[for Lucy]
Sansa had told Caspian about the little girl--Coraline, Lucy's friend, who Caspian had only met at Lucy's birthday party aboard the Dawn Treader-- who had been so outraged that she wasn't a part of his crew. It baffled Caspian, to be quite honest, for you see, he had only spoken to Coraline that one time, and if Sansa had not told him of her meeting with Coraline he never would have thought the girl would be angry with him.
It made perfect sense to him that only those of-age could serve on his crew. It was a matter of responsibility on his part; as it was his ship, he was responsible for the safety of those on board, and to fill the ship with children meant that there would not be enough manpower aboard ship in an emergency. He'd made exception for Lucy and Edmund, as they had served on his crew before (quite by accident) and were more than competent--and not only that, they knew the Dawn Treader inside and out. And he'd made exception for Arya, for he knew for a fact she could more than take care of herself (though how he knew that--from reading those stories of Westeros--was not exactly something he could share with anyone). He was quite pleased with his choice of crew, actually, for they had worked well together, and while they had not been tested in extreme conditions he was confident that they would do well if the occasion demanded it.
Besides which, if he had allowed the crew to be mostly children, the experienced sailors--Bush, Davos, Norrington, and the like--would not have taken him seriously at all and would likely have refused to come along, and Caspian had desperately needed their assistance. Caspian was one of those people who were clever enough to know when they were not an expert at something, and clever enough to find out who was and ask their help. Caspian had needed their experience and wisdom, for he well knew he could not sail the Dawn Treader on his experience alone. It was not that he doubted that children were not clever, for he remembered his childhood days very well. It was more a matter of physical strength and endurance. Sailing was hard and grueling work, especially if a storm was encountered.
At any rate, he was extremely displeased with Coraline's behaviour, enough that he was unlikely to take her on as crew even when she came of age, for petulance displeased him greatly. He was more concerned with Lucy, however, and hoped that her friend was not turning on her, for he suspected that would hurt Lucy deeply. Thus at the first opportunity he went up the path to Susan and Lucy's house to have a talk with her.
It made perfect sense to him that only those of-age could serve on his crew. It was a matter of responsibility on his part; as it was his ship, he was responsible for the safety of those on board, and to fill the ship with children meant that there would not be enough manpower aboard ship in an emergency. He'd made exception for Lucy and Edmund, as they had served on his crew before (quite by accident) and were more than competent--and not only that, they knew the Dawn Treader inside and out. And he'd made exception for Arya, for he knew for a fact she could more than take care of herself (though how he knew that--from reading those stories of Westeros--was not exactly something he could share with anyone). He was quite pleased with his choice of crew, actually, for they had worked well together, and while they had not been tested in extreme conditions he was confident that they would do well if the occasion demanded it.
Besides which, if he had allowed the crew to be mostly children, the experienced sailors--Bush, Davos, Norrington, and the like--would not have taken him seriously at all and would likely have refused to come along, and Caspian had desperately needed their assistance. Caspian was one of those people who were clever enough to know when they were not an expert at something, and clever enough to find out who was and ask their help. Caspian had needed their experience and wisdom, for he well knew he could not sail the Dawn Treader on his experience alone. It was not that he doubted that children were not clever, for he remembered his childhood days very well. It was more a matter of physical strength and endurance. Sailing was hard and grueling work, especially if a storm was encountered.
At any rate, he was extremely displeased with Coraline's behaviour, enough that he was unlikely to take her on as crew even when she came of age, for petulance displeased him greatly. He was more concerned with Lucy, however, and hoped that her friend was not turning on her, for he suspected that would hurt Lucy deeply. Thus at the first opportunity he went up the path to Susan and Lucy's house to have a talk with her.