[A] Alone

It was a beautiful morning, but Lucy was a bit tired. After exploring all parts of the castle until it was too dark to make out anything without the use of Edmund’s porch, she and her siblings had settled down to sleep. The only bed around was the hard ground, and so of course, they woke up early without having gotten a satisfying night’s sleep. Lucy was also hungry. She loved apples, but they were not very filling – or satisfying for that matter – if one had eaten them for two meals in a row. When one also took into consideration the fact that lunch had consisted of only half a sandwich each, the rumbling in Lucy’s stomach was quite understandable.

But at least it was a beautiful morning. The sun shone brightly, reflecting off the sea in dancing sparkles of light. The weather was cool, but not cold, and the air was crisp and clean. On a day like this, Lucy could almost forget the past year of fear and anxiety and unhappiness. She could even almost forget her current weariness and hunger. Almost, but not quite.

After breakfast, the four children had made their way to the beach, knowing that they had to get off this island somehow. It was grand rediscovering Cair Paravel, but they needed to find somewhere inhabited, where they could get beds and warm meals. Now, they stood side-by-side in a line, staring at the sea, with the same question running through all of their minds: how could they get to the opposite shore? They had no boat, and no supplies to make a raft. Swimming wasn’t an option, either. Lucy couldn’t swim anymore, though she had been able to do so when she was a queen. Edmund couldn’t either, and even Susan, who was the strongest swimmer of the four, was hesitant to venture into the water when there might be currents. The other shore, while clearly visible, now seemed almost as far away as Finchley.

Then suddenly, Lucy’s shrill voice broke the silence that had descended between the siblings: “Look!” She pointed towards a boat that was drifting towards them. Inside the boat she could make out two men in armor – likely soldiers of some sort, though she did not recognize their colors – grabbing onto a bound dwarf. The poor red dwarf looked absolutely miserable. When Lucy heard the soldiers speak of drowning their captive, she understood why.

“We need to help him!” The former queen’s hands, working on a long-forgotten protective instinct, fumbled behind her for the bow and quiver that had so often adorned her back during her rule. They came up short. Susan’s bow had been in the treasure chamber that they’d rediscovered last night, but Lucy’s had been nowhere to be found. She had her dagger, but that would do her no good at this distance. Helpless, she turned to her older siblings, her brow wrinkled in her anxiety. “Someone do something!”

((Finally a reply, but poor Trumpkin is still stranded! We need Susan and her bow!))