A/N: It took a while to figure out how to tell this part of the story – I hope the method works for everyone. And please … forgive me for what I'm about to do to Caspian!
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Sleeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself. (Exert from 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader')
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The storm which had cleared while they were on the Island of the Dufflepuds returned with a vengeance as the Dawn Treader sailed into the unknown.
Had there been a blue star to guide them, it would have been impossible to see as visibility was minimal in the driving rain. The crew were beginning to become frustrated, and tempers were starting to fray, when Lucy who was on deck during a lull in the storm suddenly pointed to a break in the clouds to the East.
"Look" she shouted excitedly, "the blue star!"
Everyone crowded to the prow of the ship, tempers forgotten as their eyes followed the star as it appeared to be plummeting towards the earth, towards an island that had just appeared on the horizon.
Drinian swung the tiller over to follow the course of the star, and before long they found themselves at the island, in a deep bay surrounded by steep, ominous looking cliffs.
It wasn't long before they were all busy, unloading the empty water casks from the Dawn Treader and organising hunting parties to explore the island and search for food.
Eustace viewed this hive activity with increasing trepidation. It all looked like too much hard work to him, and so, he waited until everybody was busy, and slipped away.
Presently Repicheep noticed.
"Where's Eustace?" he asked.
"I believe he's somewhere off not helping" replied Trumpkin crossly.
Beards and Bedsteads, I've never come across a Son of Adam so keen to avoid work! Of course,"
Here he flashed a quick grin at the five monarchs.
"I've had a very good sampling apart from him!"
Once all was unloaded from the ship, they all divided off into hunting parties. The five royals, Trumpkin and Reepicheep forming one. Presently they climbed a steep slope to find themselves looking down on valley with a deep lake in the centre.
They slipped and slid themselves down the slope and settled themselves at the lakeside for a rest.
"Does anyone else need their water bottle filling" asked Edmund. "Mine is dry as a bone."
And with that he stooped to the lake to fill his bottle.
He was stopped mid – stoop by an exclamation from Susan. She had lowered herself to sit on the turf at the water's edge but had stood up again quickly.
"What is it, Susan?" asked Caspian. She was glad to hear him address her directly as the young King continued to be uncharacteristically quiet.
"I sat on something sharp!" Susan exclaimed. "It's a sword!"
She stooped to search around in the grass.
"And a gauntlet … There's more. What is someone's armour doing here?"
Edmund who had turned back to the lake to get water and seemed to be struggling with his shoes, stopped and called sharply.
"Stand back from the shore of the lake!"
Shocked, everyone stopped what they were doing.
"What is it, Ed?" asked Peter curiously.
Edmund had turned pale.
"Look … look at the toes of my shoes! And look in the lake, there's a statue."
Looking they all saw that the toes of Edmund's shoes had turned a golden colour and were tearing away from the rest of his shoes.
"They're gold, solid gold,"
Everyone looked at the shoes in shock and then slowly, almost involuntarily they peered into the depths of the lake.
"That isn't a statue!" Lucy exclaimed turning as pale as her brother.
"By Aslan!" said Caspian. "You don't mean to say …?"
"Yes, I do," said Edmund. "That water turns things into gold. Turned that man into gold. And what a narrow shave we've had."
"Narrow indeed," said Reepicheep. "Anyone's finger, anyone's foot, anyone's whisker, or anyone's tail, might have slipped into the water at any moment."
"The King who owned this island," said Caspian slowly, and his face flushed as he spoke, "would soon be the richest of all the Kings of the world. I claim this land for ever as a Narnian possession. It shall be called Goldwater Island. And I bind all you to secrecy. No one must know of this. Not even Drinian … on pain of death, do you hear?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Caspian. Why was he more concerned with the gold than with the life of the man who lay at the bottom of the pool?
"Caspian" Peter began slowly.
"A resource like this … wealth such as this … it could easily corrupt!"
"And you believe that I am ripe for corruption, is that it" returned Caspian angrily.
"Caspian" Susan murmured coming towards him and laying her hand on his arm. "That's not …"
Caspian angrily wrenched his arm from her hold.
"You all think it!" he declared angrily "You all think that I will never be good enough, that I can never make up for what I've done!"
And with a final glare around at all that stood there, Caspian stomped out of the clearing and up the mountainside. Susan made as if to go after him but felt a restraining hand on her arm. It was Edmund.
"Leave him … he'll only lash out at you now if you go after him, and that will give him more to regret later."
Susan nodded, gazing after the figure of Caspian where he was rapidly disappearing into the misty rain which had started to descend. She had a feeling that Caspian's outburst had a lot to do with his own doubt about his ability to reform. Sighing she turned to follow her family and friends back to the shore.
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Lord Octesian made one final effort to reach the stagnant pool in the middle of the valley. As he had attempted to drag himself to the pool earlier and lost consciousness, he had though himself dead, but death had not yet come to him. He was allowed one last moment of final reflection.
Fifteen years … fifteen years he had lived alone on this gods forsaken island.
Fifteen years since his fellow Lords had left him.
Fifteen years since they had failed to recognise him following his transformation.
Fifteen years since he had, had the misfortune to fall asleep here as he reflected on what he could do with the wealth he had found here … the wealth of the dragon's hoard.
Fifteen years since his dragonish thoughts had turned him into a dragon.
In all those fifteen years he had only seen one living soul, until now. Today two souls had visited his valley. Two in one day after years of solitude.
Even the Lords that had left him there had never returned. Perhaps they had reached the end of the world. Perhaps they had returned to Narnia and risked the wrath of Miraz … he would never know now.
And yet … yet … one of the boys … the second, dark haired one … he had reminded him of the King, King Caspian the ninth. Something in the eyes and the way he held himself …
Neither boy had thought that he had seen them, but he had, he had seen and heard everything.
The blonde one in strange clothes had come first, talking incessantly to himself as he explored the valley and its treasures.
"Oh yes … very sensible … follow the advice of a rambling senile old man in a dressing gown … follow a star to the Island of Ramadamadoodoo!"
"Ninnies!"
Then the blonde boy noticed the treasures strew around the valley, just as Octesian had all those years ago. He stooped to gather some of the treasure in a golden cup.
"Finally … a positive turn of events!"
The boy had started as he saw the body of one of Lord Octesian's victims - the very one who had thought to steal his arm ring. The one who Octesian had slain with his fiery breath … after all, a dragon needs to eat, and he had grown weary of a constant diet of sheep and rabbits.
"You're definitely dead!"
The boy took the arm ring.
"You won't be needing this then!"
At that moment, the storm had swept back into the valley and the boy had sought shelter in Lord Octesian's cave, thinking him, the dragon dead. But Octesian had continued to watch through slitted eyes and before long the other boy had come. The dark haired, dark eyed boy, who had reminded him so much of his old master King Caspian the ninth. He too was muttering to himself and seemed angry. With himself or with others, was not clear.
"How dare he!"
"He … they will never believe me reformed."
"Perhaps they are right … perhaps I can't!"
"But if I had that gold … I could make everything right … I could buy back any slaves sold … I could compensate the families …"
The dark-haired boy had stopped in shock and awe when he spotted the dragon's treasure in the valley. He descended for a closer look.
"With this much gold, I would be rich beyond my wildest imaginations. I could buy and have anything I wanted."
He stooped to the gold and began to gather it into his pockets.
"Anything … anyone I wanted. Susan … if I were this rich … if I could give her anything she wanted, she would not be able to help herself, she would love me again … stay with me."
At that moment the boy noticed the seemingly dead dragon and paused thoughtfully.
A querulous voice came from the mouth of the cave.
"Caspian?"
'Caspian … I knew it must be he!' Thought Octesian.
"Eustace"
The dragon watched as the boys went together into the cave to shelter from the driving rain.
Watched as they both drifted off to sleep, holding the dragon's treasure, thinking dragonish thoughts.
He had been unable to warn them.
Unable to wake them, half dead as he had been.
And now as he finally succumbed to unconsciousness for the last time he reflected that at least they would not be alone as he had been.
A/N: That's all for now. Hope noone's too mad that I turned Caspian into a dragon!