The Voyage - Edmund Pevensie

16

While my mind was occupied with what has happened the night before, we finally had a stroke of good fortune. When I woke up the next morning (granted I didn't really sleep much), the storm had finally stopped. I'd never been so happy to see the sun in my life, stopping on deck to let the rays shine over my face. 

Some of the crew was dancing, others were singing and cheering that our luck had finally turned around. While there were other problems we had to deal with, the end of the storm had definitely done wonders to boost the morale for everyone onboard. Even Eustace didn't look quite as grumpy as he usually was. 

Edmund, clearly in a much better mood than last night, spun me around as he passed, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. I laughed at his cheery attitude, and gave him a quick kiss in response before he went to go help with some rope. When the lookout shouted down that he'd seen land, it felt as if our luck had changed even more. We reached the island by mid-day, anchoring the Dawn Treader not far from what appeared to be the island's only accessible point.

While originally we had all hoped we'd be able to restock our food supply on this island, it became clear that wasn't going to happen. The small island looked to be completely bare, covered in only rocks and smoke that rose from somewhere more inland. 

Still, Caspian wanted to stop. "The lord's might have stopped here," he'd told us. So, the landing boats were prepared and the landing party assembled. Truthfully, as we rowed towards the rocky beach I was more than a little excited to step foot on dry land after so long in rough waters. 

"I doubt the lords stopped here, my liege," Reep said from the boat opposite ours. "There's no sign of anything living." He made a good point.

"Right" Cas answered. "Take your men and search for food and water. The four of us will look for clues." 

"Hang on, you mean the five of us?" Eustace asked from his seat behind Ed and I. All of us turned to look at the boy, annoyance written all over Ed and Caspian's faces. 

"Come on, please don't send me back to the rat," Eustace pleaded.

"I heard that," Reep quipped. Fighting to keep a smile off of my face, I went back to rowing. 

"Big ears," I heard Eustace mumble behind me. 

"I heard that too," Reep called, and I couldn't stop my chuckle. 

"Come on guys," I said cheerily. "It looks like an abandoned island. We should just let him come, after all how much trouble can he get into here?"

_____________________

After unloading the boats, Cas, Ed, Lucy and I went to look around the island. While I'd looked for Eustace to join us, he'd mysteriously disappeared. While I worried about him being by himself, I shrugged it off and jogged to catch up with the others. I was sure he'd go back and join Reep after his pride had healed a little bit. Then, any thoughts of Eustace left my head as not long into exploring, Cas spotted something. 

"Look, we're not the first ones on this island." Attached to one of the many rock structures that dotted the island, was a rope. A rope that lead down into what looked like a giant crack in the ground.

"The lords?" Ed asked. 

"Could be," Cas answered. He picked up a rock and tossed it down, all of us listening as it fell to the bottom. "What do you think could be down there?"

I gripped the rope, smiling at my brother. "Let's find out." 

At the bottom, it opened up into a massive cavern. Small ponds of water dotted the cavern everywhere, reflecting the sunlight that came in through holes or cracks in the ceiling. Not long after, everyone joined me and we began to look around.