund asked as he smiled for the camera.
"To Narnia." She said, Edmund looked at her with an amused smile.
"Where on earth's Narnia?" He asked, Lucy in Susan's body frowned worriedly. She didn't like this. Didn't she exist? Why didn't her brothers know about Narnia? This was all wrong!
"What's going on?" She demanded, still trying to escape her brother's grasp. "Stop this!" The camera flashed again and she covered up her face, trying to make this world disappear. She suddenly heard the music stop and she slowly peeked out from her fingers, looking to see her own reflection in the mirror in her bedroom back on the Dawn Treader. She gasped when she saw the large lion she knew as Aslan appearing behind her in the mirror.
"Lucy." He said, coming up beside her.
"Aslan?" Lucy asked quietly, she turned to see if he was really there, but he was not. He only appeared in the mirror.
"What have you done, child?" Aslan asked her.
"…I don't know." Lucy murmured, her voice shaking, "That was awful."
"But you chose it, Lucy." Aslan said.
"I didn't mean to choose all of that." Lucy said, feeling a lump in her throat as she spoke from her tears. "I just wanted to be beautiful like Susan… That's all…"
"You wished yourself away." Aslan said, "And with it, much more. Your brothers and sister wouldn't know Narnia without you, Lucy. You discovered it first, remember?"
Lucy looked up into the lion's eyes, feeling her throat tighten even more in tears, "I'm so sorry…"
"You doubt your value." Aslan said, "Don't run from who you are." He stepped aside, away from the mirror.
"Aslan!" Lucy shouted, not wanting the lion to leave. Maxine fell out of her hammock in surprise at her shout, hitting the floor. She instantly stood up.
"What? What?" She asked, looking around the room for any danger. She looked over at Lucy, "What is it?" Lucy looked down at the page she had taken from the book of incantations.
"Nothing." Lucy said, crumpling up the paper and getting up from the bed and going over to the fireplace and throwing it in, and watching the paper burn, "It was just a bad dream."
"Oh…" Maxine said, relaxing her raised fists. "You okay?"
"Yeah." She said.
Neither girl noticed a green mist moving away from them and out of the room.
Okay, I need to tell you guys that, starting Monday, I'll be at an overnight camp where I won't be able to post anymore chapters for a week. Sorry, but it's a school thing, and I can't get out of it because I'm stuck as a senior group leader. On top of that, I have to study for ACT's to get my score up to a 25. Updates won't come out as quickly as they did before.
So please excuse the absence of updates for a while!
Not writing makes me very sad! TT^TT