Camille's Adventure

Chapter 25: Dragon

"So, what food did you find?" Caspian asked the men.

"It's volcanic, your majesty. Not much grows."

Caspian just sighed and looked at the ground.

Marcus had vanished from the remaining crew members, as had Eustace. Camille noticed the latter's absence at the same time as Lucy. Something was wrong.

"Where's Eustace?" Lucy asked, changing the subject.

"I believe he's out, not helping us load the boats." Reep stated dryly.

"Eustace!" Lucy called, but no answer.

She turned to her brother with a pained expression, "Edmund, I have a bad feeling about this."

Edmund shook his head, "I'll go find him." He turned to leave.

Caspian hesitated a little before looking at Edmund. "I'll come with you."

Edmund gave a slight nod and the boys walked off.

Camille turned to Lucy, "I'm going to find Marcus."

"Alright Camille, but be careful. You know already that this island is dangerous."

Camille sighed, "Yes, of course."

Camille turned and walked off. The ground beneath her feet crunched and the wind was crisp and cold but there was dullness and eerie silence in the air. As Camille trudged along, she wondered about Marcus. Besides the little argument they had back on board the Dawn Treader, Marcus also had the habit, a rather bad habit; of disappearing on every island they reached. She worried about the boy. He never said much but she had a feeling that he had been through a lot more than she thought.

As Camille approached a large boulder, she heard the sound of small rocks hitting water. Camille quietly circled around the boulder and watched for a moment. The lad's shoulders were slumped and he stared endlessly into nothingness.

Noting this, Camille decided to speak up. "Do you make it a habit to run away from our group?"

Marcus dropped his head. The pebbles he held in his fist slowly fell, clattering onto the ground. Camille noted that he had been holding a lot of them in the first place.

"I'm sorry, your highness. I just-."

"Don't belong?" Camille finished. She was surprised that Marcus called her 'Your Highness' and not Camille.

"I guess you could say that," the boy sighed.

Camille moved over to Marcus. "You know, I believe Aslan brought you here for a reason. Whatever that is, I don't know, but I do know that belonging only happens when you accept your true purpose."

Marcus looked away and Camille put a hand on his shoulder. "Marcus," Camille spoke softly. "Tell me. What are you running from? Before I met you, I dreamt that you were running from something."

Marcus didn't respond, but went back to throwing pebbles and Camille knew she had struck a chord.

"If there is something, I suggest that you stop running. Running from problems in your life isn't going to help solve your problems. It'll just cause you more headaches. It's a race you'll never win." Camille continued to watch the boy. While she felt a bit sorry for him, she also thought he was denying something deep down, for she had sensed a struggle. "Maybe it's time you face these problems. The heart of a warrior is born from courage."

Camille sighed, "Come on, let's head back to the ship."

    ****

    Meanwhile, Caspian and Edmund were walking back to the boats in silence. They carried with them Eustace's torn and burnt clothes and his diary, which was singed around the edges. Also the had Lord Octesian's sword they had found among some dragon's treasure.