9
Maxine's eyes slowly fluttered open, and instead of seeing the walls of her room with sunlight filtering through the windows, she saw a muscular chest. She looked up to see Caspian was still sleeping soundly, his arms around her. She smiled softly to herself and snuggled up to the handsome prince, her nose brushing against his chest. She heard Caspian take in a deep breath, and she looked up, seeing his eyes slowly open and look down at her.
"Good morning…" He mumbled sleepily, a smile on his face. Maxine smiled back and scooted up so her face would be level with his.
"Good morning, my handsome king." She replied, leaning in to plant a sweet kiss on his lips. She saw Caspian smiling as she pulled away, "Sleep well?" Caspian nodded, and pulled her closer to him, their warm bodies touching.
"I slept very well." Caspian said, he kissed the top of her head, "Last night was amazing…" Maxine let a giggle escape her lips.
"Glad to see you enjoyed yourself." She said, Caspian's body rumbled with his own laughter, and Maxine could feel it. She loved this. She loved being this close to Caspian, and she loved this feeling of waking up with him after… what happened last night. She sighed happily, wanting to stay like this forever.
But, of course, it was never going to last. A hurried knock came on the door, making the couple jump.
"Caspian, are you in there?" Edmund's voice came from the other side. He swung open the door, "We need—! Oh, good Lord." He walked in, took one glance at the couple in bed, and turned away from them so he wouldn't see, his hand resting on his forehead over his eyes. Maxine blushed deeply and covered herself with the sheets on the bed.
"What is it, Edmund?" Caspian asked, his voice calm, but his face just as flushed as Maxine's.
"They need you on deck." Edmund said, not turning to them as he spoke, "We're at Dark Island, and we need to get ready." Caspian nodded, even though Edmund couldn't see it.
"Thank you." Caspian said. Edmund nodded once and moved towards the door.
"Please," He begged, "Don't let me catch you two like this again." He left the room and shut the door behind him. Maxine and Caspian looked back at each other, a small laugh escaping both of them.
"We should get up." Caspian said, sitting up, Maxine reached over to him and grabbed his hand to keep him from leaving the bed.
"Not yet." She whined, Caspian smiled at her childish tone and leaned down, kissing her cheek.
"Come," He said, pulling her up so she would sit on the bed, "I'll help you get ready if you want."
"No, that's okay." Maxine said, holding the sheet to herself as she got up, "I still remember how to wear chainmail." Caspian nodded, going around the room and picking up his clothes. As he walked, Maxine couldn't help but admire his physique, biting her lip as she looked him up and down. Caspian noticed her perusal and smirked.
"Admiring the view?" He asked her humorously. Maxine nodded, blushing slightly.
"Very much so." She said, looking up at him as he walked up to her.
"You didn't see enough of it last night?" Caspian asked in a low, husky voice, leaning closer to her. Maxine blushed deeply.
"I like looking at you…" She replied shyly, Caspian leaned down and kissed her.
"As I, you." He said, Maxine gasped when he pulled the sheet away, revealing her body to him.
"Caspian!" She squealed, reaching for the sheet. Caspian laughed as he pulled it out of her reach. "Give it back!" Caspian kept pulling it out of her reach, running around the room with the sheet as she kept chasing him, trying to get it back. It kept going until Maxine tackled Caspian down onto the bed. His laughter slowly died as she held him down. His eyes glazed over as they looked at her, implanting her beautiful face into his memory. He leaned up and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss, and she kissed him back. It didn't last for very long, because Caspian pulled away from her.
"We really should get up." He whispered to her, Maxine nodded.
"Yeah…" She murmured, getting off of him and grabbing the sheet to wrap around herself as she picked up her clothes from off the floor. When she had picked up her shirt, she felt Caspian's hands rest on her shoulders and stood still as he put his face against hers from behind.
"I love you," He whispered to her, "So very much." Maxine leaned into him.
"I love you, too." She said quietly. They stood still for a moment, knowing that this company they shared with each other might be their last moments to spend like this. Maxine sighed as she began to think that, and mustered up whatever she could to ask Caspian a question, "Caspian?"
"Yes, my love?" Caspian asked.
"When this is all over," Maxine began, "I want you to go back to Ramandu's island, and ask Lilliandil to be your queen." Caspian looked at her incredulously.
"What?" He asked.
"Ask her to be your queen." Maxine said, "It's what's best for your kingdom."
"But, Maxine—"
"Don't argue, Caspian." Maxine said firmly, "You know it's best. She seems like she'd make a good queen, too, and I don't think you could do much better than having a star for a wife." Caspian looked at her sadly.
"Every moment I am with her," He said, with a sort of reluctant acceptance, "I will wish she was you." Maxine turned in his arms, putting her hand on his cheeks and kissing him softly.
"Thank you." She whispered, while she was thankful that Caspian was doing as she asked, she didn't want him to. She wanted to be with him until the end of time, but she knew that their worlds wouldn't allow them to stay together. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought, and Caspian gently wiped them away with his thumb, pressing his lips to hers in a kiss once more.
At the helm, Maxine stood next to Caspian, looking out at the island. Everything about it seemed to be made of darkness, except for where she could see the green mist moving around inside, making it seem like it had a green glow.
"So… What do you think is in there?" Taveras asked, trying to sound casual.
"Our worst nightmares." Edmund said, looking at the island.
"Our darkest wishes." Caspian said.
"Pure evil." Drinian said from the helm, looking back at the four royals. He walked over to the minotaur, "Taveras, unlock the armory." He nodded once.
"My Lord." He said, heading down the stairs to where the armory was below deck.
"Archers!" Drinian called out, "Prepare yourselves!"
"Aye, Captain!" The crew called as they went to get the crossbows.
"Light the lanterns!" Taveras ordered, some of the crew who weren't archers went to go and find a match to use on the lanterns.
"Let's get ready." Caspian said to his friends. They nodded in agreement and went to go and get prepared.
Maxine and Lucy strapped the chainmail armor onto their bodies. Gale sat a few feet away from them, watching as they got ready.
"When I grow up," She said, "I want to be just like you." Maxine looked up, assuming she was talking about Lucy since she spent more time with her. She and Lucy shared a glance, and Lucy looked back at Gale, smiling at her.
"When you grow up," She said, coming over to her and sitting down, "You should be just. Like. You." She pulled her into a one-arm hug and Maxine smiled at the cute moment between the two girls.
Once they were prepared, they went out on deck, where Caspian had called the crew together for a final speech of encouragement to them.
"No matter what happens here," Caspian began, "Every soul that stands before me has earned their place on the crew of the Dawn Treader." Behind Caspian, Dark Island rumbled like thunder menacingly, "Together, we have traveled far. Together, we have faced adversity. Together, we can do it again. So now is not the time to fall to fear's temptations. Be strong! Never give in." Maxine smiled as she was reminded of their conversation together just yesterday, "Our world. Our Narnian lives depend on it. Think of the lost souls we're here to save." Lucy rubbed Gale's arm comfortingly, telling her they were going to find her mother. Rhince's gaze turned to the floorboards at the mention of his wife, "Think of Aslan. Think of Narnia." Caspian started to head down from the steps, finished with his speech.
"For Narnia!" A crew member shouted out. Caspian looked up at his declaration as the rest of the crew joined in, raising their weapons high and repeating the same thing.
"For Narnia!" Maxine shouted with a smile, raising her sword. Caspian smiled at the crew, glad they had confidence in their venture. He quickly came back down to the deck, going to Maxine's side. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, "Nice speech." She reached out and linked his fingers with hers.
"Thank you." Caspian said, his hand gently squeezed hers as they slowly began to enter the territory of Dark Island. Once inside, Maxine couldn't see any form of land. Only a few rocks sticking up here and there, but not much else. They soon went through a thick fog, and Maxine looked up as the green mist suddenly came down upon them, moving through the crew members and down below deck. Rhince watched as part of the mist began to take the form of something, and smiled when he saw his wife.
"Helen!" He said happily as she began to walk towards him. He held out his arms to her, only to have her form walk right through him. His smile quickly fell when she disappeared. The mist traveled up to the helm where Drinian, Caspian, and Maxine stood.
"I can't see a thing!" Drinian hissed to Caspian, "This fog's too thick." Caspian looked at the mist as it suddenly moved around him. It took up a form behind him.
"You… are a great disappointment to me." A voice from the mist said, Caspian turned to where the faceless mist suddenly disappeared. It came up on his other side, putting on the face of Caspian's father, "You call yourself my son, and act like a king." The mist disappeared again and Caspian looked at it worriedly, considering the words it had said in his father's voice.
Maxine looked around at the mist suspiciously, keeping her guard up as it passed by her.
"What a brat you were." A voice said, Maxine's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she turned around to see the mist had taken an all-too-familiar form.
"…Mom?" She asked quietly, seeing her mother's face and form in the mist.
"Always crying and needing attention." Her mother said disgustedly, "You think I wanted you around? I didn't want some kid whining and keeping me up at all hours of the night. The only reason I had you was because I couldn't afford to get rid of you." Maxine felt her stomach sink as the mist dissipated. Although it was just the mist, she couldn't be sure it wasn't lying.
The mist took a form it already had previously, the White Witch, and went over to Edmund. "Edmund," It called out to him, "Come with me." Edmund stared at it with wide eyes, "Be my king. I'll let you rule."
"Go away." Edmund said to it, "You're dead."
"You can never kill me." She cooed as she floated away, "I'll always be alive… in your mind, silly boy."
"No!" Edmund shouted at it.
"Edmund." Lucy said, getting his attention. She looked at him worriedly, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." He said shortly, nodding his head once. He turned his head to the island when a loud moaning sort of shout was heard. Everyone went over to the side of the boat to see what had made the sound
"Keep away!" A voice shouted, echoing through the island, "Keep away!"
"Who's there?" Edmund shouted out.
"We do not fear you!" Caspian shouted, thinking it might be another trick from the mist.
"Nor I, you!" The voice said, they realized the voice came from a lone rock a little ways away from them. Edmund reached for his flashlight and shined it on the rock. The light landed on a deranged-looking man with wild hair, and wearing worn out chainmail. "Keep away!"
"We will not leave!" Caspian said to him.
"You will not defeat me!" The man said, holding up a sword, one that the group recognized right away.
"Caspian, his sword!" Maxine said, pointing to the very Narnian-made sword.
"Lord Rhoop!" Caspian cried, running down to the railing.
"You do not own me!" The man, apparently Lord Rhoop, shouted out.
"Stand down!" Caspian ordered to the archers, who had all pointed their crossbows at him. "Let's get him on board. Quickly!" Some of the crew began to swing grappling hooks to get to the rock to bring him aboard the ship, but before they ever shot them out, Eustace flew over, picking up the lord and bringing him over to the ship, dropping him onto the deck. Once his feet touched the wood, Lord Rhoop swung the sword around wildly at the crew, making them keep their distance, "Be calm, my lord!"
"Off me, demon!" Lord Rhoop snarled out, glaring at all the crew members.
"No, my lord," Caspian said in a calm tone, "We are not here to hurt you. I am your king. Caspian." Lord Rhoop became still, taking his words in.
"…Caspian?" He muttered, he looked over at the young king and gasped happily, "My Lord!" He went over to him, near tears as he reached out to him, but didn't touch him, almost afraid that if he made contact, he would disappear. He stood up, "You should not have come! There's no way out of here! Quickly!" He looked over at where Drinian stood at the helm, "Turn this ship about before it's too late!"
"We got the sword, let's go!" Edmund said, in complete agreement with the man.
"Let's turn her about, Drinian." Caspian ordered the captain.
"Aye, your majesty." Drinian said, sounding more than happy to leave the island.
"Do not think!" Lord Rhoop said suddenly to Caspian, who looked at him oddly, "Do not let it know your fears, or it will become them…!" At the mention of their fears, Maxine's eyes shut for a moment, thinking of the one thing she had been worried about since its first mention at the beginning of their journey. Then she realized what she had just done.
"Oh, no…" She groaned. Everyone looked at her when she spoke.
"Max," Lucy said fearfully, looking at her, "Max, what did you just think of?!"
"Oh, God, I'm sorry!" Maxine said, she ran to the side of the ship, looking out among the rocks, seeing ones that vaguely resembled the spiked back of an eel moving into the water. The ship lurched suddenly, making the entire ship rock. Caspian ran to the side to see what they hit.
"Look!" He cried, pointing as a large mass moved underneath the water, "What is that?"
"Too late…" Lord Rhoop muttered, seeing it, "It's too late!"
"It's gone under the boat!" A crew member said, seeing the mass disappear. Lucy looked over on the opposite side of the boat and saw Gale hiding on the other side of the boat.
"Gale!" She shouted at her. Gale shrieked as a splash came from the water beside her. Out of the ocean came a huge, hideous sea serpent, bearing its fangs menacingly. Lucy grabbed Gale and pulled her away from the monster as everyone else armed themselves against the creature. Before it could attack the ship, Eustace came roaring in, spewing fire at the serpent, making it cry out in pain. Eustace latched onto the monster, holding on as tightly as he could as it moved around, trying to throw him off, hitting him against the boat to try and get his claws out of his skull. Reepicheep scurried off Eustace's head onto the snout of the serpent.
"For Narnia!" He shouted, raising his sword, "Take that!" He stabbed it into the serpent, and it cried out in pain, writhing even more than before and throwing the mouse off of him. Reepicheep caught onto a rope on the boat before he fell and looked to see Eustace was still fighting the beast, "Eustace! Hang on!" The serpent threw him off as well, sending Eustace over the boat. He quickly turned on his side and began flapping his wings, heading back to the serpent to attack again. The serpent jumped out, taking the dragon in his mouth and diving underwater with him. Everyone ran to the other side of the boat where the serpent came back up, throwing Eustace against a rock. Maxine grimaced at the sight. The serpent reared up, preparing to strike Eustace like a snake would strike its prey, and just as it began to, Eustace shot out fire, making its snout and the inside of its mouth burn. The serpent cried out in pain and dove under the water to put out the fire.
"Out creature!" Lord Rhoop cried, running towards the sight of the boat with his sword raised.
"No! The sword!" Caspian shouted, realizing what he was about to do. Lord Rhoop threw the sword out, nailing it in Eustace's shoulder. He roared out in pain.
"Eustace!" Lucy cried. The dragon's wings began to flap and he started to fly away, "No! Come back!"
"We're doomed!" Lord Rhoop moaned out, "Doomed!" He ran up to the helm, pushing the helmsman aside, "Turn this ship about!" He put his hands on the wheel, preparing to turn it around. He spun it some, making the ship swerve greatly, and making everyone fall from the sudden movement. Drinian stopped the wheel before he could keep turning it, and punched him across the face, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.
"All crew!" He commanded, "To your rowing positions! Oars at double speed!" Lucy looked up towards the sky.
Aslan, She prayed, help us. Only a second later did a seagull fly in from a hole in the darkness surrounding them, cawing out and flying in the direction they needed to get out. The serpent let out a cry as it swam over to them, refusing to let them leave. Maxine shrieked as it went over the deck, crashing through the railing then going back into the water. Lucy grabbed Gale to take her to a safer place, and Caspian tried to get to Maxine, but she was on the side of the serpent opposite him. The serpent came out again and wrapped itself around the ship tightly, lifting up its head and letting out a shrieking growl at the crew. Caspian ran up to the helm to keep the ship steady, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a rock sticking out of the water.
"Ed! Max!" He called, getting their attention, "We ram the serpent." He nodded to the rock he had seen, "Smash it on the rocks."
"Steer it to port!" Maxine shouted over the noise of the battle, "I'll keep it distracted!" Caspian looked hesitant for her to do this, but nodded.
"Max!" Edmund shouted, making her stop before she ran. He took his flashlight and tossed it to her, "Use that to get its attention." Maxine nodded and hooked the flashlight to a strap on her chain mail before running towards the serpent's head, waving her arms to get its attention. It dove down, trying to get at her, but missed. She headed for the ladder that went to the dragon's head at the front of the boat, barely dodging the serpent's second strike at her. She went through the dragon's mouth and held out the flashlight, turning it on and aiming it at the serpent's eyes.
"Here!" She shouted at it. The serpent growled at the sight of the light, following it to the head of the boat, "I'm right here! Come and get me! Come on!" The serpent shrieked out and latched its teeth onto the head of the dragon.
"No!" Lucy shrieked when she saw it.
"Maxine!" Caspian cried, in fear for the woman he loved.
The serpent bit off the dragon's snout, Maxine remained still on what was left of the dragon's head, completely unharmed as the serpent spat the wooden snout out of its mouth. She climbed up to the top of the dragon's head, dodging when the serpent snapped at her. She didn't hear Drinian calling to the archers to get ready to fire, Lucy using Susan's bow and arrows. She turned back to it.
"Come on!" She shouted at it, "I'm still here!" The serpent reared up, preparing to attack her again, but an arrow flew out, hitting its snout. The serpent shrieked in pain, moving back.
"Brace yourselves!" Caspian shouted from the helm, his call had distracted Maxine, and she took her eyes off the serpent for only a second. The serpent took that second to place a final attack on her, reaching out with its teeth to try and eat her. Maxine saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and tried to dodge it, and she almost did, but one of the serpent's teeth nicked her throat, slicing it open. She put her hand to it, unable to cry out because she couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe. Maxine fell back onto the deck from the force of the ship ramming the serpent against the rocks. She bounced off its tail and landed rolling on the deck. She desperately tried to hang on, keeping her eyes open, but it was becoming very difficult. Her lungs cried out for air she couldn't give them, and her sight became darker and darker by the second. She vaguely heard Caspian calling her name before she slipped into the darkness.
Maxine's eyes opened, and she found she was back in the car that had landed in the river at her mother's home. She was still in the car seat, but instead of being just above the water, she was already completely engulfed in it, with the seatbelt still around her torso. She tugged furiously at the seatbelt, trying to get it off of her so she could leave the car and get some much needed air. She struggled to get the seatbelt undone, but it would not release her. She uselessly tried to rip the seat belt to let her go, but her strength was disappearing as the car hit the bottom of the river. She struggled and squirmed to get out of the car, writhing as much as possible to try and get free. Her head felt like it was going to split in two from the pressure of being in the water, and her lungs were about to burst from having no oxygen. As a last effort, Maxine let out a scream, but instantly stopped when she realized she had no air to scream with.
She felt her strength slipping further and further away, until she could no longer hold back her breath, and released the air in her lungs, her eyes closing as she fell unconscious, sitting still in the car seat, her limbs rising slightly in the water as her body breathed in the water, not realizing it was making her drown.
Maxine let out a scream as she shot up from where she lay down. She looked down at herself, seeing she wasn't wearing the clothes she had been wearing in Narnia, or back at home. She was dressed in a long-sleeved cotton V-neck shirt and pants. She looked down at her bare feet, wiggling her toes. Where had her shoes gone? She looked around and saw nothing but a white expanse. There were no hills, there was no sky, no animals, and no people. There was nothing here.
She heard someone clicking their tongue in disappointment, and she turned around to see… herself?
"Shame," She said, looking down at her, "For shame. I hoped I wouldn't see you here for, at least, another few decades or so." The other Maxine sighed unhappily, "But things never turn out how I think they do. It happens all the time." Maxine took in her appearance. She was the same height and build as herself, with the same face and same hair. The only difference between them was their clothing style. This Max wore a professional-looking suit that one might find on a business woman, but everything about it was white. Maxine looked up at her and she looked back down at her, "It makes this job really suck, you know?"
"…Who are you?" Maxine asked, looking her up and down.
"Well, I think that should be quite obvious," The other Max said with a humorous smirk as she held out her hand to Maxine to help her stand, "I'm you, sweetheart." Maxine took her hand and stood up, looking over the suited Maxine.
"No you're not." She said, "I'm me. You can't be me. I don't walk around in suits, and I definitely don't wear four inch heels." She pointed to the other Maxine's white high heels.
"How right you are!" The other Maxine agreed with a smile, "I'm not you. I just take the appearance of my clients so I can remember who they are."
"Clients?" Maxine asked confusedly.
"You see, Max, dear," The other Maxine began, "I'm what you might call a… guardian angel mixed with a defense attorney."
"You're not a guardian angel." Maxine said, looking at her, "You don't have any wings, and you look nothing like an angel." The other Maxine sighed exasperatedly, as if she was tired of hearing her words.
"Look, not all angels are how Van Gogh and other old artists made us look." She said, "We don't actually have wings, alright? Well, some of us choose to walk around with them, but that's mainly because— Wait, am I allowed to tell you that stuff?" She reached into her suit jacket and pulled out a large wad of thick papers, thumbing through some of them, until she came to the page she was looking for, and trailed her finger down the page, "Ah, here it is. Um… Oh, I am allowed to tell you. Okay—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on a second!" Maxine said, stopping her from continuing, "What the heck is that?!" She pointed to the ten-pound bunch of papers.
"This?" The other Maxine said, holding them up, "It's your contract."
"I don't remember signing any contract ever!" Maxine snapped at her.
"Oh, you didn't sign this." The other Maxine said, "Your father signed it for you."
"My father doesn't even know I'm alive!" Maxine said.
"Not your earth father, your other one." The other Maxine said dismissively. Before Maxine could ask what she meant, the other Maxine continued speaking, "This has every rule for everything that I could ever tell you, or not tell you, and let you do and not do. It is the ultimate contract." Maxine looked at the papers, then back at the other Maxine, then shook her head.
"Whatever!" She said, "Look, can you please just tell me what's going on?"
"Oh, yeah." The other Maxine said, putting the incredibly thick contract back in her suit jacket, making it look as if it was never there, "This happens to me all the time; I get caught up in conversation with my clients and never get down to business with them!" She laughed at herself, "Isn't that funny?" When Maxine didn't laugh, her smile fell and she scratched awkwardly at the back of her head, "Right… the reason you're here…" She bit her lip nervously, "Well… I don't know how to put this exactly, Max, uh… you're dead… In both worlds."
"What do you mean?" Maxine asked.
"Well, normally, if someone was to die in Narnia, they'd just go back to their original world," The other Maxine explained, "But, in your case, you died as soon as you got back… so… yeah. You're here."
"And where is here, exactly?" Maxine asked.
"That would be the Threshold of Death." The other Maxine said, "See, here's the thing, you died before it was your time. Therefore, I'm obligated to give you a choice. You can either choose to leave this place alone, or choose to leave it with me."
"What's the difference?" Maxine asked, the other Maxine let out an uneasy hiss.
"I'm not allowed to tell you that." She said, "But what I am allowed to tell you is that if you come with me, every question you've ever had will be answered." Maxine looked at her suited self doubtfully.
"Every question?" She asked dubiously.
"Every question," The other Maxine confirmed with a nod. "Even that one about your mother." Maxine faltered slightly, remembering the words the mist had taunted her with, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was true or not. She had no way of knowing for sure.
"…Really?" She asked quietly, the other Maxine nodded.
"All you have to do," She said, "Is take my hand." She held out her hand to her and Maxine gazed at it, thinking of how she could truly know everything she ever wanted to know. Every question she had about her life, all the 'what ifs' that had gone unanswered, she would know. She reached out to take the hand of the girl who called herself her guardian angel, "But you should know," Maxine looked up at her, "If you do come with me, you can never come back. You will never go back to see your mother, or your friends, or Caspian ever again." Maxine looked at her, then back down at her hand. She pulled her own hand away. She didn't want to leave Caspian again, for good. The first time was far too painful, the second time was sure to be even worse.
"No…" She murmured, shaking her head, "I want to leave by myself. I don't know what that will do, but… if there's a chance I can see Caspian again, I'll take it." She looked up at her, "Are you allowed to tell me if there's a chance?" The other Maxine shook her head.
"Sorry." She said, "Now, are you sure though? All those questions you have, you won't know that answer until it's really your time."
Maxine nodded her head, "I'm sure." She put her hand at her side, "Show me the way out. I'm leaving on my own." The other Maxine smiled, nodding once.
"Good choice." She said, she pointed behind her, "The door's right over there."
"What door?" Maxine asked, turning around and saw a huge ten-foot high pair of doors right behind her. "Ohhh, that door." She said, seeing it. The other Maxine nodded.
"Well, go on!" She said, shooing her forward with a smile, "It's not gonna stay there forever! Well, technically, it will, but— Oh, forget it! Just get going!" Maxine nodded and walked towards the door, "Oh, by the way, Max," She turned around, "What do you think of the name Alina?" Maxine quirked an eyebrow at her question.
"It's… a cool name." She said hesitantly, "Why?" The other Maxine smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, no reason." She said cheerily, "Now get going." She shooed her along, "Go on." Maxine nodded once and walked towards the doors, putting her hand on it and pushing it open, walking through it.
To be honest, that last part came to me in a dream. It's important to the chapter, so it will be explained soon! I promise!
Also, I noticed how a few of you might not have liked that Max and Caspian slept together, but that's important to the story, too, kay?