Cassia waited anxiously in the harbor while the beautiful and majestic Dawn Treader slowly sailed closer and closer to the newly rebuilt castle at Cair Paravel. She could barely contain her excitement.

"Darling, moving around like that isn't going to bring the ship here any faster," her husband-to-be teased.

"It's taking too long," Cassia lamented. "What if something's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Just be patient."

After what felt like hours (though it was only a matter of minutes), the ship finally dropped anchor in the harbor and some of the crew members lowered the gangplank.

"Caspian!" Cassia called. She smiled broadly when her brother descended the gangplank and stepped onto the dock. Immediately, she swept him into a hug. "Thank Aslan you've returned safely!"

Caspian tightly hugged his sister. He'd already known how important Cassia was to him, but after the last months without her, he appreciated her presence in his life even more. "There were a few times I wasn't so sure we would."

Cassia quickly pulled back. "What do you mean? Did you find what you were looking for on your journey?"

"Yes. And much more."

"I want to know everything! As soon as I received word that you were in sight, I had the servants begin preparing for us to dine together. You can tell me the entire story over the evening meal."

"Cassia, there's something you should know now."

"Okay, what is it?"

"A few days after we left Cair Paravel, we received some unexpected visitors."

"Visitors?"

"Edmund, Eva, and Lucy appeared in the middle of the ocean."

Cassia smiled broadly. "They're back in Narnia?"

"They were. They were sent back home when we reached our final destination."

The young woman's eyes widened in horror. "What?! They were here, and I missed them?!"

"I'm sorry."

"That is the last time you go on a voyage without me."

"There's more. They weren't alone. Edmund and Lucy's cousin, Eustace, came with them. As did their housekeeper, Elizabeth. And, well…"

At that moment, Elizabeth began to descend the gangplank.

"Elizabeth stayed?" Cassia guessed as she looked at the young woman walking towards her.

"Yes."

"Is that my dress?"

"Well, I couldn't just leave her in wet clothes, could I?"

Elizabeth stepped onto the dock and smiled at Caspian.

"Elizabeth, I'd like to introduce you to my sister, Cassia, and her betrothed, Sir Drystan. Cassia, Drystan, this is Elizabeth."

Elizabeth looked at the woman before her, hoping she couldn't tell how nervous she was. Cassia was easily the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen in her life. She politely curtseyed. "It's a great honor to meet the both of you, Your Highness."

"You're from King Edmund, Queen Lucy, and Lady Eva's world?" Cassia asked.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you return with the others?"

Elizabeth blushed and smiled bashfully. "Well…it's a bit of a long story."

Cassia looked between Elizabeth and Caspian several times and then smiled knowingly. "I see. Drystan, would you mind helping Caspian and the others unload the ship and care for any other additional passengers? I'm going to prepare Elizabeth for our evening meal because I believe it is safe to assume she will be joining us."

Drystan turned to Caspian and gave him a small bow. "Tell me what you need me to do, Your Majesty."

Caspian smiled at him. "Drystan, we are to be brothers soon. How many times must I tell you to call me Caspian?"

"My apologies, Your Maj…Caspian."

Cassia excitedly took Elizabeth's hand. "Come, Elizabeth. I'll have the servants prepare a room for you right away."

Elizabeth slowly walked through the halls of the beautiful oceanside castle where Caspian lived. It was more gorgeous and elegant than she ever could've pictured. Coming from such a humble background, she still wasn't sure if she would be able to fit in here.

She was also nervous about being alone with Cassia. Caspian clearly thought the world of her and Elizabeth wanted to get along with her, but she was terribly afraid that she wouldn't. Or worse, Cassia wouldn't approve of her.

Cassia led her into one of the biggest rooms with a huge four-poster bed and a large armoire. "This is my room," Cassia told her. "You can get ready in here while the servants prepare yours."

"Get ready?" Elizabeth hesitantly asked.

"For our evening meal. You can't attend wearing that."

"Evening meal?"

"Are you just going to repeat everything I say?"

"No! I-I didn't mean…"

Cassia laughed. "I'm only teasing, Elizabeth. I know that this is probably all very overwhelming for you. Don't worry, the only other people who are going to be there are Drystan and Caspian. But you still want to look nice, don't you? Perhaps for someone specific?" Cassia smiled kindly. "The reason you didn't return to the other world was because you've fallen in love with my brother. Is that right?"

Elizabeth blushed again. "Technically, he fell in love with me first. And…that's only a part of it."

"Here, sit down in front of the mirror and tell me everything."

Elizabeth sat herself down at the princess's ornate white vanity and began to tell Cassia all that had happened in the last few months. She found that explaining what had happened to her in the past was much easier to talk about now than when she had told Caspian. It was still painful, but after confronting Martin and silencing his voice forever, the memories no longer caused her as much grief as they had before. It was also so much easier to talk to Cassia about everything because she was a woman and could understand her feelings on a level that Caspian never would.

Words spilled from her mouth faster than she could control them. She explained what she'd suffered in Martin and Diana's home, how she came to work at the Scrubb household, what she immediately saw in Eustace that no one else did, how she arrived in Narnia, and then she explained how she had found herself falling in love with Caspian the longer she stayed on the Dawn Treader and how he had helped her not only confront her past but also help her to love herself again.

The entire time she talked, Cassia gently curled her strawberry-blonde hair, pinned it up, and intertwined tiny jewels throughout it.

"I can see why my brother loves you," Cassia told her when she finished speaking. "I'm sorry to hear that you've endured such terrible difficulties in your world."

Elizabeth looked down at her hands. "I wish it hadn't happened to me. But it did. And it's taken me a lot of time, but now I'm ultimately stronger for it. And I suppose if there's any good that can come out of something like that, it led to me arriving here."

"And we all welcome you."

"…Even if I'm only a housekeeper?"

"You know, Drystan was originally a guard in the old castle who always sided with the Narnians even back when everyone else, including myself, was loyal to the Telmarines. A guard that I initially despised because of where his loyalties lay. And for some reason, he is about to marry me anyway. We don't care about where you come from or who you used to be or things like that here."

Elizabeth smiled. Now she could understand why Caspian had thought it so absurd for her to think that his feelings might change for her when he returned home. The royal household here was not like back in England. The people in the castle loved Elizabeth because Caspian loved her. No one cared about her station or where she came from. All they cared about was that she was a kind soul who would care for their beloved king.

"Now, since it seems that my clothes fit you, let's see if we can't find a dress for you to wear tonight," Cassia said as she moved to the armoire.

"I hope you don't mind me borrowing this while I was on the ship."

"Of course not." Cassia looked through the dresses in the armoire and then back at Elizabeth. "Hm…I think a nice deep green dress would help bring out that beautiful hair of yours." She carefully pulled out a long green ballgown. "What do you think?"

"It's gorgeous."

"I think so too."

She let Elizabeth undress and then helped her inside the large ballgown. The bodice of the dress was covered in a layer of intricate beaded lacing while the sleeves were made up of see-through green lace. The smooth and silky skirt just barely skimmed the floor, leaving her with enough room to walk without fear of tripping.

After she had put on the dress, Cassia applied very thin layers of makeup onto her eyes, cheeks, and lips.

"All finished," she finally smiled. "Come look."

Elizabeth stood up from the vanity and looked at herself in the gold-rimmed full-length mirror. Her breath caught in her throat as tears came to her eyes.

She had never looked more beautiful.

"Why did you do this for me?" she asked softly. "Don't you normally have servants who do this sort of thing for you?"

Cassia's eyes glimmered. "I suppose they could, but I much prefer doing it on my own. I've always enjoyed dressing people up to impress the ones they love. Lady Eva could confirm that for you. Five years ago, I helped her on the day she became a Lady of Narnia. The moment she walked into that ballroom to accept her title from the newly crowned king, you couldn't tear King Edmund's eyes away from her. This time, it's even better because I'm helping you impress my own brother."

"Thank you."

Cassia gently took her hands and turned her around so she was looking directly at her. "Elizabeth, after everything you've told me, there's one thing that you must keep in mind. I love my brother very much, but he is not perfect. No matter how much he loves you, there will come a day when he lets you down. Be sure not to put all of your hope in the wrong place."

Elizabeth looked away from her. "Right."

Cassia smiled gently. "I'm speaking to you as someone who put her hope in the wrong place for nearly twenty years. I'd rather you not follow in my footsteps. How much do you know of who I was before Caspian became king?"

"Everything that Lucy and Eva know."

"So you know that I willingly put my brother in harm's way every single day because of how blind I was."

"You didn't—"

"Do not make excuses for me because there are none. I put all of my hope in my uncle when I should've put my hope in the only one who has never let me down."

Elizabeth smiled. "Aslan?"

"Yes."

"I saw him twice during our journey. One of those times was in a dream, but I'm sure it was more than that. He's the one who told me that my memories make me a better and stronger person. Being next to him, even in a dream, was…"

"Indescribable?" Cassia finished.

"Exactly."

"I don't know all that the future holds for you here, but whatever happens, never lose hope in Aslan. Caspian will inevitably let you down one day, but Aslan never will."

"I feel that's easier said than done."

"That's what you have me and all the rest of the Narnians here for. You are officially one of us now."

Elizabeth's heart warmed fully at being accepted so openly by someone who had only known her for about two hours. "Now I understand why Caspian thinks so highly of you."

"Well…while I get ready, let me tell you my side of what happened."

Elizabeth patiently sat on Cassia's large bed while the woman relayed how she had come to blindly trust her evil uncle after her father died and nearly helped him lead all of Narnia to ruin. She appreciated how open and honest Cassia was about her failures as a princess, a sister, and a daughter. Hearing that she struggled under her uncle's twisted guidance for so long made her feel much more human and less like the perfect princess Caspian always painted her out to be.

As she talked, Cassia straightened her own thick black hair and tied half of it up. Then she slipped into a dark blue ballgown before putting faint traces of makeup on her face.

It only took a little less than an hour for Cassia to dress, but Elizabeth felt so comfortable with her that she would've been perfectly content to stay in this room and talk with Cassia all night. Even if Cassia was seven years older than her, Elizabeth had never had such a strong bond with another adult woman her entire life.

Right around the time Cassia got to the part of her story where Caspian was crowned king of Narnia, she stood up from the vanity looking the very picture of a storybook princess. "Well, as much as I'd love to continue this, we're expected in the dining hall."

"It's just Caspian and Drystan?"

"Yes. You'll have to learn the ways of the castle and how Caspian rules this land if you are to stay by his side, but we can worry about all that tomorrow. For now, let's just enjoy our beloveds' company."

Cassia led her out of the bedroom and down the many hallways in the castle. It was going to take forever for Elizabeth to figure out where everything was.

"Wait here," Cassia said at the top of the staircase. "I'll make sure everything is ready." She descended the steps, smiling when she saw Drystan at the bottom waiting for her.

Her husband-to-be smiled broadly at her and gently kissed her knuckles.

Caspian walked up to join them. "You are as stunning as ever, sister."

"Thank you," Cassia smiled. "Is everything prepared?"

"Yes."

Cassia turned and called up the stairs, "Elizabeth, you can come down now!"

Elizabeth took a deep breath, pleaded for Aslan to not let her make a fool of herself, and slowly descended the staircase.

Caspian turned around, and the feeling he'd experienced when he'd first seen Elizabeth on the deck of the Dawn Treader returned ten times stronger. He had always found Elizabeth stunningly beautiful, but looking at her now, he knew that he would never feel for anyone for the rest of his life what he felt for Elizabeth. His heart belonged solely to her and her alone and always would.

He reached out his hand for her when she came down the last step, and she nervously gave him her own.

Caspian tenderly reached down to kiss her knuckles which made her blush. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Elizabeth smiled.

Still holding onto her hand, Caspian escorted Elizabeth into the dining hall, and the four of them sat down to begin eating.

Servants brought out various dishes, and Elizabeth felt a little awkward since she was usually the one serving instead of being served.

However, it didn't take long for her to ease into conversation with Caspian, Cassia, and Drystan. She had been worried that eating dinner in such fancy dress with two other people she didn't know very well would be uncomfortable, but it ended up being the exact opposite. All three of them were easy to talk to even when they were all together as Caspian and Elizabeth shared more details of what they'd experienced while looking for the lost lords, occasionally disagreeing over something they remembered differently, much to Cassia and Drystan's amusement. Cassia was very envious that they'd had such an incredible adventure with the Pevensies while she'd been stuck back here, but she still enjoyed listening to the story and asked about a hundred questions.

They sat at the table well past the time the meal had concluded because no one was interested in ending the conversation.

At one point, Cassia softly asked one of the servants something that Elizabeth couldn't make out. The servant eagerly nodded and strutted away from the table.

After a couple more hours, Cassia finally told the others, "Well, as much as I hate to see this evening end, there's something I want to show you."

All of them stood up from the table and allowed Cassia to lead them to a ballroom near the dining hall. To their surprise, four instrumentalists had set up in the corner of the room and began playing two violins, a harp, and some sort of variation of a flute.

"I assume this was your idea," Caspian smirked in his sister's direction.

Cassia laughed and turned to Drystan. "Well?"

Drystan smiled and politely held out a hand. "Would my lady be so humble as to honor me with a dance?"

Cassia put her hand in his. "I would be more than delighted, sir."

The couple made their way to the center of the ballroom and began to slowly waltz around to the music.

"Elizabeth."

Elizabeth looked at Caspian to see his hand extended towards her.

"May I have the honor of dancing with you tonight?"

Elizabeth smiled for the hundredth time that night and allowed him to lead her into the ballroom.

Caspian placed his right hand onto the small of her back, which sent goosebumps all across her arms, and held her right hand with his left.

Though Elizabeth had very little prior dancing experience and definitely no knowledge of how to waltz, she still found that it was easy to let Caspian guide her around the ballroom. The music in the corner swelled and made them dance faster, but Caspian never missed a beat.

Caspian and Elizabeth looked deep into each other's eyes as they danced, neither of them needing to speak a single word, just like back on the ship.

If Elizabeth had been questioning her decision to stay in Narnia before, then this one moment would've convinced her that she had made the right choice. As much as she would greatly miss Lucy, Edmund, Eva, and Eustace, she couldn't imagine living the rest of her life in England without Caspian. His love and affection for her were pure and genuine and it made her truly see how beautiful and pure she was as well. Being with him like this, she could see herself the way that he saw her.

When the music slowed and came to a stop, both of them realized that at some point during their dance, Cassia and Drystan had left the ballroom.

Caspian nodded towards the musicians. "Another song, gentlemen, if you please?"

The four men smiled fondly at the couple and began to play another song that flowed beautifully all throughout the ballroom.

Caspian gently knelt his head down to kiss Elizabeth. "I love you," he whispered as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"I love you too, Caspian."

Elizabeth knew that the future wasn't going to be easy. But now, she was ready to face it because unlike before, she was no longer facing it alone.

With Caspian by her side and the knowledge that Aslan would always be there to help them, Elizabeth knew that she would be able to face anything.

She was kind.

She was strong.

She was beautiful.

And most importantly, she was loved. Not just by Caspian and his family, but by the true King of Narnia.

And at the end of the day, that was all that really mattered.

I previously thought about doing a few one-shots for The Silver Chair and The Last Battle, but I think that this is such a perfect place to stop that continuing on would only be a disservice.

Thank you so much to everyone who read this story. While I admit that it didn't have quite the reception I was hoping for, I have absolutely no regrets. The Chronicles of Narnia has always been so special to me and these three characters that I have created are just as special to me too. I can only hope that C.S. Lewis would've approved.

~fanwriter1245