*sorry would of have had this out sooner but I am a manager in retail so tis the season!
Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest. With an almost sluggish grin she shook her head. That man must have been shot in the head with an arrow too. No man dared to hold her gaze longer than necessary or they were fool hardy and would learn sooner or later. Enough of that though there was work to do. She still had to think over Caspian's position on top of getting the men home, and talk to her council about who sent the ambush. With all the responsibilities of a running country resting on her shoulders the stress and tiredness that she held at bay during the fight came back twofold. Sighing she glanced at the beautiful moon one last time before reigning her horse around to go down into the chasm to lead the men home.
By the time she got down to the passageway Caspian already had the troops lined up, wounded taken care of to either be transported or had teams of medics addressing the wounds that were light, and had the presence of a leader without question. Once the men noticed her presence shouts of praise were issued all around until she raised her hand in silence and nodded her head in thanks to the men in return. Elsa noticed that Caspian did not join in those shouts but instead just looked at her. Riding up to speak to him his stern face showed no sign of their earlier interaction. A little taken aback she spoke simply, "Are we ready to ride?"
"Yes my Queen." He replied. Raising his hand in the air directing two riders next to him to notify the back lines to be ready to move out and then in a louder voice, "To home men." The foot soldiers started the rhythmic march back home. The look in his eyes gave her goose bumps. They were hard and unrelenting like a mountain. He still kept eye contact while he gave out the commands and then spoke, "My Queen, until you appoint another Captain I am now in charge of your safety and would like you to stay near me until we reach the palace."
Trying not to laugh at the absurdity of his statement she responded, "I admire that you wish to keep me safe but I can assure you I can keep myself safe without guards. As you know, the last captain kept guards posted in certain areas that I frequently visited but…."
Caspian cut her off, "The last captain is dead. I have different methods of running security. Until you appoint someone new these are my orders."
Elsa was stunned but replied in a softer tone, "Unless you want to lose your life or be sent to prison for the rest of your life I would suggest you do not order a queen around. However if you wish to be near me to fulfill your duties I suggest you keep up." Elsa whipped her horse around and with a yell galloped forward to the front. She was a bit upset and she knew that she shouldn't be but determined not to feel put out she kicked her horse to speed up so he would have a harder time catching up. It was like he was a completely different person. His eyes from their first encounter had friendliness and something else but now they were distant and hard.
In the distance she could hear him giving out more orders. She already knew that he was right for the position of captain, he just had to go through the formal ceremony of becoming one but she needed to have a private word with him to sort out that personality of his because it just didn't make sense. She had reached the front lines and slowed her horse but not too far off she could hear the sound of galloping hooves. Pulling right up next to her, Caspian slowed his horse and only nodded at her, not fully acknowledging her presence.
It was probably the longest ride home of her life. Elsa was not going to be the one to break the silence first which frustrated her because she was a queen and was not acting like it. Caspian was lucky because he had to issue orders every now and then and was able to freely interact with people. No one there had a reason to speak to her except Caspian himself and it looked like he did not care to anytime soon.
Little did she know she was being played the fool. Out of the blue he spoke startling her, "My Queen, are you alright?"
Jerking her head to face him she said, "What makes you ask that?"
Shrugging his shoulders he replied, "You have been quite this entire time."
Searching his eyes for what she didn't know but even though his eyes had the same hard look, his tone said otherwise which was greatly perplexing her, she said, "I am tired. This conversation is over." Wanting to put him in his place Elsa faced forward for the rest of the journey in silence hoping it would get under his skin as it has hers.
Hours dragged on. They would reach home by dawns break but she was starting to doze on her horse. Using her powers, preparing for the feast, and the ride out there was taking its toll and she could no longer fight it off. The only thing that kept her going after the battle at that point was her frustration with Caspian and she had even let that go. She did not want to give up her pride though and ask for help, she was a queen and had to set the example. If she expected the best of her men then they should be able to expect that from their queen too. So she continued to close her eyes, only to awake in start from a jostle or noise.
Caspian, noticing the Queen dozing, knew that she was in his primary care and if he was to take charge of his charge then he better start doing it sooner than later. Nodding to the rider next to him he said in a hushed tone, "The Queen has done a lot today and needs to rest a bit. I am going to be placing her on my horse and want you to take charge of her horse. Remind the men what the Queen has done for us this day should they try to speak ill of her. If it weren't for her we'd all be dead or captured." Then riding a bit ahead he pulled his horse around, stopped, and hopped off in front of the Queen's horse. She did not even realize that her horse had stopped until Caspian awoke her with his voice, trying to coax her down. She shot a sleepy glare at him knowing he had caught her. However she realized looking into his eyes that he looked concerned when he spoke to her and the hardness had ebbed away a bit.
She mumbled, "The men will see."
Caspian spoke, "I have taken care of that already My Queen."
Too tired to ask what that meant she let him help her down and then he got onto his horse and helped her atop. She was sitting in front and felt almost like she was in a sheltered cave sitting against Caspian. The warmth that came off his body was a nice feeling for Elsa and was making her sleepier than ever. A yawn escaped her lips and she apologized.
"My Queen the purpose of this was so you can fall asleep. I promise I will wake you if anything requires your attention." Said Caspian.
Realizing that it was futile to argue Elsa leaned back into Caspian's chest and a small smile spread across her sleepy face. She missed the feeling of having a man's warmth next to her. Elsa dozed off almost instantly once she let go.