His Majesty, Her Grace - Sequel to A Prince Caspian Love Story

Chapter 13 - Either Way

Althea's POV

"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" Lucy asks as we follow Coriakin through the halls of his mansion.

Caspian instructed the rest of the men to return to the beach, aside from Drinian,.

"It seemed the easiest way to protect them... from the evil."

Caspian and I share a glance, unsure of which evil he's referring to.

"You mean the mist?" Ed asks.

"I mean what lies behind the mist." He says, leading us into a small library.

The room is filled from floor to ceiling with books but that's not what leaves me speechless. Some sort of enchantment is making parts of the ceiling look like the night sky. Books are floating all over the place, putting themselves onto various shelves, it's like they have minds of their own. Coriakan walks to the front of the room and picks up a large scroll. He tosses it and it falls to the ground, unrolling into a large, animated map of Narnia. The water on the oceans is moving and clouds are floating where the sky would theoretically be.

"It's quite beautiful," Eustace says, shocking everyone. I smile at his embarrassment at having been caught enjoying himself.

"I mean for a make-believe map of a make-believe world." Edmund and Lucy scowl at him.

"Here is the source of your troubles." The map starts to move, zooming over the ocean like a bird. It lands on a dark cloudy island with green light shining from its core.

"Dark Island. A place where evil lurks. It could take any form." Coriakan moves in front of Ed as he says this warning. "It can make your darkest dreams come true." More like nightmares. His eyes bore into me next. "It seeks to corrupt all goodness. Steal the light from this world." He looks at Caspian.

"How do we stop it?" Lucy asks.

"You must break its spell." He turns around and points at Edmund's sword. "That sword you carry. There are six others."

"Have you seen them?" Ed asks.

"Yes."

"The six lords, they passed through here?" Caspian asks.

"Indeed."

"Where were they headed?"

"Where I sent them." The map moves again, this time to a small island covered in waterfalls. "To break the spell, you must follow the blue star to Ramandu's Island."

Everyone looks at me. I've never heard of this star or even seen it so I'm not going to be of much use in locating it.

"There, the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can the true magical power be released... But beware, you are all about to be tested."

My stomach sinks. "Tested?" I ask.

"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in its power to tempt you." He leans down so that his face is closer to mine. "Be strong. Don't fall to temptation." He pulls away and does the same to Caspian.  "To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."

Tension fills the air in a heartbeat and we all stare at each other, some nervous expressions and others determined.

~

When we get back to the ship, everyone is on edge, more so the ones who received Coriakan's warning. Lucy leaves to go entertain Gael and probably try to forget the eerieness from Coriakan. I don't blame her but I stay with Caspian and Drinian.