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

Chapter 23 - Dark Island Pt. 2

Althea's POV

"Oh, I'm sorry," Edmund says and immediately sprints to the side of the ship.

He stares overboard for a few seconds and then the whole ship tips to the side. Something is rubbing against the underside of the boat. I lose my footing and slide across the deck with the rest of the crew until my body hits the railing. Caspian quickly rushes to my aid and lifts me to my feet again. Something snake-like moves in the corner of my eye, something in the water. Caspian sees it too.

"Look!" He points at the surface, just as a thick-bodied sea serpent glides by. "What is that?"

"It's too late." Lord Rhoop mutters beside me. "It's too late!"

We're all too busy staring on this side of the ship to notice that it's gone under us to the other side, splashing up a tidal wave of seawater as it breaches. Gael is huddled next to the railing apparently trying to hide from the monster.

"Gael!" Lucy shrieks.

Gael lets loose a sharp scream as its fanned-out tail rips free from the surface. It screeches loudly but it's high-pitched and unlike anything I've heard before. Its head pokes through into a shaft of light revealing its disgusting facial features. It has a huge gaping mouth with sharp fang-like appendages protruding from around it like teeth. One of its eyes is cloudy white and the other is bright amber like a half-burnt-out flame.

Lucy lunges forward to get Gael while the archers aim up at the sea serpent. The creature screeches again as Ed takes a protective stance in front of his sister. It reels back and is about to snap at us like a cobra but Eustace roars bravely and dives at the creature, a stream of fire shooting out of his mouth. The dragon is curled over the serpent's face, guarding us all from its beady eyes. It shakes its head back and forth, trying to shake Eustace off. He's unsuccessful and begins to repeatedly drag Eustace across the side of the ship. Glass shatters and bits of wood fly through the air.

"Eustace!" I shout his name encouragingly but the serpent shakes a few more times and he finally flies off its face, soaring overhead.

Eustace recovers quickly but the serpent clamps its jaws on his shoulder and dives underwater. I sprint to the side and immediately stagger backward as the serpent resurfaces. It shakes Eustace like a ragdoll before slamming him hard against a nearby rock. He's breathing heavily, obviously struggling to keep up with the serpent that's twice his size but he musters the strength to shoot another ball of fire at it's eyes.

The creature's face lights up brightly and the smell of burning flesh hits my nose. It's quickly extinguished after it dives back into the ocean. I hear rapid footsteps behind me and Lord Rhoop is sprinting forward with his sword raised as Eustace is trying to recover. The man is clearly so messed up in the head that he thinks Eustace is not on our side. I don't want to hurt the man so I leap in his way and attempt to disarm him.

"Get out of the way!" He rasps. His strength surprises me as he roughly shoves me out of the way. "Out foul creature!" He shouts maniacally and throws his sword at Eustace.

It flies through the air and lands perfectly in Eustace's shoulder. It's so deep that only the handle is sticking out. He roars in pain and takes off, disappearing into the dark clouds above.

"We're doomed, doomed! Turn this ship about." The mad lord shouts. He climbs up the stairs and shoves the first mate away from the wheel.

"Someone stop him!" Caspian shouts.

The ship jerks suddenly as he recklessly turns the wheel in whichever direction he sees fit. Thankfully Caspian is right behind me and manages to grab the railing, pinning me safely to the edge while still holding himself steady.