Guardian of Narnia

Chapter 36

The darkness was slowly beginning to fade. Alex looked down at her hands as she felt the energy surge through her veins. She smiled and rose to her feet with new strength.

"The spell," Lucy said from not far away, "it's lifting." She paused and her smile grew even wider than it already was. "Edmund! Caspian! Alex! Look!"

They looked out at the fog that was quickly clearing. As it grew thinner and thinner, they saw figures in the water. Alex used her powers to get rid of the rest of the fog and reveal the dozens of boats.

"Narnians!" someone exclaimed. "Narnians!"

The crew cheered as the boats drifted towards them. Alex saw Gael and Rhince push through the crowd to look at the boats. Lucy walked over to them as Alex walked down to the main deck, standing beside Caspian and Edmund.

"Mummy!" Gael shouted.

"Helaine!"

Alex looked at one of the closer boats and recognized one of the women as Rhince's wife. Suddenly, Gael jumped into the water, followed by her father. Edmund walked to Lucy's side as the two swam towards the boats.

"Rhince!" Helaine called. "Gael!"

"Mummy!"

The two reached the boat where Helaine pulled Gael out of the water, hugging her tightly. Alex smiled as she wrapped her arms around her husband as well.

"Let's have them on board!" Caspian shouted to the crew. "Clear the decks!"

He and Alex joined their friends. Caspian put his hand on Lucy's shoulder.

"We did it," she said. "I knew we would."

"It wasn't just us, though," Edmund said.

"You mean..." Caspian started.

Alex turned around when she heard a voice in the water.

"Alex! Lucy! Hey, I'm down here! Lucy! Over here! Hey, Alex! I'm in the water!"

Alex ran to the other side of the boat and stared down at the water, a smile forming on her face.

"Eustace!" she said.

"I'm a boy again!" he called up as the others joined Alex's side to see him. "I'm a boy!"

"Eustace!" Reepicheep said, running towards them. "I see your wings have been clipped!" He laughed as he jumped in the water. Alex rolled her eyes at him. "Where the sky and water meet!" he sang. "Where the waves grow ever sweet." He took a sip of the water. "It's sweet. It's sweet! Look! Look!"

He climbed on Eustace's shoulder and looked at something behind them. They all looked to see an incredible sight. The water did seem to touch the sky.

"Aslan's country," she said, smiling.

"We must be close," Caspian added.

"Well," Edmund said, "we've come this far."

"Why don't we help Reepicheep and Eustace on board first so they can dry off, Ed?" Lucy suggested.

"I think that would be a good idea," Alex said.

The four spent the next few minutes helping to get the boy and mouse back onto the deck. When their feet finally touched the wood, Alex wrapped a blanket around Eustace's shoulders.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome, Eustace."

"Alex, I apologize for acting so awfully. I guess I just wasn't used to things here."

"It's not your fault, Eustace. What's done is done and now, it is in the past. We can look ahead now and work on making friends."

He nodded and smiled.

"Alexandra?"

Alex froze. No one on the Dawn Treader had ever called her that before. Normally it was titles of respect or her nickname, though mainly the latter.

And the voice. She had heard it before, but it was so long ago. A voice that was buried in the back of her mind was brought back with a single word. Her eyes widened and she shook slightly.

"It can't be," she muttered.

She turned around slowly and her eyes grew even wider.

Standing a few feet away from her was a familiar looking man. He had light hair and shining green eyes. His hair was wavy from the sea water and reached down to his shoulders. He wore a dark blue shirt, brown pants, and brown boots. Alex slowly walked towards him.

"Is it really you?" she whispered.

"It's me," he replied at the same volume.

Alex reached up and lightly touched his face. He smiled gently at her, leaning into her hand. Alex smiled back, tears in her eyes. She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close to her and running her fingers through his hair. He returned the hug, burying his face in her hair, which had come undone during the fight. Tears rolled down Alex's face as she held him tightly.

"I've missed you so much," Alex said quietly.

"I missed you too."

"Alex?" The two pulled back a little to look at Caspian, Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and Reepicheep. They all had looks of confusion on their faces. Lucy raised an eyebrow and asked, "who's this?"

Alex smiled widely, wiping her tears away.

"Guys, this is Galan," she said. "Galan, this is Reepicheep, Eustace, King Edmund the Just, Queen Lucy the Valiant, and King Caspian." She paused. "Galan's my brother."

The small group froze and stared at them.

"You're brother?" Edmund asked, recovering first. "I thought you said he had disappeared after the Witch took over Narnia."

"I technically did," Galan said. "After the Witch won the battle against Narnia, I escaped and went looking for my sister. I searched for days and couldn't find her. I went into hiding for a long time before sailing off to the Lone Islands. By the time I got there, Narnia already had control of it.

"I stayed there for hundreds of years, helping the people. Not long ago, the people began disappearing at sea. I decided to go off in search of them. The mist found me and transported me here. I've been stuck here since."

"For how long?" Eustace inquired with interest.

"A few years, I think. I'm honestly not sure anymore. All I know if that more and more people kept arriving while I was there. I tried to help them, but I was in too much pain to do anything." He smiled. "But now we're all free of the evil's power. Narnia is at peace now and I have found my little sister."

He side hugged her, making Alex smile.

"Well," Caspian said. "It is good to finally meet you, Galan. Alex has told us stories of you."

Galan looked down at Alex.

"Have you now?" he asked.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"So, are we planning on looking for Aslan's Country or not?" she questioned, ignoring her brother with a smile.