Chapter 2:

Karen was lying on the bed; shaking her head side-to-side, and mumbling something under her breath. When Susan saw how sick her friend was, she opened the bedroom door, and began to speak with one of the guards. A few minutes later, the guard returned with a bowl of cold water, and a cloth.

"Thank you," Susan said, taking the bowl. The guard bowed, and left the room. Susan sat down on the edge of the bed, and wiped Karen's face with the damp cloth. "Peter," she said quietly. "You should get the baby out of here before she gets sick too." Peter gently picked up Lorelei, and took her out into the hallway.

A faun came up to Peter, and said, "Your Highness, do you want me to take the baby, so you can be with your wife? I'll let you know if anything is wrong with her." Peter reluctantly handed over his daughter, and slipped back into the room.

Camen was sitting on top of the stables when Lucy found him. In a matter of minutes, both were ready to leave for Archenland. Now, Lucy was pushing her horse to go fast across the lush Narnia countryside with Camen flying high above her. it took her three long hours to reach Archenland. Not once did she stop, make her quite sore.

People lined the street to see who their early morning visitor was. Prince Caspian rode up to Lucy, and greeted his friend warmly.

"Queen Lucy, what brings you here?" he asked.

"Grave news I'm afraid. My brother needs to come home, it's important."
"Lu?" Edmund said from behind Caspian. "Lucy, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?"
"Ed, could we lease talk in private? You need to come home right away. We need to hurry."

"Your Highnesses, my shop is not yet open, you may go there to talk instead of the castle if you are in such a hurry," a young man said. His wife nodded in agreement. Lucy, Edmund, and Caspian dismounted their horses, and followed the shopkeeper into his shop.

"Lucy, what's wrong. I can tell something's wrong. I see it in your eyes. Now, tell me what you're doing here," Edmund said. Lucy looked at her brother.

"It's Karen, she said quietly. "She had the baby yesterday, and now she's really sick. Peter sent me here with Camen to get you. We also need a nurse and a wet nurse."

Caspian said, "Edmund, Lucy, I understand that you want to get home, and I respect that, but Lucy you look exhausted. I will send two nurses to Cair Paravel right away. In the mean time, you will leave as soon as possible later today. After you get some rest. You cold be back home by tonight." Lucy chewed on her bottom lip, and agreed to the offer.

Karen's fever skyrocketed. Around noon, the nurses from Archenland arrived, along with a letter from Edmund. Peter spent the majority of the day sitting outside his room. Around four o'clock, a nurse came out and got him.

"Peter, Peter," Karen said in a weak, raspy voice. Peter sat down on the bed next to her. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, which she covered with her own. "Peter, I love you."

"Don't you dare start saying goodbye, Karen. You hear me? You're going to make it through this." Peter kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Peter. Don't you forget that." Before Karen could say anything else, she began coughing uncontrollably. The nurse rushed forward, and ushered Peter out of the room. He went down to Edmund's room, and promptly fell into a restless sleep on the bed.

Two hours later, Peter shot up in bed. He had had a terrible nightmare, but he couldn't remember what it had been about. He was too tired to put on a shirt, so he pulled on his cape over his bare chest before stepping over his discarded shirt, and going down to the throne room. The throne room would normally be pitch black at night, but the full moon cast a warm glow throughout the room. Peter sat down on his throne, and put his head in his hands.

"Peter?" a small voice said. Peter looked up, and found Lucy standing next to him. "How is she?"
"I talked to her briefly a few hours ago. It was almost like she was saying goodbye to me." He laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry, Lu, you've probably never seen your brother like this." Lucy pulled her brother into a comforting hug.
"You don't always have to be the strong one, Pete. It's okay to show your emotions. What about Aslan coming to help Karen. Can't he make her better?" she asked him hopefully.

"Lucy, nobody's seen Aslan in ages. We don't even know where he is. He could be in Archenland, the Islands in the Eastern Sea, or here. We simply don't now. If things get too horrible, he'll come."

Lucy kissed Peter's cheek, and said, "Don't stay up too late, you need your sleep." Peter smiled weakly. Leave it to Lucy to boss him around.

A week went by, and Karen only got worse. Three days after she got sick, she was in a complete state of delirium. Peter only left her side when Susan or Edmund dragged him out of the room, and forced him to sleep for a couple of hours. One night, Peter found himself back in the throne room. He sat down on his throne, and fell asleep.

Peter was walking through a forest. After walking for over an hour, he came to a clearing. In the center of the clearing was a young woman with auburn hair in a floor length white gown facing the other way. Slowly, the figure turned around. It was Karen! Karen ran to Peter, who caught her in his arms. As he swung her around, their lips met in a passionate kiss. Peter gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. Finally, both stopped for air. Peter looked over Karen's shoulder, and saw Aslan standing behind her, smiling.

Peter woke up with a start. God was he sore! He figured that it was his fault for falling asleep on his throne; not the most comfortable place.

"Peter?" Lucy called from the side door. Peter sat up more. "You in here?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm right here, Lu. What is it?" Lucy ran over to him, and pulled him to his feet. Peter was surprised at how strong his sister was.

"Come on, Peter! It's about Karen! Let's go!" In a flash, Peter took off running down the hall. Lucy stood in place, smiling. "I knew that that little bit of information would get him moving," she said to herself before taking off after her brother.

Peter bolted past the guards, and flew into his room. Sitting next to the bed was Susan, and Edmund was standing off to the side. Susan looked up the second Peter came into the room.

"Her fever's breaking," she said with a slight smile. "She's still unconscious though, and we don't know why." Susan stood up so her brother could sit down. Silently, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy left Peter and Karen alone.

Peter took Karen's hand, and began to stroke the back of it with his thumb. She did look better, that was for sure. Her face was slowly returning to its normal color. Peter leaned down, and kissed her forehead softly. Suddenly, he felt a slight pressure on his hand. Karen began to cough and sputter. She rolled over on her side, and continued to cough. Peter gently rubbed her back until she stopped. After about a minute, Karen rolled back onto her back with her eyes closed. She appeared to be having trouble breathing. Peter ran his fingers through her hair. Karen smiled, and leaned into his delicate touch.

"Karen, can you hear me?" he asked her softly. She nodded slightly.

"I can hear you perfectly fine, Peter. What happened? Is Lorelei alright? She asked in a raspy voice. Peter pressed his finger against her lips to get her calm down.

"You got really sick about a week ago. All of Narnia's been worried about you. We thought that you were going to die. You said goodbye to me the other day."

"I don't remember any of that." Karen began to cough some more. Peter helped her sit up, and rubbed her back again. When she finally stopped, she closed her eyes, and leaned up against Peter's chest. Peter buried his face in her hair, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are probably waiting outside to find out if you're alright. Should we let them in?" Karen stopped to think. She was exhausted, but she really wanted to see her friends.

"I guess for a few minutes, but I really want to see Lorelei."

"Karen, you're still sick," Peter said calmly. "We can't risk getting Lorelei sick too. You can see her in a few days once we're sure that you're better."

Peter heard the door open. He turned around, and saw Lucy sticking her head in the room. Her face immediately lit up when she saw Karen. She ran across the room, and jumped onto the bed.

"Careful, Lucy! Careful!" Peter said sternly. Lucy stopped bouncing, and threw her arms around Karen, careful not to squeeze too hard.

"We were so worried about you, Karen!" she exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"Lucy, why don't you go and tell Susan and Edmund that Karen's up, but she's really tires, so we'll see them in the morning?" Lucy nodded as she climbed off the bed and left.

As soon as Lucy left, Peter climbed into bed next to Karen. Karen closed her eyes, and cuddled closer to her husband. It felt great to Peter to feel her next to him again. Karen snaked her arms up around Peter's neck, and pressed her lips against his. Peter deepened the kiss as he rolled on top of her. He was thrilled that the love of his life was finally back.

As the week progressed, Karen only showed signs of improvement. A large celebration was planned in honor of the birth of Princess Lorelei, and in honor of Karen getting better.

"Well, I'm surprised that I'm down to my normal dress size so early," Karen said as peter finished buttoning up her gown. When he finished, he kissed the exposed skin on her shoulder.

"That's probably because you didn't eat anything while you were sick," he said. Karen turned around, and wrapped her arms around Peter's neck.

"True," she said simply before pulling Peter close to her. "I love you, Peter." Peter smiled, and kissed Karen passionately. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Peter pressed his forehead against Karen's, and sighed.

"We're coming!" he yelled as Karen picked up the sleeping Lorelei, and they left.

The End