Chapter Seven: The Power to Change

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~ Narnia ~

Edmund and Serene hardly paid attention to anything going on around them, they were so caught up in one another. He inquired as to how she got here, and she told him briefly of how Pug had captured her. The tale caused him to become defensive, as he always had of her. She stopped him with a kiss and a smile.

"Everything is alright now. We're together. I am alive, you are alive. Aslan be praised." She said softly, placing her hand on his chest to keep him from walking passed her to seek out the Trader.

"Yes. I've found my Serene." He whispered.

"Truly. For as long as Aslan allows." She whispered back, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Come, we must find the others. And later we must talk; as there are so many things I have to tell you." She said, suddenly looking hesitant.

"Serene, what is it?" He asked, drawing her back to his side, cupping her cheek with his hand, and looking into her eyes.

"Somewhere more private. Not here." She said, looking around to state her point.

"All right, but the first moment we have to ourselves I shall bring this back to you. I'm not one for forgetting." He smiled.

"I know."

They both turned sharply as shouting ensued. The men seemed to shift into sides, Slavers and most of the Calormene on one side and on the other, slaves, Narnians and…pirates? Caspian was leader of the Narnians, and Pug with his bad grammar was the other. Edmund scowled when he realized what was going to happen.

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"I have come to announce that as of four hours ago, all the slaves are now free! Those who have paid for several of these men and women will be sure to have their money returned, Donovan will give it back, isn't that right sir?" Caspian said from where he was standing, looking out over the crowd of people, then to the auctioneer, his arm around Susan's waist.

Several men in the group laughed when they saw Donovan looking as a child might when he's told that he will have to give up a toy.

"I don't know about this. 'Ow can we trust this man? 'E claims to be a King, but is 'e just a liar, 'ere to stop our profitable trade?" Pug spoke loudly from the back of the crowd, surrounded by perhaps seventy Slavers and angry Calormen who didn't like the prospect of losing their slaves. Caspian's gaze hardened when he saw the Slaver. Before he could reply though, a voice spoke up from the right.

"Oh, come now, Pug. I really think that as a pirate, you're lower than the belly of your vessel! Everyone here knows you're a cheat and a liar! You would've just left me to die, but your fear of my men is what kept you from doing so! Well, I'm here to tell you that we might be thieves, liars, murderers and scoundrels, but we don't take kindly to the likes of men such as you! Pirates, even men like us, have standards that we abide by!"

Everyone turned to see the blonde young man standing on a rooftop, dozens of men standing around him and spread across other housetops, their shortswords and curved scimitars gleaming wickedly in the sunlight. Several sailors of the Dawn Treader stood in the cobblestone streets below, blocking off any hope the Slavers might have had for escape.

"I wondered if you might need my help. I've added at least sixty more men to your side. I wasn't about to miss this!" Arran grinned broadly as he jumped to a balcony, before jumping finally to the street, looking quite proud of himself.

"'Ow'd you git so well so fast?" Pug asked, staring at the young man in disbelief.

"Don't you recall? You said so yourself. I'm a, "devil", was it? Yes. That's what you said. Wake up you imbecile! I'm a Star! Do you really think that with all this magic I wouldn't be able to heal myself?" Arran scoffed at the Slaver in mock disbelief as his men laughed at Pug.

"Well, I-I, din't think, I mean, you seem-" Pug blustered.

"I know. It's too complex for you to wrap your midget mind around. That aside, you threatened the King, my King. No one threatens my King, not while I'm alive and well enough to fight for him! Oh, and of course, my men have been waiting weeks to shed some blood." Arran motioned to his crew, who were grinning like a band of savages and shouting in support of everything he said.

"I thought, I've been neutral long enough, I need something energizing to do, I need a side to fight on. Why not this?" Arran said with a devilish grin as he unsheathed his blade, as many of the Slavers and Calormen had already done.

"We can finish this boy, come on!" Pug shouted, many of the Slavers joining him in fighting the pirates. Arran and Caspian's men charged out of alleys and off the roofs, yelling and screaming.

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Edmund pulled Serene behind a wall.

"Stay here until I come back." He commanded firmly. He remembered her as she was, without magic.

"Edmund, wait. Aslan left me something. A gift." She held up her hands and let the magic flow around them as a warm glow. He looked at her and smiled.

"Good, then you can help!" He said, walking back into the fray, grabbing a blade from a dead Slaver. She blasted another man to the ground. "Edmund, catch!" She cried, tossing the man's sword to him. "We were always a swell team!" He shouted, crossing his blades and felling another man. "Yes!" She replied, blasting a man who tried to come up behind Edmund. They fought well, she killing the men who were coming up behind Edmund and he injuring or killing the ones coming up behind her.

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Caspian pulled Susan behind him and unsheathed Rhindon, as the Slavers and Calormen tried to grab for them. "Caspian, I'll be fine, you have to help Drinian, go!" Susan shouted, reaching for a shortsword that had been dropped on the platform by its deceased owner. She motioned to where Drinian was trying to fend off six men at once. "Are you sure?" He asked, looking concerned. Suddenly a man jumped onto the platform from the roof behind them.

"I'm Captain Arran's first mate, I'll protect the Queen. Go help your men!" The tall dark skinned man said, knocking three men off the platform with his long broadsword in demonstration.

"Thank you." Caspian nodded in recognition before leaving to help Drinian. After helping his captain, and fighting his way through several more Slavers, he found himself back to back with someone. He tilted his head to see who it was. Arran flashed him a smile.

"I had been hoping you were dead, I could've had your ship, two really is better than one. But well, you're alive and so then, here I am, come to help! I never go back on my word." Arran said breathlessly. Caspian managed to fend off several more men. Having a moment to them, he turned to look at Arran. The young man was leaning against the wall breathing heavily. He smiled gingerly at Caspian. But the king knew something was off. Arran moved his arm from around his waist to motion for the king to keep fighting and leave him, and that was when Caspian figured out what was wrong.

The Star's silver blood had soaked through his white shirt and sleeve. He grimaced when Caspian came back to him. "Go, go. I'm nothing to Narnia, a simple pirate. I'll be fine. I didn't just get this you know; it was a gift from Pug, back on Felimath." He waved his arm, still trying to get Caspian to leave him.

"So you lied?" Caspian asked as Arran moaned, dropping his sword and doubling over, his color looking pale, and if it makes sense, his blonde hair looking slightly brittle. The king came to the pirate's side, looking concerned when Arran slumped to the ground.

"No, I can heal faster. Everything else was not a problem, but, um, this wound was slightly worse than I let on. Never actually had the pain get this bad before. Never had my hair do this either." He said, taking one of his locks in his hand and staring at it curiously, as if it wasn't his.

"What can I do?" Caspian asked, kneeling down beside his friend. "You can do one of two things. Stand there watching me bleed out silver blood to death, which I know fascinates you or, the more preferable one really, if it were my choice…" Arran mused, as if he was discussing shipping options and not his life.

"Arran, get to the point, before you bleed to death." Caspian interrupted in exasperation.

"Ah, yes, the other," He stopped and groaned before whispering urgently, "Go fetch my brothers. Now!" The color seemed to leech out of him as he spoke, his dark blue eyes turning a silvery-blue and his hair becoming almost white. "You shall finally get to see how a Star dies." He tried to smiled, but the pain carried across by his words sent Caspian off immediately.

Meanwhile, Gavan and Zephyr had been helped free by Drinian, and they were making short work of the Slavers with their magic. Gavan smiled darkly as a man ran up screaming in his face. He pulled his hand closed as if tugging something away and the ground fell out from under the man's feet, leaving nothing in his place but a burnt patch of cobblestone. Gavan turned, ready with a ball of heat when someone put a hand on his shoulder. Whirling, he came face to face with Caspian.

"Arran says he's dying. He asked for me to get you." Caspian said urgently.

"Where's Zephyr?" He asked, clearing a small path by blasting his way through.

"I already sent him on his way. What is it you're going to be able to do for your brother?" Caspian asked, looking confused.

"We're going to try healing him, if we can." Gavan said crisply, as they finally came to the place where Arran was lying up against the wall. The injured young man looked up at his brother. Gavan put the horrifying though of how silver Arran's eyes were from his mind as he knelt beside him. This was his older brother, Arran had always been there, and Arran had taught him how to properly use his unique powers, powers only they shared. He could not be dying. He just couldn't.

"Well hello fireball. I never…thought…" Arran coughed. Gavan smiled slightly when he heard Arran address him with his childish nickname.

"It'll be fine; nothing's going to happen to you. I won't let you go. You're my brother." Gavan whispered, his eyes filling with tears, knowing that they were probably too late. Zephyr shook his head sadly, he had already tried.

"He's lost so much magic already Gavan, it could finish him to do it again." Zephyr whispered, meeting his youngest brother's blue gaze with his pained one.

Arran reached out and grabbed Gavan's shirt collar, his dark silver blood dripping from his sleeve and onto the street. "You always hated my lifestyle, maybe there was some sense to that." He whispered, smiling softly. He stared into Gavan's blue eyes with a silver so penetrating it was almost white. "I really wish that you weren't here to watch me die, but life never goes the way we want, huh?" He laughed, which turned into a cry of pain.

"I never pictured it hurting this bad, you know. Really, feeling your magic drain away slowly like this is just unfathomable. I hope it never happens to you." Arran said, falling back. Zephyr and Gavan grabbed their brother, keeping him from hitting the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Arran whispered roughly, looking up at Caspian. The two other Stars turned to look at Caspian as well. Gavan's tears were falling unashamed and Zephyr's eyes held a world of anguish.

"I don't know. I'll go." He replied, turning. Suddenly he stopped. Who could heal anything? "Lucy." The king suddenly realized who could help Arran. The Valiant Queen with the gift of Life. "I'm going to find someone who can help." He said with determination, running back through the fighting mob, which was slowly becoming more controlled. Gavan looked at Zephyr with confusion. No one could help their brother now. Anything would be too late.

"Listen to me…" Arran whispered hoarsely. "What? Anything brother." Gavan said softly. Arran coughed several times before speaking again.

"Tell mother and father, if I die, that I loved them, and, father was right. I am a stupid fool for wanting to live this way. And, tell Azalea that I'm a liar. I could never love any girl as much as I love her." Arran closed his eyes, his breathing becoming more labored. A small flame flickered from his palm.

"About all the magic I had left." He whispered. Almost as soon as he spoke his eyes flashed vibrant silver.

"What is it?" Zephyr asked.

"Magic's gone….you….idiot. I'm going….to die." Arran collapsed back into their arms, barely breathing. Gavan knew that no matter what happened now; Pug was going to suffer just as his brother was. He would see to it. Personally.

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Lucy pushed the Slaver back with the pole she had, screaming in defiance when another man grabbed her hair. She jabbed the rod back into his stomach, her anger kindled. She was not just 'anyone'. She was not some 'little girl'. She was a Queen. And this had gone far enough.

"Lucy! Lucy, where are you?"

She turned when she heard someone calling for her. She ducked under two fighting men and ran through the muddle to Caspian.

"What?" She asked rather sharply from behind him, causing him to jump.

"Arran, he's dying, I don't know if…?" He looked at her pointedly.

"Show me." She answered, knowing it would work. He grabbed her arm so as not to lose her and pushed his way through the men with Rhindon cutting their path. Arriving at the wall again, Caspian motioned for Lucy to see what she could do. Gavan moved aside for her to kneel next to Arran. The young man's chest barely rose as he took each shuddering breath.

"I can help him, but I don't know if I can give him back all the magic he's lost." Lucy said, gazing down at the dark silver covering the cobblestones as she opened her diamond cordial.

"Hold his head up." She whispered. They supported him, and she let the liquid spill out. One drop. He swallowed. She looked at him with concern.

"How can you tell if a Star's alright?" She asked, realizing that both boys on either side of her were rather pale.

"Uh…that is an excellent question. One I don't know the answer to." Gavan said, looking down at his brother anxiously. Suddenly Arran coughed violently. His eyes flickered open. As they watched, the color returned to them, finally darkening to a blue. "That's how you tell, fireball." Arran muttered, looking up at his youngest brother with a weak grin.

"Tell what?" Gavan asked, his tears falling at a faster rate, seeing his brother alive and strong enough to argue.

"How a Star is going to be alright. You tell by their eyes. Silver means they're dead. Blue means they're going to live, it's quite simple really." Arran said with mock annoyance, shifting back to leaning against the wall. Gavan and Zephyr laughed.

"Now, I change my mind, don't tell Azalea I'm a liar, let her keep thinking what she's thinking. And don't, under any circumstances, tell father or mother that I love them, or that I'm a fool. I will murder you if you do!" He said sharply, yanking Gavan's collar and pulling his brother's face to his.

"You either." Arran said, glancing over at Zephyr. He merely nodded, unable to say anything for fear of his emotions going out of control, he was always the calm, cool one, and he would not stop that image now.

"We understand. And we promise." Gavan said, before taking his brother into a hug. "What's this for?" Arran asked, after Gavan pulled away.

"I thought I was going to lose my brother. I thought I was going to lose my best friend. The only other Star like me." Gavan whispered.

"You will never be rid of me. I hate being alone, without all of you to annoy me. It'd be pure misery without someone who understood me, I'm pretty sure." Arran said with a grin, the blonde color returning to his hair.

"Well, you must thank Queen Lucy, if not for her cordial, you would be in Aslan's Country now." Gavan said, motioning to where Lucy sat a few feet away, to give them some privacy.

"Well, my dear girl, I mean, um, you know what I mean. I thank you, which is something I've never actually had to do, thank someone, usually I curse them or kill them, whichever needs doing first really, oh, forgive me, I… I'm not good at this sort of thing." Arran winced at his bad conversation; he was not one to apologize or give thanks.

"I think I know what you mean. You're welcome." Lucy smiled. Gavan and Zephyr stood. Gavan helped Lucy to her feet before turning to assist Zephyr in helping their brother up. Arran complained, saying he could stand on his own, but they helped him anyway.

"Arran, just to make sure that I did heal you completely. Would you mind using your magic?" Lucy requested.

"Fine." Arran smiled, closing his eyes.

She looked around with confusion. "Nothing happened." She said flatly. But Zephyr was grinning. "It worked perfectly." He stated.

"Gavan, you show her, I want to find Neerva, he needs to do something for me." Arran said, walking slowly across the square to find his first mate, the fight having been ended several seconds ago. Slavers threw down their swords and daggers as the slaves, pirates and Narnians cheered.

"Show me what…." Lucy trailed off as the scenery changed around her. She was in Narnia again, not the Islands. The trees seemed to be trying to touch the endless blue sky. A meadow stretched before her, with a shimmering lake in the middle. In the distance, she was sure she could hear the crash of ocean waves.

"This is what you want, what you're wanting most right now. I can put before you anything you want. I can fulfill almost anything you want." Gavan whispered, almost enticingly, from behind her. She turned in surprise. He smiled and stepped back from her.

"It's my power, Arran has the same. Any Star can create fire, heat and preform magic tricks, but our signature powers are what make us unique. Arran and I have never met anyone who can do what we do. Does this make you happy?" He asked abruptly, motioning to the view.

"Oh yes, but I wish it were real." Lucy said wistfully, once again turning to survey the scenery.

"Perhaps it could, but that would mean you'd have to be very important to me. Arran can make such things real for Azalea because he loves her, we can make some thing real for people, but only simple things. Like, books or music. Gavan explained.

"I never knew this about Stars. I still learn new things, no matter how long I stay in Narnia." Lucy replied.

"Is that so, Lucy?" Gavan asked, letting the images fade into reality. As they walked back to the square, she suddenly realized that that was the first time he hadn't called her 'my queen'. She smiled slightly before remembering Eustace, and the fact that she hadn't seen Edmund yet.

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"I love you so much." Edmund said as the fighting was subdued, looking at Serene. She smiled. "Oh and I you." She looked up at him, before he kissed her. He put his arms around her waist, drawing her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair. They parted from the embrace when someone started calling his name.

"Edmund?" The voice asked incredulously. The couple looked up to see Lucy staring at them in shock.

"Sister! I can explain, believe me." Edmund said calmly, though there was an undertone in his voice that begged otherwise. He didn't bother lowering his arms from around Serene's waist either. The enchantress looked over at Lucy shyly, wondering what she must be thinking to see some strange girl in her brother's arms.

"Come, let's go find everyone else." Lucy continued to stare at them oddly, but she eventually moved off. Edmund looked down at Serene and grinned in amusement.

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After Eustace had been freed from his bonds, he started looking for a familiar face. He didn't like admitting it, but, he needed his cousins to help him in this strange place. He stopped in shock when he saw Edmund kissing some girl. He wondered if something about this place changed his cousins. Lucy seemed to act more happy and alive, and Edmund, well it was almost as if he was a grown man the way people treated him, and the way he spoke. It made Eustace envious, though he couldn't admit it.

Back in England, he had been in control, and people had to do what he wanted, here he was nothing. The Pevensies and that annoying man who claimed to be king had all the power. Along with his wife. It was sickening. In England, they wouldn't be anything, let along allowed to be married. He had been horrified to learn that she wasn't just married, but a mother too. Exactly how old was she?

"Never mind that now, I've got to find the Consol." He muttered, walking through a quickly angering mob.

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Arran walked unsteadily up to his first mate. Neerva frowned when he noticed his captain's countenance, though he seemed better, he looked weak. "Captain, what's wrong, that wound paining you again?" The tall man asked.

"No, actually it's gone. Queen Lucy cured that. It's the blood and magic I've yet to be regained that's making me feel weak." Arran muttered, leaning against the wooden platform frame that they were standing next to.

"Come, the rest of the men and I will take you to the ship, and then from there you can return to Narnia or go back to the sky. You know that if you went back it would make you stronger. It has before." Neerva reminded him.

"No! Just take me back to the ship, we'll go from there." Arran replied, allowing his friend to lead him off. Neerva called out to the men in Orrinian, a little-known language, and the pirates instantly ceased what they were doing and left the square to follow their captain, seeing that the Slavers were well in Narnian hands. Gavan and Zephyr watched them go, knowing that those pirates might be men who were condemned by the law, but they could fight like the most loyal of soldiers when it came to something such as this.

Gavan, watching them go, suddenly remembered his promise to make Pug suffer. He walked through the crowd of surrendered Slavers and those who had accepted Caspian's rule. "Where are you going?" Zephyr called, trying to follow his brother. "To make someone pay." Gavan replied.

"Oh no." Zephyr muttered, shoving through the crowds to find Caspian. He stumbled over a dead Slaver as he made his way to Caspian and Susan who were talking with Drinian, Lucy, Edmund and several Calormene who had accepted Caspian's words as truth.

"Caspian, er, My King!" Zephyr remembered his formality upon seeing the others. "What?" Caspian asked.

"You know where Pug is?" He panted, after barely preventing himself from falling into a wall after getting shoved around by the crowd.

"I should think he's with the rest of the Slavers being told to surrender in the middle of the square, why?"

"I think Gavan's going to kill him or something just as awful!" Zephyr shouted, before getting shoved back into the confusion of free slaves and captive Slavers.

"Caspian, we have to stop him, before he does something rash." Susan said, looking up at her husband with concern.

"He might be going to do what I would do." Edmund spoke up suddenly. Before the Calormene had arrived, he had been told of Arran and what had happened. And they had been talking to Serene, who Lucy still didn't know about.

"And what is that?" Caspian asked, turning to him.

"Kill Pug in the way that Arran would've died. Slowly, just as his brother almost did. I would've done the same if it were Peter of any of you." Edmund shrugged bashfully, knowing it was true.

"Come on then!" Drinian exclaimed, pushing the crowd out of his way roughly. As they neared the middle, Lucy and Edmund caught sight of Gavan, but he wasn't moving, he was simply standing there. As if he was thinking about something. Lucy darted through the people and came up to him first.

"What is it?" She asked over the noise of cheers of victory from slaves and Narnian sailors and cries of pain from Slavers and Calormene.

"Get rid of him before I actually do kill him. He's suffered enough." Gavan motioned to where Pug was standing looking around fearfully, mumbling in fear.

"What did you do?" She asked, turning to the Star.

"Why, showed him what it is to suffer of course. Pretty little nightmare that. I didn't lay a finger on him, simply showed him what he was afraid of in the far corners of his mind. Though I wanted to kill him. Badly. He's lucky that I have such self-control." Gavan said, glaring at the Slaver again before turning back to Lucy and the others who were walking up.

"I should've known!" Lucy smiled slightly, as the others finally made their way to them. "It's alright; he's done nothing we'd lament." Lucy started laughing; Gavan caught her smile and started chuckling himself, before laughing just as hard. "She's right. You honestly thought I'd kill him, didn't you?" He asked, looking at their shocked faces.

"We didn't know what to expect." Caspian replied.

"I was going to for a moment, then thought better of it. Let him go; don't do anything to him, that will make him suffer. He doesn't expect kindness, he expects to be treated as he treats others, and to treat him kindly would be the greatest condemnation ever. Let him wonder over your leniency, and perhaps with time it will change him." Gavan suddenly said, straightening. Edmund nodded, that was true. Kill with kindness.

"I'll consider it, though I won't promise anything." Caspian replied. As they were talking, Bern came up to them.

"I would like to invite all of you to stay at Bernstead, and attend a ball thrown in the honor of the King, and the victory of today." Bern said, smiling.

"We couldn't refuse such kindness." Susan answered, her gracious nature coming out.

"It's settled then. Ah, Caspian, your mount, also, one of my men found this, in the stables." Bern pressed the reins and a black leather bound book into Caspian's hands, and then he walked away. Edmund, Lucy, Serene and Susan stared at the horse in shock.

"He looks like Night." Serene whispered to herself, laying a soft hand on the stallion's shoulder.

"Wherever did you get Windstorm from? What sort of magic have you been playing with?" Edmund asked, turning sharply to look at Caspian.

"I don't know what you mean by that; this stallion's name is Dark Sky." Caspian replied.

"Windstorm, given to Tobias, a Light Cavalry soldier, last I knew him. A young man who was a friend of Peter's, this stallion is the exact replica of his mount." Edmund clarified.

"Oh look, Lucy, he even has their brand." Susan said, tears falling down her cheeks as she traced the familiar design with her finger.

"I was wondering what you three could tell me about the breed, Bern said you might be able to." Caspian spoke up as they looked over the stallion.

"They were the finest war mounts in history. Strong, faithful, fearless, dependable, they would give you everything they had; they were all heart and all strength, just like the Narnian people. And, if it's in your history books, you might have read of this tale: Two men, leaders of Narnia, rode into the capital city of Telmar heading a glorious two hundred and fifty horse light cavalry, an army of four hundred foot soldiers following in the wake. They proved that Narnia was every bit as barbaric as she was rich in resources. But we also proved our strength, considering we were the 'country without a king'; at least, that's what King Isshiah said about us. I'm sure you know about him." Edmund said with a smile.

"Yes. But, why without a king?" Caspian queried.

"There were four of us, and we all ruled equally. In Isshiah's eyes, that meant there was no leader, no ruler, and no head. Even though Peter did reign over us as High King." Edmund clarified.

"You know, in those days, everything Peter did was almost final. That's why he had such a problem coming back, not much respect." Lucy spoke up, staring bright eyed at the stallion, remembering. Edmund and Susan nodded at Lucy's words, knowing she was right.

"May I see that?" Edmund asked when he noticed the book Caspian had been given. "Of course." Caspian answered. Edmund took the offered book and opened it. Long elegant scrip filled the first three pages.

"Well, at least we know that he inherited Peter's straight hand." Lucy commented with a smile, pointing to the signature signed at the bottom of the last page. It was signed by "Lucian, King of Narnia, and son of High King Peter" Edmund turned, after reading the account of how destrier horses came to be on the Islands, to the studbook pages, giving account of every horse born since the time they were brought there.

"Look, this colt's name was going to be Morning Sky. But it was crossed out. Why was it changed to 'Mourning Sky'?" Susan asked, following the words with her finger as she trailed the long dead stallion's lineage. Her finger stopped when it came to rest on the names "Windstorm" and "Northern Sky" She furrowed her brows as she tried reading the small script written underneath the colt's new name.

"Oh. How horrible. This foal was born the day he died." Susan pulled back, as the rest of her siblings and Caspian read the words aloud.

"Captain fell in battle this day. Name changed." Was all that had been written. But they understood. Because of the colt's lineage, his name had been changed in honor of his grandsire's owner's death. Edmund's expression was impassive as he read the date. They all noticed as they paged through the book, that as Narnian victories became less and less, so did cheerful names, soon such dark ones as "Lonely Grey", "Last Stand", Death's Ghost" and "Crying Sky" were peppering the pages of the studbook. It seemed that ever after that, dark names became the trend.

"Tobias was far too young to have died. No one is supposed to die on any battlefield at thirty-two. No one. Most of his life had to have been spent fighting those – people." Edmund suddenly faltered, knowing who these last Narnians had fought.

"It's fine Edmund. I know my people haven't been the greatest of leaders. We're descended from pirates, what can you expect?" Caspian said, smiling ruefully.

"You turned out fine. I turned out fine. Everyone is a horrible person, can be, but you have the power to change that. Your people just didn't want to try in those days. It took several hundred years to bring them around, but that doesn't matter. If you think about it, we really shouldn't be here, having to see this world change so much. We should be dead, or, just not here. But I'd rather we not go there, come, I believe we should find Eustace, and then we have a ball to attend." Edmund spoke practically, reminding everyone about life, and that change was possible in everyone. Foreigners and Traitors alike.

"Even a traitor may mend; I have known one that did."

A/N:

I couldn't resist adding that last line. I love it so much! Ok now, I think I have some explaining to do. Let's get on with it...

Arran and his almost-death scene, let's do that one first. {Not to be graphic, but I do want it explained first}

Because, some people are most likely thinking; "He wasn't this bad off in chapter three, when he got injured, I thought she said he was going to be alright?"

Well, to explain: He's wearing a shirt of coarse material. And not to be too gory, but he probably has several bandages as well. So now think of it this way, he's bled through thick bandages, and his shirt, and his sleeve. That's rather a large amount of blood. Besides that, he's being too active for a man who needs to recover, so that doesn't help any.

The reason I wanted to do something like this almost-death scene, is so I could give you a visual picture of how close the brothers are. They genuinely care about Arran, no matter how he's disgraced/embarrassed the family and the family's good name. I also liked the idea of, though Gavan is more like Durken, he shares similar magical abilities with Arran. Gavan doesn't like what Arran does, but he cares because they share something no one else has. So they understand each other better. They relate better.

Arran's character & sense of humor:

I liked the idea of Arran being very roguish. He says what he thinks and wants. "I had been hoping you were dead..." He would rather Caspian and his group die, because he just wants the ship. {and he's a pirate, what pirate wouldn't want another ship?} But, because he promised, he keeps his word and helps them.

I also like the idea of him not really keeping serious, even in the face of death; "You could do one of two things. Stand there watching me bleed out silver blood to death, which I know fascinates you or, the more preferable one really, if it were my choice…"

I just see him that way in my mind, a carefree person, someone who seems like he's not bound by responsibility. But you see from little bits here and there that he does lead people, and that he's a very strong leader. Believe me, it is not easy to gain the loyalty of pirates, and then keep it!

A captain is only captain of a pirate vessel only so as long as he:

1. Treats every man/woman as equal, regardless of race, skin color, etc.

2. Gives every man on board a fair share of the spoils and/or profits.

3. Obeys the code that all pirates abide by. {Yes, there is a code, that wasn't created just for POTC}

4. Asks every man's opinion on nearly every matter, from which port to dock in to what ships to capture.

5. Allows every man to have a fair vote in elections of position. {This includes the captain's position!}

See, there is some order to pirates!

{one of my interests is the history of piracy in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. So I'm applying my knowledge of historical piracy to Arran}

Random Thought:

It also struck me the other day, when I was watching PC, that Caspian and his people are all descended from pirates, so, he and Arran share something in common! Isn't that rather interesting?

Random Thought #2:

Edmund is talking about soldiers on any battlefield, not just the Narnian ones. No one deserves to die in such a brutal way. "Peace should not come at the price of so many good lives." ~ {paraphrasing} Captain Tobias.

Random Thought #3:

The little snippet of Telmarine/Narnian history Edmund tells Caspian will come up in my Golden Age story. King Isshiah is from the Golden Age, {duh, you knew that} he is King Marin's father. {But I bet you knew that too}

Gavan & Arran, their "unique power":

This "special powers" bit, is what I meant in the last chapter about taking the Star's and creating my own-ness about them. I have no idea what Stars are like, so I have used my creative streak to, well, create something!

I like the idea of someone being able to see wants and give them to the other person. Gavan and Arran cannot read thoughts, {remember that!} but they can tell what people fear and/or want.

The horse thing:

That was random, I did not see that coming! As C.S. Lewis said about Aslan, it just sort of came into the story of it's own accord. I don't know why I keep pulling the Golden Age into this story, I guess I just can't get enough of it!

The um, story of King Lucian sending the horses by ship to the Lone Islands is loosely based on actual history. The "Assateague ponies" {if that doesn't ring any bells look up 'Misty of Chincoteague Island'} and there are several other stories that I can't recall right now...{shoot!} Mostly Spanish & Arabic tales I've read over the years because of my horse lover's craze. {Arabic horse tales is where I get the superb war-horse lineage thing from, based off of the Arabian horses}

The renaming of the colt was just a random thing I threw in, I thought it might makes some sense though that they would do that, as that was the first death of an important official in the military; followed by Oreius, Lucian and Lilianna several years later.

The horse thing gave me the excuse to have Edmund tell Caspian that everyone is capable of "change". {there's that word again!}

As I wrote this, I began to realize that Edmund wasn't the only one to change, Caspian had as well. Caspian went from being an ignorant Telmarine prince, into a neutral king, willing to rule both sides with no partiality to either people. I imagine that takes some skill...{especially in those early times}

I thought that was a neat bit of information.

Hmm... what next...

Gavan likes Lucy as more than a friend, or not? tell me what your opinion on this is. Because from where I stand, it could really go two ways. "friend" or "more than friend". You tell me! Tell me, you hear?! I must know now, because if you do not want that relationship, I have to scratch a large part of an upcoming chapter, and many more parts in chapters leading up to that one.

Oh yeah, another thing... Arran likes Azalea, but there is no interaction between them other than some heated words. They have a love/hate relationship. She strongly dislikes him because she found out he was a pirate and she loathes him for it.

{she didn't find out about him being a pirate in this story, it was sometime ago, before this story, separate from this story, K?} He loves her but doesn't know how to give up certain things to be with her, {again, the explanation for this largely depends on a Lucy/Gavan sequence, but I'm sure I can make it come up another way, if I work it over}

Also, I am mentally kicking myself for OOCing Ed! I really disliked that! {in fact I hate it! I was hoping to go this entire series without OOCing Edmund, Peter and Lucy! Caspian & Susan are pretty easy to not OOC}

Ah, well, I suppose it can't be helped, but I'll try harder!

Also, I promise to get more of Eustace coming up, {I'm pretty sure he gets two chapters. But, does anyone mind if we go back to England with him, to get everything from his POV?} Yeah, his chapters will most likely be after Dragon Island, but if things progress at the fast rate they are, {for me the writer anyways!} Then his POV might come sooner!

People have been asking about Peter, yes, his time will come, I'll to a full chapter on him, I swear on the stack of my video copies of Narnia, POTC, and my Narnia books!

(I'm a man of my word really! Though, I am, in fact, a girl... I am paraphrasing POTC just a bit!)

{love those movies, though not so much the fourth one, without Will and Elizabeth it just doesn't cut it - Horses - STOP! this is Narnian FFN, not POTC!}

Moving on...

This chapter is titled "The Power To Change" because of what is said at the end, everyone can do it, but there is one key ingredient that you need to have to change, that everyone will learn about by the time this story is over.

ILoveFanfiction:

This chapter you might agree with me on as not being very good. {By the way, thank you for such a darling compliment! that was so nice!}

Now, I must compliment myself on the fact that this is better than the movie, heck, it could've been the movie! All anyone would've had to do would be to remove Serene, Susan, Rilian, Adonijah, Arran & his pirates, Bern's twelve daughters {Peter's many problems} and there you go! instant movie script! I really wish this was how they did it. {don't go there... don't go there...}

I actually will have to carefully reread the book myself, but I don't remember Lucy suffering from any temptations, but maybe I'm wrong!

I'm glad you liked all those little bits and details I added, just thought that it would be cool to have this connecting strand from the movie {the horn} into this fanfic. I dunno, I just liked the idea I guess. I think the swords will fit very well with the plot I've got going in my head...

Yes, I will be sure to explain about Serene in following chapters, though, not yet, I have to get everything else resolved first.

I am also glad you liked the horses. When I do a Golden Age fic, {which looks from the progress of things to be rather soon!} the horses will be better explained.

Thank you for the long review, I enjoyed hearing your opinions immensely! ~ W.H.1492

If there is anything I missed, {explanations, punctuations, grammar, misspellings, plot-that-doesn't-make-sense, etc...} or failed to clarify on, please tell me, so I can; fix them and/or tell you about them in a PM or the next A/N. Happy reading ~ W.H.