A few days passed by and in this time, there was one particular concern that was pointed out by Drinian - food. The supply of food that the ship had started with was getting low since nobody had been expecting four more members to join during the journey. The food they had bought in the Lone Islands was getting over and there would be a situation where they would have to break into the emergency reserved. 

"We need to find vegetation soon." 

"And we will." Caspian was optimistic, which was one of the things that Sophie admired about him, but he was scared. He had taken on his first journey and there were going to be so many changes than what he had started with, but as someone wise had said once, "A strong person is who is the only one who knows about their fears."

"Do we know where our next stop is?" Edmund asked the captain. But just as he spoke, there was a loud force that made us all lose balance and fall down. 

"What?" Sophie whispered as the ship stopped moving, which was technically improbable. Edmund helped his sister get up while Sophie took the help of the table in the Royal State Room once again. 

"Did the ship just stop?" Lucy asked, being the first one to talk since the impact.

"This shouldn't be possible," Drinian breathed out as he rushed out of the door. 

Caspian was the first out of the room and onto the main deck. Just as he lifted the wooden hatch, a green smoke blinded everyone's eyes, making them cough. "Don't inhale it!" Sophie shouted immediately as she closed her mouth with her hand.

The five of them got out of the hatch even if they couldn't see anything. The entire deck was covered with the Green Mist that had been following them since they left the Lone Islands. It had not made its presence known until now. Lucy looked at Sophie and held onto her hand to remind her that she was standing right next to her.

That gave Sophie an idea. The Mist had a way of making you feel vulnerable and alone. Great tactics, but we are smarter, she thought. "Hold onto each other! I'll take care of this."

Caspian turned his head to search for her silhouette among the mist. "What are you going to do?"

"Trust me." She winked, making him smile because that was their phrase.

Sophie put her hand out as she walked towards the starboard side of the ship, trying to rely on her hearing senses. Once her hand touched the brim of the ship, she looked down at the surface of the ocean. The salt content in the air increased as she felt the surge through her veins. Water, it was such a blessing.

With prayers in her head, she jumped. 

Splashing into the water, the cool water spread through her mind but as usual, the water didn't soak her. She wondered how that actually worked and realised that that wasn't the best time to start wondering about her powers. "Focus, Adams." She looked up at the ship and saw that the mist was moving across the ship. "Please let this work." She put her hands together and blasted a current of water away from the ship for a trial run.

A voice called out in return, which made her yelp in silence. She hadn't realised that she had company under the ocean. "We come in peace!" Her current had hit two people and her eyes widened as she saw who it was.

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"You were trying to get to the mist, weren't you?" The person in-charge, who was riding the huge seahorse asked her.

"Yes, can you guide me through it?"

"Do you know how to ride the waves?"

"Ride the what?"

The leader lifted his hands slowly towards the surface and Sophie could feel them rising. He brought his hands one top of the other and there was a sphere of water that grew as he extended his hands. "Woah!" Sophie exclaimed as the water next to her feet turned white and foamy.

Ride the water. It was exactly as he had meant it.

Sophie stretched her hands, following the gestures he had made and controlled the water, lifting it into the air. A laugh escaped her when she realised that she was out onto the surface of the water and was riding the wave. She really was Percy Jackson! She controlled the water to rise up to become half the height of the Treader, lifting the ocean water and throwing it onto the deck towards the top layers of the mist. 

"Whoever you are," she whispered. "You will not get away with this."

She kept throwing water but made sure that it didn't affect the surface of the deck. The mist started to clear up as she kept throwing water at it. The crew members saw what she was doing as soon as sunlight started to seep through and applauded, spreading cheers around. 

Once the deck was cleared, the wave reduced to the height of the deck and once she jumped off, the wave collapsed. "Thank you!" She waved at the wave. Now there's a sentence I never thought that I would say, she thought to herself.

Sophie felt arms surrounding her and heard a certain smol bean's exclaim. "That was amazing!" Lucy said.

"So I guess you weren't lying about controlling water." Edmund questioned.

"Since mist is just another form of water, I figured that throwing water at it should work." Sophie revealed. "Oh wait." She turned around and looked at the merpeople and their horses on the surface of the water. "Thank you!"

The merpeople bowed down in answer. "That is the leader of the merpeople - Commander Octavian." Caspian informed as he stood next to her. "How may we help you, Commander Octavian?" He addressed the mermen as Narnia's King.

The corners of Sophie's mouth twitched into a smile when she saw Caspian as her King and not as her....boyfriend? Her....consort? She hated that she and Caspian had never labelled themselves but it was also satisfying in a way. They wouldn't let anyone decide who they were.

"We require your help for a problem that we are facing, Your Majesties. I wouldn't have approached in such an informal way unless we were in grave need," revealed the Commander. "One that you yourself faced right before we arrived."

"The mist," whispered Lucy. "How can we fight it?"

"You can't. But you can fight the Witch controlling it."

Sophie felt Edmund stiffen. "The Witch?"

"The Green Witch. She has been living in Narnia for ages but she hasn't been able to control the lives of the sea as she is doing now. Something has changed, but we aren't able to do anything about it. We have kept a boat ready at your next destination and we have come to request Her Majesty, the Legacy," He bowed to Sophie once again. "To release us from her atrocities."

"Me?" Her eyes opened wide. "But how am I to fight someone who clearly has magical powers?"

"Because that's what the Forbidden Prophecy says," the Commander added as he pulled out a scroll. He used a small wave to hand it to Sophie, who opened it, and read the lines of the prophecy that she already knew."

The heir of the cabby and the painter

The scion of war and sacrifice

Strawberry's lineage cognize

The heir of Narnia

The Lost Legacy will return

But that wasn't it. There was another stanza below it.

The separation of two souls

The reunion of two rulers

An old friend in disguise

The defeat of the darkness

The fall of the emerald enchantment

"The Prophecy was written with all the Narnians consent. There are three stanzas in total. We have the second one," informed Commander Octavian. "I'm afraid I won't be able to reveal who has the third one because it goes against the vow that we made to Aslan. I offer my deepest apologies, Your Majesties."

"There is one more stanza?" Sophie couldn't believe it. Her life was being ruled by something that was written thousands of ears ago. Her life could be fit inside three scrolls. That was it. These scrolls were kept safe by three different Narnian over the years, awaiting her return. And what a disappointment she had been so far. "It's completely alright, Commander." 

Sophie had to admit that she wasn't sure how to act to meet everyone's expectations but she wasn't going to be someone that she wasn't. They wanted the Lost Legacy. They were going to get Sophie Adams post Narnia, because the two could not be separated. She was who she had always been.

Caspian noticed that she was calculating in her mind, her eyebrows furrowing and her trying to hold her breath. He placed a hand on her shoulder and pressed the spot that she always told was sore. "And you want Princess Sophie to defeat the Green Witch?" 

"She is the only one who can. The journey will take you a day utmost. The boat will be waiting at the foot of the hill where the entrance of the cave is found. We hope to help you however we can during this journey but we will have to get back to our kingdom now. The Green Witch attacks multiple places at once and our land is at risk of being toppled over by the harsh weathers of the sea." He told them the location and said that they would help whenever they could. "We will pray for your safe journey. Long may you reign."

Sophie reminded herself to breathe out. "I guess there is another Witch to kill." 

She headed to her cabin immediately. If there was someone who was threatening the lives of her people, they had to be dealt with. She was Sophie Adams, the daughter of King Frank and Queen Helen, and she never strayed away from a fight. Jonathan's broken nose was proof of that.

Sophie wondered how he was doing. Her punch must have taught him a lesson. "Not now, Sophie," she whispered to herself. She had a prophecy to deal with. There was a new prophecy. Well, it was the oldest prophecy ever and she wondered why no one cared to mention that it had three stanzas altogether!

The prophecy wasn't done with her, and it wasn't going to be for a long time.

Her life really had become a fantasy series.

"Sophie, wait." Caspian hesitated as he entered the room in a hurry. He could see the determination on her face. It was what she looked like when she decided to go in search of the boy right when her coronation was stopped.

"What happened?" Sophie asked him as she held her sword, halfway through packing for the unknown journey that lay ahead.

"Please do not leave. I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it. I want to keep you safe. You've come back after so long....I cannot lose you again."

"Caspian, I'm not leaving Narnia. The prophecy states that I need to defeat whoever this Green Witch is. She has a control over the mist and if we can defeat her, we will have no more delay. No more mist stopping us in our path."

"But....." He didn't know what to argue with. He shouldn't have stopped her before in the past and he shouldn't have been doing it now. But the ache in his chest for her was too real for him to stand by and do nothing.

"Plus, the Witch has the merpeople terrorized. They helped me remove the pathway of mist and they have also moved the current of the ocean. The ship is moving again. We need all the allies that we can get. You know how everyone reacted after they found out who I was."

"That is true but-"

"And it is not like I have to defeat the Witch right away. I can find out where her lair is and try to figure out a way to defeat her. Once that is done, I'll be coming home....to you."

"The merpeople are our allies but are you sure that you want to go?"

"I do." She nodded. "I'll meet you on....." She walked over to the open maps and pointed to the next Island that lay waiting for them. "Ramandu's Island once I am done with what I need."

"Then it is settled." He nodded, standing by her side instantly. He drew a circle around Ramandu's Island and changed the course that they were on so that they would meet each other exactly in the time that the Commander had mentioned. "But you are not going alone."

"Caspian, you cannot come with me and you know that."

"Not me. Tavros. He is the best fighter onboard and it will make me comfortable if he accompanies you. I cannot lose you in any way. Not again."

Sophie could see the way Caspian felt. His eyes were a daily reminder of that. He was concerned for her safety and was thoroughly worried that he couldn't accompany her himself. But he had a duty to abide by and so did she. She would respect his wishes even if it meant someone having her back.

"If it will keep your mind at rest, then he can come along."

He wrapped his arms around her and she pulled him closer. Oh, how she had missed him! "Nothing will keep my mind or heart at rest until you come back. Understood?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Understood. Then I guess we better announce the new plan to everyone." She got away from him and was about to head to the supply cabinet when Caspian pulled her by her hand and made her crash against his chest. "Caspia-"

He didn't let her finish. He cupped her face and was kissing her as if to make her forget about the whole situation. She wanted to protest and tell him that time was of the urgent here. And how exactly did she do that? She wrapped her arms around his neck, not wanting to let him go either. They had only been apart for six months but it had been quite a grave time.

Once they broke apart, he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Get back to me soon, my love."

She forced herself to look up at him and not melt in his arms. She would definitely have become a puddle if it wasn't for her concentration. "I will. Be safe, Caspian."

Caspian helped her pack after that and he handed her Queen Susan's horn. "In case...."

"Okay." She took it and placed it inside her satchel.

After they had everything ready, Caspian made the announcement on the top deck. "There will be a small change in course." He addressed everyone. "Princess Sophie will be leaving on a separate journey once we reach the nearest island. The merpeople have warned us of the difficulties that we have to face with the mist. Which is why, General Tavros will be accompanying her on her journey."

"It's my honour, Your Majesty." The General bowed down with his right hand clamped on his chest, after being surprised at first.

"We will be searching for food and water on the island. Let's prepare." 

"Will you be meeting us again?" Edmund asked Sophie.

"I will do my best to meet you at Ramandu's Island and if I am not....." Lucy looked tense, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence. "I'll meet you on Ramandu's Island."

Eustace and Reepicheep had missed the announcement but the crew members told them of the new plans. "I am a little hurt that you didn't want me to accompany you, Your Majesty," Reepicheep told her.

"It's not that I didn't want you to accompany me, Reep. I would have loved your company."

"Well, I do have a feeling that it is better this way. It will give everyone a chance to get to know you a little better. Tavros is a talker, might I warn you."

"Land ho!" Rhince shouted from the look-out and all of them went to one side of the ship to look at the next island on our journey.

"It looks abandoned," whispered Lucy.

"There might be some vegetation," Edmund said, optimistic for a change.

"Your Majesty." Sophie heard a voice and turned around. General Tavros approached her, accompanied by an axe that he held very easily in one hand. If she had tried that, the weapon wouldn't have budged and her shoulder would have had a great burden on them.

"General Tavros. Thank you for accompanying me on my journey."

"It is my honour, Your Majesty. It gives me great pleasure that I was thought of."

"Have you gathered the supplies needed?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I've gathered them and I've kept them on the starboard side."

"Thank you, General. We'll be separating into three groups once we get off the Island as you already know. I hope that we can get to know each other in time."

"Yes, of course. Talking is one of my greatest gifts. I can assure you that you will not get bored."

Sophie laughed. Reepicheep was spot-on right. "I should be saying that but thank you." 

*****

Cast

Jason Mamoa as Commander Octavian

This is from the official illustrations