Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and thank you to reider52 for following this story.
The island Alina saw didn't look to be a worthwhile place at all, and she wasn't the only to think so, but both Edmund and Caspian decided to take a small party to look around. When Edmund asked if she wanted to come, she decided it was better than being stuck useless on the ship. Edmund's cousin came with them, and she sensed that he felt as useless as she did. He wasn't a terribly pleasant individual, but she'd been assured he was harmless. For the first time in a while, she actually believed it. He was far too free with his thoughts and emotions to be harboring any true ill will.
In any case, Edmund left him behind while he gave her the choice to accompany him and Caspian around the island. She was going to be antsy either way, so she took him up on it. They made their way to a large cave that they decided to rappel down into. Inside was a single pool of water. The pool seemed relatively deep, but it was clear and there seemed to be a statue at the bottom of it. Edmund broke off a twig in order to take a closer look, but the branch turned to gold. The statue wasn't a statue at all. It was a man who had fallen in, one that they had seemingly been looking for. She was the only one to linger on that disturbing fact. The two men seemed fascinated by it. Fascination became obsession. They jibed each other about things she didn't understand, almost as if they had forgotten her existence entirely. And then they both drew swords.
The cave grew brighter as she drew their attention. "You think I have magic?" She asked in a loud voice, "This is magic, and it's twisting your minds. If you want to kill each other, go ahead, but I've watched too many people die to watch the two of you kill each other over nothing at all." She extinguished her light and made her way back up from the cave. She heard rather then saw the other two coming up behind her. All she really wanted now was to get back to the ship. At least there she had some idea of what to expect.
She was wrong about that too. She hadn't even made it to one of the smaller ships when she heard something she couldn't identify. She looked up and couldn't believe her eyes. It was a dragon, an honest to Saints dragon. She took a couple of shots at it but did no damage. It flew behind her for what purpose she wasn't sure. Pretty soon, it was out of range.
When it flew back, it was holding Edmund. Alina's heart went into her throat. Was he going to die in front of her? Her fears were lessened when the dragon dropped him unharmed on the beach.
"It's Eustace!" he yelled as she saw Caspian now running up behind him.
"Your cousin is a dragon?" She asked.
He disturbed a dragon's treasure, so he became a dragon himself. He wasn't the first either," Caspian said, one of the only times he'd addressed her directly.
"I'm going back to the ship, where it isn't cursed," she said, looking at Edmund.
He came towards her. "Before you do that, I'd like to say that I'm sorry, and thank you. Without you I would have either gotten myself killed or killed one of my closest friends," he said as he put a hand on her arm.
"Lucy wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to either of you, and I meant what I said. I've seen too many good people die," she said and she turned away, holding back tears.