A/N: Welcome back to another chapter! I'm happy all of you still stick around, despite this story moving along slowly chapterwise. I love writing it, and I hope you all like reading it.

Now, read on!

Soundtracks (in order):

Across the Desert – James Newton Howard

Stand Together – James Newton Howard

The Tower – Ramin Djawadi


Dunes of golden sand stretched over the horizon for as far as the human eye could see, in every direction.

The company rode across the desert – the sun being their only guide through the desert land. A hue of golden sun went down past the sand, shading the sky a smooth violet. Scattered about was high, pointy rocks of brown. The song of the cicadas held the company awake as their mounts treaded tiredly along the sand.

Riding straight ahead, Caspian rode with Caine and Peter at his side, with Edmund, Susan and Rhea not too far behind in silence. The horses were sweaty, exhausted and dragged their feet tiredly across the sand, each step duller than the last. Their riders too, were tired, with aching joints and sore muscles from little sleep during the long journey.

The company estimated one last stop before they would reach Tashbaan, were they lucky.

Ahead, Caspian noticed tall structures; pillars, boulders and slabs of rocks, making up an old ruin. The eroded structures of the ruin were covered mostly in sand, but also in dry shrubs and cacti.

"Over there," Caspian called to his company as he rode over, Peter and Caine at his side.

He rode between two tall pillars, looking at the ancient carvings upon them as he rode past. He didn't have a single idea what they meant; he only knew they would give them some shelter for a couple of hours.

"Right – we'll rest here for a while; get some food and let the horses rest. We'll ride on soon enough," Caspian said as he turned his horse towards the others. They were all too exhausted to argue about it, not that they had much say in the matter anyways.

Turning his horse yet again, Caspian noticed Destrier sunk deeper into the sand in the middle of the ruin as he walked on. The horse skittered about and sunk to his knees. Caspian hurriedly jumped off his back and pulled the reins towards him, dragging the horse out of the fissure that had now appeared underneath the black stallion's hooves. The horse followed his master as well as he could as he pawed his way out of the still-sinking sand.

"Caspian!" Caine called as he trotted over as far as he dared. He fished up a rope.

"Stay back!" the King called back as he still tried to rescue his mount.

The company held their distance, the horses neighing in despair as the ground beneath them rumbled.

"Come on!" Caspian exclaimed with gritted teeth as he failed to get his horse out of the sinkhole. As the sand around him also started to sink, Destrier got footing along a ruin beneath his hooves and clambered up and away from the sinking sand.

Panting, Caspian gave Destrier's neck a pat as the animal shook and snorted sharply at the incident. The other's rode over to him as he held his shaking horse.

"You alright?" Edmund asked as he dismounted his gelding.

"Yeah, I'm fine," was his short reply.

However, the danger was not over yet. For as they were on their way to ride on, a rumble from the sinkhole captured the royals' attention. Stepping back, they all tried to calm their steeds.

Sand and parts of ruin and rock was hurled through the air as a humongous, black scorpion erupted from the sinkhole. The enormous arachnid clicked his pinchers, threating the company.

"A scorpioch!" Susan shouted as she withdrew her bow as her horse reared in fright.

Turning swiftly toward its prey, the scorpioch darted forward with pincers outstretched, ready to take them on. Caspian threw himself back upon Destrier's back as the horse panicked, and sat him off into a gallop towards the others. Halting swiftly as he reached them, Caspian shouted to them all:

"Scatter about! Confuse it! And whatever you do, don't get stung!" he called, and with that, the company set off in 4 different directions to confuse the overgrown critter.

The scorpioch swung its large, black stinger towards the ground, stabbing the sand just beside Susan's horse. Turning the horse sharply about in the opposite direction, she galloped by Rhea's side as they tried to escape the monster.

Swinging its stinger once again, the scorpioch flung it horizontally and tackled Rhea and Susan's horses. The mounts neighed in fright as they were tossed in the air. Susan and Rhea hit the sand forcefully and rolled across it for a moment before they managed to scramble up, bow, sword and mace at the ready. The Scorpioch buried its stinger into Rhea's horse, killing it immediately. Susan watched as her own mare ran off.

The scorpioch darted over in their direction, pinchers outstretched.

Susan readied her bow and fired a well-placed, red-tipped arrow into one of the many eyes of the giant scorpion. The creature screeched shrilly at the pain.

Rhea roared as she ran forward and slashed at the creature's front legs. The now angry scorpioch pinched towards her, but Rhea managed to block the crushing pincher aimed her way.

Doing a sharp turn, Rhea severed one of the legs off the giant creature in one smooth movement.

Galloping their way, Peter swung his harpoon over his head before throwing it over the scorpioch's shell-plated back, ensnaring its stinger. Pulling the harpoon back, the scorpioch stumbled on large legs.

Angered, the creature flailed its tail, throwing Peter off his horse and over its back. Hitting the sand forcefully, Peter groaned in pain. He couldn't get up.

"Peter!" Edmund shouted as he ran over to the scorpioch. The arachnid turned swiftly and aimed at the young man with its stinger. Dodging to the side, Edmund bore his sword over his head, and decapitated the venomous stinger in one strike. The creature shrieked as hobbled back. A second arrow whistled through the air and struck the giant scorpion's maw.

Caspian appeared in Susan's view as she prepared a third arrow. He ran towards the creature and turned it away from Peter's collapsed form on the sand. She fired it and watched as it struck its skull.

With a shout, Caspian hacked at its feet with his sword. Hissing, the creature swung its pincher towards his attacker, its many spikes cutting upwards. One of the spikes left a gash across Caspian's chest. He winched in pain. Distracted in that moment, the scorpioch had the advantage and grasped the Telmarine King with its pincher.

"Caspian!" Edmund shouted as he watched his best friend being hoisted into the air. The creature was on the verge of crushing the man in his grasp, right before an arrow pierced the pincher just in the locking point, crippling the scorpioch even further. Screeching, the arachnid threw Caspian through the air. The King was barely conscious when he hit the ground. His blood had soaked through clothing and was now trickling into the sand.

Caspian's pulse beat in his ears as he tried to stay awake. His vision turned black in vignette as he watched his family fight off the creature. Rhea and Edmund hacked at the creature's legs and maw, Susan shot arrow after arrow into the plated armour of the creature, trying to find a weak spot, and the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Caine hurling himself onto the creature's back as it was distracted and held on as it tried to throw him off.

Regaining his balance, Caine raised his sword, and bore it down into the creature's skull, slowly, yet finally killing it.

Caspian's world turned black.

. . .

Squawking macaws. Singing cicadas. A slight breeze. Leaves outside rustling in the wind.

That were the sounds Caspian heard as he slowly awoke and oriented himself.

It was warm. Hot. Cold. Moist. Cold once again.

He suddenly heard water trickling into a bowl right beside him.

He was in pain. His whole body ached. A burning sensation spread across his chest.

Groaning at the pain, Caspian heard someone shuffle in their seat beside him

"You're awake." A smooth, gentle voice caught his attention. He recognized that voice - he'd recognize that voice beyond worlds.

Slowly opening his eyes, Caspian blinked his vision clear.

He was lying on a bed on his back. He had far too many pillows, but he bet he would be in more pain without them. He was in a room with no windows and many pillars. He heard that trickle of water again coming from his left.

Shifting his blurry gaze, he saw a figure sitting beside him on a stool. A woman with raven black hair and pale skin, wearing a white dress.

Susan.

She wrung up a cloth over a bowl of water. The water was red with his blood.

She had a cut across her cheekbone and jaw from their previous battle with the giant arachnid. The marks of the bone-walker's bite still lingered on her neck and shoulder, as it probably always would. The dress she was wearing was of white linen and clung to her body. It was held together with a black leather belt around her waist, and the front of the dress was held up by a black neckchain that was locked and held together at the back of her neck. Her milky skin was revealed as far as up to her shoulders. Her wavy locks of hair were held together with loose braids.

Caspian swallowed hard. She gently dabbed the wet cloth at his remaining wounds.

Inevitably, she'd patched him up and taken care of his injuries.

The sting of the cloth sobered him up enough to remember what happened.

"You saved my life…" he said huskily, if not a bit unclearly. Without her arrow, he'd be crushed and definitely not where he was now.

"It's alright," she replied without looking at him. "This will sting," she warned him before dabbing over another gash. Caspian groaned silently as she cleaned him up. Well, she wasn't wrong.

"Peter? The others?" he croaked. Susan sat back on the stool to wring up the cloth once again. A wavy strand of her hair fell down her forehead.

"Peter's still resting, Cain and Rhea are with him. Edmund's making amends with the Tisroc," she replied, ever so gently.

"The Tisroc?"

"Yes. We made it to Tashbaan. We're in his Palace under his hospitality."

Caspian swallowed again.

"Here." Susan murmured as she helped him with a goblet of water.

"Thank you…" he replied after drinking generously.

He wanted to sit up. He was bare from his waist and up, wearing only briefs to his modesty.

Caspian strained to lift his torso but did not get far before Susan's hand stopped him. She pushed him back down against the bed.

"No. You'll mess up the stitches. You're lucky to be alive, Caspian." Susan's stern, but smooth voice said. He shot her a glare for mothering him. She copied his look, and he gave up. Damn her.

Caspian more or less enjoyed it as she mended and pampered his wounds, except for the less than merciful stinging.

He noticed she occasionally glanced quickly up towards his cut brow and eye. He knew it would be permanent, after she told him so. This wouldn't be the first time she had patched him up. It was their little ritual.

He would gladly be her shield for that very reason, if it meant she would be safe. Finishing her work in peaceful silence, she sat up straight on the stool by his bed.

"There. It will heal, but I can't promise there won't be any scars," she told him as she looked at him with an icy-blue gaze.

He shot her a smirk.

"My Queen, I'm scattered with scars, a few more to the numbers won't do any difference," he said with a small humorous chuckle under his breath. She rolled her eyes at him as she threw the cloth into the bowl, along with the gauze.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?" he said, repeating himself from that night a week ago. She looked at him briefly but didn't respond. She looked down, and away from him again.

Regretting he said that, he now really wanted to sit up.

Deciding not to quarrel with him once again, she instead helped him up so he wouldn't tear the stitches and bleed once again.

He could smell her aroma of lavender and jasmine. He had missed it.

He groaned as he sat up on the edge of the bed. He let out a huff as he hung with his head. Susan's hand still rested on his shoulder and arm against his feverish skin. She sat down beside him on the bed, watching as the streak of pain subsided from his face.

"Thank you," he huffed once again. He was usually fit like a well-bred horse, not this crippled. He cursed that monstrous arachnid.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

"Definitely."

After a long pause, she turned to him.

"Please, don't scare me like that again."

Surprised at her words, Caspian turned his head to face her. She was inches away. He sighed through his nose.

"You know I can't make that promise, if it means protecting you…" he replied huskily as he looked her in the eyes.

She sighed heavily at his words, those sincere words. Unconsciously, their foreheads touched, her hand still resting upon his arm. His hand rested on her knee over the soft fabric of the dress.

They stayed like that, for what seemed like a long time. A single tear fell down Susan's scarred cheekbone and fell onto Caspian's hand.

In that very moment, he knew she felt exactly the same. Nothing had changed between them. Her fears were still there, but he was willing to work for her - no matter what it would take. She was indeed the Queen of his heart.

"I'll always protect you…" he whispered as he squeezed her knee. A single silent sob shook through Susan's body as she rested against his forehead.

She wanted to say against that. She really did, but couldn't find the words to justify it. So, she said nothing.

She said nothing, and only felt.