Disclaimer: If I owned Chronicles of Narnia, I wouldn't have the student loan debts I have. (read: I don't own Chronicles of Narnia, I don't make money from this. I am merely a fan)

S/C...S/C...S/C...S/C...S/C...S/C... S/C...S/C...S/C...

Caspian's brown eyes scanned over the form in front of him. His grip loosened on his sword as he moved toward Susan and he raised his hand to touch her cheek, but he stopped just a few inches short of actually doing so.

"This is a dream. Queen Susan was never meant to return." Caspian lowered his hand to his side.

"Then which one of us is dreaming?" Susan inquired. She stood still but clasped her hands on front of her. "I suppose there's one way to determine if you're dreaming." And with a smirk and quick slight of hand, Susan lightly pinched Caspian's hand. However, Caspian was quicker and held on to Susan's hand before she could pull away.

"You're really here?" He did not want to risk letting her go, though she could have easily pulled away from his loose grip.

"So it would seem, your majesty."

"How?"

"Does it matter?"

"Caspian!" A singsong voice came from back in the woods. At the sound of the voice, Caspian dropped Susan's hand and broke their gaze.

"Here, Liliandil! By the lamppost!" Caspian called out.

The name Liliandil repeated in Susan's head. From the woods emerged a stunning figure. As she moved, she practically floated; her blue gown dragged along the ground, but did not collect dust or leaves. A woman with silvery white hair and paler skin than she has ever seen now stood next to Caspian. Her hand looked out of place in his.

"Liliandil, this is Susan, high queen of Narnia. Queen Susan, this is Liliandil, daughter of Ramandu." Caspian introduced the two ladies.

"Liliandil, I've heard so much about you from my brother and sister!" Susan curtsied to the star.

"Your highness, it is such an honor to meet another queen of old!" Liliandil returned the curtsey with her own. "I too have heard a lot about you." She gave a little glare towards Caspian.

An awkward silence fell over the group. Susan had to consciously focus on not completely breaking down in front of the couple.

"Liliandil, head back, I'll catch up. I need to have a word with the queen." Caspian released Liliandil's hand. She was hesitant to leave but obeyed. Caspian waited until he heard her gallop away out of earshot. "Susan…" He whispered. He moved to close the gap between them once more. However, the moment he tried to touch her again, Susan backed away.

"So, that's the Blue Star…she's very lovely, Caspian." Susan kept her voice steady. "She will make a fine queen."

"She…"

"She will be, Caspian." Susan turned to head back to her world but stopped. "How much time has passed since Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace left?" She asked without turning around.

"Five years." He replied. Susan nodded and continued walking away from him. "She'll never be able to take your place, Susan." He said, hoping Susan heard him. If she did, she did not respond.

Susan kept walking in the direction of the wardrobe with her head held high. She was thankful when she reached the coats and then felt the door of the wardrobe. Once she felt sure she was no longer in Narnia, she acknowledged what Caspian said.

'And no one will ever be able to take your place, Caspian.' Susan thought as she fought tears. Unable to control herself much longer, Susan left the wardrobe and the room. As she ran to her bedroom, she literally ran into Peter who was just now heading to "seek" out his siblings.

"Um, don't you remember how to play this game, Sue?" Peter joked with his sister. Then he noticed her red cheeks matched her red dress. She refused to look him in the eyes. "Susan…what happened? Ten seconds ago you were smiling and giggling running off to hide." Peter guided Susan back to the library. The fire was still going strong.

When they arrived in the library, Susan saw Edmund and Lucy sitting in the chairs, laughing until they saw their sister.

"Susan? What happened?" Lucy helped Peter guide their distraught sister to a chair. Edmund cover her with a quilt.

"He's with her." Susan repeated this several times. Lucy patted Susan's cheeks with a handkerchief.

"Susan, can we have a little more information?" Edmund chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Susan took a moment to catch her breath. With a heavy sigh, Susan explained, "When I went to hide, I figured the one place any of you would not think to look would be the wardrobe." Susan paused, not looking any of them in the eyes; she just focused on the fire. "I hid in there, and I heard noises and could smell sweet air. I went to the back of the wardrobe…but ended up in Narnia. The trees were still dancing, Lu," Susan smiled at her younger sister, knowing she would be pleased by this news. "They talked to me and welcomed me back. I reached the lamppost of Spa' 'Oom and didn't dare go any farther…turns out, that didn't matter."

"What do you mean?" Peter inquired.

"I heard Caspian approaching, so I hid to avoid any confrontation. He started talking, then I stepped on a twig and caught his attention…long story short, he is with Liliandil. They were on their way to their engagement ball."

Silence fell over the room. No one knew what to say in a time like this.

S/C…S/C…S/C… S/C…S/C…S/C… S/C…S/C…S/C… S/C…S/C…S/C… S/C…S/C…S/C…

Susan was in her room; she kept the door locked to ensure her privacy. Susan paced around in her bedroom.

She did not realize it when they first redid their rooms, but now Susan could see the Narnian influence in her decorating and room arrangement. Her queen-size, four-poster bed was against the wall opposite the door; two large windows were on either side of the fireplace that was to the right of the bed as you are looking at it. The curtains were red with gold trims and tassels. The chair in front of the fireplace was a cherry wood with gold cushioning. A painting of a lion watching over a flock of lambs hung over the fireplace. One the opposite wall stood a grand bookcase full of various stories and scholarly books. Since she refused to keep a wardrobe in her room, a closet was built in next to the bookcase. Finally, she had her own private bathing room; a full-length mirror stood to the left of the door. This was the same arrangement as her bedroom in Cair Paravel. How she never noticed before baffled her.

Susan could not keep her hands busy enough. She had made and remade her bed; washed her windows, rearranged her books, and dusted the nooks and crannies. It was time to leave the room. She could hear Lucy and Peter down in the sitting room talking, but could make out what they were saying. She did not hear Edmund, so she figured he was off in the library or office.

Susan tightened the apron she donned while cleaning and made her way back to reality. She wondered through the house, dusting pictures and tables as she went along. The dream that she had was still replaying in her head, along with the recent events that occurred in Narnia.

Susan hummed a Narnian lullaby as she worked her way down the hall to the room. She paused at the door; hesitantly, she reached for the doorknob, freezing in anxiety. She dropped the duster and gingerly opened the door.

Upon entering the room, she quickly shut the door behind her. Susan could hear whispers, but she was not sure if it was just her imagination or the wind howling outside…or something else altogether.

"I knew you would be back."

"Edmund!" Susan placed her hand over heart as Edmund startled her. "What are you doing here?"

"Sue…do you know what you were about to do?" Edmund emerged from the corner behind Susan.

"There's a reason I was allowed to go back like that, Ed. I have to find out why." Susan turned back to the wardrobe. "I love him, Edmund."

"Susan…he's marrying Liliandil."

"Yes, and doesn't that upset you? Didn't you like her?" Susan argued.

"I hardly knew her, Susan. She was beautiful, but I don't think I loved her." Edmund rationalized. Susan listened with an aching heart, trying to understand what her brother was saying.

Susan kept walking forward to the wardrobe, opened it, walked in, and closed the door behind her. Edmund stayed behind, watching the scene unfold in front of him; he silently wished his older sister all the luck in the world on this journey and prayed that Aslan would be there for her.

S/C...S/C...S/C...S/C...S/C...S/C... S/C...S/C...S/C...

A/N: Okay, so here ends chapter 3. Please, REVIEW...reviews inspire me to keep writing, and they make me smile.
A/N #2: The link for Susan's dress is in my profile and works now! YEA!
A/N #3: I'm on break from school for the next week and a half! So bring on the reviews b/c I'm in the mood to write! And be sure to follow me on twitter for teasers (that link is in my profile as my homepage).