༄ 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 (𝑽𝑫𝑻) ༄

Chapter 9: Dreams and a Mysterious Island

After shuffling everyone around again, Ana ended up back in her original cabin. Caspian and Edmund were bunking together in some spare hanging beds. This left Gael and Lucy sharing the royal cabin. Ana was glad to have her own space, though she would've gladly shared with either of the ladies. It gave her privacy if she had any other memories as she didn't have to worry about waking anyone. And she was sleeping a little better. The memories seemed to have disappeared for the time being. She thanked Aslan for that small blessing.

Gael seemed to grow quite attached to the young Queen over the next few days. She followed Lucy everywhere. The only times she didn't was if her father could spare time with her or Lucy was called to a private meeting. Then Gael stayed in her shared cabin until Lucy was free again. And there was no doubt that the Valiant Queen had grown quite fond of the little girl as well.

With the two spending a lot of time together, Ana noticed Caspian and Edmund had been watching her more closely. Granted, Lucy was doing her best to keep Gael's mind off her missing mother while watching Ana. But she couldn't keep her eye on her all the time. However, the two Kings had fewer distractions—apparently—as Ana often caught them regarding her closely, as if she was about to break. They at least tried not to make it obvious and she pretended she didn't notice. However, being treated like she was made of glass was beginning to grow irritating. So she was pleased that with better sleep they had started to back off.

Everything was going well. They had smooth sailing with no signs of the Mist and Ana's flashbacks were gone for the time being. Of course, that meant something had to go wrong. After a week of peaceful nights, Ana started having strange dreams. But at least she could handle these. Although they did get frightening at times, she didn't spend all night awake because of them.

~Dream~

The ship rocked violently, water slamming onto the deck and knocking men down. It was dark, the only light coming from the lanterns. Something foul lurked in the waters. Everyone was on edge.

Suddenly, a huge sea serpent reared its ugly head. Ana met the creature's pale eyes. They seemed to bore into one's soul. It let out something akin to a hiss before diving back into the water. Everyone drew their weapons as it made its way to the ship. Lucy dragged Gael inside, the poor girl too terrified and vulnerable to be of any use in the battle. Eustace was nowhere to be seen, Ana vaguely realized.

Edmund held his brother's sword tightly in his hand. Caspian held a sword but was armed with a crossbow as well. Ana and the other sailors waited for their orders to shoot at the beast. It slammed into the boat, rocking it once more and splashing more water onto the deck. A few threw harpoons at it, but they were sent flying overboard when the serpent jerked back violently. Diving back into the water, it intentionally bumped the ship and jostled the Dawn Treader's passengers.

Ana tried to shoot at the creature, but the serpent was making it difficult. It would either shake the boat and throw everyone off balance or fling its head onto the deck and grab unsuspecting crewmates. Ana was seemingly the target of most of its attacks. She spent so much time avoiding being dragged into the sea that she couldn't fire an arrow. Occasionally one of the crew members would get pulled from the ship instead of her. She could hear them screaming in agony just before they were dragged into the sea.

Feeling guilty for their loss, Ana finally gave up trying to kill the creature. She figured if the serpent was after her, she could at least stop the sailors from getting caught in the attacks. Or Their Majesties. But the only way she could do so was to get off the ship. She figured Phoenix would have a better chance against the serpent.

Scrambling up steps, she returned her bow and arrow back into its quiver. The serpent lunged for her again, and she narrowly avoided its snapping jaws. She was close enough to smell its breath and feel it on her neck. The beast retreated back into the water and Ana continued making her way to the ship's dragon head. Whether anyone noticed or not, Ana couldn't say. But she knew she couldn't let the others be dragged with her. She climbed atop the head as the serpent searched for its target.