His Majesty, Her Grace - Sequel to A Prince Caspian Love Story

Chapter 15 - Nasty Tricks

"Than-" My thanks morphs into a sharp scream as the hooded person shoves me off the rest of the way.

My hands claw uselessly at the smooth wood but nothing can stop me except the rope. It pulls tight around my back, the force making me bend unnaturally and almost stealing my breath. A harsh, icy ocean wave washes over me before I can recover, knocking my body against the side of the ship. I'm soaked through my rain slicker in less than a second. The salt burns my eyes and throat as I choke up seawater. I push off my hood and wipe my eyes as the rope swings me back and forth. When I can see again, I reach out to steady myself against the wall of the ship.

The rope isn't moving, all that I'm doing is hanging over the violent sea like fish bait. I don't know what's going on up there but I can't stay here so I resort to pulling myself up by hand. I haven't made much headway when the rope suddenly gives. An approaching wave somewhat cushions my fall but not enough to stop the rope from burning my hands as it slips through my grip. I cry out and instinctively let go, the rope pulls on my waist again, thankfully not as hard as the first time.

"Hang on!" An indistinguishable voice shouts from above.

The rope giving out must have been Edmund climbing back down to get help. I'm slowly pulled back up, doing my best to balance since I can no longer hold the rope with my hands. The deck is just about to come into view when a third wave, larger than all the others plows into the side of the ship, heading straight in my direction. I scream at the top of my lungs, praying that someone will hear but the only response is the roar of water in my ears and a mouthful of salty water. I force my aching hands to fight the wave and grab the railing. Someone firmly gets a hold of my wrists and pulls me up the rest of the way.

I gasp for air as my now exhausted body flops onto the deck like a dead fish. I pry my eyes open for only a second to see that it was Caspian who pulled me up the rest of the way. He leans down to my face and is immediately met with a raspy cough. To him its a sign that I'm alive. He unties the rope and scoops his arms under me. I vaguely hear shouts and footsteps as he hurriedly carries me below deck, all the while I'm still choking and trying to breathe. He gently sets me down on the big open space at the bottom of the stairs, but not close enough to where water would spray down if the door opened again.

"Althea?" He asks, his tone thick with worry.

When I open my eyes again, Caspian's face, along with countless members of the crew are staring down at me. My head is cradled in his hands and he's wiping the cold wet hair away from my face. My whole body feels numb from the cold ocean, except for the burning sensation on my hands and the sore feeling in my back.

I try to speak but all that comes out is a painful, raspy cough. He helps me sit up and pats my back, getting the coughing fit out of my system.

"Someone fetch her water," Caspian orders.

"Ai." A voice says and I hear feet shuffling off.

"Sorry, Althea. I had to climb back down since I couldn't lift you and hang on at the same time." Edmund says while kneeling beside me. He sounds more confused than worried, unlike the expressions of everyone else here. "What happened? You were fine one second then you were flailing around the next."

His lack of tactfulness earns him a glare from Caspian but I'm relieved Ed noticed something was amiss. I scan all the faces staring at me. I know for a fact someone tried to push me off, whether they knew I was tied to Edmund or not, I'm unsure, but I know that someone on this ship did it intentionally and that it very well could've killed me. Another surge of exhaustion hits me. I have to rest my head against Caspian's shoulder to keep from passing out.

Edmund clears his throat nervously. "All I mean is that she doesn't seem like the type to just slip off the edge, she knows what she's doing by now." He says to Caspian.