Mm'kay, so we all know that the last chapter sucked, because Emmett—AKA, the guy Susan's falling in love with because I'm just that generous—decided to spy on Caspian and Lucy! Gasp! Anyway, I left it off in a cliff hanger, 'cause I'm a stinker like that. Oh, and if you're keeping track, there's only 13 chapters of Dear One after this! Don't worry, I'll post Choices soon after. Enjoy chapter 37!

EMMETT'S POV

"So remember, just get information about Narnia's army and defenses. But try to do so in a way it doesn't sound suspicious," Nain said.

Well I wasn't stupid. I didn't need to be told not to sound suspicious. The real problem was coming up with nonchalant questions about Narnia's army. When did that ever come up in a normal, everyday conversation? I'm pretty sure that would be never. I wish I could have voiced my thoughts to Nain, but he'd have my head for mouthing off.

I was back in Narnia after staying the night back at home in Archenland. I realized while I was there how much I didn't miss being harassed by the king, what with living in the castle and all. That was one of the problems with being the king's younger son. I was recognized and respected by my father, but not as much as my older brother because I wasn't heir to the throne.

Yes, that's right. I was a prince of Archenland as well as one of the captains. I knew since I wasn't to be the next king, the next highest rank I could get would be general. And I wasn't really king material anyway. I could see that when I looked at Caspian, and how well he ruled Narnia. He kept such a calm disposition when it came to dealing with complains during rough times. He was only 20, and had been ruling for only three years, but if you just looked at the way he responded to threats and rough decisions, you'd think he was older in years and had been ruling for 15 to 20 years. My brother would definitely make the better king. The only problem was that Nain was still only 52 years old, and far from dying. That is, until war or revolt took over and he was killed. But until then, Archenland was stuck with Nain as king.

"Lucy, don't be ridiculous. You look wonderful." I'd been wandering the halls of Cair Paravel, and realized I'd come close to Caspian and Lucy's room when Caspian's voice pulled me out of my trance.

"You're just saying that," Lucy argued. I walked closer to their voices, and saw Caspian standing outside the door, and Lucy's voice came from within.

"Really, Lulu, what's up with you lately?" Caspian scoffed good-naturedly. He leaned back against the doorjamb and noticed me for the first time. He smiled and gestured to the door, rolling his eyes.

"Nothing's up with me. This dress is ludicrous," Lucy insisted.

"You want someone else's opinion?" Caspian asked. A pause.

"Why? Who's out there?" I chuckled; she was good.

"Just come on out, Lu."

"No." He sighed.

"Please?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," I interrupted. "But may I speak with you?" I finally came up with a way to present the question of Narnia's army to the king.

"Oh, Emmett's there?" Lucy called, opening the door and finally coming out. "I thought you meant one of my brothers." The dress she wore didn't look ludicrous at all. In fact, if she wasn't married to the man standing in front of me and I wasn't in love with her sister, I might have tried to woo her. It was a crimson red with a corset-like bodice and long, loose sleeves. The skirt was long and loose, and a ribbon was tied into a bow on the back. Her long, red-brown curls framed her face, and her crown sat atop her head.

"Lucy, really, what's wrong with the dress?" Caspian asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I don't like the corset or the ribbon," Lucy grimaced. Her husband's laugh rang out and he kissed her lightly before turning back to me.

"I'm sorry, love, but Emmett wishes to speak with me. I'll meet you in the garden later?"

"Of course," the queen agreed, smiling at me. Caspian bent down and kissed her softly, his arm wrapping around her waist. I felt a little embarrassed being there, but it didn't seem to bother them. Even so, I turned my head away so I didn't feel as if I was intruding on their private moment. Caspian released his wife and turned back to me. I watched as the young queen walked out of sight down the hall before following the king to a study.

"What is it you need, Emmett?" Caspian asked once we were alone in his study.

"I went back to Archenland yesterday on request of King Nain." Caspian sighed at the mention of Nain's name, but I pretended not to notice and continued on. "He said he heard that Calormen was getting restless with the peace going on and wishes to start a war." The king perked up at that, eyes wide in surprise.

"Well, that's sudden. Though I have to admit it's very like Calormen," he said quietly, pacing back and forth with a thoughtful look on his face.

"The king wishes to know of Narnia's defensive line and if you need more men."

"Yes, well I have 2,000 men in the army as of right now. About 1,300 of those men are on my defensive line alone. The other 700 I reserve for specific duties." I nodded, feeling slightly weary. He had a slightly larger defensive line than Archenland did. I wondered what exactly Nain planned on doing about that. And what "specific reasons" did Caspian mean?

"All right, thank you, Sire. I shall inform King Nain of this and let you know if I need any more information."

"Of course, Emmett. Thank you for telling me about the Calormen problem." As I left the study and watched as the king walked down the hall in the direction of the garden, I couldn't help but feel a guilty sinking in my stomach. I set off to my temporary room in Cair to write a message to my father about what I'd learned. Only, I decided, I'll modify it a bit.

Oh no! Another cliff hanger! Aren't I a stinker? LOL, I know I just posted chapter 36, but I couldn't refrain from writing this. It's getting so interesting! Ahhh! The little review button is calling your name! Isn't it getting annoying? The only way to make it shut up is by clicking it! LOL! Please review; hope you're enjoying this despite my cliff hangers! Only 13 chapters! Oh no! Even I'm sad at the idea of finishing the series, but hey, it would have happened eventually. Review, review, review! Thanks!