Disclaimer: You're joking, right? Which human could actually own something that belonged that deep in the sea? Or a world like Narnia?
Beta'd by trustingHim17! I'm very grateful for the errors that are never published because of her work!


Rilian does not sleep well. The Enchantress haunts the background of his dreams, dark eyes glinting, soft voice calling, and a cruel smile on her lips. Ileana appears as well, sometimes as a helpless captive, and sometimes standing hand-in-hand with the Enchantress. But she never smiles the same cruel smile.

Shortly after dawn the King gives up, rolls out of bed, and staggers to the silver bowl with fresh water. He splashes it on his face, letting the sharp coldness of it wake him completely. Then he works to dispel the shadows, looking around. There is light, golden sunlight, pouring in his room. Rilian walks to his window and leans his forehead against it.

He trusts Ileana, and he does not know if he should. His heart jumped in, perhaps at their very first meeting, and his head is begging his heart to slow down, to test, to wait and see. But his heart isn't listening.

Rilian struggles into some of his plainest clothes and goes to the library. Perhaps Guhen will have found something of value. He does not have to look through the aisles this time, but goes straight to the table. He sits in one of the chairs and looks up at the Owl, who is once again bent over a book.

"Good morning, Guhen my friend."

The Owl brings his head up and blinks, and so Rilian adds, "It's me, King Rilian," because he feels very much the fog that seems to lay over their brains this morning.

"So it is, so it is. Tuwhoo! I'm a Bird of flight, I am, and a Bird for trees, but this under the sea—I almost wish Aslan had made me with fins! You were right, Your Majesty, Merfolk can come on land. They've done it!" Guhen waddles across the table, taking large steps over books, and flutters to the chair next to Rilian. "And I'm forced to ask why they can change, but we cannot."

"Because—" but Rilian stops short, because Ileana had asked him to keep that tale a secret. He shrugs instead. "Perhaps we should lay that question to rest. I remember an Elephant telling me, when I was a very small child and wondering why I was not an Elephant, that Aslan gives mercy to all His own, but sometimes He gives different gifts to different children, and asking why will only lead to heartache."

"Perhaps, perhaps. Quite wise, this Elephant! Very well, then. There's seven stories of Merfolk who came on land, and six of them were Mermaids. The Merman came with a message from the stars, and he returned to the sea after he delivered it. He jumped off a cliff, actually, which seems very foolish, considering they change form only when their tail is submerged. Which makes their breathing make a little more sense. But on to the transition, to them walking as Daughters of Eve! Water is definitely tied to their ability to live. Which is probably why they love the water so much. However, on land—there were six Mermaids who came on land, at least in the records that I could find. Two of them were caught in nets, and taken to the land—to Galma, both times; it is a fishing island. I don't know why the Lone Islands don't have kidnapped Mermaids, considering the way they acted when your father landed. But maybe the Merfolk do not live around there? I do not know. Another puzzle! It is written that they made their captors exceedingly wealthy—poor things, they were probably shown off like the animals in that unpleasant zoo I've heard about in the Tisroc's garden." All the Owl's feathers ruffle and he shivers. "Our gardens are much better, Your Majesty."

Rilian thinks of the Squirrels leaping, the Birds singing, swooping, and laughing, and of the trees welcoming the Dryads. "I agree. Are the two captives still there?"

"No, no, Your Majesty. The first one did not last long—about four weeks, I believe, though the record isn't specific—and the second, captured a week after that, died after three years." Guhen's feathers slowly settle and his head shrinks into his body. "It is sad reading."

"I am sorry their wrongs cannot be righted." Rilian lets a few moments pass, thinking of these two Narnians who died for the greed of men. "What of the other four?"

"Ah. Two of them had much happier endings, and the other two are mysteries. The first two fell in love with—well, one fell in love with a sailor, and I thought that's what the second would be too, since that makes logical sense, but the second fell in love with a seasick Son of Adam who was heaving over the side of his ship, it seems." The Owl shook his head. "I know we realise how much we love people when we see them being ridiculous,* but that's a bit much! In any case, these two married the men they loved, and lived out a full lifetime with them. The sailor's wife followed him any time he went to sea. She walked onto the shore every time he left the ship, and they explored land together. They had a lovely match, it sounds like, though no children. The seasick man and his wife had seven children, and all of them loved the sea, and could read the tides and waters so well they all became captains of their own ships, though their father never set foot on any of them except for the christenings. Fast matches, both mermaids had, from the sound of it. Though the sailor may have known the Mermaid in the water for a while, I don't know."

"And the other two?"

"Ah. I did find a bit about breathing problems with them. I wonder if perhaps some Mermaids have a strong aptitude for coming on land, and others do not—like the way some of your fledglings are very good at climbing trees, and others cannot put a foot down without falling. The other two Mermaids came on land and stayed for a while—one in the court of Archenland, which is why we have such clear records. The fourth only had a mention in a book about mixed lineages, and let me tell you, that was unpleasant research. The author seemed to think people should only marry in their own families! But a Mermaid came on land, trying to win the heart of some Narnian lord, and the lord 'remained true to his race and his bloodline, and refused. The fish'—he called her a fish, might as well call me a chicken!—'left after a short period of time, and was never seen again, though people say her voice still calls for the lord and for the sea, doomed to love both and have neither.' That last line made me wonder if some Merfolk are better suited to land than others."

Rilian thinks of Ileana, of her deep longing for the sea, and slowly brings his hands together, clasping them tightly. "What of the Archenland Mermaid?"

"Ah, yes. She fell for the King of Archenland—I must say, why did these two foolish Mermaids fall in love with those in high places? A lord, a King—the ones who fell for a sailor and a regular merchant were much happier."

Ileana fell for a King, Rilian thinks. Or at least, she is giving her time to one. "What happened to the one who fell for a King?"

"The story says she did all she could to win the King's heart, but he had loved and lost a maid, and had no heart to give. She did not demand his love, but did not give up, either, till she had tried everything a good woman could do—at least for as long as she had the strength. She danced for him, sang for him, rode with him, and cried for him—why the last was considered a favour I cannot think, as most Sons of Adam seem to dislike such things—but she grew weaker and weaker on land, able to walk less each day, and struggling to breathe. By the end, the king rode with her to the sea, carrying her on his horse, but her breath ceased before they reached the water. He gave her body back to her people. The Merfolk asked how those on land buried their dead, and then built her a casket of coral, letting it grow into the rock, still within sight of shore." The Owl sighs. "I looked specifically at her breathing, and the records vary a bit. One would almost expect a straight progression, as she spent more time out of the water! But it is almost as if something else built her up—perhaps some time in a stream or a well? Ten days before she died, she was so weak she could not even drink the soup at supper, and yet at the banquet welcoming the king back the very next evening, though she could not dance, she could eat and drink as much as she wished. I couldn't attach a cause, nor a cure." The Owl's head swivels all the way around and back again. "I am afraid I cannot tell you more than that."

"How long did she live?" Rilian asks quietly. If Ileana's progression isn't—how long will she have?

"She lived thirty days, my King."

Rilian freezes, the echo of the words thirty days repeating in his brain. Thirty days. Thirty days.

Ileana is here thirty days; that can't be what she meant—

"I'll take her back to the water on the twenty-ninth," the King breathes out, a near-silent promise. He swears to himself that Ileana will not need that coral grave. "Thank you, Guhen. If you are still interested in the puzzle, please keep searching. I would like to know what makes the Merfolk better, if it is the lack of the sea that weakens them."

"It may be how much they love the land, Your Majesty. Or perhaps how happy they are. Both Mermaids who lived were happily married, and one returned to the sea regularly. The other likely did as well, since all her children were sea-captains. But I will keep looking!"

"I can at the least work with such a thought. Thank you again, good friend." Guhen nods and goes back to his reading, but Rilian does not get up.

He knows Ileana will not tell him what makes her better. And he wonders if she will actually go back to the sea. She seems so set on her thirty days; will she be willing to give up even one?

Will Rilian himself be willing?

Rilian shivers but forces the feeling down. Ileana leaving would not be the end of their friendship. Rilian knows that, from every conversation they've had, from each time she smiled when he appeared. Even if she did not come on land again, Rilian could go out to her; surely some days she will swim near the shore. That was how they met. Ileana will want to see those stars, that beach, even in the sea.

But Rilian puts his head back against the chair and looks at the ceiling. It feels dangerous, how much he likes her, how much her company means to him—how much he wants to trust her. He closes his eyes, wishing to Aslan that there was a way to know if she was trustworthy. If there was someone Rilian could be sure would not be fooled…

And he opens his eyes and sits up straight, ignoring the startled hoot from Guhen, because he remembers a friend like that. There's a person who was never fooled by the enchantress, even at their very first meeting. The two children, his two friends, had been completely taken in, but the dear old Marshwiggle…

What if Rilian brings Ileana to meet Puddleglum?

What would Puddleglum think? Dour thoughts, of course, Rilian knows that—but what would he think of Ileana? Would he be taken in? Would he see her clearly? Would—would Rilian be able to trust her, if Puddleglum didn't question her?

Rilian jumps out of his chair and begins pacing, back and forth, then around the table, barely noticing that Guhen swivels his head to follow the King.

Rilian knows that Puddelglum rarely objects to unexpected company, even two children in the middle of the night. It gives him a chance to wonder aloud if there is terrible news. No, the visiting isn't the hard part. It's getting Ileana there; it's a good deal of distance, even as the Owls fly.

He and the Mermaid would have to ride. They'd ridden to that picnic where it felt like someone was watching, and she'd done okay, but perhaps more practice—

"Thank you, good Cousin; I'm leaving," Rilian says abruptly, and leaves. Breakfast is a short affair, made more tedious by the presence of the Calormene. He'd saved a seat for Ileana, who in politeness did not refuse, and then he spends most of breakfast asking about her family, her food choices, and how long she'd been in the Narnian castle. Rilian tries not to mind how much it bothers him, since he wants to be the one asking the questions and hearing the answers. But Ileana gives the Ambassador no encouragement, and Rilian thinks again of how she knows what it means, to hunt. She is not afraid.

They work on her fear a little later, as they spend the morning riding, her and Peri both. By lunch Rilian trusts the Mermaid to steer the horse by herself, and to stay on without help. Her smile as she takes Rilian's hand to dismount is proud and happy, and her breathing steady.

She's not the Archenland Mermaid, Rilian tells himself, but he walks close beside her, just in case, as they head in to lunch. The King barely notices Peri excusing herself for some chores. He's busy counting the days in his head, realising this is Ileana's ninth day on land; a week, a day, and half a day have passed. They only have twenty-and-a-half days left. Nineteen, if he takes her back to the sea a day early.

"Lady of the sea…" He means it as a question, as they walk into the dining hall and take two empty seats, but somehow it comes out hesitant.

"What is it?" she asks, sitting as he holds her chair for her, but looking intently at his face. He's still standing, and it's so easy to see that he has all of her attention. He almost forgets his point, distracted by the way her golden hair is falling over her shoulders with her head tilted back to look at him. He doesn't want to lose this, to not have her near, but…

He sees a grave of coral, and he knows something, the loss of the water itself, if the scrolls are true, makes it hard for her to breathe. So he sits, and leans over so they can speak without being overheard.

"Ah, there you are, fairest of the barbarian women! I thought—"

"I am sorry," Rilian interrupts, leaning over to put his hand on the empty chair beside Ileana, eyes not on her but on the Ambassador, "but we are waiting for friends. Ah, yes, there they are," and he stands, catching Drinian's eye as he enters. "I'm afraid this seat is taken."

"Then I shall just go down one! Yes, it would be good to speak with the Captain who sailed to the ends of the world and returned. Much poetry has been written…"

Drinian had walked over, and the more the Ambassador talks, the sourer the Captain looks. "Sorry, but I'm mostly deaf," Drinian says loudly, but he still sits in between Ileana and the Ambassador. "I'm only here for the food."

He reaches forward to ladle some of the waiting stew into his bowl, and passes Ileana a basket of rolls in a red napkin without looking at either her or the Ambassador. She puts a roll on her plate and passes the rolls to Rilian.

"What were you saying?" she asks, but Rilian shakes his head.

"Later," he mouths, because the Ambassador might overhear, and that is the last thing Rilian wants. "Drinian," the King says instead, leaning forward to look at his Captain. Despite the Captain's earlier claims—which made Rilian smile, for they brought to mind a dear, deaf Dwarf who'd often eaten at the same table—the Captain leaned towards him immediately.

"Yes, my King?"

"Carmi, Bethava, and the others are all coming this afternoon."

"Who?"

"A group of children in need of both adventure and discipline," Ileana murmurs, and Drinian nods a thank-you.

"And, your Majesty?"

Rilian grins. "One of them might be trouble."

"Ah." Drinian lets out his breath and takes a bite from a roll. "I assume your Majesty means to stop that from happening?"

"I believe the King thought we could make use of it," Ileana adds.

"And I thought you might want to join the two of us." Rilian adds the faintest touch of emphasis on the last three words, and Drinian nods slowly.

"That I would. What are your plans?"

"I plan to improvise."

"Why?"

"We don't know what Jarmu will do yet," Ileana interjects again, and Rilian can't help but think she's good at this, at defusing tension, sliding as smoothly as water between pointed remarks to defuse their hits; but with Drinian it isn't necessary.

"He's the mischief maker?"

"You know him?" Rilian asks, surprised.

"I've found him exploring, a time or two. Especially in the caves in the cliff nearby."

"How did he get there?" Rilian asks sharply, for the caves are dangerous, riddled with holes filled with water, and often swamped during high tide.

"Swam, I think. He seems to have a knack for getting into places."

"Do you think that's what he'll try to do today?" Ileana asks thoughtfully, and Rilian turns to her.

"You have an idea?"

She hesitates. "Yes…"

"Tell me. If it won't work, we won't do it," Rilian reassures, for he can see she's not completely in favour of the idea in her head.

Rilian is completely in favour of it once he hears it. He sends Drinian to find the requisite Daughter of Eve, and Drinian nods at Ileana's suggestion that it be Peri.

It is only after Drinian leaves that Rilian notices the Ambassador watching them.

No, Rilian corrects himself; the Ambassador is watching Ileana. And Rilian can now see why Ileana calls it a hunt, because there is hunger in Ambassador's fixed eyes, in the slight curve of both empty hands. Rilian takes Ileana's hand and pulls her up from the chair, escorting her to the door.

"Something has disconcerted you?" she says as soon as they are in the corridor and the door is shut.

"I do not like the way the Ambassador looks at you," Rilian admits, and she smiles.

"He seems like such a small worry."

"His hunger is not a small thing."

Her own smile dims a little, and Rilian does not like it. Yet he is glad she is taking his warning. "I will keep that in mind," is all she says, but Rilian can tell she means it. "But—"

"But?" Rilian's tone is sharp, and he does not mean it to be, especially not to her, only he cannot get rid of fear at the hunger he'd seen in the Calormene's eyes.

"Both of us have known what it is to be hungry, so hungry we feel empty," Ileana says softly, touching his hand in thanks as he opens a door for her. "Doesn't that make you sorry for him?"

Rilian does not want to tell her that he has seen that hunger before, in another set of eyes. He doesn't want to tell her they were black as night and just as voracious.

"I do not think that kind of hunger can be satisfied," he says instead, and she looks thoughtful. He is glad. He does not want that hunger anywhere near her.

They go to the tower's guard room and Rilian briefs the Captain. After that they sit outside to keep watch, out of sight. They wait. Drinian joins them soon after.

"Is it ready?" Rilian asks, and Drinian gives a short yes as he sits on the bench with a sigh.

"I am too old for this," he complains. "And it's set up, but how are we sure that's where Jarmu will go?"

"We aren't."

"Then why take the bother of setting it all up?"

"It's dark, it's scary, and the guard will make it clear that it is completely off limits. It is the place I would go. Were I one for breaking the rules, that is," Rilian adds hastily, and Drinian's eyebrows go up. Before the Captain can start telling Ileana any of the stories of Rilian doing just that, Rilian adds, "It's still the best idea we possess. Unless you have a better?"

"I might be able to help." Ileana's offer is soft, almost timid, and Rilian turns to look at her. Her fingers are stroking her arms, up and down, slowly and softly. He wonders if that's a nervous Mermaid tick.

"What can you do?" Drinian is more curious than polite, but Rilian is glad he asked.

"The song of the Merfolk can be magic. If I sing—he will come."

There's a pause, and Rilian thinks of her singing by the stream, and of the way he's drawn to her.

Surely that isn't magic, he thinks. Surely it's just my foolish heart.

Isn't it?

Puddeglum, we'll go to you tomorrow.

Drinian's pause is suspicious as well, but his words, when he speaks, are a little kinder. "It's kind of not Jarmu's fault then, though, if we magic him past his boundaries."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't—I only meant, if he breaks his boundaries but goes the wrong way. I can sing him to the right place. I've been practising my singing at night, and I really think I can."

"What are you doing at night?" Drinian asks sharply, and Rilian is glad, because his throat is closing, and it's harder to breathe.

"I'm making something," Ileana says with a pleased smile that makes her cheeks full. "I'll show you when it's done. Or—if it works. Magic has never been my particular talent. I'm much better at exploring."

"But you can do it," Rilian says, his voice sounding off even to his own ears.

"Yes?" and her own voice is a question, because she reads his voice like she reads the water, and she knows something is off. "You…" she looks from him to Drinian, and Rilian watches her head turn, her blue eyes look at him and then look away, "you do not approve of magic?"

Rilian cannot answer her, because he's a king, and king's have to be fair, and it's only a very very small part of him that doesn't like magic. But that small voice is screaming, and screams are so loud, and he cannot be honest but he cannot not let himself be a king, either.

"Magic held him captive," Drinian answers for him, and Ileana's face freezes.

"How else did you think she kept me in the dark?" Rilian asks, and it's an accusation, even if he doesn't mean it to be.

"I thought she used chains," Ileana whispers, and Rilian shakes his head.

"You've heard the darkness whisper. With me, it drowned all other voices out. Even my own," he admits, and that he had not told before, even to Drinian.

Ileana reaches for his hands, but pauses when he draws back. He wonders what kind of magic she can do, and wonders again if she's safe.

Ileana lets her hands fall. "Magic made Narnia," she says quietly. "Magic fills the sea every full moon."

"I know that."

She hesitates.

"What are you thinking?" Rilian asks, because he suddenly can't tell, and he doesn't like it.

"I'm wondering if I can help you, if I can show you the beauty of magic. What I was singing to create at night—I do not know if it will help. But when I finish it, I might try—"

"Shhhhh," Drinian hisses, just as Rilian hears the door scraping along the ground as it swings open. The three immediately go silent.

"...and we'll go over where you may and may not hide, but we'll do it at a march. Quick now! Step! Step! Step! And step!"

It was a Dwarf leading them, bossy and emphatic, pounding his axe handle on the ground in time to the step. The Kittens come first, walking with silent steps, perfectly in time, and the Sons of Adam fall in pretty regularly after them, but the Dogs did not. The Dwarf walks beside the three, who nudge each other with their noses and bark observations about smells.

Once they are out of sight down the hall, Rilian, Ileana, and Drinian follow. The Dwarf yells loudly, and the group is easy to follow through the Cair. The first two levels and the entire tower—"as long a door isn't locked, then you leave it alone, you hear?"—are permissible to the group. The Dwarf gives the young group some latitude; Rilian rounds a corner and steps back hastily when he sees Bethava the Kitten climbing a purple tapestry, head up and gaze aware. The sounds of doors opening and closing, of locked handles being rattled, and always the Dwarf's shouts and instructions. Rilian almost wishes the Ambassadors that visit Cair Paravel could be given the same type of tour; it would be most amusing to listen to.

The first part goes by quickly, between ducking, hiding, and also making sure other Narnians do not greet the King or Captain—both popular figures—when they're seen in the hall. After all, if the children keep hearing "Good health, King Rilian!" behind them, they were bound to be suspicious.

Jarmu stays with the others, though Rilian, in the glimpses he gets, can see the young boy dropping to the back of the group. It's only after a full hour, when the Dwarf took them to the corridor near the dungeons, that Rilian turns a corner and sees Jarmu darting into a side room, through a plain door. These corridors are lit by torches and not by windows. No tapestries hang on the walls, no paintings, and the torches are held in plain brackets instead of Dwarven lanterns. Rilian steps back quickly, into Ileana, and catches her before she can fall. Drinian steadies them both by a hand on each shoulder and whispers, "He left, then?"

"Just as we thought. Where is the cell?"

"Down that corridor and down two others. It might be a bit before he explores there."

"Shall I sing?" Ileana asks, not hesitant but not demanding.

Rilian hesitates. "Not yet," he says. "If we need to, then yes. But for now, let us chase this hooligan who breaks his word!"

"A moment longer," Drinian advises, and Rilian listens. It is only when they hear a door shut softly that Drinian moves forward. Jarmu's footsteps are soft, but the warrior in Rilian follows him easily.

Ileana draws closer to Rilian, her arm touching his as they walk, and he looks at her in surprise. For once she is not looking at him. She stares straight ahead, her breathing steady, he is glad to note, but her head—she holds it still, her shoulders tense. It is almost as if she is afraid, Rilian thinks, and then he could smack himself. He had forgotten Ileana had once been held in a room off of a corridor that looked very much like this. He reaches down and takes her hand, feeling the coldness of her fingers.

"Peri agreed to come here?" she asks in a whisper, and Rilian nods. "It feels like there is something else here as well."

"Shhhh!" Drinian urges from behind them. "He's getting closer."

Just then Rilian hears something and slows his steps. A voice from up ahead, female, with a hint of a mad cackle in it, just around the corner up ahead.

"Well, well, what have we here? A little Son of Adam, come to play?"

"Who are you?" It's Jarmu's voice, high and sharp.

"One who has every right to be here, little boy. Come in, come in. Unless you're afraid? Afraid of a little old woman in her own room?"

There's a silence, and Rilian glances over at Drinian. The old Captain grins, so widely Rilian feels like taking a step back. "I gave her a rope," Drinian whispers under his breath. "If Jarmu walks in the cell, she'll pull it and the cell door will swing shut.

"I am not afraid, I just know better than to enter a stranger's room." Jarmu's voice is cold now, angry, and Rilian frowns.

"Will he hurt her?" Ileana asks Drinian worriedly.

"That's why we're here. Now quiet!"

"Oh, I see. It's wisdom. And what part of wisdom did the Narnians have, sending you here all by yourself? Such a wise Son of Adam, never wandering, never—"

"Stay back!"

"If you insist. I'll just sit over here on my bed." Rilian rolls his eyes; Peri had slipped, for a moment, and her voice sounded much younger. Jarmu must have heard as well, because his own voice sounds much more curious when he speaks.

"Why are you down here?"

"Why would I tell that to a grubby little boy in the corridor?"

"Your door is open," Jarmu says slowly. "You're not actually a prisoner here, are you? You're not dangerous."

"Of course not." Rilian grins as he hears her, for this time she plays it right, welcoming, reassuring, but that hint of madness in her tone.

Jarmu is not wise enough to take the warning, it seems, for they hear footsteps, and a few moments later metal clangs against metal.

Jarmu screams, high and loud, and they hear the cell door rattle as he yanks it. "What was that? How—I'm locked in!"

"So am I, but I am not nearly so upset about it." Peri sounds disdainful, and, Rilian admits, dangerous. He moves a little further down the corridor, right to the corner. He hears rustling behind him, and the hair on his neck stands up; it almost sounds like scales over stone. But he glances back and it's only Ileana and Drinian, creeping behind him.

"Let me out!"

"Why? I could use the company."

"Someone will let me out. Someone will come and let me out. Stay over there!"

Peri laughs, and Rilian shudders. He is not sure where she heard the high cackle—surely not from Ileana?—but she plays the part of a madwoman quite well.

"Oh, I cannot come closer. Tell me, little boy, did you miss these when you were peeking in from the corridor?" Rilian hears the clink of chains shaking against each other and glances at Drinian.

"He's less likely to harm her if he thinks she can't reach him," the Captain explains with a shrug.

"You are a prisoner."

"For now, little one. Only for now. Shall we sit and wait for someone to come and let you out?"

"How long will that be?" Jarmu asks, the words wavering in spite of how fiercely he says them.

"Next week, perhaps. I don't eat very much. Tell me, will you get very hungry? Will you want to eat the dirt from the floor? I've done that, you see. It tastes nasty. But it can be quite satisfying when your stomach starts to hurt, to ache with hunger, when you've gone without food for so long food is all you can think about."

"Has she ever been hungry?" Rilian asks Ileana, tugging on her hand.

"She got lost in the woods once," the Mermaid whispers back. "No one found her for a day and a half."

"They'll miss me before a week is out. I talk to my Mom every night, just so she knows when I'm lost. They'll look for me—"

"Down here, Son of Adam? Why would they look for you down here?"

"They will." There's tears in Jarmu's voice, even if he's not letting them fall, and Rilian glances at Drinian.

"Enough?" he mouths, and the Captain shakes his head.

"Stay here," he mouths back, and then sticks his hands behind his back and begins whistling. The whistle echoes through the corridor, and Drinian steps around the corner.

"Here! Here!" Jarmu shouts, and Drinian's whistle cuts off. "You?" Jarmu asks.

"Look what we have here," the Captain says soberly. "What are you doing down here?"

"I was just—exploring. Look, get me out of here. Get me away from her!"

Drinian is silent. Rilian pictures him, his hands clasped behind his back, his white-haired head still, his eyes just watching. Piercing.

"Why aren't you letting me out? It's not the first time you've found me exploring!"

"Young man, what were the rules you agreed to abide by?"

"To come every afternoon for training."

"And?"

"...to stay within the boundaries I was given. But I was just taking a look around! I'd never been to Cair Paravel befo—"

"And did it not occur to you that the boundaries were there for a reason?"

There was a pause, one where Rilian smiles and silently shakes his head.

"I won't do it again," Jarmu offers, but his voice is sullen.

"I believe you won't. But that does not mend this situation. You still broke your word. And I believe a little time in this cell would be the appropriate punishment. I wouldn't go near the hag, though. She's probably hungry. She can't get you as long as you stay over here. You'll be perfectly safe for a while."

"You can't! You can't leave me in here!"

"Why not? What else do you think we do with Narnians who break their word?"

"You—come back! Come back! I won't do it again!"

"Just like you wouldn't explore the caves below the Cair again? Or cause fights in the marketplace? Your word is worthless." Drinian's sharp voice cuts, and Rilian winces. He'd heard that tone once or twice as a child. "I'll come back this evening. But you broke your word. I'll not take it again."

Drinian rounds the corner, even as Jarmu continues to call him back.

"You'll really leave him there all afternoon?" Ileana asks. "What about Peri?"

"She'll not mind very much. I must say, she does a very good job, too. Listen to that." Drinian jerks his head back at the corner, and Rilian can hear a low, mad chuckle filling in the space between Jarmu's shouts.

But Ileana looks down the passageway with a doubtful face.

"What is it?" Rilian asks.

"I just—I've known what it's like, to want to explore beyond all boundaries. I—found out why that isn't a good idea. Don't you think he knows already?"

"It's more than his desire to explore outweighing his common sense, Mermaid," Drinian puts in soberly. "I've found him where he shouldn't be before, and he always promises what he never means to keep."

"I know, but—he's a child."

"He needs some hard lessons before he can go from a child to a man. But we'll stay here, Lady, to make sure he comes to no harm. And you needn't, if you'd rather not hear him."

Ileana pauses. "It was my idea. I should stay."

"Then show me the magic you were working on," Drinian asks, leaning against one wall and crossing his arms. "I've not seen it often in my life, but what I have seen intrigues me."

She laughs, and Rilian tries to let that reassure him, to quiet the unease at the mention of this again. "It is a very little thing. Water—water is like magic to us, magic and life and song and air. I am trying to give the magic of the water to something that is not water, that is all. But without that thing, I cannot show you."

"Stay over there!" comes from down the corridor, and Peri's laugh follows it.

"I cannot come close to you, Son of Adam. I am chained."

"Why did they leave me here with you?"

"You came in of your own will. And don't you think you deserve to be here?"

"Show me later then," Drinian says quietly, pulling their attention back again. The three talk for the next few hours, mainly about ships, and Ileana whisper-sings for the Captain the part of her song about her love of ships, and then the part about her love of plates and food, running and the wind. Rilian mostly stays quiet, listening to her.

When Rilian's stomach rumbles, however, he gets to his feet. Jarmu's voice had grown more and more stubborn, and a little more desperate, over the past few hours. Rilian thinks the lesson has been learned well enough. "You or me?" he asks Drinian, but Drinian shakes his head.

"You," he points to the Mermaid. "Go let him out."

"And say what?"

"What one explorer should say to another, when the first has been caught somewhere he shouldn't have been."

Ileana nods slowly, and Rilian watches her walk away. He shivers again.

"Cold?" Drinian asks him, and Rilian shakes his head.

"It—feels like someone is watching us," he offers, realising it as he says it. Drinian frowns and his mouth opens, but Jarmu's voice cuts across the silence before the Captain can speak.

"You! Please let me—you were at court."

"Yes. The Captain of the ships sent me to let you out."

"He's not a Captain, not anymore," Jarmu mutters. "Then open the door!"

"Not yet." Ileana's voice is quiet, patient, and with that hint of music that still thrills Rilian. "I have something to say to you first."

"What can you have to say?" There's a pause. "Please let me out."

"I will. I promise it. But I think you'll pay more attention in there. I would know."

"You've been locked up before? Until you have, you've got nothing to say."

"I've been locked up twice."

"What?"

"Once here; my room was a bit nicer than yours, perhaps. I also wandered where I shouldn't, though I did not know that at the time. The other time I was a child, and I wanted to dive off a deep reef. My parents chained my tail—"

"Your tail?"

"I'm a mermaid."

Another pause. Rilian wonders what Jarmu made of that information.

"I wasn't strong enough to swim through the current, so my parents chained my tail to a heavy rock. I was stubborn, and I could hear the music, the deep, enchanting music of the underground river." Ileana sings for a few moments, a throbbing, running song that calls for all things to move, and yet somehow stay the same. "I hauled the rock to the edge of the reef—and then over."

"And?"

"The current would have swept me away, the song I loved stealing my strength, were it not for the rock that made me sink. The chain tore into my tail, and my blood ran in the water, right to the sharks—but my parents, my uncle, and my older brother came and fought them off, pulling me out of the river."

"They fought sharks?" Jarmu wonders for a moment, before his voice hardens. "That's got nothing to do with me."

"You do not see the resemblance between her and a shark?" Ileana's voice is dry. "Tell me, if you had brought the others with you—the cell is small. Could you have kept them all out of her reach?" She pauses, but there is no response. "I know the urge to touch everything we see, to know what is around us, to walk and see and feel. I know the sea better than any but three of my kind. I guide them to safety; I map the roads between the kingdoms; I show them how to swim to avoid the nets. I still know and love the world, and swim to see it. Run to see it now; and even ride. But if I do not do so with wisdom, with a measure of the world around me and my own strength, I do not see the world truly. All my exploring is done as a person with blind eyes."

"I get your point. Okay? I get it. Now let me out."

"Are you still going to go exploring?"

"No."

"Give me a promise I believe."

"All right! I'll—I'll ask before exploring. And I'll take people with me. And I won't step into a room with—a shark."

"That, I believe. Keep your word to me, Son of Adam." Ileana's voice is half a plea, half a command. "Keep your word, and if I can, someday I will tell you about the world you cannot touch."

There's a sound of metal touching metal, and then hinges squealing.

Rilian and Drinian follow the pair, out of sight, as Ileana takes Jarmu to the courtyard door, telling him about the places in Cair she's seen as they pass them. Then the three go back to Peri's cell.

"Well done," Drinian says to her, entering to take the chains off her wrists. She removes the ragged grey cloak she's been wearing, and Rilian grins at the grease and soot streaking her face and arms.

"I think that was the most fun I've had since working here!" Peri responds cheerfully. "Oh, thanks," she says as Ileana kneels beside her and begins wiping her arms off with a handkerchief.

"You play a madwoman quite well," Rilian compliments, an eyebrow raised.

"I listened to a lot of Mom's stories. There's a clearing with a stream near our house—beautiful, but it's got some stories attached. Anyway, I tried to sound like Mom's version of them. I guess it worked!"

"That it did." Rilian hears his stomach rumble again. "Shall we go get dinner?"

"Yes!" Peri leads the way, leaping towards the door of the cell, pulling Ileana along. "Should I teach you how to laugh like a Hag?" Rilian hears her ask, and the King shakes his head. It is almost refreshing, to have someone so young and untouched by any fear of the dark around so much.

"I will get you next time, when you're alone," hisses down the hallway, and Rilian shudders.

"Peri is far too good at that," he mutters to himself, only to catch Drinian craning his head. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing, Your Majesty. I just—I could have sworn that sound came from behind us." Drinian sighs. "My hearing must be going alone with everything else. Come, let us hurry up, so we may eat dinner together."

That night the Calormene sits by Ileana again. Rilian does not enjoy his dinner.


*Agatha Christie, who wrote, "It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them. "

A/N: Guys, this is over 7,000 words. I'm done apologising for them.