'What does that mean?? And HOW?!'

'Ugh, cool your loud pipes, gimme some room to think and breathe, dumbass.'

Raina groaned as Caspian asked her about how she has control over her will again. He was a mixture of shocked, happy, confused, and so on. Not having slept well the night before didn't do anything good for her mood, thus Raina being a little more annoyed than usual. Caspian gave her a slightly annoyed look at being called a dumbass.

'I'm not a dumbass.' He mumbled.

'Whatever helps you sleep at night, Cas.'

Caspian rolled his eyes at Raina's sarcasm, which to be honest, he was actually happy to be seeing. It meant she was feeling a little, if not much, better?

'To answer your question, I'm actually not sure how I have control over my will again. I tried to read your mind, and past habit, I used my will, but I was surprised to feel that it didn't need any effort. It just happened. I didn't pass out or anything!' Raina said, ecstatic, as Caspian laughed at her reaction.

'Never change, Raina.' He chimed in, as Raina pouted at him.

'But that's fantastic news! This is huge!' Caspian exclaimed, joyfully. Raina smiled.

'It is. Sure does make things better.'

Caspian simmered down realising what she meant.

'Raina...'

She looked at him.

'Why didn't you tell us before?' He asked, simply, even though he knew the answer deep down. He also asked, cautiously, knowing that this could bring up a lot of feelings, and just when he thought she might get upset, she just sighed, as her bright demeanour began to dim.

'I think saying it out loud meant accepting it, I guess? I don't really know how you're supposed to accept and move on from something like this? And it just triggers a whole lot for me, and so if I can avoid it, get my mind off it, I'm signing up.' She replied, sarcasm lacing her voice in the end. Caspian smiled a little at that.

'If it makes you feel any better, I felt the same way too. On the surface I had to act just the right amount of sadness, and project the right amount of responsibility. I didn't have time to grieve the way I'd like. And...' Caspian trailed off, shutting his eyes, recalling something painful. Raina could feel that pain, as her eyebrows furrowed and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

'It's okay. You can tell me.'

Caspian took a breath, visually steeling himself to speak the words he'd kept hidden from everyone for so long.

'In his last days, my father and I were on bad terms. We argued a lot, and he often expressed disappointment in me and my abilities as a ruler.' He began, his voice distant. It didn't have any malice or bitterness in it, just pain.

'I always thought that I'd never be good enough for him, and I probably never will. But he always wanted me to be my best self, and he never stopped pushing me in the right direction.' His voice was shaking slightly, which made Raina physically ache.

'I even...told him to his face that I wish he wasn't my father.'

Caspian had tears building in his eyes, his hair covering the side of his face, so that Raina couldn't see it. He quickly blinked them away and looked up.

'He went still. Didn't say another word. I left out of anger and didn't come out of my room for dinner either that night. I went to bed, loathing my father for making me feel like I'm not enough. And then...' Caspian's voice cracked, as he was fully crying now.

'I never saw him again.'

He let out a sob, as he buried his head in his palms, as Raina wrapped him in a tight hug, gently and soothingly rubbing his back, as he descended into tears he'd held back for years.

'I never- I never got to tell him how sorry I am, I- I never got to tell him how grateful I was for him, I- I never even-' Caspian choked out, as he struggled to string a sentence together, as he tightly wrapped his arms around Raina, for support.

'I never got to tell him how much I love him, and I never got to say goodbye.'

Lucy suddenly noticed the two royals in a tight hug, both crying softly. Raina noticed Lucy, and gave her a look that said 'later', and luckily Lucy caught the hint, and moved away, her facial features contorted in concern.

'Caspian.' Raina said, softly, as she pulled away to look him in the eye.

'No matter what happens, your father knows how much you love him, how sorry you are, and how grateful you are. I wish there was a way for you to say this to his face, but there isn't. And I'm so sorry you didn't have a chance to grieve, but I'm here for you, forever and always.' Raina assured, emotionally, before hugging him again, the latter grateful for her being there.

'You're so strong, Caspian. I'm so proud of you for opening up to me this way, and trust me when I say I know it's not easy by a long shot. But the fact you faced this and admitted it to me, I'm so proud of you.' Raina expressed pride in him, as he smiled bashfully, wiping his tears.

'Raina...for what it's worth, if you ever want to talk about what happened, I'm here, always.'

Raina felt her throat tighten but smiled slightly, nonetheless.

'I'll keep that in mind.'

***********

As the crew boarded the longboats and rowed to the island, Raina felt a strange feeling in her gut, as she sat on a boat with Caspian, Lucy, Eustace and Edmund. She scooted away from him, such that she was near Lucy and Caspian at the front, as she helped Lucy steer the boat, while Edmund sat behind Caspian, rowing. She hoped he didn't notice, but he did, and felt a pang of guilt. She nudged it aside, as she observed the abandoned island that grew closer. Something didn't feel right about this place.

'I doubt the lords stopped here, my liege!' Reepicheep called out from the boat next to them. 'There's no sign of anything living.'

Caspian observed the island as he rowed to the shore. He turned to Reepicheep.

'Right! Well, once you get ashore, take your men and search for food and water!' He replied, and then eyed Lucy, Raina and Edmund. 'The four of us will look for clues.'

Reepicheep nodded, when someone else spoke up from the back of the boat the royals were on.

'Hang on, you mean the five of us.'

The royals and the two crew members turned around to see that the voice came from Eustace, sitting at the back of the boat, his hands on his knees, a scowl on his face. Everyone exchanged surprised and somewhat amused glances, while Raina cocked an eyebrow. Eustace looked like he was about to have a full-on tantrum.

'Come on, please don't send me back to the rat.' He implored, his shoulder slumping in defeat. Raina couldn't help but snort slightly.

'I heard that.' Reepicheep called out from the other boat, giving Eustace the side-eye.

Eustace rolled his eyes and looked away, mumbling to himself as he crossed his arms.

'Big ears.'

'I heard that too!'

Everyone on the boat exchanged amused glances, chuckling at the dynamic between Reepicheep and Eustace. You have to admit though, they were hilarious. Raina shook her head to herself, smiling while watching this unfold, when her eyes fell upon Edmund staring at her. Her smile vanished, as she looked forward, ignoring him as though he wasn't there, and boy was that hard. Before things got any more awkward, they reached the shore of the island and got off.

Raina was the first to get off, dock the boat, and look around. She closed her eyes to centre herself, and searched deep within her. Her back was to everyone else, as she opened her eyes, feeling them flash violet, as she stretched her arms to the side, a violet glow enveloping her palms. She was searching for the presence of another being on the island. Strangely enough, this time too she just needed to draw upon her will, and everything else was an actual cakewalk. She didn't even realise it. The rest of the crew watched confused, but then stopped short at the violet glow of her eyes and palms.

Raina paid them no mind, as she slowly walked forward, circling the area, searching for any other being on the island, any other danger. She felt nothing from the entirety of the island. Just an uneasy feeling of something sinister, but it wasn't in a material form as such, and honestly, that was even more terrifying.

She turned around to see everyone staring at her in awe. She shrugged it off.

'There doesn't seem to be anyone else here at all. It's completely uninhabited. I don't feel the presence of anyone living here.' Raina remarked.

While everyone eyed Raina, awestruck at her abilities, no one seemed to notice Eustace scoot away from everyone, out of sight. Raina turned back to the boat to grab her swords, and her bow and arrows, strapping the swords to her hips, and her bow and arrows to her back.

'Let's go this way, the rest of you fan out and look for food and water. Of course, we have Coriakin's resources, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.' Caspian turned to his crew, who nodded and got to work. The royals turned to the left, and walked further into the island, in search of clues. Raina was furthest ahead, Caspian and Lucy a little behind, with Edmund trailing at the back.

Raina felt a strange tingle in her neck, as her hand went to the hilt of her sword, as she stopped abruptly.

'Raina? Everything alright?' Caspian asked, looking around, as Lucy and Edmund caught up to them.

'I-I feel something- Look!' Raina pointed some distance away. Tied to a rock, a rope of sorts, and a narrow chasm below it. Caspian walked forward, Edmund following.

'We're not the first ones on this island.' Caspian stated, as he reached the rock, and observed the rope, Edmund by his side, Lucy and Raina walking up to them.

'The lords?' Edmund suddenly asked.

'Could be.' Caspian replied, looking down in the chasm. He reached down, to pick up a pebble.

'Easy.' Raina stated, ensuring he doesn't take a tumble.

Caspian smiled slightly, before throwing the pebble down, to check the depth of it. It made a sound as it met the ground some seconds later. It was quite deep from the looks of it.

'What do you think could be down there?' Caspian asked, not being able to see much as it was so deep, sunlight couldn't penetrate to the bottom.

'Let's find out.' Edmund responded, as he began to reach for the rope. Raina stopped him.

'No, we don't know how long the rope's been here. It could snap. I'll go.'

Edmund looked back at the rope which did look a little dated, but not something that would snap.

'I'm good, it's fine.' He reached for the rope again. Raina placed a hand on his arm, warningly.

'Edmund, you're gonna fall. I'll go.' She mumbled before Edmund caught her arm, and they paused for a few moments. Raina had her guard up and it was stronger than before, but it didn't mean she wouldn't waver in close proximity to him. Edmund's guilt was strong, and he wanted nothing but to apologise and make things right, and those brown eyes which drew him in years ago, still had the same hold over him as they used to.

'Ahem.'

The pair jumped apart as they saw Caspian watching them, eyebrows raised before shaking his head.

'We need to check out the place, Raina. How do you propose we go down?' He asked, genuinely.

Raina looked down the chasm, and turned the group.

'Guess it's a good thing flight is one of my main powers, right?'

Just as she said this, her eyes flashed blue as she lifted off the ground, and levelled herself right above the chasm. She raised her palm, glowing with blue light, as Caspian, Edmund and Lucy levitated as well, before descending down the chasm, one by one due to the limited space. Raina landed first, as she made sure everyone else landed safely, before looking around. It looked like a cavern of sorts, some sunlight filtering through the cracks on the top.

Raina immediately felt a sinister presence as she walked further in the cavern. She didn't mention anything, because there didn't seem to be anything to pinpoint, but there was the feeling that something was lurking somewhere, until her eyes fell upon a small body of water on her left.

Edmund followed her as they investigated the area, Lucy and Caspian trailing behind. As they came closer to the pond of sorts, Raina's hand went to her sword, warningly, as she felt the presence grow stronger. Edmund came to a stop as he observed something under the surface of the water. He came up to the edge of the pond, as he observed a figure in the water, which looked like a statue.

'What's that?' Caspian asked, reaching him and Raina, Lucy watching some paces away.

'I don't know.' Edmund replied. 'Looks like some sort of-'

'Gold statue.' He and Raina completed each other's thoughts as they spoke. They glanced at each other, as Raina turned away, and looked closer.

'One way to find out.' She commented as she summoned her power again, her eyes turning blue and her palms glowing as she reached out to the statue in the water and willed it into raising itself higher. She felt her will summon her power, but she wasn't able to raise the statue. It was being blocked by something. Something strong enough to rival her. She dissipated her power.

'I can't use my power here. There's something going on.' She said, gravely.

'Well...' Edmund began, as he walked back towards a wall with branches jutting out of it, and grabbed a long one.

'Old-fashioned way, methinks.'

He went up to the pond, and as he tried to lift the statue with the stick, the moment it touched the water, Edmund lifted it up to see it was getting shiny. Raina rushed forward, just as he dropped it with a scream.

'NO!'

Raina quickly grabbed Edmund's hand before he could fall in, just as the stick did. He looked back at her, surprised.

'Just because I'm not your biggest fan right now, doesn't mean I want you to become a golden statue, or worse.'

Edmund smiled cautiously at her concern, which Raina didn't notice as she turned away. Caspian stepped closer to observe the pond, warily.

'He must've fallen in.' He stated, solemnly.

'Poor man.' Lucy said, sadly, as she stepped forward.

'You mean, poor lord.' Caspian chimed in. He observed a shield-like structure in the pond, shining as the sunlight reflected off it.

'The crest of Lord Restimar.'

'A-and his sword!' Edmund pointed to the water, under which the sure shine of one of the seven swords was visible. It seemed pretty hard to reach.

'We need it.' Caspian replied.

Edmund reached for his own magical sword, strapped to his hip, as he reached forward.

'Be careful.' Lucy said, worriedly.

Edmund lowered the sword into the water, and it didn't turn to gold, as he raised the other sword with his own.

'Your sword hasn't turned to gold.' Lucy stated.

'Both the swords are magical. Here.' Caspian replied, as he took the second sword from Edmund.

Raina stood still, as she summoned her power again, feeling another presence in the cavern. It felt tempting, but not to her. She could see a disturbance in the air near them, but she couldn't make out what it was.

'He mustn't have known what hit him.' Lucy sadly noted, as she observed the gold statue of Lord Restimar.

'Maybe.' Edmund replied. 'Or maybe he was onto something.' His tone changed, almost curious.

'What are you talking about?' Caspian asked.

Raina now clearly noted the disturbance in the air reach Edmund, almost as if it was whispering in his ear. She tried to rush forward but she felt held back by some force. The others hadn't noticed.

Edmund then picked up a shell, and dipped it in the water, before dropping it on the ground, just as it turned to solid gold. He picked it up slowly, and stared at it, awestruck. Raina could see a figure next to him, whispering.

'The riches...the power... the comforts... you could have it all...'

Alarm bells were going off in her head as she tried desperately to stop them. She knew what was about to happen.

'What are you staring at?' Lucy asked, confused.

Edmund, staring wide-eyed at the shell, replies back, in an eerily distant and terrifying voice.

'Whoever has access to this pool...could be the most powerful person in this world.' He breathed, as the voice kept whispering to him. He turned to Lucy, still crouched on the ground.

'Lucy, we'd be so rich.' He said. 'No one could tell us what to do, or who to live with.'

His voice grew deep, tempted, and he didn't even realise it.

'You can't take anything out of Narnia, Edmund.' Caspian explained.

'Says who?'

'I do.'

Edmund finally looked up at Caspian, his eyes darkening. He stood up and faced him, the invisible figure lurking behind him, urging him to say things. Raina still struggled against her invisible barriers, summoning her power more and more, as her eyes began to glow.

'I'm not your subject.' Edmund stated, defensively.

'You've been waiting for this, haven't you?' Caspian spoke, anger rising in his voice. He stepped up closer to Edmund.

'To challenge me, to doubt my leadership?!' Caspian exclaimed, and that's when Raina noticed a disturbance in the air near him as well. She felt herself being pulled further away, as she tried to break free and dissipate the evil.

'You doubt yourself!' Edmund shouted back.

'You're a child!'

'And you're a spineless sap!'

'Edmund-' Lucy rushed forward, as he pushed her away.

'I'm tired of playing second fiddle!' Edmund said, angrily, staring Caspian down. 'First it was Peter, and now it's you.' He spat.

'You know I'm braver than you! And why do you get Peter's sword?' His voice turned sadder, bitter.

Raina finally felt her bonds weaken against her strength, as she pushed even harder.

'I deserve a kingdom of my own! I deserve to rule!' Edmund exclaimed, this close to fighting Caspian.

Raina finally felt her bonds snap, as she rushed forward, her palms glowing.

'If you think you're so brave..' Caspian began, his eyes narrowed. 'Prove it!' He spat as he pushed Edmund away, and swung his sword at him, as Edmund retaliated.

At that moment Raina reached them and jerked her arms to the side, her power washing over the two of them, just as Lucy reached them.

'Stop it! Both of you! Look at yourselves...can't you see what's happening?' Lucy exclaimed, eyeing the two kings, angrily. They turned to Raina, surprised and a little lost.

'It's the temptations Coriakin warned us about. I tried to stop it but something kept holding me back, and kept you from noticing.' Raina explained, as she eyed the cavern.

'We should go.'

***********

The royals walked back to the shore, a heaviness hanging in the air. Raina sent a concerned look at Caspian, which he gave a small almost unnoticeable nod to. After 10 seconds of contemplation, she eyed
Edmund, sending a concerned glance his way, which he looked surprised to receive. He nodded slightly as well. As they reached where the longboats were docked, Caspian stepped forward, trying to shake off what had just transpired. Rhince and Drinian were near him.

'So what sort of food did you find?' He asked, eyeing baskets of grains of sorts that they had collected. Rhince stepped forward.

'It's volcanic, your majesty. Not much grows.' He explained.

Raina noticed someone missing from the group, as she quickly tried to find him, just as Lucy spoke up.

'Where's Eustace?' She asked, looking around. Edmund turned abruptly.

'Eustace? Eustace!' Lucy called out, just as a puff of fire was seen in the distance. She turned to Raina, trying to find Eustace's presence on the island.

'What do you feel?' She asked.

Raina tried hard to find him, but her powers weren't working well on the island. The evil was blocking it somehow.

'Nothing.'

Lucy's eyebrows furrowed, as she looked at Edmund.

'Edmund, I've got a bad feeling.' She said, worriedly. The king made an annoyed face.

'I'll look for him.' He replied as he began walking away.

'I'll come with you.' Caspian added.

'Me too.' Raina replied, as everyone turned to her.

'Someone's got to keep you safe.'

They rolled their eyes, as Raina took the lead, walking deeper into the island, her glowing palm stretched out, searching for Eustace's presence, as the kings called out to him.

'Eustace?!' Caspian called out.

'Eustace!' Edmund yelled, and got no response.

Raina felt an evil power somewhere nearby, as she followed the source.

'Guys, there's something here.' She said, hurriedly as she followed the source. They reached the edge of a cliff, and below was a sea of treasure. Raina could practically feel the evil pouring out of it.

'Treasure.' Edmund breathed, worriedly.

'Trouble.' Caspian replied. Just then Edmund noticed something on the bottom. Raina sensed his thoughts, and quickly brought them to the ground, as Edmund walked forward and picked up an object of sorts. When she got closer, her heart stopped in her chest.

A burned shoe.

'Eustace.' Edmund said, his eyes widening.

'Ed...' Raina trailed off as she pointed ahead, and found some more burned objects, this time, clothes. Edmund rushed ahead and picked them up.

'No...'

His hands grabbed a diary that Eustace always hid in his sock, unscathed.

'Oh, cousin.'

Raina felt tears build in her eyes, too afraid to think of what happened.

'I'm sorry.' Caspian said, softly.

'He was just a boy...I never should've left him.' Edmund said, in an apologetic tone.

'What could've happened to him?' Raina asked, her voice cracking.

'In this place? Anything.' Caspian remarked. 'And he wasn't the only one.'

Caspian got up and walked towards a skeleton leaned against the wall, dressed in fine clothing. Raina jumped back at the sight of a skeleton.

'It's Lord Octesian. We must find his-'

'Sword.' Edmund completed his thought, as he unsheathed Lord Octesian's sword.

Suddenly, a ringing sound filled the air, as Raina clutched her head, stumbling over the rocky ground.

'Raina! What's wrong?' Caspian steadied her, as Edmund rushed up to her, grabbing her arm.

'Do you hear that?' She asked. The boys looked at each other, confused.

'You don't, okay. I think I feel a presence...' She trailed off.

'Ours?' Edmund asked, quietly, as she gave him a look.

'No. Someone else. We need to go now.'

The kings got the hint that something was really wrong, because a shadow had cast over Raina's face. They hurriedly made their way out of the cursed treasure ground, and began to make their way back to the boats. Edmund ran forward, as Caspian and Raina followed close behind. Raina felt the presence grow closer and closer, and she suddenly turned around. A humongous dragon was flying forward at a rapid pace.

'DUCK!' She grabbed Caspian and made him take to the ground, as the dragon flew overhead, hurtling towards Edmund.

'EDMUND!' Raina screamed.

'ED!' Caspian yelled, just as the dragon grabbed Edmund and took to the skies.

'OH HELL NO!' Raina called out as her eyes flashed blue and she jumped up into the air.

'Me too!'

'Ugh.'

She used her power to summon Caspian up into the air, as they followed the dragon that grabbed Edmund. The dragon took Edmund near the ship, where they caught a glimpse of Lucy, watching in horror.

'EDMUND!'

'Lucy!' Edmund called out, terrified, as the dragon made a turn, deep into the island, Raina and Caspian following behind.

'Not so fast.' Raina threatened, as tendrils of blue light made their way to the dragon, but it wasn't holding well.

'ED! Hang on!!' Caspian screamed, as Edmund tried to turn around.

'Ugh why isn't this working?! STOP!'

The dragon kept going further and further, just as Caspian landed on his back, and was about to stab him, when something caught his eye on the ground. At that moment, Raina quickly rushed up to Edmund's side.

'Are you okay?!'

'Just peachy!'

'GUYS LOOK!' Caspian screamed atop the dragon, as Raina and Edmund looked down to see lava, but printed in a specific manner. Almost like a message. It read...

'Oh my god.' Raina said in a low tone.

'You've got to be joking.' Edmund screamed, worriedly.

The message read:

I am Eustace.

please vote on the chapters guys, it would really help my fanfic!!