Susan woke up with a start and tried to find her bearings in the darkness. Her body had expected bright sunshine to stream into her room, the way her mornings started in her London flat. This room was, however, shrouded in absolute darkness. A dawning realization occurred to her. Darn it all! She had fallen asleep after all.

'Susan?'

Susan jumped at this unfamiliar voice whispering her name affectionately, as though he knew her. She shivered, for her name sounded like a loving caress in his voice and that...accent.

'Are you cold?' he asked her.

She shook her head, and then it occurred to her that he can't see her, and her him. 'Who are you?' she rasped. Blushing, she cleared her throat.

'You must rest your voice,' the man advised her. 'The doctor said you swallowed too much salt water.'

She waved away his concern dismissively. 'Who are you? Light the lamps so I can see you.' She knew perfectly well who this unknown man was, but she had to see him with her own eyes.

The man paused as if unsure how to proceed, and then began lighting the lamps in the room. When he was finished, she noticed him standing silently at the fireplace with his back to her. She examined the plain tunic he wore and the worn trousers. His hair was dark and the glow from the lamp brought out the rich brown tones. He had grown so tall, she wondered longingly. Her hands itched to stroke his hair, to see if it would feel the same under her fingers after all these years.

It was too difficult to say his name. The name that brought her pain in the days after she returned to England. The name and the face that haunted her at nights, that caused her to withdraw into herself, that made her refuse the attentions of other men as she grew up. That name that her siblings had been so careful not to utter around her, despite her insistence that she had forgotten him.

'Caspian?' she whispered.

Caspian immediately turned around at the sound of her voice calling his name. A strange surge of energy flowed through his body and he fought to compose himself. Although he wanted to shout at the beams of the castle, announce to the world that she still remembered him even after all that time, this moment called for solemnity. The King of Narnia quickly adopted a grave expression as watched her carefully for her reaction.

'Yes?' he murmured.

Her eyes are so blue, he wondered. Susan had changed since he last saw her as a young girl. She'd grown, now a tall, slender and undeniably beautiful young woman. Her hair was longer and seemed even darker, bringing out her lovely porcelain skin. All the flowers in the bedroom, no, all the flowers in Narnia, could not compare to the beauty of the woman before him.

'Why are you staring at me like that?' she asked him bluntly and he blushed at being caught.

'I…'He swallowed nervously. 'You…you've- You look different.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Different in a good way,' he amended hastily.

She smiled. 'You do, too.' He did indeed. Caspian was still as handsome as she'd remembered him, maybe even more, for her memories had become imprecise as the time went by. Now, he had a different, rough quality to him, that of a seasoned warrior. His dark brown eyes held a cunning intelligence she attributed to his kingly status and, she noted with pleasure, genuine concern for her.

'You remember me?' His eyes widened with shock, as he had not completely absorbed the idea that this woman would still remember him. She smiled and he melted. Her smile, he thought, her beautiful smile is my downfall. 'Of-of course, you remember me,' he stammered. 'I wasn't implying that I am so unforgettable, Your Majesty, but you remembered my name and called me earlier so of course, I should have…known that you'd remember. If you remembered my name,' he finished pathetically.

'Of course. I remember you, King Caspian,' she replied softly. 'How can I not?' How could she not? She cleared her throat nervously when he held her stare for far too long that it almost crossed this side of impropriety. 'Lucy told me you saved me,' she said, looking down at the lace on the blanket. 'Is this…are we in your castle?'

Caspian shook his head, rousing himself from her blue-eyed spell. 'In my castle,' he repeated foolishly. 'Yes. Yes, we are, Your Majesty.' He blushed, thinking he sounded too arrogant with this proclamation of his ownership. 'Your siblings have settled into rooms near yours, so you need not worry about being too far from them.'

'Yes, they came to see me earlier.'

'They wanted to come and visit you again, but I managed to distract them with my newly restored armory.' He smiled fondly at the memory and Susan found herself openly staring at the slight dip in his chin. 'Lucy seemed particularly keen on my collection of daggers.'

She looked up at him, frowning. 'Why did you have to distract them?'

Caspian blushed at his slip of the tongue and Susan had to bite her lip from smiling at the delicate flush that bloomed under his tanned skin. 'Well, I knew they itched to practice some sword fighting,' he rambled, 'and the dwarves had fashioned some new swords and armors for my men, and we've developed some interesting new defense tactics and I…I…' He rubbed the back of his neck, speaking to his shoes now. 'I…hoped to talk to you the moment you woke up.'

Susan's stomach chose that perfect moment to rumble rather loudly and she fixed a horrified look on him. 'I'm so sorry!' she whispered, embarrassed. 'I didn't- I ate before! Lucy brought me soup and bread and-' Why am I telling him all this?

He laughed uproariously and it occurred to her that she hadn't ever seen him laugh like this, like he had no worries in the world, when she was last here. 'Your Majesty was unconscious for two days. I'd be worried if you weren't hungry. Dinner will be served soon. Would you like me to send a tray up to you?'

'No!' She didn't like the idea of eating alone. 'Could we- I'd like to go down for dinner.'

He nodded. 'Alright. I expect Lucy is itching to talk to you again. I will see you at dinner, Your Majesty.' He hesitated on his feet, wondering if kissing her hand before he departed was too forward. He settled for a stiff bow, much to her disappointment, before closing the door behind him.

Susan collapsed onto the bed, covering her face with her hands in mortification.

'No!' she groaned.

She was perfectly certain that he'd been about to tell her something…something important. She had to go and ruin the moment with her embarrassing stomach.

A horrible thought crossed her mind and she sat up, ignoring the slight nausea. What if- What if he'd been about to tell her that he had someone now? What if he'd been about to tell her he was engaged or married? Lucy had mentioned someone when she and Edmund came to see her in London, after they'd returned from their last journey to Narnia. A lady, some star or whatnot, and Lucy had been hinting delicately that Caspian seemed quite taken with her. Her family was worried that she didn't want to settle with any of the men who met her father to seek her hand and Lucy wanted her to forget Caspian. What if he was married to that star?

'A bloody star, for God's sake!' she buried her face in the pillows to muffle her screams. That woman no doubt had beautiful silvery hair and silvery eyes and other beautiful star qualities. And Susan, a mere mortal with drab black hair, was no match for this unknown lady who can probably glow at her whim.

'Susan?'

Lucy stepped into the room warily. Caspian had delivered the news that Susan was up and she walked into the room, only to be greeted by Susan lying facedown on the bed. 'Are you alright?'

Susan sat up. 'Dinner,' she uttered.

'Yes.' Lucy watched her anxiously. Had something happened between her and Caspian? Susan didn't seem like her usual graceful, cool as a cucumber self. 'Dinner is in a few minutes.'

'Do I have anything to wear?' Susan eyed Lucy's lovely red dress in envy. 'I need to wash my face. I need to brush my teeth.' Susan stumbled off the bed and gazed around the room frantically.

'Are you alright?' Lucy watched her soak her face into the basin of cold water and come up sputtering. 'Did you talk to him?'

'Yes.' Susan wiped her face hurriedly. 'Lucy, I need something to wear for dinner.' Her eyes were feverishly bright.

'There are some dresses in the trunk…' Lucy threw worried glances at Susan as she pulled out a midnight blue dress from within the marble trunk. 'Here,' she shoved the dress frantically to stop Susan, who was pacing restlessly around the room. 'Are you sure you're alright? Would you like to have dinner in here instead?' Lucy watched Susan struggle with the laces before giving up. 'We can eat up here with you. Peter, Edmund and I.'

'No!' Susan gritted her teeth as she yanked a silver backed brush through her hair. 'No, I need to come down for dinner. I need to know.'