Chapter Text
Between Eustace's insufferable ranting, and Edmund's empty threats, Madelynn Scrubb felt a part of her vacant. While it wasn't every so often she got to see her cousin, to say that their sudden appearance made life in the Scrubb household shift tracks would be an understatement. Her younger brother, Eustace, took every opportunity to make Lucy and Edmund miserable, the latter more so. He got them into trouble, scolded them- even being the youngest of the group, and mocking them for the fantasy worlds Lucy sketched absentmindedly on napkins.
"It's been a year, Lucy," Edmund would say softly, thinking nobody would hear. "We'll see them again soon."
"I know, but so much time passed last time!" The girl would sigh. "I can't bear to lose another group of friends to time." They thought their conversations were hushed enough not to attract the attention of the Scrubbs, but while she was mending clothes, or cooking meals, Madelynn heard. The girl of 18 enjoyed the stories her younger cousin would tell her, explaining small sketches as if they were memories.
"You should write all of these into novels," the older girl said once with a small laugh. "Since when did you become such a good writer?" She could see Lucy hesitate before replying.
"Narnia is just such a beautiful place. It's a part of me." The answer gave Madelynn a lot to think about while going about her chores. Each time she asked, Lucy replied with the same sort of answer. Narnia was a part of her, and she didn't seem ready to consider letting it go.
On this particular day, Madelynn found herself alone in the room she had been sharing with Lucy while her youngest cousin stayed where she had most days, in the boy's room with her elder brother. They say that strict parents create sneaky children, and Madelynn was no exception. While her parents, especially her father, wanted her to be a proper lady, Madelynn dreamed larger than that. She longed for adventure outside of the constants of war that ate at most people's spirits. She wanted to feel the wind blowing through her curls and to stare out at the endless blue horizon without worrying about fetching someone a beer. She found herself saving up money to sneak out to town, buying up all the things she was forbidden, like nice corsets or elegant heels.
So, as Madelynn sat in her room lacing up the corset she was most fond of -a black one that only covered her torso, ending with a small point under her bust, the usual squabble between Edmund and Eustace began to break out once more. But, something felt different this time. Today, she felt a pull to go into the boy's room and see what was going on. The argument seemed to be getting louder and louder, as Edmund's threats began to sound less empty than usual. So, Madelynn threw a loose shirt over her corset and swiftly made her way into the room. Upon opening the door, the arguments seemed to come to a halt.
"What happened?" She asked the younger children, patting down her shirt. She noticed Lucy walking up closer and closer to a painting of the sea on the wall, running her finger along the canvas.
"It's just a painting!" Eustace exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
"Nobody enjoys hearing your big mouth, Eustace!" Edmund snapped back.
"Both of you hush," Madelynn said with a pointed glare, moving over to Lucy and placing a hand on the small of her back. "What seems to be the matter with the painting, Lu?"
"Doesn't it appear to be alive," she said, looking up at her elder cousin with wide eyes. Upon closer inspection, Madelynn did notice that the oil painted waves looked much more lively than any other ocean portrait she had ever seen.
"Is that ship getting closer?" She said in shock.
"Oh, not you too!" Eustace yelled. "You all belong in a madhouse! I'm leaving!" Yet, as the boy reached for the door, it would not budge. "You locked me in here!" he yelped at his sister.
"I did no such thing. Let me see." Same as her brother, Madelynn could not open the door.
"Edmund! Edmund look!" Exclaimed Lucy, drawing her brother's attention to the portrait. Small droplets of sea water began to leak from the corners and onto the floor.
"Oh my," Madelynn said in shock, staring at how Lucy and Edmund shared a knowing look in their eyes. "What's happening?" The water flow grew heavier as seconds passed, and Eustace began to pull at the door frantically.
"MOTHER!!" he shouted. "FATHER! LET US OUT!"
"Hush, Eustace!" Their cousins snapped. Eustace grabbed the leaking portrait off of the wall, holding it in front of his face to examine. Only after a few seconds was he nearly drowned by a massive flow of sea water, smacking his face and filling the room with rising tides. That was when Madelynn really began to panic.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" she shouted, trying to keep herself above the surface as the room filled to the brim with ocean. But, the next time she came up for breath, she was surrounded by nothing by blue seas and a quickly nearing ship. Looking around, she couldn't see her family. "EUSTACE?" she called, but no answer. "LUCY? EDMUND?" Nothing.
The large wooden ship got closer still, and Madelynn tread the water to keep herself afloat as it passed. Hopefully the crew would notice the girl in the ocean. Turning her back away from the vessel, Madelynn kept scanning for her younger brother and cousin, only to be met with nothing but the vast, endless blue waters. Then, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso.
"What-" she started, getting cut off by a sharp wave washing over her face, causing her to let out a sputtering cough. Water filled her lungs, salty and drying.
"Let's get you onto the boat," the male voice said reassuringly, wrapping her body into his as both of them kicked to a small ledge. Sitting her down onto it, then standing himself, the man in the white shirt signaled the crew to pull the pair up into the vessel. There, on the ship, sat a beaming Lucy, Edmund, and less excited Eustace. Madelynn was still coughing up water, tears in her eyes from the pain in her chest, so she was whisked aside to be tended to in a small chamber with a towel thrown around her shoulders, watching the mystery man throw an arm around Lucy and walk away.
"How in the world did you end up here?"
After her coughing had died down, and a bit of fresh water washed through her system, Madelynn walked out to the main deck once more. She recalled hearing Eustace scream, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. What type of dream is this? She asked herself. It feels quite real.
"Men! Behold our castaways!" She heard the mystery man shout to the crew. "Edmund the just, and Lucy the valiant. High King and Queen of Narnia!" Narnia. That was the place Lucy sketched and told stories of. She remembered the mention of royalty in the very detailed stories. Maybe she adapted it into her own dreams. As she walked out of the doorway, all of the crew had kneeled down around her cousin. Peculiar. Madelynn felt awkward standing in the open archway, so she slipped into the shadows.
Lucy, ever observant, noticed her elder cousin's obvious uncomfortable nature on the ship, running over past the crew to make sure she was okay.
"Are you alright! You were pulled away right after you hit the deck!"
"I'm quite alright, High Queen Lucy."
"I'm so glad you're here with us!"
"And where exactly are we?"
"We, Mads, are in Narnia."
~*~
After wrapping a towel around her shoulders once more, Madelynn allowed herself to sit down in a small corner of the Dawn Treader on a pile of crates and collect her thoughts. She had just been transported to a magical land, outside of her own wild imagination, only to find out that her cousins were kings and queens. Narnia had been real all along.
"I don't believe we were properly introduced," someone said from beside her, his voice familiar. The brunette girl turned her head to the side to see the face of the man who grabbed her from the water, smiling down at her, his figure comfortably leaning on the mast. Looking no more than a year older than herself, he had long, brown hair, and neat facial hair trimmed close to his skin. It suited him well.
The mystery man had already changed out of his wet garments, now dawning a maroon colored coat with swirls of golden embroidery, over a shirt of the same color, and a more brown toned pair of trousers. His hair was no longer wet, and was now tied back with a small elastic.
"No, I suppose we haven't," Madelynn chuckled, readying herself to shake off her towel and stand, before the man held out a hand signaling her to stay seated before lowering himself to sit on the piled bags next to her. Both turning to face each other, the man extended his hand to shake.
"King Caspian," he said simply with a warm smile. Madelynn's eyes widened as she took his hand.
"Madelynn Scrubb," she replied with a surprised chuckle. "Edmund and Lucy's cousin, Your Majesty." She dipped her head in a small bow.
"No need for formalities," Caspian reassured her gently, an almost boyish smile creeping onto his lips. "I've never been one for those titles."
"Alright then." A mischievous glimmer flickered in her eyes.
"So, the boy is your brother?" Caspian questioned with a hint of pity, pointing to a complaining Eustace, who was once again conscious after fainting.
"How could you have ever guessed that?" she said with faux surprise and a laugh.
"Quite the handful, he is."
"You get used to it. Care to elaborate a bit on what exactly is going on?"
"I'm not sure how you got there, but our crew found you and your family floating in the sea. Now, you're here, on my ship."
"How informative," she muttered with a snort.
"Ladylike," Caspian commented with a chuckle.
"I try." With a gust of wind, Madelynn pulled the soaked towel closer around her figure to keep the harsh air from her wet skin.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Caspian said hurriedly, almost as if snapping out of a trance. "We don't have any women on board to borrow clothing from, so if all is well with you, I have a spare shirt and trousers of my own to offer. If not then we can make other arrangements-" The King pulled the articles of clothing from the small bag he carried with him, extending them out to the girl, blabbering quickly before she cut him off.
"That's perfectly fine," she said with another chuckle.
"You can get changed in my chambers, being as that is where you and Lucy shall be staying."
Madelynn accepted the dry clothes and went to stand up, a slightly questioning look on her face. Caspian noticed right away. "But where shall you sleep?"
"Among the crew. There is no trouble for me with that."
"Thank you for the clothes, and thank you for not letting me drown, your majesty," Madelynn said, walking off to the king's chambers with a knowing smile on her face.
Caspian leaned back against the wall of the ship, taking in a deep inhale of the ocean air. He couldn't remember if he told her not to use king-like terms around him. Most of the conversation was really a blur, but he remembered the deeper, elegant timbre of her voice, and the way her damp curls fell over her shoulders like the swirls on a painting.
He was already feeling at home on the ship, but now he has the added company of Lucy and Edmund. He knew that Susan and Peter would not be returning, no matter how he had hoped they would. It had been three years since he'd seen them, and dreams of Susan stopped after about one. Aslan was right when he said that she had no more to learn from Narnia. That included him. She was never his to have.
The sea made him feel calm. It helped him forget the bloodshed and battles he fought three years ago, at just 16, ending with him taking up the crown of Narnia. He couldn't help but ponder why the cousins of Lucy and Edmund were also brought to Narnia as well. Never before had the kings and queens of old brought guests along, but Aslan does everything for a reason. They must have a purpose here.
All he knew of Eustace was that he was loud, opinionated, and irritating. Yet, his elder sister seemed quite the opposite. Loud, perhaps the same, but she doesn't use volume to pester the others. Madelynn seemed just as agitated with her brother as Caspian was, so he knew he wasn't alone. She looked not much than a year younger than he was, with strong ringlet curls, although they were matted by the ocean water. Her eyes were nearly the same shade as the ocean, a beautiful crystal blue and green that glistened behind her eyelashes like the calm shores. Freckles scattered themselves across her features, up the bridge of her nose, above her cupid's bow, and up her cheeks. He liked how the apples of her cheeks were prominent whenever she smiled.
"Hello, Caspian!" Lucy exclaimed, shaking him out of his own thoughts. "You met my cousin?"
"Which one?" he questioned with a chuckle.
"It's hard not to know Eustace is here," said Edmund with a sour look as he walked up behind his sister, "so I'd assume she meant his sister."
"Madelynn was her name, right?" The King asked. He still couldn't remember what they spoke about in full. But not remembering her name? That would be even more embarrassing.
"Yes! Isn't she wonderful!"
"Calm down, Lu," Said Edmund.
"I have a right to be excited that another girl is here, Edmund."
"Yes, Lucy. Your cousin is wonderful," Caspian smiled, giving Lucy a pat on the shoulder.
"Scare her off already?"
"Ed!"
"She just went to change into dry clothes. She looked terribly cold."
"Maybe because she was sopping wet and it's windy?"
"ED!" Lucy slapped her brother upside the head as Caspian barked in laughter.
"He does have a fair point. So I can relay the information, how did you all end up here?"
"Relay the information?" Edmund repeated.
"Madelynn asked me some questions."
"So why wouldn't you just ask us to explain more to her?"
"Well, she seems to have chosen me to ask, hasn't she?"
"Or you just want an excuse to talk to her," Lucy chimed in. It wasn't entirely false.
"Talk to who?" The three of them turned their heads to face the new voice.
"Speak of the devil and she shall arrive," muttered Edmund.
"I've been compared to him time and time again, my dear Edmund. Positively unoriginal."
Edmund simply scowled. She was always quicker with retorts than he was.
"Caspian wanted to talk to me? I'm flattered, truly," Madelynn mused, a joking smile across her features as she looked up at the king. The girl now dawned Caspian's clothes, a loose creme shirt and maroon colored trousers. The fabric sloughed over her shoulders, exposing much more of her collar bone than usually acceptable. The shirt had a small v at the neckline that she laced up, and the corset she had tucked under her shirt now pinned the bottom half of the Caspian's to her torso.
"Is that one of the ones you got in town?" Asked Lucy, her eyes drawn to the black leather material.
"Yep! I feel like one of those pirates in a fairy tale," she laughed. "Adventure awaits, and I must look the part."
"You were wearing it under your blouse again, weren't you?" Edmund chimed in.
"Quite observant, aren't we."
"You paid me three pounds not to tell your mum."
"It's nice to know you keep your word, then."
Caspian cleared his throat a bit, speaking for the first time since she walked out. "Everything is fitting okay?" His voice came out weaker than he had hoped it would, and Lucy noticed.
"Fits perfectly, your majesty."
"There's no-"
"-No need for formal titles, I know. But you get all flustered whenever I use them. It's quite amusing." Caspian straightened his posture, fighting the small flush that was threatening to creep up onto his face. So he did tell her.
"So-erm- how long has it been for you all?" he questioned Lucy and Edmund, keeping his eyes away from Madelynn's new attire.
"Just one year, same as last time," Edmund answered.
"It's been only three here. Better than another 1300, I suppose," The King joked. "Speaking of that, I have something for you." The trio began to walk towards Caspian's chambers, leaving Madelynn awkwardly standing on the deck, before Lucy grasped her arm and pulled her along.
"Slow down, Lu!" she gasped as her younger cousin sprinted to catch up with the two boys. "You'll rip my arm off!"
The room Caspian led them too was simply elegant, with golden decor and wooden walls. Madelynn, for once, was at a loss for words.
"Aslan," Lucy said softly, her hand running over a golden lion on the wall.
"That's the lion you spoke of?" she asked her cousin.
"Well obviously not the golden carving," Edmund said smartly, earning a glare from Madelynn.
"Look!" Lucy exclaimed, walking to the other side of the room. "Susan's bow and arrow!" Caspian then proceeded to hand the two their old belongings that he kept stored away, and Peter's sword, which Edmund told him to keep, however reluctantly it may have been. Edmund was simply given his old flashlight.
"Thanks," he muttered.
"A flashlight?" Madelynn barked in laughter, stopping when the other three gave her an odd look. "Sorry." But, the laughter resumed when Edmund accidentally flashed the light into his eye.
Caspian ran over plans with the High King and Queen, alongside the captain who's name she didn't know, which Madelynn tuned out. She had no understanding of the Giants or other kingdoms, and was still lost on why Lucy brought her along.
"There is peace across all of Narnia."
"Peace?" Edmund said, astonished.
"In just three years."
"And have you found yourself a queen in those three years?" asked Lucy with a sly smirk on her face.
"No. Not one to compare with your sister." Madelynn's eyes widened.
"You and Susan?" she gasped with a smile. "How rude of her not to tell me."
"You didn't know this place was real until a few hours ago," Edmund mused, earning a glare. "And they only ever kissed once."
"Once that you know of," Lucy snapped.
"It was only once," Caspian confirmed.
"I still would have liked to know," Madelynn grumbled. "As her older cousin I'm entitled to this type of information."
"You thought Lucy was an up and coming fantasy author when she would mention Narnia-"
"Edmund I'm going to strangle you," Madelynn snapped. "Okay, continue, Caspian."
"Ladylike," Caspian laughed once more.
"Unoriginal. You already used that one. You need to spice things up a bit."
"You are quite the interesting character, Madelynn."
"I do my best."
Edmund gagged. "Wait, hang on. So if there are no wars to fight, and no one's in trouble, why are we here?"
"That's a good question," Caspian sighed. "I've been asking myself the same thing."
"So where are we sailing to?"
"Before I took back the throne from my uncle, he tried to kill my father's closest friends and most loyal supporters. The seven lords of Telmar. They fled to the Lone Island. No one's heard from them since."
"So you think something's happened to them?"
"Well if it has, it's my duty to find out."