Caspian tore away from the men that held him and sprinted at Naomi. Grabbing her arm roughly, he dragged her to a door leading below deck. Throwing it open, he took them both into the darkened space and slammed the door behind them.
"What's happening?" She whispered.
He wasn't listening to her. He was digging through crates and supplies until he came up with a pair of pants and shirt that must belong to a teenage boy. Holding them up as he looked at her, he nodded slightly.
"Get undressed," He commanded.
"What??" She jumped away from him, and he grabbed her arm.
"Put these on, immediately." His tone brooked no argument, and he shoved the male clothes into her hands.
She looked down at them, then back at Caspian. He looked ready to rip her clothes off with his own hands if she didn't obey.
"Turn around. Please." Her voice was quiet and small.
He inhaled sharply, but turned away. He was glad she hadn't asked him to leave the room; there was no way he was opening that door again as long as she looked like that.
He tapped his foot impatiently.
"Are you done?" He tossed over his shoulder.
"I've never worn pants before. I'm trying," She whimpered, and he forced himself to soften. She was scared, and rightly so, but he wasn't helping the situation with his tone.
"Do you need help?" He asked.
"No, please!" She cried, as if him turning around would be worse than suffering whatever fate lay outside.
"Hurry," He said quietly.
"All right, I… I think I'm done," She said.
He turned around and saw the pitiful sight of her dressed in clothes that were too large, and yet obviously not modest enough for her comfort. She was barefoot now, like all the men on the ship were. Her feet were small, and her calves were shapely below where the pants ended.
The shirt was loose-fitting, and she'd had to roll the sleeves for her hands to be accessible.
"Your hair," He said, frowning, then took off his cap and tossed it to her.
She caught it and immediately began coiling her braid up onto her head, then dragged the cap on over it.
"Well?" She asked nervously.
He stepped closer to examine her, and she shrank under the scrutiny.
Walking around her once, he stopped in front of her face and continued frowning. Her bone structure was too delicate, too feminine. Stray curls hung loose along the sides of her face and he reached up to tuck them underneath the cap.
Her breath caught, and he suddenly looked into her eyes. She was frightened.
"It will be all right," He said, though he didn't quite believe it.
"What's happening?" She asked for the second time. He realized how immediately she had obeyed even though she was clueless as to the situation. He felt the weight of her trust on his shoulders.
"You're still too pretty," He said pensively, looking at her face. Too clean. He looked down at his hands and grimaced. One was bleeding from the rope burn he'd endured cutting the fishing net, and there was a clear, oily substance across it. He took that hand and pressed it to one of her cheeks, then the other, and wiped it across her forehead.
Hopefully that would draw attention away from the femininity of her bearing. At least the shirt was loose enough to mask her figure, he thought as he looked her over again.
"I'm pretty?" She asked. The question was altogether too vulnerable, as if it were more important than her inquiry about what was happening.
He realized she hadn't flinched away from his touch once just now, even when he had smeared blood and dirt across her face.
He sighed.
"The Rhone had another world, yes? One apart from, but parallel to ours?" He questioned.
"The Darkness," She shuddered.
"Cetoans have visited several worlds. We have come to one now." His voice tightened.
"The sky…" She began.
"Yes. Since we use Leviathan to drag us between realms, it only takes us where there is water. The sky is the main way in which we tell where we are. This one, if I'm correct, we've been to before. It is not safe for you." He picked up her discarded dress and petticoats and stuffed them away out of sight.
She stared at him, waiting for him to continue.
"Leviathan are very rare, but we do encounter them sometimes. We found that using them to travel to other realms has certain benefits. We can hunt and catch amazing creatures, collect rare treasures, and explore strange new worlds.
"We discovered that one world in particular, which the Leviathan gravitates towards, perhaps even its home world, is populated with flying creatures that prey on women. If they know one is on board, they will tear apart the ships trying to find her. They seem to be able to see through walls, to some extent. We don't fully understand them."
"That's why women don't sail with the men?" Naomi asked. Caspian nodded.
"We never know when a leviathan will come, and do not want to waste an opportunity should one arise. Even so, Edmar should never have ordered us to follow it with you on board," His face darkened in anger.
Naomi replayed the scene in her mind. Caspian's protests, his yelling, having to be held back by two crewmen as he sought to stop Edmar… that was for her sake?
"I am humbled," She said, and he was diverted from his ire.
"Why?" He asked.
"You challenged your brother, fought against the other men, to keep me safe?" She swallowed.
He blinked at her. Honestly, he hadn't thought of it in that light.
"It is my responsibility to protect you," He shrugged it off as if it were nothing, but she'd touched a nerve in a way he didn't want to confess.
"Thank you," She offered him a timid, but still fearful, smile.
"For what? I failed." He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I am still here, still safe, for the moment. Even if I am… dressed like this." She gestured downward, and he brought his eyes back up to her face lest he be distracted from their conversation. Maybe it was best she stay below deck out of sight of the other men.
She caught sight of his wounded hand and took it in both of hers, examining it. She wiped away the blood and grime with the hem of her shirt, trying to clean it as best she could. Finished, she touched her fingers to her face, and looked at the traces of blood on them.
"You would cover me in your own blood to keep me safe," She whispered, and he was startled by how it affected him.
"Why do you do that?" He asked suddenly.
"Do what?" She blinked up at him, bewildered.
"Always find some way to think good of me," Caspian admitted.
"You are good to me," Naomi didn't seem to understand at all what he meant.
"Am I?" His question was more rhetorical than anything, but she answered anyway.
"You took me into your home, provide for me, make things clear for me, teach me, work to keep me safe… and I have only known you a space of days. I cannot imagine better."
The last sentence hit him like a punch in the gut. He had been determined to keep her at arm's length from before he'd even met her, and still she viewed him so highly.
The trust and admiration in her eyes overwhelmed him for a moment. She still held his wounded hand, and he used it as leverage to pull her into a hug.
"I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe," He whispered. Her arms came around his waist and she embraced him tightly. His heart stumbled as she pressed against him.
"I trust you," She quietly assured, "Just tell me what I need to do."
"Stay in here, as long as possible," He said. "I'm not sure the clothes would fool anything, but trying is better than not. Normally we can get back quickly, but not always. It takes a bit of luck, and skill. Leviathan seems to move freely between realms, but we cannot. Thankfully, they are far more common here than at home. I will give the order to begin looking."
"Is your father all right?" Naomi pulled back her head to look up into his face. "I could not see or hear him once Edmar began giving orders. Did your brother take over because something happened to Haf?"
"Something happened when one of the whales rammed the ship," Caspian recalled. "He fell. I do not know if he is all right or not."
"Can I do anything at all to help?" She asked hopefully.
"You can stay here so I don't have to worry about you," Caspian said, a little sternly, and she laid her head back against his chest to nod. Impulsively, he laid a kiss on the top of her head, then set her away from himself.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."