Lost boy || Prince Caspian

13

The dawn light had turned golden when Caspian began to wake. As soon as he began to stir he knew that something was wrong. His hand tightened on the soft material he was holding and his eyes immediately blinked open. All hazy sleep abandoning him like a drain. His hand, which had been wrapped around Otto's waist when he had fallen asleep, was now gripping his bag. He let go in an instant and rolled over. The sight of Otto's empty bed roll made anxiety rise in his gut. Logical thoughts pointed out that Otto could have merely woken up early and was having a walk or went to relieve himself. But that wasn't right either. Otto knew that Caspian didn't like waking up alone. Especially since he had come back, so he tried to make sure to stay within Caspian's line of sight if he woke up before him, which was a rare occurrence. Most days had Caspian waking to Otto still asleep in his arms.

Caspian looked around to see if Otto had just strayed along the beach. He hadn't gotten far before he saw the tracks and his blood ran cold. He was on his feet in seconds, one hand pulling on his boots and the other grasping for his sword. Otto's boots were still next to his blanket, which, now that he looked at it, was rumpled like it had been caught in a struggle. In the sand next to their bed rolls was a large footprint. A bare foot deep in the sand. It's lengths was at least three foot long, almost half their bed roll. "Edmund", he darted around the rocks and the smouldering remains of their campfire and shook the boy awake. "Ed, wake up".

"Huh?" Edmund blinked at him with sleep.

"Edmund. Wake up. Look", Caspian gestured to the giant foot prints. They were completely surrounding their camp. "Ed, Otto's gone". Caspian hated the note of panic in his voice at the statement.

Edmund jerked up and pulled on his boots hurriedly. He snatched up his sword and looked over towards where Lucy had been sleeping. "Where's lucy? Lucy! Lucy!"

"Everybody up!" Caspian roared. The camp came alive. The crew members waking up with practised quickness and ease. They snatched up their weapons and pulled on their shoes. Caspian didn't wait for them. He was racing across the sand, following the giant footprints as soon as the words had left his mouth. Edmund and the crew rapidly following behind him.

——

The house was beautiful. Lit by what seemed to be electric lights, dimmed to give the sense of candles but too consistent in their glow to be flames. Each light was surrounded by stained glass which matched the rest of the decors. Otto was surprised by what he saw. The house felt more like a old European manor than anything narnian. It also felt too modern for Narnia. (Caspian's castle still used candles for lighting). The floor was dark wood and the walls shone with resin. The dim light was warm but Otto could feel Lucy's and his own nerves as their footsteps echoed down the hall. At the end of the hall was a set of open doors through which Otto could glimpse books shelves and tables. 

Lucy's boots echoed on the floor. She had fallen asleep with her boots on unlike Otto. His toes were cold and wet from the dew of the grass in the garden. But his steps made no sound on the polished floors as he walked with her. As they neared the doors a tilted reading stand became visible. It was positioned in the centre of the room in direct line of sight from the doorway. It was lit from above and on it sat a heavy bound book thicker than Otto's fist. Lucy stepped right up to it. Her hands gripping at the thick metal clasp on the cover. Incantations was the title, the letters all jumbled across the leather. Otto hung back as she tugged at it, his eyes darting across the vast library.

It was big. With shelves stretching from floor to ceiling, so high that there were step ladders on wheels to reach the ones above. Otto hadn't seen a library this big since London. Books were only for the rich in narnia as they cost a lot to make. Caspian had three libraries in his castle. Two of which were open to the public but none of the rooms were this big. This room was big enough to fit all three and then some. Otto's fingers itched to run across the covers.

"I can't get this open", Lucy grunted. Otto tore his eyes off the numerous books and stepped forwards to help her. He tugged at the clasp but it was firmly stuck.

"It's rather dusty", he muttered. He stepped back and blew on the leather. As if blown by his breath the letters moved smoothly into formation. The book of incantations. Underneath two vines appeared and intertwined. Lucy and Otto shared a smile at the magic. Then she stepped forwards and flicked the cover open. The pages were big and beautifully illustrated. Lucy giggled as she flicked through a couple, stopping on a black page in silver and white.

"With these words your tongue must sew, for all around there to be snow", She read aloud. Otto looked at the second page but it was black. Then something white drifted down. Lucy gasped and tilted her head up as dainty white snowflakes began drifting around them. Soon the floor was covered in a fine dusting of white powder.

"It worked", Otto chuckled, holding his hand out to collect the snow on his fingers. It wasn't freezing. Cold at the touch as it tickled his skin but not enough to make him shiver. His smile turned into a gasp as he took a step and heard the familiar crunch underfoot. "It's snowing indoors", he giggled. Lucy beamed at him. Snow in her hair and during his bed head.

She turned back to the book to find the pages covered. Otto watched as she took a deep breath and blew again. The pages began flicking like a storm. The book shaking. Lucy's face fell and she slammed her hand down. The book fell still and the snow disappeared as if it had never been there. Otto let his arms fall sadly. When he turned back to the book, Lucy was reading intently. Then she looked up at him sharply. "Otto, what do I look like?" She demanded.

"Lucy?" Otto blinked at her tone. "You look like you".

"No. Do I look beautiful?" She huffed.

Otto frowned at the sudden fierceness into her tone. "What. Of course you are". She groaned and glared down at the book. Then she took the page she had been reading. Otto stepped forwards just as she ripped the page from the seams. "Lucy what?" A roar echoed through the room and the book began shaking again. The pages flickering wildly. "What did you do?" He asked as she slipped the folded page into her pocket.

"I don't know", she muttered, fierceness gone. "I just wanted it. Do you want anything?" Otto reached out and pressed his hand onto the page. The book stopped. He glanced down at the page. For a second, there was a eerie sound on the edge of his hearing. Hushed whispers and when he glanced around, green smoke faded from the corners of his eyes.

"I have what I want", he replied as he turned to face the book. "And I don't want to loose it again". The page he had stopped on was the one they had been looking for. The spell to make the unseen seen. "I'll read this one", he gave her a smile. The weirdness with the page forgotten. Lucy nodded.

"A spell to make the unseen seen. Like the 'p' in psychology, the 'h' in psychiatry. Invisible ink and the truth in theology the spell is complete. Not all is visible".

Otto stepped back from the book and looked up. On the far wall, one of the ladders wheeled forwards with a squeak. Something, a outline that was growing bolder by the second, moved towards the nearest table. Otto and Lucy watched as it set down a book then picked up another before turning to them. It was a man with curly grey hair and a long beard. He was dressed in long dark red robes and he sighed deeply upon seeing them.

"Well", he huffed. "Queen Lucy and king Otto. May I ask what you are doing on my island?"

Unedited

Caspian freaking out about Otto having been kidnapped. While Otto is playing in snow.