Unsung
Chapter One: Young Lovers
Rating: M
Warning: slash, sexual content, angst
Pairing: Caspian/Peter
Summary: Everyone knew they would be together forever. No one said it would be easy.
Notes: If you have not done so already, please take a moment to read "Unsaid." It is very short and will explain a bit what is going on. This here be the sequel (since everyone asked for it oh so nicely).
Also, this chapter takes place a couple years after the last one. I don't know how old Caspian was during "Prince Caspian" but I am going to say that he is a year older than Peter. Peter is 20 now. Caspian is 21. If these ages are blatantly wrong, please let me know.
Still in movie-verse.
Disclaimer: Still don't own it.
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High King Peter and King Caspian's rule started off on shaky grounds. Hatred that had run for centuries couldn't be cured over night. Narnians were known for being a stubborn people, firm in their ways. The Telmarines were long since set in their traditions also.
Peter and Caspian worked desperately hard in that first year; visiting villages, holding councils, arguing over the best strategies, and so on. But it was also a beautiful year for the two of them, the Spring of their love for one another, a love that would be spoken of for centuries to come. They always managed to spend time together, learning about their pasts, whispering of their future.
Eventually, they brought the country together and found peace at long last.
-Excerpt from Narnia: A History
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A gentle morning sea breeze blew through Peter's hair as he stepped out on the balcony attached to their chambers. He closed his eyes, leaning against the railing, willing himself not to think of his duties that day. He just didn't seem to have the energy lately to listen to boring old men blather on all day. In fact, he almost wished they were at war. Risking his life was better than risking his sanity, though Caspian might say otherwise.
Maybe he was just going through one of those "phases" as they said. He remembered a time similar from his past life as a king when he lost motivation for kingly duties and councils. He imagined it happening to most everyone once in awhile.
The door creaked open behind him, but he didn't turn; he already knew who it was. The other king walked silently up to Peter and stood next to him, reaching a hand out to caress his cheek. "Good morning, love," he said.
"Hello," Peter replied, smiling softly as he looked into the eyes of Caspian, who stood just as inch or two taller than him. The blonde never grew tired of his lover and partner in kingship; annoyed, sometimes, of course, but never tired.
"What are you thinking about?" Caspian ventured, taking Peter's hand and turning to look out at their kingdom, beautiful in the morning light.
Peter took a couple seconds to reply. Then he sighed: "I was actually thinking about feigning an illness."
"Why is that?"
"Don't you ever get tired of this?" Peter asked.
A confused look crossed Caspian's face. "Tired of what?"
"This," the younger king explained with a graceful flourish of the hand. "The constant pandering to of old men and whiney women. I just want to do something. I'm tired of being in this castle. I'm a warrior king. I can't sit around all the time. I'm going stir-crazy."
Caspian looked thoughtful for a moment, the corners of his mouth turned down in a slight frown. "You may have a point."
"Then let's go away for awhile," Peter suggested. "We haven't had very much time to ourselves lately and I don't even know why; it's not as though we have a war on our hands."
"Or we could just take the day off and spend it in bed instead," Caspian said with a smirk before claiming Peter's soft lips in his own. The blonde's response of opening his mouth and allowing Caspian's tongue entrance was all the answer the older king needed to know that Peter approved.
They pushed into the room until they fell onto the bed, a tangle of limbs, their deep love for each other made very apparent. They became one many times before the sun had fully risen in the sky.
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Peter's first week without his family in Narnia was a stressful one. For one thing, he was immediately thrown into his duties as king. For another, it seemed that Caspian was bothered by something for some reason or another and hardly talked with him at all. For yet another, he hadn't even been allowed to sleep in the same room as the other King, and he wasn't sure if Caspian had been the one to set up that rule or not. Quite obviously, Peter was becoming frustrated. He'd hated sleeping alone in large quarters last time he was a King and he still hated it now. Actually, now he hated it more.
So Peter decided that enough was enough.
One afternoon, after a particularly long council session, Peter rose to his feet as soon as it was over, grabbed Caspian by the arm, and dragged him into a deserted room just off the larger meeting area, closing the door behind them. "Have I done something wrong?" he demanded, looking up into Caspian's face, their intense eyes not breaking the gaze. "I left my family because I thought you loved me as much as I love you. Was I wrong? Answer me, Caspian!"
Caspian brushed his hand against the nape of Peter's neck, his eyes softening. "No, Peter. I will always love you. You should know that. You haven't done anything wrong, either."
"Then why are you acting as though I don't exist? Why must I sleep in other rooms when all I wish is to be with you?"
Peter instinctively stepped back, just one step, enough to put a gap between them. Caspian did not like this prospect. He closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around Peter's waist and pulling him close. "I did it," he whispered in Peter's ear, "because if I have you next to me, I won't be able to stop myself from making you mine."
The breath caught in Peter's throat at Caspian's words. He closed his eyes, willing his heart to stop beating so fast. "I want to be yours."
Caspian's head snapped up. "But it's not proper for two unwed…"
"Sod it," Peter hissed. "I love you. I'm not going anywhere. We might as well be wed. I need you, Cas. Please." Those were all the words Caspian needed to hear before claiming Peter's lips for the first time since his coronation.
They barely made it up to Caspian's rooms without touching each other. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Caspian pressed Peter against the wall, ravishing his neck while desperately trying to undo the buttons of Peter's clothing. Peter, for his part, had been reduced to a writhing mess, moaning in a most un-king-like manner. Caspian slowly moved them to his bed, taking off the rest of Peter's cloths and starting on his own.
When their naked bodies touched for the first time, they both stopped and gasped. It was the first time for both of them to feel someone in such a way. They knew at that moment that they were the only ones for each other. Nothing would ever separate them. Their lips met, sealing that promise.
Caspian took a long time preparing Peter, making sure his love wouldn't be in pain when they were finally joined.
It still hurt.
Peter let out a hiss of pain. Caspian kissed his forehead, telling him to relax; it would be okay. And it was. Once Peter got used to it, he felt as though he was soaring above the clouds. When Caspian finally came inside of him, he felt entirely complete for the first time in his life, something only the bonding of true love can bring.
The next morning, if the wind blew the hair off his neck just right, one would be able to see a dark mark just below Peter's ear – marking him as Caspian's.
The shared a bed – and rooms – from then on.
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"Caspian, how did you manage to do this?" By this Peter meant a holiday for the two of them, alone in a small mountain town, a house all to themselves save for the lone guard they'd been forced to bring along. "I remember coming here a few times way back in a different life, but I think it's even more now beautiful than it was before."
They were sitting on the front porch of their cottage, staring out at the lush valley before them, curled up in the only chair that had been provided. They didn't fit easily, but they managed, they always did. The house was nothing special, certainly not worthy of two kings, but it was just what they needed.
"Love, you know better than anyone that no one can resist my charm and wit. All I had to do was ask with a bright smile and they were off to make the arrangements."
The younger king hit his lover on the arm. "Only I'm allowed to see that smile, Cas. What have I told you about that?"
"Oh, don't worry, Peter, you're the only one who gets to see that smile."
Peter's lips turned up into a grin and he kissed Caspian directly on the lips. After all their years together, they no longer had anything to hide, from each other or anyone else. A parade might have been passing by their doorstep and they would not have cared who saw them. Their union was pure, blessed by Aslan. Nothing could keep them from each other.
Caspian immediately responded to Peter's touch, needing no further encouraging.
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Peter had insisted on wandering off by himself. To think, he told Caspian when the elder King asked him why. Peter had always been a thoughtful person (save a few times involving a certain dark-haired man) and sometimes when the nagging in his mind ceased to leave him alone, he had to take a walk. Always, he wished he would see the great lion again, for he had not shown himself since Caspian's coronation.
Wind whispered through the trees, nymphs giggling and flitting. Somewhere, a creek gurgled over stones, rough and smooth, large and tiny, its laughter making Peter feel somewhat lighter inside. A myriad of colors surrounded him, autumn coming to the forest and to Narnia. Leaves blew off the trees, floating gently to the green and brown carpeting below.
He breathed out, calmly as though he were meditating with his eyes open.
And then he saw it: a flash of gold disappearing into the underbrush. His long legs began running with a mind of their own. He knew better now than to doubt his instincts when it came to the lion. He followed the tugging in his head until he ran right out of the woods and found himself standing at the very top of a gradual decline, looking out over the lands of Narnia and even beyond.
There, standing and not so much as breathing a little irregularly, a huge, golden lion sat on his haunches, staring at Peter. The young King ambled up to Aslan, slightly wary, as he always was when the lion hadn't been around in awhile.
"Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam," Aslan greeted, voice loud enough to make the trees quiver and the birds momentarily stop chirping.
"Hullo, Aslan," Peter said, bowing his head toward the great lion in respect and admiration.
Neither said anything for several long moments, Peter losing himself as always within Aslan's endlessly deep eyes, and Aslan letting him.
"Do you still possess no ring?" Aslan inquired, causing Peter to rub his bare fingers embarrassedly.
"Uh, no," he replied. "We haven't gotten around to… We just barely got everything…" Peter, who was normally eloquent and well-spoken, seemed to lose his bearings whenever it came to Aslan, especially when he had to explain himself.
"Peter," Aslan whispered, calming his companion. "I could not be more proud of you and Caspian. There is no need for you to explain."
"Why are you here?" the High King asked, perhaps too bluntly, but the lion did not reprimand him for it. "I mean, as much as I am glad to see you, it seems that whenever we are graced with your presence, something foreboding is about to commence."
Aslan let out something the equivalent to a snort – and Peter stared at him incredulously. "My dear Peter, I am simply here to visit old friends."
If Peter didn't believe him, he didn't say so.
They fell back into silence, staring at the expanse of land before them, Peter's kingdom, shared together with Caspian.
Then, Peter opened his mouth, letting unintended words slip out. "He never asked. About, you know, getting married and getting a ring. I know he loves me as much as I love him, but sometimes I just wonder… I wish to be married, officially bonded as one, but he's the one…" He knew he was babbling and didn't make any sense, but Aslan understood, as he always did.
"I would not have given you my blessing had I not thought you truly loved each other," Aslan said, taking a step toward Peter, his mane only an arm's length away from Peter.
The human sighed. "I know, I'm overreacting."
The lion's hot breath washed over him. "Follow your heart." Aslan began to walk away, slowly, and king-like.
"Wait!" Peter stopped him.
The lion nodded his head and said, "I will be around."
The King watched his mentor until he vanished in the distance and then began his journey back to the cottage where he knew Caspian would be waiting for him, hopefully with something warm to fill his belly.
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Notes: Sorry for a short beginning chapter, but it was simply meant to whet your appetite. If you like this story so far, please review and tell me so, along with any ideas you may have to help the plot along. If I get enough feedback, the next update will be sooner.
Much love.