A/N: This is my first fan-fiction ever. I wrote it because I fell in love with the relationship between Susan Pevensie and Caspian X. I've seen people complain about the fact that they rarely talk, but there is a lot of time in the movie we do not see. Who knows, they could have talked a lot in that time. I encourage constructive criticism, so if you have something to say that you think will help my writing, please, feel free to review and say it. Oh, and I apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Hope you enjoy! :)
edit: Huzzah! I finally figured out how to change my document and apply the changes to my story. I apologise, I didn't mean to ignore all the wonderful reviews! So, now, what was supposed to change along with my summary and rating oh...a month ago (--)!
Two points: I forgot to mention I probably made up the fact that there is a hill near Aslan's How, so I'm just going to pretend it exists for story purposes :) Thanks so much for the reviews (and any in the future), especially Love and Rock Music who gave me a lot of tips. As they suggested, my summary has been updated (hopefully it's more intruiging now) and the rating changed. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia (except I'm going to buy the box set of books soon...but that's besides the point).
Susan Pevensie sat in the dew covered grass at the top of the hill nearest Aslan's How. She watched quietly as the sun rose and illuminated the forest and field below. Gold light sparkled in her hair and shined on the small smile spreading across her face. She sighed and fell back into the grass, her arms spread out far above her head.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard on the other side of the hill. She quickly got up, grabbing her bow and arrows which she had laid beside her. The footsteps stopped, and Susan pulled back her bowstring.
"I wouldn't shoot," said a voice from the other side of the hill. Susan rolled her eyes and placed her bow back down on the ground.
"I'm not armed," she called back. When he had been assured, the Telmarine prince, Caspian X, walked out of the shadows.
"It's quite early to be out here, don't you think?" he asked. Susan turned away from him.
"I don't see why you care," she said. Caspian sat next to the queen and stared out at the landscape for a moment.
"I see why you would want to come out here," he said. "It's so peaceful." He smirked, and shot a quick glance over at Susan.
"I just needed to get away. This reminded me so much of the Narnia I remember," she said, gesturing to the green below. The two sat and stared out at the countryside for a moment. When the sun no longer cast a colored glow on the ground, Caspian turned to Susan and waited for her to look at him.
"I've only heard stories of her, you know," he said, referring to the White Witch Susan's brother Edmund had destroyed the night before. "Besides, I didn't even know that's what was going to happen. Those creatures offered me revenge. Once the witch caught eyes with me, I couldn't even move."
"You shouldn't have felt like you needed the help," Susan said. "Sometimes evil resides in the hearts of creatures too long, and you have to be careful of who you trust." Caspian smiled. "What?" Susan asked.
"You're so wise," he replied. Susan blushed and turned her gaze away from the dark haired prince. "But I mean it," he said. "You know so much, and you always have a way with words."
"Not always," Susan said. "I can think of quite a few times when I have had no idea what to say."
"Oh yeah? Like when?" Caspian asked, skeptical.
"Like last night. I was so angry, and there was so much I wanted to say to you and my brother, but I couldn't say anything."
"Are you still angry?"
"No. When you told me what happened I realized how stupid I was being, how irrational I was being." Susan stretched out her legs and lay back in the grass again. Caspian followed suit, grinning at her. "I should have realized you had no idea. Oh, and my brother!" She snorted. "He's been having a rough time lately; I can see how he would fall for her mind tricks." Looking over at him, Susan was surprised by Caspian's sudden giddiness. "What now?" she asked.
"This would be the perfect place to look at the stars, wouldn't it?" he asked. Susan smiled back and stretched her arm up to the sky.
"I could probably still name all of the Narnian constellations," she said, tracing her finger along an imaginary line in the sky. Caspian turned onto his side and supported his head in his hand, his elbow propped on the ground.
"What is it like in your world?" he asked. Susan rolled over onto her stomach and yawned before turning her head on its side so she could look at Caspian.
"Far different than here for sure," she said, thinking about her other home for the first time since they had arrived. She began to talk about the peculiarities of her world compared to Caspian's. As she talked, the prince couldn't help but interrupt with questions and jokes. The two new found friends could hardly keep a straight face.
"You really told him your name was Phyllis?" Caspian asked, bursting out into laughter as the conversation progressed. He pulled off his shoes so he could wiggle his toes in the grass.
"I wanted to be alone," she said. Caspian noticed her tone had grown serious and he stopped laughing. Once he had done so, he found Susan's eyes filled with distress. Worried, he reached out and took her closest hand in his own.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Susan gripped his hand tightly, and Caspian noticed she was trying not to cry.
"You have no idea what it's like to have to leave," she answered. "We lived so much of our lives here, and then we had to go back." A fire seemed to burn in her eyes and fury blazed in her voice. "I missed Narnia so much, in a way I couldn't explain to anyone.
"In spirit, I was already much older than the children in my school. I found I couldn't talk to them without getting frustrated or upset because they didn't understand something. I eventually isolated myself from everyone." Caspian gave Susan's hand a squeeze, letting her know his sympathy.
"And this is why you wanted the boy to leave you alone?" he asked. Susan nodded, and placed her other hand on top of Caspian's.
"Back in England, I would never be able to have a conversation like this with anyone but my family. They were the only ones who could possibly understand. For so long I tried to talk to them, but Peter was so devastated he grew permanently irritated."
"Yes," Caspian said, "you told me about the fight in the, what was it? The train station."
"I couldn't begin to count the number of fights he's been in. And Edmund!" Susan cried, pulling her hands from Caspian and throwing them in the air. She sat up and grasped her hair at the roots.
"What happened to the king?" Caspian asked.
"He became so snappy," Susan replied, "and difficult. He hardly talked and his grades began to slip. When we tried to help him, he would only push us away." Caspian sat and reached out to grasp Susan's shoulder comfortingly.
"What about Queen Lucy?" he asked. Susan noticed the extreme curiosity in his eyes and looked down the hill at the How.
"She never gave up hope," she said. "Lucy always tried to tell us we'd come back someday. We should have learned our lesson. We need to trust her from now on, all the time." Susan laughed and looked back at Caspian, who reached out and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. Susan's smile faded when she saw the intensity with which the prince looked back.
The two sat for a moment, looking into each other's eyes. Neither spoke, but Susan soon reached out and took Caspian's hands in her own. She couldn't have helped but notice how strong yet gentle they felt as he gripped her delicate fingers.
The Queen of Old Narnia felt captivated in the Prince of Telmarine's stare. She watched intently as Caspian leaned in closer to her, so their lips were barely parted. With lowered eyes, she began to close the gap, but her eyes snapped open suddenly and she pulled away. She smiled and leapt up, Caspian's hands still in her own.
Caspian looked up at her, dazed and a little confused. Susan only mysteriously smiled back down at him.
"It will be lunch soon, won't it?" She asked, pulling one of her hands away to point at the sky. "We've been talking for hours." She pulled Caspian up who, still a little taken aback, brushed the grass from himself and put his shoes back on his feet and walked to the edge of the hill.
"Yes, I suppose," he said, his voice slightly distant. Susan laughed and danced around him, her skirt flapping in the wind that had begun to pick up for the afternoon and her bow held loosely in her hand.
"I'll race you down," she said, taunting him by running ahead. Caspian snapped to, and, laughing, chased after her.
"Hey! No fair!" he called. "You got a head start!" Susan only looked back and laughed at him. Caspian smiled as the wind blew his cloak around and caused the long grass to tickle his bare feet. He saw Susan stretch out her arms and guessed she had closed her eyes to enjoy the fleeting sensation.
Caspian began to do the same, but the moment he did so he heard a scream and his eyes flew open again. He looked ahead, worried. His fears were confirmed when he saw Susan falling towards the slope of the hill at a rapid speed. He flung himself forward to catch her, but she was just too far to reach and stumbled, dropping her bow.
The prince grabbed onto the queen as he fell to the ground past her, stopping her from falling on her face. With momentum from running, the two began to roll down the hill. Caspian wrapped his arms tightly around Susan to support her and braced himself for impact at the bottom of the hill.
When the hill sloped into flat ground, the friends slowly came to a stop. Caspian lay on top of Susan, who looked back at him, stunned. They both burst out into laughter, until they heard someone clear their throat above them. Glancing up, they saw Edmund looking back down at them.
"Peter wanted me to find you," he said, raising his eyebrow, "but I'll tell him you're busy."
Startled at the comment, Caspian embarrassedly half climbed, half fell off of Susan, who only laughed harder. Edmund helped her up, and Caspian climbed to his feet. Edmund picked Susan's bow up for her, which, having been thrown to the ground, had bounced and landed not far from the royalty. The siblings walked ahead, and Caspian lagged behind.
"What do you see in the guy?" Edmund whispered to his sister. Susan giggled and glanced back at the dark haired prince.
"Spend hours talking to him," she whispered back, giggling. "You'd see." And her eyes sparkled.