|When Two Worlds Collide - Book III

~The Oppressor and the Dufflepuds~

"You want to take an afternoon slumber with me?"

"I do." He whispered in her ear as he held an arm around her shoulders and guided them towards the cabin. Miriam giggled as he continued to whisper sweet nonsense and a though popped into her head – she had been right, loving Caspian and being loved by him was the best thing in the world.

💍

"It looks uninhabited. But if the lords followed the mist east, they would have stopped here." Caspian said as he was looking at the island they had just reached through the telescope.

"Could be a trap." Drinian said suspiciously.

"Or it could hold some answers. Caspian?" Edmund diverted his question to Caspian, remembering from previous mistake that Caspian was in charge of all decisions on this voyage.

"We'll spend the night on shore. Scour the island in the morning." Caspian commanded, handing Drinan the telescope before leaving to tell Miriam of their plan. He also wanted to give her something that he had kept from her for far too long. Something he knew would cheer her up.

When Caspian reached the cabin, he heard the soft humming of Miriam singing. He didn't recognize the tune but he found it beautiful none the less. He knocked carefully on the door and announced it was him in case she was indecent, before opening the door and stepping inside. Miriam was in fact all dressed and was in the middle of making the bed, the large sheet made it moderately difficult to get it smooth like Miriam wanted it. She had been taught from an early age to always go to bed with smooth sheets. That way, you could get a good night's sleep without having to toss and turn in discomfort.

"Do you need a hand?"

"Yes please. I can't seem to get it right." Caspian chuckled then moved to help her with the sheet.

"So, we found land and will go ashore for the night. Tomorrow we will scour the island."

"Is it inhabited?"

"Doesn't look that way. But they could be in hiding."

"How many are we bringing with us?" Miriam felt uneasy about venturing another island after what happened last time. Memories of the slave traders was still fresh in her mind.

"We'll leave some of the crew to guard the ship while the rest of us get ashore."

"Okay."

"You know, no one will blame you if you don't want to come with." Caspian knew, despite her not telling him in person, that Miriam was still haunted by what had happened in Narrowhaven so he treaded lightly when he suggested she would stay on the ship – hoping she would take it the right way.

"No, I will go." Her response was more harsh than she intended it to be. She didn't mean to sound irritated and the loud sigh that followed didn't help the situation either.

"Is everything alright?" Caspian was taken aback at the tone of her voice and was worried something might have happened.

"I'm fine. I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm sorry."

"As long as you're okay, all is fine. Come here." He moved around the bed and closed their distance by hugging her and kissing her forehead.

She breathed in his aroma and instantly felt better. Her feelings had been all over the place lately and more than one person had been on the receiving end of her outbursts. She always apologized after of course. She didn't want to think of reasons as to why she was behaving so differently than she did before their journey started. Perhaps it was the sea?

"You know, I have something for you that I think you'll like."

"What is it?"

"Hold on just a second." Caspian left her side and walked over to a chest next to the wardrobe. He opened the lid and began to dig in it. When it seemed that he had found what he was looking for, he picked up something wrapped in a piece of cloth, stood up, and then went back to Miriam and asked her to open it. She slowly unwrapped the cloth and with a gasp of surprise, a hand fell over her mouth in disbelief. Inside the cloth laid her swords. She thought she had lost them back in Narrowhaven when the slave traders confiscated them.