Hello everyone! I'm back! Did you miss me? Well, I missed you. Here is the third installment of The Water is Wide series featuring Edmund and his songbird Aaralynn. The song which inspired this story's title, is One Fine Day as performed by Hayley Westenra on her Celtic Treasure album.

Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia, any of its inhabitants, or the song featured in this chapter.

Now that that's out of the way, I do hope you enjoy!

One Fine Day

Chapter 1

Four Years, Seven Months

One fine day you'll find me
A thread of smoke arising on the sea
In the far horizon
And then the ship appearing
Then the trim white vessel
Glides into the harbour
Thunders forth her cannon
See you? Now he is coming
I do not go to meet him
Not I

I stay upon the brow of the hill
And wait there
And wait for a long time
From out the crowded city
There is coming a man in the distance
Climbing the hill
Chi sara? chi sara?
E come sara giunto
Che dira? che dira?
He will call, "Butterfly" from the distance
I, without answering
Hold myself quietly concealed
A bit to tease him

One fine day you'll find me
A thread of smoke arising on the sea
In the far horizon
And then the ship appearing

This will all come to pass as I tell you
Banish your idle fears
For he will return
I know
I know he will return

I was making my way through the maze of the newly opened west wing of the currently under construction Cair Paravel, when I suddenly spotted a familiar figure standing alone on one of the open balconies. For a moment I thought of calling out to her and asking her to lead me to my rooms, because I was, admittedly, quite lost. Then I took a quick note of her posture and positioning; she was distressed. So then I was left with the decision to leave her to her solitude, as she was so obviously seeking to be tucked away in this remote corner of the castle (where was I exactly anyway?) Or I could encroach upon her intended solitude.

I really only considered the leaving bit for the briefest of moments; I probably couldn't have found my way out in any case (really, where was I?) I approached her quietly from behind and wrapped my arms around her shoulders in a friendly embrace. She instantly exhaled, relaxing into the embrace, and placed her hands on my arms.

"You sang beautifully tonight," I said softly so as not to disturb the silent night.

"You always say that," she replied a bit despondently.

"That is because it is always true."

There was a pause before she replied, "Thanks."

Okay, this tactic wasn't working; I needed to do something to ease her mind. It took very little deciphering skill to first determine what was ailing her. She was standing on a remote balcony of the west wing, which, I imagine, in the daylight would provide a spectacular view of the Narnian terrain. And I presumed, rightfully so, that her focus was only on the far western reaches of Narnia where the great Western Woods resided, and tucked deep within them, Lantern Waste. Furthermore, after she had removed her hands from my arms and I had removed my arms from her shoulders, her hands instantly went back to toying with the small, rose-shaped ring one her left hand.

"I fear my council is growing impatient with me," I said at last.

"What is it this time?" she asked.

"They believe I should take for myself a wife and queen," I replied with a dramatic sigh.

"And so you should," she replied forcefully as she snapped her eyes from far west to look at me, her long hair whipping over to one shoulder, and a smirk playing on her lips. "You will learn much from a wife and queen."

That was the Aaralynn I knew: teasing and wearing a smirk.

"It's not so much what they want me to do, it's who they want me to do it with."

"Who? Oh please tell me it's not Princess Annalise from Archenland."

"What's wrong with Princess Annalise?"

"Nothing, per say, but I just don't think Annalise would be a…wise choice for a Queen."

"Any why is that?"

"Well, she's pretty daft isn't she?"

I laughed loudly at her bluntness, but I couldn't refute it. "It is true, men don't usually look at Princess Annalise and admire her for her…wits. They tend to look at her other assets."

"Caspian!" Aaralynn scolded. "That is a terrible thing to say."

"You started it!"

"That may be, but it is one thing for a girl to talk about another girl; it is quite another for a boy to do so."

"You are right; my apologies."

"Apology accepted. You still haven't answered my question. Does the council want you to marry Annalise?"

"Fortunately for us both, no; Annalise was not who they had in mind."

"Then who do they think you should marry?"

I was reluctant to answer her, but I knew I had to. "You."

"Me! Now that is preposterous!"

"Preposterous? Really?" I couldn't help but feel a little hurt at her jab.

"Yes really."

"I don't know that I'd go so far as to say the idea is preposterous."

"Wouldn't you?" she asked, a bit surprised at my apparent willingness. "The council wanting us to marry is mad and I can give you more than one reason as to why that is."

"Then enlighten me."

"Alright. The thought of us marrying is crazy because, one, you don't love me."

"What? Now that is preposterous."

"Caspian, you know what I mean. You don't love me like a husband should love his wife. The love we have is the love that lies between siblings."

I had to concede; Aaralynn was more like a sister to me than a potential wife.

"Furthermore," she continued. "We cannot be married because I'm already married!" She flashed her ring at me with a smile. "My husband is simply away, but he will return. One day…he will return." Her voice faded in the end a little, and she looked back towards the Western Woods.

"You sound so certain of that."

"I am," she said firmly. "And you were once too."

"I know I was, but, Aaralynn, it's been five years, and last time they left…"

"It's been four years and seven months, but that doesn't change anything. I know I have no promise from Aslan that Edmund will return before I am old and gray, or otherwise, but I…I just know he'll come back. I have to believe it."

I sighed. "I'm sorry. It was my intent to take your mind off of Edmund, not make you think of him more."

I could see her smile in the dimming light. "You will always fail in that attempt, Caspian. I'm always thinking of Edmund, even when it appears I am not. And I know that somewhere, in his world, he's thinking of me too. It's how marriage works."

We stood in silence for a while, but it was never an awkward silence that sat between us. And Aaralynn didn't appear to be as distressed as she was before I joined her, so maybe I had helped a little. Still, being that Edmund was my best friend, I thought it my duty to see that his wife remained happy at all times. Over the last four years and sev…over the last five years I'd gotten to know Aaralynn rather well. And I knew that the one thing she loved almost as much as she loved Edmund, was sailing.

"Are you excited about your voyage tomorrow?" As I suspected, her face lit up.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "It has been far too long since I have set sail."

"You sailed to Galma only a month ago," I reminded her.

"That was a short day trip, Caspian; it was hardly a sail at all. The Lone Islands will be much more. It will take a near two weeks before we make port again. That's two whole weeks of nothing but you and your vessel and the open sea. Any sort of thing could happen in those two weeks. Are you getting excited for your voyage?"

"I still have a year to prepare for mine, but I must admit, I feel more nerves than excitement. Unlike you, I have never sailed before."

"You'll like it; I have no doubt of that," she said confidently. "You have the curiosity that is required of sailors; you want to know what is out there. You want to know what lies beyond the horizon."

"Well, when you phrase it like that, of course it sounds enticing."

Aaralynn laughed, sweet and melodically. It was her true laugh, and it had become rarer as the years passed.

"Have you selected your Captain yet?"

"Not as of yet, but Drinian and I have been watching the men carefully. There are some who are really showing their worth."

"Keep your eye on Drinian as well. He seems to me a good man. I know you wanted to name a Narnian as Captain, and Drinian is Galman, but he is an experienced sailor. You must consider that as well."

I smiled. "I am keeping my eye on all the men, and those who are not men at all." She wasn't aware of it, but I was considering naming Aaralynn as Captain of the Dawn Treader.

Aaralynn returned my smile with one of her own. "I do not envy you your decision. You know, Edmund and I used to dream of sailing east and discovering the lands out there."

"Why didn't you?" I knew talking about Edmund and the years they reigned together was risky, but she was always so happy when she talked about them.

"Because our desire for a family was greater."

And there was the risk. Her sudden elation was gone as quickly as it came, and once more she was consumed with her despair.

"Aaralynn, I'm…"

"Don't, Caspian. Please don't say you're sorry. There's no need. That was the past, and it can't be changed. So just forget about it."

"Aaralynn…"

"I mean it, Caspian, don't." The look she gave me was so fierce, I had to back down. She took a deep breath to calm down. "Thank you. Now, I'm glad you found me because I've been thinking about my trip to the Lone Islands tomorrow quite frequently over the last few days, and there's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about."

Well...? Feel free to let me know what you think.