Author's Note: As a few of you have mentioned... the end is near! =( Actually, I have already written the ending, but I'm not giving any hints. Stick with me! To you marvelous, marvelous followers and reviewers - both old and new - thank you a million.

The usual disclaimer: I don't own or have any rights to Narnia, Aslan, the Dawn Treader, or any of the not-so-merry voyagers. None.

And also, a new disclaimer: I have no intention of offending anyone; if anyone is offended then they should most definitely stop reading. Writing Narnia fan fiction of this nature is weird in the sense that the original Chronicles of Narnia hold religious meaning. Please do not come after me with pitchforks and torches, although I doubt anyone who has read this story to this point is the sort of person who would.

~Chapter 14~

Caspian

The Lion's abrupt departure left the two Kings alone once more and they looked at each other, twin expressions of grief shadowing their faces. Caspian's knees threatened to buckle and he lowered himself to the cushioned seat by the porthole. He felt disoriented, both by the sudden appearance and disappearance of Aslan and by the deluge of emotion that tore through him. Edmund – his dearest friend, his lover, his comforter and teacher – was going to be taken away. They had known it all along, but hearing it directly from the Lion's mouth seemed to solidify the certainty that they would soon be worlds apart.

Edmund joined Caspian on the window seat and wrapped his arms around the older boy, cradling him in a gesture full of love and sorrow. Caspian felt a single tear drop slide down his cheek and watched as it left a blotchy circle on the front of Edmund's shirt. The Just King lifted Caspian's head and kissed the moisture from his cheek.

"I wish that we could have had more time together," Edmund brushed Caspian's hair back from his face.

"I wish that we could have had forever together," Caspian replied softly, meaning it completely.

"Me too," Edmund kissed Caspian again, sweetly and sincerely.

"It's silly…" Caspian confessed, "But a part of me had hoped that maybe… maybe you would stay. You were in Narnia for years during the Golden Age. I had thought that there might be a way…"

Caspian tried to prevent images of a future that they would never have from flashing through his mind. Ruling Narnia side by side, living in Cair Paravel and growing old together. Edmund gazed sadly at him, as though he could see the montage that played in Caspian's head. Caspian felt his heart break for what felt like the millionth time in the last few days as they mourned the loss of a life that could never be.

"You will have a good life, Caspian, Aslan told you this. You have a responsibility to Narnia and your people. You will have a family… you will be happy." Caspian could hear pain infused in the younger King's voice.

"We could have been happy together..."

"But it's not to be," Edmund made a strangled sound in his throat, as if swallowing tears. "Aslan knows what he is doing, even if we cannot understand it. We will just have to trust that. He meant for us to be together, but only for a little while. We were brought together across the boundary of worlds, and being separated by that boundary will not stop me from loving you, Caspian."

"Nor I from loving you," Caspian vowed. He took both of Edmund's slender hands into his own and held them in his lap. The sunlight splashed through the window onto Edmund's pale face and Caspian tried to memorize every detail of it, from the smallest freckle and the tiniest eyelash to the bow of his lips and the way his hair curled over the shell of his ears. Edmund's sparkling, earth-toned eyes, Caspian knew, would forever be etched into his memory.

Edmund

The Dawn Treader crept slowly through the Great Eastern Ocean as Edmund climbed the stairs and nodded a greeting to the helmsman. The air was so still that they could have been in a desert just as soon as on the sea. The oars had been lowered and the rowing crew labored to keep the ship moving. Edmund thought back to Aslan telling them that their voyage was nearing its end and wondered how many more hardships would befall them before they reached that point or even before they reached Ramandu's Island. He glanced upwards at Eustace who was circling around the prow of the ship.

"He's getting tired again," Lucy came to rest beside her brother. "I think it's harder for him now that we're going at this pace. I wish we knew how to turn him back into a boy."

"I do too, Lu. But we're just going to have to wait and see what happens." Edmund sighed in a resigned manner and Lucy could tell that he, like her, was at the point of not knowing what else to do other than cling desperately to a faith that was constantly being tested.

"Yes, that's about all we can do. Aslan will set things right..." Lucy's thought trailed off and she examined her brother, who was not exhibiting any signs of attentiveness, but was looking down onto the deck. She followed his gaze and saw Drinian and Caspian conversing. The former appeared to be agitated, but the latter looked just as distracted as Edmund. "I suppose… I suppose we will have to leave sooner rather than later…"

Edmund brought his attention back to his sister and squinted down at her questioningly.

"I just meant that, well… maybe we could stay," she said wistfully, "Like the old days, in Cair Paravel, when we were younger. Or older. Well, you know."

The boy sighed again and looked down at the deck, a heart-wrenching shadow flitting across his face. "No, Lu. I don't think that we can. It's different this time."

The Valiant Queen tactfully turned her sapphire eyes out to the sea and gave her brother a moment to reign in his emotions. "I guess I don't really believe that we could, either…" She straightened and gave Edmund a sympathetic look. "Edmund, there are two things that not even Aslan can prevent us from taking back to our world. One of them is memories."

"And the other?"

"Love." Lucy patted her older brother on the shoulder and, being the unfailingly astute girl that she was, left him to his thoughts.

Edmund watched her as she descended the stairs and felt a rush of gratitude towards his youngest sibling. He had not always been the kindest of brothers to her in their younger days, and at times had been downright rotten. After their first adventure in Narnia, though, they had grown closer and she never failed to amaze him with her empathy and compassion. He would not, he knew, ever be able to tell Peter or Susan (especially Susan) about his love for Caspian or about the relationship that he had developed with the Telmarine, but Lucy just knew and she understood. Edmund hoped that Eustace might be even marginally as understanding, or at the very least find it in himself to keep his silence regarding matter once they were returned to England.

The Just King shook himself out of his contemplative state and stood to greet Caspian, who had finished his discussion with Drinian and was headed towards the younger man. Caspian stopped on the final step so that the two Kings were level and clapped Edmund on the shoulder in a friendly manner, but maintained a cordial distance. Edmund, however, leaned forward and kissed him lightly. A surprised smile pulled the corners of Caspian's mouth upwards and he cocked his head slightly, causing a lock of hair to fall across his face.

"We have been joined together by love and by the will of Aslan," Edmund whispered, tucking the wayward hair back behind Caspian's ear. "I am neither afraid nor ashamed."

Caspian beamed at the slighter man and they allowed themselves a brief interlude before turning their minds towards the business at hand.

"Drinian is starting to worry again," Caspian said, "And the crew's morale is waning. The Blue Star does not appear to be getting any closer and there is still no sign of Ramandu's Island – or any land at all. I know that we are close, but it is difficult to convince the men of it."

"I sort of figured as much," Edmund ran a hand through his hair so that it stuck up in several different directions. "What do you…" He stopped midsentence and the two men looked around the deck, seeking the source of an outcry.

A member of the crew, the same one who had expressed despair before, had yelled something about eating a dragon. Eustace's slightly smoking nostrils were flaring and he was flapping his vast, bat-like wings in a disturbed manner. To Edmund it appeared, though he couldn't be certain, that his cousin was less than amused by the comment. He watched in concern as Eustace wheeled around and a somewhat startled cry from Reepicheep reached the deck.

"If we don't find land by tonight," Drinian began as he climbed towards the two Kings, "They may well eat that…"

A shuddering jolt ran through the Dawn Treader and Drinian was pitched forwards before he could conclude his statement. Edmund and Caspian were both thrown onto their backs and thuds from below signified that bodies all over the ship had been hurled into various solid objects. The three men, like all good warriors, were scrambling to their feet almost as soon as they hit the deck.

"What did we hit?" Caspian gasped as he helped Drinian to his feet.

The crew lined the sides of the ship, craning their necks to see what had caused the disturbance. Edmund's mind ran wildly through the possibilities, starting with 'a rock?' and ending with 'a sea serpant!' The Just King caught hold of a rope and stretched himself as far as he dared out over the bulwark.

"Eustace!" He exclaimed excitedly, "That's brilliant!"

Eustace had wrapped his serpentine tail around the figurehead dragon's snout and was towing the Dawn Treader through the Great Eastern Ocean like a tugboat. As the crew cottoned on to what had happened, a cheer rose from the deck and applause broke out. Edmund watched powerful wings beating the still air and felt a wave of pride for his cousin.

He's not such a bad bloke, after all… Edmund mused. Maybe a new perspective is just what he needed.

Caspian

Eustace's stroke of genius rallied the crew's spirits and the rowers were given a rest a last. Despite their thirst and hunger and weariness, the voyagers were feeling slightly more optimistic and the overall attitude towards Eustace had been transformed. There was certainly no more talk of eating dragons. Lucy and Gael stood at the base of the forecastle shouting words of encouragement and praise and the men were leaning over the sides of the Dawn Treader like tourists from a bus. Caspian and Edmund retired to Caspian's cabin once more.

"Eustace may very well have saved us," Caspian remarked, resting his forearms on the railing of the balcony. "I would never have guessed it of him when we first pulled a hysterical brat out of the ocean." He paused and watched the wake of the Dawn Treader frothing the blue waters. "There is a lot that I did not expect when we brought you all on board..."

"That seems so long ago," Edmund squeezed the older boy's hand.

"What do you think we'll find on Ramandu's Island, Ed?" Caspian stood, encircling Edmund with one arm and resting his cheek against tousled black hair.

"There's no telling," Edmund shook his head and Caspian's head wobbled slightly with the motion. The younger boy toyed with the sleeve of his lover's shirt. "Aslan's Table is there, but we have yet to find the final four swords. Perhaps they will be there – maybe even the Lords Revilian, Mavramorn, Argoz, and Rhoop. At the very least, we're bound to find some answers."

"I hope so," Caspian strode towards the table in his cabin that held the three swords. He sat inspecting them all before lifting Lord Octesian's blade and tilting it so that it caught the light. "We can't be sure the other Lords even made it to Ramandu's Island."

Edmund draped himself over the back of the chair and nestled his chin onto Caspian's shoulder. He gently pushed the sword back to the table. "We shall know very soon. I have a feeling that everything is about to happen all at once. Let us enjoy the calm before the storm as much as it is possible to."

"You're right, my love," the older King twisted his head to kiss Edmund. He knew what his companion was really saying: this might be their last time alone together.

The couple lay back on the bed, Edmund's cheek resting against Caspian's chest. Caspian let his thumb trace small circles softly across the back of the pale hand that fit so perfectly into his own. They knew that talking about their circumstance would only cause more pain, so instead they purposefully kept the conversation on trivial topics. In the end, the two Kings lapsed into silence and let the harmony of their breathing and their synchronized heartbeats take the place of words.