Before we begin, I feel I must say that if you haven't figured it out yet, this part will be much longer than part 1. I mean, roughly speaking, we're looking at around 20 chapters total (and then there's part 3!)

The "fighting top" is the "crow's nest." I chose to use the term "fighting top" because that is what it is called in the book.

So anyways, hope you all enjoy?...*bites lip nervously*

The Naiad Trilogy

Part 2: The Naiad and Her King

Chapter 10

Her lips melded perfectly with his own in a synchronized art. His brain could not fathom how something as simple as lips could stir him so. They were soft and supple, velvety smooth and sweeter than the sweetest fruit. And they were driving him wild. The thoughts they made run through his head were hardly appropriate, but he could not seem to stop them.

He playfully nibbled on her bottom lip and she giggled, causing his heart to race wildly. His lips moved from hers to taste the tempting skin of her throat. She let out a gasp of pleasure and a soft moan.

"Oh Caspian…"

"Caspian…"

Suddenly a voice drew Caspian from his thoughts. The young king shook his head and looked up at the Lord Drinian who was waiting for a response to a question he just asked.

"Yes Captain?" he asked, trying to sound normal; the hitch in his voice proved failure.

"I said, was there anything else Lord Bern told you about the mist?" Drinian asked.

"No, he told us all he knew, and I have relayed it all to you."

The mist, the Green Mist to be precise, was an odd phenomenon that Caspian and Edmund had witnessed from their cell on the Lone Islands. The two kings had watched in horror as two long boats packed with Islanders were sent out to sea only to vanish amongst a cloud of green mist. Lord Bern had explained to them how the Islanders were being sacrificed to the mist if they were not bought as slaves. Upon first hearing of the mist, that originated from the far east, the Seven Lords made a pact to find its source and destroy it. Six of the Lords set sail from Narrowhaven; only Bern remained behind to look after the Islanders.

Now, the Dawn Treader was following the path of the Six Lords. The Narnians were two days sailing from Narrowhaven, and the sun had just reached the edge of the western horizon. Caspian, Drinian, and Edmund were in the Map Room trying to chart their course as best they could. Drinian and the sailors had spent much of their time at Narrowhaven speaking with other sailors, hoping that some could tell them what lay beyond, but none knew.

"And how is the Princess doing?" Drinian asked, changing the subject. "We have not seen much of her since we left port."

Caspian paused; he didn't really know what to say. Ava had been avoiding him, and creating distance between them. She had hardly spoken to him since their kiss.

"She is shaken from the events that transpired at Narrowhaven. I have not seen her this reclusive since she was a servant in my uncle's castle. But I know she will pull through."

XOXOX

When she closed her eyes and licked her lips, she could almost taste his kiss as his lips moved with hers. When she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, she could almost smell the salty air that lingered on his skin as he held her close. When she closed her eyes and combed her fingers through her hair, she could almost feel his hands tangling in her locks.

Ava sighed longingly.

"Ava? Are you alright?" Lucy asked softly. Ava opened her eyes. She was lying on the soft velveteen blanket of the bed she shared with Lucy in the State Room. She was not where she wanted to be, in Caspian's embrace.

"I'm fine, Lucy," she lied. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I suppose I was just curious because you've sighed like that… maybe ten, fifteen times in the last five minutes."

Ava turned her head to the side to look at her friend; Lucy was smirking over the top of her book.

"I have a problem," Ava finally confessed.

"Yes, I've gathered that." Lucy set her book on the table and gave Ava her undivided attention. "And what is this problem?"

Ava sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed. "I think I may have developed feelings for Caspian, feelings that are more than friendly."

"Oh, and you're just now realizing this?"

"Yes, I…wait. What?"

"Ava, I noticed it the moment we arrived."

"How?"

"Well at first I merely suspected it by the way you looked at him, but you denied it. Then I noticed how you always seemed to position yourself next to him; you probably didn't even realize you were doing it. But I really knew you fancied Caspian after you told me about Galma and Genevieve."

"What does she have to do with my feelings for Caspian?"

"Because of that right there, the way you talk about her. You're jealous, or you were jealous of her, because Caspian was spending his time with her and not you."

"How did you figure all of this out?" Ava asked mesmerized.

"I may only be thirteen now, but I was older than Caspian when we left Narnia the first time. I learned a thing or two about relationships, though Peter and Ed have both seemed to have forgotten it, but I haven't."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is it very hard, growing up twice?"

"It's…confusing and a bit complicated."

"It's confusing and complicated enough the first time."

"I know." Lucy laughed. "But I still learn things, different things. I know that no matter how bad things may seem, they can always be worse, and eventually they always get better."

"I kissed him!" Ava blurted out after a slight pause in the conversation. "Or, he kissed me. Actually, I'm not really sure who started it; it just sort of happened."

"When?"

"At Narrowhaven."

"When you guys were in your room alone? I wondered what you guys were talking about it there; I guess you weren't really talking at all."

"No, we did talk," Ava said hastily. "Some. And then we kissed."

"So, how was it? Not that I need specific details or anything; Caspian is like a brother to me, and that would be weird."

Ava couldn't stop the smile that spread over her face as she remembered the feel of his lips on hers. "It was great." But then her face grew sad.

"Then what's wrong?"

"It shouldn't have happened," Ava said as a tear fell from her eyes. "I am the Naiad Princess. How could I betray the Narnians like that? They have lived without a Princess for so long, and now they finally have one again, but she's betrayed them by fancying her King. How could I have let this happen? I know I hurt him by choosing them, but I cannot be with him."

Ava began to sob harder and Lucy moved to the bed to wrap her arms around her friend. Ava laid her head on Lucy's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably while Lucy held her gently and rubbed her back.

"Have you told Caspian any of this? Of what you're feeling?" Lucy asked when Ava stopped crying at last.

"I cannot bear to see him hurting," Ava said as she shook her head.

"Ava, you really need to tell him. He's already hurting, but he doesn't know why. Prolonging it, will only make it worse."

"I am so glad Aslan sent you to us," Ava managed to say before she began to cry some more. She really didn't know what she would do without Lucy.

XOXOX

Caspian left the State Room and stepped onto the main deck. He was worried. It was well after dark, he would be retiring to his hammock shortly, but he could not find Ava anywhere. He knew she would step overboard occasionally to swim alongside the ship, but she was always back before it got dark. So then, where was she?

"Lucy?" he called out as he approached the young Queen sitting next to her brother, who was working on clearing away the encrusted shells on his new sword. The sword was a gift from Lord Bern, and he said it had been entrusted to him by Caspian's father. Apparently, each of the Seven Lords was given a similar sword from Narnia's Golden Age.

"Have you seen Ava? I can't find her anywhere," Caspian said.

"She's up there," Lucy said as she looked up the main mast. Caspian could just make out a shadowy figure sitting on the fighting top.

"What is she doing up there?"

"She said she needed some time to think about things."

"Oh." Caspian dropped his head.

"You should go talk to her, Caspian."

"No, no that's alright. If she needs time to think then I should just leave her be."

"Trust me Caspian," Lucy said pointedly. "You should go talk to her."

Caspian looked at Lucy strangely. What was she trying to tell him? Had Ava told her what transpired between them? Caspian wasn't sure what was going on, but there was something about the look in Lucy's eyes that said he needed to heed her advice.

"Alright, Lu. What do you know that I don't?" Edmund asked, pausing momentarily on his sword, as Caspian began to climb up the rigging.

"That list, Ed, would be too long to get into now," she teased

"Very funny, Lucy. Now really, what do you know?"

Lucy smiled sadly. "It doesn't concern us."

Caspian finally reached the top of the mast to find Ava sitting down and staring out over the ocean. She was facing west, towards Narnia. Even in the dim light, Caspian could see her tear stained face. Caspian walked around the small platform till he reached the crewman on duty, Rynelf.

"Good evening, Rynelf," Caspian said softly.

"Good evening, Sire, though I do believe evening left us several hours ago."

"I suppose that is true. What do you see out there?"

"Just the ocean, Sire. Miles upon miles of it." Rynelf yawned. "Excuse me."

"Are you tired? When does the next shift begin?"

"Half an hour, Sire. The new crewman Rhince is to relieve me."

"Ah, well, why don't you go on down? I will cover the rest of your shift."

"That is very gracious of you, Sire, but I will be fine."

"Please, Rynelf," Caspian looked over his shoulder. Rynelf followed his line of sight, and could just see Ava's shoulder sticking out around the mast. "I insist."

"I understand, Your Majesty. Thank you." Rynelf handed the telescope to Caspian and silently left the platform. Caspian waited until Rynelf was well out of hearing range before approaching Ava.

"May I join you?" he asked. Ava tore her eyes away from the ocean and turned them on Caspian. The despair he saw there was nearly enough to knock him off his feet and he had to grip the rail for support. He quietly, and carefully sat down after she nodded her permission. An agonizing moment of silence passed before he had the courage to speak.

"I am sorry I overstepped by bounds at Narrowhaven. I should not have kissed you like that when you did not want it."

Ava swallowed hard. This was the moment she had been dreading. "I do believe that I participated in that kiss as much as you did, Caspian."

He smiled faintly. "So it seemed. Then I am sorry if it was not as well as you hoped; I have not had much practice."

Now Ava smiled faintly. "Neither have I. You kiss just fine, My King. It was a wonderful moment." Ava looked over at Caspian, and he was relieved to see her smiling. And then, almost as quickly as the smile came, it faded into sorrow once more. "But that's all it was. A moment. That's all it can be. Just a moment."

A tear slid down her cheek and Caspian reached out to wipe it away, but Ava beat him to it. She knew that feeling his touch would only make things harder at the moment.

"I am the Naiad Princess, Caspian. I cannot feel for you that way."

"Cannot? Or will not?" Caspian asked, unable to contain the hurt he felt at her words. He saw the flash of pain across Ava's features and he regretted his words immediately. "Ava, do not tell me you feel nothing for me unless it is the truth."

"Caspian, the Narnians…" Ava sobbed softly.

"Do not think of them now. Think of us. What about what we want? Are we not to be happy too?"

"Caspian, I do not think it matters much what we want. You made a promise to the Narnians, three years ago. You vowed to put the good of Narnia above all else, above even your own happiness. You are their King, and I am their Princess. I cannot abandon them, no matter how I may feel towards you."

Ava lowered her head into her hands as sobs over took her. Caspian knew he probably shouldn't touch her, but he could not bear to see her in so much pain. He slid closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Thankfully, she did not cringe away but leaned into his chest. He brought his other arm up and wrapped it around her as well, hugging her small body to his. He knew she had given much thought to this, and he could not contest her. As much as it hurt him to hear her say she could not love him, he knew it would hurt even more to not have her in his life at all; he would rather have her as a friend, than nothing.

Taking a deep and steadying breath, he began to speak. "Ava, I cannot deny that your words sting me, but I accept them. I once told you, that no matter what happened you would always be my greatest companion. I stand by those words now."

Ava leaned back and wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked up at Caspian. She saw a strength there, a brave face, but she could also see the hurt underneath.

"You do?" she asked, unsurely.

"Of course, Ava. I would always wish to have you as a friend, if I could not have you as more."

"Good, because I could not live without you in my life in some way."

"Nor I you."

Ava and Caspian sat side by side in silence for a few minutes more. Then Rhince, a man from the Lone Islands who had joined their crew in hopes of searching for his wife who had been taken by the mist, joined them on the platform to begin his duty of keeping watch. Ava and Caspian then carefully climbed down to the main deck and retired to their cabins.

Wait a Minute... If I were to say "The End" here, then I would give you all permission to hate me, lock me in the stocks, and throw rotten vegetables at me. But, since this is NOT THE END, please hold off on those rotten vegetables. Thank you!