Inheritance: Scales of Change

Chapter Twenty One - The Blockade

    The giddiness and weightlessness you felt instantly turned to dread and anger. No, not anger... pure hatred. All this time and no signs of retaliation, then all of a sudden a blockade? What was the point of waiting until now? You handed the spyglass to Caspian.
"Those bastards..." You cursed.
"There's no way we're going to be coming into shore." Your father shook his head.
"Have they seen us?" Caspian asked, setting the spyglass down.
"I'm not sure how they couldn't have, but they don't seem to be concerned either way." Your dad responded.
"Furl the mainsail, and signal the other ships to do the same." You commanded. "We can't sail into this without a plan."

    You rushed to your desk and scribbled a note. "Sorry guys, one of you needs to take this to Tavros." You apologized to your birds. Firetalon looked up and fluttered to the top of the cage, volunteering. You slipped on her harness, and tucked the note into the pouch. "Be careful." You kissed her on the top of the head before releasing her out the back door.
"We need to send word to Tavros..." Caspian rushed in right after you closed the balcony doors.
"I just did. I just hope the Calormene don't realize she's a messenger."
"I bet you my crown they were waiting until Lailin left to surround the islands." He shook his head angrily and slammed his hands down on the table.
"I should have never called him away." You mumbled guiltily.
"If the Lords hadn't agreed to your plan, we would be on our own right now, it was necessary."
"What do they hope to gain from this? They can't possibly think you would surrender the islands to them?"
"They hope to starve them out. If ships can't come in or out eventually the islanders will suffer. At that point they would do anything Calormen wanted to restore their freedom."
"This is a full on invasion against Narnia. This cannot stand." You felt your anger boiling. "How dare they attack our people?"
Caspian's lips parted in a small smile as he looked down at the table.
"What is there to smile about?" You questioned him.
"That you called them our people." He turned his head towards you. "They have no idea what a force you become when you take ownership of something."

    There wasn't much to be done once the stars offered the only source of light. The Calormen Navy definitely knew you were lingering a ways off, as they actively doused all their lights so they became invisible in the moonless night. There was no way of counting how many ships or crewmen they had, and until you received word back from Tavros you had no idea what the situation on land was. So you, Caspian, Raxe, and your father sat at your table, and waited anxiously. You all jumped when a soft thud sounded on the balcony window, breaking the tense silence.
    "That must be Firetalon." You quickly stood and opened the back door carefully for her to fly in. You let her land on the cage before pulling the note from her pouch. Unrolling it on the table, the men all came around to your side to stand over you while you read aloud:

"I am overjoyed to hear from you, my worst fears have been quelled.
    The Calormen Navy arrived three days ago en full. They offered no greeting, no offers of peace, immediately surrounding the islands. None of our ships can get through the blockade and several ships that have tried to come into dock have been turned away. Our archers have kept the Calormene at bay for the time being but we suspect they will attempt a raid any day now. So far we have counted twenty ships, with each having at least fifty crewmen. It seems your previous warnings have come to pass.
    Sisni and the other children were taken further inland to a safe location and are being taken care of by some of the older women. Though we cannot sustain a siege indefinitely, for the moment we can endure.
Tavros"

    You breathed a sigh of relief when you read about the children, and took a step back away from the table. "Twenty ships..." you said out loud to yourself.
"To say we're outnumbered is an understatement." Raxe sighed. "What do we do?" He looked at Caspian.
    Caspian's brow was furrowed, his eyes deep in thought. "I would say we attempt communication with the flagship, try and find a diplomatic solution. But this is Calormen, and we know who it's behind this attack. The only thing these monsters understand is a show of force..."
"At first light we should send a ship out to offer them a chance to explain themselves." Your father suggested. "Let them be the aggressors."