Whisked Away

44. Hard Goodbyes and Angry Ones

Shifra's POV
When it was finally time for us all to say goodbye, I refused to catch Caspian's gaze as we all began to say our goodbyes. I went first to Rynelf. "I shall miss you, my dear friend," I said, "I hope we shall meet again soon."

"I as well, my lady, "he replied. I smiled at him and walked on to Drinian.

"It was an honor, General." I simply smiled at him and moved on to the rest of the crew.

"If I am to not return," I told all, "I wish for Glenstorm to take my place as General of Narnia." Everyone nodded to me. Finally there was no getting around it and I reluctantly turned to Caspian. I had since bound my wrist, fo I refused for Lucy to use her cordial on it as it was far from life threatening.

"Shifra," Caspian started.

"Stop," I interrupted, not allowing him to finish.

Desperation filled his eyes as he replied, "We can't part like this. We were, are best friends."

"Just were," I retorted coldly. I turned away, but he grabbed my wrist, unfortunately not the one he was aiming for. I hissed in pain as I glared at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, quickly letting go. "I didn't mean to do that."

"What? Grab my broken wrist or to break it?" I asked, barely containing my anger.

"Both," he said. He seemed to be tearing up slightly, but I couldn't care less.

"Goodbye King Caspian, I was an honor to serve under you, for a while it was at least," I said, turning fully away from him. Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace had been standing awkwardly during the entire encounter, but as I walked away they said goodbye to Caspian as well. I walked along the ship, taking it all in for the last time.

I could not help but feel glad Aslan had requested I come with the children, but I still wondered what he could want me for. Did he have some toast he needed me to complete? Did he want me to return to England? No, he promised I'd stay in Narnia until it died. What could he want me for? I was leaning against the rail when I could feel the presents of another next to me. I did not bother looking to see who it was, nor did I say anything.

I felt an arm on my shoulders and looked up to see who it was. Edmund had joined me. "Are you sure that's all the goodbye Caspian gets?" Ed asked.

"Yes," I replied, "You can't honestly say he deserves better?"

"Well," he replied slowly, "These are strange seas. You can never know how it's affecting people, and this might be the last time you see him for a very long time, prehospital this is the last time."

I drew in a deep breath and replied, "Edmund, I have never been completely honest with you about all that I remember from that other world." I drew in another deep breath, mentally trying to prepare myself to dig out the secrets I thought I would take to my grave.

"You remember your life there?" Ed asked.

"Yes and no," I replied, staring out into the sea, "I lived in an orphanage with a few other girls, but the woman in charge, she was...not the kindest of people. She made us do an unreasonable amount of chores and when we didn't complete them, as there wasn't enough time, she would...she would h-hit u-us." Edmund drew in a sharp breath, but said nothing. "One day," I preceded, still not looking at him, "I was trying to find one of my books when...when..."

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as Edmund whispered, "What happened?"

"She...she found me in her office while I was looking for my book. She has the same kind of blind rage that you do, but instead of yelling as you do, she-she blacks out and going into a violent rage. At this time, she grabbed my arm and started flinging me around the room, still holding onto my arm. She ended up letting go and I broke my wrist and a few ribs. I-I was f-five."