𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 1

It was a busy October morning, a storm imminent on the eastern horizon and Peter and Edmund were down at the docks helping with the ships. Whenever the occasion called for it, the two Kings had no problem with helping the Narnians in whichever way they could. And that day, the occasion certainly demanded it. Due to the approaching weather, all the sails of all the ships were to be taken down and, with everyone so busy moving the cargo into storage, hands were needed and so the Kings were helping with the sails. They did not mind though, it was good practice.

It was then, in the middle of a drizzle that made Edmund's skin feel like it was being stabbed by a thousand needles and on top of the mainsail of a ship, that he spotted a most unusual shape in the water.

At first, he thought it was a shark and so he kept his eyes on it until his brother called for his attention.

"Ed, loosen that rope," Peter shouted over the rain.

Edmund forgot about the shape and went back to working on the ship.

Halfway through the task, he got curious again and he searched for the shape, interested to confirm whether it was a shark or not. He could not spot in in the place from before and so he stretched his neck and peered. Perhaps it was a shark and it had swum away.

"Lost something?" Peter asked, noticing his brother's odd behaviour.

"I thought I saw something," he shook his head. Whatever it was it was not there.

"In the water?" Peter asked, confused. He couldn't see anything.

"Yeah. There was a... a shape over there," he pointed in the direction he had seen it earlier.

"Maybe it was a school of fish," Peter suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Edmund agreed, unconvinced.

They finished with that side and moved onto the next.

Using the ropes to stay balanced, he walked to the other extreme of ta he mainsail. He was about to begin working on the ropes when he spotted the thing floating closer to shore.

"There! Look, Pete," he pointed southward towards the mystery.

Peter approached and the brothers looked at it until the sea spit it out. Whatever it was, it was too far away for either of them to make out what it was, so Edmund took out his spyglass and looked.

"A piece of driftwood," Peter said dismissively, "Or maybe a bunch of seaweed. Or driftwood with seaweed," He didn't find the thing as interesting as his brother did.

"It's moving,"

"Maybe it is a fish," Peter said.

"What would a fish be doing on the beach?" Edmund asked as if his brother's suggestion was the stupidest thing he had ever heard.