Rising with the Dawn

Man Overboard

Hey! It's Bug here! So I don't often do author's notes but this one is needed. So I know I posted the first chapter of this on a Friday, but I will be updating this story on Saturdays. Also the photo above? Keep that in mind when it comes to navigating scenery and locations aboard the ship. Comment and have a Happy National Donut Day!

Demetria breathed deeply as she leaned out over the railing, tasting the salty spray on her rosy lips. The sun reflected off the vast sea, making the water glitter more brilliantly than any gem she had ever seen. The wind was gentle, pushing the ship forward, and tossing the skirt of her light green dress. Behind her a passing sailor bumped into her, almost knocking her over the railing, and she was fairly certain it wasn't an accident. Demetria didn't bother to glare at him as she struggled to catch her balance, something catching her eye as she straightened. Looking a little closer, her ivy green eyes went wide.

    "Caspian!" She called to her cousin. When he looked at her from his spot nearby speaking with the captain, Drinian, she pointed to the three figures that were in the water. His brown eyes went wide.

"Man overboard!" He yelled, ripping off his coat and diving overboard with a few other sailors. Demetria waited until they had reached the new arrivals before she limped below deck to grab blankets. She needed to make herself as useful as possible because with her limp there wasn't much she could really do. By the time she made it up the ladder and back on deck, they were all on board. It was difficult to see them with the sailors that had crowded around them. However, she could hear them and hear a very familiar voice.

"Is she here?"

"Edmund!" She yelled it, a smile crossing her face. Dropping the blankets she weaved through the sailors who were now a little more willing to let her through. The sight of him standing there, wet and smiling was a welcomed one. The feeling of his arms gathering her up in a hug had her heart leaping.

"Do you have any idea how much I missed you?" He asked softly as his fingers threaded through her golden curls. Demetria smiled, hiding her face in his shoulder as she answered.

"I have a pretty good idea." Somebody nearby laughed and peeking up from Edmund's shoulder she saw Lucy. Her heart leapt again, Lucy was like a sister to Demetria, more so than Susan.

"Lucy!" Demetria pulled away from Edmund to hug the younger girl. "You're beautiful!" It was true, the younger girl had grown since the last time she saw her, looking more like a young woman than a child. Lucy laughed, hugging her back.

"Thank you!" She said as she pulled back, "your hair is lighter!" Demetria smiled as she fingered the end of her braid. It was true, in her new found freedom, she had been spending more time outside and her honey locks had taken a lighter tone.

"I've gotten a lot more sun," She answered before they were interrupted by a rather pig-like squeal. The source was a new boy, dressed in odd clothes, similar to those Edmund and Lucy wore. He scrambled to his feet, Reepicheep bouncing away.

"That thing was trying to chew my face off!" He yelled, pointing to Reepicheep as the large mouse brushed himself off. Demetria always found it pleasant how dignified the mouse was, almost like a musketeer in a book she had read when she was younger.

"Reepicheep!" Lucy said happily, and the mouse turned to them.

"Your Majesties!" He said, pulling off the feather he wore on a golden ring on his head and dipping into an elegant bow.

"Hello, Reep." Edmund greeted him, wrapping an arm around Demetria's waist as he did so. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is all mine, sir." Reepicheep straightened, putting the feather back atop his head. "But first, what to do about this hysterical interloper?" Hysterical seemed to fit the tantrum the boy was having, looking both furious and on the brink of tears.