The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 19

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 19

"Prepare yourselves men!"

"Hold fast!"

"Steady now!"

Drinian, Tavros, and Caspian shouted orders to the crew. The men stood with their crossbows, bows, and swords ready to fire their attacks at the monstrous sea serpent. But just before the serpent came in for an attack, Eustace and Reepicheep flew in. Eustace breathed fire on the serpent before latching on to its face with his talons. Reepicheep jumped off of Eustace's head and began hacking away at the serpent while Eustace clawed and bit at it. The serpent fought back violently though, shaking its head from side to side trying to dislodge the dragon. On a couple of instances the serpent slammed Eustace into the side of the Dawn Treader causing it to shake viciously; Eustace held on though.

Reepicheep was the first to be dislodged and he was tossed back onto the ship. Eustace stayed on for a bit longer still fighting hard, but eventually he too was tossed aside. Eustace nearly crashed into the sea but he caught his wits and took flight. He headed in for another attack on the serpent and would have been successful, but the serpent was ready for him and caught him by his neck. The serpent dove into the water pulling Eustace along with it.

"No! Eustace!" Ava shouted as she rushed to the side of the ship. Could dragons breathe under water? She looked overboard for any sign of Eustace or the serpent. There was some minor tossing of the waves as if a struggle was taking place, but Ava could not see the creatures.

"It's trying to drown him," Ava concluded. She looked over to Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian and knew that they had come to the same conclusion.

"Ava, you have to save him," Lucy pleaded.

Ava knew what the young queen meant and she quickly unbuckled her sword and container. She handed them over to Edmund while Caspian helped her up onto the railing.

"Be careful," Caspian urged her quietly; Ava nodded and jumped overboard.

Ava instantly let her magic take over and she transformed into her Naiad form. The water was dark, really dark; she could hardly see anything, but she could feel and she felt the struggle through the water. Ava blindly followed that feeling and found Eustace fighting to break free of the serpent's grasp. She knew she had to act quickly because she didn't know how much longer Eustace could hang on.

The first thing Ava did was form an air bubble around Eustace's head so that at least he would have some air to breathe. Eustace noticed the bubble immediately and took a visible gasp of air before turning his head and seeing Ava. Next, Ava knew she had to break the serpent's hold on Eustace and she knew she would never be able to pry it off. Her best chance would be to cause a distraction and make the serpent release Eustace of its own accord. Ava began to create a funnel of water just as she would if she were returning to the ship after a swim only this time she kept the funnel completely under water. Ava then carried the funnel over to the exposed portion of the serpent's head. The serpent's head was immediately sucked into the vortex at the center and it released Eustace with a screech. With Ava's aid, Eustace and Ava swam back to the surface and sought refuge on one of the many rock formations.

"Eustace! Eustace, are you all right?" Ava asked as he let his large dragon head droop against the rock.

Eustace didn't have a chance to give Ava any indication though, because as soon as Ava left the water the vortex dissipated and the serpent broke free. Ava heard the splash behind her as the serpent reared its ugly head and screeched loudly. The serpent came in for another attack but this time it was aiming for Ava. She quickly raised a wall of water and turned it to ice; the serpent crashed into it with a thud. The serpent's attack was deflected, but its head was hard and left a large crack down the center of the ice wall. Ava was already beginning to feel weary and she knew she couldn't keep up her defense much longer. She screamed as the serpent came in for another attack and the ice wall shattered.