Chapter Three: Iron Breaks & Iron Binds
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~ Nothing but Narnia (for now) ~
Lucy gasped as she came up for air. She could swear that Eustace was trying to drown her! If only he could get a grip and try to swim instead of panic! She was relieved when he finally swam away from her. At first she fought whoever it was that had dived off the ship to rescue her, until he tried to get her to relax.
"It's alright, you're safe now." he coaxed, she nearly forgot to tread water when she realized it was Caspian. So, they were back in Narnia, and not many years had passed after all! In her excitement she felt that she shouted too loudly, but this was much too much to whisper about.
"Caspian? Edmund it's Caspian!"
Edmund politely refused help, and instead turned to where he heard Lucy shouting. "Are we in Narnia?" He asked, looking around in disbelief. The man who had come to help him laughed. "Yes, you're in Narnia!"
All four ignored Eustace's cries, he was the damper on all this, Edmund thought in disgust as they made their way to the ship.
"I want to go back! I want to go back to England! Let go of me!" He shouted, in his fear he nearly drowned Arran. The pirate leader scowled and slapped him across the face to shut him up, and luckily stunned him long enough so as to get him back to the ship.
"How in the world did you end up here?" Caspian asked, looking at Lucy in amusement after they had arrived on ship's deck.
"I haven't the slightest idea." Lucy said, smiling.
"Caspian!" Edmund shouted, thinking it was very good to see his friend again after so long. Caspian handed him a towel as they talked. They all turned sharply when screaming ensued near the prow. Arran fell to the deck and gasped lungful's of air. He felt that a moment longer with this urchin from the sea and he'd do one of two things, toss him back to drown or kill him.
"Ew, get that thing off me, I said get it off!" Reepicheep flew off the screaming child as if he'd been shocked. He scurried over to the three monarchs, rearranging his attire as he did so.
"Reepicheep!" Lucy cried, glad to see the Mouse again after so long.
"Your Majesties, but first, what to do about this hysterical interloper." So saying, Reep turned back to look at Eustace groveling on deck with a slight shudder. Eustace, managing to get some semblance of control, shouted out; "That giant rat-thing just tried to claw my face off!"
"I was merely trying to expel the water from your lungs Sir!" Reep tossed back.
Eustace screamed again, causing everyone to step farther back from him. "It talked! It just talked!" he wailed, looking around at all the others in disbelief.
"He always talks." A soaked Gavan said, looking at Lucy, Edmund and Caspian in confusion. How could someone not know about Talking Beasts?
"Actually it's getting him to shut up that's the trick." Caspian replied with a grin in Reep's direction.
"The moment there is nothing to be said, Your Highness; I promise you I will not say it." Reep answered, making a witty comeback from the insult.
As Eustace ranted and raged about being here, Reep looked up at Lucy and Edmund. "Perhaps we could throw him back?" He asked, his eyes lighting up with hope. Arran, after catching his breath, had moved to stand next to the Pevensies. Hearing Reep, he spoke up.
"I know we dislike one another, Reepicheep, but on this one point we agree completely. Except, why don't we feed him to a shark, it would be entertaining to watch." Arran grinned as he spoke, the idea sounding far better than keeping the whiner with them the entire voyage. Edmund turned to look at Lucy; she was shocked by what she read in his eyes.
"Edmund!" She scolded, looking disappointed in him.
"Caspian, what is all….By Aslan…" Edmund and Lucy turned when they heard the feminine voice. The woman at the top of the stairs stared down at them; her long black hair lying in a braid that fell over one shoulder nearly to her waist, a few curly strands that were too short framing her face. They almost didn't recognize her. She looked so different, happy, older, and to their delight, more Narnian.
"Susan!" They cried at the same time. She walked slowly down the stairs until she was standing in front of them. "Oh, I missed you so." She whispered, throwing her arms around both of them in a warm hug. Lucy returned it, tears falling from her own eyes. It was so good to be here again. Pulling back, Susan looked them over. Edmund smiled at his sister, remembering their last parting.
"You're soaking, come let's get you into some dry things, then we'll talk." She said, laughing slightly through her tears.
Eustace ran around the deck behind the happy reunion, screaming about being sent home. Upon seeing a Minotaur, he promptly fainted. Caspian, leaving Lucy, Edmund, and Susan so they could have a moment alone, came up to the Narnian sailor. He grinned down at the boy before clapping the sailor on the shoulder. "See to him will you?" He asked, giving the boy one last amusing glance before going to find some dry clothes. "Your Majesty. Hmm…" he said, looking down at the boy, wondering why he was so different from the King and Queen of old.
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"Lucy, I don't really know if any of my clothes will properly fit you. As you can see, dresses really aren't suitable for this venture, so, that might make it a bit easier to find something to wear." Susan said, opening the door to the rear cabin.
"I'm not quite as young as last time Su." Lucy replied with a smile. Susan turned to face her sister. "Oh, it is so good to hear your voice again!" She said, tears returning to her eyes. Lucy came forward and hugged her sister, both too emotional to speak without coming to tears.
"I believe while we were talking, Edmund and Caspian have come and gone, so take your time deciding what to wear." Susan said kindly several minutes later, laying several different outfits down on the bed.
"I missed having an older sister!" Lucy laughed as Susan was about to leave.
"And I missed having a younger one. I missed all of you." Susan smiled as she closed the door behind herself.
Lucy turned and surveyed the outfits; she wanted something that was easy to move around in on deck. So she chose the white blouse, dark pants, and the maroon vest with gold embroidery on it. She was combing out her hair in the mirror when she heard the sounds of a baby fussing. Turning, she walked over to the bassinet in the corner, she hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings, which was why she hadn't noticed it before now. The dark haired baby stared up at her before bursting into confused whimpers. He did not know who this stranger was, he just wanted his mother.
"Hey, hey, don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you." She whispered, smiling slightly. At her soft voice the little one looked up at her in surprise. Since she had the feeling that he'd only resume his crying if she left him, she reached down and picked him up; trying to recall exactly how many thousands of years it had been here in Narnia since she'd last held a baby.
"You look just like your parents." She said, noticing he had blue eyes and dark lashes like Susan's. And black hair and clear a complexion like Caspian's.
"So, I get to be an Aunt again." She whispered softly, walking toward the door.
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Lucy was glad when she found Susan, Caspian and Edmund. She wanted to know what this little boy's name was, and also what had happened to Eustace, as she felt a responsibility for him, it was his first time in Narnia after all, and he was her cousin, as much as she disliked his griping and annoying habits.
"Oh, Lu, I'm so sorry, usually he sleeps most of the day and is keeping me up all night, he's such a heavy sleeper, I didn't think he'd wake." Susan said, reaching for her son.
"Who's this?" Edmund asked, looking between the two. Susan smiled and looked at Caspian before she spoke. "This is Rilian, your nephew. We're his parents."
"I knew it!" Lucy said before she gave a squeal of delight. Edmund just smiled, being his usual passive self. He always seemed to sober up when he arrived here in Narnia, Susan noted, remembering how he'd acted just like a kid in England, but when they were brought here to help Caspian he grew up spiritually. He always acted like he was the Just King. Now she wondered if he acted that way all the time, she just hadn't really noticed.
"Welcome to the oddest family this side of Narnia." Edmund said, looking at the baby fondly. They all laughed at that, for they all knew there was more truth to it than joke.
They left the deck and walked into the main cabin, several maps were spread out on an ornately carved wooden table bolted to the floor. Edmund walked over to them, remembering the questions he had wanted to ask.
"So, exactly how many years has it been here since we came? It's one year by our time." Edmund said, looking around at Caspian and Susan.
"Three years here, coming on four. During that time we defeated the Calormen armies at the Great Desert, along with a few traitors, and the Giants of the North have surrendered, they all now pay tribute." Caspian said, pointing to several places on the maps as he spoke.
"There's peace across all of Narnia." Susan said with a smile.
"In just three years." The two ruling monarchs looked at Edmund and Lucy expectantly.
They smiled, this was better than they expected, but now for the other questions. "So, if there are no wars to fight; and no one's in trouble, then why are we here? Didn't you call for us?" Edmund asked, his expression of puzzlement not lost on the others.
"No, not this time." Caspian said, frowning in thought.
"We don't know." Susan said, looking down as she pondered the question.
"I've been asking myself the same thing." Suddenly Caspian smiled, his sober attitude vanishing as he remembered something. "I saved this for you, in case you ever came back." He walked over to a built-in cabinet, opening a door he reached in, turning back around he tossed the object to Edmund. Edmund, upon catching it, smiled, he'd found is torch. And it still worked.
"Thanks." He said, shutting off the power.
Lucy now took the time to really look around the room. It was truly beautiful. She stared wistfully at the painting of herself, Edmund, Susan and Peter riding through the woods, chasing after the White Stag so many thousands of years ago. It no longer brought back sore memories, only fond times of days past, in a world where they ruled as the greatest of leaders, and the noblest of friends. She could swear that she heard their laughter echoing back down to her through the years.
She smiled broadly when she saw the golden figurehead of Aslan above the fireplace. "Oh Aslan." She whispered. She could barely contain her joy when she saw her dagger and healing cordial. She reached for them, but then stopped, wondering, was it alright for an ancient owner to come back and try to reclaim what hadn't belonged to her for many years?
"Oh, may I?" She asked, looking to Caspian as she spoke.
"Of course, they're yours." He replied with a grin.
"Peter's sword!" Edmund exclaimed, forgetting for a moment that it had been given to Caspian.
"Yes, you may hold it if you wish." Caspian was quick to offer it to him. Edmund stared at it for several seconds. The day he held that sword would be greater than reminiscing over old times. It was a kind favor, but no, he couldn't.
"No, Peter gave it to you." He said, knowing it was a weak sounding excuse, but he wasn't worthy enough to hold that weapon.
"Susan, your bow and arrows." Lucy said, looking at them, she smiled.
"I know, I just thought that since we were bringing everything else, we might as well bring these too. I only wish we had thought to bring Edmund's swords." Susan said softly, glancing over at her brother as he talked with Caspian.
"I'm sure it will be fine." Lucy said, looking in the same direction.
Edmund laughed. "Fine, we'll fight, but be prepared to lose, I have a reputation that goes back centuries."
"I know, I want to challenge it." Caspian replied good-naturedly, putting his arm around Edmund's shoulders in a comradely fashion.
"I'll need something to fight with."
"I'll see what I can find." Caspian said, moving to go. Edmund followed him.
Lucy and Susan stopped fussing over Rilian looked at each other and smiled. Edmund would be alright.
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Edmund grinned as Caspian tried to knock him off balance. He always enjoyed getting his opponent to the place where they wildly tried anything. But he knew he'd have to let Caspian win, he was the king after all, and when he left, Caspian would stay. For now he'd enjoy playing around. This was almost too easy. But in the end, instead of blocking Caspian's sword, he lowered his own, ending the fight with his opponent's blade at his neck. That was something that hadn't happened in a long time. Caspian frowned momentarily before smiling.
"It seems you've grown stronger my friend." Caspian sheathed his weapon as he spoke.
"Seems I have." He replied, knowing it was a joke of sorts. Strength didn't matter. Something about the air here brought back his great swordplay abilities.
He walked over to Lucy, looking around for signs of Eustace. He knew it was wrong, but he was glad the little bugger was sick. It was better than having to deal with his complaining and whining. As he leaned against the rail next to Lucy, a sailor gave him a cup of wine, knowing he'd be thirsty after that fight. "Thanks." He said breathlessly.
"Your Majesty." Was all the man replied.
"Edmund, don't you think that if we just keep sailing, we'd…tip off the edge?" Lucy asked, she'd been pondering the thought for some time, as Susan and Caspian didn't seem overly worried about that sort of thing.
"Don't worry Lu; I believe we're a long way from there." Edmund smiled before he took another swallow of wine. It was good to be back.
Eustace chose that moment to discover he was feeling the effects of Lucy's cordial, and he came up out of the hold, scowling at his cousins, who seemed just fine with being confined on a tub like this. Lucy, for some reason unknown to her, was feeling motherly toward her young cousin and asked him how he was.
"Are you feeling better?" She shared a smile with Edmund, both knowing that if he was, it was because of her.
"Yes, no thanks to you. It's lucky I happen to have an iron constitution." Eustace commented snidely, disliking how happy his cousins were.
"As effervescent as ever I see. Find your sea legs?" Reep said. He had come to congratulate Edmund on an excellent fight, but finding Eustace there, he chose to wait until it was a more private moment.
"Never lost 'em, simply dealing with the shock of things, Mother says I have an acute disposition, due to my intelligence." He muttered the last bit of his sentence, feeling, in surprise, rather small around the mouse. Edmund choked on the wine, his look of disgust plain. If this kid survived Narnia, it would be because he had guts, and a will to live against all odds, not because of intelligence. Edmund knew this for a fact. He had thought himself intelligent when he first came here, but on closer inspection of his stature; found that he was just stupid and idiotic.
Reep looked confidingly at Edmund and Lucy, and he winked as he said, "I don't think he has "a cute" anything."
For Eustace, that was the last straw. "I'll have you know, that as soon as we reach port I'll contact the British Consul, and file a charge to have you all arrested for kidnapping!" He walked away as he spoke, trying to seem threatening, but he ran into Caspian, who was talking with Arran about trade winds. Eustace backed up as the two men walked forward.
"Kidnapping is it?" Arran asked, smirking at the brat. What he wouldn't give for some of Isle Orrm's Hillndorf poison right about now.
"That's funny; I thought we saved your life." Caspian said with a benevolent smile. He would indulge in this peasant's crazy games, just as long as they didn't run too severe.
"You held me against my will! In the most unhygienic quarters I might add, it's like a zoo down there!"
"He's quite the complainer, isn't he?" Arran asked, looking at Edmund.
"Oh, he's just warming up. I don't believe we've met?" Edmund added, looking at Arran expectantly.
"My name's Arran, sometimes smuggler of illegal trade goods, usually baron of the black market, and currently, pirate leader of the ship Sea Serpent. Also, I'm a Star." He added as an afterthought. Edmund turned to look at Caspian, eyebrows raised in skepticism.
"It's all true. I was going to hang him, but we go back further than this ship, so, for old times' sake I'll let him live, just as long as he keeps his word."
Here Arran grinned. "And you are King Edmund the Just, King of Old, brother to Queen Susan." He bowed slightly. Edmund smiled in return, he liked this character, and wondered where Caspian and Susan had found him.
"Arran! Tell Gavan here that he cannot expect to…" Zephyr trailed off when he saw who his older brother was talking with. Gavan jerked his arm out of his brother's grip.
"These interruptive young men are my brothers, Sire, Gavan, he's the one on the left, and Zephyr, on the right. They're not pirates, and they detest my being one." Arran said.
"Call me Edmund, please; I haven't been called Sire in centuries." Edmund said with a grin.
Everyone was distracted by the sudden shout from the lookout's perch;"Land ho!"
Edmund jumped up and ran to the helm along with Caspian, Arran, Gavan, Zephyr and Lucy. Susan was waiting for them at the top. They all stared out at the green island. "Oh, it's been so long since I've seen Felimath." Lucy breathed.
"I almost forgot it came first." Susan said.
"It's nothing but green grass, sheep and a small village on the other side, though, that was in our time, it might be a city now." Edmund said to Caspian.
"The real port, Narrowhaven, is on Doorn, it's the main island, but you have to sail around Felimath to get to it. It's sort of like the metropolis of the Lone Islands." Lucy said, glancing at Eustace sitting on the deck looking angry.
"Why don't we walk across Felimath, Drinian can sail the Dawn Treader around to the port on the other side of Felimath and pick us up, then we could sail over to Narrowhaven. It would give us some time to stretch our legs." Lucy suggested.
Everyone looked at one another, nodding, why not, they'd been on this ship long enough, and besides, a walk across Felimath might be good. "I don't see why not, Drinian, lower the longboat." Caspian said, all of them wanted to walk on land after so long at sea.
As they were getting ready to lower the longboat, Eustace ran up, asking what they were doing.
"Well, will someone please tell me what's going on?" He demanded, looking around at all the dismayed faces. Arran groaned. "Must we take him? I was hoping for a break from his complaints."
"I hate this blasted tub, I want to get off, and so if you're getting off, I'm coming with you!"
Caspian scowled, he turned to Susan and whispered, "In that case, he might as well stay here." Susan, ever kind, frowned at her husband.
"Perhaps you should give him a chance; he's never been here before. You're lucky to not have seen us on our first time in Narnia. We were the whiniest lot you'd ever see." She said, looking off at the island, remembering fondly that first great adventure.
"Fine, but only for you." He said, straightening. "Good." She smiled.
"He can come." Caspian ignored the groans from Edmund, Gavan and Arran.
As they stepped out of the boat, and watched it row back to the ship, Susan looked worried. "I know Rilian is sleeping, but perhaps I shouldn't have come. Being a mother trumps adventures like this." She said. Caspian put his arm around her waist comfortingly.
"He'll be fine for an hour or so. You know you need some time away. I wish you'd try to get a decent sleep at night, I've told you he'll be fine, he won't break if you leave him." He smiled down at her.
"I know that. Come on, I think all the sea air has gone to your head." She said, rolling her eyes in amusement as they walked away. Caspian laughed.
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The grass seemed greener than Lucy remembered, bending down to touch it, she was surprised to feel the power coursing through the blades. There was magic here. She could tell that the others felt it too. Arran, Gavan and Zephyr looked around uneasily.
As they crested the hill, Arran called for them to stop. Running up to where Caspian and Susan were he explained his reason for the sudden halt. "Those men. I know them, when we reach them, this is what I want everyone to do." He motioned for them to gather around him.
"Lucy, Susan, you are sailors from the Sea Serpent, Caspian, Edmund, brothers, you as well. Eustace, just go along with it. I am your leader, we're all pirates, come here to trade, our ships are just off shore, the Treader is a ship we've just captured at sea. No matter what happens, do not tell them you are rulers of Narnia, unless they happen to be loyal supporters of the crown, then, and only then, will we tell them the truth." Arran looked around the circle, meeting everyone's gaze.
"Why all this Arran?" Caspian asked.
"Because, I don't want you to be killed. I'm a man of my word, remember?" He said, smiling, though his tone held gravity to it that many of them noticed.
"Very well, I suppose you should lead then Arran." Caspian said, standing aside.
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"Hello the wanderers!" the twelve men called out, watching the group of nine slowly walk toward them. They recognized the leader. "Arran." The boss of the men, Pug, muttered greedily.
"Well, if it isn't Captain Arran, the infamous pirate leader!" Pug shouted. The man with the long blonde hair jerked his head up at the greeting, lightly fingering the ornate, tasseled hilt of his sword.
"Well, as I live and breathe, Pug. What have you been up to, you thieving dog?" The young man said; the edge in his voice clearly definable to everyone in his party.
"Nothing much, just wondering when you'd be paying us a visit. Are any of those people with you some slaves fer barter?" the grimy man asked, looking behind Arran.
"I don't trade in slaves Pug; you of all men should know that." Arran's knuckles turned white, he was holding his hilt so tightly.
"I did, I also know that you freed several 'undred last month from one of my slave ships bound for Calormen, I was 'oping it was just a rumor." Pug sneered, scowling at Arran, hatred burning in his eyes at the memory.
"I did. No one should be forced to serve, Pug. I know this better than anyone."
"Ah, yes, your "almost betrayal" of King Caspian and his beloved wife, ol' what's-'er-name…" Pug trailed off, feigning forgetfulness.
"You and I both know her name to be the Queen Susan of the Southern Sun! Shut your yapping mouth before I forget that I'm a civilized Narnian and not a barbaric pirate!" Arran shouted, bringing his blade several inches out of it's scabbard.
"Ah, but you see, I din't forget what yer afraid of." Pug said, smiling as if he had just thought of something fantastic. Caspian, Edmund, and Susan both saw the two other Stars, not just Arran, visibly pale. Pug reached into his dirty tunic, pulling out a thin necklace chain.
"You wouldn't." Arran said, taking a step back.
"Aw, but I already 'ave." Pug said, walking forward and grabbing Arran's hand so fast it caught everyone off-guard. Arran gasped and stumbled to the ground as Pug wrapped the chain around his hand.
"How dare you!" Arran gasped, staring at the chain. Edmund suddenly was struck by how pale and washed-out Arran was starting to look, and wondered what a dying Star looked like. He hoped Arran wasn't dying.
"See, ladies and gents, all magical bearing Narnians are deathly afraid of iron. Even a small bit, like this chain around your Captain's 'and can suppress their magic, kill 'em if you tie enough of it to 'em. So, even the "mighty Captain Arran" can be defeated." He taunted, kicking the fallen young man. Arran gasped and coughed into the sand.
"You cruel devil! Gavan shouted, running out from his group and falling on his knees next to his brother.
"Cruel I may be, but your Captain's the devil. No one should be able to do all that crazy fire stuff like 'e does, it just ain't normal."
Gavan stood, glaring at the man. "I swear to Aslan, if you don't remove that chain I'll blast you to hell and back!" He threatened through gritted teeth, a glow radiating off his form.
"Aw, ain't that sweet boys, 'e's a Star too. Grab 'em!" Pug shouted suddenly, barely giving them a moment to get their blades out. Eustace ran through the muddle of fighting Narnians and slave traders and fell down next to Arran. He didn't know why he was doing this, he didn't harbor any special feelings for the man, but something inside him had to help. He managed pull off the chain and toss it away before getting yanked to his feet. Arran stood shakily, the color slowly returning to his complexion.
Arran drew his blade as Pug turned around. The slave trader smiled cruelly before drawing his own sword, motioning for his men to stay back. "After playin' with that little bauble you'll 'ave to fight fair." Pug used Arran's unsteady countenance in his favor, and several minutes later Arran was bleeding from multiple wounds. Yet he refused to give up.
"That's one thing about pirates you have to admire." Caspian whispered to Edmund from where they stood, being held by their captors. The fight between the Slavers and the Narnians was over quickly, as the Stars were rendered useless by the iron, and Caspian and Edmund weren't much use when they were outnumbered.
"What?" Edmund asked, glancing at him.
"They don't give up."
"An honorable trait." Edmund replied.
Arran gasped, checking the flow of his blood with his free hand, wondering just how much longer he'd be conscious. "Come on, give in." Pug said, breathing heavily.
"Just because I pass out doesn't mean I'm giving up!" Arran whispered through gritted teeth, falling to his knees.
Pug smiled smugly. "Well, men, it appears we've got some new slaves."
"Finn, grab the mouse, Dev, shut up that babbling brat! and be careful with those girls, we don't need them looking bad for auction tomorrow. Gret, Hf, carry Arran till he's dead, he was a great pirate once you know." Pug sneered down at the unconscious Star before walking to the front of his men, leading the way to the City of Felimath. As he walked past Caspian, the king shouted; "Don't you know what you're doing, who we are?"
"I don't care sonny. But you'll surely fetch me a good price, excluding your mouth." Pug said, walking past him.
Halfway to the city, Arran regained consciousness, so they made him walk, as it was obvious that he'd live, if tended to.
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As they reached the outskirts, a man walked out of an inn, toward his carriage, he noticed the tall dark haired young man and wondered where he'd seen his likeness. His mind brought forth the memories of his beloved king, and he knew he had to do something, as that young man wasn't a typical slave, none of them were.
"Hold Pug, hold your march!" He shouted, walking toward them, motioning for his servants to follow him. Pug turned and smiled broadly at the man, showing his bad teeth.
"Well, if it isn't the honorable Lord Bern! Come to tell me you want another order of slaves like last March?" Pug asked, looking greedily to the man's money purse.
"No, I want to look at this lot, the dark one if you will." He said, motioning to one of the bunch. The dark haired's gaze was careful, and his countenance cold, bent mostly on reassuring the woman next to him. If Bern had had a weak heart and was prone to fainting spells, he might have collapsed right there. The young man was nearly an exact replica of his long dead king.
As Dev shoved the dark haired young man closer for Bern to have a better look, he turned and lunged against him, shouting in the Narnian language. The woman with the long black hair that he had been standing next to cried out in kind, fighting against the ropes that bound her, screaming a word that sent shivers of remembrance down Bern's spine, as he recalled shouting that same name when his friend and king was crowned.
"Caspian, Caspian!"
Bern winced when she fell, the ropes biting into her wrists. "How much for him?" He asked, a plan forming in his mind as he stared into the tall young man's brown eyes. He now could put a name to him. Caspian.
A/N: Oh, a cliffhanger, I don't think I've done one of those before!
I think Pug did a suitable job of explaining the iron for now. I'm basing that on magic lore and other things. Gavan explains this further in the following chapter.
And that bit about "the Narnian language" is explained in the next chapter as well. I have a theory about that that I can explain now though, so you'll understand and be on the same page with me. It's this: There has to be multiple languages in Narnia, even Narnia has a separate language, and I quote:
"Peter leant back with half-closed eyes and recalled to his mind the language in which he had written such things long ago in Narnia's Golden Age."
That quote is from the book Prince Caspian, the part where Peter is going to challenge Miraz. So, I'm basing the language thing on that. Then, if you want to get into greater detail, there has to be different dialects in Narnia, so everyone has to have some common ground.
This common ground I'm going to refer to as "Trader's Talk", "Jargon", or as it can be more sophisticatedly called; "Merchant's Tongue". As it is very likely traders/merchants would've invented a language so they could talk amongst each other and with the natives of other countries.
It would be, {in my opinion} far too hard to learn all the dialects and languages of other countries, including one's own, so this is a simple way to communicate.
In my version of the Narnian world, the language is a great deal like English, thus, the Pevensies were not seen as strange when they came into Narnia, as every good Narnian knows that language. See, there's a good, strong logic there!
I didn't know how best to introduce Rilian, so I thought it rather sweet to have Lucy notice the baby, instead of an awkward introduction from Susan and Caspian.
I like that Lucy seems to have a way with kids, how her character in the film version of this story turns more motherly after they find Gael. So I built on that.
Some babies do sleep all day and stay up all night, I was one of them. My Mom and Dad joke, to this day, about how they'd put me in a baby swing at one in the morning, hoping I'd go to sleep. But I just stared at them, and I never even nodded off, then I'd sleep a lot during the day. I had my days and nights switched, still do even now sometimes.
In the book, VOTDT, it says that Pug is a pirate, so, I reasoned that he would've met Arran sometime.
{Again, Disclaimer, Arran is not a product of my love of everything pirate and POTC, I keep my feelings, likes, and dislikes for other worlds and books separate when I write stories.}
I think that Pug and Arran would've been tense friends. Pug is the man that shook Arran's hand and then tried to stab him in the back, the guy who agrees to split fifty-fifty and then double-crosses everyone. They only rely on one another when they absolutely have to.
As Arran's said, he hates slavery, and Pug knows this, so he flaunts the fact that that's what he does for a living.
I liked changing to Bern's POV at the end of this chapter, it's kind of hard, but it looks good. I'm not really all that great in writing in first person, usually I just stick to third, which is what I did, I really need to work on writing in first. {The quandaries of a writer}
As you can now finally see, I'm combining book and film both. I think the blend is good.
Ah, a small fact I discovered when rereading the book...
If you count all the days Caspian was at sea before the Pevensies fell into the picture ,{literally}, it's exactly thirty days, or 1 month. Caspian, by request, was allowed to sail for a year and a day to seek out information of, or the lost Lords themselves, after Narnia was at peace, by Aslan.
So, the Pevensies and Eustace sailed with Caspian for eleven months and a day exactly. It mentions near the end of the book that they only have a few days left to the grant before time's up and they have to head back. That's about when they stumble upon Aslan's Country.
I thought that was pretty interesting.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next will be up shortly. Happy reading! ~ W.H.1492