The Best of Both Worlds

Kate's POV

When we finally reached Adeline's home, we found that she lived in a humble cottage in the forest. It definitely looked like something from a storybook. It was wooden, with a door and two windows on either side of the front. A few wild vines with violet blooms trailed up the house's sides. We approached her home just before nightfall. When we did, a tall boy with sandy hair ran out to greet us. At seeing us behind Adeline, he went rigid and spoke.

"Who are our guests, mother?" The boy asked as his green eyes scanned us over.

Adeline leapt forward and gave the boy a tight hug, sweeping some of his hair out of his face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. They're friends of Raine." At the mention of our friend, the boy's eyes grew wide.

"Really now," he said, before looking up at us. "You know Raine?" I nodded, seeing evidence that this boy had been close to her when she was here.

Adeline took him by the arm and hooked it with hers before leading him inside. "Come, Neron. It's late and our guests are probably feeling a little overwhelmed with all that they've been through this day. Please," she motioned to us over her shoulder, "come inside. I'll find places for you to sleep."

After laying out some blankets in front of a warm fire, Adeline began to tell us how she had come to know Raine and how she knew so much of Earth. We were all shocked to find out that she had been friends with Faith growing up and that the same thing had happened to her that almost happened to Raine while in midst of Faith's dad. I didn't disbelieve it… I just realized that it was a small world. Eventually she left us to put her youngest boy to bed, who turned out to not even be her son. Apparently his mother had been a friend of hers and the woman had died of illness and entrusted the boy to Adeline and her son to care for.

It took a while for us to fall asleep, despite actually being tired. This was all just too much to take in. Finally the crackling of the fire lulled me to sleep, and I dreamt of finding Raine…safe and sound in the loving embrace of her king.

That morning I was shaken awake by Neron. Adeline was bustling around the den of the cottage, gathering her things. When she saw that we had awakened, she smiled brightly. "Well good morning, friends. I trust you all slept well?"

Bud yawned loudly, stretching his arms over his head. "Sure did, ma'am. Thanks for asking." Audra and I looked at each other and snorted. Adeline only smiled and swung her cloak around her shoulders. Bud looked at her with an arched brow, rubbing his chin. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you were going somewhere."

"Then you would be right. I need to go into town and gather a few things." She walked to the hearth and took her sword from atop it, strapping the belt around her waist so that the sword hung from her hips. Then she looked up at us. "Would you all like to join me? Since…you are new to this world, would you like to come along?"

I looked at Bud, who looked as if he'd rather just roll back over and go back to sleep. Audra, on the other hand, looked a little curious. I, myself, didn't mind. I was up for exploring and definitely up for finding Raine, wherever she may be. "Yea, sure. We'll come along."

Adeline smiled. "Wonderful. Kate, Audra, come with me to my room. I have a few spare cloaks the two of you can wear, since it's a bit chilly outside." Audra and I jumped out of our makeshift beds and followed her across the den to a smaller room where she slept. She dug through a small chest and pulled out two cloaks. One was a deep scarlet color and the other brown. She handed them to us and turned to close the trunk.

I figured Audra would want the scarlet one, so I tossed it to her and slung the brown one around my shoulders, fastening the clasp. Audra put hers on too, and smirked. "Good. You know your place." I just rolled my eyes.

We walked back into the den with Adeline to find Bud wearing a black cloak that must have been borrowed from Neron. Neron was standing beside him in another black cloak, holding the small boy they called Blaidred in his arms. He too looked like he would rather crawl back into bed. When Adeline stepped out of her room the boy reached for her, and Neron couldn't look more pleased. Or at least, we thought he was reaching for Adeline. When she took the small boy in her arms he grunted and pointed at Audra.

Adeline looked at her sheepishly. "Oh, it seems that he wants you to hold him," she giggled undertainly before asking, "Do you mind?"

Audra shrugged. "I guess not. I have four younger brothers at home, so I'm sorta used to it." She handed the boy to Audra and the moment he was in her arms he curled up against her shoulder and fell asleep. The three of us chuckled quietly while Bud watched the scene with the hint of a hopeful smile on his face. Adeline smiled to herself at catching his expression and headed out the door into the forest. The rest of us followed suit.

Walking back almost the same way we came last night seemed different to me. More than once I had to stop walking to step over a few obstacles. I guess I had been so occupied with wondering about the world around me that my coordination was a little off. What would the village look like? Would there be horse drawn wagons? Would there be knights and wealthy lords? As if hearing my thoughts, Adeline began to speak.

"Once we're in the village, I want the three of you to stay with me," she gestured to me, Audra, and Bud. "This is a small village, and almost everyone knows the other. If they see you on your own, they may feel threatened. Believe me, it is best that you are with me at all times."

Bud stepped up beside her and raised a brow. "Feel threatened?"

"It is dark times we live in, Bud. Our kingdom isn't a peaceful one. At any moment we could be attacked by the Narnians, or at least those who have grown to hate us again." We exchanged confused looks behind her back and agreed to stick with her. The rest of the walk had been a quiet one, but soon we were in the village. Sure enough, we got suspicious looks from townspeople. And not to mention I was beginning to feel extremely white. All the people in the village were dark skinned. I mean, compared to me, Adeline was dark. But these people were far darker than Adeline or her son. I'm sure the three of us stood out like sore thumbs. Bud walked in between me and Audra so that we could stay together behind Adeline. As we walked through the village in awe of everything we saw, a boy who came up to my waist ran past me and knocked me in the back of the knees. I just about fell, but I caught myself halfway down.

The boy stopped and turned around, glaring at me as if he had seen a booger fall out of my nose. "Watch yourself," he said rudely. He glanced at Bud and Audra with the same disgust, but when his eyes landed on Blaidred in Audra's arms, his eyes shone with malice. He moved so fast that none of us saw him until he was tugging the boy out of her arms. He soon had Blaidred by the hair, dragging him across the ground. The poor boy cried out for help and Neron ran after him as Adeline shouted in anger. The boy had drug him off to the side of a farmer's stand and began beating him, punching him and kicking him in the side when he fell. The pained cries of the small boy made my blood boil and I took off to help him in case Neron didn't get there soon enough. Neither of us made it to him, though, before a tall man in brown armor picked them both up by the forearms and slung them over his shoulders.

"Unhand my son!" Adeline cried, gathering her skirts and running to the man. At hearing her demand he turned and looked at her sharply. Blaidred was crying silently and rubbing at the place where the man's hand was grasping his arm roughly. The other boy just hung there, glaring at the man and everyone else around them.

"Take care what you say, woman. I am a guard of Caspian King. You would do well to remember your place," he spat before dropping both boys to the ground. The bigger boy who had beaten Blaidred landed on his feet as he was taller and stronger, but poor Blaidred fell on his side and yelped. I ran forward to help him, but out of nowhere two muscled arms grabbed my sides and threw me to the ground. I heard shouting and looked to the side to see Audra lying in a heap on the ground a few feet behind me and Bud and Neron were braced against a stone wall by two guards. Adeline's hands were already bound and she was being handled roughly by the guard she had confronted.

"Coronel, I was only going to take the boys to the king, but instead I think these intruders should be taken in as well," the guard holding Adeline said, gesturing to the rest of us.

"What? What have we done?" I asked, feeling the fiery spirit in me acting up. But I was answered with a hand landing roughly on my left cheek.

"You will only speak when spoken to. As a matter of fact," he said, yanking a piece of cloth out of his sidebag and tying it around my mouth to serve as a gag, "you won't speak at all." I was soon being thrown over the back of a horse, and the guard who had captured me mounted the horse behind me. I looked to the side to see that Audra and Adeline had been done the same, and Bud and Neron were trailing behind their guards' horses on ropes. Blaidred and his attacker sat, hands bound, behind another guard on the back of another horse.

What the hell did we do? We were the ones who had been attacked?

When we got to the castle, we were roughly thrown from the horses backs and then drug to the castle. Through three sets of heavy, wooden doors we went until we came to a large throne room. Inside there was a great stone throne, but it was empty. Beside it an old man was pacing with his hands behind his back. When he looked up and saw us, his eyes widened. The guard handling Adeline stepped forward, dragging her roughly behind him.

"Doctor, please inform His Majesty that we've found more scum to fill his cells." I scoffed through my gag at the guard, wondering on what grounds he could call us 'scum'. But at the order, the old man nodded, though he looked at Adeline as if he knew her. He then disappeared through the double doors.

This was it. When he returned, he would no doubt have the king with him…and possibly Raine. And they would see us like this. The king would meet us…like this. Audra and I had dirt caked on our clothes and our faces from being thrown on the ground, Bud and Neron were sporting some nice pretty bruises from being socked, I could feel a bruise from where I'd been backhanded, and Blaidred was obviously a mess. The other boy who'd been brought looked like a pigpen, but who cares about him. He was a little terd anyway.

This was definitely NOT my idea of a perfect first meeting with the man my cousin loved.

Raine's POV

I don't know how long we laid there in his bed, just enjoying our moment of being together. I was now lying on my side, as was he. He had fallen asleep during our makeout/cuddle session, and I didn't dare bother to wake him. Now that he was sleeping softly, I could see the exhaustion in his face. So I let him sleep, and nuzzled myself against him. Subconsciously he snuggled into me and leaned his head against my chest. I spent no telling how long just running my fingers through his hair as I watched him breathe. The feeling of having him in my arms was the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced and I was dreading the moment when a servant would walk in, calling for his attention. I wished this moment could go on forever.

Finally I felt him stir. When his eyes slowly opened to see me, a contented smile graced his lips and he pulled me closer to him. "If I pretend that I'm still asleep, will you promise not to leave?" he asked softly.

I kissed his hair softly before moving to kiss his forehead. "I wouldn't leave you anyway. If you want to go back to sleep, go ahead. I certainly won't stop you."

He sighed contentedly into my hair. "I love you. More than you could ever know." I nuzzled my nose against his cheek before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"And I love you. More than you could ever possibly imagine."

And of course, our lovely moment together had to be ruined. There was a soft rap on the door, and it opened to reveal Cornelius. I would have been angry, but not with Cornelius. I actually untangled myself from Caspian's embrace and ran to him, throwing my arms around him. Yes, before you ask, I was dressed.

"My dear girl, I am so glad to see you are feeling better," he chuckled as he hugged me back. "And I apologize for interrupting, but there is a matter in the throne room that requires your immediate attention, my king," he said, bowing his head to Caspian. He almost looked…nervous? What was up with that? Ever since I had known him, he had ever been Caspian's mentor and the closest thing to a guardian he'd had.

I soon felt Caspian's large, warm hand on my back and his presence beside me. "Thank you, Doctor. I will see to it as soon as I can," he said as he smiled to his old mentor. I didn't miss the look of confused relief that passed over the man's aged features. Caspian walked past him, clapping him on the back good-humoredly and took my hand to lead me. I kissed Cornelius on the cheek before letting Caspian lead me down the hallway.

"So I wonder what's happened that is so important?" I pondered aloud.

Caspian shrugged. "There's no telling. It's probably another scuffle in the town."

Finally we reached a pair of heavy oak doors that must have led to the throne room. As we approached, they were opened and in we strolled side by side. I felt a little funny walking beside him, since he was the king and I was just…little 'ol me, but he wanted me there at his side, and there at his side I would be. Entering the large room, we saw six guards holding a group of people in bounds. Three of them looked oddly familiar, but all I could see were their backsides, which were dressed in heavy riding cloaks. The first guard bowed when he saw Caspian and soon the others followed suit. The prisoners slowly turned to face us and I almost shouted for joy.

The first one I saw was Kate. I'm not sure why she was wearing a brown cloak, or where she got it, but I was so happy to see her! Then my eyes focused on Bud and Audra behind her, and I might have cried out. My friends were here…in Narnia! But then I saw the bruises and state of their attire. Why did they all look as if they'd been in a huge mud wrestling match? I ran forward and threw myself on Kate, and despite her injuries, she laughed.

"Cuz! What are you doing here!?!" I asked her, while looking at my other two friends, who were beaming at me brightly through the smudged dirt on their faces.

"Well, I guess you could say we followed you." At her speaking, the guard beside us held up his hand as if to strike her. Kate shrunk away, and I stared at the guard with wide eyes.

"What in the HELL do you think you're doing?" I asked, stepping in front of Kate to shield her.

The guard sneered as he looked me over. "Who in the hell do you think you are to step in my way?" His hand almost connected with my face when the tip of Caspian's sword met his cheek.

"Touch her, Tivoldo, and you will spend the rest of your days in your very own cell," his now dark and dangerous voice threatened. "It would do you well to read up on our history." The guard looked at him with nervous eyes and put his hands up, backing away slowly. Then Caspian looked at me, his fiery brown eyes instantly softening as he took my hand in his. "So you may know, this is the Lady Raine that you've all heard so much about. She is very dear to me and you will treat her as such. If any of you so much as lay a hand on her in any way, I will see to it that you don't touch anyone again."

I noticed how dark and harsh his voice became when he spoke to his guards. Was this why Cornelius had been so uneasy around him? Was this the new Caspian? After addressing his men, he turned back to me and placed a soft kiss on my hand. Then he looked at the other prisoners. "Release them. They are of no threat." The guards unbound my friends, and the older woman and young man were also unhanded. They, too, looked familiar. The boy caught me staring at him and turned to meet my gaze. Jesus, his eyes were green. I knew those eyes…

Caspian took Kate's hand and brushed a soft kiss on her knuckles in greeting. "I do not believe we've met, and you seem to be very dear to Raine. I am Caspian."

Kate's eyes widened when he said his name and she looked at me in question. I nodded, blushing lightly because I knew exactly what she was thinking. "So you're the man I've heard so much about," she laughed lightly before tilting her head forward in respect. "I'm Kate, Raine's cousin."

Caspian bowed his head to her, and looked up with glittering eyes. "I'll find out what you meant by that later, Kate. And welcome to Narnia." He then moved to Audra, who was nestled protectively in Bud's arms. They both had seen the exchange between Caspian and Kate and relaxed when they saw him coming their way. "You must also be Raine's friends. I am Caspian, king of the realm in which you now stand. Welcome to Narnia," he bowed his head slightly in greeting.

"Thanks. I'm Bud, and this is my wife, Audra. And yes, we're both friends of Raine," Bud answered stiffly, but politely. He was still on guard, but I think it was mostly because he saw the appreciative looks this king was getting from both Raine and Kate. Caspian then nodded to both of them and returned to my side to reclaim my hand. He tried to meet my gaze, but it was glued on the woman standing in the back of the group. Her eyes were glued to me as well and she looked almost afraid.

"Querida, what is it?" He asked curiously.

I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and stepped towards the woman. The minute she saw us walking towards her, she dropped to her knees and bowed to the floor. I knelt in front of her, wishing she wasn't bowing to me. "I feel like I know you, milady. Please, tell me your name." After being away from Narnia for seven years, all this renaissance speech still felt a little weird. I was slipping back into it pretty easily, though.

Slowly the woman sat up to look at me. Emerald green eyes looked at me from behind a face strained and stretched by old age. Wavy red hair framed her face and a few gray strands mixed amidst the pieces of red. First she looked at me in shock, but a slow smile appeared on her face. "Raine, it's me. Adeline."

I looked at her, tilting my head as I looked over her features. She did look like my Adeline, but time had been cruel to her. Vivid red hair, piercing green eyes, a gentle motherly voice…it was definitely my Adeline! I threw my arms around her, swaying from side to side as I hugged her. "Adeline! Oh my God, how have you been? I've missed you so much!" I pulled away and saw the young man standing to her side, who was looking at his feet sheepishly. He was tall with a slightly lighter complexion than his mother, with sandy hair and the same eyes…Neron. "Neron?" I asked. He looked up at me and grinned. "My God, you've grown…you're a young man now! Man," I pouted slightly, crossing my arms as I studied him, "and I missed it all."

Neron dropped to his knees and hugged me tightly. "We're glad you're back, Raine. You've no idea what His Majesty has been through since you left." I smiled weakly, trying my best to hide what I was really thinking. I looked at Caspian beside me, who was suddenly highly fascinated by the beading on his sleeve. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something small crawl into Adeline's arms. I turned to see a small dark-headed boy who most definitely wasn't of any relation to Adeline. He regarded me with big curious brown eyes.

"And who is this handsome young boy?" I turned to face the boy who, as he looked back up at me, was blushing furiously and attempting to bury himself in Adeline's cloak. Adeline smoothed the boy's hair back from his forehead with a smile.

"This is Blaidred, a good friend of ours. He's come to live with us for the past few years," she said as she rubbed his back lovingly. Even though he wasn't her son, I could see it in her eyes that she loved him as if he were. He couldn't have a better guardian, and not to mention a better brother than Neron. I was sure that Neron must have been pleased to have a little brother. Soon Adeline was being lifted to stand, and I turned to see Caspian lifting her up.

"Please, Adeline, don't stress your knees. Why don't we sit down for a meal together? It's been too long since we've done so, and I would much like to get to know our guests better," he said as he nodded his head politely to Kate, Bud, and Audra. He looked to me, taking my hand to pull me to my feet. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze as we led our friends out of the throne room and down the hall.

What a day this had turned out to be. I fell asleep, twice, in the arms of the man I loved and found out that my friends were in the same world. As we walked down the hall, I heard Neron joking with Bud about something that I couldn't quite make out and knew that those two, despite the minor age difference, would get along well. Adeline was talking with Kate and Audra and I could hear Audra giggling. Everything was perfect at the moment, and became even more perfect when Caspian put his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. He leaned down and kissed my temple softly. No words needed to be spoken. I could feel his love rolling off of him in waves, and his happiness was lighting the entire corridor.

This man, this king, was my Caspian.

A/N

There's a new chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it.

~Rhythmic5