A/N: This is my first Narnia AU story. Sorry to all Suspian fans! It's not like I don't ship these two together, I quite like them as a couple, actually. But I prefer to pair the male characters to my own OC, therefore this is Caspian/OC pairing. Contains fluffy stuff and the next chapter (which is going to be the last) shall be my first attempt at writing smut - gods! Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment or review but please, don't be too harsh on me :-)
And of course I don't own the characters from the original storybook by C. S. Lewis.
Chapter 1 - Confessions
The moon was standing high at the dark night sky, its light beautifully reflecting on the calm surface of the sea. Thousands of stars were brightly shining down, delicately shimmering like the most precious diamonds hanging up above. The sea was humming softly as a wave after wave came slamming against the white sandy shore. Gentle summer breeze was rippling the warm air every now and then, making the girl's hair flutter around her head.
She was sitting on the white sand, right below the rock cliff and observing the breathtaking beauty of this strange land, enjoying these quiet moments she had managed to steal for herself. Her mind was buzzing with so many thoughts and unanswered questions and she had a feeling that some of them would haunt her for the rest of her life.
She sighed, sadness clouding her face as she realized that this was the last night here in Narnia for tomorrow they were all returning back to their world. She found it very unfair, this was the first night without otherwise pervasive worries about the upcoming battle which was now finally over. The first night when she could take a deep breath and look around. And it was going to be her last.
She could still hear the distant tones of music and sounds of people singing and laughing, celebrating their new king with endless glee. She was happy for them, being sure that Caspian would be a good king for the country and its inhabitants, both Telmarines and Narnians. It was obvious that the land had received its happy ending and she felt honored to be a witness of it all. There was no way she could say she was a part of it because honestly, she wasn't. She was not a queen nor a warrior and she hadn't done anything to ensure their victory. Even now she couldn't fathom why she had been brought here in the first place.
Staring far in the distance, somewhere beyond the horizon, and being burried deep in her thoughts she hadn't noticed a figure slowly approaching her.
"Haven't you enjoyed yourself at the celebration?" a male voice cut through the peaceful silence.
The girl jumped up on the instant, "Caspian." she breathed out. "You startled me."
The newly crowned king only smirked playfully, "Please accept my apology, lady Elise. I had no intention to do so."
"How many times do I have to remind you not to call me a lady. I have no such title in my world, nor here. I'm just.. Elise." she said rather sternly.
"I am really sorry, I tend to keep forgetting that." the king replied and offered her a hesitant smile, "You still have not answered my question."
"What?" Elise frowned in confusion.
"Why are you here and not up there? Did you not like the feast?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, the celebration.. well, yes, it's been fabulous but.. I.. uh, I just wanted to be alone for a while." she stuttered and casted her eyes down for a second before meeting his again. And when she did, she caught a glimpse of hurt or sadness crossing his features.
"I understand." he bowed in front of her. "I shall leave you to your quiet contemplation then." And he was about to turn around and march back to the party.
"No!" Elise cried out before he could make the move and she was probably equally surprised how desperate she sounded.
"I didn't mean it like that. I mean.. I didn't want you to go. But of course you can go if you want.." she mumbled in attempt to explain herself but failed miserably, her cheeks immediately turning a deep shade of red that she was sure even the dim light could reveal it.
Caspian's smile returned as he watched her fidgeting nervously. "I would love to stay for a while." he murmured and made a step closer.
Elise smiled widely at him and resumed sitting on the same spot as before, letting him join her. He was the reason why she would miss this land the most. She had always believed she was not a one to fall in love easily but the moment she had laid her eyes on this guy, she knew it had happened. Her heart had clenched in not a really unpleasant way and she had felt thousands of butterflies in her stomach. It was like she had been put under a magic spell. At that time he had been a prince. And now he was a king, while she was only an ordinary girl from London. She could have never been compared to the Pevensies, they were true royals, Elise had no doubt they had ruled Narnia before as Kings and Queens of Old, the era of their reign being one full of glory and prosperity.
"Are you still wondering why Aslan has brought you here?" the young king asked her when she had stayed silent for a way too long.
She turned her head to face him, "Yes. There seem to be no particular reason or purpose, at least I can't see any. It's obvious the Kings and Queens of Old came here to help you win the battle and get back your throne but I didn't participate, I didn't fight."
"You helped Queen Lucy." he countered with his head slightly tilted to a side, his dark hair a bit ruffled by the subtle wind.
A corner of Elise's lips quirked up in a bashful smile, he was so kind to her. And if it was possible, she thought she was falling even more in love with him for this quality of his.
"And what did Aslan talk to you about? Did he not try to imply any indication or reason?" Caspian questioned her further, his voice laced with hope.
"No. Not at all. But he said we all were to return to our world tomorrow." she answered honestly and scribbled some unknown patterns into the sand beside her absentmindedly.
"What?!" he blurted out and shook his head incredulously. "I thought.. last time the Kings and Queens visited Narnia, they stayed for years."
Elise only shrugged, she didn't know how to reply to his statement. "I wish we could stay for some time, too."
Upon listening to her words, king Caspian briskly stood up and looked positively alarmed. "I am very sorry, Elise, but you must excuse me now. I believe there are some things I need to get sorted out." And he bowed in front of her again but before he turned away, he had half-whispered, "Thank you for your very enjoyable company."
She only nodded and tried to give him an encouraging smile. She knew why he had decided to take the sudden leave. She was positive that the same feelings she harbored for him, he had for Queen Susan, the Gentle. And when he had learnt the awful truth about their impending departure, he hurried to spend the last precious hours with the queen of his heart.
When he was out of her sight, she turned back to the calm and peaceful horizon in front of her. It was soothing her nerves and troubled mind, though it wasn't able to moderate her growing heartache. Was it her destiny to always feel refused and useless? A lone tear escaped from the corner of her eye and she let it fall as she kept both her hands wrapped around her knees. She closed her eyelids but it didn't help, the vision of the Narnian king's handsome face still didn't want to go away. His warm, chocolate brown eyes. His genuine, bright smile. Which didn't belong to her.
Out of the blue she snapped her head up as a bug thought crossed her mind. She hadn't had a chance to ask him why he had left the party and come down here. Had he noticed her missing? Had he gone looking for her? No! That was absurd, right? But still.. she once again turned her head to the direction he had appeared to come from before. Her tricky mind started to play over some particular scenes of their earlier encounter, mercilessly filling her aching heart with a pathetic hope. What if..?
She sprang up to her feet, her breathing becoming heavy and uneven that she felt an urge to put a clutching hand to her chest. Suddenly feeling brave as never before, she grabbed her shoes by the other hand and took off running back to the castle. The skirt of her light and loose white gown rustled as she was sprinting, the blue corset growing more and more tight as she breathed, the long and wide sleeves of the same white and light texture were creating an effect of butterfly wings. As she rapidly neared her destination, her cheeks were turning red, almost matching the colour of her long and rich hair which was now wildly bouncing around her shoulders and recoiling on her back. But she didn't care about her looks at that moment. The desire to reveal her true feelings to the man she had come to love kept her moving on a steady speed and completely careless to her surroundings. She needed to do it now or she was afraid of losing the courage for ever.
When she reached the courtyard, the celebration was still in a full swing. She decided to take a short break and catch her breath.
It hadn't taken long before Queen Lucy approached her, briefly taking in Elise's appearance. "Are you alright, Elise? What happened?" she asked with her sweet childish voice, now clearly filled with a concern for her well-being.
"Y-yes. Yes. Lucy.." she stuttered in between sharp intakes of breath. "Please. Where is Caspian?"
"Try to look for him in a throne room. Did anything happen that we should know about?" the girl's voice sounded somehow shaky.
"Oh no, not at all. Don't worry, I just need to speak to him, that's all." Elise managed to say intelligibly and rewarded Lucy with a happy grin. Then she hiked up her skirt again and set on running again.
As she came close enough to the great hall, also referred to as a 'throne room', she registered the huge mahogany door was half open and to her delight she could hear Caspian's melodious voice coming from inside. Her heart rejoiced and quickened its already boisterous rhythm of beating. She didn't want to wait to get her breathing under control and so she bursted into the spacious room right away.
"Caspian!" she called out his name instead of using his royal title which would be perhaps more appropriate. Looking around frantically, she spotted him standing in the shadows of the room's archway and already turning towards her.
"Elise." he whispered, quite surprised to see her there and made a step closer to her.
She also dashed forward, panting heavily, her cheeks visibly flushed from her earlier sprint. "Caspian, I must tell you.." but she didn't finish her sentence for someone just cleared his throat and a second later the Gentle Queen came to the fore from behind the young king.
"Oh!" Elise exhaled sharply, her eyes swaying from the king to the queen and back. When she had heard his voice coming from inside the room before, she had assumed that he had been preparing his speech or something and now she was taken aback by the queen's presence. "Susan, I.." she started but let the words trail off as her eyes began watering. Feeling terribly embarrassed, when the realization dawned on her as to what she most probably had interrupted, she quickly turned on her heels and literally fled from the room.
Once out in the vast and dimly lit castle's corridors, she let the tears freely stream down her face, an immense pain clenching her heart in a mocking vice-like grip. How could she have been so stupid? To think that the King of Narnia might have returned her feelings! She should have known better and spare herself this great amount of embarrassment. She made it safely to her quarters and closed the door with a loud thud, leaning against the wooden gate with her palms placed on it on each side of her body for better support.
"Elise?" she heard a male voice from outside, followed by a light knock. She instantly jumped away from the door and gawked at it incredulously.
"Elise, may I come in?" Caspian's raspy voice pleaded with her, it became obvious that he had run after her the whole time.
She didn't say a word and instead of opening, she backed away from the entrance to her room. She had no desire to face the man in her current state of disarray. Upon hearing the click of the door's handle, she swiftly turned her back on it.
"Elise, please.." he began. "What did you want to tell me back there in the throne room? You sounded very urgent." he spoke to her softly but kept standing at the doorway, not daring to invade her personal space, though he was a very king of the castle and therefore able to do as he pleased but when it came to Elise, he acted more like a man uncertain of his position in the young woman's life.
"It's not important anymore." she replied coldly still with her back on him but her quiet sniffles gave her away, she was crying.
"But I really would like to know." he wasn't going to give up so easily.
"I would suggest you to go back down and spend the time you've got left with Queen Susan instead of wasting the precious minutes on me, Your Majesty." she spilled the words out of her mouth without thinking, new teardrops treavelling across her cheeks. Then she sensed his footsteps coming a little bit closer to her and a wave of shiver washed over her.
"Well, I.. as much as I respect and admire the Gentle Queen, my heart belongs to another. But for some reason she is not able to see it." the king said wistfully, waiting patiently for her to turn around and look into his eyes. Then she would understand.
Elise tilted her head to a side and over her shoulder she mumbled, "Believe me, whoever it is, she is a lucky woman."
"Then why is she crying?" came his prompt response and he could swear that her body jerked on the instant. For a short while she stood there like frozen but then she spun around, her eyes red and puffy from crying, face smeared with tears and her eyes held the most hopeful gaze.
Caspian briefly studied her, realizing she had never looked more radiant. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and when he locked his eyes with hers, he was sure all his emotions reflected there as hers reflected in her beautiful green orbs, too. Soon a hesitant smile bloomed on her face as well and she flung herself into his arms, almost knocking him down in the process but he was strong enough to balance both of them. She rested her head on his chest, holding him tight and he happily returned the embrace, keeping the woman he loved in the safe circle of his arms. And they had remained like that for a long moment before Elise withdrew from him just a little bit, looking up at him.
"That is what I wanted to tell you in the throne room." she murmured, her voice still slightly hoarse.
"What?" Caspian's brows furrowed in confusion.
"I wanted to tell you about my feelings for you." she admitted shyly, averting her eyes for a brief moment before locking them with his once again.
"As I said, I still would like to hear that." he declared, grinning contentedly now.
Elise let out a small chuckle, "Why now, you already know."
His hold on her suddenly tightened and he kissed the crown of her head tenderly, "Please, tell me."
She could feel his heartbeat had sped up as he waited for her confession. "I love you." she conceded finally, the words and its revelation made her feel incredibly lighthearted.
"I love you too." he whispered into her hair, then loosened his grip in anticipation of her looking up again and when she did, he leaned down ever so slowly, pressing his lips onto hers in a soft and gentle kiss.
