༄ 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒙 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 (𝑽𝑫𝑻) ༄

Chapter 15: The Unfortunate Fate of Eustace

As the phoenix, Ana gently placed Lucy on the ground and transformed back. Caspian was standing on the beach, a little shocked. Whether it was from their sudden arrival or seeing Edmund carried off, Ana couldn't tell. As Lucy rushed to his side, Ana was scanning the sky for any signs of the dragon.

It was coming back around, towards the beach. Edmund was still in his claws, but she couldn't tell if he was still alive. Ana transformed again and Caspian drew his sword. Both were prepared to fight the dragon and rescue Edmund. Though neither had quite worked out how to do that without harming the Just King.

Fortunately, they didn't have to worry. As the dragon drew closer, they could tell Edmund was very much alive. He was not-so-gently released from the dragon's grasp and he fell into a roll. If Ana wasn't mistaken, the dragon looked a little sheepish at that. It landed behind Edmund and she transformed back to herself, slightly confused.

As Edmund stood up, both royals rushed to his aid. Caspian charged at the dragon with the intent of killing him while Lucy ran to embrace her brother. She was so relieved to see him alive that she disregarded the threat of the dragon. But Edmund quickly dodged his sister and moved to intercept Caspian.

"Wait!" he said, hand raised to stop him. Caspian did, as equally confused as Ana was. "It's not what you think... He's harmless."
"Edmund?" Lucy asked, stepping closer to him. Ana also moved closer to hear them better.
"It's... It's Eustace," Edmund answered as an explanation.
"What?" Lucy gasped.
"H-how can that be?" Caspian stuttered. Ana was just as shocked at this revelation.
Edmund shrugged and directed the conversation to Lucy. "We found a valley full of treasure. When we investigated it, we found Eustace's clothes. They were slightly burned but there were no other signs of him there. I thought he was dead, killed by something. We found another lord and his sword, indicating Eustace wasn't the first to suffer a terrible fate. As we were making our way back to the ship, he," here Edmund turned to point at the dragon, "decided to pick me and fly me around."

The rest of Edmund's explanation was interrupted by the arrival of the others. Drinian had brought both Reepicheep and Tavros with him. Rhince and Gael had tagged along as well, but they stayed back when the rest approached.

"Sire!" Reepicheep exclaimed. "I am most pleased to see you alive."
Edmund smiled. "I am as well, Reep. Fortunately, this dragon is a friend of ours. I was just explaining that Eustace has gotten himself turned into a dragon."

Eustace bowed his head and looked away, almost in shame. Reepicheep barely restrained himself from laughing while the others stood in shock. It was quite a surprising turn of events for everyone.

"He must've been tempted by the treasure," Edmund remarked as Lucy walked closer.
"Well, everyone knows a dragon's treasure is enchanted," Caspian commented. This statement caused Eustace to send him a glare and he quickly amended it. "Well, anyone from here."

There was a shiny gold bracelet on Eustace's dragon arm. He started dragging it through the dirt in an attempt to get it off. Lucy slowly approached and he hopped backwards. When she held out her arms, Eustace offered her his appendage. She pulled the bracelet off as he roared in pain. But he seemed pleased to finally have it off. Lucy smiled and walked away from him, still holding the large bracelet.

They all watched the exchange carefully before Edmund looked at the others. "Is there any way to change him back?" he asked.
"Not that I know of," Caspian answered. He looked to Drinian and Ana to see if they had any suggestions.

Ana tried to recall what she had read about dragons. But she couldn't remember anything to do with transformation. So she merely shook her head and frowned. The Captain didn't seem to recall anything useful either.