On a wide, wide sea [Edmund Pevensie]

Chapter 2

A.n:
I'm literally so happy about the picture above😂. I couldn't think about what Zale would wear and then I found this. I love how she looks!!! (P.S-Zale's eyes are brown not blue but wouldn't that be fantastic!)
Into the story!!!

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Silence filled the room

°☆°☆°☆°

Zale stared at her father.

"Zale that was thirteen years ago."
Drinnian said, reaching out for his glass of water.

"I know, but I specifically remember that you promised me that I'd one day captain the Dawn Treader."

"You were five and it was your birthday. What was I supposed to say? No?"

"I certainly would have preferred that than a broken promise!"

"Zale, don't yell at your father." Her mother interjected.

"I'm not yelling, I'm just asking why I can't captain the Dawn Treader?"

"I didn't say that." Drinian said, placing his cutlery on either side of his plate.

"So I can Captain it?"

"I didn't say that either."

"Why not?!" She raised her voice and ignored the glare her mother sent her way. "Give me one good reason why I can't."

Drinian pondered for a moment before replying,
"You're not ready."
The response left everyone speechless for a long moment. Zale felt a raging anger bubbling up inside her. She didn't scream, instead she breathed through her nose, calmly stood up from her seat and placed her dishes near the sink. "I'm going to bed." She muttered quietly. And with that, she walked off to her room.
A few minutes of silence continued to drag over until one of her brothers decided to say something.

"Don't you think you were a bit to harsh on her?" Felix said.

"Yeah, we all know that's a lie. Zale is more than ready to captain the Dawn Treader." Lucas spoke up.
One by one, each of the boys kept listing reasons why their father was wrong and why their sister is more than ready.

"That's enough you four. Claire, help me here. You can't tell me that I'm wrong in thinking Zale isn't prepared for this. It's a big responsibility!" Drinnian looked at his wife for help.
"You're right, it is a big responsibility."

"Thank you-"

"-but," she interrupted, " It's a responsibility that she's been training and preparing herself for for thirteen years. If you don't at least let her try then all her hard work would have gone to waste."
Drinnian remained silent as his wife and four sons stood from their seats and began clearing up after their dinner. Once they finished, the four brothers headed into to their respective rooms whilst Claire prepared three cups of tea. She set one near her husband before saying, "Just think about it when you've got the time and maybe try put yourself in Zale's position." She suggested. "She's worked hard for this Drinnian, you of all people know that." Then without another word, she walked off with two cups of tea and left her husband in his thoughts.

•*•*•

A soft knock was placed on the door that led to the girl's room.

"Come in." Zale muttered whilst brushing through her curls.

Her mother walked into her room and smiled at Zale. "I brought you some tea. I thought you might need it to calm you."

The girl took the mug and thanked her mother with a small smile. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Zale decided to speak up.

"Mum, do you think that father's right? That I'm not ready?" She looked up and her doe like eyes bore into her mothers.

The older woman pondered, unsure of what to say. "Well, do you think you're ready?" Hopefully that wouldn't hurt the girl as she sometimes got offended relatively easily.

"You're avoiding the question." Zale looked down at her lukewarm tea. Her mother put down her empty cup then took her daughter's cup and put it down beside hers. She then proceeded to wrap her daughter in a comforting hug.

"You're more than ready." She began. "Your brothers know that, I know that and though he may disagree; you're father knows that too. But you need to take into consideration that you are his only daughter. He's more protective of you than he is of the boys. Before we adopted you, he didn't have much to fear seeing as he had four boys who were tackling and shoving each other." A light chuckle emitted from the girl. "But, then you came along and he went from carefree to 'dad mode'. He knows you're ready Zale. It's just that he feels that if you leave and captain the ship, he'll have lost his protection over you." Silence filled the room as Zale lay in her mother's arms whilst stroking her hair.

A sigh passed through the girl's lips. "I understand."

"I'll have another chat with your father about it tomorrow. We'll see how it goes from there. For now, I think you need to get some rest." The older woman placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead and left the room. Not without saying a 'goodnight' and an 'I love you'.

Zale got buried herself under her warm blankets and began thinking about how she'd talk to her father. Her eyes got heavy after  fifteen minutes and she tried to fight sleep off. But, all the action from that day caught up to her and she was fast asleep in a matter of seconds

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Hi! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, feel free to vote for it. If some things don't make sense, it's because it's like 2am I'm studying for a maths test. Ahh, yes. The life of a teenager.

Anyway
Bye!

Stay Gold✨