The Girl and the Dawn Treader

1

Maxine sighed, looking out the window of her room in the Farsend orphanage. Although she had already turned eighteen, she still stayed with the Farsends, because she couldn't find a place of her own to stay in just yet. She had been browsing apartments for weeks, but none of them really fit her budget, and if they did, they didn't exactly meet her requirements. It was hard to figure all this stuff out! She lay down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was a rare occasion for the orphanage to be so quiet, but that's because many children had either been sent into foster care, or adopted into loving families. Since she had left Narnia, she had changed a bit in her appearance. Her hair had grown out so it was long enough to brush her shoulders, she had also matured in other ways, her cup size changing from a B to a D. She looked much more like a grown woman than a young high schooler. Maxine closed her eyes, enjoying the silence. When she closed her eyes, she saw the face of the man she loved, and the man she left behind in a different world.

Prince Caspian.

Or, King Caspian, as he's known now, she thought. Her heart beat painfully at the thought of him, even after an entire year. She wondered if he thought of her as often as she did of him. She would remember the time they spent together, in the castle gardens, in the shuddering wood, in Aslan's How, and in the castle courtyards. She remembered her friends from Narnia, like Trufflehunter the badger, Reepicheep the mouse, or Tristae the centaur. She even thought of her friends that were human, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie. Speaking of Pevensies…

She had found out last year that one of them, Susan Pevensie, was now known as Susan Farsend, the same elderly woman who took care of her for all her natural-born life. She was practically a mother to her, and her husband, Jacob Farsend, was a good man. They must have been a good match some years ago. They still were.

"Max!" Susan called from downstairs, "Phone for you!" Maxine jumped up from her bed and ran down the stair case, seeing the elderly Susan waiting in the kitchen, holding the telephone. Maxine went over to her and took it.

"Yes?" She said.

"Hello, Maxine." The voice on the other end said, Maxine smiled.

"Hello, Detective." She said, "To what do I owe this call?" Last year, two weeks before her birthday, Maxine had told Susan that she would like to know who her mother was, and have her attend her birthday party. She had abandoned Maxine on Susan's doorstep when she was a baby, so Maxine had never really known her. So, as a birthday gift, Susan used her money to hire a private detective to test Maxine's DNA against any documented rapists. Maxine was the product of a rape, so it was only logical to assume the man had either been caught and was in prison, or he hadn't. This was the first time he had called them in over a month.

"Well, I have some good news, and I have some bad news." The detective, named Jackson, said, "Which do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news." Maxine said instantly.

"Okay, the bad news is that I might have gotten a cop buddy of mine to lose his badge for helping me out," He said, "The good news is, I found a match for your DNA."

"You did?" Maxine asked excitedly, anxious to find out who her parents were.

"Yes," She heard the sound of papers shuffling, "Your father… is a man named Ronald Berkley, a 55 year old man who's currently on death row, scheduled to be executed by the electric chair next month. He was put away for the murders of nine young women, and rapes of ten. His only living victim is the one that got him caught, and I do believe she is your mother."

"Who is she?" Maxine demanded.

"Hang on a second," Jackson said, going through some more papers, "Uh… Where did I—? Ah, here it is. Your mother is a woman named Sheryl Thompson. She's a 32 year old woman who lives in Chicago, Illinois. She actually looks a lot like you."

"Thirty two?" Maxine repeated, thinking over that number, "Then… when I was conceived, my mom was—"

"Fourteen." Jackson said, "All of his victims were fifteen and under." Maxine sighed.

"Great, my father was a sick pervert, and my mother was one of his unfortunate victims." Susan overheard this part from where she was standing in the kitchen and frowned sadly.

"Pretty much." Jackson said, "So, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, actually," Maxine said, grabbing a pencil and a notepad, "Could you give me her address?"

"Sure," Jackson said, "One second," He rifled through some more papers, "Okay, your mother lives on 1432 on… Alexander Street in Chicago suburbia." Maxine nodded, scribbling down the address.

"Thanks, Jackson." Maxine said, "I'll send your check by mail."

"You're welcome." Jackson said, "And if you ever need more detective work, you know who to call."

"Goodbye." Maxine said, hanging up the phone. She tore the page with her mother's address on it off of the notepad. She turned to Susan with a smile, "He found her."

"That's wonderful, Max." She said, "Where is she?"

"Chicago."

"That's only a few hours from here." Susan said, "If you want, I could lend you my car."

"I'd really appreciate that, Susan." Maxine said, coming over and hugging her friend.

Maxine turned the car around another corner, following the directions she had gotten off of Google maps, looking carefully at the numbers written on the houses. 1428… 1430… 1432, there it is. She pulled up on the curb beside the house and stepped out. The house itself didn't look like anything special, just a simple two-story brick house that looked exactly like all the other houses, with the same kind of tree growing in front of every house. Maxine locked her car doors and walked up the front steps of the house, pushing the doorbell and waiting patiently for someone to answer as a dog came barking at the door.

"No! Be quiet, Shaggy!" A voice said, the door opened and Maxine saw a little girl who was no more than seven open the door. She had brown hair that went down to her mid-back, and big brown eyes. She smiled at the little girl, putting her hands on her knees and leaning down at her.

"Hi there." She said, "Is your mommy home?"

"No." The little girl shook her head, "But my daddy is." Before Maxine could say anything else, she turned around and hollered, "DADDY! SOME LADY'S AT THE DOOR!"

A second later a man who looked to be about 33 or 34 with blonde hair and brown eyes came over to her and picked her up.

"Addie, what have I told you about shouting in the house?" He asked.

"To not to." The little girl, Addie, replied innocently. The man looked at Maxine.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for Sheryl Thompson," Maxine said, "Is she home?"

"You mean Sheryl Kingsley," The man corrected, "And no, she's not home at the moment." He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her, "You look so familiar, have we met before?"

"Um, no sir." Maxine said, "Do you know when she'll be home?"

"I expect her home any minute." The man said, "If you give me your number, I can have her call you when she gets home."

"Actually, it's really important that I talk to her in person." Maxine said.

"Well…" The man rubbed at his neck unsurely, "I suppose you can wait here, if you want."

"I'd really appreciate that, Mr. Kingsley." Maxine said. Mr. Kingsley stepped aside to let her in. She was surprised when a big sheepdog jumped up on her, trying to lick her face.

"No! Down boy!" He said, pushing the big dog away from her.

"No, no, it's okay." Maxine said with a laugh, letting the dog jump up on her again, "I love dogs." She scratched affectionately at the top of the dog's head, and he panted happily, "What's his name?"

"His name is Shaggy." Addie said from her father's arms, Maxine kneeled down, making it easier for the dog to lick her face, "He really likes people."

"I see that." Maxine said, she patted the dog's head, and he licked at her nose. She stood up and she walked in, looking around the den. It was simple, and cozy, with one couch facing the plasma screen TV, and a large, leather armchair next to it. In between the two was a wooden coffee table covered in children's drawings and newspapers, among other things.

"Take a seat." Mr. Kingsley said, inviting her to sit on the couch, so she did. He put his daughter down just as they heard shouting from upstairs. Mr. Kingsley groaned, "Not again." Maxine watched in amusement as two twin boys, both of them about eight years old, came running down the stairs, hitting each other's blonde heads with inflatable baseball bats. "Derek! Darren! Enough!" Mr. Kingsley grabbed the bats and yanked them out of the boys' hands. The two boys pouted at him angrily, "I told you kids, if you're gonna play rough, play outside." He handed them back the bats and they ran out to the backyard. One of them stopped and looked at Maxine with his blue eyes, the same shade of blue as Maxine's.

"I'm Derek." He said.

"Hi, Derek." Maxine said, "I'm Max." Derek scrunched up his nose.

"Max is a boy's name!" He said, Maxine laughed.

"It's short for Maxine." She said.

"Oh." Derek said, "It's a weird name."

"I know." Maxine said. Derek ran off to join his brother without saying another word to her. Mr. Kingsley watched him leave, then turned to her.

"So, Max," He said, "How is it that you know my wife?"

"It's a pretty long story." Maxine said.

"I've got time." He said, Maxine hesitated.

"It's about something from a really long time ago." Maxine said, "She may not have talked to you about it yet."

"I know everything about my wife's past." Mr. Kingsley said confidently, "Even the darkest stuff."

"…Did she tell you about what happened eighteen years ago?" Maxine asked.

"Eighteen years ago…" Mr. Kingsley murmured, "That was… her rape?"

"Oh, so you do know." Maxine said.

"I don't understand what that has to do with you, though." Mr. Kingsley said, "My wife didn't mention anything about someone named Max." A thought seemed to strike him, "Just how old are you, anyway?"

"Eighteen." Maxine said.

"So… You weren't even born when this happened." Mr. Kingsley said.

"Actually, that's kind of the reason I'm here." Maxine said. The front door opened and Maxine's eyes widened at the sight of a woman in her early thirties with long, brown hair that cascaded down to her upper back. She had Maxine's blue eyes, and she actually looked like an older version her.

"I'm home!" She said, she looked at Maxine in surprise when she saw her sitting on her couch, "Robert, are we hiring a new babysitter?"

"Um, she said she's here for you." Mr. Kingsley said, she looked over at her. Maxine stood up and took a deep breath, stepping towards her, seeing that she was only about two inches taller. She smiled politely at her as she came face to face with her.

"Um… Hi." She said lamely, holding out her hand for her to shake. Her mother shook it, "It's nice to finally meet you."

"…Who are you?" She asked.

"I can explain that…" Maxine began, "Uh, see, about eighteen years ago, you were raped by a man named Ronald Berkley. As a result of him not wearing a condom when it happened, or he did wear a condom and it broke, I never really got the details, but… because of that, you got pregnant with a baby girl… and you left her on the doorstep of an orphanage." Her mother's eyes widened as she spoke about it, "…My name is Maxine Marina Farsend… I'm your daughter." Mr. Kingsley looked at his wife in surprise.

"You never told me you had a daughter." He said.

"I-I didn't think I'd ever see her again!" Maxine's mother exclaimed. She looked down at Maxine, taking her face in her hands, "I can't believe I'm actually talking to you… How did you find me?"

"My friend hired a private detective to test my DNA against any documented rapists." Maxine said, letting her mother turn her head from side to side, "Seeing as you left a note with me at the orphanage, saying I was the child of your rapist."

"You don't look a thing like him." Sheryl said, she released Maxine's face and sighed in relief, "Thank God." Maxine smiled at her, "So… why don't we sit down and talk?"

"…And since then, I've been living with Susan." Maxine said, basically explaining her life story to her mother, "She's been really sweet about it, giving me my own room, and my own bed. It's like home for me."

"I'm glad to hear it." Sheryl said, smiling at her daughter. Maxine smiled back at her.

"So… I have siblings." Maxine began, trying to keep the conversation going. Sheryl nodded.

"Yes." She said, "They're only your half-siblings of course."

"I know." Maxine said, "And I'm glad I got to see them." She looked down at the sheepdog that was lying underneath the table, with his head right next to her feet as she and her mother sat talking in the kitchen, drinking iced tea. Derek, Darren, and Addie were outside, playing popcorn on the trampoline. Addie was squealing in delight as her two brothers bounced her up and down. Maxine smiled at the sight, "They seem to get along well."

"Better than most kids their age." Sheryl said with a smile, "Derek and Darren get along so well because they're twins, and I don't think they mind having Addison as their little tagalong." She looked back at her eighteen year old daughter, "You know, if you ever want to get to know them better…" Maxine looked over at her, "Robert and I could always use a babysitter. We'll pay you eight dollars an hour for it." Maxine smiled at her.

"Actually, I'd love to watch them sometime." She said, she looked down at her iced tea, "It's so comforting to know I actually have a pair of brothers and a sister waiting out there for me." Sheryl frowned slightly, thinking of how her daughter must have felt when she left her behind on that door step.

"Listen, Maxine…" She began, making Maxine look up at her, "I never wanted to let you go. To be honest, I loved the idea of having a little girl of my own to take care of. That's why I gave birth to you, even though my parents were against it the entire time." Sheryl sighed sadly, running her finger around the rim of her glass, "But when you were born, you were so much responsibility… It was more than I could handle at the time, because my parents wouldn't help me for having you. I was on my own, and I knew nothing about taking care of children. I tried my best to take care of you, but… It wasn't enough." She put her hand down on the table, Maxine looked at her sadly, "I gave you away to the orphanage because I knew they would find you a better mother than me."

"That must have taken a lot of strength." Maxine said, reaching over and taking her mother's hand in her own. Sheryl looked up at her, smiling softly at her and squeezing her hand.

"Yes, it did…" She said, "I'm so glad you understand, Max. After all these years, I was always afraid that you would hate me."

"Well, for a while," Maxine said, "I did. But, as time passed, I began to realize what it must have been like for you. I kept on imagining different situations that wouldn't allow you to take care of me, and I figured you must have had a good reason for it… So, I guess, I kind of… forgave you for it after a while." She looked up and saw her mother crying. Maxine began to panic, "Aw, no! What did I say? I'm sorry!"

"No, Max," Sheryl said, wiping her tears away, "I'm not upset. I'm just… glad to hear those words." Maxine calmed down and smiled at her mother, squeezing her hand gently.

"Feel free to come back, anytime!" Sheryl said from the doorway as she and her family waved goodbye to Max as she got into Susan's car. She waved back and turned on the ignition, pulling off the curb and heading down the road.

"Bye-bye!" Addie shouted from her father's arms.

"See you!" Derek and Darren shouted at the same time, they quickly turned to each other and said, "Jinx! You owe me a soda!" Sheryl laughed at her two boys, patting their heads and leading them back inside. Maxine smiled as she saw the event through her rear-view mirror. She turned the car down the street, looking at the sky, frowning when she saw rainclouds above her.

"I don't remember there being any rain in the forecast…" She muttered, driving out of the neighborhood and heading down the road and onto the highway, surprised to find it empty in the middle of rush hour. She pulled out her cellphone and started dialing Susan's number, listening as her phone rang. She frowned when she heard the voicemail come on, "Hey, Susan, it's me. I just wanted to call you and tell you about my mom. She's a really nice girl, and I have two brothers and a sister, too. I'll tell you more about it when I get there. Anyway, I'm bringing your car back so you don't have to freak out about—" As she approached a bridge, a deer came out on the road, "OhmyGod!" She slammed her foot down on the brakes, moving the steering wheel to avoid the creature as it was paralyzed in fear. She went around the deer, but she still didn't stop, and swerved off of the bridge into the river waiting below. Maxine shrieked as she splashed into the water below.

A/N: I changed Lucy's age from ten to twelve so she'd be about thirteen in this story. Enjoy the story! :)