Chapter 6: Rescue Party
Ana returned to consciousness rather slowly. She was aware of the pain in her head first and then the hot, rough stone against her back. There was dirt and gravel underneath her and she was aware of several figures to her right. One of them was close enough to hold her hand, their thumb tracing a pattern. They moved it to brush the hair from her face, accidentally bumping a sensitive spot. Ana winced and let out a small groan.
"I think she's waking up," a relieved voice said to another. "Ana?" There was a touch of concern in their voice as well.
"Lucy?" Ana asked, opening her eyes a little. The sun had set hours ago and she was thankful for the lack of bright light.
"Ana!" Lucy whispered. "You've been out for hours. I was getting worried."
"What happened?" Ana asked, sitting up and looking around.
There were two men who she assumed were guards nearby. But they were far enough that the prisoners could talk without being heard. The guards held torches in their hands and it was the only source of light anyone had. Ana noted that several others aside from her and Lucy were being held captive. To her left was Eustace—who seemed to be ignoring them—and to Lucy's right were a few Narnian creatures and citizens. All of their wrists were bound together with irons and a small length of chain connected them. There was also a chain connected to the wall behind them that attached to a cuff around their necks, preventing them from running.
"You don't remember?" Lucy asked, concerned.
"No... But I suppose it'll come back eventually."
"You kind of..." She struggled to find the right words. "...flipped out. Managed to get away from them. They hit you real hard... Edmund too, I think." Her voice wavered but Ana could tell she was doing her best not to show how concerned she was for her brother.
"Where are they?" Ana inquired, cursing herself for not realizing their absence sooner. She should've noticed that first.
"I—I don't know," Lucy told her on the verge of tears. "I haven't seen them since they dragged us away."
"We'll find them," Ana promised. "Or they'll find us."
Eustace chose that moment to speak. "What are you going to do?" he scoffed. "What are any of you going to do? We're trapped here!"
"Ignore him," Lucy said. "He's just scared."
"I am not!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the guards.
"Shh!" Lucy warned her cousin.
The guards turned to look at their prisoners. Lucy and Ana watched them carefully, wondering what they would do. They approached, examining each of them as best as they could in the dim light. Other than that, they didn't seem to care about the talking. After confirming no one had gotten free, the guards returned to their original positions.
Many of the other prisoners were asleep so it was quiet. Ana and Lucy were the only ones engaged in conversation.
"Phoenix could help..." Ana whispered to Lucy. She was unsure how Eustace would react to her magic and knew it could be risky regardless. "But unless we know where Caspian and Edmund are, it might be unwise."
Lucy nodded. "It could lead to more trouble for us. Besides, we can't leave these people behind.
"No..." Ana agreed. "These are our people and we can't leave them behind to be sold into slavery."
"What are we going to do?"
"There's nothing we can do for now. I can get myself out of these chains, but I have nothing to help you or the others."
"And none of us can really fight back against several armed men," Lucy sighed.
Ana nodded, wincing a little as the action caused her head to ache a bit. "Come morning, Drinian and the others will be looking for us. We'll have to wait until then. Aslan willing, they will get here in time."
The two stopped talking after that. Eustace had fallen asleep sometime during their conversation and was lightly snoring. Ana encouraged Lucy to try and get a little rest, although she knew it would be difficult. But Ana wouldn't sleep. She couldn't. Not when Lucy was in danger and the two Kings were missing. Until everyone was safe, she wouldn't be able to sleep.
So, with just a few hours till dawn, Ana kept a silent vigil. Lucy's head rested on one of her shoulders and Eustace's ended up on the other. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Ana might've teased the boy about it. However, it seemed to make them both feel a little safer and she would never mention anything to either of them. They deserved what little comfort they could enjoy. Only Aslan knew what the morning had in store for them.
꧁ 𝑽𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝑻𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 ꧂
As the sun rose, the town started to wake. There was only a little more activity than the previous evening. But this time, Ana understood why. The people were hiding from the slavers, not wanting to be ripped from their families. As it stood, the slavers seemed to be the only people out and about.
Ana couldn't see them, but she overheard a conversation between the governor and one of the men. He mentioned something about loading the boats. She didn't understand what he meant, but whatever it was wasn't good. That much she could tell. Then he ordered someone else to make sure everything was ready for the market. Ana was concerned about what would happen but knew people were searching for them. She refused to be afraid. She needed to be strong for Lucy—and yes, she told herself, Eustace too.
The sounds of people stirring seemed to wake the two. Eustace immediately shoved himself as far away from Ana as possible. Both pretended that he hadn't slept on her shoulder most of the night. Lucy scanned the area, wondering what was happening, before settling her gaze on Ana. She sent the Valiant Queen a small, encouraging smile.
Shouting drew their attention and they all looked for the source. A horse-drawn cart came around the corner, loaded up with several people. Three men were escorting it, running a little to keep up with it. All the passengers inside were afraid and Ana noted that they were all bound with chains as well. They were prisoners, not passengers.
"Helaine!" a man cried, chasing after the wagon. A small girl followed after him.
"Mummy! No!" she shouted.
"Helaine!" the man shouted again.
He managed to catch up to the cart. The man fought off the guards, desperate to get to one of the women in the cart. Ana assumed she was his wife. But the man's attempts to rescue her were thwarted when one of the guards hit him. He fell into the dirt and the young girl managed to catch up to him.
"Get back!" the slavers warned as they continued to move away.
"Mummy!" the girl cried.
"Stay with daddy!" the woman warned.
"Don't worry!" the man yelled after her. "I'll find you!"
"Mummy!" the girl called again, but she didn't leave her father's side.
After that, they could no longer see what was happening. The cart turned a corner, heading towards the docks, and disappeared from sight. Ana knew that whatever happened to them wasn't good. Nothing to do with slavers ever was.
Lucy and Eustace had watched the scene unfold with barely concealed fear. Eustace looked to Lucy, for encouragement or perhaps an explanation, but she could only place her head in her hands. They were both afraid. Whether it was from seeing families torn apart or their unknown fates, Ana couldn't say. But she put on a brave face for them. Neither them nor the slave traders would know how afraid she really was.
As the sun rose higher in the morning sky, the prisoners were dragged from the wall. They were escorted into the center of town. There, a large table was set up littered with keys, a large book, wooden plaques, and bags of what Ana assumed held money. Beside it was a comfortable chair in which the governor sat and in front of him was a small wooden stage. A small crowd began amassing, eager to see who was on the market for the day.
The governor stood, gave a small speech in which he thanked everyone for coming, and then sat back in his chair. Then one by one, the prisoners were brought forth and placed on the stage. Some of them were bid on while others were not. The wooden plaques—which Ana soon realized read 'sold'—were placed around the necks of those that had been bought. They were pushed to the other side of the stage and after the governor received his payment, they were taken away by their new master. Some of the slavers stayed to bid on more people. Ana had no idea what happened to those who were not sold as they were quickly whisked out of sight, many looking as if they were going to their deaths. Perhaps they were, Ana realized.
Eventually, it was Lucy's turn. She held tight to Ana's hand, neither wanting to let go. They had to be physically separated from each other and she was manhandled onto the stage. Ana felt Eustace press closer to her and both could only watch as Lucy was sold to the highest bidder.
"I bid sixty!" one man cried.
"I bid eighty!" another countered.
"One hundred for the little lady!"
"120!"
"150!" Silence fell across the crowd at this bid.
"Any more bids?" the auctioneer asked. "Sold!" he declared once no one spoke up. The sign was placed around her neck.
"Ah!" Lucy shouted as she was picked up and placed on the other side. The man who bought her stepped forward to pay and Ana was dragged onto the stage.
"I do apologize for her injury," a pug stated. "But this one is a bit of a fighter."
"A feisty little one, is she?" someone asked from the crowd. Several of them laughed at his statement.
"Who'll kick off the bidding?" the auctioneer asked.
The bids started at eighty but quickly rose to nearly two hundred. Apparently, they liked someone with a bit of a fighting spirit. Ana knew that wasn't a good thing and would most likely suffer for it. A 'sold' sign was placed around her neck and she was dragged from the stage. The man who won the bid approached and paid. He was grinning and it took everything in Ana to not try and wipe it off his face. She most certainly would not lose her freedom without a fight. And she wouldn't let Lucy live a life of slavery either.
The man grabbed her chains and pulled her away from the stage. She knew Eustace was up next and dearly hoped the boy wouldn't say anything. Being sold into slavery might be a bad thing but something told her not getting sold was worse. It made her concerned as to just where Edmund and Caspian had been taken.
"And now..." the auctioneer stated. "For this fine specimen... Who'll kick off the bidding?" The crowd was silent. "Come on now... he may not look like much but, uh, he's strong!" He squeezed Eustace's bicep for emphasis.
"Yeah," said a voice from the crowd. "He's strong alright. Smells like the rear end of a Minotaur!" Several members of the crowd laughed, much to Eustace's chagrin.
"That is an outrageous lie!" he said and Ana rolled her eyes. Of course, he had to say something. "I won the school hygiene award two years running."
"Come on!" the auctioneer encouraged. Still, the crowd was silent. "Someone make a bid!"
"I'll take them off your hands!" a familiar voice stated and Ana quickly began searching the crowd. "I'll take them all off your hands!"
At this statement, hoods were removed and Ana recognized the cloaked figures as Drinian's men. Reepicheep stood atop the Captain's shoulder but ran straight for the bidding table after the reveal. Cries of 'For Narnia!' could be heard as a fight broke out between the slavers and the Narnians. The villagers soon joined in, fighting against the slavers. Ana's captor realized this was a fight he would not win and began to drag her from it. She resisted, pulling against the chains and causing the cuffs to dig into her skin a bit.
Just as she was about to transform and escape, the man pulled her into his chest. He withdrew his dagger and placed it against her throat. His other hand snaked around to cover her mouth. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear.
"Don't scream and you may just get out of this unharmed," he said. "I paid good money for you and I'm not letting you get away. We're going to disappear, without drawing attention to ourselves. Am I clear?"
Ana couldn't really nod or offer any kind of response given her current situation. But the man didn't seem to care if she did or didn't. He began to walk backwards, dagger still at her throat and she had no choice but to follow. She only had one way out of this situation now. But Ana had lost all sense of time. The sunlight and dirt faded away to a cold, dark cell. Chains rattled. She felt the crack of a whip on her back, someone kicking her.
No. No. Please... Stop.
People were laughing, leering at her. Fists, boots. Another whip cracked and her back flared in agony. She felt the pain as someone cut her with their blade. She felt the splash of cold water on her face jolting awake so she could suffer more pain. Someone grabbed her ankle and dragged her across the rough floor. She was flipped onto her back and she tried not to cry out from the pressure on open wounds. A man with cold eyes leered over her, lips twisting into a dark smile. He was reaching for her and suddenly...
And suddenly she wasn't there anymore. She wasn't even herself anymore. The flood of memories had triggered Phoenix and it had forced itself out of Ana. It pulled her from her dark thoughts and the man gaped in horror at her. Phoenix wanted to attack, to lash out at the slaver, but Ana forced it back. He hadn't done anything to her to warrant such treatment. As the man stood horror-struck, she flew away from him and the fight that was slowly dying down. She needed time to compose herself.
Finding no more slave traders or corrupt governors in sight, Ana landed behind one of the buildings and transformed. With Phoenix gone, her strength wavered and she fell to her knees. Her breaths came up short. She knew she was shaking and wasn't sure she could even stand.
Get it together, Ana. You're no use to them like this.
She took a few deep breaths and managed to calm herself down. Just as she was going to try and stand, a voice reached her ears.
"Ana!" It was Caspian's and he sounded very worried. "Ana!" The others joined in on the call when she didn't respond and Ana knew she had to move. The King would do something rash if she didn't show herself.
Coming around the corner she saw them looking around for her. Caspian was nearly frantic with his movements.
"I'm here!" she called, stepping closer. She balled her hand into fists to keep them from shaking. "I'm alright." The relief that came across Caspian was visible to all. The others smiled brightly, relieved to see her but he seemed more so.
"We thought they disappeared with you," Caspian said. As she rejoined the group, he seemed to sense something was off because he frowned. Quietly he said: "Ana—" but was cut off by a shout from one of the slavers.
"Monster!" he cried, pointing at her. Everyone froze, smiles wiping from their faces. Caspian turned to find the speaker as he continued shouting. "Foul creature! What kind of dark magic were you born from?!"
He was livid, throwing out insults and profanities. Anything he could think of. Vaguely Ana heard someone tell him to be quiet, but they seemed far away.
Freak. Monster. Slime. Scum of the earth. Filth.
Spitting and kicking. More insults.
"Ana?" a soft voice broke through and Ana shook her head. Lucy was standing in front of her, the others out of her view. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said, unable to come up with an excuse as to what had just happened.
Lucy frowned but didn't press. As Ana made to move around her, she realized she had gotten lost long enough for everyone to notice she had not moved. Everyone else had, most near the man who had started throwing insults. Caspian and Edmund both looked about ready to kill him and she was grateful someone else had intervened. She had been too lost in thought to stop them herself. But someone had managed to bind and gag the man. He still glared at her however Ana was too focused on trying to come up with some excuse to explain her actions.
"Where's Eustace?" Edmund asked suddenly, drawing the attention off of Ana. Whether it was meant to or not, she was grateful for it.
"He was headed for the docks," Ana said, recalling that she had managed to spot him during her moment of panic. The Just King sighed.
"I'll go and fetch him," Lucy offered.
Ana took one look at Caspian and decided she didn't want to deal with his questions then. "I'll go with you..." she told Lucy. "In case he's gotten himself into trouble."
She knew Lucy wouldn't badger her with questions. At least for the time being. Ana tried to ignore the look of deep worry that flashed across Caspian's face. But she saw it anyway and noticed there was something else as well. Something she had seen on others' faces but never directed at her. Love.
Ana frowned a little. She must have imagined it or misunderstood its meaning. Why would Caspian look at her like that? Why would he show her such an emotion and what exactly did it mean?
Since this story is written differently, the flashbacks aren't as easily separated. There may be some scenes in the future that are but a lot of them will be mixed like this. Please let me know if there's a better way to indicate actual dialogue in a flashback and thinking. They are both, after all, in Ana's head.
As a side note: I spent all week trying to work on Ch. 7 and I still haven't been able to finish it. So I don't know if there will be an update next week or not. My work schedule keeps changing and I've had less and less time to write.