Unlikely Ties | Caspian & Arista
Hearing a knock on his cabin door, Caspian groaned loudly as he rolled onto his side and placed one of his spare pillows on his head to block out the sound. After spending many restless nights in a rather uncomfortable hammock over the past few weeks he had been looking forward to sleeping in his own bed and sleeping in late. Apparently his crew didn’t share the same mindset as him.
“Your Highness,” came Drinian’s voice from the other side of the door, “you must get up. Your meeting with the merfolk is only a few minutes away.”
“Fine,” Caspian growled, loud enough for his advisor to hear. “Tell the crew to prepare for our guest.” Hearing a muffled, “Yes Sire,” and then the retreating footsteps of the older man, he finally rolled out of bed and began to get dress for the day. As he pulled on his shirt it finally hit him what was about to happen. He was about to have a meeting with some royal merfolk about a promise his father had made before his death. Not once did Caspian think this would happen. Out of all the Narnians he had hoped to meet someday, he always wanted to a mermaid. Now that he was finally going to get his chance he had to admit that he was feeling a bit like a boy again due to his overwhelming joy. His excitement was slowly growing and he couldn’t help it.
After he was fully dressed he left his room and walked onto the deck of the Dawn Treader. The crew moved about the deck quickly as they prepared the longboat that would take himself, Drinian, and a few others to Ramandu’s Island one final time. Spotting his advisor he walked up to the older and asked, “How long till they’re finished?”
“Not long, Sire.” Drinian glanced at him before whispering, “Are you sure this is a good idea, Your Highness?” At this question Caspian pursed his lips. He knew of the man’s feelings about this meeting. From the stories that he had heard while on their voyage, the saltiest of sailors seemed to believe that mermaids were deadly creatures and were best avoided. And yet here they were, about to have a meeting with a few.
“Yes and no,” Caspian replied in the same hushed tone. “I know how you feel about this but if this is truly something that my father wanted then I want to at least give them the definite of a doubt.” His father wouldn’t have done something to put him or Narnia in danger, or at least that was what Caspian believed. “Remember, mermaids once lived within Narnia. They have a right to come back to it just as much as we have the right to live there now.” Mermaids hadn’t been seen within Narnian waters in years or at least not since his father was murdered. If his father was trying to mend the bond between the humans and merfolk then Caspian wanted to do that as well. After what he had said to Aslan outside of Aslan’s Country, it only seemed right to him that this would be the first thing he would do to become a better king.
“Your Highness, the longboat is ready for whenever you wish to depart.” Caspian’s dark eyes turned to the sailor that addressed him and nodded his head. Placing a reassuring hand on Drinian’s shoulder he said, “Don’t worry, we’ll stay on land during this whole meeting.” If that reassured the older man or not he wasn’t sure since all Drinian did was grunt. The two of them then boarded the boat along with a few other crew members. Rowing the short distance between Ramandu’s Island and the Dawn Treader, the longboat was hauled onto the beach once they reached the island. Standing on the sand the men watched the water for a sign of their guest.
