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The crew had decided that the nearing land would be the best place to rest for the night. Estelle very much so desperate for a good sleep, something that came easily to her in Narnia. She found herself following Caspian around like a lost puppy since she currently didn't have Edmund to entertain her when the former was occupied. He didn't mind of course, he took every opportunity to look at her and admire the features that she had grown into.

He noticed that, even though she'd only been here for a maximum of 24 hours, her once gaunt face already seemed to blossom into one full of life. The familiar rose tint reappearing under her milky-way of freckles. He'd allowed her to settle down in a patch of grass before nonchalantly placing himself beside her.

After an hour at most, the majority of the group had fallen into a much needed slumber, everyone except the two teenagers. He caught a glimpse of her secretly shivering under the harsh blackness of the night.
"Stella? Are you awake?" He questioned, his tone hushed as to not disturb his men. Caspian already knew the answer of course.
"Hm." The girl hummed not wanting to expose her shakiness through her voice.
"You're cold." He stated bluntly.

Was she really that transparent? He was right in the assumption, the chill of the breeze preventing her body from fully committing to sleep. It crept in and met with the warmth of her blood, her body's only defence. She believed that if she kept her eyes clenched shut, her system would eventually succumb to the tiredness that tugged at her eyes, yet it had been an hour and little progress was made.
"A little, I'll be fine."
"Here." He offered, stretching his arm out to demonstrate his intent. No response.

"Only if you want to." He quickly continued, embarrassed by the lack of acknowledgment and not wanting to pressure her. There was no reply from Estelle again. The real reason behind her silence being her fighting the urge to smile like an idiot. Instead of agreeing with words, she shuffled over to his extended arm and gently lowered herself close to him. Her head instinctively fell on his chest and the radiating body heat vibrated her own.
"Thank you."

Now it was Caspian's turn to remain quiet. He too was refusing a response as he kept his head glued towards the moon, a goofy grin wedged onto his mouth with no intention of fading. With the rhythmic thumping of his heart and the slow rise and fall of his breaths, she peacefully drifted off, the content smile not disappearing from her face the whole time. It was easy for her. It felt right to lay like this with him. That was the truth, being with Caspian was simple and came like second nature. Although she didn't know why yet, being in his company made her feel unlike anything she'd ever experienced.

Unbeknownst to Estelle, he'd felt the exact same. She felt familiar and like home to him, and he'd be damned if he was going to let her leave his side again like last time.

The navigator was the first to stir, he hadn't slept that thoroughly in years. Immediately becoming aware of the slight weight on his chest, he scanned his surroundings and counted one less body than the night before. Everyone was present except... Lucy. He shook Estelle awake reluctantly, hating to disturb her when she looked so safe and peaceful where she lay.

"Hm- five more minutes." He chuckled to himself until he remembered the potential urgency of the situation.
"Stella, Lucy is gone."
All relaxation from her muscles instantly vanished, instead being replaced by tension. She shot up and frantically looked around her, internally pleading that the girl had let her curiosity get the better of her and was just wandering around the island. She darted towards Edmund's sleeping form and violently shook him, very much aware of his annoyingly heavy sleeping habits.

"Ed! Ed get up! Lucy is missing!" He only seemed to partially absorb the information but at the sight of his two friends jumping from unconscious person to unconscious person, waking them, he was startled.
"Lucy? Lucy!"
"Everybody up now!"
Edmund snatched Estelle's hand and dragged her into the woods, Caspian trailing close behind with a careful eye on their interlocked hands. He half allowed their affection to slip his jealous mind as he understood the worry of the pair at the thought of something happening to their sister.

As they neared an opening, a gut-wrenchingly familiar dagger lay abandoned on the grassy earth. Edmund's grip on her hand grew tighter as he glanced up at her with dreading eyes. She immediately understood that this wasn't just a dagger, it was Lucy's dagger, and Ed's look was meant to tell her that he feared the worst for his little Pevensie.
"What is it?" Caspian spoke as he eyed the two's telepathic conversation.
"It's Lucy's dagger." Estelle replied, not tearing her panicked eyes away from her friends glassy brown orbs.

"Stop right there or perish." A warning, seemingly from the air, boomed at them, causing Estelle to flinch and grasp Edmund's upper arm with her free hand, not caring about their argument in this moment. One by one, the members of the crew began to fall from their feet as if the wind blew a fraction too harshly. The Just boy shielded the princess' frame with his own as they dropped to the floor.
"What are you?" Estelle asked in a paranoid tone from underneath his body.

"Big creatures with the head of a tiger!"
"And the body of a..... different tiger!"
"You don't want to mess with us!"
How many were there?
"Or what?" Edmund demanded to know, partly to fuel his own amusement, as the once mystical and intimidating beings were revealed to be small, one-footed, fat dwarf-like creatures, better yet they were balancing on each other's shoulders like children in a trench coat.

"We'll claw you to death!"
"And I'll ram my tusks right through you!"
Estelle couldn't do anything to halt the giggle that graced the air like a musical masterpiece.
"And I'll gnash you with my teeth!"
"And I'll bite you with my fangs!" The last tubby man growled. Literally.
"You mean squash us with your fat bellies?" Edmund questioned, his words laced with feigned curiosity. He slowly pulled both the teens to their feet and approached the unidentifiable creature with grey hair and an unruly beard.

"Tickle us with your toes?" Caspian added, a wave of triumph washing over him as Estelle failed to conceal her hysterical laughter. It had become the most amazing success to make the girl laugh and he internally swore that he would do everything in his power to keep her this happy.
"What have you done with my sister, you little pipsqueak?"
"Now calm down."
She regained her composure and took long and meaningful strides towards the boy and 'man' to continue with her mission of locating the youngest Pevensie girl.

"Where is she?" She snarled at him.
The other beings urged their leader to confess to the children out of fear.
"In the mansion."
"What mansion?"
"Ed." Estelle drew his attention and faced a beautiful yet intimidating building that left a shadow of the unknown lurking over their faces.
"Oh, that mansion."

Eustace caught up with the group and -as usual- complained about their lack of his company on their short journey.
"The pig has come back!" One of the uni-footed creatures spoke.
"This place just gets weirder and weirder."
"Him calling us weird?"
Suddenly the creatures began to gasp and chant 'the oppressor' as the mansion door opened and revealed Lucy with an old looking wizard-man. She was safe. And now Edmund and Estelle's temporary forgiveness had returned back to its prior awkwardness once more.

"Guys, this is Coriakin. It's his island."
"That's what he thinks. You have wronged us magician."
There was a seemingly endless battle of quips and retaliations until 'Coriakin' managed to free them from the presence of the beings, by throwing handfuls of a grey powdery substance at them.
"What was that?" Lucy asked, her caring nature peeking through slightly as she sounded almost concerned for them.
"Lint, but don't tell them that."

Eustace reminded the group of his presence as he spoke up once more.
"What were those things?"
To Estelle's surprise, there was no sarcastic comment or a variety of complaints and whines from the boy, just genuine curiosity.
"Dufflepuds." Coriakin said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Right, of course. Silly me." The boys quip unexpectedly made a breathy laugh fall from Estelle's lips. The fact that he had made her smile had forced a matching smile of his own to sit on his face, although his holding a hint of smugness. Part of him wanted to impress the girl and prove that he wasn't just an annoying little boy like the others made him out to be.

"What did you mean when you said you made them invisible for their own good?" She asked the wizard, letting the look of amusement fade from her face and twist into one of concern.
"It seemed the easiest way to protect them, from the evil."
"You mean the mist?" Caspian added.
"I mean what lies beneath the mist."
His words acted as a cue for him to lead the confused group into his mansion.

They admired the building in awe, Estelle's gaze fixed upon the grand art plastered over the ceiling, it serenaded her and placed her in a trance, slowing her footsteps and leaving her to fall into step with the King and the child. Eustace used her momentary distraction as an excuse to look at her in the same admiration in which she looked at the decor. His eyes remained locked on her side profile until they met the glare of Caspian from the opposite side of her frame, daring him to keep staring at her.

Estelle had been so in her own world that she didn't notice the missed step that threw her body forward, Caspian steadying her with a casual hand on her waist, not tearing his eyes off of the boy. She smiled up at him in a gesture of thanks and they found themselves in a large room with a map sprawled out across the floor.
"It's quite beautiful." Eustace spoke, causing all heads to whip around to him at his genuine voice.
"I mean- for a make believe map of a make believe world." there it was, his usual snarky tone.

"There is the source of all your troubles, Dark Island-". The wizard explained.
"-it can take any form, it can make your darkest dreams come true-" Coriakin continued, directing the last sentence to the Just king. His gaze then fell upon Lucy.
"-It seeks to corrupt all goodness-" he continues, his line of sight switching to Estelle.
"-To steal the light from this world." She became anxious under his glare.
"How do we stop it?" Caspian spoke after seeing the old man refer to his 'friend' as the light that was threatened to be taken away from him. He wouldn't let that happen.

"You must break its spell. That sword you carry, there are six others."
"Have you seen them?" Edmund questioned.
"Yes."
"The six lords, they passed through here?"
"Indeed."
Estelle was growing irritated at his one-word sentences that didn't lead them to any further progress in their adventure.
"Where were they headed?" she pressed.
"Where I sent them. To break the spell.-"
"- you must follow the blue star, to Ramandu's island. There, the seven swords must be laid at Aslan's table. Only then can their true magical power be released."

Eustace dramatically rolled his eyes at this statement, clearly not convinced. Estelle nudged him in his side and he instantly coughed and straightened up.
"But beware, you are all about to be tested."
"Tested?" Lucy asked, dread evident in her features.
"Until you lay down the seventh sword, evil has the upper hand-"
"-it will do everything in its power to tempt you."
He edged closer to the youngest Pevensie and spoke menacingly into her face.
"Be strong. Don't fall to temptation-"
He took long strides over to Caspian until he could feel his breath blow over his skin and leave goosebumps where it traced.
"-To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourselves."

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word count: 2098

A/N
idk what to say here.
i hope you're all doing well and looking after yourselves loves <3