A/N: Updating a little early because I'm going to the premiere for Fantastic Beasts tonight and I won't have time otherwise (it's like, before 8am where I am right now).

Enjoy!

Chapter 8:

"Next time I want to be optimistic, remind me of this moment!" Susan shouted over the raging of the storm. They'd been caught in this tempest for nigh on a fortnight, and everyone was bone tired. She was currently helping some of the men re-secure the cargo that had been stored on deck.

"Oh come on, a little water never killed anyone," Caspian shouted back. He was grinning, but his exhaustion was as obvious as that of everyone else.

"This isn't 'a little', this is a lot! And a lot of water actually has killed people before," she countered.

She could tell that he wanted to say something, but another wave crashed over the edge of the ship, pushing both of them off balance. Susan hit the deck hard, but quickly shook it off and got back to her feet. Another few bruises would hardly make a difference.

"You alright?" Caspian shouted, his hand on her arm. Susan nodded and grabbed the rope she'd been holding before, swiftly securing another barrel.

The men all rotated shifts so that no one was out in the storm too much, but all the monarchs on board had been somewhat stubborn in that regard. None more so than Caspian. "Maybe you should go rest," she shouted, her worried eyes squinting through the torrential rain to note his tired movements.

"I will when you do," he said stubbornly.

She regarded him for another moment, before nodding. "Fine, then let's go." They'd both already been at it for hours, and Susan was close to the end of her reserves.

He stilled, clearly surprised, but assented all the same. They made their way to the captain's quarters. Gael was as far down in the ship as she could go in order to combat her seasickness - less movement down there - while Lucy had just started a shift on deck, so the room was empty.

In there, it was almost deafeningly quiet after the roar of the storm outside. Susan shivered.

"You should get out of those wet clothes," Caspian said, though he made no move to leave.

Susan blushed. She must look a fright, and yet the way Caspian looked at her… it wasn't a look she'd often seen on a man's face. "So should you," she replied.

They were standing quite close together, and this time, Susan's shiver wasn't due to the cold.

She'd seen men look at her with lust in their eyes, calculating glances, or even disgusted ones, she'd seen some men regard her with friendship and nothing more, some with something akin to hero worship. Caspian… it was none of those, or maybe an amalgamation of some of them. She couldn't tell. His eyes… it wasn't a look she recognized.

"Caspian," she whispered.

They'd somehow moved closer together without her noticing. She could feel his breath on her face. "Susan," he breathed.

Her hand came up of its own accord, her fingertips resting lightly against his cold cheek. Caspian's hand - somehow warmer than her own - came to rest over hers, pressing it more closely against his skin. Under normal circumstances, Susan would have blushed, pulled her hand back and pretended none of this had happened. But she was so tired that she was having trouble remembering why she'd built up those walls around her heart in the first place.

They were so close. All she would have to do is stand on her tiptoes, move her hand to his neck and pull him down. God, she wanted to kiss him so badly.

"Su, you in there?" Edmund's voice shattered the moment, though neither Susan nor Caspian moved. "Drinian wants to have a meeting, so you'd better change into something dry and warm. I'll go find Caspian. Meet back here in five minutes!" Ed shouted through the door.

As they heard his footsteps retreat, Susan and Caspian remained frozen for a moment, before they jumped apart. Susan felt a little stab of regret. Damn Edmund's timing.

Nervously, she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"I should…" Caspian gestured over his shoulder at the door. He looked like he was going to say something else, but then shook his head minutely, deciding against it. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

And then he was gone. Susan sighed in frustration. She was really starting to hate being stuck on a ship. Living in such close quarters seemed only to have negative sides. She missed being able to go riding with one of the horses, going for a walk in the forest… sneaking into parts of the castle she probably shouldn't be in the middle of the night. When she was young, that had meant the kitchens or the orchards at night. Now, she imagined hiding from passing fauns as she stealthily made her way to Caspian's chambers…

She quickly shook her head. Thinking such things would not help her now. She swiftly changed into dry clothes - more of Caspian's shirts that now no longer smelled like him - and sat down at the table, fiddling with her locket. She was fairly sure she was still blushing when Ed knocked and walked in, but hoped he'd chalk it up to the cold of the storm still clinging to her cheeks.

Caspian, followed by Drinian, soon also came in. Susan made sure to look anywhere but at the King as he sat down on the bench beside Edmund.

"We need to make a decision," Drinian said, to the point as always. He came to stand at the table, opposite where Susan sat and pointed at the map. "So, we're stuck here. At half-rations, with food and water we can make it two more weeks at maximum. This is your last chance to turn back, your Majesties. There's no guarantee we'll spot the Blue Star anytime soon, not in this storm." He looked them all in the eye gravely. "It's a needle in a haystack, trying to find this Ramandy place. We could sail right past it and off the edge of the world."

"Or get eaten by a sea serpent," Edmund added unhelpfully. Susan sent him a dry look, letting him know she wasn't amused.

"I'm just saying," Drinian went on,"the men are getting nervous. These are strange seas we're sailing… the likes of which I've never seen before."

It was quiet in the cabin for a beat until Caspian slowly stood up. "Then perhaps you'd like to be the one to explain to Mr. Rhince that we're abandoning the search for his family," he said softly. But there was steel in his voice Susan had rarely heard.

Drinian bowed his head. "I'll get back to it."

But before the man had the chance to leave the room, Susan spoke. "Hold on. We have to think about this logically."

Caspian met her eyes. "I understand if you don't want to-"

"It's not that I'm not willing to risk my life for Narnia or for the possibility of finding the other lords or possibly even Aslan's country," she interrupted. "But as always, I have to be the logical one, because Aslan knows none of you will do it!" She snapped, a little annoyed at the men's refusal to think about all sides of this. "What do you think would happen should you die on this trip? If none of us come back?"

Caspian shook his head almost absently. "I've left my most trusted friends in charge, they'll take care of Narnia in my absence."

"That's what we thought, too," she said quietly, sadly. "When we woke up in England, we thought it wouldn't be that bad, because we knew Mr. Tumnus would take care of the country, as well as the Beavers and Oreius. And I'm sure it went fine at first." She turned away, her eyes finding the reliefs on the walls of the cabin. "But somewhere down the line, things got mucked up. The animals forgot how to speak, the Narnians were hunted to near extinction, and eventually, your uncle took the throne for himself." She let that sink in for a while, and sent Ed a sympathetic look when she noticed the haunted look on his face. Then, she turned back to Caspian. "You have no wife and no heir. Your death could tear Narnia apart just as it's found peace again. I love this land too much to bear seeing that happen again," she whispered.

Everyone looked shocked at her passionate outburst, but her eyes were solely on Caspian, pleading with him to understand the severity of his choice.

"I think…" he started carefully, "Narnia is stronger now. And I think you're underestimating us. I refuse to go into this thinking I'm going to die, and I believe that so long as we have faith, Aslan will look after us."

"Things never happen the same way twice, Su, that's what Aslan told us, remember?" Edmund added.

But Susan kept her eyes locked with the King. "I'll follow whatever decision you make," she said softly. "As long as you understand the implications behind it."

His eyes were soft, and Susan promptly forgot that anyone else was in the room with them. "I understand. But I believe we can succeed," he said softly.

Susan allowed herself to smile. "Than I shall stand by your side when we do."

For a moment, they kept their gazes locked, until Drinian cleared his throat. "As I said, I'll get back to it then," he said, before he strode out the door.

Edmund regarded them strangely for a moment, before he, too, stood up. "I've already had my rest, so I'll go back up, see if I can help."

"We'll take a rest," Caspian replied easily. Then, Edmund left the room, and they were alone once again.

"Lucy will be coming down soon to take a break as well, we should…" Susan trailed off, gesturing vaguelly to the door.

"Did you mean it?" Caspian asked suddenly. "When you said you'd stand by my side."

Susan paused and looked at him. Really, looked at him. He was a great king, and an even better man. She nodded. "For as long as I'm able."

There was the shadow cast by her impending departure - after all, Aslan wouldn't let them stay as long as they had the first time, so once this adventure was over… - but for now Susan could ignore that. She'd been taking Edmund's advice to heart, and she intended to continue to do so.

But for now, she truly was exhausted, so she led Caspian down into the hold, where they both promptly fell asleep in their hammocks, no stories necessary this time.

/*/

But while sleep did come easy that night, it was by no means restful. She wasn't quite sure what the subject had been, but when she woke with a start, she saw that she wasn't the only one. Caspian looked just as troubled, and little further off, Lucy stood beside Edmund's hammock, looking worried. The latter even had his sword drawn.

"I can't sleep," Lucy said in a small voice. It reminded Susan of how terribly young Lucy still was.

"Let me guess," Ed said, lowering his sword. "Bad dreams."

He looked around, and met everyone's eyes. "So either we're all going mad, or something is playing with our minds…"

Susan leaned back in her hammock, completely exhausted. Then she frowned. "Do you hear that?" she asked, swinging her legs over the side and sitting up.

"No, what is it?" Lucy asked, regaining some of her boldness.

"That's just it… it's quiet," Susan replied, looking at the ceiling as though she could peer through it and onto the upper deck.

Just then, a drenched Drinian walked in. "Good, you're all up," he said. "Storm's waning."

"Have you spotted the Blue Star?" Caspian asked immediately, getting out of his hammock.

Shaking his head, Drinian stepped inside fully. "We're keeping our eye out for it, but so far, no luck. Tavros has the helm. With your permission…"

"Of course, rest, Drinian, I'll return to the deck and handle things for a few hours."

The First Mate nodded gratefully, and headed to his hammock.

"Well, we might as well all get up," Susan said. None of them would be getting any more sleep. "Although, Lucy, perhaps you should check on Gael? Try and get some more sleep, maybe. You were up until just a few hours ago."

Lucy nodded sleepily. She looked exhausted, the poor thing. Though Susan doubted she looked any better.

It was as they climbed the stairs to the upper deck that they finally heard the call. "Land ho!"

A/N: Yeah, Susan's good feeling didn't really pan out, did it?

Anyway, let me know what you thought! We're only 5 chapters from the end!