Hey guys! I'm quite proud of this chapter! A got a new record! 2,761 words! XD In this chapter things get a little wild! I hope you'll like it! Love, Kate! :)

Chapter 14

Susan was away during all the afternoon and Peter grew a bit worried about her.
"Where could she be? She even missed lunch! She never misses lunch!" he walked up and down the room and Caspian and his siblings tried to calm him down.
"I checked her room and she took her horn with her, so if anything should happen to her, she'll call on us!" Lucy repeated for the fifth time.
"Yes, but she didn't take her bow and arrows! When she returns, I'm gonna kill her for worrying me so!"

"If she returns..!" Edmund joked but received two punches from the older boys and a death glare from his sister.
"Hey, it was only a joke!" he said as he rubbed his shoulder at the spot he got punched.
"Well, it wasn't funny!"
"Sorry, Cas! I forgot how… attached you got with her..!" he gave him a devilish smile and the dark-haired prince narrowed his eyes and pictured ways he could kill Edmund once Susan returned.
"If you ever find Eddie with an arrow through his empty head don't bother looking who the murderer is!" he said to Peter still looking at the Just King who hid his head under a pillow.
"Don't worry, Caspian. Maybe I'll be your partner!" Peter looked at Edmund as well.
"Oh, God! Now there's two of them! I'm out of here!" he pointed to the door and made his way to it.
"Bravo, Caspian! Here! High five!" he said triumphantly and lifted his hand in the air waiting for the prince to do the same. But the eighteen-year-old just stared at it perplexed not knowing what he was expected to do.
"Right, you're Telmarine."Peter mumbled and ran his hand through his golden hair.

"Hey, people, I'm back!" Susan opened the door excited. Peter walked furiously towards her and she had to run and hide behind Caspian, afraid that she came in the room the wrong moment.
"By the Lion's Mane, Peter! What did I do again?" She requested as they ran around a very amused Caspian.
"If you ever leave like that again, I swear I'm going to lock you up in your room for a whole month!" he threatened her, still not able to catch her.
"Whatever you say, daddy!" she laughed at him making him even more frustrated.
"Oh. Stop! One question." They both stopped dead on their tracks.
"Will you bring me food every day? And that fine narnian red wine? Because you know how thirsty I get at times." She continued mocking him.

This time Caspian had to protect the girl from her brother's hands.
"Whoa, whoa! Peter! Take it easy! She is just joking! The only thing that matters is that she came home safe, is it not?"

The Gentle Queen smiled gratefully at him. Peter relaxed his grip on her wrist he had managed to catch as the three of them were fighting.
"Well, I guess you're right.." he sat himself on a chair and tried his best to look grumpy.
"Peter, your trick is not going to work!" Susan said in a singing voice.
"What trick?" Caspian looked curiously at them.
"Well, whenever he wanted us to feel a little guilty about something he did that face. It only worked once on me but my siblings still fall for it." She explained.
"So not!" Lucy protested from the couch across the room. She was so absorbed drawing in her new notebook she hadn't been paying too much attention on them.
"I do not fall for this trick anymore! Ed does!"

"Anyway!" Peter decided to change the subject. "So where have you gone, Su?"
"Oh, well, I was.. Thinking.. You know, what Aslan told us."
"And?" The boys looked at her impatiently.
"I think I sort of sensed it all along that there was a secret about this place."

"Wait, Aslan talked to you? About what? Why didn't he tell me-?"
"Relax, Lu. He wished to have a private conversation with you this evening."
"Oh, alright. But can't you at least give me a clue about this talk?" she begged. She was the most curious one of the family.

They all shook their heads negatively.
"Oh come on! Please!" she looked at them with a puppy dog face but the trick didn't work. "Please, please, please?"
"Not gonna happen, Lu!" Peter sang playfully at an angry Lucy.
"Fine!" Lucy stormed out of the room.

Caspian looked worried, thinking he had insulted her.
"No, leave it. She always acts like that when she wants us to run after her but sometimes –like this one- she's faking it. So, don't bother." Susan caught him by the hand when he was about to run after the little Queen.
"Oh, ok." He sat down on the couch not realizing she was still holding his hand.

"Now, Caspian. When do you think it'd be more appropriate for us to attack your uncle?" Peter requested.
"Hmm.. Let me think."
"You know what? Think about it for a while and we're going to discuss all together with Ed and Lucy at dinner." Susan suggested.
"Deal." He smiled in agreement.

The prince looked her in the eyes that had bewitched him the moment he saw them. He then sensed something warm on his hand. He looked down, Susan following his gaze, and saw their hands. Susan tried to pull hers away but Caspian caught it with his free hand and smiled charmingly at her, making her blush. 'What is it about him that makes me so.. so.. so..' she couldn't exactly put it.
Little did she know, soon she would discover how quickly she'd started falling for him.

Peter was watching them curiously. It was quite clear they liked each other. Still, she was his little sister and he thought that no one was good enough for her.
He coughed a little making them look away from each other.
"If I'm not interrupting anything-"
"Interrupting? No you're not interrupting!"
"Is he interrupting?"
"No, he is not!"
"That's what I thought! He's not-!"
"Enough! I got the message! I'm not interrupting-!"
"No, you certainly are not!"
"Listen to her! She's right! You're not!"They started talking together once again and Peter got anxious.
"Alright!" he yelled and they both went silent.
"Finally! Don't you think we should go to the dining room? Dinner will be served soon." They opened their mouths to agree with his suggestion but afraid they would start talking again he raised his hand to silence them.
"Uh, uh! Not a word! Just… follow me!" he ordered and the three of them headed to the dining room.

"So, Caspian, have you thought about what I asked of you before?" Peter demanded once they finished their dinner, which was quite delicious by the way. Edmund was still rubbing his belly contentedly.
"Thought about what?" Lucy asked narrowing her blue eyes.
"Peter asked me when it would be more appropriate for us to attack Miraz." The prince answered to Lucy and then turned his full attention to Peter.
"And yes I did think about it. But you should know that attacking the Telmarine castle is quite a hard task. No one's ever taken that castle." he said in a warning tone.
"Well, there's always the first time." Peter replied, not quite moved by Caspian's warning."Sooner or later, Miraz will notice Narnia's uprising power. We have to strike them before they strike us."
"Certainly, there must be another way than attacking their castle. It's too dangerous!" Caspian insisted."What if I challenged him to a duel? Whoever wins shall take the Telmarine throne."
"A duel? Interesting idea. I could challenge him to a duel." Peter said pensively.
"No, not a duel against you. Against me." the prince said shyly.
"Caspian, it seems more logical to me a duel between two kings than between you and your uncle. Maybe you'll get emotional or something and-"

At that Caspian stood up from his chair.
"I would never spare Miraz!"he said through gritted teeth. "And not to seem rude, but I do believe I'm a bit more experienced in sword-fighting than you."
It was now Peter's turn to get angry at the prince standing opposite him.
"How dare you-!"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Susan's voice ordered."You're behaving like little children over some toy! Sit back down and let's discuss this properly."
"Maybe, tomorrow, Susan. Now, if I may be excused…" The prince bowed to them as he exited the room furiously.

"Well, that was nicely handled!" Susan scolded her older brother."You knew he's touchy on this subject, why did you-?"
"Why are you defending him Susan? He said he thinks I'm not handy with a sword!"
"No, he never said such thing and you know it! He merely pointed out that he's a little more experienced than you are!" Susan had now walked around the table and stood before her brother looking straight into his eyes.
"Maybe.. But I'm still the High King of Narnia! I should be the one challenging the Telmarine King not him!"
"What's in it for you Peter? Who exactly do you want to do this for?"she challenged him.
"I-I-I.."
"Exactly! You just want to be the center of attention as always! Just like when you got in these fights back in England! It is Caspian's right to fight for *his* throne and *his* pride! Just like when Jadis had almost killed Edmund, you wanted to take your revenge on Her, the same way he wants to take his on Miraz for killing his father and stealing his throne!"she finished and turned her heels towards the door.
"And you keep defending him and not your own brother! Why? Has love blurred your mind completely and you can't think properly?"

Susan stopped dead on her tracks. She tried to control her anger.
"I just believe that in this case he is right. You have no right to fight *his* duel or to lead the narnian army to a castle that, according to him, who has lived his eighteen years of life in there, is inexpugnable."
"And since when do you know what's right and what's not about the narnian army? You weren't the one fighting by their side nor were you there when your brother got injured by the witch!"
"You're right.. I was not.. I was with Lucy, witnessing Aslan's death, knowing that we could do nothing to save him. Yes, Peter, I was having such lovely time!" she mocked as tears of anger streamed down her face.
"I want you to think about everything you said and apologize to Caspian." She said calmly and left the room.

"You know she's right, don't you brother?" Edmund was heard from the other side of the table."They both are, actually."
"Thank you for supporting me Edmund.." he turned his back on him and made his way to the door that led to the gardens.
"But I thought you had it sorted.. as usual." Edmund replied coldly and turned his attention to his crying little sister. She hated it when her siblings had fights. They usually fought for the simplest of things but they would immediately make up and act as if nothing happened.
But this time it was different. She had never seen them having such a big fight. She wanted to find out that it was all a dream. That she would wake up and everything would be the way they used to. But she knew it was impossible.

Susan exited furiously the room, shutting fiercely the door behind her. She couldn't believe what Peter had told her and Caspian just moments ago. She had never seen him act so arrogantly. She didn't like at all fighting with him but she knew she had to defend her beliefs. After all, she was right! They all knew it!

Susan cried loudly not noticing she was being watched.
"Susan I'm sorry.. This is all my fault."Caspian approached her.
"No, it really isn't. Peter shouldn't have said all these things. I'm sure he'll come around and realize how foolish he was tonight." She tried to stop crying but it was quite impossible to her. But this time, the prince was a bit distant than usually and didn't even try to comfort her, much to her disappointment.

"Thank you for defending me. You shouldn't have. That's what got you in a fight with Peter."
"No, I had to! He had to listen! He keeps saying that I'm the logic of the family but he never listens to me!"
"Anyway, why don't you get some sleep? We'll talk about this tomorrow."
"Thanks for your concern but I can't sleep. Really why are you still here?"
"Oh, I waited for Peter so that we can discuss this alone but-"
"But you got me!"she tried to joke.

Caspian laughed a little for the first time that evening."Yes, not that I complain about it."
"You know I feel quite ashamed. It's the second time you see me cry in one day. What will you think of me!"
"Only the best!" he smiled at her and she felt a lot better.
She didn't know why but he had this effect on her. He made her feel better.

His smile almost disappeared from his beautiful features. Now she could see something like.. 'what is that?' she thought perplexed. She searched his eyes trying to figure out what he was feeling. 'Is it compassion?' but she had guessed wrong.

What the boy was actually feeling was something very rare and beautiful… love. He kept denying it but he knew he had feelings for the beautiful Gentle Queen. Without even thinking what he was doing, he lowered his head slightly and leaned in to kiss her. But a noise coming from across the corridor made him realize what he was about to do and he immediately distanced himself from the girl who now looked at him complicated.

"Queen Susan? Prince Caspian? What are you doing here?" an old man with a kind face looked at them puzzled.
"Nothing, Professor. We were just talking." Caspian hurried to reply."Susan, let me introduce to you Dr. Cornelious, my Professor. Professor, you know Queen Susan."
"Of course I do, my prince." he smiled kindly and offered his hand to the young Queen. "A pleasure, Your Majesty."
"The pleasure is all mine, Professor! And I see you are already familiar with the habits we had in our world!" she looked surprised.
"Well, Prince Caspian tells me everything you've-" but he received a light glare from the boy and he hurried to correct himself."Everything you and your siblings teach him."
"How lovely! From now on, you can come directly to me to teach everything you want to know about my world! And please call me 'Susan'! Caspian's friends are my friends as well!" she smiled kindly to the man.
"However, I must return to my chambers. I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow! Goodnight, Professor! Goodnight, Prince Caspian." She bowed to the two men and left.

"You still haven't told her, have you?"the old man asked the prince once the girl was out of sight.
"Told her what?"
"That you love her!"
"But I don't-!"
"Yes you do and you know it!"
"Look, once I get my throne back I'm never gonna see her again so it is better if I didn't do anything that would hurt her later!"
"So you admit it don't you?"
"Alright! I do! Satisfied?"
"No. You do what?"
"I-I-I … l-l-love her!" he whispered shyly.
"I'm sorry, I have a hearing problem. Can you speak a bit more loudly?"
"I love her! Was that loud enough for you?" he yelled and left frustrated.

The Professor sighed but didn't say anything. 'This boy has so much more to learn..'
Little did he know that someone had listened to their conversation.

Really guys, what does a girl have to do to get a review?