the seas are alive,
and they are raging with monsters, old sport.
| based on the voyage of the dawn treader |
| BOOK TWO OF THE KING IN DISTRESS DUOLOGY |
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2817 BGA, Dark Ages
THE FIRST TRAGEDY that befell the Narnian royal council in 2817 BGA would prove to change everything, as it would've been a long time coming.
Leo Sandellhad many occasions where he had the chance to return to his family, but only after fourteen years did he gather the courage to do so. Surya had decided that she him company in his journey, saying how someone needed to watch over him. Leo accepted the offer without much protest, knowing fully well that he couldn't argue with the girl. So there they were, mounting horses on their way to Leo's village. He had already imagined what it would be like in his head, rehearsing the things he would tell his parents, thinking of ways to make it up to his sister.
"Someone's a little chirpy." Surya eyed him with an amused smirk on her face.
"What did you expect?" Leo beamed. "I'm gonna see my family again!"
She snorted at this. "Just last night you were fretting over what to say, panicking and all that."
"Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me all you want, Sur." Leo rolled his eyes, laughing.
What he didn't know was that it would all be in vain, when they entered the village gates and found that everything had been razed to the ground.
Leo refused to believe it, so they ventured onwards. But the village was eerily silent, soot and ash coating what had been left of it. He felt the watery moisture in the sides of his eyes first, and then the dull pain that flared up from his stomach and lodged itself into his throat. No. It can't be. They can't be . . .
Abruptly, he dismounted his horse, his legs carrying him to their street as fast as he could. Like all the other village houses, theirs had been scorched, the black soot infesting the wood. Still, Leo rushed inside, swinging the door open. A part of him hoped that his parents would be at the table, and his sister to be in the living room. But no one was there. No one was there at all. Even so, he rummaged through every room, hurling through every piece of furniture he could find. He screamed, and wailed, until his throat was raw, and his tears went dry.
They were gone. He was too late.
Leo fell to his knees, the tire finally settling into his bones. He could hear Surya's light steps behind him slowly approaching, and when she wrapped her arms around him, he resigned and succumbed, leaning against her to bury his face in the crook of her neck. Minutes turned into hours turned into what felt like days and years and centuries. He stayed there, in her embrace, breathing in the sweet scent of lavender.
