Lost boy || Prince Caspian

14

The man, or the oppressor as the invisible beings had called him, was called Coriakin. He introduced himself before listening to their half stuttered summary of their quest. He hummed upon hearing the end then set down his book. "If you two will follow me. I believe your friends are outside with a few nuisances". He brushed past them in a whirl of robes and Otto hurried to follow along. Lucy quickening her pace.

He led them down the stairs they had come up and back to the door which had opened to greet them. Caspian, Edmund and the others were in the garden. There were other creatures too. Short men that reminded Otto of dwarves but instead of two legs, they seemed to only have one which ended in a giant foot. He blinked at them, a bit annoyed that he had been so scared of these creatures before. Now that they were visible, they had lost any fear factor. Actually, they barely seemed threatening now. Caspian's and Edmund's faces relaxed with relief as they came into sight.

"Lucy", Edmund grinned. Glad to see his sister unharmed.

Caspian sighed deeply and walked over to pull Otto into a hug. He wrapped his arms around the brunette's waist and let the king press their foreheads together. "Are you alright?" Caspian muttered. Accent lilting softly. Otto smiled.

"I'm fine. Sorry for scaring you".

"You need to stop doing that", Caspian huffed as they parted. The embrace cut short by the fact that they had company. Still, as Caspian turned to face the newcomer, he dropped an arm from Otto's shoulders to his waist. Otto leaning slightly against him in a reassuring way as they faced the Lord of the manor.

Coriakin bowed. "Your majesties", he greeted respectfully.

"Edmund and Caspian", Lucy introduced. "This is Coriakin. This is his island". Caspian and Edmund both inclined their heads in greeting.

"That's what he thinks", one of the creatures objected. "You have wronged us magician".

Coriakin began walking towards them and the one footed beings began jumping back in fear. "I have not wronged you. I made you invisible for your own protection".

"Protection", the red haired being who seemed to be the chief scoffed. "That's oppression oppressor".

"I did not oppress you".

"But you could have if you wanted too!"

"Begone", Coriakin threw a handful of something at them and the beings began screaming. Some of them back flipping as they tried to get away, others half crawling. Otto and Caspian watched as the creatures all fled.

"What was that?" Lucy asked once the things had gone.

"Lint but don't tell them", Coriakin chuckled.

"What were those things?" Eustace muttered. The boy was looking very confused and weirded out by the whole thing. Otto was slightly too but he had learned to roll with it by now.

"Dufflepuds". Then Coriakin turned ad began leading them back inside. Otto paused as Caspian went to follow after the wizard and broke free. He smiled reassuringly at home before wandering over to Lucy and gently steering her to the side so that they lingered at the back of the group and out of ear shot.

"Lucy", he said quietly. "What was that page you took from the book?"

Lucy froze then a look of shame and embarrassment filled her face. He tugged the folded paper from her pocket and unfolded it. Otto read the beauty spell silent,y then sighed softly. "Oh Lucy".

Lucy flushed with emotion. "You don't understand", she huffed.

"I understand", Otto gestured with one hand the scar on his cheek. "I know what it is like to be something you're not. To be better, smarter, stronger. More handsome. We all know that feeling Lucy". He stopped and looked at her in the eyes. "How long were you Queen here?"

Lucy paused. "I was twenty five. Fifteen years".

"You are a queen Lucy. Queen Lucy the valiant. You don't ever need to be anyone else".

Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again it was with a smile. "You're right. Thank you Otto for reminding me". Then, as they passed the glowing coals of a fire place, she dropped the paper into the flames. They watched the spell turn to ash for a moment. "Come on", Lucy gestured at him. "We're going to loose the others".

——

"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for your own good?" Edmund asked. His voice echoing back to them as Otto and Lucy caught up.

Coriakin glanced at him but did not slow his pace. "It seemed the easiest way to protect them from the evil".

"You mean the mist?" Otto voiced. Coriakin stopped in the doorway to the library, allowing them to go first.

"I mean what lies behind the mist". Caspian paused at the ominous sentence. He glanced back at Otto, keeping him in his field of vision as they explored the library. The magic had changed from when Otto and Lucy had first entered. Now patterns of stars shone over the ceiling and the top shelves of the bookshelves. Coriakin disappeared into a cupboard for a second then reappeared with a large role of white cloth. He stood at the edge of the room and threw it outwards. The cloth unrolled across the floor and they all watched as it turned blue. Small forms of islands appearing on the sea and clouds forming in a light layer in the air above them. The edges of the map was illustrated with images of the stories of the golden age of narnia. Images Otto recognised from the fairytale books he had read.

"That's quite beautiful", Eustace remarked, staring at the living map with wonder. Edmund and Lucy looked at him. "I mean for a make believe mo of a make believe world", he added hastily. Edmund smirked.

"There is the source of your troubles", Coriakin waved his hand and the seas moved as they travelled across it. A black snap appeared. A island that was twisted and dark, like a set of rotting ribs. Green mist glowed from inside. "A place where evil lurks. It can take any form. It can make your darkest dreams come true". Otto shivered at the thought and shared a glance with Caspian. "It seeks to corrupt all goodness. To steal the light from this world".

"How do we stop it?" Lucy asked.

"You must break it's spell". Coriakin pointed to Edmund's sword. "That sword you carry. There are six others".

"Have you seen them?" Edmund looked up.

"Yes".

"The six lords? They passed through here?" Caspian voiced.

"Indeed".

"Where were they headed?"

"Where I sent them". The map shifted again. It focused on a mountainous island near the black land. It was green and vibrant compared to it's neighbour. "To break the spell you must follow the blue star to Ramandu's island. There the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can their true magical power be released. But beware, you are all about to be tested".

"Tested?" Lucy echoed.

Coriakin's face was grave. "Until you lay down the seventh sword evil has the upper hand. It will do everything in it's power to tempt you. Be strong. Don't fall to temptation. To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself". Otto didn't like that. It made dread sick in his stomach.

Unedited