𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦 || Edmund Pevensie

XIV

"He that fights and runs away, may turn and fight another day; But he that is in battle slain, will never rise to fight again."
- Tacitus

Narnia, 2318

After she stopped seeing it as a villain and a symbol of her past, the Dawn Treader seemed so much more beautiful in Olivia's eyes.

While Edmund would try and fix that sword of his, she would climb the ropes, adjust the vessel, search for land and act like a true sailor. It was freedom, like she could go anywhere.

If Olivia weren't a Queen, being a pirate or a sailor would've certainly been fun. She could imagine herself in the seas, captain of a ship, while searching for the evils of this world and erasing them from the board. Searching for slave traders with her mighty crew and destroying their lands and territory.

But, what was flowers for her, wasn't the same for the others. Eustace was still the grumpy boy from before, still in disbelief about his situation. He would always stay in his room with that bloody diary of his, which he had found in Narrowhaven, talking badly about everyone. His entries would go more or less like this:

Dear Diary,
September 3

There has been an extraordinary turn of events. I've been abducted by my cousins and set adrift in uncharted waters in some ridiculous-looking boat. What is worse, I share a room with an obnoxious mouse thing. And I thought bunking with my cousin was bad enough.

This ship stinks, and everyone here seems to have gone mad, chasing green mists and lost lords. The worst person is that girl with the brown hair, who had her hair cut by those weird men from the island. She's always taunting me, making me work on the deck with everyone else. And cousin Edmund is dense enough to like her because he keeps looking at her all day long like a lost puppy.

I've come to the conclusion everyone here is delusional. Lucy every day plays chess with that little mouse thing, and she is actually beaten by him. Ha! What a lack of intellect.

Dear Diary,
September 7

I officially declare Cousin Edmund a lunatic. Apparently, the crazy girl with the spear is his wife! I'm not even sure that is legal. I'll be sure to tell the British Council, once we arrive, that my cousin is seventeen and illegally married. Maybe, I'll finally get him out of my house.

It is absurd how much of a tyrant Caspian is. He put me to work on deck like a slave yesterday, and when I told him about my physical condition of my fever, the bald man who allegedly is the captain, laughed at my face. Mother did tell me that a man with no kind of hair on his face is untrustworthy.

Dear Diary,

September 9

I don't understand how duelling can be such a common sport among these delusional people. Whenever Edmund and his crazy girlfriend ( that isn't fake and is actually his wife ) aren't stuck cleaning the sword he received or sewing, they're hitting those words against the other like toys.

Minimal wind from the west, and we sailed a little faster today.

And they would get progressively worse. Reepicheep and Olivia made a hobby out of pranking Eustace, which had become quite the blessing whenever they were bored. The look on Eustace's face was always priceless, especially the one he made when she and Edmund told him about their marriage.

If a person knew how to spend their time, they would've loved their time in the dawn treader, and everyone did. Their rations would get smaller and smaller, but their time was being thoroughly enjoyed.

One day, they even caught a little girl hidden onboard. Her name was Gael, and she was the daughter of the new crewmember, the one searching for his wife lost in the mist. She was now bunking with Lucy, and Eustace claimed it was sexism how the men in the crew kept giving the girls special treatment.

After one week of sailing, they came across another land. It was covered in the dark green of trees and beige of rocks, without the destruction of man in nature. It was the most beautiful thing Olivia had seen.

"Land ho!" She called, adjusting the tiny telescope in her hands. Using her hands and legs, Olivia untied her legs and got back on deck, jumping beside Caspian.

She gave him the telescope, and Caspian chuckled. "Good finding," He said. "It looks uninhabited, but if the lords followed the mist East, they would have stopped here."

Drinian leaned against the wood railing. "Could be a trap." He murmured in a warning tone.

"Or it could hold some answers," Edmund replied. "I say we ready a landing party, go in three boats."

The captain of the ship pursed his lips. "With all due respect, your majesty," He said, his tongue violently pressing against the inside of his mouth. "The chain of command starts with King Caspian on this ship."

Edmund felt like he could throw himself off the boat. But it wasn't like he could say he wasn't used to it; he had always been secondary. Secondary to Peter, and now, to Caspian. Maybe it was petty on his part to complain about his Kingship and how he wanted more. Yet, that greedy little voice inside his head wouldn't shut up.

The boy gulped, a knot inside his throat. He looked to Olivia, who had walked farther away and talked with some of the crewmembers. Edmund could always be the secondary King of his kingdom, but he would always be the first to Olivia. And that was what mattered. A small smile etched itself into his lips.

Caspian lowered the telescope, nodding his head at Drinian. "We'll spend the night on shore, scour the island in the morning."

━ ◦ ❖ ◦━

Night fell, and Olivia didn't sleep like the others.

She missed her home, and part of her home was the stars. Grabbing her handy little brown bag, Olivia moved away until she was on top of a cliff, a notebook in her lap and her telescope in hands.

Olivia didn't know why, but the stars seemed to be shining more than she had ever seen. It was like they greeted her, called her up to the sky to rest there forever with them. A tempting thought, but Olivia passed it.

The stars moved, shaping the form of a girl. Not any girl, but a knight, wearing her full bright armour and helmet, a sword in her light hands. She raised the sword, and Olivia noticed the fog wrapping around her feet like an extra layer to her armour. The fog moved in her body, gently tugging her arms as she smiled.

And she dissolved into nothingness, the stars moving back to other places. Olivia couldn't help but sign in exasperation, rubbing her hands against her eyes. She was about to organise her things and join the rest of the crew on the beach, to get some sleep, but her plans were interrupted.

Olivia felt a hard hand press against her mouth and pull her away from the cliff, and she lost consciousness.