Chapter 10

-Susan's POV-

I moved as fast as my legs would allow me to go. I made sure I had a strong grip on my dress so I wouldn't have to stop incase it fell out of my grip. I ran down the hallway, blinking rapidly to keep the tears that were trying to slip down my cheeks from falling. I shoved past some servants, almost knocking them over. I didn't stop to apologize, which I knew was a bad thing. I wasn't acting like a lady at all, but acting like a lady was the last thing that was on my mind. I had to get away, even for a little bit.

I turned a corner and crashed into Edmund. The force of the crash made me fall forward and land on his back. He groaned in pain as I shook my head before rubbing it. "Su, do you mind getting off of me? I don't appreciate getting my lungs crushed."

"You are so immature, Edmund!" I snapped before jumping up and rushing off.

"What'd I say?" Edmund called after me. "Susan?"

I didn't stop running until I got to the garden where I fell onto my knees and held my face in my hands. I went over to the garden pond and started at my reflection. My eyes were red and puffy and tear tracks were visible on my cheeks. I furiously wiped my tears away but more fell from my cheeks, it was like I couldn't stop crying.

'I just wanted to go home; I wish none of this ever happened. I wish we never found Narnia. I wouldn't be in this mess if we hadn't found Narnia, if we hadn't moved in with the professor, if there wasn't a war…'

"Su?" I jerked my head up and quickly wiped away my tears as I heard footsteps approaching. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Peter. "Su, what's wrong?" Peter asked as he sat down next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing, Pete," I responded as I quickly brought a hand up to my eye to make sure that tears weren't still falling down my face.

"Now you know I can tell when something is bothering you," he said in a stern tone. "So what's wrong? You've been acting really strange lately."

"I've just…had a lot on my mind," I mumbled as I stared at the ground. It wasn't exactly a lie, I have had a lot on my mind, but I also knew that that wasn't the only reason I've been acting that way. But I've been really careful, haven't I?

"You can tell me," he said, trying to urge me to talk. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I know," I admitted. "But some things I don't want to bother you with. You have a lot on your plate, you have to find out why we've been brought back and you have to make sure the castle stays safe."

"But my family comes first," he said as he pulled me into a hug. "Always. If you're hurting then the rest of us are, especially me."

"I'm fine, Peter," I said with a small sigh. "Don't worry about me so much, I can take care of myself. Now, go on, I heard the tailors say something about wanting to have you fitted for new traveling clothes."

"Ugh, the one thing I hate about being King," Peter said as he pulled a face, which caused me to laugh. He smiled before kissing the side of my head. He muttered into my ear, "I never meant to hurt you, you know that, right?"

"Of course Peter. Now run along before the tailors come looking for you. The last thing you want is a mad tailor with pins."

-Caspian's POV-

Pregnant?

I felt awful for not saying anything to her. But, I didn't know what to say. It hurt to see Susan divested like that, and it was even worse to know that I was the cause of it. But I just couldn't wrap my head around that fact that Susan could be pregnant…and it's my fault.

"Edmund," I called as I hurried after him down the hall. He stopped and turned back to look at me.

"Yes?" He asked once I joined him by his side.

"Do you know where Susan is? I wish to speak to her."

"I think she and Peter are in the garden," Edmund responded. "Why, is something wrong with Susan? There is, isn't there? It would explain why she's been acting strange lately."

"She's…been acting different?"

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed," Edmund said with a scoff. "She gets defensive when you make a small comment about her hair. I guess it's just a girl thing." Right as he finished that sentence Lucy came into the hallway. "Don't ever grow up," he told her in a serious tone as she gave him an odd look.

"Thanks Edmund," I muttered before moving towards the stairs. I descended them as fast as I could, trying not to fall over. Once I set my feet on the ground I moved as fast as I could to get to the garden. I stopped a couple of times to apologize to a servant that I almost crashed into in my haste to get outside.

I stood at the top of the stairs that overlooked the vast lawns of Cair Paravel. I looked over in the direction of the garden and relaxed a little when I spotted Susan sitting in front of the pond. I tensed back up when I saw that Peter was with her. I took a deep breath and let it out before descending that staircase before walking across the lawns to get to the garden. I weaved my way between the flower beds, stopping to admire it. Lucy did such a great job at keeping the garden filled with flowers. The day before a good majority of the sunflowers was dead. But now they had been replaced with new baby sunflowers that were striving to grow.

"Peter, I would like to have a word with your sister," I spoke up once I got closer to the siblings. Peter glanced back at me and gave me a hard look before standing. Our eyes locked before he brushed past me. I glanced down at Susan who had stood and was dusting the dirt off of her dress. "Susan…" I started.

"What do you want, Caspian?" She asked without looking at me. "I have a lot to do today."

"I wanted to explain…about my behavior," I said as I stepped in front of her so she couldn't leave. "It was unacceptable."

"No, it's the way I expected you to react," she told me, still not looking at me. "It's all right," she announced before trying to move past me. I grabbed her by the crook of her elbow and pulled her back so she was facing me. Before she could say anything I captured her lips in a kiss. He kissed her with everything that he had inside of him, everything that had been screaming at him to do when he first saw Susan again. He reveled in the feel of the softness that was Susan's lips, his hands sliding around her slender body pulling hers only closer to him, wanting to feel her flush against him and tight. Picking her up he whirled her around completely aware of his babbling self in between kisses.

"If you are pregnant, Queen Susan…would I be the father?" I asked as I held her face in my hands, looking her deep in the eyes as she panted slightly.

"Of course," she whispered as if I had offended her. "You were the only one I've been with."

"If you are pregnant," I continued, brushing off the harsh tone in her voice, "I think…we should keep the baby. He or she would be raised well, I'm sure of it."

"I don't…I don't even know if I want to keep the baby," Susan whispered.

"How could you say that?" I gasped. "How could you think that?"

"I'm only seventeen. Back home, girls who are in the same predicament as me are frowned upon."

"But here you won't be. Please Susan, I really want this. I know we can do this, together. Don't you believe me?"

"Of course I do," she whispered. I stared at her as she looked around, thinking. "I don't like the thought of giving up a baby."

"I really think we can do this. And I'll be beside you every step of the way," I promised as I placed a kiss on her forehead.

"OK."

"OK what?"

"We'll do this together," she said as she looked up at me; her were eyes shining as she smiled brightly. I smiled before pulling her against me in a tight hug. I held her securely as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I wished we could just live in this moment; that nothing else in the world would matter, but I knew it was too good to be true.

-Peter's POV-

"If you stare any harder I think your eyeballs are going to pop out of your head," Edmund commented as he appeared next to me. I ignored him as my grip tightened on the rail of the balcony that I was standing on. "What's wrong?"

"Susan's keeping something from us," I said as I finally tore my eyes away from the hugging couple and I looked at Edmund. "I would be worried about it, but I don't have time. I have to go over a couple of battle tactics. I want you to keep an eye on Susan."

"What?" Edmund asked as his eyes widened.

"I want you to follow Susan; try and figure out what it is that she's trying to divert us from," I explained. "Actually, I want Lucy and Crystal to do it too."

"But, Peter, that's invading her privacy. Call me crazy, but girls like their privacy."

"It's not privacy when it has to do with our sister's well-being," I corrected him. "She doesn't think she can trust me–"

"Gee, I wonder why," Edmund muttered sarcastically. I glared at him but continued with my explanation.

"–And I want her to know that, no matter what, she can come to us for anything."

"Are you sure this will work?" Edmund asked. "It feels wrong."

"I'm sure, Edmund," I said with confidence. "Now go, I have to get this meeting started. Don't let me down."