On My Mind {Suspian}

A Drunken Choir

The harsh scent of alcohol wondered up her nostrils like polluted air in the heart of the industrial revolution. Susan's head felt intoxicated by the fumes; she was rarely around alcohol, in fact, the last time she had been was before she returned to the wardrobe. She thought about what had happened in the captains quarters and wondered if she should speak to Caspian about how the moment made her heart skip a beat.

Lord Drinian perked up and knocked Susan's train of thought, "Tonight boys, we celebrate the return of our Queen and the last night that Our King will be sailing with us as a free man." The men roared in response. Susan was grateful but anxious but placed a semi-fake smile on her face. "Now we shall drink to their health before continuing this marvellous night." Everyone, including Caspian and Susan, raise their metal buckets in sync and gulped down the cold poison. Momentarily they both locked eyes, and shared a smile which caused Susan to look down and blush.

Everyone around her was gleeful and lively; however, she sat in silence and hoped that the answer to how she was back in Narnia lies at the bottom of the glass. She drank just a little less than the amount that would slur her words and hoped the rosiness of her cheeks didn't give her away. But the night drags on. Few words exchanged between her and the crew. And the words that are spoken are slurred and senseless. Caspian however, had been singing from the top of his lungs and Susan admired his confidence.

Time passed and Susan started feeling tired. The sun had already kissed goodnight, but the moon and the stars dance to the tune of the drunken choir. The candles gave far less illumination than the meanest of electrical light bulbs, yet it is all her eyes could take.

Unexpectedly, they swung Caspian up in their strong arms as if he was nothing more than a rag-doll and started swinging him off the side of the boat.
"Guys, this isn't necessary. Put me down" He pleaded with a slurred accent. Susan couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity. Slowly, she stood up and started walking towards the ladders leading to the lower decks. Intensely, the crew start counting up from three slowly.
"One..." They chant.
"Su- Queen Susan, help a friend out" Caspian begged jokingly, she turned her head around to examine the endangered man.
"Two..."
"I would but..."
"Three!"

Splash. The dark circles under her eyes disappeared and her cheeks glowed with laughter. Quickly, she ran to the side of the boat and observed Caspian as he flicked his dark and lustrous wet hair.
"For a King, you're not very graceful" She joked.
"What can I say, I'm not like most Kings." He taunted with a Chesire cat smile, before swimming towards the ship. Susan chuckled before walking in the direction she first intended.

Peacefully, She laid in the hammock and closed her tired eyes. In the distance, she could hear the faint voices and the waves as they calmly crashed against the side of The Dawn Treader. Susan fell asleep instantly, and soundly. If Caspian has seen her, he would have called her beautiful.

*

Her eyes flutter open to an unfamiliar face. The blonde haired, blue eyed beauty, towered over Susan with envy in her eyes. Every bone in Susan's body had shut down momentarily but it wasn't due to fear; It was almost as if she was frozen. Intimidated, the women pushed a strand of hair off Susan's pale face and threatened her: "Don't you dare ruin my plan. I can ruin you in seconds, I don't know how you returned but I won't let you win this time. I will succeed." She glided her soft hand over Susan's face, her touch was like ice and vanished.

Susan woke suddenly, every thought in high definition. Her eyes take in every ray of light and without a doubt, she knew she had slept too long. The noises of a day were in full swing, head heavy. Light threatened to squeeze through the gaps between every wooden plank. Gradually, Susan rose from the cradle she had slept in. Her back arched as she stretched and sighed. Fiercely, the storm in her stomach rumbled with hunger.

Large, black, hooves came from behind the post. Susan's eyes cut upward where they saw these hooves supported by the strong silver legs of a stallion. Her searching gaze passed over the legs towards a long, graceful neck of a horse and attached to the smoky midriff was the torso of a human, his head sitting proudly upon his broad strong shoulders, dark eyes searching his surroundings and stopping to rest on Susan's astounded face. "Your Highness, we were just coming to wake you, on our captain's orders. We're near land." He pointed to his right. "It won't be long now before you can meet our next Queen." He disrespectfully announced before walking back behind the post. Susan was lost for words and felt disheartened. This wasn't how she imagined returning to Narnia would be like. Slowly, she edged towards the edge of the ship and took a deep breath.

Caspian walked behind Susan and softly spoke the words: "Welcome home Su."
They lowered a ladder which lead to a smaller boat that creaked with every row.

From the boat, it appeared to be an impenetrable wall of grey, stretching as far as the eye could see in any direction and so wildly curved that the bays could hide any number of the pirates.

On the journey to shore, Susan was greeted by a majestic and beautiful creature. From a distance what had appeared to be a lonely wave was actually shimmering scales from an inch above their golf ball sized beady fish eyes, up over their head and down past its shoulder. It whispered, "Danger lurks on land. Beware Queen Susan!" each word lingered. The creature nodded before diving back into the luxurious blue waters. The journey was short but rather silent. Susan hadn't spoken a word but the 7 words circled her mind like a never-ending rollercoaster.