Chronicles of Narnia: The Warrior of Narnia (Completed)

Chapter Eight: Returning Home

"Nora!" Edmund was quick to spot Nora, who was helping Marina onto her feet from the sea battle.
Nora looked up at Edmund, his hair was a mess from all the fighting he has done earlier. "Ed." Nora clung onto the boy with a smile. He felt himself soften as he wrapped his arms around Nora.
"You really had me worried you know," Edmund stated as the two of them remained in their embrace.
"What matters is that we're alive." Nora continued to rest her head against the Just King's chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeats.
"Ships to starboard!" came the sudden shout, tearing the duo from their embrace, who themselves turned at the shout. Rushing starboard, Marina could barely make out the fog-enveloped shapes, but she could see that they were certainly ships, ships that were coming ever closer.
As the fog continued to lift, Marina could soon see that the ships were of various forms and sizes. There, a caravel, there a small fishing trawler, there what looked to be a Calormene galley.
"Do we have signal?" Caspian asked the sailors.
With the mast in the state it was in, and most of the ropes torn or frayed, they had no way to hoist the flags as they traditionally would. True to form, however, Reepicheep took it upon himself to climb the battered mast, flags in mouth, and somehow managed to make them visible. The Mouse spelled out that they were a friendly ship – even to the Calormene galley which was not looking very friendly – and that they had vital information for the other ships. For truly, these must be the ships lost to the green mist, and the Dawn Treader needed to confer and help these people as she could.
One by one, the other ships and boats returned the signals, or some variation of the same. Even the Calormene galley and another Calormene fishing vessel, while last to indicate peace, eventually flew flags of treaty. Of course, the Dawn Treader was in no condition to move to confer with the armada, something the other vessels must have seen, for most anchored where they were.
"Helaine!" Rhince cried out joyfully, quickly spotting his beloved wife.
"Mummy!" cried out Gael excitedly.
That's when the husband and daughter duo jumped off the ship and into the water. They both swam together towards Helaine's boat. Helaine smiled warmly at the sight of her loved ones. She partially hugged them both, halfway in the water.
Caspian smiled at sight warmly. The father/husband and his daughter were finally reunited with their mother/wife. He remembered how sad and lonely he was when both of his parents had died, whilst living him alone with his power-crazed uncle and his sympathetic aunt.
Nora looked up at Edmund with a smile and was surprised that he gently placed his hand on top of hers. His unexpected gesture left Nora at a loss for words. Intertwining her fingers with his, she was too awkward to look him in the eye. Even though she was overcome with surprising nervousness, there was a sense of safety and security coming from being right beside her.
"We did it. I knew we would," said Lucy, looking between them all.
"It wasn't just us though," Edmund said, making Nora look at him with a sympathetic smile.
"Hey! I'm down here! Lucy! Marina!" A voice said from the water. "Over here! Lucy! Marina! I'm in the water! Lucy! Marina!" They moved to the edge of the ship, looking over the edge to see Eustace in the water below. Not just that. Eustace was no longer a dragon.
"Eustace!" Lucy yelled with a smile, seeing him.
"I'm a boy again! I'm a boy!" Nora chuckled at his excited exclamations.
Reepicheep soon joined them and was overjoyed to see his friend. "Eustace! I see your wings have been clipped!" He soon jumped into the water near Eustace.
Looking at the happy faces of all of his friends Caspian found it hard to grasp that only twenty minutes ago they had been close to death, their fates sealed by the actions of a sword and a little boy. He felt like part of something in that moment, surrounded by all the people he loved. It was like he was a part of their family; their actual family and he hadn't felt that way since his parent's death. Even when his Uncle was still alive, he felt alone, like he belonged to nothing, to no one. Well, not any more.
After jumping in, Reepicheep started singing his lullaby joyfully when he saw something nearby. "Look! Look!" All of them suddenly followed his gaze to the Eastern Sea, spotting white lilies in the water from a fair distance.