Chapter Four: The Gift

The next day arrived for Caspian the minute his eyes opened when the sun had rose into the sky; he looked up at the sky and sure enough, Lilliandil was still there shining very brightly. He smiled and longed for her to come down to him again at the very minute; he had dreamed of her as he slept and that was exactly the very dream he'd wanted to have. He only wanted such a moment with her in reality and maybe he would sooner or later. For now though, he rose to his feet and was lucky to find a nearby stream and soak his hands in the cool, refreshing waters that he splashed onto his face; he was refreshed for a new day. But it was when he turned around that he discovered he was not alone, for someone had joined him in secret; he was in for a surprise that made him smile when he saw who had come into his company.

"Lilliandil!" he gasped as he dried off the wetness of the water from his skin.

"Good morning Caspian," she greeted him with a smile.

His dream that he would see her again had come true and he showed his happiness when he walked towards her and kissed her hand.

"It is such a delight to see you again," he said.

"And you," she replied. "If you and your crew are hungry, a breakfast has been prepared for you at the table."

Lilliandil's kindness was never short lived and Caspian was even more amazed by her than he already was.

"Thank you, but will you give us the pleasure of joining us?" he asked as he held his hand out to her.

She smiled and knew that she should just acknowledge and accept his kindness.

"Of course, if you insist; thank you," she said as she placed her hand in his.

With that, they made their way to Aslan's Table where the food had indeed been laid out for them; the other crew members arrived to join them and so did the three lords who had been under the sleeping spell; they were now awake and restored and they had not joined the crew the previous night because Lilliandil had sent them to a far part of the island where they could rest off the last remaining affects of the sleeping spell. But now, they were as they should be and when they saw Caspian, they instantly saw the resemblance between him and their old friend, King Caspian IX, just like Lord Bern did on the first of the Lone Islands when Caspian and Edmund met him in the cell. The breakfast was delicious indeed, but Caspian was delighted by the stories the three lords told him of his father; a noble king he was indeed, how Caspian wished he had known him.

Breakfast was over and everyone at the table dispersed; like the night before, Caspian chose to walk with Lilliandil again, only they walked in a different direction this time. This was an opportunity for Lilliandil to show Caspian parts of the island he had not seen before and it was if as she could read his mind for that was his intention, although his thoughts were heavily on his father; Lilliandil could see this in his face."The stories they told of your father, they're all similar to the ones my father told me," she said. "Your father really was a great man."

Caspian was silent for a moment before he finally said what was on his mind as he sat down on a boulder and Lilliandil joined him.

"I wish I'd known him."

"But maybe you do know him because your father is still alive," said Lilliandil when seeing the sorrowful look on his face.

"What do you mean?" asked a confused Caspian.

"You heard what the lords said; you are your father's son and that's very special because it means that he lives on in you."

Caspian heard Lilliandil's wise and kind words, but was she right?

"Do you really believe that?"

"I do."

"I could never be the king he was."Lilliandil saw the lack of belief he had in himself and wanted to comfort him; she put her hand on his.

"All kings are different; none are exactly the same," she explained. "But that doesn't mean that you are not like your father; you're a great king Caspian just like he was and that is why I know he would be very proud of you if he was still alive; never would he be ashamed to call you his son."

The young king found himself speechless; it had been a long time since someone had told him something like this and he certainly never expected to hear these words from a new friend. He just gazed at Lilliandil and then tightened the hold of their hands.

"Thank you," he said smiling and she smiled back.

Lilliandil then turned to look in another direction for a moment before turning back to Caspian; she smiled even more and rose to her feet, her hand not letting go of Caspian's.

"Come," she said, "let me take you exploring."

Caspian didn't say anything, but only stayed where he was looking up at his star friend for a moment or two; he realised what she meant and suddenly felt the urge to accept her invitation. A smile lit up his face and he rose to his feet; he let her lead the way and she did just that when they walked along the path that Caspian did not know, but he knew that he would not be lost as long as Lilliandil was with him.

That day was a new adventure for King Caspian as he explored a territory he did not know; Lilliandil took him all over the island and explained everything about its history to him. Ramandu's Island truly was a beautiful place and Caspian was only too happy to explore it and know its history, especially when he had grown so attached to the very person who was guiding him throughout this adventure.

The adventure for that day came to an end when the sun began to set; Caspian and Lilliandil were by the ruins that were near Aslan's Table watching the beautiful view in the sky over the sea.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Lilliandil said.

"Indeed it is, but not as beautiful as my friend standing beside me," Caspian said boldly.

Lilliandil turned to look at him, but she carried the same startled expression that she carried the first time Caspian had called her "beautiful" and he took note of this right away.

"You really are not like other young women who I have met; in fact you're probably the only woman I've ever met who doesn't gain pride from her beauty," he said.

"Beauty is not something be proud of;" Lilliandil started to explain, "I learned that from the story of the little princess with skin as white as snow who was pursued and targeted by her stepmother because the wicked queen was so vain and jealous of the princess because she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the land. How can someone not be satisfied with having a beautiful face? And they're so unsatisfied, vain and jealous that they actually set out to kill so they can get what they want. Such a nature destroys people; it's so terrible and besides, real beauty comes from the inside not the outside."

No pride, no vanity about her at all and Caspian was even more amazed.

"You are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside and I've never met anyone with such a good, clean nature," he said.

"And you are too;" Lilliandil replied, feeling flattered by his compliment, "you are very worthy of everything you have."

Caspian heard those last words, but were they really true?

"But am I worthy of having you?" he asked.

When he spoke those words, Lilliandil remained silent and magically conjured something in her hand; it was wrapped in a cloth and she handed it to Caspian.

"Maybe this is will tell you; it's a gift to my king."

Curiosity overtook him very much that Caspian took the mysterious gift from Lilliandil's hand and began to unwrap the soft cloth; it was soon unwrapped and his eyes widened at what he holding. It was a star, a beautiful small star of bright glowing crystal; he looked at Lilliandil again.

"My professor told me that it's very rare for someone to be given a star as a gift."

Lilliandil smiled at realising that he understood what receiving this gift meant.

"My mother gave it to me when I was little; she wanted me to give it to someone very special and you have become very special to me Caspian," she explained. "You are very worthy of receiving such a gift."

Special? He had never been special to anyone in such a way in all his life and Caspian felt such happiness rushing through him; his heart was beating and beating like a drum.

"Thank you; I will treasure this for the rest of my life," he said smiling.

Lilliandil returned his gratitude with a smile of her own and her own heart began beating like a drum when Caspian reached out his hand and gently touched her face.

"You know when I saw you for the first time and you told us that the three lords at Aslan's Table were sleeping," he said, "it reminded me of the fairy tale of the beautiful princess trapped in an enchanted sleep and only a kiss from a prince would break the spell."

She silently looked at him with a soft and sweet smile.

"Well in that situation, it was the other way around;" she said, "break the spell first and then kiss the princess."

"And the spell is broken now and I am here with you."

Caspian was unable to deny anything as he gazed at Lilliandil, nor was she able to deny anything; he was very much in love with her and she with him and they had both felt something deeper for each other the minute they saw one another for the first time. They had already formed a platonic friendship, but they both wanted more than that, so much more and that is why their true feelings were to be expressed at that very moment; Caspian's hand had not left Lilliandil's face, but she did not want him to stop touching her and he could see that in her eyes. He moved in closer to her, closing the gap between them, and she made no attempt to stop him or get away from him; instead she slowly moved in closer to him and within moments, her soft lips met his in a kiss. Caspian had shared a kiss before, but he felt much more in this one; he felt free for the first time in his life, but this was a different type of freedom and it was also the most wonderful experience of Lilliandil's life. She'd always dreamt of finding a prince like the princesses she'd read about in stories and now she was in her own fairy tale, only her prince was a king. The kiss lasted a few moments and they pulled apart; there was a peaceful silence between them and they were only looking at each other, until something else caught their attention. A bright light came from the star that Caspian was still holding in his hand; it was reforming for the light parted in two ways and travelled in different directions - one to Caspian's neck and the other to Lilliandil's. The lights faded away and revealed the star in two halves on two chains of silver; the halves were shown to be able to placed together and the young king and the star knew right away what this meant.

"Did you know?" Caspian asked.

"I wanted to know," Lilliandil replied. "My mother did tell me that this star would tell me who my soul mate is and I am truly happy that it's you."

"And so am I," Caspian admitted. "I've never been happier with any revelation before."

A moment of true happiness this was for both of them; they both knew what they'd been missing in life and they had finally found it in each other. They were never going to let anything take away what they had together and they celebrated their discovery with another kiss, this one more intimate than the first; Caspian held Lilliandil tight in his arms and was never prepared to let her go, just like she didn't want to escape from his embrace as she wrapped her arms around him, glowing just as brightly on the inside as she was on the outside. Though Lucy was unaware of it, her question from the beginning of the quest now had a different answer for Caspian had found his queen and it would not be long before he would ask Lilliandil that very special question, but for now he just wanted to focus on what was happening right now in that beautiful moment of true happiness.