Third POV
A day after leaving for Coriakin's Island, things changed.
The weather shifted from calm with wind to strong, stormy weather with rain, thunder, lightning, and danger. The ship continues to thrash around and the crew shouts as they tried to get as much water off the deck with buckets. It has stayed like this for 2 weeks straight
Everyone was helping at some point. Except for one. Eustace was at the bottom of the ship, hiding, notebook in hand.
Captain Drinian, King Caspian, High King Edmund, and Lady Jessica all sat in the map room, resting from helping and planning what to do next with the storm.
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Eustace's POV
"For reason beyond my comprehension, we've taken the advice of a senile old coot, who gifted my sister a dangerous weapon of death, who doesn't possess a razor and dawdles around in a dressing down. So we're back in this tub and lost in a tempest. Brilliant! Fourteen days of being tossed like a pancake and not the slightest sign of land. The only consolation is everyone is finally as miserable as I am. Except for that show-off talking rat and my sister. They're both the annoying "glass-is-always-half-full" type..."
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Jessica's POV
"So we're stuck here," Drinian puts a marker down on the map, "at half-rations, with food and water for two more weeks, maximum. This is your last chance to turn back, Your Majesties. There's no guarantee we'll spot the Blue Star anytime soon. Not in this storm. Needle in a haystack, trying to find this Ramandu place. We could sail right past it and fall off the edge of the world!" He states, trying to convince us.
"Or get eaten by a sea serpent." Ed adds, not realizing he's helping Drinian. Both Cas and I glare at him. "Who's side are you on?" I ask him. "Sorry." He added.
"I'm just saying the men are getting nervous. These are strange seas we're sailing, the like of which I've never seen before." Drinian says.
I see Cas lower his head, stressing out. I decide that I need to put my own thoughts into this conversation. I speak up catching everyone's attention.
"Then perhaps, Captain, you would like to be the one to explain to Mr. Rhince and Gael that we're abandoning the search for his wife and the mother of his daughter." I tell him, my voice stern and determined.
I see the Captain's face fall and I know that I've beaten him. He looks to Cas defeated and says, "I'll get back to it..."
"Just a word of warning. The sea can play nasty tricks on the crew's mind. Very nasty." He adds as he puts his rain jacket back on. He opens the door and leaves.
Both Ed and Cas look at me. "I always knew that you had a 'motherly' tone but that is the first time I've heard you use it... remind me not to make you mad." Ed says. We all laugh and Cas steps to me, holding onto the ceiling for balance.
"I'm proud of you, thank you for standing on my side." He says. "Always." I smile at him.
"It's best that we get some sleep, we're going to need energy to continue to take care of the storm." Cas says.
"We'll get through this storm eventually, Aslan will help us." I say. Ed and Cas all smile at me and we all leave to go to bed.
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I pop my head into the room to see Lucy and Gael asleep on the bed, I smile at them and then look at the hammock we made for me since the three of us couldn't share the bed. I change into a nightgown and crawl into the hammock. I close my eyes and fall asleep, unaware of the green mist making its way into the room...
Dream: (Trigger Warning - abuse/violence)
"Dinner was okay." John states. "Thank you." I say monotone while grabbing the dinner plates to take them to the kitchen.
"Don't use that tone with me. When I compliment you, you appreciate it! Got it?!" John yells at me while stepping closer to me.
"I understand, I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" I plead.
"You better be! God, you're so ungrateful! You should be glad that you're married to me, a lot of girls wanted to marry me but I, of course, got stuck with you. So, you should be happy! I am the only guy who will ever have a slight interest in you. And I only married you because of your dad's business. You're just baggage. You're worthless, the only reason why they gave birth to you was so they could marry you off one day for a business merger to get more money!" John shouts at me, coming closer by the second.
I start to cry because I'm scared but I wished I hadn't because that makes him even angrier.
"Stop crying! You're so weak!" He yells as he stomps up to me, scaring me even more. I accidentally dropped the plate I was holding on the ground, the noise of it shattering rings throughout the house.
I look back up into John's eyes. Fire. Hatred. Disappointment. Anger.
I start to back up slowly...
"You're so clumsy! God, you're so annoying and lazy! You just broke a plate and you know who pays for that? Me!" John screams, grabbing onto my arm harshly making me drop the other plates on accident. He lets out a louder growl and grips my arm harder, making sure I don't try to run.
He shoves me and I trip, landing straight on the ground. I try to crawl away but I'm trapped in a corner.
"You know what?... You cook terribly, you're ungrateful, you're weak, you're ugly, and you're a waste of my life and time." He shouts.
He comes closer and I see that he has his steal-toed boots on. I look up at him, fear lacing my throat.
"Please... please don't hurt me... it won't happen again, I promise!" I plead.
"You're right. It won't." He states. He brings his foot back and quickly swings it, ramming it into my stomach. I scream in pain and he yells at me to shut up. He keeps kicking me and I can't help but scream in agony, thus making him more mad and making him kick harder, making the pain worse. He kicks me everywhere. My face, my ribs, my legs... he stomps on my hands and kicks me against the wall...
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Lucy's POV
"Aslan!" I yell as I wake up from my nightmare. The thunder and lightning continue as I quickly get up and throw the page that I took from the Book of Incantations into the fire. A roar erupts from the fire and I take a deep breath. I look over to Jess who's still sleeping. Jess is tossing and turning but I suspect it's from the hammock. Gael woke me up earlier because she wanted to sleep with her dad tonight. So that just left me and her.
I go down to the sleeping quarters to check up on Caspian, Eustace, and Edmund. But only when I get there, Edmund is awake and pointing his sword in the air at... nothing?
"Edmund?" I whisper, getting his attention.
"Oh, Lucy..." Ed says relieved.
Thunder crashes and Caspian jumps up.
"I can't sleep." I say. "Let me guess. You both had bad dreams?" Edmunds asks. Both Caspian and I nod.
"So either we're all going mad, or something is playing with our minds..." Ed says.
"Where's Jess?" Caspian asks. "She wasn't awake, just tossing a turning..." my eyes widen in realization, "but now that I know we all had nightmares, she could be having one too!" I say, both Edmund and Caspian jumping up.
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Caspian's POV
We all rush to their room. But before we get there, Lucy stops, making us all stop. "Do you hear that?" She asks.
From inside their room, I hear screams of agony.
Jess.
I take off sprinting to her. I burst through the door to see Jess thrashing around in her hammock, screaming and crying.
I run to her and start shaking her shoulders, calling out her name, shouting at her to wake up, anything to get her to stop screaming... the sound of her in agony is hurting me...
"Jess?! Oh, Aslan! Jess?! Wake up! Please!" I continue to shout.
Her eyes shoot open and she looks around frantically. She shoves my hands and trips out of her hammock. She runs to her sword and unsheathes it. "Where is he?! Where's John?!" She cries out, still in shock. I see Ed and Lucy look at each other as if they know who John is but I'm still confused at the name.
"Jess, it's me, Lucy... You're in Narnia. You're safe. John's not here. I'm here, Ed's here, and Caspian's here." Lucy gently says. Jess's eyes soften and she looks as if she's been brought back to reality.
Jess visibly relaxes as she whispers my name. She looks at me and drops her sword to the ground, running up to me. I open my arms to her and she runs to me so fast that she almost knocks me down. I hold her tightly in an embrace as she continues to cry. I look to Lucy and Ed for answers. I hate seeing her like this and I want to help.
"John is the person her parents are trying to marry her off to... he's very sexist and abusive towards women..." Edmunds says, pulling Lucy close.
"Then why would they try to set her up with him?" I ask bewildered, Jess still crying over my shoulder.
"He's rich." Both Lucy and Edmund say.
I hold Jess closer. And her crying softens.
"Cas... he was beating me and ridiculing me and-and-" She starts to sob again.
"Shhhh... It's okay, he's not here, but I am. And do you know what that means?" I ask. She pulls back and shakes her head. "It means that if anyone wants to hurt you, they have to go through me. And I'm a King that's taken back a whole country." I chuckle at the end, earning a small giggle from Jess.
"I won't let anything happen to you, Jess. I promise... I love you too much for that." I say without thinking.
Crap.
I look over to Ed and Lucy and they are looking at me with smiles.
"Finally!" Lucy states. I hear Jess laugh and I realize that this situation is cheering her up. I see her reach for the necklace I gave her which makes me smile.
"I don't want you to leave, Cas..." Jess holds me tighter. I chuckle at her.
"I've got to, Lucy needs her bed." I comment.
"Actually, I was hoping I could sleep near Edmund tonight... I don't want to be alone either..." She looks down, embarrassed, and steps closer to her brother.
"You can take my hammock tonight and I can sleep in here with Jess. Is that alright?" I ask her. Lucy nods and Edmund pulls her closer and they turn and leave to go sleep, leaving just me and Jess.
"I love you too." She says. She kisses me quickly before heading to bed, still sniffing. I walk over to the fire and put a few more twigs in it. I start walking over to the hammock.
"What are you doing, love?" Jess asks me. I blush at the name. "I'm getting into the hammock to sleep..." I say, trailing off confused.
"Can you come lay with me? At least until I fall asleep?..." Jess asks.
I smile with a small chuckle and walk over, laying down next to her. She puts her head on my chest and I hold her in my arms.
"I love you, Cas, thank you for being there for me. Good night..." Jess says, kissing my cheek before putting her head back where it was.
"I love you too Jess..." I respond.
I love this... having her in my arms... cuddling... her calling me "love" and such... saying "I love you" to each other...
But as I lose myself in my thoughts, I don't realize my eyes fluttering closed. And the next thing I know, I am dreaming about me and her...