༄ 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 (𝑽𝑫𝑻) ༄

Chapter 13: Untitled

4/11/22: This chapter is untitled as of now because of how much it's changed in comparison to the original. It is complete, but I haven't worked out a title for it yet. Feel free to let me know if anything comes to mind.

There is a POV change mid-conversation that's not obviously marked. This is because the only way I could convey what I wanted was to go to an outside persepctive. Enjoy!

᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽᯽

When Ana awoke it was dark but not pitch black like it would be if it was night. There was some light breaking through and she could hear sea birds chirping. She assumed the storm must have stopped sometime during the night. But she didn't even remember falling asleep. Could she be dreaming?

Confused, Ana cast her eyes around. She realized someone had untied the curtains and closed them around the bed, blocking out most of the natural light. That was not something she normally would do, preferring to wake with the sunrise. She slowly sat up and pushed the curtains open. Sunlight pierced through the cabin windows. Alarmed, she realized it was at least midday and no one had bothered to wake her. It was rare for her to sleep that late and found it strange no one came to fetch her.

She flipped the blankets off and climbed out of the bed. As soon as her feet hit the wooden floor, a rush of memories sent her stumbling back down into it. She realized she wasn't dreaming as the horrors of the previous evening came crashing down.

The nightmare. Voices. Phoenix. Seeing Caspian. Hurting him.

She choked back a sob, not wanting to face what she'd done. She had hurt her King, her friend. The person she was supposed to protect. Ana realized that not only was she a threat to them but she was trapped as well. They were on a ship in the middle of nowhere so she had no place to go. No place to flee to. With no signs of land, she would likely die before she got anywhere. But perhaps that was her fate anyway. She deserved it for attacking the King. Anyone else would suffer the same fate.

Ana didn't know what to do. She couldn't face them, not after what she did. Lucy and Edmund had to have been the other figures she recalled seeing. That meant they had witnessed her attacking Caspian. Losing control was not a good excuse for lashing out. She should be in control of her magic at all times. If she wasn't then that made her dangerous and unpredictable. It made her a threat to everyone on the ship and she needed to leave. She couldn't put innocent people at risk. But Ana didn't know how to leave without being confronted by someone.

Just then, a quiet knock interrupted her thoughts. Terror-filled eyes flashed to the door, thinking someone was coming to deliver her death sentence. But Ana quickly realized that none of the royals would order such a thing. They might want her off the ship, but none would order her death. It consoled her very little though.

When she didn't answer, the person knocked again.

"Ana?" Lucy whispered, poking her head around the door. Her face showed great concern, but Ana couldn't look at her. As soon as the Queen stepped into the room, she chose to focus on the floor. There was a feeling of unease in the room.

"You're awake," Lucy tried to continue as if nothing had happened. "We were starting to get worried." The tension only grew when Ana didn't respond. She approached cautiously. "Ana? Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

The sound of Lucy's voice started to fade into the background and images began to flood her mind. Ana shook her head to try and clear them. She had to stay in the present or who knew what would happen. A hand touched her shoulder and she flinched away from it.