WOW! That last chapter blew up with responses! Thank you so very much!

I was going to hold off on this chapter until tomorrow, but then I felt a little bad for leaving you with two cliffies where Ava's status was unknown. So here is chapter 9, and as I promised, I have tried to make it up to you!

As usual the * indicates direct quotes, this time, however, the direct quotes are from the BOOK, chapter 4: What Caspian Did There.

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 9

"Ava!" Caspian shouted at the limp body in his arms. This couldn't be happening. He did not come all this way to lose her now; not like this, not at all!

"Ava, Ava, look at me! Come on, Ava!" Caspian knelt down and gently laid her body on the ground and cradled her head in his hands. As his hand slid around the back of her head he felt something wet and sticky. When he pulled his hand back, he saw it was covered in her blood.

"No, no, no, no. No! Ava!" He was losing all control and panic was beginning to take over. His eyes were beginning to cloud over with tears and he fought relentlessly to keep them at bay. "Ava, wake up. Please, wake up."

"Caspian? Caspian what's wrong?" Lucy asked before she saw who he held in his arms. "No, Ava!" Lucy dropped to her knees before her friend, unable to bear the sight.

"My cordial!" Lucy began to stand back up before a hand pushed her shoulder down and handed her a diamond bottle.

"Here, Your Majesty. We brought it just in case," Drinian said.

Without hesitation, Lucy uncorked the bottle and let a single drop fall into Ava's mouth. Lucy, Caspian, and all others who had gathered around, waited with bated breath. Several seconds passed without much change; usually the cordial was instantaneous.

"Why isn't it working?" Caspian asked as he tried his best to keep his emotions from erupting.

"I don't…no look! It is working!" Lucy pointed to the wound on Ava's head and her busted lip. Both were healing, returning Ava's skin to the flawlessness that it was before. "And she's breathing regularly now too."

"Then why isn't she waking up?"

"Maybe it's something my cordial can't heal."

"I don't understand."

"Caspian," Lucy waited until she had Caspian's full attention before continuing; she was surprised by the amount of fear she saw in his eyes. "She used her magic to tell the Narnians what was happening, and she's been up all night. She's tired. She needs rest. The cordial has worked; she'll be fine. She just needs rest."

Caspian was about to argue when someone called for him. "Sire," two of the Dawn Treader crewmen stepped forth holding a man between them. They forced the man to his knees before Caspian. "This is Gumpas, Governor of the Lone Islands. We caught him trying to escape."

"Why is he wet?" Edmund asked.

The crewmen smiled. "The boy Eustace knocked him into the water." Edmund looked over to his cousin who was already receiving some praise from the crew.

Caspian, who was still kneeling on the ground with an unconscious Ava in his arms, looked into Lucy's eyes. He knew she was being sincere when she said Ava would be fine, but he would not believe it until he saw Ava awake and fully restored with his own eyes. Until then, he would do all he could to protect her, and right what had been wronged.

"Tavros," he called over the large Minotaur. Caspian carefully picked Ava up once more before handing her over to Tavros. "Keep her out of the sun."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"You?" Gumpas suddenly questioned. "You're the king she spoke of?" As Caspian looked upon the man before him, realization dawned on him. Gumpas had been the last man to step out of the shadows in the bell tower.

"I am," Caspian said fiercely; Gumpas' face grew white in fear. Caspian looked around the square. Many of the citizens had come out of hiding and they were watching him, waiting to see what he would do.

"It was our wish," Caspian spoke loudly addressing the whole of the crowd, "that our royal visitation to these islands be an occasion of joy and celebration. And yet we arrived to find our people living in fear of enslavement and the streets overrun with slavers. What have you to say Governor? *Why have you permitted this abominable an unnatural traffic in slaves to grow up here, contrary to the ancient custom and usage of our dominions?*"

"I—I assure you, Sire, it has been a necessary part of our economic development. Our current progress depends on it."

"Progress? You call this progress?" Caspian had been trying to keep his temper under control, but he was quickly beginning to lose it.

"With Your Majesty's tender years, you would not understand."

"*Tender as my years may be*, I see that this practice brings only fear to these lands, and not progress. It shall be stopped at once and henceforth banned from all lands under the rule of Narnia. As for you, Gumpas, for your part in allowing this practice to proceed you are hereby relieved of your duties. You and your people shall vacate the castle by noon tomorrow." For good measure, Caspian grabbed Gumpas' left hand and removed his signet ring.

"Where is the Lord Bern?" Caspian asked looking around. The old lord stepped forth and knelt before Caspian, upon his direction. Caspian went to grab both of the Lord Bern's hands, but halted when he saw the bloody state of one. He asked around for a cloth to clean his hand on, and an older woman standing nearby quickly dipped one of her own towels into a barrel of water and handed it to Caspian. Once his hands were clean, he returned to the Lord Bern and held his hands in his.

"Lord Bern, before us and before the witnesses gathered here today, do you swear your allegiance to the King of Narnia who rules by the grace of the Great Lion Aslan?"

"I do, my Lord," Lord Bern answered.

"And will you rule these people of the Lone Islands fairly, holding none above the other, and remembering that none are slaves, but all are free subjects as *in accordance with the old customs, rights, usages and laws of Narnia?*"

"I will, my Lord."

"Then by the power gifted to me by Aslan, as King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel, Baron of Ettinsmor, and Emperor of the Lone Islands I hereby name you Lord Bern, Duke of the Lone Islands." The newly made duke kissed Caspian's signet ring as the crowd erupted with cheers.

"Now," Caspian began as he helped Lord Bern to his feet. "Will you be so kind as to show us to your new estates? The Princess needs a bed on which to rest and my men would like a cask of wine."

XOXOX

Ava, awakening, found herself on a soft bed with warm light pooling in from the window. For a split second she thought she was back in her rooms at the Cair, but the lighting wasn't quite right. As she turned her head to her left to get a better view of her surroundings, she groaned with stiffness and she knew she wasn't home.

"You're awake," Lucy said gleefully as she sat on the edge of Ava's bed and smiled down at her. Lucy motioned to someone out of Ava's line of sight before turning back to Ava. "How do you feel?"

"Stiff."

"You've been asleep for nearly two days."

"Two days? What happened?"

"Ava? You've been recovering in the Duke's Castle."

"Duke? I thought the Lone Islands were ruled by a Governor?"

Lucy smiled, at least Ava knew where she was. "For a long time they were, but as of two days ago they are now ruled by the Duke Bern."

"Bern? Any relation to the Lord Bern?"

"The very one. It's a bit of a long story, and I'd be more than willing to explain it later, but I'm sure right now you'd like to bathe."

"Now that you mention it, I would like to. Can you have a bath drawn for me?" Ava asked as she sat up.

"Already have," Lucy replied, helping Ava to her feet. As Ava was readying herself for her bath, Lucy went to find Caspian to keep a promise she made to him. She found him in a relaxed sitting room with the Duke, Lord Drinian, Edmund, and several other men. When Lucy walked into the room all eyes turned to her. She gave a soft smile and Caspian quickly stood up.

"Is she…?" he asked timidly.

Lucy nodded. "Ava's awake." Caspian hurried to the door, ready to see Ava, but Lucy put a hand out and stopped him. "But you can't see her yet."

"Lucy I must see her with my own eyes."

"Now is not the proper time; she is bathing Caspian. I promised I would tell you when she awoke, and I have. I will come for you again when she is ready for visitors."

"Come for me the moment she is decent," Caspian instructed.

"The moment she is ready," Lucy corrected, before heading back to Ava's rooms.

XOXOX

Ava stood in front of a tall window, looking out to sea at the majestic Dawn Treader. Her bath had been relaxing and greatly needed. She couldn't believe that she had been sleeping for two days. She knew something big had happened; she just couldn't remember what. She saw flashes of those things, but none of them were sequential or cohesive. While bathing, Ava asked Lucy to tell her what happened. Lucy told Ava what she could, but she said there were several hours when Ava was alone with the slave traders, and Lucy didn't know what happened.

Lucy had been really good at urging Ava to see Caspian though. It's not that Ava didn't want to see him, because she did; she wanted to see him more than anything. But she was scared. She knew he had seen her at her worst, broken and beaten; would he still see her that way? And she remembered moments in the bell tower clearly, when they had first come upon the slave traders. Ava remembered Caspian telling her not to do what she was about to do; it had been a command in hiding, but she did it anyways. She disobeyed him again. How angry would he be this time?

After nearly an hour after her bath, Ava realized she couldn't hold Caspian off any longer. So she gave Lucy permission to go get him. That's what she was doing now. She was standing in front of that tall window, gazing upon the Dawn Treader, and waiting for Lucy to return with Caspian. Ava had never felt so…nervous, she supposed was that right word to describe her feelings. She had never felt so nervous before. At last she heard the door open behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know that Caspian was there, staring at her.

"Will you leave us please?" Ava said to the ladies who were busy working around the room. She could hear them stop what they were doing and leave. "You too please, Lucy."

"Oh, ok. I'll go find Eustace; see how he's holding up."

After Lucy left, Ava and Caspian were alone.

XOXOX

Caspian hurried down the halls alongside Lucy. It was going on two hours since the young queen first came and told him that Ava had awoken at last. He was going crazy with anticipation waiting to see her.

"I told you I would come for you when she was ready for visitors, Caspian," Lucy had said when he asked what took so long. "She's been through a lot; she needed time to wrap her mind around what's happened. She says she doesn't really remember anything beyond the bell tower."

Caspian remembered every terrifying moment, every second that passed that he didn't know what was happening to Ava. He remembered the dead weight of her body lying motionless in his arms. He remembered the sinking feeling he had when he thought he'd lost her. He remembered thinking, that without her the sun would never rise again in his life.

Now, at last, she stood before him. Her back was to him as she was stared out the window. She kindly instructed the ladies in the room to leave, including Lucy. Caspian didn't mind. He wanted to be alone with her. He wanted to take her in his arms and swear that nothing like this would ever happen to her again, so long as he lived. Even after they were alone, Ava continued to stare out the window quietly. And when she did turn around, she still just stood there.

Caspian took the time to let his eyes absorb everything he saw about her. She was wearing the bluest dress he had ever seen, and it made her eyes look bluer than they had ever been; her eyes also shined with unshed tears. The skin of her face seemed to glow, and when her golden hair caught the light of the sun it shimmered. Only one word could be used to describe her. Beautiful.

XOXOX

Ava couldn't take the silence or the distance any more. She rushed forth and threw her arms around Caspian's neck. She didn't care how angry he might be; she had to be next to him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist and did the same. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer and let them fall freely. Caspian could feel the wetness of her tears on his cheek and his hands began to rub her back soothingly. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't know what.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled through her tears, still hugging his neck tightly. "Please don't be angry with me."

"Why would I be angry?" Caspian asked.

"You told me not to go to him, but I did it anyways. I had to. I had to keep their focus away from Lucy."

"You sacrificed yourself for her." Caspian hadn't understood at first why she would subject herself to their cruel treatment, but now he did.

"I had to," she tried nodding her head while it was still in his neck. "How angry with me, are you?"

"Ava," Caspian pulled her back slightly. Their bodies were still pressed up against each other and her arms were still draped around his neck, but now he cupped her face in his hands. "Any anger I may have felt, was quickly replaced with fear; fear for what they may do to you. Saving you from them was the only thing I cared about. I'm sorry I didn't protect you like I should have, but I swear that it will never happen again."

Ava didn't know who initiated it; who moved first. All she knew was that one moment she was staring into Caspian's eyes and the next her lips were pressing against his, and it was the greatest sensation she had ever felt. Nothing could top that feeling, not even swimming. Her whole body felt like it had been submerged in a fire that only grew hotter and never burned. Her arms folded around Caspian's neck, while his hands buried themselves in her hair. They could not have been closer unless they became one person.

XOXOX

Caspian didn't really know how they had begun kissing, but he could not stop. This is what he had been dreaming of for months, years even. This is what he had imagined a thousand times, only so much better. Her lips were softer and sweeter than he could have possibly dreamed of. He buried his hands in her silky strands of tangible sunlight as he pulled her closer. He always thought that if he had a first kiss with her, it would be soft and gentle like she was. But this was not like that. He kissed her with so much passion and fervor, pouring every ounce of love he had for her into that one kiss; and she returned it with a matching intensity.

They parted, only for the need of air, and laid their foreheads together. A smile was present on both their faces, and in their eyes.

Well there you have it. Am I forgiven now? :D A picture of Ava's dress is on my profile if you're interested.