A/n: Thank you so much, Artemis-hunt-goddess, Emily, QueenElenaofnarnia, EC, GoldenAgeNarnian, LOVEM, Narniafan, Connors, CairParavel, Alexa, lucythevaliant, elomeno, PeterCaspianRlz, Bella, Emma, Aslanmane, QueenLucyfan, and all the other guests! We have so much to look forward to this chapter! Enjoy! ;D


(Telmarine Castle, Narnia)

~Katrina's POV~

To my most beloved and cherished mistress,

I have a surprise for you. I trust it may make you smile, for nothing pleases me more than seeing the smile that graces your features. To see you smile is to feel the sun shine down warmly and softly upon me. Therefore I wish to request the pleasure and delight of your company tonight, if it pleases you, my Lady and my love, to grace thy humble King with your presence in my chambers at midnight.

Written with the hand that longs to hold yours,

Caspian X


~Chronicler's POV~

Before midnight, though, Princess Gilda found out about King Caspian keeping a mistress and she got so angry that she set fire to the castle and ate cookies while watching them burn – nope, not happening. Not a chance. She's not a psychopath. Caspian and Lady Katrina were not found out.

But, this time, Gilda did have something to hide from Caspian. And it concerned King Edmund. She still felt remorseful for lying to Edmund yesterday. She could sense that he was hurt. It just didn't feel right when he was upset, or hurt. And she wanted, she needed, to talk to him about it. To come clean about her feelings. When he suggested a chat in the privacy of the gardens since it was late at night, she agreed.

"I keep thinking when the last time that I'm walking in these gardens will be," Edmund said pessimistically.

"Don't say that," Gilda frowned. "It's like you're going to die or something. But are you just afraid that you'll suddenly be whisked back to your world like the last time?"

"It's not really that. I'm…leaving, Gilda. I'm leaving Narnia," Edmund said plainly.

"It's really not funny, Edmund," Gilda replied curtly.

"I know. It's not meant to be funny, because I'm being serious. I'm going to the Lone Islands, moving away from the mainland. Narnia can have four remaining rulers and still be just as strong. Plus, there's you as the future Queen," Edmund pointed out solemnly.

"What do you mean? You can't do that, Edmund. Narnia is your home! I know that the Lone Islands are a part of Narnia – or, at least they used to be, in spite of the social instability and turmoil that's apparently going on there – but…it's different. Cair Paravel was built for you, but are you not going to stay even so? Will nothing change your mind? It's a bad idea, I must say, leaving Narnia. Leaving…me," Gilda pleaded. The wind was blowing in her faces, causing her to squint. She realized how misty her eyes were as tears pooled in them.

"I never wanted to leave you," he admitted. He didn't mind that she was engaged. Just…not to his best friend.

"Then don't! Stay with me. Either in Narnia or in Archenland. At least we won't be…separated," Gilda hastily extended her ungloved hands to grasp Edmund's. He was obviously surprised by the gesture.

"I'm sorry, Gilda," Edmund continued. "I can't deal with this, seeing you in my life every day, but knowing we can't ever be together. You must stay in Narnia though. You have a duty to. You look beautiful in Narnian dresses, by the way, you know that? I don't believe anyone has ever said so to you. I mean, of course, plenty of courtiers do, I'll bet, but how many of them truly mean it?"

"Thank you, Edmund, truly. But I am a Princess of Archenland. No matter how I look in Narnian dresses, I will still be labelled and stereotyped as an Archenlander. I still feel foreign in this land, even though it's more welcoming than Tashbaan was," Gilda gulped. Tashbaan, or at least the current Tisroc's Court, was not a place she wanted to visit again, if she could help it.

"You'll have Narnian citizenship soon enough, when you get married," Edmund said poignantly. "Or maybe Caspian might decide to bestow some Narnian lands upon you so that the children you have with him could inherit the title."

"I know that. But…that's not important to me. I don't want to be in a place where I'm without you," Gilda replied.

"What am I to you?" Edmund questioned. Not ominously, just in despair.

Gilda sighed ruefully. "You are the person I refuse to walk away from, in spite of my engagement to another."

"Don't remind me," Edmund cringed.

"It hurts, you know?" Gilda raised her voice subconsciously. "I just want to be with you, but I can't. I know I shouldn't have to keep myself away from love, love that I undoubtedly need. You told me that, Edmund. I am a Princess but I feel like a slave. I am enslaved by a hopeless and loveless marriage, and it feels as if I'm suffocating." She was so frustrated she could almost cry. She wanted to be strong. She was a Princess, a future Queen. She didn't want to be weak. She mustn't be weak, actually. Weakness was not an option, and it most definitely could not be shown or be known to anyone.

"And do you ever stop to think that it hurts me too? I'm not saying you're being inconsiderate. It's just that…you've got to understand that it is deeply painful for me to know that the woman I love is the one person I can never have, the one person I could never walk away from. I just want to be with her, hold her hand, go ice skating with her, play chess with her, but I can't have any of that. Instead, I have to watch her be married off to someone else, and it doesn't matter that I'm the one who's really in love with her, because she's engaged to my best friend," Edmund balled his hands into fists. He was so hurt and upset and angry all at the same time. The worst thing was that there was nothing he could do about it.

Gilda felt a tingle. It was as if all sense and ration had left her in that moment. Edmund had basically admitted to her that he was in love with her. It strengthened her and gave her courage to pour her heart out to him. He was the one who had her heart, after all.

"Edmund," she sounded so certain, so sure of her feelings when she spoke. She was not afraid anymore. What was there to fear, apart from losing him? "Edmund, I am in love with you."

Edmund was speechless for a moment. Their hearts were racing. He looked as if he had wanted to say something to her, but he swallowed the words and, well, whatever he had wanted to say, now was not the time, because she had pressed her lips onto his.

He was taken aback. He most definitely did not see this coming. But he didn't care now. He kissed her back, relishing the feeling of holding her in his arms. If anybody were watching – thankfully nobody was – they would have said that the kiss was not a particularly long one, but it felt like eternity to the two of them. It tasted like the future they could never spend together as husband and wife.

She only broke apart to plead. She was a Princess; she was not supposed to plead. She was supposed to give royal decrees and edicts, and execute whoever dared to disobey her orders. Every man, woman and child in Archenland were supposed to follow her commands. But she could not command her heart. It belonged to Edmund, and she couldn't change a thing about it. And she didn't want to, either. She knew that Edmund was the one for her, even if she couldn't have him. And he knew that she was the one for him, even if he couldn't have her. The poignancy of their love had compelled her to allow the tears to fall from her eyes.

"Don't leave," she whispered. He caressed her face and looked into her eyes. She needed him; he knew it. He needed her too. He wanted desperately for her to be his. The more he reminded himself that she could not be his, the more he wanted her. What a twisted way the human mind worked in. He knew they were doomed from the start. He had admonished himself against falling for her, but his heart didn't listen. Because it was supposed to be the other way round. He was supposed to listen to his heart, not vice versa.

He didn't know what to say in response. His thoughts were just a mesh of loose threads and strands crisscrossing.

"We can be together," she said, her voice suddenly sounding more hopeful.

"I don't think so," he frowned in disagreement.

"No," she grasped his hand more tightly. "We can be together, Edmund."

"How?" He inquired.

"We can court in secret," she said in a small voice, but she sounded certain enough for him to really consider it.

"You're actually serious about this," he mumbled.

"Of course I'm serious," she moved her hand to stroke his cheek. "I'm not playing games. We'll court in secret, Edmund. Don't you want this? It's the only way we can be together. If you chuck it away, we'll never get another chance. Here is our only chance. We have to take it."

"I do want to be with you," he said in reassurance. "But I know of the strong animosity you feel toward Caspian's…infidelity. If he feels the same kind of contempt for us…I mean, I don't want my friendship with him gone."

"But we won't be found out. We'll keep it a secret, won't we?" She muttered.

"Even if we aren't as public as Caspian is with Katrina, how are you so sure we can keep it safe?" He said, distrait.

"We aren't safe, Edmund," she stated. "Safe choices don't always make us safe either. Love is the most dangerous subject, but we meddle with it. I've been playing safe my whole life. My parents warned me about plots and uprisings from discontent people, but they didn't warn me about the torment I'd have to suffer if I were to marry someone I did not love. They can't keep me safe from that, but I believe you can, by courting me. No one has to know about this."

"This can't go on forever," he said realistically. "You'll still have to marry Caspian someday soon, and we'll have to break up."

"Well then, we'll see if I'll tell him first that I can't marry him, or if he'll tell me first that he can't marry me, because of this other woman in his life," she replied skeptically.

He sighed before nodding. "To be honest, I'd rather have just a little while with you, than never at all."

"Give me two months' time, Edmund. I'm going to think about how I can tell Caspian that our engagement has to be dissolved. Then I can properly be with you," she negotiated. "We won't go public. We are as we appear: just friends."

He nodded happily in agreement this time. "I can fall in love with you a hundred times over in just two months' time."


It was midnight. Lady Katrina knocked on King Caspian's door very gently so as to not wake other people. She was let in right away. The candles in the room were dimmed, creating a romantic atmosphere.

"I'm glad you came," he said tenderly, tilting her chin and kissing her softly.

"There's no place I would rather be," she chuckled, stroking his chest then moving her hand up to the nape of his neck.

"Katrina, I want you to know that you are very special to me, and nobody can ever take your place in my heart," said Caspian with a serious tone. "As a token of my affection, I'd like you to have this," he conjured a small box that contained a pair of earrings. Presenting it to Katrina, she was astonished to see the pair of earrings in sterling silver with two round tanzanites.

"Caspian, this must have cost a fortune," she mumbled in disbelief.

"It's for you. If it makes you happy, it is worth whatever amount of payment," he said heartily.

She was just astounded, saying nothing in reply.

"B-but do you like it, Katrina? I hope you do," he said a little unsurely.

"Oh, I do, of course I do," she smiled reassuringly. "I will wear it often. Not now, because it's late at night, but…I assure you I will wear it whenever I can. It means a lot to me, this gift from my King. Your Majesty is always so generous to me. How should I thank you for your present?"

"Perhaps you could allow me to taste the sweetness of your kiss?" He said endearingly.

"Of course," she kissed him fervently and moved her hands up his biceps. He stroked her hair and kissed her back, immersing himself in the enjoyable feeling of her lips on his. She began to nibble his lower lip very tenderly.

"I spent all day waiting for a chance to kiss you," he muttered softly between kisses.

"Then kiss me," she replied coolly, holding his hand. He needed no further encouragement. He pressed her body close to his and smashed his lips onto hers once again. This time, his kisses were a little rougher and hungrier than before. Without prior warning, he had lifted her up, causing her to wrap her legs around his hip, kissing him harder. His hands moved to her back to support her weight, as her hands went to the nape of his neck. He fell back onto his bed. As a result, she was now straddling him. They broke apart for a brief moment and she took this chance to kiss his neck.

"Mistress," he growled. She seemed to chuckle seductively under her breath and blew softly on the spots on his neck where she left kisses. Lion's Mane, he was going to need a cold bath if she kept seducing him like that. Normally when it was this hour of the day, he would have been sound asleep after a busy day at council and in his office because of work. But now, he realized that sleep was just his second favorite activity in bed.

He decided that he couldn't stand it any longer. If he kept letting her kiss him like that, he was afraid that he might find himself undressing her urgently. He flipped her over and climbed on top of her, but yanking the strap of her nightgown off her shoulder in the process. She could feel his hardness press against her body. She whimpered, in pleasure, rhythmically to his kisses. The wonderful, gasping moans that escaped her lips as he kissed her jawline made his mind wander to what other wonders her mouth could work. And the more he thought about it, the more he wanted it. He knew he had to stop it before he let his imaginations run to wild, for before he knew it, it might be becoming reality. So he let her sit up and broke away from their kisses for a while.

She panted. "I think I would like it very much if that could happen more often."

"I think I would like it very much too," he replied, still absorbed and engrossed in the pleasure their make out session brought. "But it is late," he added considerately. "Perhaps another night."

"Yes," she nodded, rolling off the bed. Carefully pocketing her precious earrings, she gave him a final kiss goodnight before leaving his room and going back to hers.


~Ines' POV~

It was a cold night and I decided that my blanket wasn't enough. I needed an extra shawl, but I had left mine in the lounge. Should I be bothered to get up and collect it?

I made up my mind and went to fetch it in the end, and wrapped it around my body to keep myself warm, as I rubbed my hands together. Ah, how I wished I could have someone to cuddle with.

On my way back to my room, in the middle of the corridor, I saw a figure slipping out from one room and quickly slithering into another. I squinted and realized that it was my sister Katrina.

I frowned. Why would my sister be going from room to room in the middle of the night? As I got closer, I found out that it was King Caspian's room that Katrina had just exited. So what was up?

I decided that I had a lot of questions to ask my sister in the morning, especially the question of her virginity.


A/n:

Ah, another of Caspian's love letters. What do you think of the earrings and their make-out session? ;D (Nothing mature has happened just yet, but who knows, it might happen soon! Hehe.)

More importantly is Edmund and Gilda having their first kiss and then agreeing to court in secret, behind Caspian's back! Thoughts? ;)

Btw, something really, really bad is going to happen in the next chapter. :(