˗ˏˋCHAPTER TWENTY-THREEˊˎ-

***

DARK SMOKE CURLED at their feet, Wren watched as it continued to spread alongside her and the other crew members, who looked just as uneasy as she felt. Shock suddenly plunged in her chest when the fog took form of a man, who she recognized immediately from the pictures strung up on the walls at her previous home outside of Narnia. Before Narnia. Her throat felt clogged and she swallowed thickly, voice hoarse. "Dad?"

He outstretched his hand. "Come with me, Wren. This is not the life I dreamt of you having when I sacrificed myself for Narnia. You should be free."

"I... am free?" She stammered, confused.

"I have a lovely village house sat upon a mountain that overlooks the see. Come live with me. Be the daughter I've always wished to raise. And I can be the father whom was absent most of your life. We can both get what we've always wanted. We can be a family."

Wren nearly grasped his hand, but Caspian's words echoed in her brain. Don't fall to temptation. Be strong. And she would. For him. Her arm fell back to her side, and her eyes narrowed into a glare. "I already have a family. You'll have to try harder than that to corrupt me."

The smoke shrieked loudly, Wren had to cover her ears to block out the sound. Once it had shriveled away, she took a glance around. Voices bounced off the rocks Wren was convinced laid behind the thick fog, she was sure others were having similar hallucinations just like she had moments prior.

Wren sidled up to Caspian, but still kept her distance, and turned her head at the abrubt groaning that came from somewhere ahead of them. "Keep away!" It warned. Wren's fingers found the hilt of her sword anxiously. "Keep away!"

"That's reassuring," she muttered, shifting on her feet.

"Who's there?" Edmund demanded, peering over the side of the ship.

"We do not fear you!" Caspian shouted out from beside her. Wren clenched her jaw and nodded, silently agreeing. She would not be afraid.

"Nor I you!" The man yelled back. Wren blinked in surprise.

Edmund searched for his flashlight, and aimed it around until it landed on a man in ragged clothing, who was stood on a piece of land, looking as if he were guarding something. "We will not leave," Caspian said firmly.

"You will not defeat me!"

Wren cocked her head to the side when she noticed the weapon in his hands. "Hey, isn't that-"

"Lord Roop," Caspian realized, bounding down the steps to get a closer look.

"You do not own me!" Roop screamed.

"Stand down," Caspian commanded, but Wren grabbed her fiance's arm, pulling him to a stop. He glanced to her. "What are you doing?"

"You're handling this wrong," she told him, dropping her hold. "He's clearly scared, who knows how long he's been stuck here? We should try a different tactic."

Caspian scanned her momentarily, before nodding his head. "As you wish."

Wren turned to the Lord. "We have no intentions of owning you," she called out to him, stepping forward. "Nor do we wish to inflict any harm upon you. We're here to stop the darkness, but we need your sword to do it. Lord Roop," she added once Roop raised his weapon again. "We are not your enemies here. We want the same as you. Let us help."

"Spoken like a true queen," Lucy murmured proudly from behind her, though it was drowned out by the sound of Eustace's wings flapping as he gathered Roop in his claws, and plopped him right onto the deck. Many of the archers raised their aim at him, but Wren shot them each a withering glare, and they lowered their bows.

"Stay calm, my Lord," Caspian said, softer this time, following her lead. He gently crouched down before him. "It's me. Caspian, your King."

"Caspian," Roop repeated, eyes widening frantically. "You should not have come. There is no way out of here. Quickly, turn this ship around before it's too late!"

"We have the sword, let's go!" Edmund agreed.

Caspian glanced to the captian. "Turn her about, Drinian."

"Aye, aye, Your Majesty."

"Do not think," Roop stated.

"That won't be a problem for me," Wren mused.

"—Do not let it know your fears, or it will become them."

Edmund flinched back and squeezed his eyes shut. Wren snapped her head in his direction. "Edmund do not-"

"Oh no," he scrunched up his face.

Lucy raised her brows warningly. "What did you just think of?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, bashfully, rushing to the edge of the ship. Wren felt Caspian press behind her protectively, and she didn't bother brushing him away, heart thundering in her chest so fast she was sure the others could hear it.

The boat rocked, tipping them all to the side so far that the entire crew tumbled to the floor. Wren crashed into Caspian's chest, whom of which was clutching her tightly as if afraid that he dropped his hold she'd disappear completly. Now was not the time to be petty, Wren told herself. But it was just so tempting.

"What is that?" Caspian asked, gesturing to the creature that stirred in the water, before it disappeared from sight.

"It's too late," Roop said. "It's too late!"

Wren watched in horror as a terrible looking sea monster rose from out of the dark water, red glowing eyes shining brightly at them through the fog, gils as large as two men each sticking out the side of its head. She refrained from shuttering as the men charged at it, shooting arrows and flinging axes. Eustace flew in from above, blowing fire, and the monster retreated into the water with a screech. The entire crew tensed and as it flung Eustace around in its mouth, Wren could hear Reep shouting for him to hold on. But there was no time.

Wren flipped out one of her sharpest daggers, and watched through her eyelashes for the perfect moment to chuck it, and when she did, it sliced right through the sea monster's throat, and it yelped out in pain, dropping Eustace, who soared above the the boat.

"Bad doggy," Wren sneered. "Bloody thing just took my nicest dagger."

"I'll have you crafted more, darling" Caspian remarked over his shoulder. "But I don't think that should be your biggest concern-"

The sea monster shook the boat again, Wren had to grab onto one of the ropes to stay upright. "Filthy creature!" Roop shouted, throwing his sword at Eustace. Wren spun on him furiously.

"Are you kidding me!?"

"The sword!" Edmund groaned. "What do we do now?"

There was no time for a response, because the sea monster jumped over the ship, smashing large holes into either side of the railings, seperating the members of the ship as everyone scrambled to move out of the way.

"Wren!" Caspian shouted from the opposite side of the deck.

"I'm okay!" She confirmed, wincing as she pulled out a long piece of wood that had gotten impaled on her side during the process. "Shit," she mumbled quieter, eyes watering at the pain. "Ow, ow."

"Need help?" Jace asked, kneeling beside her. Wren scowled instantly, and kicked his ankle out from under him without missing a beat.

"Not from the likes of you."

"Brace yourselves!" She heard Caspian holler, but everything seemed to sound underwater. Her vision flickered, and she pressed harder onto her side, pulling her hand back to discover that it was soaked red.

"Oh God," Wren grew more panicked as the ship rocked, and she slid to the left of the boat, whacking into it. Applying pressure to her wound didn't seem to be working. "No, no, no." She looked up panickedly, searching for anyone nearby. But of course the one and only time Jace finally took the hint and strayed away would be the time she needed aid. "Help!" She screamed, but it was barely audible over all of the other yelling and splashing water.

"Wren, Wren," Caspian's voice is what brought her back into conciousness, and it felt like hours since she'd last opened her eyes. "Wren, just hold on, okay? Drinian is fetching the first aid right now-"

"Did we win?" She managed through a dry throat.

Caspian nodded, reaching down to stroke a strand of hair out of her face. "Yes, my love. We won. The spell has been lifted. So you have to stay with me to see our victory, okay?"

"It hurts," she grunted, clutching her side.

"What is it and you always passing out mid-battle?" He questioned, smiling though it seemed forced. It hit her that instant, he was distracting her. Why was he distracting her?

"Flare for the dramatic I guess," she replied weakly, struggling to keep her voice steady, gazing up at him. "Learned from the best."

"I'm so sorry, Wren," Caspian suddenly choked out, "I've been treating you like dirt under my boot. And for what? Because I was jealous? I thought that... That by avoiding you I would somehow be able to ignore the gut wrenching feeling I got whenever I saw you with him. I'm humiliated by my behavior and now you're-"

"I'm fine," she reached up to cup his cheek, but even the smallest movement felt like she was lifting a heavy bag of apples. "You were an arse but I've come to realize that I loathe arguing with you and I just want our quarrel to be over."

"Wren," he said, very quietly. "You've lost so much blood."

Her bottom lip quivered. "I know."

"I should've gotten here quicker I should have-"

"Hey," she interrupted with as much authority as she could muster, turning his face back to look at her. "Enough of that. Let's talk about something else."

He wiped one of the tears that had slipped onto his sleeve and nodded. "Lucy shot an arrow with Susan's bow. Bet she'd be proud, don't you think?"

"Mmm..." She got out as a response, feeling her vision blur again.

"And Edmund was the one who slayed the monster, you know. I wish you could have seen it."

"Mhm.."

"Wren," his tone was frantic now, and he peered over her. "Wren. Not yet, no. Just a few more minutes. Please."

"Marry me," Wren whispered, gripping his hand.

"W-What?"

"It's completely improper for me to ask," she continued on, fighting off the oblivion that threatened to take over in the back of her mind. "But I guess I've never been one for playing by the rules, huh? And not like you'd ever man up to do it anyway."

"Wren-"

"Marry me," she repeated, weaker now, her voice was barely above a whisper. "I know you proposed already but I need a confirmation that it's something you really want. Even if you have to lie to say yes. Just do it."

"I'll marry you," Caspian said thickly, and she felt his lips brush against hers. "You're the only person I could ever imagine being my wife. Of course I'll bloody marry you."

And the last words ever murmured to Wren Wilde before she slipped away were the ones she'd been waiting to hear for a lifetime.

THE END

authors note

hey.... haha...

anyway speaking of... y'all should go check out wren's section in my oc book ! haha..... ha... also can u tell i don't know how to write sad scenes omg SO BAD AT IT JESUS