The sun was low in the sky, a beautiful red and orange hue dancing along Narnian's land as the crashing of waves sounded up to the window Makeeda looked out of. She was enjoying the sound, a slight breeze rushing across her painted face. She smiled at the beauty of her view from the castle, toying with the ring on her left hand as she did so.

Three years had passed since the Pevensies had left Narnia, returning to their homeland. Makeeda had been patient, or as patient as any Dalish could stand to be. She had occupied herself with many things to keep her mind sane, helping the now King Caspian to rebuild Cair Paravel and strengthening her magic in her downtime. The Narnians lived at peace with the Telmarines, the war ending permanently. With her husband being gone and her dragon deceased, though, Makeeda had a slight war in her mind constantly. She had learned to suppress her grief, though not entirely knowing how to deal with it. She missed Shruikan and had yet to move on from her mournful ways.

Caspian had looked after her intently, keeping her in the chain of command under his rule. He learned from her every chance that he could, taking from her experience in leading to better himself as a King. Makeeda, however, had difficulty accepting that Peter was no longer the High King of Narnia at times. Dalish were proud, and trusting humans was not their strong suit, but she had found trust in one, her loyalty was still quite strong. Makeeda had yet to find this loyalty in Caspian's companionship.

Makeeda, turning her head to the sound of a knock on her door, gave permission for the guest to open it. As if he had read her thoughts, Caspian was at the door.

"Good evening." he said.
"Hello, Caspian." Makeeda replied, turning her body towards him. "What is it you need?"
"I have come to the understanding that another Lord has gone missing…"

Makeeda sighed, shaking her head.

"How many is that now?"
"All of them."
"What do you intend to do?"

He sighed now, looking around the room before returning his gaze to her.

"I am forming a search party."
"Where to?"
"Across the seas. They need to be found. I fear the worst, though I don't know what that is."
"Who will lead them?"
"I will."

Makeeda looked out the window, considering how much time that would require Caspian to be away from Cair Paravel.

"I see." she said.
"I know it's not ideal, but I want you to come with me."

She snapped her head back up to him in surprise.

"Why?"
"You know Narnia, and have better leadership skills than I. If Narnia is in danger at all, you should be there."
"What of the castle? What of the people here who need leading?"
"The Narnians have looked over themselves many times before. This would be no different."
"They've already lost enough Kings and Queens."
"Very well." he said, nodding. "You should know, though, that we leave tomorrow."
"Such rash action." she replied, shaking her head slowly. "You force my hand, Caspian. I will go."

He smiled.

"Good." he said. "I shall see you tomorrow then."

She watched him leave, cursing herself for complying to his wishes. Turning to the window again, she folded her arms, contorting her fingers around her ring as if to reassure herself that it was still there. She absentmindedly reached out with her mind, finding a bird on top of the castle, jumping around aimlessly on it's legs. She retracted, shaking off the want to hear a voice there instead of an absent mind of an unfamiliar animal.

Nightfall came soon, allowing Makeeda to watch the sunset as her mind wandered tiredly. Eventually she laid down, wishing to enjoy a good night's sleep before leaving for an unknown amount of time.

The next morning, Makeeda silently fought herself as she packed her things and went down to the ship that was prepared for departure. With much hesitation, she climbed aboard, her feet leaving Narnian grass for the last time. It took about a week for things to get comfortable on the Dawn Treader, Narnian's finest ship on the seas. She hated the sea. Land had been her element ever since she was born. Instead of grass on her always bare feet, there was now only wooden boards, and the occasional sea water when it splashed up on deck. Makeeda had been given the Captain's quarter's, being the only woman on the ship, and a Queen. She wasn't regretful for joining the expedition, but she wasn't exactly happy about it either. She practiced her magic to keep her occupied, the ship growing boring rather quickly.

She sat, now, reading a book in her quarters as she heard voices rise outside the doors. She looked up after a knock sounded, getting up and closing her book. She opened the door to see Caspian smiling before stepped to the side, revealing two people standing behind him. Makeeda's smile was unstoppable, spreading across her face like a wildfire as she walked into Edmund's arms. She hugged him tightly, not feeling a single ounce of regret for coming on the trip. Now, she had a reason to enjoy the sea.

She turned to Lucy, hugging her as well.

"Narnians." Caspian said. "Behold, Edmund the Just and Lucy the Valiant, High King and Queen of Narnia."

The ship's crew bowed, Makeeda doing the same happily. The moment was ended abruptly by a scream, causing the crew to turn their attention away from Caspian, Edmund and Lucy. A boy was struggling to his feet, pointing in anger at Reepicheep.

"Get that thing away from me!" he yelled, as Reepicheep bowed to Edmund and Lucy.
"Your majesties." he said.
"That… Did it… Did it talk? Did that thing just talk?!"
"It's usually shutting him up that is the trick…" Caspian said.
"I demand to know just where in the blazes am I?!"

A Minotaur stepped forward, causing the boy's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You're on the Dawn Treader. The finest ship in Narnia's navy."

The boy's eyes rolled back, his body going limp to the floor. The men laughed at the sight.

"Come." Caspian said as the ship's captain told the crew to get back to work. They went to Makeeda's cabin for privacy. Caspian rolled out a map, laying it out on Makeeda's table for them to look at. "Since you've left, we have achieved peace across all of Narnia."
"So…" Edmund said, clearly confused. "If there are no adversaries to fight and no one is in trouble, why are we here?"
"I was wondering that myself."
"Well, whatever the case, I'm just glad to be back." Edmund said, smiling.
"I kept this safe, as promised." Caspian said as he took Peter's sword out of the glass case Makeeda had provided for it. Edmund rejected the offer.
"Peter wanted you to have it." he said.
"I did keep this as well…" Caspian continued. He pulled out what Makeeda had decided was some sort of torch from Edmund's world. He was quite pleased to have it back.
"Thanks." Edmund laughed.
"My healing cordial, and dagger!" Lucy said as she was handed her own things, strapping them to her waist where they usually sat.
"Before I took back the throne from my uncle, he tried to kill my father's most loyal supporters— the seven lords of Telmar. They fled to the Lone Islands. No one's heard from them since."
"Do you think something has happened to them?" Edmund asked.
"That's what we are going to find out."
"What is all of this?" Lucy asked, pointing to the oceans on the map.
"Uncharted waters." Captain Drinian told her. "They are full of things you can't hardly imagine. Tales of sea serpents."
"Sea serpents?" Edmund said with a nervous smile on his face.
"Alright Captain… That's enough of your tall tales." Caspian laughed.

Makeeda watched Edmund as he looked out to the waves on the balcony of her cabin. She heard him sigh before he turned to see her. Smiling sheepishly, he stepped forward, letting her put her arms around his neck.

"I have missed you…" she said softly.
"You have no idea how much I have missed you…"
"I am sure I do." She pressed her lips to his slowly. He put his hands on her waist, seeming to revel in her touch. "Are you alright?"
"I'm sorry…" he said. "It's just…"

Makeeda knew this was Edmund's last time to Narnia. When he was ready to leave this time, he would never come back. Last time, he had sworn not to leave unless he was going to return, but time changed people, and Makeeda could tell he had come to terms on the matter. The extent of his acceptance on staying away from her, though, was unclear to her. She, on the other hand, had not let herself dwell on such things; she was just glad that he was back for the time that he was.

She touched his cheek, making him abandon the avoidance he was giving her as he looked into her eyes.

"Please." she said. "I wish to enjoy this."
"I feel like a fool."
"Why is that?"
"I am brought to a place I used to call home, and here you have waited for me to return. Here you are, a reminder of what I will miss the most about this place when I leave for good this time."
"I am your wife." Makeeda said firmly. "That will never change, just because you leave."

The look on his face seemed to give off the impression that he wished to argue, but he didn't. He kissed her instead, letting her enjoy what she had been waiting for for the past three years.

Makeeda woke up next to Edmund the next morning, immediately smelling the familiar scent of him. It made her smile sadly, though she couldn't be happier that he was there at that moment in time. She got out of bed, dressing herself tiredly. Before she left, she looked back to him, hearing him stir due to her absence.

"I'll be outside." she said, and she turned to leave, feeling a pit in her stomach as she held back the tears she felt building up in her eyes.

The day went slowly for Makeeda. Not much was happening for a long while, until Caspian and Edmund decided to spar for entertainment to the crew. They matched each other in skill, Edmund seemingly better than what he was before. Makeeda didn't know if there were such means to fight how Narnians did where Edmund and Lucy came from, but she didn't ask. She merely watched from the sidelines, enjoying something other than counting the waves that went by.

Lucy sat next to her on the railing of the ship as Edmund walked over, accepting a cup of water from Makeeda.

"Edmund?" Lucy said with a concerned look on her face. "Do you think if we keep sailing to the end of the world, we'll just tip off the edge?"
"Don't worry Lu, we're a long way from there." Edmund replied.

Makeeda looked over to the boy that was approaching them. She remembered him from yesterday.

"I see you are still talking nonsense, the two of you." he said.

Edmund and Lucy seemed annoyed, but Lucy smiled anyways, trying to be nice to him.

"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, no thanks to you." he replied, his arms crossed. "It's lucky I have an iron constitution."
"As effervescent as ever, I see." Reepicheep said, seeing his way into the conversation. "Finding your sea legs?"
"Never lost them." the boy replied. "Simply dealing with the shock of things. Mother says I have an acute disposition, due to my intelligence."

Edmund nearly choked on his water at the boy's words.

"I don't think he has a cute anything…" Reepicheep told Lucy.
"I'll have you know, once we're back to civilization, I'm contacting the British Consul. I'll have you all arrested for kidnapping." the boy said, walking away from them until Caspian stepped in front of them.
"Kidnapping, is it? That's funny. I thought we saved your life."
"You held me against my will!"
"Did I?"
"In, what I must say, are the most unhygienic quarters. It's like a zoo down there."
"He's quite the complainer, isn't he?" Reepicheep said.
"He's just warming up." Edmund replied.
"What's his name?" Makeeda spoke up.
"Eustace." Lucy replied. "He's our cousin."

Makeeda raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with the boy.

"Land ho!" a crewman yelled, making Caspian, Lucy and Edmund all jump up to the wheel of the ship with the Captain.
"The Lone Islands." Drinian said. "The ports of Narrowhaven."
"Strange." Caspian said. "Not a Narnian flag in sight."

He handed the telescope to Edmund.

"The Lone Islands have always been Narnians, though." Edmund replied.
"Seems suspicious." Drinian told them.
"I say we prepare a landing party. Drinian?"
"Forgive me, your Majesty, but the chain of command starts with King Caspian on this ship."

Makeeda felt a fire ignite in her stomach at his words, but she bit her tongue. She could tell Edmund was also annoyed with this.

"Right…" he replied.
"We use longboats. Drinian, pick some men and come ashore."
"Aye." Drinian said.

They dispersed, Makeeda exchanging looks of annoyance with Edmund as they did so.

Upon approaching the docks after rowing the boats, Reepicheep eagerly got out, anxious to roam the land. Eustace, however, was back to his complaining.

"Couldn't this have waited until the morning?"
"There is no honor in turning away from adventure, lad." Reepicheep replied.

Eustace said nothing else, getting out of the boat hesitantly.

"Listen." Lucy said. "Where is everyone?"

There was utter silence on the docks. Even Makeeda, with her hightened elven hearing, couldn't hear any signs of someone existing here. Eustace followed Caspian, Edmund, Lucy and Makeeda into the town. They were readily armed, each of them jumping at the sound of a bell chiming. For a moment, they waited, but no one came.

"Reepicheep, stay here with Drinian's men and secure the place." Caspian said. "We'll head on. If we aren't back by dawn, send a party."
"Yes, your majesty."

They pressed on, their swords drawn, Makeeda's bow pulled back tightly. After walking into the ghost town, Eustace immediately asked to go back. Caspian and Edmund, however, came to a stop at two large wooden doors. Edmund looked back to him, annoyed.

"You want to come here and guard something?" he asked.
"Ah, yes!" Eustace said, running towards him. "Good idea, cousin. Very, uh, Logical."

Before going in, Caspian handed Eustace a dagger for protection. The boy seemed afraid, but acted as if he was alright with the situation. Makeeda felt obliged to stay behind with him, but pressed on with the others instead.

When they entered the building, they saw bells everywhere, hanging from the ceiling. In the middle of the place was a book, with names and numbers everywhere, some crossed out, some not.

"It looks like some kind of fee…" Lucy said, examining it.
"Slave traders." Caspian said.

Before the anger could set in, a bell rang throughout the hall and Makeeda shot the man that was yelling as he came down. He wasn't the only one though, and a fight soon broke out. It lasted not even a minute before a loud scream rang through the place. They looked back to see a man holding a knife to Eustace's throat.

"Unless you want to hear this one squeal like a girl again, I suggest you drop your weapons." he told them.
"Like a girl?!"
"Now!" Eustace's protest was over ruled, making Lucy and Caspian drop their swords. Edmund reluctantly did so, and Makeeda followed his lead, letting the string of her bow slowly relax. "Put them in irons!"
"Let go of me!" Lucy yelled at the man as he grabbed her hands.
"Listen to me, you insolent fool, I am your King!" Caspian yelled as the men approached him with shackles.

Edmund struggled against his own captors before he was hit across the face for it. Makeeda tried stepping forward, but she was also grabbed.

"You're going to pay for that!" Makeeda yelled at them.
"Actually…" a man said, entering the room now. "Someone else is going to pay. For all of you."
"Take the boys to the dungeons." the other man said.
"No!" Lucy and Makeeda screamed.

Makeeda lit her hands with fire, her magic burning at the captor that held her. She was grabbed by several others, though, her energy quickly draining as she fought them.

"Edmund!" she screamed.
"Ed!"

The girls screamed and kicked as the boys were taken away from the room. The man walked over to the girls, looking from one to the other. He settled his eyes on Makeeda's face for a moment. She knew he was looking at her tattoos. He brushed her hair behind her ear, smiling at the sight.

"Kill her. Take the other two to the market." he ordered.

Lucy and Eustace were taken away as Makeeda fought to get free. After they were gone, Makeeda was blindfolded. It wasn't easy for them to do so, but they managed to get the cloth over her eyes. After what seemed like hours, she was able to see again, but the sight she saw was rather unsettling. She stood at the top of the gallows, a rope dangling before her. She would be hanged for being an elf, Narnians clearly unwelcome here. She didn't know where her bow was. It was out of her sight. Her magic was the only means of defense she had available, though she felt it was better than nothing.

She watched as a man ran after a wagon, yelling angrily. They were taken out of sight quickly. After a few moments of bustling, Makeeda watched as Lucy was put up on a stage and bid on. She was sold for one hundred and fifty coins, and placed to the side as they brought Eustace up next. He didn't sell well, until a cloaked man stepped forward, revealing himself to be Drinian. A crew from the ship had come to retrieve the Kings and Queens. More fighting ensued, though the crew wasn't alone. The citizens of Narrowhaven joined in, fighting the slavers with them.

Makeeda hit the man next to her, but the lever was pulled and the wood beneath her feet gave way. The rope tightened around her neck, her airway cut off as she struggled to get free. She heard Caspian yelling for keys, but she didn't open her eyes to see where he was. Her hands were set free of the shackles that bound them, and she was cut down, falling to her knees on the ground. She coughed, opening her eyes now as she grasped Caspian for support.

"Are you alright? Let's go!" he said as she collected her bearings.

He continued his fighting, Makeeda following suit. The fight was easily won, the people glad to have the slave traders out of business. They cheered for the Narnians as they walked back to the port of Narrowhaven. As they approached the longboats, an old man held a sword up to Caspian.

"My King." he said. "This was given to me by your father. I hid it safely in a cave all these years."
"That's an old Narnian sword." Edmund pointed out.
"It's from your Golden Age. There are seven such swords, gifts from Aslan to protect Narnia. Your father entrusted them to us. Here. Take it."

As Caspian accepted the sword, the people of Narrowhaven clapped for him.

"Thank you, Lord Bern. We shall find your lost citizens." he said, clapping the man on the shoulder. Caspian looked to Edmund, holding out the sword.

Edmund accepted it, smiling at the gesture.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there…"

Makeeda looked up at Edmund, closing her book slowly.

"What?" she said.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you better. You almost died, and I… I wasn't there, I couldn't have stopped it. I should've fought harder."
"Stop." she told him, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Ed, what is this about?"
"I want you safe."
"I can take care of myself. In any case, I am your protector, remember?"
"You are my wife, and I will protect you if I see it necessary."

She stood, walking over to the bed. He was relaxing there, fiddling with his thumbs as he avoided her eyes.

"I don't like this."
"What?"
"How you are acting. Don't act like I am some helpless creature who has never seen war, Edmund, I fought beside you in both wars you've settled, remember?"
"I do."
"I know you want me safe, just as I want you safe."
"If we weren't together, it'd be easier to stop the worry."
"Don't say that!"

He stood now, his face coming within inches of her own.

"You know it's true. When this is all over, it will be a reality. We won't be together anymore. Why are you acting like me being here won't ever end? You are smarter than that Keeda, and you know it will end."
"That doesn't mean I want it to."
"I don't either, but it has to. We are from two different worlds. It was never meant to last." His words tore at her, making her feel an ache in her chest she'd never felt before. She'd never experienced him being so blunt, so harsh. It made her eyes water as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Don't…. Don't cry… Keeda… I just need you to stop pretending things are back to normal between us. They will never be normal. Ever again."

He left her alone in the room. She let out a short breath, unsure if she could actually breathe if she tried. She didn't know how to think of the words he'd just said. He held truth in them, but Makeeda had never known life without him. They had been through so much together. She'd never imagined them apart, aside from him living in another world. Even in the beginning, they were hardly just friends. Their liking for each other grew quickly, and it had never changed afterwards.

Makeeda took a deep breath, sitting down on the bed, her face in her hands as she let herself cry. She embraced the ache he had given her, knowing that the inevitable was the only reason she was sleeping alone tonight.