Author's Note:

Ahh, yes. Now I feel a lot better about this chapter. I hope all of you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. I thought it was time for some fluff, again too. Crank up the fluff!

All I can lay claim to are the characters and situations you don't recognize.

My Saving Raine

Chapter 14

Never Think

After ducking to pass through the tiny door chiseled into the tree's trunk, I almost stumbled as my foot dropped onto a series of steps leading down into a small living area. I looked around in awe at the small den that met my eyes. "Welcome, my dear, to our home," Trufflehunter welcomed me warmly. I walked forward to a small hearth, spreading my hands in front of me to feel the fire's warmth. I looked from side to side, allowing my eyes to explore the remainder of the small, but cozy room. It looked like any other living area, but scaled down to size to accommodate its wee inhabitants.

But when I saw Nikabrik hauling Caspian into a side room just off of the den, my mood changed from amazement to guard. I followed him, making sure he didn't do anything to hurt him. The dwarf plopped the prince down on a small bed-like sofa as if he were a bushel of wheat, brushing off his hands and clothing while eyeing him in disdain. Then he took a few steps to sit at a small round table. He caught sight of me and met my gaze, giving me the same hateful look he had given my prince. Oh…I mean…the prince.

"What are we going to do with her?"

Trufflehunter, who was standing beside me and tending to a kettle over the fire, turned to face him, tying an apron. "What do you mean 'what are we going to do with her'? She's a child, not a rabid wolf from the woods!" He huffed. "As much as I'm sure I'll regret asking this, what did you have in mind?" The badger covered his eyes with a paw, sighing as he waited to hear what his idiot friend would say.

Nikabrik pounded the table with his fist, making the small lamp in the center wobble. "Kill her! Right after we kill her little boyfriend over there," he motioned his head in Caspian's direction. My breath caught in my throat and I darted through the small door to Caspian's side, leaning myself over him as a shield.

The badger just sighed, rolling his eyes. "I knew I shouldn't have asked you to open your mouth. That's absolutely absurd. Now…where are those bandages?" he asked, fidgeting around in a chest drawer. "Ah! Never mind, I found them," and he carried a bandage, a pail of warm water, and a cloth over to where the prince was sprawled. I didn't move, still afraid that he would hurt him. "Please move, dear girl. I only wish to tend to his wounds." He held up the bandages to justify his demand. "I mean no harm…to either of you."

I just moved slowly, kneeling beside the sofa bed and taking one of Caspian's hands into mine, looking upon him sadly. It all happened so fast. I couldn't do anything to help. But the badger began cleaning his wounds, just as he had promised. I let myself relax as he did, putting enough trust into the badger to know he wouldn't hurt anyone that he was trying to heal. I combed my fingers through the prince's hair, reveling at how soft it was. His chest rose and fell slowly, but just enough to let me know he still lived. His forehead was drenched in sweat, and I could feel his exhaustion radiating from him. With a yawn I then realized how tired I was myself. I laid my head on the sofa bed beside Caspian, watching as Trufflehunter tended to him and refused to fall asleep until I knew he was well. After the kind badger finished wrapping a thick bandage around the prince's head, he looked to me and patted my head gently with a paw.

"My dear, please, let me offer you a place to rest your head. I cannot have a guest sleeping on this floor, even if I do slave over sweeping it all day long," he offered, surveying me with kind eyes. I couldn't do anything but trust him. I already knew he was a friend, and I was also too tired to protest.

"Well, if you're going to offer, I can't refuse," I yawned, lifting my head from where it lay beside Caspian. Then I heard a 'pop' 'click' and the sofa bed Caspian was lying on folded out from beneath into a full-size mattress. Trufflehunter approached me with a cushion for my head, and a folded quilt. Then I realized what was going on. He meant for me to share the bed Caspian was passed out on. I started blushing like crazy.

"I'm afraid this is all I can offer you," he told me as he set the cushion down beside the prince. "I would offer you my own bed, but I don't think it is large enough. At least here you will be comfortable."

Sitting on the edge of the makeshift bed, I gulped loudly. Beside me, the most beautiful creature I had ever seen slept soundly. And I was going to sleep beside him. Oh…my…God…what is he going to think when he wakes up!?!

"My dear?" Trufflehunter snapped me out of my thoughts. I just peered up at him, my vision blurring from my exhaustion. I tried to say something back, but instead I swayed, falling into the bed. The badger gently moved my head so that it rested upon the soft cushion. Then he lifted my legs and set them on the bed. I could feel him spreading the quilt over me, but I couldn't open my eyes. Not long after, I slipped off into a deep sleep that not even a freight train could have disturbed.

"Mother…father…no…."

My eyes opened slowly as I was being tugged away from my slumber. I took in the darkness of the room around me. Where the hell am I? All the memories from the escape came flooding back, and I remembered that I was sleeping in a treehouse…a real treehouse. I had been sleeping so well in the treehouse's cozy dwelling, so why was I awake?

"Father…mother…NO!"

I felt the bed jerk beneath me. The helpless cry shook me and I became more aware of my surroundings. Caspian. I rolled over and turned to look at the prince. He was laying on his back and thrashing from side to side, his face turned toward me. His hands were curled into tight fists, squeezing the mattress. The blanket Trufflehunter had given him was twisted about his body, and his hair was a tangled mess. His forehead was dripping in sweat, but something else was gathering in his thick eyelashes. Tears.

"No! no…please…wake up…mother…."

I couldn't take it anymore. I carefully cupped his cheek in my hand, caressing his face with my thumb. "Caspian."

"Please, mother…don't leave me…"

I took his shoulder, shaking him once to try to draw him from his nightmare. "Caspian, wake up."

"…Father!"

Hearing his helpless cries was killing me, and I didn't know how else to wake him. Being beyond desperate at this point, I took him into my arms. I laid my face inches from his so that our noses touched, and I laced my fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp gently and then dragging them to the ends of his tangled strands. "Caspian, wake up. You're safe, just wake up…please." Finally he ceased his rocking, and his breathing slowed. My heart panged as I watched a fat tear trail down his cheek and along his jaw. "You're safe, my prince. Don't fear. Just rest." I whispered to him.

I waited for him to open his eyes, but he didn't. His body was so tired that he didn't even wake when I tried to wake him from his nightmare. But he stopped sobbing, so I knew the nightmare was over, and that's all I could have asked for. Feeling his steady breathing, I tried to pull away so as to return to sleep myself. But just as I pulled away, he scooted closer, curling his arms around me and pulling me into his chest. I gasped and froze. Was he actually awake?

"Caspian?" I whispered his name into his ear. But I got nothing in response. Not even a twitch. His body was acting purely on instinct. He brought his face to lie inches from mine, and he nuzzled closer so that I could feel his cheek against mine. His soft breath feathered over my face, and I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. His body heat fanned over me, heating me from my fingertips to my toes. I sighed deeply, not knowing such contentment could exist. I tangled my arms through his, one going around his waist, and placing my other hand on his chest so I could feel his heart beating.

My own heart pounded happily just to know he could sleep peacefully. Hearing him cry out for his parents was heart breaking, and I wondered if the same dream haunted him often. I can't imagine what he must have been through, after seeing his parents die. Just thinking about it had warm tears rolling down my cheeks. My poor, poor Caspian, I thought, rubbing his cheek with my nose. His skin was unthinkably soft. For a battle-hardened warrior I didn't expect his skin to feel so silky. The next thing I did happened before my mind could process a thought…before I could even stop myself. I pressed my lips against his warm cheek, feathering them over the soft skin there.

Pulling back, I let my eyes travel over his face. There was a soft glow leaking through the door from the den, and it was playing lightly across his chest. But there was just enough to see the content smile on his lips, and the way his thick lashes fanned out over his skin beneath his eyelids. He was beautiful. He was kind. And this was getting to be much more than just a crush.

Caspian's POV

Soft light glowed through my eyelids, slowly forcing me to open them. The room was still cloaked in darkness, except for the golden light filtering through the cracked door from the den. I tried to lift my hand to block it out of my eyes, but found that I couldn't move it. Looking down, my heart jumped when I saw the sleeping beauty in my arms. The hand I had tried to lift was entwined with one of hers, and my other was on her waist, holding her to me closely. Her other hand was resting on my chest over my heart.

Her face was inches from my own upon the pillow, and I was amazed to see that she was even more breathtaking up close. Her dark lashes looked black against her creamy skin, and her full lips were the color of blooming roses after the morning dew. A piece of her hair was hanging over her eyes, and I wanted to touch it so badly. But I stopped breathing when I wondered how we had ended up like this. Oh lord, did I do this? I hope I didn't frighten her… he panicked, suddenly wondering if he should slide to the opposite side of the bed and pretend it hadn't happened. But as much as his mind wanted him to do it, he couldn't. His fingers couldn't untie themselves from hers.

As if finalizing his decision, her eyes opened slowly, inviting him to get lost in their clear depths. He expected her to gasp and scoot away, but she didn't. She only stared back. "Good morning, my prince," she said playfully, raising her hand from his chest and running a finger along his jaw.

Without even thinking, he blurted, "Good morning, my princess." And the instant he said that, he thought, Damn!

But she shocked him once again. Her eyes didn't widen in fright. She didn't back away from him and run. She just stared back at him, as if searching his eyes to see if he had truly meant to say it. Then she looked down, and her cheeks tinged pink.

I sighed, completely at a loss of what to say. What could I say? 'Sorry, Raine, I didn't mean to tell you exactly what I was thinking'? That would be admitting that I was completely and helplessly falling for her. And I couldn't say 'Sorry, Raine, I didn't mean it', either! Not only because it would be a lie, but what if she felt the same way I did? What if telling her that made her think I didn't have feelings for her, and she cut her feelings off entirely? I honestly didn't know what to say.

I just watched her, scared to death of what she would say next. Did she just think that calling her 'my princess' was only intended as playful banter? Or did she know that I had meant it. And what did the blush mean? Was it a combination of being flattered and surprised? Or the combination of being surprised and embarrassed? Oh, this was just a mess.

"Caspian?" she asked timidly.

Once again, her face was a perfect mask, not letting me see at all what she was feeling. "Yes?"

"You didn't mean that, did you." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

I looked back at her. What could I say without saying too much? "What would you say if I said I did?"

She gave a small smile, but then looked at me sadly. "I would remind you that you are a crowned prince. I would remind you of your responsibility as a prince, and that wasting your time on a common girl like me isn't wise."

"You're hardly common, Raine. Just because you aren't the daughter of a king doesn't make you a common peasant," I said just as softly, not breaking my gaze from hers. But mine was much more determined than hers.

She smiled back at me weakly, and I could tell she wasn't convinced. "It's okay, Caspian. I know that it's been nice to have a friend close to your age. I know how nice it can be to finally have someone who you can actually see eye to eye with," she breathed, "But you don't have to make yourself believe that I'm anything more to you than that…a friend."

Did she honestly think that's all she was? "Raine-," I tried to say, but she kept going.

"You're meant to marry a princess, or at least someone of noble blood. Caspian, I am neither," she said sadly, looking away. "And since I'm not an option, it wouldn't be worth wasting your time and feelings on me.

That hurt. "Raine, listen to me," I demanded. That got her attention and she looked back at me. "Don't you even think for one moment that you aren't worth my time, and you can't possibly know anything of my feelings. What you just said only proves that you are," I spoke in a softer voice, cupping her cheek with my hand. "The law requires me to marry a noble, but it says nothing of who I can love." …Aaaand I've just said too much.

A silence fell upon us, and we both looked away from each other. Finally she was able to speak. "It's only been a week." Her voice didn't carry a hint of sadness or rejection. She only sounded contemplative.

"I know," I pondered out loud. "Yet I feel like I've known you for years."

"Yea," she said, the sadness seeping back in.

I couldn't bear to see her sad any longer. "Raine?"

"Hmm?"

I gulped at the trust I saw in her eyes. "Can I ask you to do something for me?"

"Anything, Caspian."

I took a breath. "Don't think about what we are. I am a prince by birth. But with you I feel like a man. All my life I have been a shielded prince, never allowed to enjoy life's pleasures," I breathed again, shakily. "Please don't deny me the pleasure of loving you."

And then I did something that I had been dying to do, but had been too afraid to. I kissed her, slowly and gently, so as to not frighten her away. I shivered at the feel of her warm, feathery lips against mine. I held her in my arms, waiting and hoping she would kiss me back. And she did. Finally, something snapped inside of me. Every restraint I had ever placed on my senses, every wall I had built up around my desires, every dream I had ever been forced to deny myself…had broken. I breathed, releasing it all into the kiss, feeling tingling all over my body as I was finally free. She gasped in my mouth, her hand landing on my neck to pull me closer. I smiled into the kiss as my heart fluttered. I felt as if I would burst with happiness at any moment. Nothing could take this away from me. Nothing.

I was no longer a sheltered, battered prince. I was no longer a prisoner in my own palace. I was a man. More than that, I was a man in love. And the woman I loved was in my arms, finally letting me show her how much I did.

And there you go. Have a great weekend, everybody.

~Rhythmic5