serendipity - narnia

chapter 30

Chapter 30
Things Left Behind

Dahlia lay on her back on the bed in her room, picking at a loose golden thread on her maroon quilt as she waited for Lucy to get dressed. The mage had lent her some clothes and Caspian had generously offered to give Lucy his room to sleep in. He and Edmund would sleep in the hammocks below deck with the rest of the crew.

Dahlia's bedroom was her private space on the Dawn Treader, the one place no one else on the crew was allowed to go. Her oak four-poster bed sat tucked in the corner of the room, draped with deep red curtains and decorated with more pillows than the mage could ever possibly need.

Beside the bed was a wooden fireplace with silver engravings of various plants and flowers. Half-melted candles, a small globe, a blue glass vase with a single red rose (enchanted to stay alive without water), and a few other knick-knacks sat atop the mantel. A painting of Dahlia and the Pevensies on coronation day hung above the piece, and there was no actual wood in the fireplace since Dahlia could conjure a floating flame whenever she needed warmth. Across from the foot of the bed was a forest green cushioned window seat, positioned in front of stained glass windows with golden latches and trim.

Against the wall by the door was Dahlia's vanity. It was made of lighter wood than the rest of the furniture and had over a dozen golden-handled drawers and cabinets for Dahlia's belongings. The surface was tastefully littered with Dahlia's things, including a silver jewelry dish, a gold hairbrush, and several hair ribbons. Secured to the wall just above the vanity was a gold-rimmed oval mirror.

A wooden wardrobe was wedged into the space between the vanity and the window seat. The two large doors were carved with images of flowers and the bottom portion of the wardrobe was a deep drawer for Dahlia's belts and shoes. A circular maroon carpet sat in the center of the room with a hardly-used table and four chairs on top of it. Dahlia only used the table for meals when she wanted to eat alone, which was uncommon because she usually ate with Caspian in his study.

The pride and joy of Dahlia's room were her bookshelves. Two of them stood side by side against the wall between the bed and the window seat, made of mahogany and stuffed full of Dahlia's favorite books. The bindings of the books were worn out and many of the pages had been treated with magic to remove tea stains from the stormy nights Dahlia stayed up reading when the rocking of the ship left her unable to sleep.

"I think this may be the first time I've worn trousers instead of a dress in Narnia," Lucy said, fastening the last button on her vest and turning away from the mirror to lean on Dahlia's vanity. Dahlia smiled, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"You'll thank me for that later," the mage said, patting her own brown pants. She'd learned early on in her time on the Dawn Treader that skirts and ships did not mix well, what with all the wind and climbing, and instead opted for pants and blouses. She'd rarely gone sailing with the Pevensies during the Golden Age - someone had to make sure things at Cair Paravel were in order - and the occasions when she did had always required her to wear a dress. Her lack of sea-faring experience was something she'd only gotten over in the past three years, as well as her slight fear of the ocean (though she still absolutely hated being above deck during storms).

"I'm sure I will darling," Lucy said, smirking as she dropped her voice on the last word in an awful impression of Caspian. Dahlia rolled her eyes and stood up, playfully swatting Lucy's shoulder.

"He calls me that all the time. It's like you and your siblings calling me Lia, he doesn't mean anything by it," the mage replied; her eyes wandered around the room to avoid Lucy's gaze, quickly darting to the floor when they landed on the open book on her table. The bookmark, in clear view of the young queen if she looked closely enough, was a letter Caspian had given Dahlia for her birthday.