Chapter 4: Ana's Troubles Begin

After explaining everything they knew to Edmund and Lucy, the four wandered back out onto the main deck. The moment they stepped outside, Ana heard singing. It was quiet but the wind had carried it to her. Curious, she went in search of the sound and only vaguely realized that Lucy was following her. She doubted anyone else heard the song just yet so it was likely Lucy wanted to talk.

As she approached the bow of the ship, Lucy caught up to her.
"You look good," she said quietly.
"I am," Ana replied, frowning a bit at her statement.
"So things are better for you?" Lucy asked and Ana was still confused.
"I mean... I suppose." Lucy hummed and Ana stopped walking. Leaning against the rail, she turned to face the Valiant Queen. "I don't know quite what you are getting at, Lucy. But it seems to me you're trying to ask something."
"No," Lucy answered. "You just seem in happier spirits since we left you."
"I kept my promise. I didn't put my walls back up and shut everyone out."
"I'm glad. And Caspian...?"
Ana furrowed her brows. "He's fine... As far as I know anyway. It's not like he tells me everything."

She hummed again and Ana waited for her to speak. Lucy was keener than many gave her credit for. So she could tell there was something on the young Queen's mind that she wasn't saying. As the silence stretched, Ana began to wonder if Lucy ever would.

"I just thought..." Lucy began suddenly, "I thought... Oh, never mind. It's silly."
"What is?" Ana asked. It was then that she heard singing again and this time Lucy heard it too.

Where sky and water meet
Where the waves grow ever sweet...

"What's that?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.
Ana pretended not to notice. "I believe Reepicheep is singing,"
"What about?"
"You'd have to ask him." She pointed to the steps leading up the dragon's neck. "Be careful up there."

Lucy smiled at her and nodded before climbing the stairs. Ana moved so she was at the bottom of them, but did not interrupt. She could hear Reepicheep singing just fine down below but was curious as to what it was about as well. This wasn't the first time she thought she heard the Mouse singing. Ana wasn't planning on eavesdropping, but she was curious and knew she might receive some answers.

"Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow ever sweet
Doubt not, you Reepicheep.
To find all that you seek
There is the utter East
Doubt not—"
"That's pretty," Lucy chimed, cutting off his song.
Reepicheep gasped, startled. "Oh! Thank you. A dryad sang it to me when I was just a mouseling. I can't divine the meaning, but...uh, I've never forgotten the words."
There was a pause. Then, "What do you think is past the Lone Islands, Reep?"
"Well, I've been told the furthest east one can sail is to the End of the World," Reepicheep answered. "Aslan's Country."
"Do you really believe there's such a place?"
"We have nothing, if not belief."
Lucy's voice became softer and more serious. "Do you think you can actually sail there?"
"Well, there is only one way of finding that out. I can only hope I will one day earn the right to see it." Reepicheep chuckled softly, almost as if he was embarrassed by his admission. "Your Majesty."

The soft pattering of his paws could barely be heard over the noises on the ship as he climbed down. Ana moved away from the steps before Reepicheep reached the bottom. She didn't pretend that she hadn't been eavesdropping, but she wanted to make it less obvious that she was. Reepicheep only smiled at her and scampered off. He knew exactly what she had been doing.

Lucy descended a while later and walked over to the side of the ship, ignoring Ana. She found a place to sit on top of some barrels and was offered a cup of water from one of the sailors. Lucy drank it slowly, staring off into the water as if contemplating something. Ana smiled softly and made to join her when she heard Caspian approach from behind. She rolled her eyes, ready to call him out for attempting to scare her. Instead, he clasped a hand on her shoulder and whirled her around to face him.

Only it wasn't Caspian. And she wasn't on a ship. She was someplace dark. She could hear chains rattling and realized they were her own. A man with a scar on his face gripped her shoulder tightly. She let out a whimper as her shoulder was swollen and bruised from previous abuse. He smirked and pushed down hard as Ana squirmed in pain.

"Ana?" a voice broke through and Ana shook her head. Caspian was standing before her, face etched with concern. She blinked in confusion, wondering what had happened, where that had come from. She hadn't had anything like that in years. Worst of all, she had had one in front of Caspian and who knew who else.
"Are you alright?" he asked. He didn't bother hiding his concern.
"I'm fine," Ana answered. She knew that wouldn't do so she put on a cheeky smile. "You should be careful about spinning people around like that. Your royal charisma is bound to make even the steadiest dizzy."

All signs of his concern vanished as Caspian rolled his eyes. However, before he could reply, Edmund approached. He immediately let go of Ana's shoulder and looked at him.
"Is there anything fun to do on a ship?" Edmund groaned.
"Bored already?" Caspian asked. Edmund shrugged in response. "Well... how about a nice, friendly spar? It'll entertain the men and it's good fun."
"As if you could best me!" Edmund grinned.
"Oh, please!" Caspian smirked. "Ana could probably best you!"
"No, no, no!" Ana said, throwing her arms up in surrender. "Do not involve me in this. This is all you." She pointed to the two of them and tried to escape.
"Taking lessons, have we?" Edmund teased.
"It was all his idea," she said, pointing to Caspian. "I just agreed because it was good to brush up on it. I do have some experience wielding a sword, you know."
"And yet you never use it," Caspian teased.
Ana shrugged, smiling. "Why would I when I have two noble Kings willing to use them on my behalf?" Her voice was full of sarcasm. "So go... Go do your thing. Entertain 'the men.'" And with that, she quickly pushed past them to join Lucy.

They chuckled before running off like two schoolchildren to retrieve their swords. Ana merely rolled her eyes and sat down next to Lucy.

"You did that on purpose," Lucy chided.
Ana shrugged. "Better them than me. I refuse to be used as entertainment." She smiled and Lucy giggled, shaking her head.
Then Lucy grew serious. "What do you think is past the Lone Islands?"
"I—I... I don't know," Ana admitted. "I've never really thought about it." Lucy nodded and the two fell silent.

Moments later, a friendly duel had broken out between the two Kings. The crew immediately grew interested and stopped what they were doing to watch. Lucy and Ana looked at each other and shook their heads, feigning disinterest. But both were curious as to who would come out the victor.

It went back and forth for a bit. Caspian would make leeway but Edmund would parry and push him back. Then he would make some leeway only to be pushed back by Caspian. Just from watching, Ana could tell that Edmund was a bit out of practice. She had seen him fight many times before and Caspian shouldn't have been as successful as he was. If either man noticed, they wouldn't say anything about it. However, she also noted that Edmund was holding Caspian back very well. He appeared smaller in size and stature than his opponent, but both were equally matched. So while his technique was a little off, Edmund was still an excellent swordsman. He just wasn't able to train as much as Caspian.

Eventually, the duel ended with their blades at each other's throats. Tied, Ana thought. Just as predicted. The crewmen cheered as the two withdrew their blades. Caspian chuckled as Edmund grinned brightly.

"You've grown stronger, my friend," Caspian observed.
"Seems I have," Edmund agreed. He handed the sword off to Caspian.
"Alright! Back to work!" the Captain ordered and the crowd dispersed.

Caspian left to put the swords away while Edmund approached the two girls. One of the crew members handed him a cup of water on his way, which he politely accepted. He sat down on a barrel next to Lucy and she turned to face him. Ana felt like she was intruding on a private conversation but couldn't just get up and leave now that they were both sitting.

"Edmund..." she began. "Do you think if we keep sailing to the end of the world, we'll just... tip off the edge?" Lucy let out a slight chuckle at the last part as if it was a silly thing to say.
"Don't worry, Lu," he told her. "We're a long way from there."

Just as he said this, the hatch door slammed open. Eustace walked up from below deck. Ana noticed he seemed to be in as poor of spirits as he was before. Obviously, a little bit of rest hadn't done him any good.
"I see you're still talking nonsense, the two of you," he grumbled, dusting himself off and coming over to his cousins.
"Are you feeling better?" Lucy asked politely with a touch of concern.
"Yes, no thanks to you! It's lucky I have an iron constitution."
Reepicheep scampered across the rails to join them. "As effervescent as ever I see," he announced. To Eustace, he said: "Find your sea legs?"
"Never lost them," Eustace grumbled. "Simply dealing with the shock of things. Mother says I have an acute disposition... due to my intelligence."

His statement caused Edmund to choke on his water and spit it back into his cup. Lucy giggled lightly and Ana rolled her eyes. Reepicheep scoffed.

"I don't think he has 'a cute' anything," the Mouse mumbled quietly.
This made Eustace angry and he stood up to face his cousins. "I'll have you know, as soon as we find civilization... I'm contacting the British Consul. Having you all arrested for kidnapping." Caspian appeared at just that moment and he bumped into him. Startled, Eustace turned to face the King.
"Kidnapping, is it?" Caspian asked.
"That's funny," Ana remarked. "I thought we saved your life."
Eustace merely glared at her before turning his attention back to Caspian. It seemed to Ana that he didn't deem her important enough to argue with. "You held me against my will!"
"Ha!" Reepicheep laughed.
"Did I?" Caspian smirked, stepping forward as Eustace moved back.
"In, what I must say, are the most unhygienic quarters!" He pointed below deck. "It's—it's like a zoo down there!"
"He's quite the complainer, isn't he?" Reepicheep noted.
"He's just warming up," Edmund stated, unfazed by his cousin.
"I mean..." Ana began, more to herself than anyone else. "If you're unhappy with your current conditions... we could always put you back where we found you." Caspian smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

Eustace flicked his gaze from his cousins to the ocean. He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the lookout's cry.

"Land ho!" They all glanced up and then looked in the direction he was pointing. Caspian quickly ran up the steps to join Drinian with Edmund right behind him.

Ana was relieved they had found land. After only a few moments of conversation with Eustace, she found him annoying. It was going to make the trip seem all that much longer and unbearable if they were stuck with him for several days. She now understood why Lucy and Edmund didn't seem keen on dragging him along. But she hoped that Eustace's adventure in Narnia would change his attitude. Otherwise, he was going to try her patience and she really hoped it didn't result in an outburst.

Ever since Ana's outburst with Peter over three years ago, Phoenix had been on edge. It had been locked up for too long and was reacting to Ana's emotions more than before. She had barely managed to keep it from lashing out at Peter and ever since then she worked hard to keep her emotions in check. Fortunately, Ana wasn't easily angered, and that helped keep Phoenix at bay. But it also reacted if she was afraid and that was much harder to control.

She had had this issue before, before the White Witch's reign. But over time she had managed to control it so even if she lost her temper, she didn't suddenly burst into flames. It had taken her some time to calm it in recent years, but eventually, Phoenix settled. She hadn't had any more incidents for at least two years, but Ana could tell that Phoenix wanted more freedom than she allowed it. It was just itching for a chance to be free. And that was the last thing they needed to happen. To lose control of the firebird aboard a ship. She knew the results would be disastrous.

Only two more chapters until the writer's block. Good news is provided chapter 7 doesn't derail too much, chapters 8-10 are mostly done. So hopefully updates will be able to continue as normal once I get that chapter finished. Hope you enjoyed!