Finally Home (Third Book of Witch's Daughter)

6

It was almost sunset again when I spotted an island on the horizon, "Land Ho!" I yelled, pointing to the direction I saw the island.

~

"It looks inhabited." Caspian says looking through the spyglass. "But if the Lords followed the mist to the East, they would have stopped here." He concluded.

"What if it's a trap?"

"Could be a trap." Drinian agrees.

"Or it could hold some answers." Ed states. "Caspian?" We all turn to him, awaiting an answer.

"We'll spend the night on shore, scour the island in the morning." I nod and Drinian agrees. They begin to make a party of some of the crew members as we enter the lagoon.

~

Once we make it onto the shore, we immediately begin to set up camp. "Edmund, I'm gonna lay with you, if that's alright." I smile cheerfully.

He blushes, "O-Of course." Maybe a couple years took a toll on him, must be why he's so afraid to sleep next to me again. I just lightly chuckle and spread the mat over the sand, next to Edmund's.

"Well good night then." I say, laying down and facing away from him.

"Oh don't be like that." he grabs a hold of my shoulder and turns me around so I'm facing him. "It's just been awhile." I smile at his efforts and lean forward to give him a quick peck.

"Well, we do have to scour the island tomorrow and I haven't been able to sleep lately so maybe now that you're laying next to me, I'll be comfortable." I smile and relax my head back on the ground. He smiles too and bends down to kiss my forehead, lovingly.

"Good night, love." He lays down too and we both drift to sleep.

~

"...d. Ed, wake up!" I feel someone shaking Edmund and all I wanted to do was sleep a little longer. Edmund hums in response and I open my eyes slightly to see him looking up at Caspian. Edmund immediately stands up but not before whispering to me that it's alright.

"Where's Lucy?" he says quietly and that's when I jolt awake. "Lucy? Lucy!" he continues to ask out loud. The crew members around me also beginning to wake up and sit up. When I get up I immediately look around as well, yelling out Lucy's name. We walk near where Lu slept last night and we spotted giant foot prints leading further into the island.

"Everybody up!" I hear Drinian say. I grab my sword and look at Eustace who was fast asleep and may I add, snoring very loudly. But I couldn't bare to wake him up. "Get up! Get up, I say!"

Caspian and I lead the pack as we all run to follow the giant footsteps in the sand. We ran through bushes and trees and it seemed like it would never end. When we reached this lush, green, scenery of little hills and trees, we decided to scope it out. Though the footprints kept on going.

"Caspian, Denali, Lucy's dagger." We both turn to look at him and then at each other. Not even a second later, out of no where, spears came raining down on us. Some landing right behind or next to Caspian and I. We turn around and hear a deep voice resound out of thin air.

"Stop right there or perish." We point our swords outward but Caspian's gets knocked out of his hands and gets punched in the face. Soon men all around Ed and I were dropping like flies. It seemed as if invisible creatures were attacking us. I didn't know where they were coming from but when Ed got hit, I swung from where we got hit and I hit something. Something I definitely did not see.

Before I knew it, I was on the ground as well, my sword pointing itself at me. I backed up into a bush because how am I supposed to defeat something I can't see?

"What sort of creatures are you?"

"Big ones." That same voice sounding. I scurry to where Ed was and lie low next to his feet, but stand up once they begin to explain who they were. "We come from a land called BoogeyLand. You don't want to mess with us!"

My sword still swinging around on its own then eventually flung next to me.

"Or what?" I say threateningly.

"Or I'll claw you to death!" They all yell in agreement but once they began to slowly become visible, due to another unknown source, all I could do was giggle.

"I'll run my taft, right through you!"

"I'll gnash you with my teeth!"

"I'll bite you with my fangs!" I was now holding on to Ed's sleeve and trying my hardest not to laugh, him smiling down at me.

"Or you'll squash us with your big feet?" Caspian says mockingly. "Or your fat bellies?"

"Yes!" Then they began to look confused and looked amongst each other.

"Tickle us with your toes?" I say laughing. Ed pulls away from my grip and goes up to one of the one-legged dwarves.

"What have you done with my sister, you little pipsqueak?" He draws his sword along with Drinian.

"Now.. Calm down." he says nervously.

"Where is she?!" Ed yells at the frighten creature.

"Come on, Chief. Just tell him!" All the dwarves agreed.

"She's in the mansion." He answers shakily.

"What mansion?" Ed asks and the dwarf motions his eyes to the right. I look up and look at the huge mansion forming from mid air. "Ahh, that mansion!" We all stand and admire the external beauty of the estate when we get disturbed once again.

"Y'know I'm getting really tired of you all leaving me behin-"

"The pig's come back!" One of the one-legged dwarfs exclaims.

"This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder," I turn around and roll my eyes at Eustace, gracing us with his presence.

"He's calling us weird?" Another dwarf questions and I giggle along with Edmund and everyone around us.

"The Oppressor. The Oppressor!" they all soon began to yell and jump around. I turn to where they were looking and I see Lucy walking with a robed man wait a neatly trimmed beard. The dwarves begin to run away as he comes closer to Edmund and Caspian and I.

"Lucy!" Ed exclaims.

"Your majesties," the older man says as he takes a bow when he reaches us.

"Caspian, Edmund and Denali.. this is Coriakin. It's his island." Lucy explains. We three look at each other and bow down to him.

"That's what he thinks! You have wronged us, Magician!" The dwarf cowering behind me claims. They all exclaim their thoughts once again as they become excited and begin to jump again.

"I have not wronged you, I made you invisible for your own protection.. I have not oppressed you. Begone!" Coriakin then throws white bunches of some material at the argumentative dwarves and they scurry.

"What was that?" I ask.

"Lint," he says simply. I smile and watch as the one-legged creatures run away into the shrubbery, "but don't tell them."

"What were those things?"

"Duffelpuds."

"Right, of course, silly me." Eustace says sarcastically and I fall behind to give his head a light rub.

"It's alright.. I didn't know what those were either and I actually live in Narnia." I say rolling my eyes and him smiling as we enter the large mansion.