A/N: Allrighty, I've been deathly afraid of posting this particular fanfiction, mainly out of fear of how people will react to me messing with Caspian's love life. Hopefully I'll at least do it admirably. Anyways, anything you recognize isn't mine; Caspian, Narnia, and all the truly amazing things belong to C.S. Lewis/Disney/Walden Media. Shira, this scenario, and the other characters that show up that you don't recognize are mine. Yes, I know the prologue's short, but...the rest is much longer. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
After several months of absence, Prince Caspian had returned—though he would now be a king. Caspian, with the assistance of the creatures of Old Narnia, the kings and queens of yore, and Aslan, had thrown down Miraz, his evil uncle in battle. Narnia was going to be a very different place under the rule of the new king. But Shira did not fear the changes that were to come; she and her family had long supported Old Narnia. In fact, their love for the past had almost cost Shira's family members their lives. All that would no longer trouble them, since King Caspian's values deviated strongly from those of his uncle.
And I will never be able to appreciate what a wonderful man King Caspian is…because of what Miraz wanted me to do, Shira realized sadly. She wanted to be able to look the new king in the eye as a normal person could, but every time someone mentioned Caspian's name, she felt her breath quicken and her hands shake. The damage could not be undone; Shira would simply have to live her life in avoidance of His Majesty.
It should be easier since we no longer reside in the castle, she realized. Her father, a famed battle strategist and advisor to King Caspian IX and Miraz, had been accused of treason and thrown out of the castle. Sir Malenam—Shira's father—had never done anything against Miraz, though he passionately disliked the man. The whole thing had been a ruse that had very little to do with Malenam's political views.
Shira pushed all of those unpleasant thoughts from her mind. It did not look as if King Caspian would be fighting many more battles, so it was unlikely that she would be seeing very much of him.
"Shira! I have just received a summons from King Caspian himself! He knows of my battle strategies and also knows that I did not fight against him. The young man has been gracious enough to allow us to return to the castle!" Shira's father called to her as he rushed to her side to embrace her.
So much for avoiding the king. When her family had first left the castle to move into the crumbling cottage that they now inhabited, she had hated everything about it, especially the lack of personal space and having to do much of the housework. After a while, she had adjusted to the simplicity of life in a cottage, though it was a struggle at times for her parents to keep everyone fed. She would not miss doing chores on an empty stomach, but Shira did not want to return to the constraints of a castle—especially one ruled by the new king. "That is wonderful, Father! I cannot think of anything better for us!" she replied as genuinely as she could manage at the moment, as it is rather difficult to feign excitement when one is facing what one dreads most.
As he embraced his daughter, Malenam suspected nothing. He assumed that Shira was just as excited to be returning to her lifelong home as he was. He hadn't the faintest idea of what plagued his daughter.