Hi! I'm back! Yay! The Lake was great! Spent all day sittin on the beach writing, going into the water occasionally to cool off, and then playing board games and card games at night. It was wonderful!
Did I mention that I got a lot of writing done? 'Cause I did! :D And I can't wait to post those chapters. Writing evil characters is SOOOO much fun!
Any who, back to the chapter at hand. I was going to post this first thing this morning, but I decided to watch Voyage of the Dawn Treader first and then I had to go grocery shopping so, sorry. But here it is; it's still Wednesday according to my clock. The chapter is mostly fluff still, but most of this story will be fluff.
For anyone interested, I had a question about when Ava and Gael's birthday is. So, I did some math (yucky) and this is what I came up with. Ava's birthday is around April 20 and Caspian's will be around June 12. (Not that particular dates will matter all that much, but there you go.)
Hope you enjoy chapter 7!
Time Lapse: 2 weeks later
The Naiad Trilogy
Part 3: The Naiad Queen
Chapter 7
The Dawn Treader's return to Cair Paravel was similar to that of Narrowhaven, only the crowd was larger, the cheers louder, and the applause greater. Caspian and Drinian had sent word to Trumpkin at Cair Paravel of their approximate return. Trumpkin then proceeded to send the word to all of Narnia. As a result, nearly all of Narnia was present for the King's return.
As they had at Narrowhaven, Caspian and Drinian walked down the gangplank first. Only this time, they were immediately followed by Ava, the returning lords, and the rest of the crew. Caspian very briefly told the crowd of their voyage. And then, to Ava's somewhat horror, Caspian chose that moment to announce their marriage. To Ava's great relief though, the crowd and all the Narnians rejoiced loudly.
Caspian pulled Ava to his side and whispered in her ear. "And you were worried."
Ava could only smile and push his arm playfully, but as she did she caught sight of two things. The first sight did send a shot of cold worry through her body. There was a group of lords on Caspian's council that were not applauding her marriage to the King. She was about to direct Caspian's attention to the group of lords when she saw the second thing, and she immediately forgot about the lords. The River God and his Naiad daughters were standing in the river, applauding.
As Ava and Caspian began to make their way through the crowd and to the castle, Ava gently squeezed his hand and headed for the river instead. Caspian politely went on and kept the crowd's focus on him, allowing Ava the moment she needed. She walked to the river's edge and slipped off her shoes before wadding into the water; she didn't care that her dress was getting wet. The Naiads immediately rushed to her and embraced her.
"You are not angry?" Ava asked.
The River God chuckled. "No, my daughter, we are not angry."
"But why? I—I thought…"
"Ava, my child," the River God reached out to touch Ava's cheek. "I know this is the vision your father had."
Ava placed her hand over his. "Thank you." She looked to each of her Naiad sisters. "I will take all you have taught me, and apply it to my life as Queen."
"And you will be a Queen comparable to those of Old," the River God said. "Now, go to him."
The River God nodded his head in the direction of the castle. Ava looked over her shoulder and saw that Caspian was waiting for her by the gates. She turned back to the Naiads and the River God to say her goodbyes before picking up the skirt of her dress and her shoes and running to her husband's side.
XOXOX
Ava and Caspian had been back in Narnia, living in the Royal Suite of Cair Paravel, for three weeks now, but still there had not been a coronation ceremony to make Ava the official Queen. There were a few of the more traditional lords on Caspian's council that did not approve of his impromptu marriage. Though there was nothing they could do to refute his marriage, they were hesitant to approve Ava as Queen.
This did not stop Ava and Caspian from living as husband and wife, though.
XOXOX
Ava lay on her stomach, curled into Caspian's side. Her left leg was hooked over Caspian's, her head rested on his chest, and her hand traced lazy patterns on his stomach. Caspian's left arm curved over Ava's shoulder and his hand ran slowly up and down her bare spine. The bed sheet lay gently on top of them while the cool spring night air drifted in through the open balcony doors of the Royal Suite.
Ava smiled whimsically as a thought passed through her mind.
"What are you smiling about?" Caspian asked lazily.
"How…"
"I felt you smile, Ava," Caspian answered her question before she could fully ask it.
"It was just a thought I had."
"Please, do tell. I love to know what you are thinking."
Ava turned her head so that she could look up at Caspian; he had lifted his head slightly to look down at her. "I was just wondering, do husbands and wives ever go to bed with their clothing on?"
"We go to bed with our clothing on. It just always quickly comes off."
"Do they ever keep their clothing on then?"
Caspian grinned. "Not for the first few years." He had closed his eyes and laid his head back down, so he did not see Ava's eyes widen.
"Years?"
"Not ever if I could have it my way."
"Oh! How utterly exhausting you are. If I had known loving you would keep me this tired, why I…"
"Yes, my dear?" Caspian asked, cocking his eyebrow.
"I…I would have started it long ago." Ava smiled impishly.
Caspian let out a low growl and in one swift, fluid move he had flipped Ava onto her back and braced his naked body over hers. She gasped out his name in surprise and breathed in deep as he pressed his body against hers. She could feel him between her legs and already her desire for him was beginning to grow again. She fought to contain it.
"Why do you only seem to complain when we are not making love?" he asked quietly, his lips hovering over hers.
"That is because when we are making love, you have me a bit distracted."
"Then perhaps I should distract you more often to keep you from complaining at all." He began to kiss her neck slowly, seductively as his hands began to roam.
"Caspian…" she moaned quietly, only serving to spur him on. She felt her desire growing stronger, and she felt herself giving over to that desire. "No! No, you must fight it, Ava. You will never win if you cannot learn to control it." At last she managed to gather the strength and she pushed him back enough to see his face; he was smirking confidently.
"I do not believe you could distract me more often."
"Is that a challenge?"
"No!" she said quickly; Caspian laughed.
"I am sorry if I am exhausting you, but I only thought we might want to take advantage of the time we have alone because I am sure it will be difficult to find any time when we have a palace full of children."
"A palace full of children? Whose children?"
"Ours, of course."
"How many children do you think we will have?"
"I'm not sure, but many I hope."
"Well that is easy for you to say. I may not know much of child bearing, but I do know a little. And I heard the screams the night your aunt gave birth to your cousin. It was a most frightful experience. I do not think I should want to go through that many times."
"But, Ava, have you forgotten Aslan's words so quickly? I have not. He said our 'descendants would reign until the end of days.' Descendants, Ava; that is plural."
"Caspian," Ava laughed. "We may have only one child but still have many descendants. For our child's children may have children of their own, but they will still be our descendants."
"I am aware of that, Ava, but when you interpret Aslan's words like that, it takes all the fun out of it," Caspian finished with a pout. He looked so pitiful that Ava could not help but to feel a little sorry for him.
"Hmm," she tucked his hair behind his ear and stroked his cheek tenderly. "Perhaps for you I could bear more than one child. Of course you would need a son, and I have always envisioned myself with a young daughter with blonde hair and blue eyes, like her mother."
Caspian scrunched up his face. "Hmm, no. I would hope she is not at all like her mother."
"What!"
"For if she had even half of your beauty, there would be far too many suitors to fend off. Her brother and I would be too busy and you would have to run Narnia."
"Hmm, then perhaps she will need a few more brothers to help with that."
"Now you are starting to see things my way."
Ava giggled. "I will bear as many children as Aslan wills."
"And let us begin tonight." Caspian growled before moving in to kiss her neck again. Ava held him back.
"Caspian, it is already late."
"Humph, perhaps you are right. We do have an early day at court tomorrow."
"We?"
"Yes, I was going to ask that you come with me."
"I'd rather not. There is only ever one thing that is discussed."
"You're exaggerating."
"Occasionally they will talk briefly on other topics, but mostly the lords only bicker about whether or not it is appropriate for us to be married and if I should be Queen. I thought we had moved past all of that when we discovered the loophole and said our vows on Ramandu's Island. Our love is not a thing which should be contested in court."
"Most of the lords have accepted our marriage, and are ready to make you Queen."
"But a few still have not."
"Your presence will help to sway them."
"My presence does nothing. They act as if I am not there."
"Ava…"
"And besides, Princess Tianna and her new husband are set to arrive tomorrow. At least one of us should be at the dock to welcome them."
Caspian gave a defeated sigh. "Fine, but guests or not, you will be at the next court."
"We shall see."
"Ava, if you want them to accept you as their Queen, you must act like a Queen and not let them intimidate you."
"Oh, alright. I'll go to the next court."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Now, can I at least have a kiss before we say goodnight?"
"I suppose," she relented with a sly grin, and Caspian slowly covered her lips with his own.
XOXOX
In the port of Narrowhaven on the island of Doorn, the streets were quite. Most everybody had resigned to their beds for the night. Only in the Duke's castle was there still movement. A small group of old friends met in a cozy room to hold a secret council, just as they did almost every night since their reunion.
"This is outrageous!" Lord Mavramorn exclaimed as he paced back and forth in the Duke's office. He was venting to his two closest friends, Argoz and Bern, one time Lords of Narnia. "How ridiculous! To choose a thing like her to be his Queen. What is the fool thinking?"
"Be careful of your words; this is your King you're speaking of," Bern warned.
"The boy is just like his father. He chose to marry for love," Argoz replied idly; Mavramorn had been complaining about the same issue for nearly a month.
"Phah! Love. What an absurd notion. It makes a man weak; just look what it did to the boy's father," Mavramorn said as he stopped and looked at his companions.
"Caspian did not die because he married Asonya. Miraz would have killed his brother regardless of who he married. You know that as well as we do," Bern said.
"Love is not real; it is a woman's fancy."
"Just because you chose to love a woman who would not return her love, makes it no less real," Argoz stated calmly.
"This has nothing to do with her!" Mavramorn spat. An intense moment passed between the three friends in which neither of them spoke.
"I am sorry, dear friend," Argoz said with a weary sigh.
Mavramorn ignored his friend's apology and resumed his pacing. "What are we to do about this? We must revolt! We cannot allow such a thing to take place. We must hasten to Narnia at once to stop this madness."
"We will do no such thing," Bern declared firmly as he rose from his seat. "The Lady Ava is an honorable woman. I know firsthand of the sacrifice she is willing to make for her King. She would lay her life down to protect her people. I, for one, believe our King could not have made a finer choice for his wife and she will be honored as Queen on these islands.
"I have granted you leniency to speak your mind, for you were once a dear friend. But I will stand it no longer. Aslan is the supreme King of these lands, and under Him rules Caspian X and his wife who shall be Queen. I highly suggest and urge you to learn to live under their rule; it would bring you much peace, my friend."
"You wish me to submit to a beast? A thing which is less than human?"
"I do."
"Well I cannot! We are men, and Telmarines at that! We are the greater being."
"That is dangerous thinking, my friend," Bern cautioned.
"Will you exile a man for dangerous thinking?"
Bern sighed. "For all your thinking, I still consider you a friend and therefore I cannot exile you. But know this, I will not stand for any who cause an upheaval or riotous behavior on these islands. And if I catch wind of any plan to bring ill fortune to my King, I shall immediately inform His Majesty of the perpetrator and they shall be tried for treason. Friend, or not."
"I see you have made your choice then. What of you, Argoz? You have not spoken in awhile. Which side do you choose?"
"I do not wish to choose any side," Argoz answered.
"Not choosing is still choosing. If you are not with me, then you are against me," Mavramorn clarified.
Argoz sighed heavily. "I remember the days of Caspian's brief reign well. The people were happy. Then Miraz took over and fear resided in the lands. I am sorry, my friend, I simply wish to live out the rest of my days in peace. I will not join you, Mavramorn. If this is the path you've chosen, you must travel it alone."
"Then so be it," Mavramorn said tersely before storming out of the room; the heavy door shook in its hinges as it slammed behind the retreating lord.
"You know he will be leaving for Narnia on the first boat out," Argoz said after a moment of silence.
"I know," Bern replied as he took up his seat behind his desk once more.
"Mavramorn has always had the ability to sway people with his passionate speeches."
"I know this too."
"And yet you sit there and let him leave?"
"He was a friend. You did not go with him."
"I spoke the truth. I know my days are numbered. Mavramorn's task will be arduous and stricken with pain; I want peace."
"Aslan can bring you that peace."
Argoz did not respond to Bern's comment. All his life he had been taught that man was mightier than beast, and that creatures such as Centaurs, Dwarfs, and talking lions were not real. Now, after his most recent voyage, the very foundation of his beliefs had been shaken and tried. He had seen the beasts of myth with his own eyes. He had seen the Lion, felt His breath, and kissed His paw. But could he truly believe? Of this, Argoz did not know.
"I know you will not sit by and wait for Mavramorn to succeed," Argoz said after a brief pause. "So what will you do?"
"I must convince the lord's on Caspian's council to name Ava as their Queen, before Mavramorn convinces them otherwise." As he said this, Bern reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a piece of parchment. He dipped his pen in his ink and began to scribe a letter.
To His Royal Highness, King Caspian X of Narnia...
P.S. I reloaded chapter 6. There's nothing new just a few spelling errors. If you ever catch any please let me know.
