Favorite of the King

Chapter 24

The next morning dawned in a misty darkness. Rain poured down onto the deck of the ship and waves pitched them back and forth. Yvaine, Lucy, and Susan stayed in their cabin, entertaining each other with stories.

"Well, as Lucy so kindly revealed the other day," Susan was saying, "I'm afraid of heights. I couldn't tell you why. They just don't agree with me."

"I'm afraid of snakes," Lucy said. "Not the nice talking ones, of course. I mean the regular ones that bite and hiss."

"Why?" Yvaine asked.

"I was chased by a snake when I was little and it terrified me."

"It didn't chase you, Lu. You saw it and ran away screaming," Susan laughed.

Lucy stuck her tongue out at her sister, then turned to Yvaine. "What about you? You must be scared of something."

Yvaine began to reply, but the door swung open, cutting her off. Edmund stepped into the cabin, dripping with water. Susan quickly threw a blanket at him. "Are you crazy? You're soaked."

He caught the blanket and sat down. "Well, yeah. It's raining." Thunder boomed outside, proving his point.

Susan rolled her eyes, but smiled. "We haven't been blown off course, have we?" 

"Not yet. Captain Govoflog is keeping us on course as much as possible. We're going to try to find smoother waters and anchor until the storm calms down," he replied. "What are you all doing?"

"We're sharing our fears," Lucy said. "Oh! Tell Yvaine what you're scared of, Ed."

He looked down, his cheeks flushing. "I don't know."

"He just doesn't want to look bad," Lucy whispered to Yvaine.

She hid a laugh behind her hand. "It's all right. I'll tell you mine afterwards."

"Sea monsters," Edmund admitted finally.

Lucy began laughing. "I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's absurd. How many sea monsters have you actually run into?"

"Only one. Peter and I met it near the Seven Isles," Edmund replied. "And it sank the ship, if you'll recall. We were stranded on an island until you sent a gryphon to locate us."

"Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that," Lucy pursed her lips.

"Now, as promised?" Edmund faced Yvaine.

"I'm scared of pigs," she said solemnly. Lucy started laughing again. "Don't laugh! I have an actual reason!"

"Tell us," Susan prompted.

Yvaine smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "It happened when I was...maybe six? Father had taken me to Lady Merredin's house. Her husband was still alive then and they had business to discuss. I had to go play with Lord Javaid. He wasn't a lord then, of course. They had pigs in the stables and Javaid wanted to show them to me."

"I think I know where this is going," Edmund muttered.

She inclined her head towards him. "Javaid pushed me into their pen. It was terrifying to my young mind. It had rained, so their outdoor pen, where we were, was muddy. I couldn't stand up and the pigs, of course, had to come investigate me. I was sliding in the mud and the pigs were sniffing me and crowding all around. I thought they would eat me and I couldn't get up to run away. Eventually, my father heard me screaming and got me out. I've been scared of pigs ever since."

"I can see how that would be scary to a young mind," Susan said.

"It's much scarier than sea monsters," Lucy giggled.