A/N: So, there was a break in at my house the other night, which made me kind of forget about this fic. I'm sorry, I said that I'd update this every other day, but life's been a bit... hectic. I think it might be better to update every day from now on, since there'll be less of a chance that I'll forget about it.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6:

The next day, land was sighted. It would still take them a while to reach a bay large enough in which to moor the ship, so Susan thought this might be a good opportunity to seek out Lucy and try to clear the air.

"Lucy, are you in here?" Susan called out as she knocked on the Captain's door.

"Come in!"

Susan pushed open the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind her. "Gael isn't here?" she asked. The little girl was usually glued to Lucy's side, but apart from Lucy, the room was empty.

The younger Queen looked up from where she'd been looking out the window. "Obviously," she said, but there was fewer annoyance in her tone than there had been in previous days, so Susan took that as progress.

"I came to find out what's happened," Susan explained, studying her sister's reaction intently.

Lucy tensed up, and kept her eyes on the window. "You're going to have to be a little more specific," she replied neutrally.

Deciding to get straight to the point, Susan took a step closer. "You're angry with me, and I'd like to know why."

"I'm not angry," Lucy denied, though she didn't sound very convincing.

Susan shot her sister a flat look.

"Alright, maybe I am, but it's nothing to do with you."

"Then why am I the only one you're so snippy with?" Susan asked, coming to stand beside her little sister.

"I am not snippy!" Lucy said defensively. "And it isn't anything to do with you."

Sighing, Susan leaned against the wall. "Well, I promised Ed I'd make more of an effort to be sociable. I take it Reep made you promise something similar?"

Lucy glared out the window. "Oh great, you'll be spending more time on deck, then?" she asked rhetorically, though she didn't seem happy about it.

Susan frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! I'm sure everyone will be thrilled that you'll be more approachable. I'm sure everyone will want to talk to you," she replied, confusing Susan even more. "After all, you're worth more than me," the younger Queen added, almost inaudibly.

"That's what you're upset about?" Susan exclaimed incredulously. "That they sold me for more money than you? Lucy, that's insane!"

Lucy finally turned to look at her sister, and Susan was taken aback at the anger she could see in her eyes. "Of course! I'm the insane one, you're the beautiful one! Everyone is always looking at you! You weren't even supposed to be here! It was supposed to be my time!"

Susan felt herself getting angry. "You think this is easy? Constantly being looked at like I'm an object to be possessed and lusted over, rather than being judged on my own merits? Yes, I use it to my advantage from time to time, but it is not an easy burden to bear!"

"Oh poor you, people think you're beautiful. Excuse me if I don't shed a tear!" Lucy shouted.

Well aware that she was blushing, Susan glared at her sister. "At least you know that when people look at you it's because of you, not how you look, or how you could advance their position. How many suitors came to Cair Paravel to seek my hand, expecting me to be a wilting flower to do their bidding! You think I have it easy? I would give the world to be you, Lucy."

This time, Lucy was taken aback. "What?" she said, her voice suddenly quiet.

Susan sighed and sat down, her anger draining out of her. "Even before all this, mother and father always expected me to be the proper little lady. Peter's a boy, so of course he was given liberties. But I had to be pretty and sit still and adhere to the rules and take care of the little ones. And then I became Queen, and those expectations were amplified hundredfold. How many times did I stay home to take care of the Kingdom and let you three go on your quests? The Gentle, indeed."

"Susan…" Lucy whispered.

But Susan wasn't ready to hear the platitudes Lucy was bound to say. Instead, she stared at the reliefs on the walls. "Sometimes I thought I might hate Aslan for giving me that title, you know. And then I envy you your unquestioning faith, your steadfastness and bravery, not to mention your kindness and willingness to give everyone a second chance." Finally, she turned to face the other girl. "You have such faith, Lucy. Trust me, that's worth a lot more than appearances."

Lucy opened her mouth, but didn't seem able to form any words. With nothing left, she reached out and hugged Susan close. That's when the elder Queen realized there were tears on her cheeks. Subtly, she wiped them away.

"I'd never thought of it that way before," Lucy muttered into her sister's hair.

Susan pulled back and managed a slight smile. "It's not all bad. I was… well, not exaggerating, but…" she trailed off, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. "I've had these frustrations for a while now, and they just all came out at once. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Lucy shook her head. "No! You should never be sorry for talking to me. All of us always come to you with our problems and you always listen. If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you, too, you know."

This time, her smile was more genuine. "Thanks, Lu. I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm the one who should be sorry anyway. I shouldn't have gotten angry with you."

Susan reached out and tucked some of her little sister's hair behind her ear. "Lucy, everyone has their problems. Yours aren't any more or less significant than mine. It's just important to keep in mind that someone else might be struggling with something too."

"Nobody's perfect?" Lucy summarized with a smile.

Susan nodded. "Least of all me." And then she sighed. This conversation had drained her. "Now, if you don't mind, I need some air," she said.

Lucy nodded and Susan took her leave. It was a testament to her distraction that it took her a moment or two after reaching the deck to notice the tension hanging in the air. She made her way over to the side of the deck and sat down on one of the barrels there when it struck her. The crew must have heard the argument.

"Small ship," Caspian said as he took a seat next to her.

Susan felt her cheeks heat up and hid her face in her hands. "I don't suppose you'd let me jump overboard and drown, would you?"

Caspian chuckled. "I'd be honour-bound to jump in after you. One can't simply let a damsel drown, now can one?"

Susan peaked between her fingers to glare at him, before emerging fully. "I thought we'd agreed that I'm anything but a damsel."

"A damsel in distress, perhaps, but apparently you are a suicidal one," he joked, referring to their conversation on the Lone Islands.

Feeling her cheeks heat up anew, Susan pressed her colder hands to them. "I was joking, and you know it," she defended weakly.

Caspian simply smiled at her, which did not help with the blush. "Seeing as how the shouting ended, I take it the argument was resolved?" he asked.

She was grateful he didn't ask for specifics. No doubt everyone had heard them shouting, but there was only a small chance that anyone had understood the words themselves. At least she had that.

"It was. Lucy and I have a hard time staying angry with one another for long. All we needed was a moment to vent out our frustrations," she explained.

"Good. Can't have dissension breaking out on my ship," he joked.

She gently bumped his shoulder with hers. "You won't. We'll be perfectly civilized from now on."

He kept smiling at her, and she couldn't help but return the gesture. Perhaps Edmund was right. She could do worse than live with memories such as these. "I am happy to be here, you know. In case you were wondering," she said, once again blushing at her own inelegance.

Caspian's smile got just a little wider. "Good. So am I."

Susan was sure she would have said something embarrassing, had Drinian not chosen that moment to interrupt. "Excuse the interruption, your majesties, but we're approaching a bay where I think we'll be able to moor the ship."

"Right," Caspian said, schooling his features. Susan looked down to hide her red cheeks. "We should spend the night ashore, give the men a chance at some fresh air and then scour the island in the morning. Get the longboats ready."

"Aye, your majesty."

About an hour later, Susan stepped foot on the sand, and sighed in relief. It would take a little bit to find her land legs again, but she was happy to be on solid ground regardless.

"We'll set up camp here on the beach. Drinian, set up a watch. One man should be enough."

"Aye, Sire," the First Mate replied, before he went off to organize the men.

Luckily, it didn't take long to set up, since all they needed in the mild climate was some bedrolls to lay down on. Susan put hers next to Lucy and Gael's. The two older girls had been sticking together since they boarded the longboats, partly to show the crew that all was well, and partly because they'd missed one another. Gael slept between the two girls, as she hadn't felt entirely comfortable, and her father had first watch.

As everyone lay down to get some sleep, Susan leafed through the book Lucy had brought ashore.

"Do you think we'll find them all?" Edmund asked in a whisper. He'd dragged his bedroll next to hers after Eustace had fallen asleep and started snoring.

"I don't know. I hope we'll at least find out their fate, for Caspian's sake," she replied quietly, looking over to where the King was talking to Drinian and Tavros. She'd gotten used to sharing stories with him before going to sleep, and found that she was just not tired now.

Edmund, perhaps noticing her distraction, just nodded. "Me too. Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep. Good night, Su."

"Night, Ed."

Susan tossed the book onto the corner of Lucy's bedroll and lay down, trying futilely to sleep. After about an hour, Susan sat up in frustration. Looking around, she could tell that everyone was already sound asleep. All but one, that is.

Caspian sat leaning against one of the large rocks that lay scattered across the beach, staring out over the water. Susan debated with herself for a moment, before deciding to go over there. It wouldn't do if neither of them got any sleep.

She approached quietly, but Caspian was as alert as ever, and turned his head to face her. "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked in a whisper.

She settled down next to him, her leg just touching his. "Hard to do when you've gotten used to exhausting yourself telling stories," she replied, matching his volume.

They smiled softly at one another in the dark, and Susan firmly pushed down any panic at how vulnerable she was letting herself be. It was like Edmund had said, she just had to evaluate the risk; was spending time with Caspian worth getting her heart broken after this was all over?

"So, will you tell me a story?" he asked, his dark eyes gleaming in the starlight.

"What kind of story would you like to hear?" she asked, allowing herself to smile and get comfortable leaning against his shoulder.

Judging from the way Caspian froze for a moment, before he lay his head on hers, she'd made the right decision. "Something with a happy ending," he replied resolutely.

They'd already covered most popular fairy tales, and Susan had started straying into literature. And she had just the story to tell. "A long time ago in a country far away from here lived a set of twins, named Viola and Sebastian," Susan started. "The siblings looked very much alike, something people loved to point out to the pair. One day, they made a journey across the sea, but were caught in a storm. Viola barely survived, but made it to land with the help of the captain. There was no sign of Sebastian."

"I thought this was supposed to be a happy story?" Caspian murmured.

Susan felt his chest rumble as he spoke, making her smile. "Be patient, the story isn't over yet."

"I beg your forgiveness, my Queen, please go on."

"That's better," she teased. Now where was she… "Right, so Viola makes it to the shore, but she has nothing, and no friends but the captain. Since she had no possessions or money, she asked the captain to look around for a job for her, but all he could find was the position of manservant to Duke Orsino. Viola decides that she has no other choice, and asks the captain to help her dress as a man to get the job."

"Why would she need to-"

"Oh, hush," Susan said, grinning too widely for it to be in any way harsh. "Just let me tell the story!"

"Right, I apologise."

"Now, the Duke has convinced himself that he is in love with Lady Olivia, who is in mourning for her late brother and father and refuses all entertainment or guests. The Duke sends Viola to woo her on his behalf."

"I don't think this is going to end well…" Caspian muttered.

This time, Susan just ignored him, enjoying the warmth he provided on the chilly beach. She continued to tell the story of Viola and Duke Orsino. It was the first love story she'd told him, as she'd shied away from them before. But now, she was feeling a little bolder. She didn't get to finish the story, though. Caspian fell asleep somewhere around the moment that Sebastian showed back up and Olivia asked him to marry her. Unwilling to move from her comfortable spot, Susan didn't think he'd mind if she waited a few more minutes before waking him up so they could both move to their bedrolls…

/*/

Something stirred against her, so Susan burrowed deeper into her pillow in order to get a few more minutes of sleep. Her pillow took a deep breath and tightened his arm around her.

Wait.

Slowly, Susan woke up. She remembered telling the story of Twelfth Night to Caspian and him falling asleep. She must have drifted off as well. Carefully, she cracked open one eye. Their position was… a little more intimate than usual.

Susan's legs were draped over Caspian's lap, her head rested on his shoulder and her left hand gripped the fabric of his shirt. She opened another eye and blinked against the sun, but didn't otherwise move. Caspian still leaned against the rock they'd been sitting by the previous night, which conveniently hid them from sight. His arm was slung over her hip, securing her in place. Carefully lifting her head to get a closer look, she saw that his head lay back against the boulder. It did not look particularly comfortable.

As slowly and carefully as she could, Susan shifted so that her legs were no longer slung over his lap. Next, she gingerly unwound her hand from his shirt. So far so good. Unfortunately, there was no way of moving his arm without waking him. Sighing softly, she knew there was no other way. She scooted a little further until their position wasn't quite so scandalous, and put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. "Caspian. Caspian, it's dawn," she whispered, unwilling to wake any of the others.

He frowned adorably and tried to pull her closer again, but Susan resisted. She carefully pushed off his arm, which woke him the rest of the way up. He squinted at her. "Morning," he rasped, and Susan couldn't contain a smile.

"Good morning," she replied, scooting a little further away still. She'd hoped he wouldn't notice in his sleep-addled state, but when he narrowed his eyes, she knew she'd failed.

Opening her mouth to utter an excuse, she happened to glance away. And then she noticed it. "Caspian, look," she said, all thoughts of their nightly intimacy forgotten as she scrambled to her feet.

Caspian copied her, following her gaze to the sand, where the light of the rising sun illuminated huge footprints. Immediately, the King and Queen were on their guard. Caspian made his way over to where Edmund was sleeping, while Susan went for her bow. Apparently, Caspian had slept with his scabbard next to him, so he was already in possession of his weapon.

"Ed, wake up," Caspian said, shaking his friend's shoulder.

Susan surveyed the camp, noting a lot more tracks. And then her eye fell on Lucy's bedroll. Lucy wasn't on it.

A/N: So, some nice Suspian in thus chapter. More to come in the next one! Please leave me a review and tell me what you think!