Beautiful Warrior [Caspian X]

XXXI; the serpent

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   ''No matter what happens here, every soul who stands before me has earned their place on the crew of the Dawn Treader. Together we have travelled far. Together we have faced adversity. Together we can do it again. So now is not the time to fall to fear's temptations. Be strong. Never give in. Our world, our Narnian lives depend on it. Think of the lost souls we're here to save. Think of Aslan. Think of Narnia.'' Caspian's speech echoed around the ship as every living soul listened to him.

   He already stepped down the first step when someone yelled ''For Narnia!'' It surprised the king and he watched the crew with astonishment in his eyes when all of them started yelling in unison.

   Idalia put her own in as well but she looked up at the dark sky instead of Caspian, even though she could feel his eyes on her. After a little time, she felt a nudge on her right and found herself standing next to Lucy. The younger girl sent her a mix of a worried and curious look. Idalia saw how Lucy's eyes flickered between her and Caspian and she didn't even have to voice her concerns for Idalia to know.

   ''I told him,'' Idalia said and looked from Lucy to the floorboards beneath her.

   Lucy frowned and reached for Idalia's hand to offer her some comfort. ''I'm guessing it didn't go as you planned?''

   Idalia shook her head sadly. ''It went exactly as I imagined. He was happy but the second that he knew I became a liability and if he had it his own way I wouldn't stand here prepared to fight. He thought it was too risky even though I survived just fine up until now.''

   Lucy softly squeezed Idalia's hand. ''I hate to say this but Caspian might be right this time.'' She whispered.

   Idalia looked away from her and closed her eyes. She should have known Lucy was going to be the rational one as well. Then slowly she nodded as if agreeing. ''I know, I'm just too stubborn to admit it to him. And I want to help. Just this once more.'' She let go of Lucy's hand.

   She missed out on the sad glance from the redhead and focused on her surroundings instead. She slowly unsheathed her sabre from the back as the ship entered the heavy fog in the cave. An eerie silence fell upon the crew as everyone anticipated something to happen. The green misty clouds edged onto the ship and around everyone's legs. Idalia took a careful step backward as if the mist was poisonous. Her feet froze when she heard something being whispered in her ear. She stilled and looked to the right but there was no one there. And then the voice came again.

   Idalia. It was a woman's voice.

   Idalia's mind immediately thought of her mother. It was the same voice as she remembers her earliest memory of being called her princess. Idalia closed her eyes and kept telling herself that it isn't real and that she can just ignore it. But no longer than a few moments later there it was again but this time on her left.