Chapter ten
“Land ho!” came the cry from the crow’s nest.
I ran to the side of the ship to see the island. Though only a sliver of green was visible on the horizon, we drew close.
We dropped anchor a little way off from land. One of the crewmembers tied my hands together, and and made me climb into the rocking rowboat. Lord Fitch vomited over the side. Caspian’s hands were also tied, as he had apparently, foolishly, made it clear to Lord Fitch that he was not going to take the water without a fight. Several sailors accompanied us, including one who discovered the fountain with me. The rest of the sailors rowed the boat; Aaron came only to lead us to the fountain. I wondered how Lord Fitch planned to get Caspian and me through the underwater cave while we were tied up, and hoped he would give up.
Once we arrived at the beach I thought Lord Fitch would kiss the ground. We stayed the night on dry land, because Lord Fitch refused to pass another night on the water. I did not sleep at all, but when morning came I was too scared to be tired. I should have thrown myself into the water and drowned myself when I had the chance. Aaron embarked on a hike to find a different route to the fountain, as Fitch could not force Caspian and me to swim through the underwater cave without risk of us or his men drowning. When the ground rumbled we looked around to see what caused the disturbance. The mountain that loomed above the whole island sent up great clouds of smoke. I remembered the sailors’ tales about mountains that spewed liquid fire—could this mountain be one of them? The sailors informed Lord Fitch of this possibility.
Lord Fitch, however, disregarded the warning. “We continue as planned. I will have my way.”
When the sailor walked away Lord Fitch grinned at me. “Soon we shall begin our life together,” he said. “And it will not ever end. Let me see, how shall I make your life miserable? I think…I will start with your brother. He has never seemed to enjoy the knife, so—“
“Leave her alone,” Caspian snapped.
Lord Fitch turned to his son. “She is my prize, and I shall do with her as I please. In case you do not understand, let me elaborate.”
He struck my face, sending me sprawling backward. I sat back up, wiping the blood off my mouth and glaring at Lord Fitch.
“Do you see?” Seeing his son’s scowl, he spoke again. “I see your raising has been soft. Your mother is to blame for that, because you have it in your blood to dominate, and I shall see to it that you do. I usually do not kill, for I prefer to find ways to dispose of people. But for this, your first lesson, I will make an exception.”
Lord Fitch cut Caspian’s bonds and gave him a dagger. He pointed at the sailor who sat a few years away, faced away from us, keeping watch.
“Kill him.”
Caspian looked at his father, appalled. “No!”
“Do it! You are my son, and I will not allow you to spare his life out of pity.”
“Well then you’re just gonna have to do without, because I won’t kill him.”
“I will give you one last chance.”
Caspian looked at his father, and for an instant I thought he was going to do what he ordered. And then--Lord Fitch missed it, but I saw the fire in Caspian’s eyes. I am not sure what exactly happened, but Lord Fitch suddenly had the knife, and Caspian was on the ground. Lord Fitch adjusted his grip on the knife, and threw it. It stuck the sailor’s back, and he straightened with a squeak before keeling over, dead.
Lord Fitch stood and went to retrieve his knife. “Retie his hands,” he ordered one of the remaining sailors. “It is as I expected,” Lord Fitch said once Caspian was tied up next to me. Already a bruise was forming across his face. “You are weak, and I will not tolerate it.”
“You didn’t need to kill him. He did you no wrong!” Caspian said.
“Yes I did!” he shouted. “Now you see what happens when you cross me. You are fortunate you are my flesh and blood.”
“That is the only way we are related,” Caspian scoffed. “I won’t become like you. You may as well get the killing over with now.”
“Ah,” Lord Fitch smiled. “But that is not the way I do things. I prefer to drag out the pain. Suffering is so enjoyable to watch. I must desensitise your sensitive mind, and this will start now, with Merry, here.”
Caspian pale.
“I bet she has a lovely voice when she screams. How about it? I have not heard any screams lately.”
“No,” Caspian said
“I think so.”
He placed the blade over the remnants of last night’s fire, looking at me hungrily. Fortunately, at that moment, Aaron returned.
“I found the way,” he said.
The remaining sailors, keeping a tight hold on us, followed Aaron and Lord Fitch. We broke through the trees to find ourselves in the glade where sat the Fountain of Youth. I struggled anew. Lord Fitch ordered the sailors to bind our ankles, and stand by for further orders. He stood silently for a while, surveying the fountain, then stepped forward with a canteen. I recognized it as the one Captain used to carry the water to Lord Fitch. He raised it above the fountain, and dumped the water into it. Why he had not drunk it? He threw the canteen onto the grass beside us. As if on cue the ground rumbled, reminding us of the mountain’s anger. Lord Fitch began chanting over the fountain. The words were in a language that I did not understand. He drew some water out in a golden cup and brought it to us. He started with me and put the cup to my tightly closed lips.
“Open your mouth,” he commanded.
I turned my head to the side, trying to refuse. Impatiently, he covered my nose and yanked my head back so that I had to open my mouth. I felt the water slide down my throat. Colors exploded before me, and I lost consciousness for a moment. When I came to, I felt light, like I weighed nothing. I felt no pain or discomfort—nothing at all. The ground shook hard. Lord Fitch stumbled back from Caspian. Caspian’s eyes flashed green. Lord Fitch had succeeded in giving Caspian the water.
“Sir, the mountain is going to blow. We need to leave,” one of the sailors said.
“We will depart when I say we depart,” Lord Fitch snapped.
The ground trembled without stopping. I saw smoke high in the sky. Lord Fitch approached the Fountain of Youth a second time and filled his cup. He tipped it into his mouth as there was a boom from the top of the mountain, and the smoke became thicker.
“Sir, we gotta leave. The mountain’s gonna explode!” one of the sailors said.
Lord Fitch stood rigidly. The ground gave a jolt and a sailor stumbled to the ground next to me. Before he got up, I snatched the knife from his belt and worked at cutting my bonds. Lord Fitch began to turn around, the green fading from his black eyes. The ropes snapped. I gained my feet slowly, hoping he would not notice. Keeping with my tradition of bad luck, he looked directly at me. I grabbed the sword from the sailor’s scabbard and rushed him, the blade poised to strike his heart. He met my blow with his sword. Our blades locked.
“Fool!” he spat. “You cannot even hope to kill me!”
We struggled for what felt like hours. The blows I struck with all my might were met with seeming ease, as if he were toying with me. One of my blows met with his shoulder, and another his leg. He went on the offensive, beating me back to the trees until he stabbed. I gasped, the cold metal sliding into my stomach.
“Oh, do give us a scream, now won’t you?” he said with a sneer, twisting the blade.
I made a sound of pain. My legs failed me, and he drew the blade out.
“Do not worry, your survival is guaranteed,” he said. “So it is all right for me to do this.”
He kicked me right where the hole inside me was.
“Hey!” Caspian shouted.
“Right now, my son, I can do the same to you. I would keep my mouth shut if I were in your place.”
&nb
sp; He gave me another kick, and I cried out, doubling over. He sauntered to the fountain, gazing into its depths.
Blood spilled through my fingers, black spots dancing before me. My mind’s eye flashed to a dream—a memory of a time when I stood in front of Lord Fitch, his dagger in my abdomen while he laughed. Anger surged through me and I gathered my strength to push myself up against the tree. I ran forward and pushed him with all the force I possessed. He tumbled over into the fountain with a scream. He held on to the edge, his knuckles white as if he were being pulled down. I saw fear in his eyes. I heard people racing from the forest into the clearing, but my head was swimming. I could barely see him through the haze of pain.
“Come with me,” Lord Fitch sputtered the command.
His fingers darted up and seized my arm with a grip of steel. He grabbed my other arm, pulling me in. I stopped myself on the edge of the fountain, but my strength soon left me. I braced myself to enter the icy water, but someone else took hold of my waist, and Fitch’s hands around my arms released me with a sputter of pain. Whoever caught me put me on the ground as Caspian and a group of unfamiliar people stood around me. I wondered vaguely where they came from as I lost consciousness.