Althea's POV
"Are you upset with me for telling them?" Caspian asks from his seat next to the window.
After dealing with the commotion on deck, Ed and Lucy joined us in the study to go over everything we've just discovered. We successfully found and caught the person who's been recklessly trying to kill me and most would take his attempts as confirmation of my royal bloodline, but if he overheard us talking in the office, it means nothing except that he assumed it was true.
"No, but I would've appreciated a warning and what do we do if it turns out to be a lie?" I ask, leaning against the desk.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, it's not like everyone in the world knows. If it's not true then we'll just explain our mistake to the crew and it'll be like it never happened." Caspian says.
It's strange. A few days ago I was wishing it to be a lie, but now all I want is for it to be true. I want to know my purpose, especially if it's being a Queen of a divided nation. I want to unite the people I hope are mine.
"We should question him," Ed suggests.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Caspian says.
"I think he's right Caspian. The longer we wait, the more time he'll have time to come up with elaborate lies to feed us. He could even try to convince the crew to be on his side, though I highly doubt that would work. We need to question him as soon as possible."
Caspian looks at me thoughtfully. I can tell that he's not sure how to go about this situation, but that something has to be done.
"Okay, but you two stay here." He says to me and Lucy as he heads to the door of the study.
"What? I'm not staying here." I argue but Lucy doesn't seem to mind sitting out on this one.
"Althea, if he doesn't feel like talking, we might need to resort to other methods. He did try to kill both of us after all, we have to consider that this could be a well-constructed plot."
"Caspian," I say his name sternly. "He tried to kill you. He tried to kill Ed. He pushed me off the side of the ship and tried to poison me. He almost succeeded both times. I'm not sitting up here and waiting."
I know Caspian is just concerned, especially since I'm still a bit shaken up by this last attempt on deck. That man could have killed me so swiftly, so easily if not for Caspian being there. His dark eyes are conflicted as he looks between me and Ed, wanting the young king to somehow back him up. I can't back down. I need to know if I'm a Queen and that man will hold the answer.
"Alright," Caspian says hesitantly. "Let us do the talking."
"Great! Let's go. You coming Lu?" Ed asks. Clearly being pent up on this ship has made him bored and this is the first exciting thing since Eustace becoming a dragon, which hardly seems beatable.
"I'm going to pass. Gael is probably wondering what happened."
Lucy leaves and the three of us go below deck. I can feel people stare at me when my back is turned and I do my best to ignore it as we travel to the brig at the very, very bottom of the ship. I didn't even know it was there. The room is filled with several inches of water that soak through my boots in no time. There's a large metal cell in the center of the room, the man is sitting on a crate in the corner of it, his hands fidgeting in his lap. He stares at us with angry eyes as we get closer.
"Has he said anything?" Caspian asks one of the guards.
"No. He did smash that other crate when he first got here." The guard explains. He points at the remnants of an empty crate which are pieces of wood floating in the murky water.
Caspian told me to let them do the talking, but I won't cower behind them either. I step closer to the cell, but not close enough that he could reach me if he stretched his arms through it. He stands and walks to the side to stare down at me. It takes every fiber of my body to not flinch or break face as he grins crookedly. He's feeding off my fear like it's a feast.
"Bind his hands and take him out," Caspian demands.
"Do you think that's wise your majesty?" Drinian asks, climbing down the ladder into the brig.
"We need to question him."
"He's dangerous."
"Not anymore," I say. "He can't do anything down here, and even if he did, he wouldn't get very far. We need him to talk."
Drinian clears his throat. "Pardon me, but how do you plan on doing that. He hasn't said anything, not even during the attempt on your life."
"We prove it by taking him out of the cell."
My point is made and Drinian backs down.
The guards do as Caspian instructed and bind his hands securely, taking him out of the cage to stand in front of us. The man is tall and towers above me, but Caspian isn't afraid so neither am I.
"Why did you try to poison Althea?" Caspian asks, pacing in circles around the man.
His eyes shift to me but I hold his gaze, refusing to show him how uncomfortable I really feel.
"You were the one that pushed her off the ship weren't you?" Caspian asks again, but still no response. He roughly grabs the collar of his shirt, forcing him to look away from me. "What're you looking at her for?" He asks darkly.
The man struggles to keep eye contact with Caspian and eventually gives up, staring at the discolored water swirling around him.
I get the feeling that this man will spill everything if he opens his mouth. He's clearly afraid but I see no regret for his actions, it could be that his fear is merely overshadowing his pride. He's a good actor. He's trying to play into Caspian mercy by pretending to be afraid.
"Did you know I was tied to Edmund during that storm?" I ask and he finally looks up. Caspian gives me a questioning expression but lets me continue.
"If so it certainly would've been something. Both a king and a queen fall to a watery death at the hands of the ocean." I keep going. "And it would've definitely been something to poison two monarchs all by yourself."
His fearful act cracks for only a second, but we all see the satisfaction that shines through it. This man is a manipulator but not a very good one since clearly he gave himself away and proved my point to Drinian.
"I see what you were referring to, your highness," Drinian says, bowing his head to me apologetically.
"I appreciate your skepticism captain, it's essential in order for things to be fair regarding this man's fate."
The man's facade breaks completely, knowing he's been caught and embracing it. "Yes, it would've been spectacular." He finally speaks and Caspian backs away to my side. "It would've been spectacular to take out two monarchs at once. Can you imagine? The murder of a lowly queen. The only thing to her name being a broken nation. That's not enough, fragmenting all of Narnia by killing their beloved King however, that's something."
Caspian scowls and takes a step forward but I hold my hand up to stop him.
Instead of addressing the man, I turn to the guards. "Do you know what this man's name is?" I ask calmly, even though I'm burning on the inside. He very clearly threatened Caspian. Although he's been caught he's still bathing in the mere idea of succeeding.
The head guard clears his throat. "I-I believe it's Ivan."
I hold my chin high and speak to the man as if he's a child. "Tell me Ivan, was it your plan to kill King Caspian all along?"
"No. You were my first target and after I realized how easy it would be to kill both of you-" He looks between me and Caspian. "I changed my initial plan."
"How did you know I was Queen of the Lone Islands?" I finally ask the question that's been eating at the back of my brain this whole time.
He hesitates. "If you're referring to your little chat in the study, I knew before then."
"How long before?" Caspian asks.
"I joined your crew at the Lone Islands. I knew it was you in a second, you look just like the aunt I personally fed to the mist." He smiles and a laugh rises in the back of his throat as a silent sob rises in mine.
I feel like my air supply has been cut off, like someone's choking me. I knew that was most likely what happened to her but hearing it is just as bad as thinking about it.
"Why?" I ask. My voice fails me and cracks loudly. Caspian is panicking. He knows that this is bad and that my true feelings could just make Ivan more smug and satisfied about the pain he's caused.
"She abandoned us. She and your wretch of a mother. When the Lone Islands were attacked by Miraz, the Emperor was killed and the rest of you fled. She tried to come back and fix things but the slave traders and pirates had already overrun us, she came back for nothing and would leave without a second thought, just like she did all those years ago so I-"
"That's enough!" Caspian shouts, swiftly putting an end to the man's rant.
"Why would you want to kill Althea then? She was just a child." Edmund says, defending me.
"To end the filthy bloodline." He spats angrily. "You're no Queen."
"And Caspian? What's your justification for trying to kill him?" It takes all my willpower to push down the shock and grief of learning about the fate of my aunt so I let the burning consume me. I let it drive me. My clenched fists vibrate with fury and I let them. He grins wider at my very visible emotions.
"You're all too trusting for you're own good." He zones in on Caspian as he speaks. "You can't even imagine any of your loyal subjects holding a grudge and it was obvious. Killing the king of Narnia never seemed so-"
His sentence is abruptly cut short by my fist connecting with the side of his face. A few of my knuckles pop loudly and it hurts but not as much as I'm sure it hurt him. He spits out a bit of blood from bleeding in his mouth and rolls his head back to scrutinize me. His lip is split and there are defined imprints from my knuckles on his cheek. It's deadly silent except for the stirring of water and the natural creak of the boat.
Everyone is too stunned to say anything as I shake my hand to relieve some of the pain sprouting in my fingers and wrist. Drinian and the guards are visibly shocked but I don't look at Caspian, afraid all I'll see is disapproval for my actions.
"Queens aren't supposed to punch people, your grace," Ivan says mockingly.
"Yes, I am a queen. As much your queen as Caspian is your king." My voice is low but confident.
"I think we're done here," Caspian says.
"Lock him back up." Drinian commands and the guards jump into action, expressions of shock still plastered on their faces as they do what they're told.
"They won't bow to you," Ivan shouts one last time, the cell door creaking shut.
"They already have," Caspian says.
I head straight for the top deck, not worrying about the stares and such I'll get from the crew. I need fresh air before the thoughts of my aunt suffocate me. Edmund and Drinian broke away at some point, but Caspian stays glued to my side, his hand resting on the small of my back. There's nobody at the front of the ship, so that's where he leads me.
"Are you alright?" He asks, his hand migrating to the back of my neck as I lean forward on the railing so that the ocean is the only thing I see.
"Yes... It was just scarier than I thought it was going to be."
"You did great. I must admit I didn't expect you to take over like that." He says with a lazy grin pulling at his lips.
"I didn't mean to. I was going to leave it to you but I realized we had to coax him into bragging to get anything out of him. Then he mentioned my aunt and I lost it. I didn't plan on punching him. I realize now it wasn't a very 'queenly' thing to do." I say, absentmindedly rubbing my still throbbing knuckles. Faint purple bruises have already started to flower over them.
"I do many things that would not be considered 'kingly' so you have nothing to worry about. It was a very memorable way to start your reign. The men will be gossiping about it by nightfall, trust me." He chuckles lightly and takes my bruised hand in his, gently examining the damage.
I sigh. "The last thing I want is for people to fear me."
"They won't fear you for showing passion. Besides, it was in defense of me, which might I add, was very... Thrilling."
I raise my eyebrows at him. "Thrilling?"
He leans in, a wickedly mischievous expression decorating his dark features. He refuses to explain anymore, making me roll my eyes. I grab a handful of his shirt and pull him the rest of the way. He meets my mouth eagerly but I cut the kiss short, remembering that we're on a ship full of men who are only a few feet away from us.
"That's it?" He asks disappointedly.
"For now."
~~~
Thank you for reading!! I personally loved this chapter so I hope you guys did too.
Don't forget to vote, comment suggestions, and follow for future updates and fanfics!
Love you all and stay safe <3