Lucy's POV
I was going insane from all my work! I simply had to take a break. I went out to the gardens where a few of my friends were playing an Archenland game involving hoops and sticks.
"Lucy! Lucy!" the fawn Alyss, one of my dearest friends, called. "Who's the new boy we've been seeing around? With the dark hair, cute accent, looks like he's about Edmund's age."
"His name's Caspian. He's trying to find a job here at Cair Paravel," I explained.
"He's gorgeous," one of the dryads said dreamily.
"Well, I suppose he is a bit good looking," I said.
"You're blushing!" Alyss said in delight. "You like him!"
"Do not!" I said, feeling my face turn red. "I mean, yeah as a friend, not like, like him."
"Do too! Do too!" a handful of my friends said.
"He's nice… and decent looking… I guess… but I'm not interested in him like that!" I protested.
Edmund's POV
I liked this boy well enough, for a Telmarine that is. And he seemed to be rather okay with the idea of Talking Animals. Although I felt like there was something strange going on. Like he was leaving out some important detail. But I couldn't put my finger on it. But there was still one possible problem which I could ask about: Aslan. He probably has never heard of Aslan, so I'm okay with that, but he had to be open to the idea of him and be able to accept him as the true king.
I leaned forward, and simply said his name: "Aslan."
To my and Peter's surprise, he nodded and said, "What about him?"
"So you know about him?" Peter asked, startled.
"Like I said, my nurse and professor told me stories," he said.
"They know quite a lot about us then," I said, a bit disturbed by how detailed the stories these unknown foreigners were telling were.
"Ah… I think my professor might be part dwarf," he said. Peter looked at me, unsure of what to do.
I leaned towards my brother and whispered, "It's possible. Many who were against the Witch's rule left Narnia for freedom and safety."
"So what do you think of Aslan? Do you believe in him and his goodness?" Peter asked the Telmarine.
"Absolutely. With all my heart," Caspian said passionately. No one would speak that fervently unless they were a Narnian or….
"Have you met him?" I asked.
The boy looked hesitant to answer. Peter shifted to lean in, waiting expectantly for an answer. Caspian slowly nodded. "Yes, sire. He helped me on my way here."
"Indeed? Then why did you not say so earlier?!" Peter exclaimed eagerly, halfway out of his chair.
"I did not think you would believe me," Caspian said hesitantly.
"We would know if you had lied to us about Aslan," I said. "But no matter now. Did he give you any sort of instruction or advice? Any warnings about danger to come?"
He shook his head no. "I believe the reason he sent me was an answer to my prayers, not for a particular purpose."
"Nay, for nothing Aslan does is without a purpose," I said. "What were your prayers?"
He looked startled by the question. I leaned forward and said, "We are sorry to intrude on something so private, but we must know."
"Yes, sire. They were merely that I could learn to live the way of a Narnian. I never fit in with my people the way I should have. The stories I heard of Narnia, they felt right. Like I would finally find a place to call home there," he said, growing more and more passionate by the moment. "And Cair Paravel is at the heart of Narnia, and I want very much to stay here."
"Caspian, is there anything else you wish to tell us about before we make our decision? Especially anything that may cause problems later on?" Peter asked. I narrowed my eyes. He must have noticed the same strange vibe I had gotten earlier in the interview.
"No, sire."
"I would like to confer with my brother before making my decision. Caspian, please step outside for a moment," Peter instructed. Caspian looked worried, but silently bowed and left.
"So, brother, what did you want to talk about? You worried about him?" I said, leaning back in my chair lazily, now that it was just the two of us.
"Not sure. He seemed sincere about wanting to be in Narnia and believing in Aslan, but…"
"But?" I pressed, guessing at what he was saying.
"Did something just feel… I dunno… off?" Peter asked.
I nodded. "I'm not sure what though. Like you said, his love of Narnia and Aslan seemed sincere, but there was something… strange. I thought perhaps there was some secret he was not telling us."
"We could try asking him, but he would most likely deny that he is hiding anything," Peter mused, rubbing his chin. "But I don't sense any danger from him."
"Neither do I, but that doesn't mean there isn't. And any danger doesn't necessarily come from him. It may be he has fled from some danger, or has some secret that he is ashamed of."
"But if he doesn't tell us, we have no clue if his secret puts Cair Paravel at risk or not," Peter said with a frown. "But then again, he may be completely innocent, and the secret is nothing we need to be bothered with. Ed? What do you think?"
"It's your decision," I said with a shrug. "I'm not the one interested in hiring him."
"Neither am I. Lucy put me up to it," Peter groaned.
"Well, then you'll just have to or Lu will hate you forever," I joked. "Seriously, though. It's entirely your decision. I told you what I thought of the interview, now it's up to you."
"Alright," Peter said, making up his mind. He crossed to the door and opened it. "Caspian, come in."
Caspian's POV
I began pacing back and forth outside in the hallway. I was starting to think I might have a decent chance at this after all. It seemed to go fairly well. But what was it Peter felt he needed to talk over with Edmund?
"And who is this?" a booming voice asked. I looked up and saw a stranger. A human. And on his arm was Susan, breathtakingly beautiful. My blood started boiling up at the idea of Susan being with another. I should've known. The legends all talk about how the rulers of many other countries fought for her hand. But she rebuffed all of them right? So maybe when she was between suitors I would have my chance with her.
"You, you're the boy who was on trial the other day, are you not?" Susan asked, removing her arm from the man's. I felt my heart get slightly lighter as she pulled away from him to direct her attentions to me.
"Yes, your majesty," I said.
"On trial? For what?" the man said, narrowing his eyes at me as though I was a threat and moving his hand to his sword.
"Oh, calm down, Donovan. It was nothing. Let us be on our way," Susan said with wave of her hand. She pulled the man, who was still eying me with suspicion along with her. But I didn't want her to just leave.
"Wait, Susan!" I called. She and the man both turned around incredulously.
"Excuse me?" Susan said, sounding displeased. I quickly racked my brain, and then realized that I had slipped into acting as though we were friends and forgot to say her title.
"My apologies, your majesty," I said, bowing low.
"That's more like it," Donovan growled. His hand twitched towards his sword. "Queen Susan, would you like me to make sure this boy has learned his lesson?"
"Donovan! Absolutely not! But we should go along our way. Avaline is waiting for us," Susan said, tugging him along with her. I watched longingly as they left. Susan didn't even look back at me once. I leaned against the wall and let my body drop a little. I had hoped that returning would give me a chance to spend some time with her. But she hardly paid attention to me. And I managed to insult her, although thankfully she was much calmer about it than Peter had been that first night. Although it looks like Peter's moved on from my accidentally pushing him, so maybe Susan'll get over my insult quickly and then I'll have a chance with her again. After all, if she was interested in me earlier – or later seeing as that is now the future – then it's likely she'll like me now. Right?
I heard the door open and Peter was standing there. I tried to read his expression, but it was rather impassive. He simply said, "Caspian, come in."
