Helena Pevensie (Caspian Love Story)

18. Terrors of the Night

Helena was startled awake from sleep as a voice cried, "Aslan!" 

"Lucy?" she said sleepily. "Are you all right?" Sitting up, she saw that Lucy was shaking. "Lu?" Lucy got up, slipping on her slippers. 

"I'm going to Edmund," she said. 

"I'll come with you," Helena said, slipping on her robe and shoes. They went through the ship until they came to where Caspian and Edmund were staying below deck. 

As they approached, Helena noticed Caspian tossing and turning in his sleep, muttering, "Father, father." Edmund was just beginning to doze off before he suddenly sat bolt upright, drawing his sword upon thin air. Helena gasped, jumping back as the blade had missed her by centimetres. 

"Edmund," Lucy said. He jolted, glancing over at her before looking back at the spot he had drawn his sword at. A harsh crack of thunder caused Caspian to jolt awake as well. "I can't sleep," Lucy said. 

"Let me guess. Bad dreams," Edmund said with a sigh. "So either we're all going mad or something's playing with our minds." 

As Edmund lay back down, Helena asked, "Are you all right, Cas?" 

"Fine," he replied a little shortly, rubbing his brow with a sigh. "Sorry," he said, realizing how curt his words came off. 

"It's all right," Helena said with a weary smile. 

Sitting up, he asked, "Did you get any sleep?"

"Not really," she replied with a yawn. "It's hard to sleep with the storm." Caspian nodded understandingly. Sitting up, he sat cross-legged and gestured to the empty space now available beside him. Slightly hesitantly, Helena sat next to him. 

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked. Helena shook her head. 

"Thankfully no," she replied. "Are you all right though? You look a little pale." 

Before he could respond, Lucy, who had sat next to Edmund on his hammock, said, "How much longer do you think we have until we find the Blue Star?" 

"We have no hope of spotting it in this storm," Caspian replied with a yawn. "Until it lifts, we've got nothing." 

"I just want to land somewhere," Helena admitted, talking partially to keep herself awake. Before she could expound upon her words, she found her head dipping in sleep. With a small laugh, she said, "I fear you shouldn't have let me up here, Cas. I might fall asleep." 

"That's all right," he replied with a chuckle. Edmund narrowed his eyes at the older king. As the other three continued talking, Helena leaned against Caspian's shoulder as her breathing evened out and she began to slip out of consciousness. 

Noticing she was asleep, Edmund asked, "Has she been sleeping, Lucy? Every time I've seen her she's looked exhausted." 

"She's sleeping but she wakes up a lot during the night," Lucy explained. 

"Probably the storm," Caspian said. 

Edmund smiled as an old memory came to mind. 

"No! I don't want to go to sleep!" Helena cried, running from her mother and father as they chased their seven-year-old daughter through the house. "The light is coming to get me!" 

Finally, Mr Pevensie caught up to her, catching her around the waist and picking her up so he could hold her in his arms as he explained, "It's okay, Lena. The lightning can't hurt you." 

"But it's loud and scary!" she retorted. 

"You're completely safe," he chided. 

"Dad, can Lena stay with me tonight?" Peter asked. 

"Very well," Mr Pevensie said. "But don't stay awake too long." 

"Okay, Dad," Peter said. With a small sigh, Helena followed after her brother. 

"She never did like storms," Edmund said finally. "When we were kids, the only person who could get her through them was Peter." Lucy smiled. 

"How did she manage in Paris?" Caspian asked. Edmund frowned. 

"I guess she just learned to but I'm not really sure. She never wrote to me about it," he said finally. 

"I don't know how she and Peter survived all those years," Lucy said. "She almost didn't go because she couldn't bear the thought of being away from him for that long." With a smile, she added, "Peter even tried doing ballet so they would never be separated." 

"Was he any good?" Caspian asked. 

"Nothing on Helena, but he wasn't that bad," Lucy said. "He ended up quitting so he could do fencing, but he and Helena always taught each other everything they ever learned."

"That explains why she's so good with a sword," Edmund said with a chuckle. "I knew Peter taught her some things but not everything." 

"I just wish she could have gone to Narnia with us all those other times," Lucy said. "But she was in Paris." Caspian glanced down at Helena as she slept peacefully against his shoulder. Her face was as peaceful as the sea on a clear, bright morning and although her hair was slightly messed up from sleep, as the light cascaded through each loc and curl, Caspian couldn't help but admire the beauty of it. 

But as he watched, he noticed her peaceful expression suddenly contorted with a frown.