Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
▬▬ι══════༻❁༺══════ι▬▬
WE COME UPON an island the following day. Baziras spots it on the horizon around noon — the first landmass we've encountered since leaving the Lone Islands over a month ago. Rynelf immediately begins writing out notes and measurements of its location while the rest of the crew prepares the longboats with supplies for exploration and scavenging. By the time the sun grazes the horizon, the Dawn Treader sits anchored in the mouth of the bay.
Half the crew remain aboard the ship while the rest of us take the longboats to shore for the night. I'm shocked Drinian didn't persuade Caspian to wait until morning, considering we know nothing of the island. I suppose they don't want to waste any time if it can be helped, especially with the Lone Islanders' lives on the line.
With the sunlight fading fast, we work quickly to set up camp. The longboats are dragged ashore, and the supplies unloaded. Drinian sends groups to scout the perimeter and gather firewood, pairing me with Rithar and Dusnun and sending Edmund off with Mesithis. Figures he'd separate us.
After the spectacle some of the men made of Edmund and me sharing a hammock last night, I'm not surprised. Irritated, but not surprised. Especially now that I have no way of escaping Rithar's griping.
"Should've left one of you on the ship," he grumbles, leading the trudge through the forest. "You better run off well into the trees before doing anything. If I wake up to–"
"If you don't shut up," I mutter, "I'm gonna break your kneecap."
The man scoffs but falls silent for a few minutes. I woke up in a phenomenal mood today (for good reason), and his idiotic comments have been gradually souring it all day long. At this point, I'm physically restraining myself from bashing him over the head with a log.
Dusnun crouches down to scoop up a few sticks, handing them to me with an awkward sort of smile that's meant to be apologetic. But I notice something uneasy swimming in his eyes that makes me pause.
"What?" I ask.
He shakes his head, eyes darting around the surrounding trees. "Nothing — I don't know. This forest is just...weird."
We stuff the kindling into our baskets and hurry after Rithar as he steps into a small clearing.
"Oh, this is perfect," he says, spreading his arms out as he turns around. "Nice and private and even has some cushioning," he prods the moss carpet with his boot, giving me a suggestive look. "Very spacious, too."
An annoyed groan erupts from Dusnun. "Ugh, Rithar."
"I imagine you two have a lot of catching up to do after all those years..."
My fingers tighten around the basket handles, eyes narrowing as I say to him, "You better hope you sleep as light as you claim to."
He raises a brow at that, picking up on the threat underlying my words: sleep with one eye open tonight. "Big talk," he notes before continuing through the bush. "I wonder what your dear king would think of that."
