The Queen of Narnia

Chapter Fifteen

~ Lucy ~

  "Level the top of the bow with your line of sight," Susan instructed, watching as I carefully aimed at a scrap of fabric we stuck to the mast. It'd been a couple days since we left Narrowhaven, and after we all caught up on sleep, Susan remembered that I had asked me for lessons. When she brought it up, I was ecstatic. Now, after two hours of practice with a sword, we'd moved onto the crossbow, and my excitement was dimming as my energy seeped away.

  "The key is to not overthink," Susan advised, gently tilting my elbow up to adjust my aim. "During that fight in Narrowhaven, your aim was brilliant."

  "I missed most of my shots," I frowned, still aiming true.

  "Not true. You were able to hit quite a few ropes, and were able to hold off enough of them as Caspian and Edmund got their weapons out. That was impressive."

  My frown stayed in place, so she continued, "You have to have faith in your ability, or you'll never be able to hit anything. Right now, do you believe you can hit our target?"

  I was silent for a long moment before I took a long breath and nodded. "Yes."

  "Why?"

  That confused me, causing my aim to dip a bit. Susan hurried to fix it as I spoke. "Why? Well, because you're here to help me?"

  "Was that a reason or a question?"

  "A reason. You're here to teach me. I trust you will."

  She nodded. "Good. Now, when you're ready, pull that trigger."

  I didn't move, and I counted the seconds tick by when the arrow suddenly zipped out of the crossbow, piercing the scrap of fabric firmly to the wooden mast. Susan grinned, and I let out a surprised laugh.

  "It worked!" I exclaimed.

  "I told you," She laughed, pulling me in for a hug with one arm. "Now, if you practice enough, you'll be able to do that with ease."

  A smile still on my face, a challenge twinkled in my eyes. "Su, you have the best aim around, don't you?"

  "What are you getting at?" My sister raised an eyebrow.

  "Can you shoot anything I say that quickly?"

  A smirk formed on her face as she slipped her bow around. An arrow soon followed. "Name the target."

  My eyes swept across the deck. "Alright, before I count to five, you have to hit... the trim around the captain's quarters' door-"

  Before I completely finished my sentence, the arrow was flying across the deck, hitting the dark trim perfectly. I let out another shocked laugh, and Susan grinned as a voice rang out.

  "Susan, stop wrecking the ship with your arrows!" Caspian joked from his spot next to Lord Drinian at the wheel. My sister shot him a grin before she turned back to me.

  "See? You'll be able to do that easily soon," She said. I was about to reply when Eustace burst onto the deck from below, stumbling as he ran from something. My smile was replaced by a frown as I watched my cousin slam into Tavros without stopping. He pushed past some sailors, who shot him annoyed looks but paid him no attention.

  "Trying to run away?" Someone called, and that's when I saw Reepicheep chasing Eustace. I held back a sigh, continuing to watch the pair as Reep stuck his sword out to cut Eustace off. "We're on a boat you know."

  Eustace held his hands out in surrender. "Look, can't we just discuss this?"

  Reep didn't look impressed and sliced a quick cut through Eustace's shirt with every sentence. "That was for stealing-" Slice. "That was for lying-" Slice. "And that was for good measure!" His sword poked an orange that was hidden in my cousin's shirt, and he smacked Eustace in the face with it.

  I moved forward, seeing the commotion, but Susan put a hand out, and I realized her logic. Eustace needed to get used to the fact that we wouldn't always be able to bail him out of trouble. A quick glance around showed me that Edmund had only just looked up from where he was polishing Lord Bern's sword, and Caspian was still beside Lord Drinian, frowning at the ruckus but not moving.

  Eustace finally swung at Reep with the knife he had in his hand. He missed horribly, but the rodent grinned and exclaimed, "That's the spirit! Catch!" He launched the orange on the tip of his sword at Lord Drinian, who caught it easily.

  "Now, come on," Reepicheep goaded my cousin, who was bright red with anger. "Take your best shot." Eustace swung time and time again, each swing being dodged by Reep as the rodent tried to coach him a bit. I held back a laugh despite myself as I realized Reepicheep was truly just trying to teach Eustace how to defend himself.

  "Stop flapping your arms like a drunken pelican! Poise! Keep your blade up! That's it!"

  The pair danced around, Reep dodging every blow and Eustace scrambling after him with his knife. It wasn't until Eustace tumbled into a nearby basket when a child's scream filled the air. I immediately hurried down towards the basket, lifting the cover to discover-

  "Gael?" Rhince, Helaine's husband from Narrowhaven pushed past the surrounding sailors, eyes wide with shock. "What are you doing here?"

  The young girl looked just as stunned as we all felt as she got to her feet. After a moment of looking her over, Rhince moved forward, wrapping his arms around her gently. I was about to say something when Lord Drinian entered the clearing of sailors, and I knew in that moment he still had the authority, as captain of the ship. His face was blank, and Gael hid slightly behind her father as he approached. He gave me a quick glance, and I nodded gently.

  "Looks like we have an extra crew member," Drinian said after a moment, causing a thankful smile to cross Rhince's face, and the fear to dispel from Gael's as Drinian offered her the orange Reepicheep had tossed to him. Drinian headed back up to the wheel and I approached this time.

  "Welcome aboard," I said, looking down at the younger girl.

  "Your majesty," Gael curtsied, making me laugh.

  "Call me Lucy," I insisted, and Susan moved up to stand beside me. "This is my sister, Susan."

  Gael began to curtsy again, and Susan shook her head. "No, no more curtsies. You're part of the crew now, Gael. Come on, let's get you some true sailor clothes."

  I put my arm around Gael's shoulders and led her to the captain's quarters where we'd been sleeping each night. Caspian had moved himself to sleep with the rest of the crew below decks, so it truly was becoming a strictly girls only room. As Susan followed, I saw her catch Reepicheep's eye and gave him a thankful nod. He grinned in response. That's when another realization dawned on me. Susan had wanted Reep to attack Eustace,since he'd hardly take any swordsmanship lessons from anyone else. I raised my eyebrow at Susan, peering at her over Gael's head, and my sister brought her finger to her lips, a smile on her face.