The Bandit Queen

Chapter Four

((can u believe it I'm alive))

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"Don't you understand?" Edmund hissed at the bulky crew member at his side, "I am a King of Narnia, I can give you immunity, money, land- whatever you want! Just help me regain control of this ship, and anything you want is yours."

The heavily tatted man rolled his broad shoulders, only sparing Edmund a dry, bored look before returning his gaze to the sea.

"Guess that's a no, then..." muttered Edmund mostly to himself. Mentally, Edmund marked the man off of his list of potential allies. The list was getting shorter every day- he had approached nearly every member of the crew with his offer, but had been turned down every time, usually by being blatantly ignored, like this time, or being cursed out vehemently in a foreign tongue. A few men even laughed at him, which was great for Edmund's self esteem.

All in all, his plan to return triumphantly to Narnia seemed ill fated. Edmund scuffed his boots against the weathered deck. He knew that he should be thankful that he was returning in chains and not in a coffin, but he couldn't seem to be anything but ashamed. He groaned, thinking of how long Peter would hold this over him. Susan, in an attempt to be kind, wouldn't be upfront about his failure, but Edmund could see her demoting him to simpler, less risky duties. Lucy would constantly try to cheer him up, but Edmund knows how stubbornly moody he could be. He was going to be kicking himself for months over this.

With a sigh, Edmund stood up from the deck and wandered over to the railing. Since he had gotten on the boat, he'd been able to wander freely and remain unbound. At first, Edmund chalked this up to a kingly privilege, but Theo and Finley both seemed to have the same rules as Edmund, which meant Sabeena didn't see them as enough of a threat to police. Ouch.

However, Sabeena did assign Edmund in particular a guard at all times, his charge at this moment being the tatted man he attempted to persuade earlier. Edmund glanced back at his shadow, who watched him sharply from afar. Seeing how far away the guard was, Edmund suddenly had a very un-kingly impulse to jump ship and make a swim for it.

They had to be close to Cair Paraval by now, after all. The bandit queen had taking some kind of convoluted route, which meant the trip home had been taking much longer than it should be. Edmund had spent much of his free time trying to figure out the reasoning behind this, but so far he'd come up with little to show for it. His best theory was that Sabeena was trying to confuse Edmund so he wouldn't be able to trace his way back, but Edmund had already found his way to the fort once, so there was no point in trying to disorient him. What on earth could be her plan?

That was perhaps the matter that frustrated Edmund the most- he couldn't figure Sabeena out. She seemed to live by her own code of ethics, and was morally ambiguous at best, villainous at worst. She was curt but seemingly fair with her crew, which it self was a surprisingly diverse group of strong young men and women. All they were all fiercely loyal to her, and though he had no evidence, Edmund was sure was out of fear. She had a commanding presence that others could fall weak too, although he actually hadn't seen her much since they set sail. Sabeena had spending most of her time on the two other, smaller vessels. When he had seen her, she breezed right by him, ignoring anything he had to say, which was infuriating. 

As if on cue, Edmund heard the thwack of leather boots landing on deck. He turned to see Sabeena herself, scurrying across the bridge of the ship. She looked around the deck in a frenzy, her long hair whipping every which way as she turned. Her wild  eyes locked on Edmund himself.

"Your grace!" Sabeena called out, darting towards him. Edmund couldn't help but look bewildered as she grabbed his arm. This was the first time she'd spoken to him since they boarded. 

Sabeena dragged him along with her across the deck. "Dias!" she barked at his guard, "Go grab the other prisoners!" Dias went below deck without a word.

Edmund found his tongue. "What's happening?"

She didn't look back, but answered shortly, "We have to move to my fastest ship, immediately."

"What? Why- hold on. Why weren't we on the fastest ship before?" Edmund demanded.

She turned this time, her eyes full of fear and severity, "Because we weren't running away before."

"What-"

Edmund was cut short, interrupted by the howl of a cannon. Edmund looked up, and whistling towards the ship was a volley of cannon fire. Sabeena tackled Edmund to deck just as the cannonballs splintered the deck. 

Now, Edmund has been in naval battles before, but still the blast rattled him. His ears rang and he moved achingly slow. The whole world was in slow motion. 

Sabeena was unperturbed. She untangled herself from Edmund, swearing in between the orders she shouted. She hauled Edmund to his feet, snapping him out of his daze.

Edmund in her grip, Sabeena grabbed a rope with one hand, wrapped her free arm around Edmund, and swung them over to the adjacent boat. 

"Stay here!" She shouted after landing, and then took off across the deck.

Yeah, that's going to happen. Edmund thought to himself. He took off in the opposite direction, towards the bow of the ship. 

Edmund clambered up the figurehead of the ship, searching the ocean for the attacking ships. He spotted one, moving quickly towards the Parijana fleet. The ship in question might have been outnumbered, but it was much bigger, and with clearly superior firepower. But instead of the red and gold flag of Narnia he was anticipating, Edmund saw a purple and black flag atop it's mast. The flag of Sehkret.

Edmund knew that he should be glad it was Sehkretian boat and not another pirate ship, but looking at the massive ship approaching, he felt unease more than anything else. As you may recall, this whole mission was to gain favor with the nation of Sehkret, and not only had Edmund failed, he was about to fall into the disgruntled hands of the very nation he was supposed to impress.

Peter was going to kill him.

As much he dreaded it, Edmund knew what he had to do. It wasn't fair to think solely of his pride- he'd learned that long ago. Edmund had to think of the welfare of his men (what was left of them, anyway) and he needed to return to Cair Paravel as quickly as possible. If Edmund had traitors in the ranks of his best men, there must be many more in the halls of Cair Paravel. Just the thought made Edmund sick with worry. The Pevensies were quick to trust, and while that was often a strength for them, it looked to Edmund like it could become their fatal flaw. 

Edmund pulled out a flag from inside his shirt- a Narnian flag, a regal gold lion against a brilliant red. Edmund's own personal insignia, a golden tree and and large 'E', glinted in the sun. He was supposed to fly it at the Kan Altın fort, but obviously those plans had fallen through. This was not the occasion he had anticipated to use it for- this was far from a victory for Edmund. But he swallowed his pride. He needed to save his men.

Edmund climbed the ratlines as fast as he could. From below him, he could hear the cries of alarm from the crew, but he did not look down. He kept his eyes fixed on the crow's nest above him. 

Muscles burning, Edmund tumbled into the crow's nest at last. He stood as quickly as his aching legs would allow him, and raised the Narnian flag above his head, whipping it back and forth. With a hush, the volley of cannon fire on the fleet stopped. Edmund breathed a sigh of relief, and started to descend down the ratlines. 

Edmund's relief was short-lived. A single shot broke the stillness of the air, and the crow's nest where Edmund had been moments before shattered. Edmund braced himself against the ropes, desperate not to fall. The splinter from the nest riddled his back, leaving red angry marks. Edmund's breath was caught in his throat as Sabeena's ship- the ship he was still on- pulled farther and farther away. But he could make himself move. He clung to the ropes, high above the waves, with one question stuck in is mind:

Did Sehkret just try to kill me?