"Marry me."

The words rang in her head over and over again. The wishing well the grass the flowers the garden just faded away into nothing until it was just her and Caspian. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like it was going to fly out of her chest and land at Caspian's feet. He was so wonderful and sweet and caring and tender and brave and good and chivalrous and kind and witty and handsome and charming. She had spent entire years of her early teenage life imagining the perfect husband in her head. But he had been nothing like Caspian. No man could hold candle to Caspian.

Her dream man didn't have Caspian's gorgeous skin, perpetually messy hair, perfect body, crooked smile, deep laugh, wit and charm or those eyes…! Of course her dream husband had been sweet and kind and handsome but Susan had never even imagined anyone could be half as sweet as her Caspian. Caspian was light years beyond anything she could have even dreamed of.

Her whole body was numb as she twisted around in Caspian's arms and looked at his face full of anticipation and love. She knew how cliché and corny it was but she could not help but let a few tears trickle down her cheeks. She was so incredibly, amazingly happy. Before today she didn't even know it was possible to be this happy. It was like a thousand butterflies were flying out of her heart and into the wind. Her heart had long stong stopped beating and it was like everything had stopped and was playing in slow motion. She was so thrilled and happy she couldn't even feel the soft grass or the warm breeze. It was like her body was off in a faraway land and she was watching herself from love of her life was asking her to marry him. Her whole body was shaking and trembling. She loved him so very very much...

Caspian's heart was buzzing and thumping so fast he was sure he would get a letter from Archenland inquiring to his health. Those two seconds before she turned around to look at him might as well have been thirteen hundred years. He did his best to hold the ring steady but his hand was shaking from pure excitement and anticipation. She had to say yes…

Agonizingly slowly she twisted around in his arms to look at him. Her mouth was hanging open and her face was slightly pale. He saw so many emotions in her blue eyes that his head was starting to hurt and the small garden started spinning. His heart slammed against his chest when he saw something he was dreading in her eyes…tears. Oh Aslan it was too early! How stupid was he? What an idiot! How dare he propose to her merely a month after Rabadash's attack?

How insensitive was he? How callous? He mentally slapped himself as he realized the blunder of his words 'marry me.' The image of Rabadash kissing her and demanding the very same thing, tears in her eyes floated behind his eyes and he felt as if he was going to vomit. He felt an icy iron hand grip his heart when she looked down at the ground and two salty tears slipped out of her beautiful eyes and down her rosy cheeks. He had actually made her cry.

His face fell. "Sweet, dear heart, love, please don't cry. It's too soon I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I –should have waited but it's just….I love you so much and-"

She pressed a delicate finger over his lips, silencing him. His whole body was on fire. She was touching his lips…

"Yes." She whispered so softly for a moment Caspian wasn't even sure if she had actually said it or if it was just his imagination playing with him.

"What did you just say?" he said in a very squeaky, high pitched voice. He was feeling about five years old.

She grabbed his hand softly in hers and a radiant smile appeared through her tears.

"Yes. Yes yes yes!" she said with pure elation and Caspian's heart skipped a few beats. He couldn't even comprehend the magnitude of his joy at hearing that one simple word.

He was speechless as he threw his arms around her and squeezed her so tight he though he heard her groan in pain and immediately loosed his hold. He scrambled off the ground in pure euphoria and pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and twirling her around in the air, laughing like a fool. Her soft curls flew about his head and her soft pink dress billowed out in waves.

She was laughing and squealing, tears of happiness pouring down her face and soaking his shirt. He quickly set her on her feet and slammed his lips into hers. She laughed into the kiss and reciprocated with every ounce of love in her soul.

Quite reluctantly but still grinning like a fool he fumbled with the ring and slid it onto her finger with shaking hand. She had been so shocked at first that she hadn't even glanced at the ring. But now she was completely utterly and totally speechless. It looked just like her mothers. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her whole life and brought a thousand memories flowing back. She went almost a whole minute without speaking, staring at the beautiful diamonds on her finger.

"Oh Caspian...It's- beautiful. It's just like my mother's." she finally said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Caspian smiled and pulled her in for another hug, burying his head in her neck. "Trumpkin made it. I had Edmund sketch out your mother's ring and Trumpkin was able to re create it." he whispered into her hair. He had not even thought it possible to feel so much joy and love for another person. He thought he would burst. She said yes!

"Oh love I'm so glad you like it. I love you. I love you so very, very much," he said with pure euphoria.

"I love you too. More than anything." she whispered into his shoulder.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, still grinning massively. "We're getting married!" he said with a laugh and grabbed her face with both hands and slammed his lips into hers, pouring out all his love for her into that one kiss. Fire was shooting through his veins as her hands tangled in his hair and she pulled him even closer to her.

"I love you," he mumbled against her lips and she smiled into the kiss. "I love you more," she moaned and he felt bubbles of pure happiness jumping around in his stomach.

The engaged couple pulled apart finally, breathing heavily and unable to whipe the smiles off their faces. "We're getting married," Susan grinned, testing out the foreign words in her mouth. She loved the way those three simple words made her lips buzz and her heart burn.

Caspian was going to be her husband! Her husband. And every day was going to be like this. She would get to spent the rest of her life with the love of her life. She wouldn't spend eternity by the side of some stiff, pompous, arrogant, disgusting prince the court had picked out for her like she had feared her whole life. Peter had promised her he would never make her marry someone she didn't love but it wasn't him she was worried about.

Caspian laughed his wonderful ringing laugh and Susan's heart flipped with joy. She would get to here that sound the rest of her life.

Caspian's laugh was contageous and soon the two were both laughing hysterically, enveloped in each others arms and rocking from sidee to side. This was exactly how it was supposed to be. Caspian grinned mischievously and Susan blushed and cocked her head playfully. She arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Dance with me."

She blinked and then threw her head back and laughed, exposing her beautiful white throat. Caspian wanted her terribly...

"There's no music." she said with sparkling eyes and Caspian bowed extravagantly with a air of fake superiority, making Susan giggle and blush.

"So? Dance with me. Be my partner. Sweep me off my feet!" he joked with a cheeky grin and Susan laughed again. How he loved that sound.

He bowed so low he toupled over in quite an undignified heap at her feet and Susan burst out into hysterical laughter, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I...meant to do that," he said from the ground as Susan finally grabbed his upper arm and pulled him to his feet, still gigging uncontrollably.

"Of course you did dear," she said loftily kissing his cheek as Caspian placed one hand on her waist and took hers with the other. He started twirling her around the flowers and grass, her skirts swirling around his legs. He spun her out with a flourish and pulled her back into him smoothly with her back against his chest, holding hands across her waist. She smiled and twisted her head around to kiss his cheek, laughing as a blush crept across his cheeks.

"My dear sir, are you blushing?" she teased and Caspian stuck his tongue out at her before twirling her beneath his arm. He could almost hear the faun's music playing in the background and he became entranced in the quick, passionate tune that was playing over and over in his head again. Apparently, the same music was playing in his fiance's head because she kept in perfect step with him, dipping and whirling and spinning and twirling in all the right places, never once missing a step. It was like they formed one complete person taking shape in two bodies.

The fast, firery, passionate song in their heads was coming to an end and Caspian lifted Susan in the air and twirled her around, bringing her down gently into a very low dip. His face was so close to her neck. She pecked him on the cheek playfully and Caspian briefly pressed his lips to her neck, sending shivers down her spine. He pulled her back up gracefully and although no music was playing the last note rang through the air like a bell on Christmas morning.

She brought the soft hand resting in his to the back of his neck and kept the other on his shoulder. She rested her cheek on the hand on his shoulder and sighed deeply. This was just a taste of the rest of her life...

Caspian smiled and wrapped his other hand more securely around her waist and brought her closer to him, inhaling her wonderfully intoxicating smell. She nuzzled her head more deeply into his shoulder and stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss his jaw, sending fire through him. The two just swayed back and forth for what they wished could have been forever, whispering and soaking each other up. Caspian absently rubbed circles on her back, careful to avoid an enormous bruise he knew was still quite present on her spine.

She mumbled something incoherently into his shoulder and he rested his cheek on her warm hair in return. "I love you," he said. She kissed his shoulder blade. "I love you too."

"You know, soon everyday will be this wonderful," she said and he smiled. "No. Every day will be better." he whispered and Susan's heart melted. There was a long, contented pause as they swayed gently across the garden.

"So, when do you want to get married?'' he said casually with a grin, loving the way those words sounded out of his mouth. She sighed happily. "As soon as possible."

That was good enough for him.

Softly, Caspian began to humm a very old Telmarine lullaby he vaguely remembered his mother singing to him when he was four years old. The last memory he had of her was when she was very sick and little Caspian was snuggled up with her on his parents bed (the disease was not contagious) and she as humming softly to him. The old memory brought a familiar ache to his heart but he took one look at Susan and it melted away.

"I wish my mother was here. She would love you," he said in a soft voice and Susan felt a twinge of pity for her love. She opened her mouth to comfort him when something large and hard fell out of the sky and landed on top of Caspian's head.

"Ow! What the heck was that?" he exclaimed rubbing his head and bending down to pick up the strange object with a mutinous glare. It was a shoe.

"What on earth...? EDMUND!" Susan yelled, looking up at the tree branch above them that hung over the garden wall.

"Um hey Su...fancy seeing you here?" he said from a low branch with a guilty half smile.

"Were you SPYING on me?"

"Noooo...'' he said and Susan gave him the 'evil witch woman eye of death' as Peter so fondly called it.

"Shhh Lucy shut up, I can't hear what she's saying!"

"Ow Peter you're on my foot!" came angry whisperings from the branch above Edmund's.

Susan looked up to her entire family sitting up in the tree spying on Caspian proposing.

"I can't believe you three! I can't believe it; well,actually I can but still!'' she said angrily but her blue eyes were still sparkling.

She punctuated her last word by chucking Edmund's shoe back into the tree with as much force as she could muster and succeeding in hitting him in the arm, causing him to lose his balance and flap his arms like a bird before falling out of the apple tree in a comical heap, sending about a dozen apples showering onto his head.

Peter started laughing very loudly and pointing at his little brother. "This was your idea you big idiot!" Edmund screeched and threw an apple as hard as he could from the ground at his older brother, sending him to the ground beside him. Now it was Edmund's turn to laugh. Caspian just stood next to Susan the whole time, marvelling at the his new family. Every day was going to be like this! He had always craved a family and now he had the best one he could possibly imagine.

Susan and Caspian watched on, horribly amused when Peter and Edmund started wrestling on the ground like a couple of five year olds fighting over a coveted toy. The Gently Queen merely laughed and wrapped an arms around Caspian's waist in a half hug. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

The two love birds were completely caught off guard as a madly excited Lucy scrambled down from the branch as fast as her legs would carry and barreled into the two with such force Caspian barely managed to keep them on their feet.

"I am so happy for you two!You're getting married!Oh this is so wonderful I am so EXCITED! You two are absolutely perfect for each other. Oh this is the happiest day of my life!'' she squealed, somehow managing to hug both of them at the same time. Caspian and Susan both grinned wildly and hugged her back.

"Believe me Lu, this is the happiest day of my life too." she said, stretching up to kiss Caspian on the lip.

Finally, Peter and Edmund stopped squabbling long enough to get up and come over to the newly engaged couple. Peter and Edmund both clapped Caspian on the shoulder.

"Looks like you have a new big brother eh Pete?" Edmund said with a smirk and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. But keep this in mind baby brother, no matter who are sister marries you will always be the baby brother," he said and Peter smacked him upside the head. Susan laughed and ruffled Edmund's hair. He swatted her hand away.

"Do you know long it takes in the morning to get my hair to look this good?" he said with fake irritation and a air of false superiority.

Susan rolled her eyes. "See, now that is why I am always late to breakfast! I sit outside in the hallway for a half hour every morning for SOMEONE-Edmund- to get out of the bathroom!'' she said with fake fury and Edmund grinned sheepishly.

"You of all people should know that it takes time to be pretty," he said, flipping his hair out of his face and putting his hands on his hips with fake arrogance.

Peter scrambled up from the ground, shoving Edmund back onto the grass, and made his way towards Caspian and Susan with a smile on his face. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around his baby sister and kissed her on the cheek, hugging her a moment too long. His sister was getting married.

"She doesn't need time. She rolls out of bed beautiful," Peter said into Susan's shoulder, causing her to blush and squeeze him tighter.

Edmund's grin widened, his eyes sparkling with a fantastic jibe to his brother.

"Yep and pretty soon Caspian is going to get to see that first hand," he said cheekily and Susan blushed so hard the tops of her shoulders turned red.

Caspian laughed nervously as the smile fell from Peter's face and distorted into the look of one who is about to vomit. His face turned a spectacular shade of green and everyone laughed including Lucy who had yet to process the cheeky pun.

Edmund was laughing so hard he was rolling on the ground. Caspian had to pound Peter on the back a few times to get him to start breathing again. He turned to Edmund.

"I actually hadn't thought about that yet. Thank you for bringing it up. Excuse me while I reminisce about the good old days when boys had cooties." he said in a strange voice and everyone laughed again except Caspian who had a strange look on his face.

"What's a cootie?" he said with a flabbergasted look on his face. He turned to Susan quickly.

"Whatever it is I swear I don't have it," he said with wide eyes and Susan burst out into hysterical, uncontrollable laughter.

"Of course you don't dear. And if you did I would love you just as much," she said in a failed attempt at seriousness.

Caspian looked down at his town and shuffled his feet in an injured fashion and stuck his lips out in a pout.

"You guys are mean."