Narnian Princess - Caspian

Chapter 5

"Man the longboats, furl the sail and prepare to drop anchor." That shout was enough to get Diana's blood pumping. Despite everything, she was excited. Excited to finally step on the land her friends adored so much.

"Lu, this is so exciting!" The girl squealed, shaking her friend's arm. Lucy couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

It was just a little while later that Diana found herself on a long rowboat, heading to the island they had spotted. From what Diana could see, which was mainly just the dock, the place seemed to be deserted. Like everything in Narnia, it seemed very different from England. Looking at what she could see, Diana felt she had traveled back in time. Everything was so rustic.

As soon as she stepped foot off the boat, Diana felt something was off. The city was built on a hill it seemed, every building a little higher than the one besides it. The stone buildings were nothing particularly special, but because it was so different to what she was used to, Diana found herself taking in their peculiar beauty.

"Listen," spoke Lucy softly. "Where is everyone?"

Diana followed her up the stairs, stepping from the dock and closer to the city before her. As she and her companions were looking around for any sign of life, a bell sounded. Loud and ringing, the sound startled the whole party. Caspian aimed his crossbow to where the sound came from, Lucy put a hand on her dagger, and Eustace scrambled back. After a beat of silence, Caspian turned back to his men, the tension never leaving his body.

"Reepicheep, stay here with Drinian's men and secure the place," he commanded. "We will head on. If we don't come back by dawn, send a party."

Diana walked on with her friends. There was no way in hell she'd let them go into a seemingly haunted city alone. Sure, maybe she didn't know the first thing about wielding a sword or shooting a bow but she had a mighty right hook.

Caspian walked up to her then, holding a small dagger in his hands. "Here," he said grabbing one of Diana's hands and placing the hilt in her palm. "I am not sure what we will find in there, but it would make me feel a lot better knowing you have something to protect yourself with."

Diana smiled gratefully up at him, "Thank you."

Closing her fingers around its hilt, Diana had to admit she felt better having a weapon, even if she didn't know how to use it. Eh, she thought, if I stab someone enough times it's bound to do some sort of damage. And so with her new beloved possession, she carried on. Caspian might have been right about Narnia winning the prize for best sunsets, however, being inside the city with the sun going down and surrounded by tall stone walls casting all sorts of scary shadows, Diana was suddenly not as appreciative of them.

"Yeah, looks like nobody is in. Do you think we should head back?" Diana could hear the panic in Eustace's voice.

"Do you want to come here and guard something?" Although Edmund might act like he hated his cousin, he seemed uneasy having him wandering this abandoned place.

"Ah, yes. Good idea cousin." Eustace added, "Very, uh, logical."

Before following the others into --well, Diana wasn't really sure what they were going inside of-- Diana squeezed the boy's shoulder. He gave her a brief nod and a tight lipped smile. Inside, she found a spacious hall with cages hanging from the ceiling. It looked to be some sort of cathedral, without all the pews and stained glass windows. But its general architecture made Diana think of a church. As soon as she stepped in, Diana immediately felt a wave of cold air hit her. Everything about the place made the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. At the very center of the room stood a stack of books with one open at the top.

"Who are all these people?" Lucy voiced her question out loud. As Diana got closer she realized that the book, did in fact, contain a list of names.

Edmund shined his flashlight on the page, "Why have they been crossed out?"

"It's a hit man's list?" offered Diana.

Caspian placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning forward to better see. "No. Slave traders."

And this time men really did fall from the sky. Well, the ceiling. Within moments they were surrounded. Luckily for Diana's friends, they were all great fighters. Unluckily for her, she was not. At first she tried to stab anyone that came at her, unfortunately she was not having much luck. Instead, she slide her dagger into her boot and switched it for her fists. Within seconds she heard the first satisfying crunch of a broken bone. However, the man she'd hit was a lot bigger and more experienced than her, so he soon had pinned both arms behind her back.

A high pitched scream, caused the fighting around her to come to a halt. Eustace. The man holding him, who had a knife to his throat, spoke, "Unless you want to hear this one squeal like a girl again, I'd say you should drop your weapons."

And so they did, leaving themselves completely defenseless to the slave traders. "Put them in irons." 

"Take these three to the market." Ordered their leader pointing at Diana, Lucy, and Eustace. "Send those two to the dungeons."

"Listen to me you insolent fool, I am your king!" Roared Caspian, however, it didn't do them any good. Diana was dragged from the hall, with a kicking and screaming Lucy next to her. As soon as they were back outside, a cloth was placed over her nose. The last thing Diana heard was Edmund screaming for his sister before everything went black.