definitely this time (e.p. fanfic)

Chapter 6

An eerie calm had settled over the Dawn Treader for the next few days. For a moment, the Kings and Queens were simply on a fun voyage, not trying to find the Lords who have been missing for years. The waters were calm, a pleasant sea breeze blew by, and from the looks of it, no one was seasick. Well, yet. Caspian and Edmund were in the map room. Edmund couldn't stop thinking about Raina.

'Penny for your thoughts?' Caspian proposed as Edmund looked up. He sighed.

'Something's wrong with Raina.' Edmund stated. Caspian hummed.

'Something to do with what Lord Bern said?' Caspian asked. Edmund tilted his head in thought.

'She said her will is weak.'

Caspian walked towards the balcony.

'Does she know why?' Caspian asked, turned to Edmund. The latter shrugged.

'This is the most I got out of her in almost 3 years. Something happened. I know her, she wouldn't just push everyone away like that.' Edmund said, his tone soft. Caspian sighed and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

'Something happened, Caspian. I don't know what, but whatever it was, she's...' Edmund trailed off, haunted by the look in Raina's eyes.

Caspian noticed and felt worry rise in him as well. He cared about Raina like a sister, and he will never forget how she was there for him when he lost Susan. He's not about to let her struggle on her own.

'I'll be back.' He told Edmund, as he walked out of the room. He reached the deck to try and look for Raina. He bumped into Drinian.

'Drinian! Have you seen Raina?' He asked. Drinian pointed to the bow of the ship, where a solitary figure could be seen sitting, staring out at the ocean. Caspian nodded, and walked over to her.

Raina absentmindedly fiddled with the hilt of her dagger. Her mind raced with thoughts. Edmund, her parents, her grandmother, Glozelle, and the Umbra Regem. It was too much.

'Hey, are you alright?'

Raina turned to see Caspian standing next to her, a small smile on his face. She turned back to the ocean.

'I don't know.'

He sighed and sat down next to her, their legs hanging in the air.

'Talk to me.' Caspian said, looking at her. She let out a sigh as she turned to him.

'The Umbra Regem..what did your father tell you about him?' She asked. Caspian looked surprised, he did not expect her to say that.

'Well Father was a believer in Narnian lore. This was the only thing he found to be too far-fetched. The creature was first seen or claimed to have been seen over a thousand years ago, sometime after the Pevensies left Narnia.' Caspian explained as Raina listened intently.

'Well, what happened exactly?' She asked.

'A peasant was working in a field on a largely abandoned island, in the Eastern sea. He claimed that somewhere in the distance, lightning struck down from the sky. It was a clear day. The lightning wasn't, you know, bright like what normal lightning looks like. It was almost black, and had a very ominous feel to it. The clouds darkened and it was a deep grey just moments later. It struck the surface of the ocean.' Caspian's voice became distant as he recalled what happened next.

'A dark cloud of shadow began spreading, fast. The peasant gathered his family out onto a boat, and began rowing away, rapidly. As they turned around, they found their island engulfed by the dark cloud. In the distance, a creature of shadow rose. They couldn't make out the details. The peasant realised then that the prophecy of old has come upon us.' Caspian concluded.