"Ed," a voice whispered making Edmund scrunch up his nose in annoyance before he curled more into himself, his eyes squeezed shut as he willed himself to fall back asleep.
He was hoping that whoever had said his name would see that he was sleeping and leave him alone, but they must've thought the opposite because Edmund was suddenly being shaken as someone said, "Ed, wake up."
Edmund let out a small groan and opened his eyes to see Caspian standing above him with a worried look on his face. Caspian glanced down and saw that Edmund had woken up before standing up and saying, "Wake up, look."
The boy gave the king a confused look, but reluctantly pulled himself up onto his feet before looking to where Caspian was pointing. To his surprise, there was a trail of huge footprints all around the sand around them. Who had made them? Edmund had no clue and neither did Caspian apparently.
Edmund bit his lip nervously before going to look at Lucy and make sure his sister was okay. He felt his blood run cold once he realized the blanket Lucy had been sleeping on was empty, footprints all around the blanket.
"Where's Lucy?" Edmund asked worridly, his eyes wide as he turned to Caspian. However, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of Caspian kneeling by Rosemary's empty blanket, the blanket being all rumpled in a pile as if it had fallen on the ground. He locked eyes with Caspian and gave him a panicked look before saying, "Where's Rosemary?"
"Lucy? Rosemary? Lucy! Rosemary!" Edmund called out as he looked around frantically. His shouts were enough to make the rest of the camp wake up and they all groaned once they heard the yelling coming from the boy.
"Everybody up!" Caspian demanded once he saw that the others were starting to wake.
"Get up. Get up, I said!" Drinian exclaimed making everyone grumpily get up from their beds. However, once they saw that Edmund's desperate cries were over the fact that Lucy and Rosemary were missing, they were all quick to change their attitudes.
Edmund didn't hesitate to run and grab his armor and a sword, Caspian noticing what he was doing and doing the same. "This way!" Caspian yelled before him, Edmund, and the rest of the camp hurried off into the woods, leaving a sleeping Eustace behind.
Edmund gulped slightly as he caught up to Caspian, running alongside the man. Caspian glanced over at his friend and reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find them. They're going to be okay," Caspian assured him while Edmund took in a deep breath and nodded his head.
Boy, did he hope Caspian was right.
- - -
"Splitting up is a bad idea," Lucy whispered as she looked to Rosemary nervously. "Those things out there said-"
"Those things out there kidnaped us. I think they are willing to say anything at this moment," Rosemary pointed out. "Besides, it'll be okay. I'll just be down the hall looking through those rooms while you look through the ones right here. If anything happens, all you have to do is give me a holler and I'll be there in no time. Besides, you know how to defend yourself, right? After the countless training sessions with me and Peter, you must still remember something."
Lucy nodded and Rosemary gave her a small smile. "See? Everything will be just fine. You know how to defend yourself if it's truly necessary," Rosemary said.
Lucy was hesitant as she let her eyes flicker over Rosemary's face and for a second Rosemary began to crack under pressure, ready to stick by the young girl's side. For the look Lucy gave her reminded Rosemary of the young girl who had first discovered Narnia all those years ago and Rosemary felt a sudden wave of protectiveness wash over her.
But then Lucy was nodding and Rosemary let out a small sigh of relief once. She believed in Lucy so much, so Rosemary wasn't really worried about her and what she was capable of.
"It'll just be for a few minutes," Rosemary assured her and Lucy nervously bit her lip before nodding. Rosemary reached out and quickly grabbed Lucy's hand before giving it a soft squeeze. That was enough to make a small smile appear on Lucy's face as she squeezed her hand back.
The two then let go of each other's hands before breaking off to their separate sections to check the rooms for the book they were kidnapped to find. Rosemary had looked through all of the rooms at the end of one hall by the time a few minutes had passed and it was only when she realized that she hadn't heard from Lucy in a while that the girl began to make her way towards the rooms Lucy was in charge in.
All she wanted to do was make sure the girl was okay, but for some reason she felt as if something were wrong. It was when she heard a loud roar in the air that Rosemary felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, her whole being feeling off as her protector instincts rang like an alarm in her head.
"Lucy!" Rosemary whispered yelled before she began bolting towards the room the roar had come from. She threw the door open, her sword raised in the air and a wild look in her eye. However, she was only met with Lucy staring at her wide eyed in an empty library.
"Lucy," Rosemary breathed out as she let the sword drop to her side. "I thought I-" She paused as she looked at Lucy, the young girl tilting her head at her curiously. "You know what, nevermind," Rosemary sighed as she returned her sword to its sheath. "Have you found the book yet?"
"Yes, actually," Lucy said as she pointed towards a book that was lying on a stand. Rosemary let out a sigh of relief and took a few quick strides across the room before stopping in front of the book, her eyes scanning over the old pages and failing to notice Lucy stuffing a book page into her bag.
Lucy was by the girl's side in a second and Rosemary smiled softly as she stared at the old book, her fingers dancing across the page it was opened to as the smell of old books filled the air.
"A spell to make the unseen seen," Rosemary read before looking to Lucy with a bright smile. "You've already found the page? Nice work, Lu."
"Oh, um. . .thanks," Lucy smiled, although Rosemary could tell it was forced. Why that was? She had no clue. Lucy cleared her throat and was quick to look away from Rosemary before taking a step closer to the book.
Rosemary could tell the young girl was hiding something, but didn't question it as she stepped aside to allow Lucy to read the spell. She placed a hand on the girl of her sword, read to attack at any minute and looked around to make sure no one was watching them before nodding at Lucy to begin.
"Like the 'p' in psychology, the 'h' in psychiatry, invisible ink and the truth in theology-"
- - -
"Caspian," Edmund called out, causing the boy to stop his searching and turn to his friend. Caspian followed Edmund's line of sight to the small object lying on the ground and was quick to pick it up before the two locked eyes. "Lucy's dagger," Edmund breathed out.
However, the words had barely even left his mouth before something hit the ground beside him. Edmund jumped in surprise and turned to see a spear sticking out of the ground. "What-?" Edmund began, but he was cut off by more spears being thrown at them, their targets being the ground around them.
"Stop right there or perish!" a voice exclaimed, but to their surprise, there was no one to be seen. For a moment Edmund thought that the voice might have belonged to someone hiding out of sight, but it sounded like the person was right next to him which made him confused.
What kind of island had they landed on?
- - -
"The spell is complete. Now all is visible," Lucy finished reading before she looked up. Her eyes locked with Rosemary and the two looked around before looking back at each other.
"Did it work?" Rosemary questioned. Lucy went to respond, but fell quiet as soon as she caught sight of something. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped making Rosemary look at her confused. "Lucy, what-?"
"Turn around," Lucy whispered and Rosemary furrowed her eyebrows before doing as the girl instructed, her eyes widening at the sight of one of the library ladders moving across the library as a floating book seemed to descend the ladder.
Rosemary blinked once and she was able to make out what seemed to be a figure of a man. Before she knew it, the figure was completely visible and Rosemary tensed once she realized the man had to be the Oppressor.
The man began to turn their way and Rosemary was quick to stand in front of Lucy protectively before drawing her sword, the tip of her blade only inches from the man.
The man then glanced up and his eyes locked with them and, upon realizing that they could see him, he was quick to stop. His eyes flickered over the two before he looked at the sword in Rosemary's hand. He glanced back up at Rosemary and raised an eyebrow.
Rosemary hesitated, her eyebrows furrowed together before she slowly began to lower her sword. Lucy gave her a questioning look, but didn't say anything as she watched the brunette put her sword back into its sheath. Then, before Lucy could even blink, Rosemary was sending the man a small smile and saying, "Hello."
Lucy groaned inwardly and leaned her head against Rosemary's shoulder. They were doomed.
- - -
"What sort of creatures are you?" Caspian asked, now both curious and frightened as he looked around him confused. It hadn't taken the group long to figure out that whatever had attacked them was invisible after they had been disarmed within seconds, but they could not for the life of them figure out just what the creature was.
"Big ones. . . with the head of a tiger and the body of a. . ."
"Different tiger."
A chorus of agreement filled the air and Edmund furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he stood beside Caspian. Why was he suddenly feeling a lot less scared now?
"You don't want to mess with us."
"Or what?" Edmundo asked, swallowing thickly as he began to wonder if these creatures were the ones that had taken Rosemary and Lucy.
"Or I'll claw you to death!" a voice said and before Edmund could process what was happening, the invisible creature in front of him became visible before his very eyes.
To his surprise, the 'big ones' were actually just small men with one giant foot instead of legs. The only reason they seemed to be tall was because one was holding another up as they spoke.
"And I'll ram my tusks right through you," another voice said before it too turned into two of the little men with the giant foot.
"And I'll gnash you with my teeth."
"And I'll bite you with my fangs. Grrr!"
Edmund raised an eyebrow in amusement as the rest of the voices turned into the creatures. They obviously hadn't realized they were visible yet and it took all in Edmund not to laugh.
"You mean squash us with your fat bellies?" Edmund questioned with a small snicker while Caspian glanced at his friend in amusement.
"Yes!" one of them exclaimed before they all seemed to realize what Edmund had said. Their eyebrows furrowed in confusion and they looked down at their stomachs before whispering, "Fat bellies?"
"Tickle us with your toes?" Caspian mused and the shock that they could now be seen had the creatures dropping each other onto the floor.
Drinian grabbed one of the fallen swords and was quick to hold a sword to the back of one of the creature's heads while Edmund walked over and asked with clenched fists, "What have you done with my sister and the protector of Narnia, you little pip-squeak?" He then held a sword up to the creature's throat and flared at him while the dwarf man gulped.
"Now, calm down," the dwarf man tried to say, but Edmund only took a step forward.
"Where are they?" Edmund asked angrily, his voice getting darker and his glare even sharper and more threatening.
"You better tell him."
"Go on, Chief, tell him."
"In the mansion," the creature sighed and Edmund gave him a confused and irritated look.
"What mansion?" Edmund asked before a light flashed in his eyes and a sound filled his ears. The boy glanced to his side and an amused look replaced his threatening scowl before he said, "Oh. That mansion."
"You know," a voice announced in annoyance causing the group to turn around to see Eustace angrily storming into the clearing. "I'm really getting tired of you all leaving me behind. I mean, even Rosemary did which is surpri-"
Eustace fell quiet once he aight sight of the huge house that was slowly becoming visible to his eyes before he noticed the little men with big feet.
"It's the pig!"
"The pig has come back."
Eustace's eyes widened in surprise before he shook his head and mumbled, "This place just gets weirder and weirder."
"Weird?"
"Him calling us weird?"
Eustace rolled his eyes and glanced over the group before frowning. "Where's Rosemary?" he questioned before his frown grew even more. "Where's Lucy?"
"The Oppressor!"
"The Oppressor!"
No one had time to answer Eustace's questions because the creatures were freaking out and hopping around as they stared behind them. Edmund and Caspian were quick to turn around while Eustace craned his neck to see, all three letting out sighs of relief at the sight of Lucy and Rosemary walking towards them with a man by their side.
"Lucy. Rosemary," Edmund whispered before putting his sword away and going over to the two. He was quick to pull his sister in for a hug before releasing her to hug Rosemary, the girl wrapping her arms around Edmund almost instantly and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek in greeting.
Edmund smiled softly and felt his shoulders relax at finally having the girl back in his arms once again. He then seemed to notice that the newcomer was staring at him and Edmund gave the man a curious look as he pulled away from Rosemary, his hand instantly latching onto Rosemary's as he pulled the girl to his side.
"Your Majesty," the man said as he looked between Caspian and Edmund and bowed. Rosemary couldn't tell whether he was bowing to Edmund or Caspian, but she didn't bring it up knowing that either one would be slightly upset if they knew it was the other.
"Caspian and Edmund. This is Coriakin. It's his island," Lucy explained before the two boys bowed to Coriakin.
"That's what he thinks. You have wronged us, magician," a family voice piped up and Rosemary furrowed her eyebrows before turning to see a small man with a giant foot for a leg standing behind them. She had to hide her grin in Edmund's arm once she realized those were the creatures that had kidnapped her and Lucy. They were feisty little ones, weren't they?
"I have not wronged you," Coriakin insisted as he began to walk forward. With each step he took, the creatures were quick to hop back. "I made you invisible for your own protection."
"Protection?"
"That's oppressive!"
"Oppressor!"
"I have not oppressed you," Coriakin sighed, obviously tired and stressed out from the little creatures. Rosemary chuckled and followed behind the man with Edmund and Lucy.
"But you could've, if you'd wanted to!"
"Be gone," Coriakin said before throwing some kind of dust in their direction.
The creatures all shrieked and began to run away yelling, "It's a spell!"
"What was that?" Lucy questioned as she looked to Coriakin in concern.
"Lint. But don't tell them," Coriakin said with a wink.
"What were those things?" Eustace asked and Rosemary couldn't help but smile at the sight of the boy. Eustace locked eyes with her and gave her a small smile, obviously relieved to see she was okay.
"Dufflepuds," Coriakin explained as if it were obvious.
"Right, of course. Silly me," Eustace muttered making Rosemary chuckle. She reached out and ruffled the boy's hair earning a small glare from him as he quickly fixed his hair. Although, Rosemary couldn't help but notice the small smile peaking its way into Eustace's face.
Edmund smiled lovingly at Rosemary, so grateful to have met someone who was able to put up with his cousin. Not to mention that Eustace seemed to like her back.
"Edmund! Rosemary! Eustace!" Lucy called out and the three quickly turned to see that the girl was already walking back to the house with Coriakin, Caspian, and the rest of the group.
"Let's go," Edmund said before he gently tugged on Rosemary's arm, the two beginning to walk after the group with Eustace right behind them.
They managed to catch up with Lucy, Caspian and Coriakin by the time they were walking into the house and it was only then that Rosemary voiced the question she had thought of as soon as she saw Coriakin talk to the dufflepuds.
"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" Rosemary asked, her eyes flickering over to Coriakin curiously.
"It seemed the easiest way to protect them. . .from the evil," Coriakin explained.
Edmund and Rosemary shared a look before the boy questioned, "You mean the mist?"
Coriakin froze in the doorway to the library before looking back at the kings and queens. "I mean what lies behind the mist," he told them, his words making them all look to each other confused before walking into the library.
Coriakin walked off for a minute to retrieve something and that was when Edmund decided to turn to Rosemary, his eyes flickering over her in concern as he whispered, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she assured him with a small smile. "Little tired since my sleep was disrupted, but fine nonetheless."
Edmund chuckled softly and leaned in to press a soft kiss to the girl's forehead, Rosemary closing her eyes in response as she relished in the boy's touch.
A fake gag from beside them had the two looking to see Caspian pretending to be sick while Lucy chuckled and whacked the boy. Rosemary and Edmund rolled their eyes at their friend and Caspian merely chuckled and winked in their direction before Coriakin walked back into the room with a scroll in his hand.
With one flick of his wrist, the scroll was unrolling itself to reveal a giant map which began to glow. Rosemary let out a small gasp as she looked down, her eyes flickering over the small drawings which seemed to move and that represented Narnia's history, starting with the battle against the White Witch.
"Look," Rosemary whispered as she reached out and gently dragged Eustace over to the map. "You see that?" she asked as she pointed towards a moving drawing of a centaur blowing a horn and what seemed to be a camp beside it. Eustace nodded confused before looking at Rosemary who was smiling wide.
"That's Aslan's camp. It was the place your cousins and I first trained. And that-" she pointed to the drawing that showed two armies running at each other. "That was the beginning of the battle. Peter and I led it and you can actually see us if you look at the white and black horses at the front."
Eustace furrowed his eyebrows and knelt down to look a little closer before his eyes widened as he realized the girl was right. He stood back up by her side and let his eyes flicker over the rest of the map, smiling ever so slightly at the different drawings of Rosemary and the Pevensies.
"It's quite beautiful," Eustace admitted causing Rosemary and his cousins to look at him. The boy looked up upon feeling their gazes before quickly looking down. "I mean, for a make-believe map of a make-believe world."
"There is the source of your troubles," Coriakin said, breaking the conversation the four had been hack and drawing their attention to the map which moved to reveal a dark glowing green island covered with fog. "Dark Island. A place where evil lurks. It can take any form. It can make your darkest dreams come true."
Rosemary tensed at that, her mind instantly thinking back to her nightmares with the sea serpent and Jadis. Edmund must've been thinking the same thing to because he looked to Rosemary worridly before gripping her hand just a little tighter.
"It seeks to corrupt all goodness. . .to steal the light from this world," Coriakin told them.
Rosemary frowned and looked at the man. "How do we stop it?" she asked.
"You must break its spell," Coriakin explained. "That sword you carry," he said before pointing to Edmund's sword, "there are six others."
"Have you seen them?" Edmund questioned.
"Yes," Coriakin nodded.
"The six lords, they passed through here?" Caspian questioned, looking to the magaician with an almost hopeful gleam in his eyes.
"Indeed," Coriakin responded.
"Where were they headed?" Caspian asked.
"Where I sent them," Coriakin replied. He noticed the confused looks the kings and queens gave him and smiled softly before waving his hand, the map moving to reveal a new island.
"To break the spell. . .you must follow the Blue Star. . .to Ramandu's Island. There, the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can their true magical power be released. But beware. . .you are all about to be tested," Coriakin warned.
For a moment, Rosemary was reminded of Aslan, the great lion himself having given her plenty of warnings of how they would be tested. Them being tested was like another Saturday morning in Rosemary's opinion, but the serious of it all was still enough to give her goosebumps.
"Tested?" Lucy questioned, wondering what exactly the man meant.
"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you," Coriakin explained. He then locked his gaze into Lucy and seemed to be directing his next words towards her, "Be strong. Don't fall to temptation."
Rosemary furrowed her eyebrows, but then Coriakin was pulling away from Lucy. He looked around at all of them and Rosemary couldn't stop herself from gripping onto the hilt of her sword as Coriakin's eyes stopped on her.
"To defeat the darkness out there. . . you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."