༄ 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 (𝑽𝑫𝑻) ༄

Chapter 12: Darkness Encroaches

They continued east in search of Ramandu's Island. The first few days at sea were calm and the sun was shining down on them. Luck seemed to still be on their side and they would be able to spot the Blue Star easy enough. However, though the sailing was smooth, a feeling of unease lurked in the air.

Coriakin's warnings were on the minds of many as they left the Island. They wondered what sort of tests they would face and if they'd overcome them. Ana had a feeling hers had to do with the nightmares she kept having but wasn't sure exactly which ones. The flashbacks from her past or the visions of a potential future. If they were visions, Ana knew this could very well be her last adventure. In all of them, she died.

However, after just a few days, their luck ran out and a storm soon fell upon them. It rained day and night for two weeks. Small fights and scuffles began breaking out among the crew. Everyone was restless. Shifts had to be created as it took several men to keep the ship on course during a storm. But people needed to get as much sleep as they could in the meantime. Sleeping on a ship was difficult under normal conditions and doing so during a tempest seemed impossible.

While Caspian and Edmund helped with the ship's rigging and steering, the ladies were forced to stay inside. There wasn't much more they could do than what was already being done. But it was mostly because the Kings wanted them safe from the weather. Besides, if they were dry Lucy and Ana would be ready to help if there was an injury. With the constant downpour, injuries from slipping and lost grips were more common.

Everyone was cold and wet, as miserable as Eustace had been the whole journey. Reepicheep was the only one whose spirits remained positive, which actually began to get on everyone else's nerves. Even Ana and Lucy had their moments, mostly due to being unable to sleep properly. So Reepicheep was put in charge of guarding their rations and supplies. With the poor weather, everyone had grown irritable and some had been caught trying to take more food. Which had only made the situation worse.

After days of being lost in a tempest, the Captain grew worried that they would never find the Blue Star. With the storm raging, they had no idea if they were still heading in the right direction. Ana knew Drinian had been in meetings with the Kings several times to try and convince them to turn back. Rations had been cut in half and they didn't have enough water to last much longer. But they had refused. It not only meant Caspian breaking the oath he made when he was crowned but also abandoning the search for Rhince's family. And neither King was prepared to tell the sailor that they had given up.

Since the ladies stayed mostly inside, Lucy entertained their time by telling stories. Sometimes Ana would join in, having a few stories of her own. Lucy's favorite story to tell was one Ana had heard many times. But Gael enjoyed hearing how the four siblings found the world and came to be Kings and Queens of Narnia. Both reminisced about past adventures during the Golden Age, much to the young girl's delight. The stories helped keep their minds off the troublesome days.

But it couldn't last forever. There were only so many stories one could recount. And while they helped during the daytime, the magician's warning weighed heavily on Ana's mind at night. She suspected the others thought about it during the evening as well. It was obvious no one was sleeping the best and the terrible weather wasn't helping. They were constantly being tossed around due to the rough seas.

However, Ana seemed to have the worst time. Much to her dismay, the nightmares had returned shortly after leaving Coriakin's Island. She had hardly slept at all during the last thirteen days. The only consolation was that the others weren't getting much sleep either so they didn't pay much attention to her. The storm kept them occupied during the day and if Lucy noticed, Ana blamed it on the storm. But that fourteenth night...things took a drastic turn.