A/N: Yay! I finished the fist chapter! FINALLY! It really just didn't want to be written, ugh. So, this lovely chappie is just bringing us up-to-date on what our favorite royal family has been up to, and them embarking on the voyage! It's technically just filler until chapter 2 (which will chronicle the introduction of Eustace to the main storyline), but I hope you all enjoy it none-the-less!
"Caspian? Caspian…? Oh, Edmund. Have you seen Caspian? I've been looking everywhere." Susan asked, running into her younger brother in one of the marble hallways of Cair Paravel. He raised an eyebrow at her. Despite him having matured greatly in the past three years, a good opportunity for a pun never escaped the Just King.
"Why? Did you lose him? He'd be pretty hard to misplace, I'd think. He's kind of… big. And there. Can't really miss that accent either…" he replied, and Susan gave him a shove.
"Stuff it, Edmund. He's been putting off packing his things, and I'm not doing it for him. He's 22 years old, he can pack his own trunk for a trip." she said, and Edmund started laughing.
"You sound like mum. Are you sure you're still not pregnant?" he teased, and Susan stuck her tongue out at him.
"No, Edmund. And if I was, I wouldn't tell you. The jokes about our… intimate life would be endless." she replied, turning to leave. Edmund followed her.
"Well, I suppose it's for the best. Wouldn't want you pregnant during a trip across the Eastern Ocean. Never know when we'll find the next spit of land." he remarked, and Susan sighed.
"I know. I just… Caspian and I have been trying for a baby for ages, and it's just not happening." she complained, and Edmund made a gagging sound.
"I could have gone my whole life not knowing that, thanks Su." he said, and his older sister laughed at his expense.
"You're the one begging me for a nephew, and besides, the rate at which Amanda's letters are arriving, you'll be thinking about weddings and babies yourself, all in good time." Susan replied, and Edmund blushed bright red.
"No idea what you're talking about…" he grumbled, and Susan laughed again.
"Please. Whose room does the mail come to? Oh, that's right, the High King and Queens. And who are they? Oh, right, me and Caspian. We see all the letters before they find their way to the breakfast table. There's one from Amanda almost every other day. You're going to kill that griffin, overworking it like that." she teased, and Edmund gave her a playful shove.
"I thought we were looking for your irresponsible husband. We're leaving tomorrow morning, and he still hasn't packed? Typical Cas, leaves everything to the last minute." Edmund replied, and Susan let him off the hook. For now. They were spending at least 6 months at sea together, there'd be plenty of time to tease him about his lady 'friend'.
Meanwhile, a fifteen minute horse ride away from the sea-side castle, the missing King in question was assisting with the final preparations of his ship for her maiden voyage. Caspian was conversing with his chosen captain, Drinian, while the men around him loaded the ship with supplies they would need for their voyage. The Dawn Treader was the finest vessel Narnia had seen since the days of the Splendor Hyaline, and promised to be just as fast. Caspian couldn't have been prouder of it. The designs were all his own (with a little help from his wife and family), and he selected the name himself. He thought it fitting, seeing as they were sailing east, the direction the sun rose, always looking into the dawn.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty!" Drinian said, waving a hand in front of Caspian's face. He blinked a few times quickly, shaking his head and turning his attention back to the captain.
"Sorry Drinian, lost in thought. What was that?" he asked, giving the captain a sheepish smile. Caspian may be the king of Narnia, but he was also the king of being distracted by the smallest of things. Drinian sighed at him, and continued.
"I was trying to ask you when you expected your personal effects to be brought onto the ship. We need to make sure we're not over our weight capacity." Caspian nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then froze.
"Oh, damn. I told Susan I'd pack my things up today. Damn it! Drinian, I need to go, or my wife is going to kill me, and there won't be any voyage at all." Caspian said quickly, running off towards where he had Destrier tied up. Drinian followed him, laughing.
"Alright, your Majesty. Perhaps you'll know… later today. Give the High Queen my best." he said, holding back more laughter as he watched Caspian scrambled up onto his horse as fast as he could. The High King of New gave his captain a hasty wave, and urged his horse forward, hoping Susan wasn't too mad at him when he arrived home…
"Now, you're sure? You can still change your mind, you know."
"I'm sure. My wife hates the water, and I get seasick almost as easily as you do. Besides, there are six of us. It makes no sense to send all six of Narnia's monarchs off on a sea voyage. Someone should stay behind and run the country."
"I know, I know, but we'll miss you so much! Whatever will you do without us?" Lucy whined to her older brother. Peter snickered.
"Live in peace. Edmund won't be around." he replied, and he and Lucy burst out laughing. The oldest and youngest Pevensie siblings were outside, basking in the sun on a bench in the apple orchards of Cair Paravel. Lucy had been trying to get Peter to agree to come with her, Edmund, Susan and Caspian on their voyage, but the Magnificent King was hearing nothing of it. His beloved wife of almost two years was petrified of water (though, he had managed to get her to wade in up to her waist), so she had flat-out refused to go. There was no way he was leaving her behind, and besides, he wasn't all that fond of ships.
"Alright, you have me there. But we will miss you terribly." Lucy replied, and Peter gave his baby sister a hug.
"You'll be back before you know it, with the lost Lords, and lots of exciting stories to tell Ali and me. All we'll have are boring stories about what we did here while you were away." Peter consoled, and Lucy laughed. They both paused when there heard footsteps approaching.
"Oh, there you are. I've been looking everywhere." came the voice of the Queen Consort of Narnia. Peter's face broke out into a radiant smile upon seeing his wife.
"Looking for me? Why ever were you doing that?" he asked, standing up to embrace her. Aliyah chuckled.
"I'm supposed to ask you if you have any idea where Caspian is. Susan and Edmund have been looking everywhere for him." she replied, and Peter laughed.
"She's going to kill him. He left for the shipyard first thing after breakfast. He still hasn't packed, has he?" Peter asked, and Ali nodded.
"Nope, and Susan says she refuses to do it for him. At this rate, Caspian is going to be wearing Lucy's clothing, since there's no way Su is lending him any of hers." she said, and Peter snickered.
"Last time I checked, both those girls were bringing about ten sets of men's clothes, since, in the words of Susan, 'a dress would be most impractical to wear on an exploratory voyage to the Utter East. Pants are much more practical'. Su is literally the only girl I know who doesn't take every opportunity to wear a fancy dress. She'd probably wear her beat up battle dress all day if she could, she loves that thing." Peter said, shaking his head a few times. Lucy snickered.
"Well, you know Su. She's not like other girls." the Little Queen (though, one wouldn't be able to call her that much longer) said, and Aliyah nodded thoughtfully.
"Neither are you Lu." she said, and Lucy grinned.
"Different and proud. Now, if you love-birds will excuse me, I need to go pack the last of my things. According to Su, we're sending our personal effects off to the shipyard around 2 o'clock. I'd rather not face her wrath today, I'd much rather enjoy the spectacle of her shouting at Caspian." she said, hopping up from the bench. Peter snorted.
"Like Susan would ever yell at him. She's only ever been upset with him once, and that was when he almost accidentally brought the White Witch back. It's almost completely impossible for her to actually be mad at him. She's probably packed half his things by now." the Magnificent King said, snickering. Lucy rolled her eyes at her big brother, and went on her way. Once she was out of sight, Peter sighed, and kissed his wife. Aliyah chuckled when he pulled away, after several minutes of heated kissing.
"I still don't know why you continually refuse to show affection to me in front of Lucy. It's not like she hasn't seen kissing before; Susan and Caspian hold nothing back some days. Especially when you drag us all to the beach." she commented and Peter fidgeted uncomfortably.
"I just… like to think Lu's still 11 years old, and thinks kissing is gross. Not kissing you, my stunningly beautiful and irresistible wife, in front of her helps me keep the illusion up a little longer." he confessed, and Ali sighed, placing a hand on one side of her husbands face.
"She'll always be your little Lucy, Peter, no matter how old she gets. Come, I have a feeling Caspian remembered what he was forgetting to do, and will be home soon. I'm sure you and Edmund would enjoy watching him pack his things. Ed will certainly have several things to make fun of." Aliyah said, taking her husband by the hand and leading him up to the castle. Peter smiled contentedly, more than happy to follow her to wherever she wanted to go, no matter where it was.
"I said I was sorry. You know I forget things, dearest."
"I know, and I wasn't even mad at you. But that doesn't mean I'm helping. I packed my own trunk, you can pack yours. You're the oldest out of all of us."
"Well, that is a blatant lie. Last time I checked, you were 1300 years older than me, my darling wife."
"Watch your tongue. And respect your elders." Susan teased, and Caspian gave her a crooked smile, tossing another pair of breeches half-hazard into his trunk. Susan sighed dramatically, and moved to fold her husbands pants.
"Am I really that hopeless, love?" Caspian asked, handing her a shirt. Susan shook her head at him, folding it neatly before sticking it in his trunk.
"No, darling, you're just forgetful. What did Drinian say at the shipyard?" she asked, changing the subject. She was just going to help him, otherwise this task could take the rest of the day.
"Everything has managed to find its way onboard, other than our personal effects. Our cabin is most splendorous, I hope you like it." he replied, glad for the change of direction the conversation was taking.
"I helped design it dear, I'm sure it's fine." she replied. Caspian grinned again.
"I know. But I helped put it together." he said proudly. Susan gave him a soft smile, taking his chin between her fingers, and placing a light kiss on his lips. Caspian sighed at the contact.
"And I am most grateful. I can't wait to see the finished product when we embark tomorrow morning." she replied. Caspian dropped whatever he was holding, and embraced her.
"I still cannot believe you agreed to go. Or approved of the voyage at all." he breathed. Susan pulled away to kiss him fiercely, as if to prove her loyalty to him.
"Of course I'd come, and I certainly agree. It was an important promise you made to Aslan, to find your fathers closest friends, and I'd never let you go alone. I'll always stand by you, Caspian. I love you."
"As I love you, my Gentle Queen." he replied softly, kissing her again. The packing lay forgotten as the High King and his High Queen found their way to their bed. They could always continue later…
"You're positive you have everything?" Peter asked for the tenth time. Susan sighed, and smiled at her older brother.
"Yes, Pete. Drinian double checked, Caspian double checked, Lucy triple checked, and I doubled checked. I'm sure Reepicheep and Tavros checked once as well. It's all there. We have enough supplies to get us all the way to the Lone Islands if we wanted to, but you know we're stopping in Galma and Terebintnia and the Seven Isles. We will be just fine." she replied. Peter looked a little less worried, then pulled his sister into a tight embrace.
"I'm going to miss you Su, I really am." he said quietly, for only her to hear. Susan squeezed him back tightly.
"I'll miss you too Peter, I wish you were coming with us." she said. He chuckled.
"Not without my Ali. And she won't set foot on this thing. It took a lot of effort for her to come to the docks, but she needed to say goodbye to her family." he replied. Susan sighed, hugging her older brother one last time. Then she moved on to his wife, her sister in all aspects but blood. Aliyah gave her a massive hug as well.
"I'll miss you, Su. Don't have too much fun without us." she said. Susan laughed.
"We'll try. Can't make any promises though. Caspian has a clinical obsession with the ocean, who knows what that man will get us into." she replied. She heard a familiar chuckle from behind her.
"Says you. Last time I checked, you were just as infatuated with the ocean as I am." Caspian retorted, giving Aliyah a big hug. They had grown as close as any brother and sister since she started living in Narnia full-time three and a half years ago.
"Yes, yes, you two are a match made in Aslan's Country, blah, blah, blah." came another familiar voice, as Edmund moved to hug his sister-in-law, after sharing his goodbyes with his older brother.
"Be good, Ed. Don't flirt with too many girls, wouldn't want to make Amanda jealous." Aliyah teased, and Edmund flushed, moving aside to make room for the whirlwind ball of energy that was Lucy. She had already shed tears all over Peter's good tunic, and now she was drenching Aliyah's dress.
"I'm going to miss you SO MUCH, sister!" she cried, wiping away the tears as she gave Aliyah a second bone-crushing hug. The Consort Queen chuckled, hugging her little sister back with enthusiasm.
"As we will miss you. Now, go on. Lord Drinian looks anxious to get going." she said softly. The monarchs all got one or two more goodbyes hugs in, then the sailing party needed to board the vessel. Susan leaned against the railing, one arm around her husband, the other waving goodbye to her older brother and his wife. Caspian had one of his arms around her in turn, and was waving goodbye with the other. A very large number of citizens had turned out at the docks to bid their Kings and Queens goodbye and good luck on their voyage, so it wasn't just Peter and Ali they waved goodbye to. Edmund was on Susan's right, waving with one hand, while on Caspian's left, Lucy was waving frantically with both of her hands, smiling hugely at her big brother. Peter and Aliyah were waving animatedly back, Peter with one arm around his wife's waist. The Dawn Treader moved slowly away from the docks, and the crowd gathered grew smaller and smaller, until the had disappeared completely over the horizon. Susan let out a long sigh, and Caspian embraced her.
"I'm going to miss him. We haven't been separated for so long since he was off fighting the Giants of the North during the Golden Age." she mumbled into his chest. Caspian kissed the top of her head tenderly, giving her a gentle squeeze.
"You'll see him again soon. Until then, let us enjoy the adventure we are about to embark upon." he replied, trying to cheer her up. It was working.
"Sounds like an excellent idea to me, darling." she replied, kissing him as the sun rose to it's peak in the Narnian sky. What an adventure this was going to be.
A/N: Well, what did we think? A good opener? Or was it garbage? Send me a review, let me know! I love hearing from you guys, it encourages me to get moving on the next chapter!
Additional Note: As you have all hopefully figured out by now, quite a bit of time has passed since the previous story, New Narnia. With this in mind, the characters have obviously aged up a bit. So, here is my nicely updated list of the Kings and Queens ages (Aliyah and Eustace are included on this one) (they're listed oldest to youngest)
Caspian: 22
Peter: 21
Susan: 20
Aliyah: 20
Edmund: 17
Lucy: 15
Eustace: 12
*EDIT* I aged Eustace down a few years, since according to the book (and some fabulously negative reviews) he's supposed to be a lot younger. So, there. Happy now?
