Althea's POV
"How's it going?" I ask Edmund, staring down at the sword he's slowly chipping dried mud off of.
"Great actually." He chimes without looking up. I'm glad to see that he's found something to keep him busy. He seems more like the boy I knew three years ago.
A commotion on the other side of the ship draws my attention. Eustace is clumsily running around the deck with a large kitchen knife in his hands, being chased by Reep.
"Trying to run away? We're on a boat you know." The mouse says, swinging across the deck with a rope to land right in Eustace's escape path.
"Look. Can't we just discuss this?" Eustace pleads.
"That was for stealing," Reep says, slicing at his shirt. "That was for lying." Then lunges forward, stabbing the orange that was concealed there. "And that was for good measure!" Then slaps him across the face with the fruit.
Eustace angrily swipes at Reep but he jumps over him, landing securely on the wooden railing.
"We have ourselves a duel!" Reep shouts. "Catch!" He flings the orange at me and I catch it.
"Now, come on. Take your best shot." Reep ducks and jumps avoiding all of the attacks easily.
"Stop flapping your wings like a drunken pelican, poise!" Reep critiques. "Keep your blade up. Up! That's it!"
Eustace lunges and misses again. He swipes wildly and gets the knife stuck in a piece of wood. Reep leaps over him again, swinging to a nearby barrel.
"Yoo-hoo! Over here."
Eustace lunges again and Reep jumps down to the floor.
"Lunge with your foot. Your left, not your right." He says, slapping his ankles with his tiny metal sword before jumping back to the railing
"Come on. Be nimble, be nimble. It's a dance boy, a dance. Come on now."
Eustace finally starts listening and has Reep dancing on the edge. He swipes and the mouse yelps, falling back, seemingly going overboard. I gasp and hold my breath as Eustace peaks over the edge. Thankfully, Reep has swung around and is waiting right above the boy. He swings his body down, knocking Eustace backward into a huge basket.
A high-pitched scream erupts from the basket and a little girl crawls out. The same little girl from the Lone Islands, whose father left with us.
"Look." Lucy points at her.
"Gael?" The sailor pushes through the crewmates. "What are you doing here?"
When she doesn't say anything, her father hugs her, shielding her from the crew. The crowd parts and Drinian steps forward, staring at the girl.
"Looks like we have an extra crew member." He says, shocking me when he smiles down at her. He walks away and the crew starts to disperse, getting back to work. I walk up to the very shy girl and hold out the orange to her, Lucy smiling beside me.
"Welcome aboard," Lucy says.
"Your Majesty." The little girl does a small curtsy.
"Call me Lucy. Come on." Lucy takes the girl's hand and the three of us head for the small bedroom.
"And I'm Althea," I say, smiling.
We spend the rest of the afternoon entertaining Gael, Lucy doing a far better job than me. She's a really sweet girl and is actually quite the enthusiastic child after she gets used to you. I hear the faint yell of 'land hoe' and decide to go on deck to figure out what the plan is regarding the new island. I quickly find Caspian, Ed, and Drinian.
"It looks uninhabited," Caspian says, a telescope held up to his eye. "But if the lords followed the mist east, they would've stopped here."
"It'd be a trap," Drinian says, making me feel uneasy at what could be hidden there.
"Or it could hold some answers," Ed says. "Caspian?"
"We'll spend the night ashore, scour the island in the morning."
"Ai, your majesty."
Caspian joins me at the foot of the stairs where I've been listening.
"You ready?" He asks.
I nod. "I'll get Lucy and Gael."
I head back to the bedroom and gather the girls along with my medicine bag. There could be numerous undiscovered plant species ashore, maybe even edible plants. Those are always helpful, especially when at sea with limited supplies. We regroup with everyone and start to load the longboats. I wanted to sit next to Caspian but end up beside Eustace again. He's not as talkative but looks more eager to see this island than any other. I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that he's enjoying himself, at least for the time being.
"Eustace, would you like to search for new plant species with me?"
He crosses his arms. "I don't like plants, they smell weird." His nose wrinkles up in disgust.
"Hm... What about bugs? Those are bound to be everywhere." A triumphant smile grows on my face when his arms relax and eyes light up with excitement.
He clears his throat quickly trying to disguise his true feelings. "I suppose I could tag along." He mumbles.
We make it to shore safely and Caspian starts assigning people various tasks, like finding firewood and setting up camp. I slip away before anyone notices, Eustace following, a small hop in his step every few seconds. We enter the woods and I can just barely make out hills a good distance away with odd circular lines carved into the brush. I ignore it but decide not to lead us much deeper. Eustace gasps behind me.
He's crouched in front of a large thorned bush that has a medium-sized beetle with a shiny, translucent exoskeleton resting on one of its stems. I dig around in my bag for a few moments before pulling out a small jar that's just the right size to hold the bug and hand it to him. He hesitantly takes it, gives me a curt smile that's more like a grimace, and sets off trying to collect it without getting cut on the thorns.
"Be careful," I warn him.
"I collect bugs all the time at home, I'm quite capable." He says, his tone matter-of-fact.
"So you've told me." I laugh, remembering he said the same thing before tripping up the steps at the Lone Islands.
The forest on this island looks no different from the mainland which is disappointing but at least Eustace seems to be having fun for the first time he's been here. He doesn't say anything the rest of the trip but he doesn't complain either. It's been almost an hour so I bring us back before anyone gets worried or really notices that we were gone.
A couple of bonfires have been set up and a few soldiers are passing out sleeping bags for those turning in early. Everyone else is eating and gathered around the fires. I see Lucy talking about something enthusiastically with Gael, Caspian speaking with a few men, making them all laugh at something he's said. Edmund is alone, finishing up his polish job on his sword. Reep is also alone so I take a seat beside him, getting roped into an hour-long story about his adventures with the band of pirates. I don't mind because it passes the time while I eat supper and until everyone is ready to go to sleep.
"Thank you," I say as a crewmate gives me a sleeping bag.
"Althea! Come over here." Lucy waves me over to a cluster of rocks.
I lay my sleeping bag beside hers so that she's between me and Gael. She has a small book out which reminds me of mine. This brings about a conversation about the whole navigation hobby that I promised to explain to her earlier.
"It was a gift from Caspian after one of his many trips away from the castle."
"That's awfully thoughtful don't you think?" She asks, flipping through its pages.
"Yes, I suppose," I say, grateful for the fading sunlight that hides my blushing face.
"Oh! And what's this? A love letter?" She pulls out the letter I had left in the folds and waves it in front of my face like it's a sweet pastry she's teasing me with.
"A love letter?" Gael asks, perking up and tuning into our conversation.
"It is not," I say, managing to hide the panic in my voice and snatch it away.
"Hm, sure it is." I can hear her smiling as she says this but thankfully changes the subject to braiding Gael's hair. I'm about to say it's too late but the risk of her bringing up the letter again still feels awfully high. I get comfortable and stare at the stars barely beginning to show up in the dusty pink sky, the sound of waves lapping the shore, and the dying fire making me feel sleepy. I roll over and try to tune out Gael's high-pitched voice going on about something I'm not paying attention to.
Caspian is a few feet away, sitting against a round boulder and conversing with Edmund. He must have sensed me looking because he shifts his gaze in my direction.
'What?' He mouths.
'Nothing.'
He grins before inaudibly saying 'I love you.'
I laugh and shake my head at him, doing the same.
He returns to his conversation, the smile still imprinted permanently on his features.
I don't even mind that Gael keeps me up for half an hour more, eventually being lulled to sleep by the ocean and the knowledge that Caspian loves me.
~~~
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