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lotesseTitle: The Star to Every Wandering
Pairing: Caspian/Lucy
Impossible love stories at sea, things unspoken and how the speaking changes everything.
1
Caspian thought that he never would have really seen Felimath if Lucy hadn’t been with him. She was utterly enraptured: the soft turf under her bare feet, the wild smell of heather and the sea, the perfect isolation of it all. The sparse and twisted trees, the little wildflowers tangled with the gorse underfoot, the cliffs where the sea-spay flew up in fountained plumes as the waves struck against the stones. It was windy, and her hair crept from its braid to fly about her face, curling in the dampness. He had never heard anything so sweet as her laughter.
Once it started, it all went so quickly. Felimath was all that she remembered, beautiful and lonely, and she had reveled in standing on Narnian soil once more. The Dawn Treader was wonderful, and entirely and wonderfully Narnian, but still. This was different. And she was there with Edmund and Reepicheep and Caspian, and it was like a lovely dream. But soon they realized that they were not alone.
At first they had spoken to the rough-looking men, and it had been scary and a bit exciting, an adventure. And then it was quite blurry: a tussle, ropes being tied around her wrists, Eustace being an ass, the sharp sting of tears as she tried to be brave, be valiant. The light on Caspian’s hair as they tied him into line in front of her.
And now they were walking along in single file, bound and led. What were they going to do? What could they possibly do? They could never be sold—how would that be for an end to their adventure? She was terribly, terribly afraid, because she felt certain that this was an enemy that neither swords nor philosophy could defeat. There was a horror in her at the touch of the unshaven men who had abandoned all humanity to sell their fellow beings. She was not naïve; she had been a queen. She knew well enough that there is a dark thing in all people that will come out if not watched and chained. But nonetheless it chilled and nauseated to be brought so close to it, to feel their breath on her cheek and their hands on her wrists.
And she was afraid, too, of slavery. She had been a queen, and she knew what happened to girls who were taken slave. Edmund and Eustace would be put to work, and that would be miserable enough, but they would have no need to fear that. Reepicheep, she thought with a smile, would fight for her, but even his valiant sword would not be protection if she was bought and owned.
She could not speak to her brother or Caspian, and certainly could not say or do anything that would reveal them as royalty. No, Caspian was right, it would never do. But when, as they were hauled along to the slave ship, a tall and noble man stopped them and began to barter for Caspian, she was utterly desperate. The words bubbled up into her mouth, the words that would save them and keep them together. They had to keep together, or all would be lost! Caspian would be a sold slave, and they would not have his help in escaping. His own authority might be worth something, but theirs would not be. Anyone they told would laugh at them, or only look blank.
But he silenced her with a look, and went off into bondage with no more than a cheery look and a brave word. He did not meet her eyes as he said farewell with a hysterical merriment, and she was even more downcast by that than by his loss, though she was not sure why and it was like as not nothing but foolishness. But the day seemed overcast and gloomy without him, and Lucy found that she didn’t have the heart to struggle as Pug and his slavers pulled her down into the belly of their ship to take them to Narrowhaven and the markets. There was nothing that she could do now but wait and hope.
Pairing: Caspian/Lucy
Impossible love stories at sea, things unspoken and how the speaking changes everything.
1
Caspian thought that he never would have really seen Felimath if Lucy hadn’t been with him. She was utterly enraptured: the soft turf under her bare feet, the wild smell of heather and the sea, the perfect isolation of it all. The sparse and twisted trees, the little wildflowers tangled with the gorse underfoot, the cliffs where the sea-spay flew up in fountained plumes as the waves struck against the stones. It was windy, and her hair crept from its braid to fly about her face, curling in the dampness. He had never heard anything so sweet as her laughter.
Once it started, it all went so quickly. Felimath was all that she remembered, beautiful and lonely, and she had reveled in standing on Narnian soil once more. The Dawn Treader was wonderful, and entirely and wonderfully Narnian, but still. This was different. And she was there with Edmund and Reepicheep and Caspian, and it was like a lovely dream. But soon they realized that they were not alone.
At first they had spoken to the rough-looking men, and it had been scary and a bit exciting, an adventure. And then it was quite blurry: a tussle, ropes being tied around her wrists, Eustace being an ass, the sharp sting of tears as she tried to be brave, be valiant. The light on Caspian’s hair as they tied him into line in front of her.
And now they were walking along in single file, bound and led. What were they going to do? What could they possibly do? They could never be sold—how would that be for an end to their adventure? She was terribly, terribly afraid, because she felt certain that this was an enemy that neither swords nor philosophy could defeat. There was a horror in her at the touch of the unshaven men who had abandoned all humanity to sell their fellow beings. She was not naïve; she had been a queen. She knew well enough that there is a dark thing in all people that will come out if not watched and chained. But nonetheless it chilled and nauseated to be brought so close to it, to feel their breath on her cheek and their hands on her wrists.
And she was afraid, too, of slavery. She had been a queen, and she knew what happened to girls who were taken slave. Edmund and Eustace would be put to work, and that would be miserable enough, but they would have no need to fear that. Reepicheep, she thought with a smile, would fight for her, but even his valiant sword would not be protection if she was bought and owned.
She could not speak to her brother or Caspian, and certainly could not say or do anything that would reveal them as royalty. No, Caspian was right, it would never do. But when, as they were hauled along to the slave ship, a tall and noble man stopped them and began to barter for Caspian, she was utterly desperate. The words bubbled up into her mouth, the words that would save them and keep them together. They had to keep together, or all would be lost! Caspian would be a sold slave, and they would not have his help in escaping. His own authority might be worth something, but theirs would not be. Anyone they told would laugh at them, or only look blank.
But he silenced her with a look, and went off into bondage with no more than a cheery look and a brave word. He did not meet her eyes as he said farewell with a hysterical merriment, and she was even more downcast by that than by his loss, though she was not sure why and it was like as not nothing but foolishness. But the day seemed overcast and gloomy without him, and Lucy found that she didn’t have the heart to struggle as Pug and his slavers pulled her down into the belly of their ship to take them to Narrowhaven and the markets. There was nothing that she could do now but wait and hope.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-08 08:44 pm (UTC)I do love the way you describe the sea and the boat.
<3
no subject
Date: 2006-08-29 07:41 pm (UTC)VDT always was my favorite, mainly because of the sea and the boat.