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After a quick conversation with Edmund and an exchange of swords, Caspian found himself stood upon the top deck, staring down at all of the crew, the ones that he wouldn't be here without, and he couldn't be more grateful.
"No matter what happens here, every soul who stands before me has earned their place on the crew of the Dawn Treader. Together we have traveled far. Together we have faced adversity. Together we can do it again. So now is not the time to fall to fears temptations. Be strong, never give in. Our world, our Narnian lives depend on it. Think of the lost souls we're here to save. Think of Aslan. Think of Narnia."
Estelle was flustered just listening to his voice, he was a strong and loyal leader, he was a brave and kind soul, he was perfect. His kingmanship seemed effortless, as if second nature to the man, and it made her heart race.
"For Narnia!" The combined voices of the ship made it rumble under its supports, as always, the Narnian hope overpowered all evil that they would face.
The green mist was all that could be seen around the island, it permeated their senses and clogged their thought process, every negative thought or feeling rushing to the forefront of their minds. Before Estelle, the fog manipulated itself into a figure, one that she hadn't seen in 12 years.
Orion Amore.
"Father?" She spoke carefully, after her last experience with her parents, she didn't know what to expect. However, instead of shouting insults and degradation, his words were gentle, and soft.
"Estelle my dear, you know you can't do this. You've already lost everything, why risk losing it again? All of your friends, Caspian, they will be ripped away from you once more. Here, come with me, I will make it all go away, sweetheart."
This place. This sick and twisted place. How morbid do you need to be to bring back someone's lost loved one? To resurface years of healing and grief? Only for them to be nothing more than a thick fog. It made her stomach burn.
Tears pricked at her eyes. She knew that this was not her father, yet the fact that these words were falling from his mouth made it feel as though her childhood self was clawing its way out of her stomach, desperate for the love and attention she was deprived from.
"You're not my dad." Estelle stated flatly.
"Well of course I am, I died for you darling, I know what's best for you, join me. Repay me."
She couldn't take it anymore, she drew her dagger and sliced it through the air. The mist-dad gasped and screamed out for her, the shrieks were full of horror and fear, as if he was actually dying. Again.
The haunting screams echoed throughout her mind, as a constant reminder of what she did, she killed her father. It seemed as though Estelle wasn't the only one struggling, Edmund was opposite her shouting bloody murder, Caspian was beside her, shut away in his thoughts as if contemplating his own existence, and Rhince's face was littered with grief as he spoke the name of his missing wife, Helaine.
It was terrifying, nobody knew what the other saw and yet there was a mutual understanding that this place was torturing them. The darkness enveloped them like a heavy duvet, making their lungs weigh 100lbs and absorbing all light within their souls, it was like a lullaby, humming them to an eternal and painful slumber. One from which they would never awake.
"Keep away!" a deep bellowing voice spoke. It shook Estelle's bones like a xylophone.
"Who's there?" Edmund yelled back.
"We do not fear you!" Caspian added. The adrenaline built and built, like a rollercoaster before the big drop, who was this voice?
Edmund fumbled for his electric torch and allowed the light to clear the path for an answer. The bright white met the face of a disheveled old man wielding a sword about as though it weighed nothing. His eyes were vacant and mournful, as if his body was acting purely on primitive, survival instinct rather than rational thoughts.
"Keep away!" He boomed once more.
"We will not leave." Cas tried to reason.
"You will not defeat me!" The voice threatened, the blade now waving frantically through the air, like it was trying to slice the minuscule oxygen particles. It looked oddly familiar to Estelle.
"Caspian, his sword!" She shouted over to him, wondering if he could place where they'd seen it before.
"Lord Rhoop!"
"You do not own me!" The Lord said. The poor man, nobody deserved to be the prey of insanity, especially in a place like this.
"Stand down! Let's get him on board, quickly."
Dragon-Eustace swooped down and collected the last Lord, placing him atop the deck as gently as a fiery beast can muster.
"Off me, demon!" He growled to the crew, spinning in circles with his blade drawn.
"No, my Lord. We are not here to hurt you. I am your King, Caspian."
The words seemed to trigger a memory within the mind of the lost soul, one of his beloved king and his family, a slither of sanity creeping back in.
"Caspian? You should not have come, there is no way out of here. Quickly, turn this ship about before it's too late!"
"We have the sword, let's go!" Edmund rushed his older friend.
"Turn her about, Drinian." said Caspian.
"Do not think. Do not let it know your fears, or it will become them." The fragile Rhoop warned the crew.
Estelle watched as her best friends face fell, guilt laced his features and twisted his expression into one of remorse, a quiet 'oh no' escaping his lips.
"Edmund, what did you just think of?" Lucy asked as if she was a parent that caught their child misbehaving.
"Oh, Im so sorry." He spoke, not directly answering the query.
As if on cue, a large serpent-like being dipped from above the water, it was almost triple the size of Eustace and he was a big dragon. The whole ship tilted to one side as the beast grew closer, throwing all of its crew members to the ground with the power of an earthquake. Caspian regained his balance and rushed to pull Estelle to her feet, mentally checking her over for any form of injury. After a shared look of pure panic, the two bolted towards the edge of the boat, searching the waters for any identification of the creature.
"Look, what is that?" the Navigator questioned, mainly to himself.
"It's too late! It's too late!" Rhoop thundered, any sign of sanity became lost once again in the curse of the island. Estelle wracked her brain for answers, that's when it clicked, she faced Edmund with a raised brow and a look that said 'really? a sea serpent?'. The boy shrugged at her with 'i'm guilty' plastered all over his face. She rolled her eyes subtly and made a mental note that she would bicker with him about this later.
"It's gone under the boat!" Drinian wailed.
Reepicheep and Eustace flew towards the scene, hesitance present in the latter's eyes. A gust of orange was expelled from Eustace's throat, the heat causing the serpent to seize up and snap its jaw on the dragon, swinging him around like a ragdoll. Reep dove onto the head of the creature, wedging his mouse-sized blade into its skull repeatedly whilst muttering 'take that' 'and that' 'and that' with each thrust.
The sea beast had enough of tossing Eustace like a toy and threw him into a rock, with the prediction that he would not survive much longer. Lord Rhoop has fully lost it, Estelle thought as the man launched the seventh sword into the dragon-boy's side, clearly misunderstanding the real threat.
"Out, Creature!" He cried. With a hysteric flap of wings, Eustace fled the scene.
"No! The sword!" Caspian yelled in desperation, praying that shouting loud enough would beckon the sword to come back to him like a boomerang.
"We're all doomed! Doomed!" Rhoop chanted, sprinting across the deck to steer the ship himself. Yep he's definitely lost it.
"Turn this ship about!" He demanded whilst shoving Captain Drinian out of his path.
"Someone stop him!"
With one swift motion, Drinian knocked all consciousness from the Lord as he fell into the arms of a crew member.
"Ed! Ed! We'll ram the serpent! Smash him on the rocks!" Estelle heard Caspian shout. In seconds, Edmund had climbed his way into the mouth of the dragon statue that sat on the front of the ship, taunting the beast with his electric torch. Maybe it was a good purchase after all.
"Try and kill me. Come on. I'm here."
Just moments before the serpent hit the rock, it's gnarly mouth tore away at the dragon in which Edmund perched, using its razor sharp teeth to attempt to grab the boy.
"No!" Lucy screamed.
"Edmund!" Estelle yelled, if she were any louder, her lungs would surely give out. A cry to brace themselves penetrated all ears on deck as time seemed to slow.
The serpent was crushed against the boulder and let out a war cry...... no, screech. Estelle lost the battle against gravity and flew to the ground at an alarming speed, her body falling limp as she was tossed across the deck floor like a corpse. The debris scraped her paper-like skin, leaving cuts and bruises around like litter. She could almost cope with the pain until a stray piece of wood was thrust through her right side, making itself at home with her organs.
"Shit. No, no, no, no." She spoke to herself whilst her hands frantically glued themselves to the area, begging it to stop oozing ruby red. She had little clue what was happening around her, all her attention was on not bleeding out mid-fight. Breaths became shaky and the world was spinning.
The adrenaline in her veins was just about enough to allow her to sit up against the wall, albeit short-lived as the beast rocked the ship again, throwing her away from her position. Her eyes fluttered open and closed, she could make out that the serpent had seemingly split open its own torso and sprouted tiny legs, with which it used to slam its body onto the deck with great force.
The next thing she recalled seeing was Edmund, now high upon the mast, raising his sword which was now glowing aluminous blue, although she failed to witness his following action as her view became shielded by the blanket of her eyelids.
The spell had been lifted. How? Caspian had no idea. But they had fought and they had won. Lucy had darted off almost immediately to collect Gael from her hiding spot, and Edmund was receiving praise from Drinian for his intuitive thinking that had saved them.
Although, Caspian's ears weren't paying attention, instead they were searching for any sign of Stella. He knew he couldn't see her anywhere and it made his heart thump. After a long and exhausting battle, all he'd wanted was to embrace the girl he loved.
He loved her. He loved her. He loved her.
But now there was no trace of her even being on board. That was until his ears perked up at the sound of quiet whimpering, the source of the noise was located behind a small crate at the side of the ship.
"Ed. Listen." He tore his friends attention away from the Captain and pulled him by arm in the general direction of the scattered breathing. There she was. Bloody and bruised. The sight was traumatising, her arms lay limp on her abdomen and her brows sat furrowed.
"Stella." He called as he collapsed to the ground, pulling the fragile body into his arms, Edmund dove to his knees beside her.
"No, no no Estelle? Stella?." Cas rambled.
"Edmund, find Lucy." He urged the Just.
"But-" He tried to argue, he didn't want to leave her side incase anything happened, he couldn't leave her.
"Ed Now!"
With that, he sprinted off, leaving Caspian to cradle the girl who's breathing became shallower and shallower by the minute.
His gaze fell upon the deep crimson leaking from her wound, his hands instinctively applying pressure, although it's benefit was long lost by now. His white tunic now red, the blue seemed to reappear slightly from behind her lids, glossy and pained.
"Stella, you're going to be okay, everything's okay now." He reassured, although the panic lacing his tone instantly gave away his doubts.
"Did we win?." She croaked out through a scratchy throat.
"Yes. Yes we won." Caspian didn't notice he was crying until he tried to force a light laugh, and all that escaped was a sob.
"Good." Estelle whispered, her eyes twitching once more.
"No no no, Lucy!" He called, she had to come soon, she had to.
"How would you like to celebrate, princess?." were the next words that she heard.
He's distracting me. Why is he distracting me? I thought he said I was going to be okay? Am I really dying? Im going to die.
"I'd like a party."
"Of course, a party it is. It will be magnificent, with lots of food and dancing and beautiful decorations." Caspian couldn't stop the flow of words, yet the more he spoke, the more she felt safe to let go, his voice was like an extravagant music box, pulling her into a comforting slumber with its melodic tune. A ghost of a smile graced her lips in return, the ability to speak full sentences diminishing by the second.
"I can't wait-"
"-Cas?"
"Hm?"
"I'm tired."
"I know, princess, but just a little longer, Lucy is on her way."
"Okay." her voice was barely audible now.
Various members of crew had begun crowding around the wounded girl, many with eyes to the ground in mourning before she was even gone. Her chest was barely rising and Lucy was still nowhere to be seen. He had to say goodbye now or else he may never get the chance.
"I love you, Stella."
"You do?"
"I always have, and I always will-"
"-please don't leave me, please stay a little while longer."
"I love you too, Caspian, even after the last breath."
"No, no, no, no please."
He could see that the weight of her eyes were growing too heavy, they slipped closed, with the only sign of life being the short gusts of air that were pushing from her lungs.
Estelle couldn't hold on any longer, she finally allowed herself to succumb to the constellations that clouded her vision. Before the final trace of life escaped her body, she thought I cannot wait for my party.
"Caspian!" Edmund's voice cut through the quiet like a knife, he'd returned with his sister, cordial in hand.
"Lucy! Hurry!" The Navigator urged his young friend. Edmund was a nervous wreck, he immediately dropped beside his best friend and cried all the things that he wished he'd said before, broken that he'd been denied a proper farewell.
Lucy knelt at Estelle's head and tipped a larger-than-usual drop of healing cordial into her barely open mouth, hoping that the excess liquid could cure the brink of death.
Everyone held their breath, hoping to hear that of Estelle's instead, except after one last gentle breeze past her lips, she remained still.
The tears from the crew members were likely enough to flood the ship and wreck it once more.
Estelle was a loyal friend, a fierce fighter, a breath of fresh air from polluted green mists and traitor uncles, she was someone who gave her everything to the world, only for the world to break her time and time again. And this time. The world had won.
All heads were bowed in respect to their fallen friend. Caspian thought he couldn't breath, that was until a deep inhalation from beneath him, restored his ability.
It took him a second to realise that it was not his own.
Blue met brown, like mountains meeting a serene lake under clear skies.
Her hands gracefully made their way to his cheeks and her lips fell upon his own, as if they were telling him of all the unsaid feelings they held. It only took a nanosecond of surprise for him to kiss back, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.
It wasn't exactly how Caspian had imagined his first kiss with Estelle going, but it was perfect nonetheless.
Fireworks erupted in his stomach. Their lips fit together like they were carved specifically for one another, moving in perfect synchrony like a dance that only they knew.
He held onto Estelle like she was his lifeline, like if he let go, she'd slip through his fingers once again. Their lips parted slowly and their foreheads met.
"You still owe me a party." were the first words that she spoke with her new life.
A ripple of laughter flew throughout the deck, with everyone feeling their hearts mend slightly just by her presence alone. Caspian cracked the biggest, stupidest smile, and it was the most genuine one that he'd ever made.
Her body whipped around so fast that he was surprised at the lack of motion sickness. Edmunds frame tackled her own in a hug, throwing both of them to the ground with the momentum, a fit of laughter enveloping the friends, lifting the souls of all that bare witness to the musical masterpiece.
"Don't ever do that again."
"I'll try, Ed."
"Caspian. Look, Narnian's!"
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word count: 2949
A/N
It happened!!!
sorry about that :)
it was probably quite predictable that she came back but ah well i thought it was a cute way for them to confess to each other lol.
of course Estelle made such a dramatic entrance, i bet she was playing dead just so she could shock everyone.
we're almost at the end and omg i'm so excited, i've been writing all day so i can finally put the book on complete for you!