Author's Note: Finally, a happy Lucian fic with absolutely no angst at all! So this fic is set after the Last Battle, and Susan has already rejoined the Pevensies. I wrote that the Pevensies and Caspian were living in Cair Paravel because, well I can't imagine them living elsewhere. And I'm sure that Cair Paravel does exist in Real Narnia. Oh, and.. Imagine Lucy and Caspian have wed. I'm purposefully not mentioning his relationship with Liliandil because it really will complicate everything! Anyway, do read, review and most importantly enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia, nor any characters that you recognize (obviously). They all belong to C.S Lewis.
It was snowing in Narnia. Everywhere, there were fluffy white snowflakes floating down slowly from the skies and coating the lush, earthy ground.
Lucy stood in the middle of the forest, watching the snowflakes that fell onto her palm and felt them melt and turn to water as they ran delightedly through the rifts between her fingers. She always loved Narnia in winter; it looked very much like a winter wonderland. Smiling, she twirled around, dancing to the soft whispers of the Creatures of the Narnia woods as they peeked out to stare at the legendary Queen in wonder.
Now Caspian, who had just woken up, was rather surprised to see that his love had already left for the day. Stretching his lanky body, he looked out of the window and smiled to see that it was snowing. He threw on a fresh tunic and hurried down to the entrance of Cair Paravel. He knew exactly where to find his misplaced Queen.
Lucy suddenly remembered a little dance Mr. Tumnus had taught her long ago. 'Winter's Joy', he called it, telling her that it was a dance that all the woodland creatures knew, and proceeded to show her the intricate movements to the dance. And from that day, on the first Winter's day of each year, Lucy would slip away to the forest and danced along with her friends, laughing as she was joined by each Faun, Dryad and Talking Animal.
Closing her eyes, she started the dance slowly, trying to recall the movements that she knew so well before. Slowly, she started to move faster and faster, limbs moving fluidly and gracefully as the steps came more easily to her mind. Skirts whirling and hair whipping about her, Lucy danced with all her heart, pouring her joy and love for Narnia into each step. If the inhabitants were entranced by their beloved Queen before, they were absolutely mesmerized and in awe now. Suddenly, a brave young faun leapt out from his mother's arms and started dancing alongside Lucy.
Lucy laughed delightedly, linking her hands with the young faun as they continued to dance. The creatures, seeing that their Queen welcomed and even rejoiced their presence, eagerly came out of hiding and joined in the dance, and soon the entire forest was filled with laughing Narnians dancing and shouting and frisking about.
So this was how Caspian found his Queen as he and Destrier trotted up to the woods. Leaping down, his eyes strained to seek Lucy out from the throngs of Narnias frolicking in the woods. Finally, he spotted a flash of gold in the midst of furs of multitude colors; white, black, brown, grey and even red. Slowly, Caspian started to ease his way in to reach her.
After stepping on countless toes, hooves and paws, at long last, Caspian stood before his love, and who should she be dancing with but her dear Mr. Tumnus. The two old friends were twirling each other around aimlessly, laughing as they fell to the snowy ground.
Grinning, Caspian wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist and pulled her up to him gently. She squealed and turned in his embrace to throw her arms around his neck, laughing gaily. 'Caspian! You startled me! Whatever are you doing here?'
Nodding his head to Tumnus, who bowed with a murmured 'Your Majesty', he dropped a kiss on her cherry red lips, smirking at her blush. 'I missed you when I woke up this morning, alone in our bed. But then I noticed that it was snowing, and knowing you all too well, rode here to find you. And imagine my surprise when I saw that my darling wife had abandoned me for the company of our woodland friends here.' He glared mockingly at Lucy, who laughed and kissed him lightly before slipping away from his arms.
Turning to look at him as she ran swiftly deeper into the forest, she shouted at him, 'Then come after me my King, and perhaps I will allow you a moment in my presence!'
By this time, every creature in the forest had gathered to see their King and Queen together. Hearing her challenge, they roared, chirped, growled and squeaked their approval and at their urging, Caspian took off to capture his Queen.
Deeper and deeper the lovers ventured into the woods. Now, Lucy had spent most of her free time in the woods when she and her siblings ruled Narnia and though the lands had changed greatly throughout thousands of years, the forests remained the same. Lightly, she jumped over every fallen branch and darted through little shortcuts; so familiar was she with every nook and cranny of her beloved forest.
And though Caspian did not know the forests as well as she, he was a hunter and the adrenaline rushed through his veins as he tracked his golden haired prey. Hours and hours went by as they continued their game, occasionally calling out taunts, spurring the other on.
Finally, Caspian managed to catch Lucy as they were nearing the river. He grabbed her from behind as he whispered in her ear, 'I have you now temptress.' So glad was he at his victory that he did not notice the almost feral gleam in the Queen's eyes; she wasn't about to give up just yet.
Quick as a flash, Lucy hurled the both of them into the river, soaking them both in the icy cold water as she hurriedly swam to the shore, laughing as she saw Caspian's wet head surface the water and heard his splutters as he shivered in the cold depths of the river. But before she could climb out of the water, Caspian pulled her back in, holding her close to him as she shrieked and splashed him with water.
Growling playfully, he let her go and started splashing at her as well. 'Oh you asked for this Lucy!' Giggling, her only response was to stick her tongue out at him and a watery battle ensued. The Naiads swam around, staring curiously at the very wet monarchs but quickly got into the spirit. Lucy and Caspian could hear the bubbling of their watery laugh as they were bombarded with splashes of water from various locations, courtesy of the Naiads. They laughed, and the Naiads swam and circled them both, occasionally adding their own splashes and bubbles burst forth as they giggled silently at the silly antics of their monarchs.
The skies were dark and the sun had already set when the two royals, wet and woefully bedraggled finally stumbled through the entrance of Cair Pravel. Queen Susan paled and started fussing at the sight of the two and immediately ordered various servants and towels to dry them off before they caught a cold. High King Peter and King Edmund could only laugh at the sorry sight their sister and brother-in-law presented, not at all surprised for they knew how Lucy had a knack for dragging her husband into various kinds of situations (not to mention she had him completely wrapped around her finger), the worst ones being, well, perhaps they were better left unsaid.
Lucy and Caspian were quickly ushered into warm baths that Susan had ordered to be drawn for them earlier, and as they sank into the warm, welcoming water, they thanked the stars for Susan's practicality. The servants scrubbed hard, shook their heads and tut-tutted, vexed at the dirt and mud that caked their hair and body. The two royals eventually nodded off to sleep, what with the comfortable scrubbing of their heads and the warm water that enfolded them in its sudsy embrace. The servants smiled affectionately to see Lucy's golden head resting on her husband's shoulders, completely exhausted. After the scrubbing was done, they left silently to inform Peter, Edmund and Susan that the two had fallen asleep.
Susan bustled in, quietly though, and wrapped Lucy in her thick, fluffy robe and carried her gently to bed, smoothing her golden hair back as she lovingly kissed her forehead and drew the covers up. Peter and Edmund however, were not planning on carrying Caspian back to bed. Oh no, that would be much too boring. Grinning at each other, they dunked Caspian's head beneath the water and cackled evilly as he came up, spluttering with indignation.
'Peter, Edmund! What in Aslan's Mane are you doing?' Forgetting he was in fact, stark naked, he stood up angrily to reprimand the two. The Pevensie brothers couldn't help it, they howled with laughter as they averted their eyes from catching a glimpse of their brother-in-law's err..family jewels.
Caspian, bless his poor soul, had no idea why they were laughing as they were and Susan, rolling her eyes came to the rescue, politely looking elsewhere, for she too had no desire to stare at Caspian's rather naked behind. She coughed gently, 'Caspian dear, perhaps it would be better if you put on your robes and went to bed. I've already tucked Lucy in.' Saying that, she swept out of the room gracefully, but not before she tugged on Peter and Edmund's ears as she closed the door, loudly reprimanding them for their childish antics.
Caspian blushed, hard. No wonder they were laughing so. The poor man could still hear Peter and Edmund howling all the way down the hall. Shaking his head, he hurriedly slipped into his robes as he padded to bed. I am never going to hear the end of this. Never.
Reaching his bed, he smiled softly to see Lucy still fast asleep, not once disturbed by her brothers' wolfish, howling laughter. Chuckling lightly at her gentle snores, he blew out the candles and quickly slipped under the covers, careful not to disturb his sleeping wife. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into him so that her back was against him. Lucy mumbled something incoherent and snuggled into Caspian's warm embrace. Caspian sighed, closing his eyes and drifted off to sleep, content. But before he could fully welcome Morpheus's comforting embrace, one last thought flashed into his mind. Perhaps I could kill Peter and Edmund tomorrow and dump their bodies somewhere; I'm sure Susan would thank me for that.
Strangely, the last thing Caspian heard before falling asleep was a lion laughing in the distance, purring a 'Good night' into his ears. And Caspian knew nothing else.