Disclaimer: Everything belongs to dear ol' Clive Staples.
AN: Uh…picture Lucy a little older than she's meant to be in Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Lucy Pevensie was no coward. She was Queen Lucy, the Valiant; at least she had been before she'd been taken out of Narnia. And even then, she'd grown up a lot, afraid of nothing, least of all a thunderstorm. So why, she wondered one stormy night on the Dawn Treader, could she not sleep?
Earthly thunderstorms were no different, yet here she was, gripping her knees tightly, sitting up in bed in her cabin, the one Caspian had sacrificed for her, and willing her candle not to blow out. The ship was rocking more violently than usual, no surprise there, but she wasn't bothered by the motion – it was more the noise.
Rolling thunderclaps rattled the cabin and vibrated through her entire body, so loudly she couldn't hear anything else and didn't realise she was crying until she tasted salt on her lips. She jumped as a boom of thunder forced the catch on her window open and the rain began sleeting inside.
She rolled out of bed and ran to the window to pull it down, when – puff! – the tiny light from her candle blew out. She froze, the room black as pitch, the floor of her cabin still heaving as the ship tossed in the waves. A particularly Herculean crash sounded and Lucy dropped to her knees, clapping her hands over her ears, her breathing shallow and her entire being quivering.
Impulsively, she got to her feet and ran in the direction of the door, heaving into it and stumbling into the tiny corridor beyond. She collided with something – someone – very tall and very close to her door. Without thinking, she grabbed them around the waist and buried her scrunched up face into their soft nightclothes, her little hands twisting in the fabric covering their back. The body stiffened momentarily, but soon relaxed, strong arms curling around her and rocking her gently with the motion of the ship. Their chin rested on the top of her head and Lucy sniffled as she felt a hand stroke her hair.
'What is wrong, little Queen?' Lucy immediately released her hands and stepped backwards.
'C-Caspian?' she wiped her eyes hurriedly, trying to compose herself, but another thunderclap sounded and before she knew it, she'd jumped back into his arms. She felt him vibrate slightly – whether it was the storm or his sly laughter she didn't know. Slowly his arms circled her once more and he lowered them both into a sitting position against the wall.
He was whispering to her; little comforting murmurs she couldn't understand above the volume of the storm. She felt embarrassed, like a little girl all over again, but couldn't bring herself to move away. So she stayed there, her face buried in his neck, and her hands clinging to the loose rough material of his nightshirt.
The storm raged on, and Lucy lost track of the time. It could have been an hour or it could have been three before she realised the thunder was slowly rolling away from them. She sat back slowly, rubbing her eyes and inching out of his secure embrace. He saw this and released her from his arms. She studied the floor – with the storm volume now significantly lower, she felt as though she should fill the silence between them. His hand tilted her chin up, and instead of the stifled smile or the patronising smirk she expected to see, he looked worried, his brow creased with concern.
'Are you - are you okay, your Majesty?' Lucy felt horribly like a child. His genuine concern over her fear of a mere thunderstorm was like that of a parent. She attempted a weak laugh, but nothing came out of her parched throat.
'Come' Caspian stood up and reached for her hand. She took it and allowed him to help her up. 'We have water and wine in the keel'
'Really, Caspian, it's not necess-' Lucy found her tongue and croaked out a protest, but he cut her off gently.
'If you please, your Majesty, it would greatly ease my worry if you consented to some water. You had quite a shock there' He searched her eyes pleadingly.
'Y-yes, okay' Lucy grimaced inwardly at the childish nature of her reply. She straightened up and let go of his hand and followed him to the keel.
They descended to the stores of food, and Caspian lit the lanterns and seated her at a small, grubby table.
'I'm sorry we don't have a bigger setting, your Maj-'
'Caspian, please' Lucy closed her eyes 'Don't address me so formally. I certainly don't address you by your proper title'
There was a short silence, and Caspian let out a small laugh. 'Of course, but I have not yet lived up to your stature, so it is only proper that I should address you as your-'
'Well, I'm – I'm asking you not to. It makes me feel…uncomfortable' Lucy twisted her hands awkwardly, wondering why on Earth she was so nervous all of a sudden.
'Of course, your – Lucy' the word sounded foreign on his tongue and Lucy looked up at him as he said it. He had his back to her and was extracting water from a barrel. Moments later, he set a goblet on the table in front of her and sat down opposite her.
'Drink up, Lucy' he smiled gently. She took the goblet and drained it in one gulp, then realised her manners.
'Oh, sorry' she wiped her mouth as daintily as she could with her sleeve. Caspian burst out laughing.
'What's so funny?' Lucy asked indignantly, setting the goblet back down on the table. Caspian leaned backwards.
'Every time I speak to you, I feel so awed by your presence, and then you go and hide from thunder, or slurp your water and I remember you are just a child' Lucy was shocked. Though his words clearly weren't said with malicious intent, she didn't understand how he could say something like that after addressing her as 'your Majesty' for so long. She pushed her chair back from the table and stood up.
'Thankyou for the water, Caspian, I'm going back to bed now' she abruptly turned and began to climb out of the keel. She knew she was being childish, but he obviously already thought she was so what did it matter?
Caspian's smile had dropped from his face.
'L-Lucy? Lucy, I'm…very sorry if that offended you, it came out the wrong way' Lucy finally climbed out of the keel and turned to watch him slide out effortlessly. He stood in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders.
'Your Majes – Lucy?' he bent slightly, trying to look in her face. 'I'm really am sorry, you're not a child, you're a young lady-'
'Yes I am!' Lucy burst out suddenly 'I'm nothing but a pathetic little girl whose afraid of thunderstorms and is too fragile to sleep in a hammock under the deck cabins and who has to be waited on and have her every whim catered to and can't be of any use to anyone, and-'
'Lucy!' Caspian's grip tightened on her shoulders and his voice was loud. 'None of that is true-'
'Yes it is! I tried so hard to be Queen Lucy the Valiant when we came back and I just can't! I tried so hard to act my age, but still - you even said it yourself! I'm only a child! You only see me as a little girl! You and everyone else on this ship!'
Lucy stopped attempting to hold back the tears and let them course freely down her cheeks as she restrained from openly sobbing. She stared at Caspian, her eyes bright. He dropped his gaze.
'I…I don't see you that way at all, your Majesty' Lucy opened her mouth to tell him off for his formal address, but he held up his hand resignedly to try to quiet her. It worked. He breathed out, his hands still on her shoulders. 'I don't see you that way.' He said again. 'Why do you think I address you so formally? It's to remember my place around you'
'But-' Lucy steadied her breathing 'I feel so…little. And too important. I wish, just for once, someone would treat me like a normal girl, not like a child, and not like a Queen.' Now Lucy dropped her gaze, defeated.
'Like…like this?' Lucy looked up, and before she could say anything, his mouth was on hers. Her eyes widened in surprise as he pressed his lips harder against hers and she was even more shocked when she found herself kissing him back, her arms curling around his neck as he grabbed the back of her head. He pulled her against him and leant against the wall, lifting her higher in his arms.
'Caspian' she pulled back slightly, but her words were still muffled by his little kisses. She almost gave in again, leaning forward once more, before the distant sound of footsteps startled them. She leapt off him as he released her like she was burning and they froze. The footsteps got closer and the walker came into view. It was Edmund, yawning widely.
''Lo, you two' he mumbled, his eyes glazed and bleary as he walked straight past them.
'We were…just…getting some water' Lucy managed feebly, Caspian nodding dumbly, but Edmund merely nodded, scratching his head and continuing to pad down into the keel.
There was a short silence, before they simultaneously burst into quiet laughter, looking helplessly at one another, too exhausted to be embarrassed. Caspian walked over to her and placed a small kiss on her lips.
'We don't want to wake anyone else' he whispered against her mouth 'Goodnight, little Queen'. She touched the sides of his face gently with her fingertips as they exchanged one last kiss, before turning and slipping away back to her cabin, red heat blossoming in her cheeks.
She slowly returned to bed, turning the events of the night around in her mind and still feeling the tingles in her lips. She lay down on the pillow – and then realised the excitement in her head wasn't dying down. There was no way she could get to sleep with that. Groaning loudly, Lucy got out of bed to light her candle.
AN: Like it? Hate it? Couldn't care less? Let me know!