A/N: All right, this chapter wasn't originally planned but here it is anyway :) I hope you like it and thank you for putting up with me, I know my writing is lame but I'm trying :x Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think. Thanks! :x :x :x

Chapter 3 - A Proposal

The morning arrived a way too soon, the sun was peeking in through a small window, warmly touching a side of the king's face. He slowly began to wake up, taking the time to open his sleepy eyes. His whole body felt tired but in a very pleasant way and he let out a sigh of blissful contentment. Elise's back was wonderfully pressing against his front and his left hand was protectively draped over her waist. When his eyes opened at last, he was met with a mass of her crimson locks splayed across her back and covering the upper half of her body. Tempted as he was, he drew the curtain of her hair aside and placed several feather-like kisses on her shoulder blade. She moved slightly, also waking up.

"Good morning, my love. I am sorry if I awakened you but I just couldn't help myself." he mumbled huskily with a mildly apologetic tone.

Elise turned around to face him, still rather drowsy but when she glanced up at the man by her side, the corners of her lips instantly curled up in a bright smile. "I could get used to this, you know. Good morning to you too."

Caspian closed the gap between them and they shared the first kiss of a new day. But it was harshly interrupted by urgent knocks on the door and Susan's voice full of concern. "Elise? Are you up yet? Is Caspian there with you?" she asked the last part more quietly.

The two immediately parted and Elise gasped as she heard what the queen had said. "Oh my God! How does she know?" she gave Caspian a perplexed look but he only smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "I confided in her. You two seemed to be very close and I had no clue how to approach you."

"Are you kidding me? So how much of what we did last night had been her idea?" Elise snapped, glaring daggers at him.

"Oh no! Don't underestimate me or yourself, dearest. I bet no one saw this coming." he winked at her and gently nudged her arm, watching as a sheepish smile was already forming on her lips. "Come on, do you want me to make up for it?" he offered and pulled her towards himself, his hands tenderly gripping her hips whilst he nuzzled her forehead, then he tilted her chin up to kiss her properly.

"Caspian", she had to bite back a moan, "don't do this.. now."

"Hey, guys. I'm still here and.. I can hear you!" Susan's indignant voice called from behind the door. "Caspian, Aslan has been looking for you. He awaits you at the courtyard."

"I am coming!" the king shouted in the direction of the wooden gate and hastily leaned down for one last smooch before hopping off of the bed, starting to dress up.

Elise bit her bottom lip as she watched him getting dressed, finally having the opportunity to admire his naked body. To her, he was simply perfect and she smiled inwardly realizing that he was hers, that she was the one privileged to see him like this.

Her expression was easy enough to read though, and Caspian rewarded her with a toothy grin. He had decided to only put on his pants and shirt, folding the rest of his clothes over his arm. With his other hand he grabbed an apple from a bowl on a table by the window, walking back to the bed.

"I am quite hungry after such a night. I will have breakfast promptly delivered to you up here." he told her and kissed her cheek. "Will see you soon, my love." and he marched towards the door.

"Caspian", she made him pause, pouting at him, "I really need a bath."

He chuckled and gave her a nod of understanding, "Of course. I will take care of it, sweetheart." They both exchanged smiles and with that he left the room, while Elise collapsed back onto the soft mattress.

Susan stepped aside as she had heard Caspian approaching and couldn't help gawking at his dishevelled appearance when he had opened the door.

"Good morning, Susan." he greeted her cheerfully with a sloppy bow and took a bite of the fruit in his hand. Not even waiting for her reply he hurried through the corridor to get to his own chambers, directing the maids he met along the way to prepare a bath in both his and Elise's quarters as well as bring them both some breakfast.

Susan stared after him incredulously, then shook her head as to get rid of the unpleasant thoughts that had flooded her mind. Turning back to the entrance to her friend's room, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door once more, already grasping the door's handle. "Elise, I'm coming in."

When she emerged inside, her eyes promptly slid down to the dress lying on the floor in the centre of the room. She picked it up and glared disapprovingly towards the girl still wallowing in bed. "Really, Elise? How could you be so reckless?"

Elise reluctantly sat up, clutching a blanket at the base of her neck to keep herself covered. She looked the same way bedraggled as Caspian did but Susan didn't miss the fact that Elise was positively shining and her expression was one of utter bliss. "I.. I don't know. I guess I didn't think at all, it just happened. And Su, he was so..." she didn't finish for the queen had cut her off abruptly, raising her hands in front of herself, signalling to her friend to stop.

"Okay, fine! I don't want to hear that!" she gave her a friendly grin but then returned to her rather dignified self again. "Now it's going to be really tough for you to return back to our world." she said with clear remorse in her voice.

"I'm not returning with you. I'm going to stay here, Caspian told me..." her sentence was yet again interrupted by the tall brunette. "This is not up to you to decide!" she yelled in exasperation. "Or Caspian." she added more softly and let out a heartbreaking sigh.

Elise's happy face was fading away as she listened to the other girl's words, trying to process them. Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes and her lower lip quivered when she spoke quietly, "I can't go back, Susan. I can't be without him."

The Gentle Queen came to sit on the bed but did not feel like meeting Elise's sorrowful gaze. "You perhaps don't think so but I understand how you feel. That's why I hoped that you wouldn't get so much attached to this place as I had before. I know it may sound disheartening, unfair and.. wicked, but it's just how it is."

Right when Susan had said that, someone knocked on the door. They were maids coming to prepare the bath for Elise and carrying a tray with her meal. But her appetite vanished with the queen's cruel words. She clutched the blanket more tight to herself, squeezing her eyes shut. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she silently started to sob.

"I gotta go." Susan sighed. "And please, hurry up. Aslan wants to speak to us, too." She turned to her friend and her heart almost broke, her own eyes suddenly getting wet. So she dragged herself up to her feet and took her leave.

"The bath is ready, milady." one of the maids addressed Elise cautiously, buts she continued sobbing.

"T-Thank you." she faltered in between her sobs, paying no mind to the retreating maids nor the tray placed on the table. Her world was shattering. If what Susan had told her was true and she really had to return back to her world today, how was she supposed to live without him by her side? How could she go on, knowing that she would never see his handsome face ever again? Grudgingly, she got up from the bed and walked to the side room to get ready for the day.

Caspian had no idea what had transpired in his beloved's chambers as he was striding through the castle, fresh and clean, heading for the courtyard where the mighty lion waited for him. He found him by the widely branched tree with his back on him, apparently gazing somewhere very far.

"It is about time, Your Majesty."Aslan had spoken up before turning around to face the young man who kept his head bowed low, both in respect and shame. "Please, have everybody assembled here as soon as possible." the lion instructed with his resolute voice.

Caspian nodded and turned to leave but then he paused, "Aslan, may I..."

"Everything at the right time, Your Majesty." the lion briskly stopped him and the young man gave another nod of acknowledgement though he looked nothing but confused.

Some time had passed before Peter, Susan and Elise made an appearance at the courtyard as well. Elise didn't fail to notice that the lion's gaze had lingered on her a moment longer than on the other two and she wondered whether he was somehow able to sense what had happened between her and the Narnian king last night.

Gathering all her courage, she wanted to open her mouth and address the mighty cat, beg him to let her stay. But before she did, Aslan had roared, making them all shrink backwards. "There are things that even I cannot predict." he started and Elise had a feeling that it was meant just for her. "But some things cannot be changed though I wish I could. Queen Susan, High King Peter, please take a walk with me." The mentioned couple stepped forward, joining the lion's side. "My dear Elise," Aslan spoke to her at last, "I believe our talk must wait until the assembly is gathered here." And they all made their way past her frozen-like form, marching towards the castle's gardens.

Elise followed the threesome with her sad eyes, being on the verge of tears again. She spotted some people already coming for the gathering so she climbed the few stairs up onto a small stage-like area and sat on a bench near the majestic tree. Soon enough Lucy and Edmund came into sight and they strode directly to her on the instant they had registered her sitting there.

Lucy frowned when she had observed her demeanor, "You look so.. sad." she muttered, her eyes slightly widened with her natural concern.

"No, Lucy. I'm fine, really." Elise lied and she wasn't a good liar at all. The small girl regarded her with a disbelieving look.

Elise sighed, "It's just.. Lucy, what do you do when you feel you are losing your hope?" she asked the young queen wistfully.

Lucy then took her hand and squeezed it lightly, offering her brightest smile. "Hope is something I'm never going to lose. And you should not either."

Both the girls hugged each other while Edmund had been watching their whole interaction completely dumbfounded.

The courtyard was almost fully crowded and Caspian was seeking the huge lion to tell him that his requirement had been accomplished. The king ran into him as he was walking through one of the castle's archway together with Peter and Susan.

"Your Majesty." Aslan acknowledged him warmly and witnessed his exchange of looks with the Gentle Queen.

"We are ready. Everyone has assembled." Caspian informed them soberly but was growing more and more anxious with every passing second. Elise was nowhere to be seen and he began to worry about her. He hesitated for a moment before leaving for the courtyard as well.

He sighed in relief when he saw her in the company of queen Lucy and king Edmund on the small stage with the tree. His instinct was telling him to rush to her and gather her tiny form in his arms, to feel her warmth, to make sure that she was real and still here. But right then Aslan appeared there with Peter and Susan in tow, beckoning to him to join them all on the stage. He did as he'd been asked, stealing glances at his beloved when he was drawing nearer. He could tell something was amiss, no longer was her face shining with happiness and she looked like she was about to cry. The sight of her filled his heart with dread and made his breath catch in his throat.

But he strived to remain composed, for his sake and hers, as he came forward and stepped up in front of his people, giving them the king's first speech. He announced that the land now belonged to Narnians as it did to men and if anyone had wished to leave, Asland would have created a portal to send them back to the world they had originally come from. It turned out that it was the same world as the one of Kings and Queens of Old. General Glozelle volunteered as did Caspian's aunt and the lion indeed opened the portal for them. It was a split in the middle of the grand tree and when they walked through it, they vanished. The crowd huffed and hummed on the instant, people being afraid that they might be led to their death. On that account, Reepicheep offered to take his eleven mice through to prove their protests needless. And then, High King Peter spoke up.

"We'll go." he said simply but resolutely enough. "Come on, the time is up. After all, we are not needed here anymore." And he made a few steps to hand over his sword to Caspian.

"I will look after it until you return." Caspian promised to him.

"I'm afraid that's just it. We are not coming back." Susan stated with a rather sad voice.

"We are not?" Lucy asked, taken aback.

"You two are, at least I think he means you two." Peter told her hesitantly.

"But why? Did they do something wrong?" Lucy still didn't seem to comprehend.

"Quite the opposite, my dear. But all things have their time. Your brother and sister have learnt what they can from this world. Now it's time for them to live in their own." Aslan explained for her kindly.

"And what about Elise?" Lucy pried further.

It seemed like everything went still at that very moment. Elise's and Caspian's eyes locked and they tried to tell each other so many things with that intense stare, Elise felt like she couldn't breathe and her knees got terribly weak. "Please, let me stay." her heart screamed, almost beating its way out of her rib cage. Caspian became all tensed up and he simply couldn't wait for anyone else's reply to that dangerous question.

"She will stay here." he spoke up with a raspy voice, turning his face to the people. "For I have chosen her to be the future Queen of Narnia and my wife. If she'll have me." he added the last part gently enough and turned to her expectantly.

"Well, my dear, what do you say?" Aslan encouraged her with his kind, deep voice.

Elise desperately wanted to say it but her tongue was like glued to the palate. But she nodded vigorously, and her answer was more than clear to everybody who had witnessed the scene. In his outburst of joy Caspian lifted her up and swirled around, carefully placing her back on her feet afterwards but never letting go of her. They gazed into each other's eyes, ignoring their surroundings, and they shared a long, slow, melting kiss.

The crowd broke out into jubilation and the Kings and Queens came to express their congratulations. Susan felt truly happy for her friend and Caspian, suddenly growing certain that she would also get her happily-ever-after, even if not here in Narnia. "You two have been made for each other, you know." she said to both of them merrily.

Elise smiled up at her with appreciation and absentmindedly rested her right hand on her belly. And when she glanced down and up again, now aware of her hand resting on her belly, she just thought of one particular reason why she had been allowed to stay.

THE END