Chapter 3

Caspian knew that he had misheard Trumpkin. There was no way in Narnia that the Kings and Queens of Old had returned to Narnia. Aslan had transported them back to their world three months early. The thought thrust knives into his heart. He couldn't bear to think about it. He must have hallucinated. He had to have misheard. They couldn't be back.

He roughly shook his head, and galloped on ahead. He pulled Susan's horn from his belt and blew it. The ancient sound reverberated through the empty forest. Birds fluttered from trees as Caspian and Trumpkin rode past at break-neck speed. Caspian had held onto Susan's horn when she had departed from Narnia three months earlier. The sound of horn meant danger, and all of the available troops in the area were to assemble where the danger was. In a flash, a cheetah was running beside Destrier. She looked up at Caspian.

Myra, he recalled, was her name. "What is it, my lord?" she asked, managing to retain her speed, talk to Caspian and avoid any tripping hazards at the same time.

"Intruders," Caspian answered curtly. He would treat the matter this way, he decided. It would cost him too much heartache to get his hopes up, only to crash down again.

Susan heard her horn. The sound rolled through the forest, and sounded so familiar to her ears. Peter, Edmund and Lucy also shot upright at the sound of Susan's horn.

"That's my horn!" she cried indignantly.

"Is that what brought us back? Narnia is in danger again?" Lucy asked. Edmund went to stand beside her. He shook his head.

"Can't be. It must have been blown a few minutes ago. We've been in Narnia for over half an hour." He answered. Suddenly, the friendly chirping of the birds died and the forest went quiet. Lucy was about to say something, but Peter held a hand in front of her mouth.

"Listen," he whispered, gesturing to the forest. The siblings went quiet in an attempt to hear was Peter was indicating. Then, they heard it; a sound close to thunder, rapidly advancing on them. The ground seemed to tremble and the air seemed to hum. Susan could make out smaller noises amidst the rumbling earth. Puma cries, wolf howls and galloping horses. The noise was almost upon them.

"DUCK!" Peter shouted, as loud as he could. The world seemed to explode around them as the clearing burst into noise. Suddenly, the Pevensies found themselves circled on all sides by big cats, wolves, centaurs and men on horseback. A sword was thrust under Peter's chin, lifting it.

"State your purpose here, Intruder!" Came a heavily accented Spanish voice. A voce that nearly drew Susan to her knees. She didn't dare lift her head. She couldn't bear looking him in the eye, facing the hurt he must feel.

"Answer me!" Caspian snarled.

"Caspian?" inquired a small, gentle voice. Caspian's eyes flitted from Peter to the speaker; Lucy. In a flash he remembered them. He dropped his sword almost immediately, and quickly sheathed it. "High King Peter?" He asked, getting off of Destrier. At the mention of Peter's name, the animals surrounding them stopped bristling, snarling and scraping their limbs on the earthy ground. They backpedalled quickly, dispersing around the siblings and taking an audience behind Caspian and Trumpkin. Trumpkin himself looked deeply shocked. He sheathed his dagger and hopped off of Xavier.

"King Edmund? Queen Lucy? Queen Susan?" Caspian faltered slightly on the last word, his heart ache getting the better of him. Slowly, the four Pevensies lifted their heads, one by one. Peter lifted his head first, looking every bit the High King. Edmund was next, looking up at Caspian, and then issuing a polite nod. Lucy had already lifted hers and with brightly shining eyes took in Trumpkin. He was trying to hide a smile upon seeing his old friend. Susan was last, tentatively lifting her head to look at Caspian.

Her heart did a little tap dance when she did. He hadn't changed a bit. If anything, he seemed to be stronger, more tanned, more intelligent, but most all, a better king. His eyes, which before had been filled with harshness and bluntness, were now soft with compassion. Behind the compassion lay great hurt, but not because of what Susan had done. Because of what the separation had done to him; done to both of them.

Caspian too, had been incredibly apprehensive to look Susan in the eye. When she eventually met his eyes, it took all of his self-control not to run to her and envelop her in his arms. There would be time for that later. The silver-blue pools were as deep as ever, yet dim with worry and heartache. Susan's eyes missed their usual lustre, their spark. Nonetheless, Caspian thought she was still beautiful. Time seemed to slow as they looked at each other; finally, Susan peeled her gaze away.

Peter stepped forward. "In the flesh." He said, sticking out his hand for Caspian to shake. It surprised him when Caspian didn't. Instead, he grabbed it and pulled Peter to him in a brotherly hug. He clapped the High King on the back and released him.

"Narnia has missed you, Peter." He said, grinning. Peter grinned back. Edmund approached Caspian and clapped him on the back.

"Nice to be back again," He said, shaking Caspian's hand vigorously. Caspian returned Edmund's warm smile. The two brothers went on to greet Myra, Glenstorm, and Asterius. Lucy threw herself at Caspian, hugging him fiercely.

"I've missed you so much!" she cried. Caspian bent down and hugged her back.

"And I, you." He cooed. He released her and watched in amusement as she greeted Trumpkin by another big hug. They were becoming a trademark move. Caspian turned back to Susan and suddenly, all of the words he was planning to say died on his tongue. He was speechless. "Queen Susan," he managed to say valiantly, bowing. He straightened up again with a smile. Susan curtsied, and then they just stared at each other. As desperately as they tried, they couldn't overcome the awkwardness of the moment.

Their moment was interrupted by a loud 'Oomph' coming from a very distressed looking Trufflehunter. Susan and Caspian turned to see the old badger sprawled on the ground.

"Ugh, my head! What did I miss? I heard the horn!" He cried. Susan chuckled, drawing Trufflehunter's eyes to her.

"Queen Susan!" He cried, jolting. "High King Caspian!" He jolted again. "King Edmund! King Peter! Queen Lucy!" he called all of their names in quick succession, and looked close to passing out. Lucy rushed to his aid. "Trufflehunter!" She called, wrapping her arms around the badger.

"Oh," Trufflehunter looked stunned, "Hello, Dear." He wrapped his paws around the little girl, happy to be reunited with the gently Queen. Trumpkin's eyes scanned over the kings and queens. "By Aslan, do you look terrible!" He called out, eyes widening, "We can't leave the Kings and Queens in this attire! Come on, up to the palace! Come on!" He called, waving frantically with his paws. And so, the awkwardness was diffused immediately. The Animals, Centaurs and Kings and Queens were up and walking towards the castle in seconds, a muttering and cursing Trufflehunter in tow.


So, here it is; chapter 3. I'm really happy with how the story is turning out. I managed to upload two chapters in a day, so I'm ecstatic! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am! Please leave a review, my faithful readers, they are much appreciated...

Enjoy!

~SunsetWanderer

Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia