I remember watching him quietly, all those years ago. Silently I protected him from all that where to happen to him.
I loved him.
And he loved me.
I met him 2 years after he became king. I sat beneath my silver birch beside the castle, watching the comings and goings of all the noblemen and villagers. He was alone, pacing around the front gates, swinging his sword, smiling to whoever noted his presence.
It wasn't long before he spotted me, and he walked towards my perch.
"Hullo! What a glorious day it is!," he said happily, sitting next to me. I smiled at him and nodded, wondering why on earth he took interest in me.
It was a glorious day indeed, it was the beginning of autumn and the trees where alight with reds and oranges. The air was crisp, and the soft blue sky was comforting. The castle shown bright in the morning sunlight.
"What brings you out of your home, my king?" I ask him, trying to make conversation.
"This season is my favourite, and what brings you out of yours?" he asks, looking at the sky.
I point to the forest. "That is my home."
He smiles,"Ah, you are a dyrad, my lady. I don't mean to be nosy, but I always wanted to know... Do dyrads ever get cold in the winter? I mean, Lucy always goes on about how we should let them live Cair Paravel with us during the winter... I was just curious."
I chuckle and shake my head."If I feel the cold, I go back into the forest with my family, to our house. But if you don't mind, I would love to see the castle with my own eyes, if you allow it."
"Of course! My home is your home." he says, leading me into the castle.
"Who's this, Edmund?" asks Queen Lucy curiously. Edmund furrows his brows. "Oh dear, I forgot to ask. What IS your name?" he asks me, as Lucy laughs at his mistake. "Caera." I respond, smiling at him.
Lucy looks excitedly from me to Edmund, and shouts,"We should show her the throne room! Susan's just got it all nice for fall festivities, I was going to show you earlier, Ed, but it seems you made a new friend." She winks at us, making Edmund blush. She giggles and leads the way down the front hall.
Susan did make the throne room quite beautiful. It was draped with all sorts of red and gold leaves ( "Like Aslans mane." Lucy mentioned.). Curtains of the same colours cascaded down from the ceiling to the floor behind the four thrones. The lush carpet leading to the thrones had softly glowing candles along the edges.
Lucy spots Susan and calls her over to meet with us. "This is Caera, she's Edmunds new friend. Say, where did you find her Edmund?" Lucy asks, while introducing me to Susan. "She was sitting under her tree, she is a dryad." he answers. Susan smiles at me,"How do you like Cair Paravel so far?" she asks. "Its beautiful. I do love your decorations, your Majesty." I say. "Thankyou, Caera. But there is no need to call us kings or queens or Majesty. Please, just call us by our names." she tells me, and I nod, noting that in my head. Its strange for royalty to not want names of power, but I suppose it depends on the person.
I return to my tree later that day, after feasting with them. Susan explained that Peter was off with a small army of Centaurs and Minotaurs hunting down hags and werewolves, and that Edmund is soon to join him.
I continued to see Edmund every so often, sometimes accompanied by one of his sisters. He became a very good friend to me, and we shared many stories and tales of our times in Narnia. I told him of the 100 years I spent trapped in my tree. "The magic was so evil, I couldn't assume human form. And besides, it was too cold to even think of leaving the warmth of my tree." I told him one day, after the first signs of winter began to show. "Did you ever try to get out?" he asks, taking an apple from his basket. I nod." Yes, but there was always something holding me back, like I was meant for something later on." I try to explain.
"Do you think that you will ever get to do that?"
I shake my head,"No, my tree will probably get cut down before that happens... But you never know..." I whisper, looking at the snowflakes falling from the somber sky.
He looks sadly at me, then to the snow piling on the ground. "Its my time to go and help Peter," he tells me, picking up a small handfull of snow.
I nod,"And its my time to rest in my tree for the winter." I look at him and smile "Will you be back next spring?" I ask, as we both stand up. "Probably, hopefully. I'll miss you and my sisters so much." he says, taking me into a unexpected embrace. I return it, and we stand there for a short while, before he whispers,"I love you." and lets go and walks away.
And that was the last time I would see him for nearly 1000 years.
And the last ime I would be human for 1000 years.