The next day, Caspian went looking for Peter, Edmund, and Mr. Pevensie. He found them in the sparring fields.

"Good afternoon, Caspian."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Pevensie."

"Please, call me Frank."

"Alright then. I was wondering if I could have a word with you and Peter and Edmund for a moment."

"Of course. Peter! Edmund! Caspian wants to talk with us about something!"

Peter had a gut feeling what Caspian wanted to talk about.

"What's on your mind, Caspian?"

"Well, I feel in my position as king, I think I should tour every crack and crevice of Narnia. There are parts of this country I have not seen yet. And I have been meaning to ask Queen Susan if she would go riding with me, but I wanted to ask for your permission first."

Peter could only close his eyes and hang his head down, while Edmund and Mr. Pevensie were very intrigued.

"Well Caspian, I see no problems with going on a simple ride through the woods and such."

"I do!"

"Peter!"

Right then, Susan came walking up to the group. She had been listening the whole time.

"Good afternoon, your majesty."

"Good afternoon, Caspian. Peter, I agree with Da. There is nothing wrong with going on a simple horseback ride. We'll be on separate horses, and Caspian was considerate is asking for your permission. If I have nothing against it, nor should you."

"Susan, the last time you went horseback riding with a man other than your family, things happened."

"Peter, for your information, Rabadash and I never went horseback riding."

"Yeah, Peter, because the day we were going to, we found out how cruel Rabadash was and we decided to leave. We wouldn't let Rabadash have ANY alone time with Susan, not even a simple passing in the Tashbaan palace hallways. You know why? Because we couldn't trust him. Caspian we can trust, and you know this."

"Kayla, this truly isn't any of your business."

"The hell it ain't! Caspian is going to be my brother-in-law, mind you, and we're all family to begin with."

"Peter, my dear brother, you're the only one that has a problem with this, so if Caspian wishes for me to go riding with him and to show him all of Narnia, I will. And no, not to spite you, I do that on a daily basis to begin with. I want to go horseback riding with him, so I will."

"Thank you, your majesty."

Caspian and Susan walked off to the stables, leaving everyone else to argue.

"Peter, you are in the right to be protective of your sister."

"I don't see you being protective of Susan, Da."

"Actually young man, I am. Why do you think I have no problems with them going horseback riding. I've seen how Caspian behaves towards her. He has the utmost respect for her."

"He doesn't even address her by her name!"

"That's right, he doesn't. I've read the stories of her many suitors during the Golden Age, particularly Rabadash. They recognised her as a queen, yes, but how many of them saw her as a woman? It's because Caspian sees her as a woman AND a queen that he does not address her by her name. He is calm to her, respectful, and dare I say protective. Susan was never comfortable around boys unless they were her family, but she is comfortable around Caspian. She trusts him. She's seen how he has behaved toward her people, and for that, she thanks him."

"And if you haven't noticed, Peter, they both get flustered around each other."

"Of all of Susan's suitors, Caspian is the only one I accept. And he's not even her suitor. I also saw Rabadash first hand, Peter, and believe me, Caspian is nothing like him."

"I was the only one Rabdash was ever alone with. The first moment was when he asked me what I thought of Tashbaan, and the second time, was when he tortured me, and remember, he did all of the torture HIMSELF. And he did that, because I would not let him get close to Susan. So, Albanach Radhulbh Searlas óíó Caomhánach, or Peter William Pevensie, whichever you prefer, believe me when I say, you have nothing to worry about with Caspian. Absolutely nothing."

Susan and Caspian had already rode off through the citadel and over the bridge into the forest. They had no set destination yet.

"Well, Caspian. Where in Narnia do you want to visit first?"

"Professor Cornelius told me that the lamppost still stands. I would like to go see it."

"Good choice."

Even though Susan would definitely be glad to see the lamppost again, she had a fear deep down that she would stumble back through the wardrobe, even though she was home in Narnia to stay for good.

"Right down there where the rivers meet is where the Beaver's Dam and the White Witch's house was. Oh, the smell of Mrs. Beaver's fresh baked orange marmalade roll still hangs in my mind. I can still remember the look on Peter's face when he saw her pull it out of the oven right after he said he couldn't eat another thing."

"If being in this part of Narnia brings back sad memories, your majesty, we can head back to the citadel."

"No, no. It's alright. It's good to remember these little details that make Narnia my home. Not just because I was born here."

They continued riding on when they came to right around where Mr. Tumnus' cave was located. Susan stepped off of her horse, just to see if the cave was still there. And to her surprise, it was.

"His cave is still here. His cave is still here! Lucy will be so happy!"

"Who's cave is still here, your majesty?"

"Mr. Tumnus the faun!"

The cave had not been lived in since Mr. Tumnus had passed on, as he had no descendants. His grave was not far from the cave.

"Are you alright, your majesty?"

"Mr. Tumnus was the first Narnian Lucy met when she first stumbled into the wardrobe. And he was the one who told us the White Stag was in these woods, so the next day, we set out to hunt down the stag. Legend said if you could catch him, he would grant you your wishes. Kayla was the only one against hunting the White Stag. She knew something would happen. And something did."

Susan walked further on, she could see not far away the light of the lamppost. It still burned. She walked up to it and placed her hand on it, looking up at the eternal flame burning inside. Caspian walked up behind her.

"I have never seen a lamp like this in Narnia."

"That's because this style of lamppost isn't from this world. It's from mine. This is where Aslan created Narnia. When the White Witch was able to get into the other world, she ripped up a lamppost from a street in London, and brought it back here, and she tried to kill Aslan with it. But he stuck the metal bar of the lamppost into the ground, and a new one grew, with an eternal flame."

Susan continued walking, further on down, with her heartbeat growing faster and heavier every second. She was sure Caspian could hear the beat, and he was not the cause of it. She closed her eyes when she got to the spot where she remembered their voices started to change. She squeezed the fabric of her dress tight as she walked, fearing she would change back into her school uniform. She got as far as her heart and mind would let her walk, and she opened her eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright, your majesty? You had a look of worry your whole walk down here."

"I was just afraid I would stumble through the wardrobe again."

"No, your majesty. You're here to stay. You won't be going back to the other world. I heard Aslan say those words myself. I was right there with you all."

"Yes, you were. You're the only thing about us leaving I don't regret."

At the sound of those words coming from her mouth, Caspian stood there in shock. Was she admitting something to him?