Caspian Jones

Chapter 26: Anna

"Anna!" Davy comes running straight to me, wrapping me in a hug. I don't like the fact that I enjoy it.

"What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He's absolutely frantic. I can see Caspian through Davy's arms. He's avoiding looking at Davy and I.

"That wasn't me." I do us all a favor and wiggle out of Davy's grasp. I knock on Coraene and Eetu's door. "Cora? Are you alright?"

The door flies open and I'm immediately tackled by a blur of red hair.

"Oh, Anna! You won't believe what just happened!" Coraene is giggling like mad. Her embrace is bone-crushingly tight.

"What?" I manage to cough out. She releases me a small bit so I can breathe.

"I proposed." Eetu answers. Caspian shifts his gaze to Davy for a few seconds before returning it back to the deck.

"Congrats!" He bites back whatever he's been feeling and claps his brother on the back.

"I'm guessing she said yes?" Davy looks to Coraene and I, sat on the floor in a giggling huddle.

"Why wouldn't I say yes?" Coraene wipes a few tears away and hugs me tighter.

Caspian slowly slips away from the scene, retreating back into his quarters. Nobody notices except for me and Eetu.

"Give him some space. He wants to be alone." Eetu mouths as I follow Caspian with my gaze.

I nod, and return my attention to Coraene.

"So, you're getting married? I always knew it'd be you before me." I help her back to her feet.

"You're just saying that!" She kisses my cheek before returning to Eetu's side.

"Ugh, couples." Davy fakes his disgust. He rolls his eyes, keeping them trained on me for a second too long.

"You can go check on Cas now." Eetu gives me another piece of silent advice. He distracts Davy for me. "Hey, Davy, want to break out the wine I know you guys packed?"

"Already on it!" Davy salutes and runs down to the cargo hold.

"Thank you." I nod to Eetu and gently knock on Caspian's door. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." His voice wavers a little bit, but he still won't open the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Caspian is sitting at the desk, quill in hand. He dips it into the inkwell and continues writing. He's already gotten a page and half done.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I sit down on the foot of the bed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He flips the page.

"You just slipped away from us after a while."

"Celebrations aren't for me." His laugh is broken a little.

"Look, if you don't want to talk, then don't. But if you never tell us what's bothering you, you can't expect us to know how to help you."

"It's- It's stupid, really. I don't really have a valid reason to be worked up, I just am." Caspian shuts the book finally, putting the cork back into the inkwell.

"If it makes you this upset, then it's not stupid."

"I'm just... scared of going back to Yna. I'm not safe there, and I've just assured my own death, not to mention probably the rest of you, too. I never should have left." The corner of his left eye twitches ever so slightly.

"What, so you could die anyways? Life isn't unending, Cas. Everyone dies at some point or another. That's just the way it is. Everything we do puts us in danger, but we do it because being safe is no fun. Besides, would you have really been happy cooped up on land for the rest of your life?"

"I suppose not." He sighs, running his hands through his hair. "I don't want to have to face my parents after all this."

"I thought we were just dropping Eetu and Cora off?"

"We could use the time to restock some supplies, and besides, there's no way Eetu would let me skip his wedding." He laughs a little. It's genuine this time. "He's a pain in the ass, isn't he?"

"Eetu?"

"Yeah."

"You two love each other a lot, don't you?"

"He was my only friend until I was about eight, then he turned out to be just like everyone else." Caspian's eyes turn dark. "He was joking around with some friends of his, and I got closer, and realized the topic of conversation was me. He- he wasn't saying anything, but he wasn't defending me either. He always stood up for me. He even went so far as to cut ties with his two best friends when they made fun of me."

"Cas, I'm sorry."

"The worst part was, Eetu laughed at one of the jokes. I'm sure it would have been comical if it wasn't aimed at me. Looking back, it actually was kind of funny, clever even, for an eleven year old kid."

"What did he say?"

"He just said 'If your parents wanted a little bitch for a son, they should have just bought a dog.'" Caspian can barely finish the sentence before bursting into laughter. "I mean, it's pretty good."

"It's so mean though!"

"I'm over it. Besides, some of the jokes were actually really funny." He shrugs, a smile plastered onto his face. "Oh, we should probably set sail for today."

"Yeah. Glad to see you're feeling better now."

"Thanks for coming after me."

"That's what friends are for."