Accidentally Falling | Narnia

19 | restarts

At sunrise, Susan was already on her balcony, staring across the Eastern Sea.

She didn't have any proper sleep the night before. After lying on her bed for hours and hours, stuffing her pillows to her face, forcing her brain to calm down and just stop thinking, she gave up and went to her balcony. She thought if she'd breathe in Narnia's air, her mind would finally calm down and allow her a few minutes of sleep. But she was still very wide awake. Before she knew it, the night sky was slowly fading to light.

Below her, she could see the crew of Caspian's ship going back and forth across the shore, boarding the Dawn Treader with barrels, baskets, sacks and chests. She could see some of the men bustling over the ropes on the deck of the ship, lashing it over the mast, and tying it. Some of the men brought out a rowboat large enough for three people and left it on the shore. Then, as Susan could see, oars jutted out from the side of the ship and they started moving, rowing the Treader towards the open sea. Susan knew they'd be waiting for Caspian there.

Susan closed her eyes and breathed in the morning air, clutching her duvet cover tightly around her. For the past few days, this had become her routine every morning after waking up. Going out to her balcony, dragging with her her duvet covers, and just feel the Narnian air on her cheeks.

She heard a knock on her door.

"Su?" Lucy's voice asked.

"Here," she called out.

A few seconds later, she felt a familiar presence beside her. Her younger sister leaned unto the railings of the balcony and stared down at the sea, fixing her gaze on the Dawn Treader that was now already on deep waters. Somehow, Susan got the feeling that Lucy already knew that Caspian was keaving that morning. Though how she knew, she had no idea. She suspected it was because Lucy was a very early-riser and that she had found out about it in the kitchen through the cooks. No doubt she had already told Edmund about it. Susan could only imagine her brother's grumpy attitude. Edmund was not a morning person. Especially now, here in Narnia, with all his swordfighting lessons during the day.

"You have a very beautiful view up here, Su." Lucy said.

"I know," Susan agreed.

"So Caspian is really leaving." Lucy said, hugging her velvet sleeping cloak around her. Susan thought about her own sleeping cloak that was still draped around her chair inside her bedchambers and almost felt silly, wrapped in her duvet cover. Almost.

"Yes," Susan answered. "He has to settle a slavery issue in the Lone Islands." She looked at her sister. "How did you know?"

Lucy shrugged. "Peter."

Hearing Peter's name made Susan flashedback again on what happened the night before. She shivered. And it wasn't because of the morning breeze.

"We should go down now," Lucy said, after what felt like a lifetime. "Edmund's already downstairs."

***

When they got to the shore, Caspian, Edmund, and Peter were already there with a red-haired man that Susan was familiar with but didn't quite know by name.

"Susan," Caspian said once he saw her, his face brightening up.

"Hey." Susan replied, smiling softly.

Her eyes went over to Peter, who looked like he didn't have any sleep either. He smiled gently at her. She couldn't help but flashedback on how he smiled at her back during that dance.

She smiled back.

"I'm afraid it's time for me to go," Caspian said quietly.

"Yeah, I think so, too." Susan replied. "Do you have everything you need for the journey?"