"There it is, ladies." Davy gestures to the coast of Yna, which is now fully in view.

After sailing for two weeks, we've finally reached Yna.

I barely look up from the map book and sketch the shape of the land.

"It's so pretty!" Coraene calls out. I raise my hand and point to the left, and she pulls the rope on the sail, shifting our trajectory ever so slightly.

Mountaintops peek out over the forests, which clear away just a few hundred feet to make enough room for a white-sanded beach. I suppose it is majestic in some way.

"It's not a bad view." Anna joins Coraene at her side.

Davy, Eetu, and I all share a glance and start laughing. This is our home, we've grown so used to it that seeing the girls' reaction is absolutely priceless.

"Well, we can't just stare at it all day." I turn the wheel to the right as I feel the water getting more and more shallow. "Brace yourselves guys, we're about to come ashore."

"Should we hide the boat so bandits don't steal it?" Eetu ties down a few loose ropes and readies himself to drop the anchor.

"There's a little cave up here that I should be able to get is into." I feel Davy's presence behind me, waiting for my command to switch the sails.

Up ahead, there's a black mass just barely big enough to fit the ship inside. We somehow, smoothly glide into it, using the light of day behind us to guide us.

Once the anchor is down, I wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness enough to scale the side until my feet splash into the water blow me.

"Come on down, guys!" I call up. I catch Coraene and Anna first, then Eetu and Davy, both of them carrying the food and water.

Once we're all on land, we enter the light of day, squinting from the blinding sun.

"What do you think, Eetu? Think we continue straight east or go south?"

"Straight east. There's a path between these mountains the knights and I have take before. It should get us to Viâna faster. Five to seven days at most."

"Alright. Let's go."

The five of us start our journey, continuing on until we reach the beginning mountain trail Eetu mentioned before. All of us are sore and our feet are on fire by the time the moon takes place of the sun, so we set up camp.

Once we get the fire going, I lean against Davy's shoulder and sigh. We're sharing a bowl of soup, as are Coraene and Anna. Eetu is the only one who has a full bowl to himself. I haven't eaten more than two bites.

"Cas, are you okay?" Eetu sets his empty bowl down.

"Just a little anxious." I force myself to choke down another spoonful. My body wants to reject it, but it knows it needs the nutrients, so it keeps it there.

"Don't worry. You've got four people right here ready to fight away anyone who tries to hurt you." Coraene smiles at me. She and Anna have finished their soup as well.

"Thanks." I grit my teeth and finish the soup. After a minute or two, my body thanks me. I close my eyes and let Davy's breathing lull me to sleep.

"Cas, time to go." Davy shakes me awake. I'm greeted by the morning sun, rising just enough to light our way.

Eetu is just putting out the fire by the time I'm on my feet, ready to continue on.

Each day, the anxious feeling in my gut grows stronger, I'm not hungry, but I still eat. Not tired, but I still sleep. Not thirsty, but I still drink.

"Wow!" Coraene whispers when she sees the castle.

I wish I was as enthusiastic to be back. Eetu leads her forward, leaving Anna, Davy, and I behind. Davy takes my hand. Anna gives me a thumbs up. Together, we take our first steps toward my old life.

"Thanks for waiting for us." We catch up to Eetu. I can't fight the fear in my voice any longer. I'm shaking tremendously, I hate being out in the open. Davy has to nearly crush me in a hug to calm me down.

"Hey, it's not my fault you guys are so slow." Eetu laughs, but stands beside me in a way that hides me from view.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is Eetu Quillsnake back in Yna?" A tall, lanky boy with curly brown hair greets us in the square. I remember him, Xander, his name was. "You brought friends!"

"Out of my way, Xander." Eetu glares at him with such intensity the rest of us kind of back away.

"You're not still upset about that stupid drawing are you?" Xander crosses his arms in a mock pout.

"Actually, yes I am."

"What drawing?" My curiosity outweighs my nerves at this point.

"When you broke your leg, I went into town to get you something to make you feel better. I bought a drawing of a pirate ship, and Xander here, along with his friend, William, tore it up into little shreds. Speaking of William, where is the little runt?"

"Best guess, behind the church."

"Good. Now all that's left is for you to join him."

"Oooh... that's cold, E." Then Xander's eyes finally land on me. "Caspian, hi! Did your brother finally convince you to stop flirting with every guy you see?"

"Xander..." Eetu takes a step forward but Coraene appears in front of him.

"Hey, hey. Don't stoop to his level. He's only saying these things to get a rise out of you." She says it in such a calm voice that Eetu stops immediately.

"Oh, look at that. You've brought home a couple girls. If they're for Caspian, you might want to return them. He'll get no use out of them."

"You know what, I've changed my mind. Kick his ass." Coraene steps aside, letting Eetu tackle Xander to the stone beneath their feet.

"Woah, woah! What is the meaning of this?" My mother's voice carries down the stairs. My heart begins to beat so fast I'm not even sure if it is beating. "Stop it, both of you at once!" She pulls Eetu off of Xander, fully prepared to scold them both, but then looks at his face.

"Eetu? Oh my God!" She has to stand on her toes to hug him fully. But once she gets her head over his shoulder and sees me, that's when she breaks down.

"Hello, Mother." I awkwardly raise a hand, but I barely get it to leave my side by the time I'm wrapped in her arms.

"Caspian, you're home! Oh, you're both home!" She can't speak through the combination of tears and laughter. Eetu gets roped into our hug, though she can barely get her arms around us both. "I missed you so much!"

"We missed you too, Mother." I can't help but feel slightly out of place.

"Have you seen your father yet?" She finally releases us.

"No. Why? Are you looking for him?" I forgot how much Eetu towers over her.

"I avoid being in the same room as him most days. But why don't you go find him and I'll get a few chambers set up for your friends?"

"Oh, Mother!" Eetu pipes up like a little child, running to show off Coraene. "This is Cora, she's my... uh... my fiancée."

"My Lady." Coraene gathers some fabric on her dress and curtsies.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cora." My mother curtsies back.

"And this is Anna. She's my friend." I watch my mother's face fall slightly when I don't introduce Anna as my fiancée. Slightly discouraging, but she doesn't know.

"My Lady." Anna follows Coraene's example.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Anna." My mother then turns to Davy. "Welcome back, Davy."

"It's good to be here, my Lady." Davy nods his head. I take his hand, partly to give my mother some sort of hint, and partly to silence the scream threatening to spill out.

"Cas, lets go find Father." Eetu takes me by the arm.

"Can Davy come with?" I blurt it out. Davy makes me feel safe, which means if I have him, no one can hurt me.

"Oh, um, sure."

Davy comes up to me, wrapping one arm around my waist, holding me close.

"Okay... well, alright, girls. Just follow me and we'll get you some chambers, a warm bath, and some fresh clothes." My mother leads Anna and Coraene away from us.

"Cas, you can do this." Eetu looks at me with what appears to be pity.

"Yeah, I know. Where do you think he'd be?"

"In the Great Hall maybe?"

We ascend the stairs, but I don't feel like I'm moving.

"Yes, I'm well aware of the terrorist group, I'm doing all I can to stop it." My father is in a heated conversation with one of his knights when we enter the room.

"Sire..." the knight looks past his shoulder.

"What, is there something behind me?" As soon as my father turns his head, he's already scooped us both into his arms. "Boys! We were so scared! Please tell me you saw Zephrine before me."

"She stopped me from killing some kid who made fun of Cas and Cora." Eetu responds.

"Cas, I understand. But who's Cora?"

"My fiancée."

"Well, damn! That's just like you isn't it, Eetu? You go off looking for your brother and you come back with not only him, but a wife as well! You're better than me, you know that?"

"Well..." Eetu shrugs. "But hey, it was all Cas who made it sure I alive to ask her. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him."

"Is that so?" My father turns to me.

"I mean, he fell overboard and I brought him back on deck. It's really not a big deal." I keep my head down, still attempting to blend into the wall.

"'Not a big deal?' Cas, you saved my life!" Eetu is absolutely incredulous at my statement. Davy too looks at me in disbelief.

"Don't get too excited, you would have done the same thing for me."

"Well, what are we doing standing around? We've got to plan a feast to celebrate your return!" My father claps us both on the back.

My throat closes up and my vision blurs. Leaning onto Davy for support, I make eye contact with my brother, who knows exactly what's happening.

"I don't think that's a wise decision, Father."

"Why not?"

"I- I would like to keep my return as quiet as possible." I feel the tears threatening to spill, but I can't let them. "I'll explain to you and Mother later. I don't want to have to say it too many times."

"Oh... alright. No feast. But dinner with your family at least? And yes, Davy, that includes you, too. Lord knows you never leave Cas's side." My father smiles at Davy, which makes me happy. "Bring this girl of yours, Eetu. I want to meet her. But first, you three need a bath. You smell like death."

"Yes, Father." Eetu and I say in unison.

"Davy, I'd appreciate it if you and Cas took separate baths? Save it until the wedding." He winks at Davy, who blushes slightly.

"It's good to be home, huh, Cas?" Eetu sighs happily.

"Yeah... sure is!" I force a smile and hope I can make it through Eetu's wedding without disaster.