Camille's Adventure

Chapter 11: The Dungeons

Caspian kicked at the door of their dungeon cell making it clang loudly. No one takes me away from my sister. No one drags her away in irons! But how was he going to get out and rescue her, much less save to others? Those insolent, bold-faced, imprudent fools! How dare they-

A groan interrupted Caspian's steaming and kicking. Caspian paused, looked over at Edmund as he rolled over and sat up.

Edmund rubbed his forehead and then looked at Caspian.

"You alright?" Caspian asked.

Edmund nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Caspian resumed his violence. Edmund cocked his head a little at him. He noticed how distressed his companion's kicking was.

"Excuse me Caspian, but you're not to only one one with a sister in irons." Edmund pointed out.

Caspian looked at him then at the ground. Edmund staggered to his feet and both boys started kicking the door.

"It's hopeless. You'll never get out." A voice spoke from the darkness of a corner.

"Who's there?" Edmund asked, trying to focus his eyes on the spot.

"Nobody, just a voice in my head." The voice replied.

Caspian walked over to the man in the corner. "Lord Bern," Caspian breathed. He recognized the man as he moved his head into the light

The old man looked at Caspian in surprise. "Perhaps once. But I am no longer deserving of that title."

"Is he one of the seven?" Edmund inquired.

Caspian nodded and crouched down into the light. When Caspian's face was fully in the light, Lord Bern's eyes shone as he recognized the face in front of him.

"Your face." Lord Bern spoke slowly. "You remind me of a king I once loved."

"That man was my father." Caspian revealed.

Bern gasped and quickly shifted to bow in reverence. "Oh, my lord, please forgive me."

Caspian quickly reached out and grasped the man, stopping him from the action. "No, please." He gently helped the man to stand.

The sounds of loud shouting and wailing interrupted the exchange. Caspian looked up at the window in the cell then quickly followed Edmund to peer out at the happenings outside. They watched as a man and a small girl chased after a wagon full of chained people. A woman sat at the wagon's end trying to reach the man, who was apparently her husband, as he tried to fight his way to her. The little girl followed them screaming.

Along the wall, Lucy, Eustace, Camille, Marcus and other Narnians sat chained as they watched the family torn apart from each other. Lucy buried her face in her hand wiping a tear from her eye.

"No! Helaine!" The man yelled. He finally reached the cart but was quickly pulled back and whacked across the face.

"Mummy!" The little girl screamed.

"Get back!" One slave trader ordered the pair.

"Mummy!" The girl screamed again.

"Stay with daddy." The woman on the cart ordered.

"Don't worry! I'll find you!" The man shouted at the woman as he and the little girl watched the cart travel farther away.

Caspian and the others watched as the people on the cart were roughly loaded into boats and shoved out to sea.

"Where are they taking them?" Caspian asked looking back at Lord Bern.

"Keep watching." The lord replied simply.

The two Kings kept watching. They watched the boat drifted farther out to sea and when the boat was far enough, a storm cloud immediately began to form getting bigger and bigger. Then, as it neared the boat, a green mist formed and began to race towards the boat. The people in the boat glanced around wildly while the woman from earlier looked back at the Island's dock and kept her eyes on it. The mist surrounded the boat and engulfed its occupants. Eerie noises like the faint screaming of tortured individuals rose from mist.

Camille gritted her teeth and Caspian looked back at Bern.

"What happened?" Caspian asked as he climbed down from the window and came over to Lord Bern.

"It's a sacrifice." Bern explained.

"Where did they go?" Edmund inquired, joining Caspian.

"No one knows." He told them solemnly. "The mist was first seen in the east." He continued. "Reports of fishermen and sailors disappearing at sea. We lords made a pack, to find the source of the mist to destroy it. They each set sail.....but none came back."

The old man paused. He looked at each of them and then said seriously, "You see, if they don't sell you to the slave traders, you're likely to be fed to the mist."

Edmund and Caspian exchanged a worried glance. Camille and Lucy were out there somewhere. What if they were fed to the mist?

"We have to find the girls and get out." Edmund told Caspian worriedly.