6. The Mist

The Telmarine king along with the captain and the Pevensies all hurried onto the deck and with swift feet, the dark-haired king rushed up the steps to the upper deck. He stopped and gazed at the thick mist that had hidden the horizon from their view. The great wall of mystery was coming towards them fast now and would reach the ship within mere minutes.

Edmund reached the king's side and grabbed the binoculars from Reepicheep as he walked up the railing. Without a word the young king raised the telescope binocular and proceeded to inspect their new threat.

Down below, the other Pevensies gathered along with most of the crew by the railing. Peter heard the crew's frightened murmurs all around him but could not quite understand their obvious fear. Admittedly, he had long since learned to recognize a threat, however uncertain it might be, but there was another kind of worry shining in the eyes around him.

The eldest Pevensie turned to the ship's captain by his side and whispered, "What are they afraid of?"

"The mist, sir," came the simple reply and it was evident Drinian shared his crew's fears to such an extent that he wished not to discuss it further while surrounded by the others.

The wind around the ship increased then, blowing almost as strong as a wild storm riding across a plain and it chilled everyone to the bones. As the wind picked up, so did the waves and it was only seconds before the whole ship was rocking gently to and fro.

"Whatever that is, it's moving against the wind," Susan shouted to the two men by her side as she squinted through the strong wind.

"Come on, Su," Peter grabbed hold of her arm and together they struggled to keep on their feet as they climbed the stairs for the upper deck. They soon reached the Telmarine king and huddled close together.

"Caspian, do you know what that is?" the eldest Pevensie bellowed over the strong wind but even the elder king gazed at him with hesitation.

"I see something in the mist!" Edmund interrupted loudly and all three of them moved over to his side. "A ship! I think I see a ship!"

"Then it is true," the Telmarine man breathed in fright and spun around without further explanation. "Reepicheep! Gather the weapons and prepare for a fight!"

"What's going…?" Susan began but her words faded when suddenly the misty wall reached the rear of the Dawn Treader. Any trace that had been left of the clear blue sky up over their heads soon disappeared behind the thick mist. There was only the color grey around them as the wind suddenly died out as quickly as it had begun. As the mist itself welled onto the upper deck, the Pevensies and Caspian all jumped back but all in vain. The intangible element soon spread towards the rest of the ship and enveloped the deck slowly but surely. It had become difficult to gaze to the other end of the vessel and even short distances were getting quite harder as well.

Susan stood separated from her siblings for a moment as she tried get a grasp of her bearings in the middle of the thick grey, when suddenly something firm and warm pressed against her back. It was a hand and it was soon joined by another that wrapped around her slim form. The young woman recognized the sleeves and as she glanced behind saw the unmistakable scruff of the tall, Telmarine.

"Stay close to me," Caspian advised and the queen nodded mutely.

The hull of the Dawn Treader croaked as the mist pressed closer upon it. It seemed this unnatural fog squeezed the Narnian vessel much like a snake tightening its deadly hold around its prey.

"The ship is alongside us now!" Edmund hissed from the port side. "I can hear it cutting through the waves! What is it?"

"It is The Mist!" the Telmarine king replied.

"Yes, I can see it is mist, thank you very much," the Pevensie boy's voice was somewhat irritated. "There's no need to mock me."

"It is not mocking. The ship is called The Mist. I've heard of it in stories from my childhood, but I thought it was only a legend to scare seafarers from the West!"

"Well, it's clearly not!" Peter added to the discussion from beside his brother. "What is its mission with us?"

Before Caspian could answer, the Dawn Treader shook to the right in a crude, harsh motion. All aboard the ship struggled to remain on their feet from the sudden jolt and the hull croaked painfully once more by the tight hold of the mist. For a second, there was only mist and silence – a grey nothing through which none could see even a feet. Then suddenly the entire ship began tilting to the right, as if starting to keel over.

At that moment, Reepicheep arrived at the aft of the ship carrying heavy weapons. "Sir!" the mouse managed tightly from beside his king's feet.

Caspian bent to ease his load. "Peter!" he called and the man stumbled through the mist and over the tilting floor towards Caspian's voice. The Telmarine king loosened the sword from his own belt and held it out for the eldest Pevensie. "I believe this is yours, I kept it safe, as I said I would."

He then turned back to Susan with a bow and a quiver. "It's not your weapons, but they'll have to do for now."

The young woman took the weapons with a hesitant nod. The Telmarine turned with the two swords Reepicheep had handed him and was just to throw one to Edmund when an ear-piercing shriek echoed from the bow of the ship. The mist cleared somewhat then and they were able to see across the ship and the immediate area close around the hull of the vessel.

"Lucy!" Peter shouted in fright and sped off with his younger brother. Susan gazed ahead and gasped as she saw her sister dangling mid air amidships, a thin string of mist holding her suspended high above the tilting floor. The young girl was struggling with all her might against her invisible foe but it seemed impossible to release the hold around her body for it was not of solid form.

At the same time, strangled cries erupted from the starboard side of the ship as slender tendrils of mist lifted several other crew men into the air and water welled onto the deck for a second before the ship leveled out horizontally. Led by Drinian, a small group of crew members rushed forward to help their comrades. They slashed at the mist with their swords but it did no difference since the weapons simply touched air. As others rushed to aid, the ship once more started to tilt to the side until it became increasingly difficult to remain upright. Some men even slid on the watery floor and hit the starboard railing hard.

Susan's gaze once more travelled back to her sister and saw Peter and Edmund attempt to reach her despite the increased tilt. The young woman raised her foot to rush to their aid when Caspian's hand once more grabbed hold of her.

"Susan!" he called as he stumbled close and she tried to focus on him. His hands once more held onto her to steady them both from falling. He leaned close and breathed into her ear, "The Mist is an old, magical ship and the lore say it is run by a sorcerer. My guess is that such a man is controlling all of this now. Controlling what is happening to your sister."

The young woman frowned. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, I do not know," the Telmarine spoke with his thick accent twisted into an anguished voice as he saw the woman's eyes fill with worry for her kin. Caspian followed her gaze across the deck to the Pevensie boys and saw how they unsuccessfully tried to retrieve Lucy – Edmund jumped but missed and as he landed he slid on the water on the deck while Peter shouted after his sister in despair. The string of mist pulled the girl over the railing and out over open sea between the Mist and the Dawn Treader. Caspian turned back and tried to gain Susan's attention again. "If we don't stop the sorcerer he will take Lucy."

"Right," the young woman nodded and pulled herself together as her pale gaze met his.

They hurried to the port railing and looked out towards where the Mist was hiding in the shadows. The dark hull of the vessel was visible here and there in voids through the thick grey wall. Susan listened closely, she thought she could hear a voice chanting. A tall, dark-clad figure was visible for a second at the stern of the Mist, before vanishing behind a misty cover once more. Susan didn't waste any time as she raised her bow as if to fire an arrow, but the Dawn Treader rocked sharply and she lost her balance.

Her descent was hindered by Caspian, who stood close behind her and she could feel the muscles in his chest clench as he tried to keep them upright without losing their balance. The ship was now keeling so much that some crew members on deck had slid into the shadowed water that splashed onto deck. The Telmarine king bit down and pushed Susan up and forward with his mind set on their target. The Pevensie girl reached out for the railing and held on to it for dear life as Caspian's chest pressed into her back to keep them both in place. He placed his hands on either side of her on the railing and Susan looked out across the sea.

The tendril that held Lucy had almost carried her all the way to the Mist and Susan felt panic spread like poison in her chest. Without hesitation, she let go of the railing, trusting in the man's strong arms to keep them both safe.

"More to the left," she instructed and he shifted an inch, which was enough for the archer to raise the bow without obstruction and aim the arrow where she wanted.

Caspian watched her steady hand and listened as she let out a deep breath before releasing the arrow swiftly. A pained yelp was heard through the mist and in that second the powerful element seemed to loosen its hold on the Dawn Treader. The ship stopped keeling over and instead fell back against the surface, as it hit the water a huge wave split the mist and drenched the deck completely. Through the noise that was created by the heavy ship hitting the surface, Caspian heard a shriek from somewhere in front of him and looked up at as the young queen was released by the smoky tendril and fell a long way to the water below.

"Lucy!" the man shouted as he saw the girl go under in a mighty splash. Without further ado, the Telmarine king let go of the railing on either side of Susan and dove in after.

The elder Pevensie sister called after him in worry as her heart raced a mile a minute. Despite the notion that they were safe once more, the young woman didn't care about anything else. She didn't take any notice of the water's destruction around the ship or the crew members attempting to fish their comrades out of the heavy waves on the other side of the ship. Susan was so absorbed in watching the water below her in hopes of seeing her sister or Caspian break the waves any second.

In fact, she was so absorbed by her concern that she didn't take any notice of the strong, smoky tendril that formed in the air before her from the diminishing remains of the mist. It rose into the afternoon air as a serpent and attacked as viciously. The strike threw the queen back into the steering wheel with a heavy landing. Susan felt her breath knocked form her lungs and as she fell onto the hard, wet deck the world around her spun and grew darker until she was entirely consumed by shadows.

Because of the mist above, the water was dark and unclear around Caspian and he could not see as clearly as he would have during a normal day. Still, he saw enough to eventually make out the shape of Lucy's smaller form further down and he swam towards her with strong, even paces.

The young girl was struggling to find her way to the surface but was clearly disoriented as to which direction was up. As she saw the man through the murky water, the Telmarine saw her wide, fearful eyes fill with gratitude. He grabbed hold of her and together they swam upwards. As they resurfaced, Lucy coughed and spluttered as the king held her close to him. The mist had started to clear and the two of them could even make out the shapes of clouds on the skies up ahead. From their current position, Caspian could also get a good look at The Mist as it changed course and sailed southwest away from The Dawn Treader.

"Caspian! Lucy!"

The brown-haired king looked up and saw Peter and Edmund, both drenched and leaning over the railing with matching expressions of concern for their baby sister. The eldest boy threw one end of a thick rope the breath of a forearm over the rim and it hit the water not far from Caspian and Lucy. "We'll pull you up!"

The strong king swam over and as he held onto the rope with one hand, he held the still coughing girl with his other. Edmund and Peter, together with the aid of Drinian, struggled to pull the two out of the sea. A few minutes passed before they succeeded and by the time the king and queen were safely on board again, the weather had cleared entirely in the Dawn Treader's vicinity. The thick wall of mist was now long gone in the distance and it seemed the mood had lifted across the ship.

Peter knelt beside his sister in a hurry as his hands worriedly checked her for injuries. Lucy had stopped coughing, but when her brother found a cut across the top of her hand she hissed in pain. "When did you get this?"

The young girl shrugged with a frown as if she couldn't care less at the moment. As she shivered in the cool wind, Reepicheep hurried over and threw a blanket over her small form. Her brother ran his hands up and down the length of her arms to warm her.

"She must have cut herself as that thing pulled her over the railing. Who cares, Pete? She's alright," Edmund breathed a sigh of relief as other crew members joined them.

"How's the crew?" Caspian asked breathlessly as he gazed at the faces around him. Everyone seemed drenched in water but from what he could gather there were no nasty cuts or bruises despite the recent attack.

"No casualties," Drinian explained with obvious relief. "Everyone that fell over board have been rescued and all crew members are accounted for."

"What was that about?" the eldest Pevensie questioned and glanced southwest in the direction the abnormal ship had disappeared.

"According to legend, the Mist sails around the eastern oceans to pillage and steal from its victims," Reepicheep offered as information but shrugged. "That is to say, the dark vessel rarely leaves survivors in its wake."

"And are we missing anything? Reepicheep, could you do a quick sweep?" the Telmarine asked his prime guardian as he rose from the ground. The mouse bowed his head to the young, weary queen, nodded to his king and then ran off swiftly.

"The only one The Mist seemed actually interested in was Lucy," Peter said while he patted his youngest sister's wet hair with one hand, a motion he was barely aware of himself. A part of the Pevensie man simply wanted to touch her in order to calm himself down as his heart still thundered furiously in his chest after almost losing her.

Caspian, meanwhile, had abandoned the topic as his own eyes searched the faces around him once more. His heart sank as he realized one obvious disappearance. "... Where is Queen Susan?"

"Master? Master?"

The Sorcerer hissed in pain as he heard the dwarf's throaty voice approach. "What?" he snarled.

"We have it. We have the blood we needed to acquire from the youngest queen. The Knife of the Mist did its deed well."

The Sorcerer smiled despite his pain. He lowered his gaze to his shoulder, where the single arrow had pierced his skin. He grabbed hold of the retched thing and breathed deeply before pulling it out in one swift motion.

"Good," he growled and placed his other hand over the bleeding wound; a second later the steady flow of red liquid seized flowing. The Sorcerer raised his short scepter and turned back to the dwarf. Without a word he held out his slender, aging hand and waited. The dwarf fumbled with the object in his hand and the Sorcerer pulled it roughly from his grasp. There it was, the knife had taken on a solid form and its tip was covered by the blood of the youngest daughter of Eve.

"Perfect…" The Sorcerer growled in delight. "I might have been prevented from obtaining the others' blood, but this is a beginning."

To be continued.