serendipity - narnia

chapter 31

Chapter 31
Catching Up

Dahlia, Caspian, Captain Drinian, and the Pevensies all stood around the large circular table in Caspian's study. The chairs had been pushed away and several Narnian maps lay unrolled on the table's surface, the edges held down by inkwells and Dahlia's gold and navy compass (given to her by Caspian before the maiden voyage of the Dawn Treader).

"Since you left us, the Giants of the North have surrendered unconditionally," Caspian said, pointing to the corresponding section of the map.

"And we defeated the Calormen armies at the Great Desert," Dahlia added, reaching in front of Caspian - his jaw tensed the slightest bit - and tapping that section of the map with two fingers. "There's peace across all of Narnia."

"Peace?" Edmund asked, likely shocked because in all fifteen years of the Golden Age they were still unable to achieve complete peace. Dahlia of course knew that and had been able to help Caspian by telling him what to do and what not to do.

"In just three years," Caspian replied, smiling at Dahlia. He knew that peace would not have been so easily achieved without Dahlia's help, and he made sure to remind her (almost daily) just how lucky he was to have her beside him. Lucy, noticing the look Caspian gave the mage, decided to push him just a little bit.

"And have you tried to find yourself a queen in those three years?" Lucy said with a slightly mischievous smile on her face. Lucky for the valiant queen, Dahlia was all the way across the table between Caspian and Drinian. Had she been any closer she would've kicked Lucy in the shin.

"No," Caspian said hurriedly, unaware of the slight red tinge on his cheeks. "No, I have not." He (not so subtly) glanced at Dahlia again. She didn't notice because she was busy reattaching her compass to the gold chain hanging on her belt, but Lucy and Edmund did; Drinian also noticed, but he was used to it. No one said anything, though the siblings filed it away to discuss in private later.

"Hang on," Edmund said, looking at Dahlia who was grateful for the shift in topic away from Lucy's question. "So if there are no wars to fight, and no one's in trouble, then why are we here?"

"That's a good question," Caspian replied, looking from Drinian to Dahlia. "I've been asking myself the same thing."

"There's nothing horribly wrong as far as we know, but clearly something's happened to draw you two back here," Dahlia said, hunching over to examine the maps as if they would provide her with an answer. "Let's just cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Right. So where are we sailing to?" Edmund asked, also looking at the maps.

"The Lone Islands," Dahlia said, grabbing an empty blue porcelain inkwell and placing it on top of the islands to indicate their location.

"Before I took back the throne from my uncle, he tried to kill my father's closest friends and most loyal supporters - the seven lords of Telmar," Caspian said, turning to look at a board behind him. Pinned on the board were sketches of seven men; Edmund and Lucy walked closer to get a better look while Dahlia leaned a hip on the edge of the table, listening to Caspian speak. "They fled to the Lone Islands, and no one's heard from them since."

"So you think something's happened to them?" Edmund asked, turning away from the sketches to look at Caspian and Dahlia. Dahlia shrugged, pushing off the table and gesturing vaguely at the board.

"That's the only explanation we can come up with. It's been several years since they left, we should've heard something from at least one of them by now," the mage said, looking back at Caspian. "And if something did happen to them, it's our duty to find out." Caspian nodded, turning back to the map.

"Well, what's east of the Lone Islands?" Lucy asked, running a hand over the mostly unmarked section of the map which was merely labeled 'THE GREAT EASTERN OCEAN'.

"Uncharted waters," Drinian said, arms crossed. "Things you could barely imagine. Tales of sea serpents and worse" Dahlia smirked at his slightly ominous words, spoken in the same tone her mother had used for telling bedtime stories when Dahlia was a child.

"Sea serpents?" Edmund asked, clearly skeptical. Dahlia nodded, smiling at Drinian's subtle wink. She left the table and walked over to one of the cabinets, pulling open a drawer and digging through it until she found a small spare dagger. She left the sheath in the drawer and walked back over to the table.

"I've seen a lot of things in Narnia, but I'm not sure about that," Lucy said, shocking Dahlia since the valiant queen was the one who usually believed in everything; she was the first one to find Narnia, after all.

"Nothing's impossible, Lu," Dahlia said, grabbing a red apple from a stone bowl of fruit on the table. "It's like that book you told me about, Alice in Wonderland I think it was called?" Lucy nodded. "Well, I very much believe in that 'six impossible things before breakfast' mentality," Dahlia continued as she cut slices of apple and dropped them on the small plate Drinian found for her. "And don't worry, Ed. I'll protect you from any sea monsters we might come across, though I'd rather not have to. The legends say that a sea serpent is a fearsome thing to behold," Dahlia said dramatically, grinning as she speared an apple slice on the dagger and waved it in Edmund's face. The just king shook his head, laughing softly as he took the fruit off the blade.

"Alright, you two," Caspian said, directing a slightly exasperated smile to Drinian and Dahlia as he took the apple slice the mage offered him. "That's enough of your tall tales."