Disclaimer: All the rights of the character and story line from the Chronicles of Narnia belongs to C.S. Lewis. This is a work of fiction with an addition of an original character. Plot may be slightly different.

Author's Note: I had this written and stored away from a long time. I did some minor editing. Please forgive me if there is any mistakes! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 3: Rebuilding Narnia

The next one year that passed was eventful. While many peaceful treaty were offered to the alliances of the new kingdom of Narnia, there are some who were reluctant or even aggressively against it. Caspian and his council did a good job talking the giants to put their arms down for a truce. However, the Calormen was a hard battle. In their initial encounter, the first victory went to the Calormen due to a mistake in the strategy.

"Faith, did I fail my people?" asked Caspian looking out at the sight of the Great Desert during dusk.

Faith who had been standing behind him silently for the past hour answered gently, "No, you didn't."

"If I had not been brash in making the decision, perhaps the situation would have been better," said Caspian referring to the mistake he made that cost suffering to his people.

"It is undeniable that it was a mistake but it doesn't make you any lesser of a good king. You have the best interest of the Narnians in your heart when you made the decision," corrected Faith as she inches closer to her king.

"Don't you get it! It doesn't change the fact that my people suffer the consequences of the decision that I made, Faith! I am responsible!" said Caspian raising his voice as he spoke to her face to face. His vented out frustration took Faith by surprise but she is not a woman to be stepped on like that.

Sternly, she spoke, "Yes, you are responsible. However instead of sulking, blame yourself and degrade your self-worth, why don't you put the effort to think of a way to salvage the situation. You can make it bad; you also can turn it better. Be a man and fix this. Meanwhile, reflect on your mistake and find the source of it to avoid future repetition. That's all I got to say. Please excuse me, Your Majesty." Caspian was used to hear the title coming from Faith's lips but the coldness that just came shocked Caspian a little.

With that, Faith stormed away leaving Caspian alone to do the thinking. When she was out of hearing distance, Glenstorm greeted her, "That's one way to put some sense into his head but leaving him alone now, is it wise my dear child?"

"Glenstorm, me being beside him now would only cloud his mind and thoughts even more. Perhaps some time alone would do him good. I have faith in him," said Faith quietly.

The centaur chuckled a little which puzzled Faith. Glenstorm explained, "Your name suits you very well, my child. You have faith in everyone, seeing the best and accepting the worst. No wonder they call you the nurturer."

"My dear friend, you've given me too much credit. I merely did what I can in my power to help those who need it."

He smiled a little before turning away to head back to his troops, "My dear child, it is not only the less fortunate that you heal, but also a heart that was not whole."

Before Faith could ask for a clarification, the centaur was already out of sight. Faith looked at the door one last time before going to the kitchen to help with dinner.

(Reepicheep's POV)

The arrival of Faith did bring more life into the castle. Little by little, she also helped His Majesty to recover from the loss of his love after the departure of Queen Susan the Gentle. His Majesty, King Caspian, smiled more and became happier day by day. The changes were so obvious that I, Reepicheep who know nothing about romantic love could see that His Majesty is slowly letting go of his first love.

Not only that, this lady wormed into the hearts of not only the people in the castle but also citizens of Narnia. It is true that helps sent by Father of Narnia, Aslan, are miracle workers. She does not judge and she could see potentials in people that sometimes they themselves can't see. She treats everyone with respect and definitely has a lot of love to give by the way she treated the orphans in the home she frequently visits.

However though, her temper was not something to be messed up with. If I remembered correctly, one of the sons of a rich baron took advantage of his position and cheated some money that was meant for the poor. She investigated and when she found out the truth, she confronted that swindler. She was so furious that she stormed into his residence in a horse and spoke to him there and then. I was with her, keeping an eye to make sure she doesn't do anything brash.

Of course, being a lady, she did not make any physical attacks but the warning she gave to the swindler with the pressuring aura and devil-incarnated face that held onto a smile caused the money to mysteriously reappear the next morning. Needless to say, the swindler hid in his mansion for the next few weeks. Faith however, got a long lecture from King Caspian.

This time around, even knowing that coming with us to war with the Calormen would be dangerous, she stood by His Majesty and joined the army. Never would I think she is such determined despite objections from various parties. She argued her stand well and at last, for the better good, the council and board of advisor gave her the permission. She even won over His Majesty and His Majesty is well-known all over the castle for his protectiveness over Faith.

Last night, she managed to pull King Caspian out of the hole again. According to what I heard from our beloved centaur, Faith gave King Caspian an earful before leaving His Majesty alone. I guessed it did work because the next day, King Caspian came out with a solution to repair the damage done albeit looking like he had not slept the whole night. Shortly after, Faith was being summoned.

The next morning, we launched into another battle. Faith had the proud look on her face as she observed from the sideline as His Majesty gave his speech. As the horn was blown, all Narnians charged forwards yelling "FOR NARNIA!" I was absorbed with fighting my enemies and of course the joy of wielding my sword but was called out by a scream, "FAITH!" I knocked out my opponent and frantically searching for the voice, which obviously belonged to His Majesty.

When I found him, I saw him crouching down with Faith, an arrow through her abdomen in his arms. I darted over to them just in time to catch her last words before she was brought back to camp by Night-tingle, one of the centaurs, "Bring victory home, sire." Apparently it wasn't only us who knew what happened as every Narnian caught a glance of a very injured Faith.

"You hear her! Bring victory home!" yelled His Majesty. Everyone roared and fought with more passion and determination after seeing one of our well-respected army was brought down by the invisible arrow. Anger immediately came to His Majesty's face and he saw the source of the wicked arrow. I know then that His Majesty would kill for revenge but I stopped him before he could, "Let me do this sire." I did not wait for his reply but when I turned my head back, he was back into the fighting. I, on the other hand, made sure the owner of the arrow deserve his rightful punishment.

After that, I guess there was no need for more explanation. We did won the war and the Calormen raised their white flags as a sign of surrender. Once the peace treaty was signed, His Majesty rushed back to the camp in search for Faith. We followed closely behind in silence as our hearts filled with worry. There was a lot of blood and Faith's face was as pale as snow when she was taken away.

When we reached the camp housing the injured, Picolli the Faun came out to greet us, "Your Majesty!"

"Where is she?" asked His Majesty impatiently. Picolli need not to be told twice; he led us to the end of the tent as fast as he could. The sight was not something we would like to see. Faith's face was contorted in pain and a pail filled with bloodied water was beside her canvas bed; her face paler than before and sweat decorated her forehead.

"She is safe now, sire. She refused to take Queen Lucy's elixir as it is not yet life-threatening since Night-tingle brought her in as fast as possible. We administered some herbs to ease the pain but it would not help much," spoke Picolli as soft as possible afraid of waking Faith up.

However they heard a groan and found Faith's eyes fluttering open. His Majesty kneeled beside her and put his hands on her arm gently, "Faith, does it still hurt?" "A little," she answered with a smile forced out of pain. We all knew that she was lying but did not have the heart to wipe off her effort to ease our worry.

"I assume sire and you guys came back with the Calormen's butt kicked?" asked Faith good-humoredly through her weak voice. We broke into laughter and I answered, "Milady, indeed they got their royal bottom kicked."

"Blessed Azlan," she replied. Then she turned to sire who turned quiet as we spoke, "Sire, please…"

"I'm sorry, Faith for putting you in danger. You took the arrow for me…"

Faith cut of sire before he could finish, "I knew you would end up blaming yourself. Please don't. What happened is beyond our control. I did it as your subject and your friend for the sake of our comrades and the Narnians waiting for us to go home with the good news. You, sire is our beacon of light, our hope and future. I can't let anyone harm you."

"But it is because of me that you got shot," His Majesty said with a guilt-ridden expression.

"I can't lie to you and said that it is entirely not because of you because I know it would be futile but you have to know sire, I did what I have to and the one who is at fault here is that mother of all douche who decided to play dirty." I presented then the great news then, "Which I can assure you that I have taken care of him appropriately," I said winking at Faith. She laughed but winced at the end because of the sharp pain caused.

"I think we should cut down on the joke for a while," commented Faith. We laughed including sire but our visit was cut short by none other than the patient herself, "Alright then. Now that you guys have made sure that I'm alright and I know what I wanted to know, you should go and freshen up, take some rest and celebrate." We nodded and bid our farewell. I was the second last to leave and before I did, I saw His Majesty held Faith hand and said, "Thank you, Faith. Thank you."

(Faith's POV)

A week after the victorious battle, we're finally packed and ready to head back. The injured armies are recovered and the bodies of the perished comrade that we can scavenge were carried back. My wounds healed up quite well though it still hurts when I exert too much force. Caspian was getting a little overprotective; checking up on me at least once in an hour and refused to let me handle any of the work. The only reason I obliged was because I know that this is one of his way to compensate and it helps in lessen his guilt.

Only a few days back at Narnia, I was ambushed by Caspian when I am enjoying my rare leisure time in the library, "I am indeed pressing to rebuild Narnia as soon as I and I have a good reason why," said Caspian looking at me.

"Why?" I asked. The explanation he gave ne for the next 15 minutes took me as unexpected but I could see where he came from. I nodded as he spoke to give him assurance that I am listening to him.

"So, I am going to give myself 2 years to rebuild Narnia before I head out. Are you with me, Faith?" asked Caspian. I smiled and gave him a light punch on his arms, "What are friends for?"

Caspian broke out in a grin (which I gradually find it endearing) and said, "Blessing from Aslan for a friend, confidant and advisor anyone could ever ask for!"

I laughed it off as I realized that I might be blushing right now and asked him, "So what is your first step?" He gave me this mischievous look which promised some outrageous ideas and answered, "Cair Paravel."

My eyes widened at it and playfully I smacked his head, "How crazy can you be? Let's get to work and there goes my nights of slumber." Understanding my reply to that, he returned by gesture and took out a floor plan which happened to appear out of nowhere, "Already started."

"I swear that sometimes you already knew my answer but still ask just to see me giving into your ways," I said exasperatedly but smiling. He laid out the floor plan wide on the table nearby and we both started the planning. The following week, we rushed around and about Narnia to prepare a full plan to propose to the council. Indeed, sleepless night and even if we did sleep, it will be either in the library or Caspian's study. Well, Caspian had it harder since he has more duties to attend to. However, everything was well when the council approved and Cair Paravel is set to be rebuilt.

~To be continued~