serendipity - narnia [EDITING]

chapter 29

Chapter 29
Welcome Aboard

The ocean breeze carried the smell of salt through the air - a smell that Dahlia Fey had lived with for the better part of three years. Dahlia, along with King Caspian X and the crew of the royal vessel the Dawn Treader, spent the majority of her time within the confines of the ship. And while the constant rocking and being stuck in a relatively small space with dozens of men had bothered the mage at first, after a few months she became perfectly accustomed to it. It helped that all the men on the crew respected her a great deal, and if any new additions dared to look at her the wrong way, they dealt with the wrath of Caspian, Captain Drinian, or (most often) Reepicheep.

One of Dahlia's ring-covered hands dangled over the railing around the ship's raised platform, her fingers waving as she made whisps with the water. The wind fluttered the billowing sleeves of her red blouse (previously belonging to King Edmund Pevensie) and pulled strands of hair from the long braid going down her back. She hadn't cut her hair in ages, both because she hadn't had the time and because she simply couldn't be bothered.

A faint red light caught Dahlia's eye and she glanced down to see that the lion pendant hanging from her neck was glowing - the king was in danger. The mage pushed back from the railing and scanned the ship for Caspian. He was sitting on a barrel on the main deck, examining a map and looking perfectly unharmed.

"Hey, Cas?" Dahlia called down, confused. The necklace wouldn't have glowed for anyone else in Narnia, but as far as she could tell he didn't seem to be in any trouble.

"Hm?" the king responded, not looking up from the paper in his hands.

"You don't happen to be in any mortal danger right now, do you?" Dahlia asked, taking a few steps towards the staircase to the main deck. Caspian folded up the map and looked at her, brows slightly knitted.

"Not at the moment, why?" he asked, putting down the map and walking to the bottom of the steps. Dahlia just held up her glowing pendant and said nothing. Caspian muttered a perplexed 'huh' and looked out over the sea. When nothing particularly dangerous popped out at him, he looked back up at Dahlia and shrugged. And then...

"Quickly! Swim!!" Dahlia quite literally flew down the stairs, almost barreling into Caspian as the two of them ran to the edge of the ship. The already assembled crew parted to let them pass and Dahlia let out a laugh of joyous disbelief when she saw who had been yelling.

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie were desperately swimming out of the path of the Dawn Treader. With them was another boy Dahlia didn't recognize, but she heard Lucy yell the name 'Eustace' and assumed that was him. Before she could pull him back, Caspian dove off the side of the ship and into the water, several crew members following their king without question. With a huff of indignation at her friend's foolishness, Dahlia snapped her fingers and the children flew out of the water and onto the deck of the ship. The unfamiliar boy was yelling about wanting to go back to England, but the mage ignored him as she rushed towards Edmund and Lucy. The pair of them were, quite understandably, panicked.

"It's alright! It's alright, it's me," Dahlia said, beaming as she reached them. "Welcome back." Welcome home. Edmund looked relieved, bent over with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Lia!" Lucy cried, wrapping Dahlia in a hug. The young queen quickly pulled back, however, and scanned the mage's newly wet outfit. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she said apologetically. Dahlia just waved a hand, physically unable to stop smiling. She could've been covered in mud and not have cared - her family was back.

"Don't worry about it, Lu. Here." She snapped her fingers again to dry off the Pevensies and herself. "I'll be right back," Dahlia said, squeezing their hands before walking back over to the side of the ship. She flicked her wrist and the overboard crew members flew back onto the deck, all dry before they even landed. Dahlia accepted their bows of thanks with a polite nod, turning to look at the remaining body bobbing in the waves. She'd left Caspian in the water.