Journey of Trust | A Narnian Story

Chapter 26 | Restless

A few days after the events on Deathwater Island, Luna strolls onto the balcony of the king's cabin she shares with Lucy. The sun has barley risen over the horizon, sending her first rays to warm the young woman's face. The wind is still sleepy, only a light breeze brushes around the warrior's nose. She is an early riser. Due to her duties it has become a habit over the past years. She went out on the balcony to not wake Lucy as she likes to sleep in sometimes. The queen does a lot around the ship, lends helping hands and sews ripped clothes back to be as good as new. So, she earned it. To Luna's surprise, however, Lucy blinked at her from the other side of the bed, wishing her a good morning and rose. She returned the greeting and stretched, commencing to her morning exercise. Occasionally, Lucy joins her. She says, she got a lot fitter with the Crown Shield as she tends to let exercise slide at home in England – apart from more or less extended walks. After washing and getting dressed, Lucy left to help in the galley. By now, Jaro and Anaru accept the queen's help without further protest and learned to appreciate it. After the scallion showed her how to care for the hens, Lucy enjoys spending time with him and the animals. She tells Luna they have a lot of fun. Once, the hens escaped because the two were talking and laughing and not paying enough attention to the sometimes-cunning poultry. Well, it ended with the whole crew – including Cas, Ed, Eustace, and Luna – chasing the hens to put them back in their hutch. Eustace proved to be an asset as two hens took a liking to him, jumping in his arms. He cussed at them as they started to gently peck his sweater. For poor Reepicheep, the hens turned the tables and chased him. It must have looked hilarious as a large mouse was chased by a couple of hens which were chased by a group of sailors, royals, and warriors. Drinian didn't participate in this hunt and Luna is rather curious about his expression while viewing this quest. All in all, they were quite fortunate no one fell overboard. Luna isn't sure if those animals can swim – they will find out sooner or later.

A smile flickers over her lips at the memory. This journey repeatedly proves to be a lot less tiresome than she expected as Caspian told her about his idea for the first time. She was called to a partly finished Cair Paravel from the Telmarine Fort – that's how Miraz' castle is called now. Dr Cornelius asked her to accompany him as he moved from there into his new home at Beruna, a village was established there after Caspian was crowned king. The first village where Narnians and Telmarines live alongside each other in peace. It took a while to achieve said peace between the races, there were fights – at the negotiating table and physical ones. Caspian worked tirelessly to provide all his people with equal rights, the process isn't finished yet. Beruna proved to be a success and more mixed villages started to form, Cair Paravel is growing to be a multicultural city even. Be that as it may, that day the doctor and she were called to the reinstated capital and Caspian presented his plan. They weren't alone, of course, Reepicheep, Trumpkin, and a few lords were present as well. And that was how the Voyage of the Dawn Treader took its course. Literally.

~

After what happened on the last island, the six friends didn't talk much with each other. Lucy took to occupy herself with sewing and reading in her favourite spot on the front deck. Her thoughts tend to drift everywhere, trying to get rid of the strange emptiness where memories about their discoveries should be. She converses with the one or other sailor from time to time or just listens – Luna is an exception, of course, as the two women share a cabin. The queen's brother did retreat into himself as well as Caspian. The two kings talk more often, in private mostly. Else, Edmund trains close combat with the sword or his fists where a sudden anger overcomes him, and he lets it and whatever frustration plagues him out on the poor mannequin. He also reads a lot, mainly the books Lucy recommends him – the selection is limited as Caspian could only fit so much in the shelves. Caspian, on the other hand, gave up on reading for now. He can barely concentrate on the papers he should work out and memorize, so there's no point in trying to get into a story. He is unsettled, and it reflects in his training – the lack of concentration makes it hard to wield his sword precise and without endangering himself. Luna only watches his and Ed's attempts to stay in shape sometimes, never commenting on it, but worrying. Whatever happened on Deathwater Island left restlessness in everyone, yet it's impossible to put into words what unsettles them exactly.