I stayed in my room until around noon, when my stomach started to rumble.
I was hungry, not surprisingly. My appetite for breakfast had disappeared, but returned after I finally calmed down.
Caspian had put me back to bed, the tears making it hard to breath, the loss of air making it hard to stay awake.
I slowly got ready, pulling on a fresh outfit - tight leather black pants and a white blouse, cinched at the waist by a thick black belt.
As I made my bed, I could see tear stains on my pillow. I felt horrible - though I was hungry I felt nauseous, and I was drained from crying so much.
I slipped on my simple boots, lacing them up with subconscious skill.
I left my room, casting a longing glance at the torch one last time before entering the upper deck.
The crew immediately stopped what they were doing and watched me.
Everyone waited to see what I would do, perhaps cry more? Fling myself off the ship? Yell and stomp with anger? Freeze everything in sight?
I did none of those, instead, held my head high and walked to the bow, leaning on the wooden rail and breathing in the sea air.
I had grown to love the scent of saltwater. It was refreshing and always gave me some sort of calm feeling.
I could hear the crew mumbling and shuffling back to work.
Good, I thought, they don't need to worry about me. I'll be okay.
I breathed in the sea air and felt my lungs relax, my skin soaking in the afternoon sun as I leaned over the sturdy ship's rails, my hair blowing in the cool breeze.
"Hello there, Y/N." Reepicheep hopped upon the rail and walked towards me with grace. He held an apple with his tail, a great show of strength, seeing the apple was almost as big as him. He launched the apple at me I caught it, my reflexes still sharp.
"Hi, Reep."
"Are you doing alright?" He asked me.
I shrugged and took a bite out of the red fruit. "No. But I'll get past this."
Reepicheep crossed his arms and sent me a dazzling smile. "Perhaps King Edmund's torch shutting off...perhaps it was a sign of good, not bad. Don't be so quick to have pessimism, my queen."
I sighed. "Maybe you're right, Reep. Maybe..."
I trailed off and we watched the ocean waves tumble about, the scenery vast and seemingly endless. There was nothing but blue waves for miles and miles.
"Man overboard!"
A cry from multiple crew members shocked Reep and I, causing us to jump into action. A crowd of crew were gathered on the left port side, looking over the edge. A few of them had cast ropes into the dark water, chaotic shouts filling my ears.
"Three! Three of them!"
"Hoist 'em up, lads!"
"Get the captain!"
"Pull, boys, pull!"
I backed up, knowing my crew could handle whoever was overboard. I didn't want to get in the way, but I wanted to help. I quickly ran towards where Caspian stood, climbing up the steep steps to the upper level.
"Cas!" I yelled for him, "there's...people, overboard! All the way out here..."
Caspian nodded and greeted me with a hug. "Y/N, you're awake!"
I hugged him back, but gently pushed him away, focused on the three swimming strangers. "The crew is bringing them up. Should I...be ready?"
I asked this question, wanting to know if I should be prepared to use my ice powers on the strangers.
Caspian shook his head. "Y/N, I want you to stay here. You're in a...fragile state, let me handle this."
He quickly jogged to the side of the ship where the dozens of crew members were helping the stranger come aboard. Disobeying my brother, I followed him to the crowd of crew and pushed my way through, wanting to be the first to defend them if these creature, or people, were dangerous.
I first caught sight of a scared looking boy around my age, maybe younger. He was blonde and had thick eyebrows, his mouth turned down in a mix of a scowl and frown. Some of the crew members were trying to help him, but he was clumsy and pushed them away. The skittish boy caught sight of me and threw himself at me, grabbing me by the waist and neck, so he was holding me in a chokehold.
"You- You don't want me hurt- hurting this- this girl, right? LEAVE ME ALONE!" The boy screamed, his threat empty and non threatening.
Big mistake, boy, I thought.
Effortlessly, I grabbed his shoulder and arm and heaved him over me, so he flipped and landed on his back, hitting the ship with a thud. He shrieked, but I ignored him. I placed on of my feet on his chest, holding him down.
"Let him go!"
"Gosh, he's an idiot."
I heard two voices exclaim at the same time.
They were both quite familiar, but it felt...to good to be true.
A tall, dark haired figure pushed through the crew towards me, shouting as he walked.
"Alright, Luce is right, let him go-"
He laid eyes on me, and stopped speaking, his mouth hanging open in shock. I mirrored his expression.
Edmund stood in front of me, taller and more muscular than I remember. His hair was slick and dripping with water, just like the rest of his soaked clothes.
I couldn't contain myself.
I ran towards him, just as he stepped towards me, our arms outstretched, the biggest grins on our faces. As we met each other, I jumped a bit, right into his arms. The second we embraced, I could feel a joy I hadn't felt in three years.
In that moment, the ship and the crew disappeared, and it was just Edmund and I, back together again.
I kissed him, and he kissed me back. I could almost explode with happiness, butterflies filling my stomach and giggles leaving my mouth. He smiled, and I could feel it.
"Gosh, I missed you," I breathed, our faces inches apart.
"I missed you too, Y/N." Edmund held my face and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Okay, okay, that's enough, you two-" Caspian's over-protective-brother tone was prominent. Edmund and I stayed close, but I did pull away long enough to see my long lost friend.
"Lucy!"
"Y/N!"
We hugged so tightly I thought my lungs would burst. Then, it was sort of a reunion, between Edmund, Lucy, Caspian, Reepicheep, and I. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined by the skittish boy.
"What in the bloody world is happening?" He was shrieking again, yelling at everyone. The crew was laughing, not jeering, mind you. Nevertheless, they were laughing at the boy, at his reaction to normal things such as a Minotaur and a talking mouse...
"I'll handle this. You four catch up," Reepicheep exclaimed, dashing over to the boy.
"By Aslan, its good to see you two," Caspian was saying. He grinned at me, happy to see me smile again. "Let's meet in the captain's bunk, my quarters - but Edmund, Lucy, you should change first."
"Of course," Edmund replied. He slyly put his hand on the small of my back, pulling me closer. "Y/N can help us with that, hm?"
Caspian eyed him warily, but nodded. "Alright, just...be mature." He sauntered away, towards the odd scared boy Reep was taking care of.
I lead the two siblings down to my quarters, finding an outfit for Edmund (borrowed from Caspian's room) and an outfit for Lucy (borrowed from me). Lucy smirked at Edmund and I before grandly exiting, telling us to not take too long.
For a few moments, we just stared at each other, holding onto each other's hands.
"You've gotten taller," I told him.
He smiled. "You're just as beautiful as I remember."
I blushed and he hugged me again. Then, he noticed his torch resting on a table.
"Ah, I see you still have it," he winked at me, and I smiled. It was good to have him back.
He grabbed the torch off the table and threw it in the air, skillfully catching it. Then, he clicked it on, the light beaming brightly.
Suddenly I was puzzled. I grabbed it from him, and held the torch in wonder. It hadn't turned on just this morning...
Then I realized it wasn't just a gift from Edmund - the torch was a gift from Aslan. It really was my hope wrapped up in a device.
It had turned off because I had stopped believing the promise Aslan told me. Now, it was back because I had Edmund back - my hope was restored, as was my faith in Aslan.
I was pulled away from my thoughts when Edmund pulled me back towards him and kissed me once more.
"I told you I'd see you soon."
I'm baaaaaack!
So, I decided to call this book The Trials We Face because this time Edmund and Y/N will be tested through their relationship, more than the first book. I don't know this movie as well as the last movie, but I'll try to write this story as close to the Dawn Treader movie as much as I can.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the firsts chapter...
See ya next time :)
~Wini
PS: is Reepicheep a mouse or a rat? I'm not actually sure. Whoops.