Thanks for the reviews! I finally hit 100! I'm so excited! Haha I probably check for reviews at least fifty times a day...because I love them so much! I love hearing what you guys think! Yayy I have today and the next day off of work so I can write a lot(: Alright then, on with Chapter 15!
Chapter 15
LUCY'S POV
Lucy woke, finding excitement bubbling in her chest from the thought of being in Cair Paravel in only a few hours. Aside of this, she also felt a strong pair of warm arms clasped around her waist. She popped an eye open, looking around. The fairytale book her and Caspian had been reading the previous night lay open next to her stomach, and she had been wrapped in the comforter. She stirred slightly, turning her head to see Caspian's rested on the pillow behind hers. She smiled at his light snores. Carefully, she slowly turned so that her chest was pressed up against his, not wanting to wake him. He moved slightly, tightening the arm he had around her and mumbling her name. She blushed, he was dreaming about her. Lucy leaned forward kissing his neck softly, trailing up to his squared jaw. He sighed in his sleep, tossing his head to the side. Lucy giggled, moving closer and snuggling into his chest. Caspian smiled, he seemed to be waking up. Lucy snapped her mouth shut, clapping her hand over it. She watched as Caspian squeezed his eyes shut tight before opening them, blinking a few times. His eyes found her face, and she watched them light up as a grin spread across his face.
"Morning," He grumbled, pulling her as close as possible and kissing her tenderly. Lucy smiled into the kiss and snaked an arm around his waist. He pulled away, running his fingers through the tangles in her hair.
"Morning. Did you mean to fall asleep here?"
"No, I meant to leave as soon as you fell asleep, but I guess I got comfortable and nodded off. Sorry," Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Like I mind," He laughed as she kissed his cheek. She moved to rest her head on his chest, closing her eyes. After a few moments, she smiled into his shirt, popping her head up to look at him.
"We're going to be in Cair Paravel soon!" Caspian laughed as she hopped up out of bed, smoothing her night clothes and bobbing up and down excitedly. "I can't wait to see Trumpkin! And Glenstorm and Trufflehunter!" Caspian chuckled once more, pulling her back down.
"Shhh, Lucy-love. We don't want anyone to know I've slept in here," Lucy huffed and gave him a questioning look. She really did not understand why it was such a big deal. Everyone on the ship knew that they were together, so why did it matter?
"Because?" Caspian sighed, as if she ought to know.
"Because the men on this ship are nearly all married. When they think of a man sleeping in a bed with a women they don't just think they've slept. They'd assume we've lain together, and I don't want anyone saying bad things about you." Lucy crossed her arms at this.
"Why exactly, would they only say bad things about me? You would've played an equal part!"
"I know that. But it's just the way they think. If a young woman were to be with a King of Narnia without being betrothed to him, they automatically bad mouth the woman." Lucy gave him a glare. "I never said it was right, Lucy. You know that if anything bad was said about you I would set the record straight. But that doesn't mean I'm just going to be careless and let them talk." She rolled her eyes. People were so stupid! If Peter or Edmund had done something like that back in their time, then she would have blamed him, giving him a seriously hard blow to the head. She let it go, wanting to change the subject.
"Fine. How long do you think it will be until we arrive?" Caspian shrugged before standing from the bed, making his way over to look out the window across the room. Lucy watched a broad smile spread across his face.
"Not long at all," Lucy jumped up, rushing to his side to look out the window. She gasped when she saw the grand castle not far in the distance. Narnian flags whipped back and forth on the towers and the beach in front of the building looked as beautiful as ever. Back when she lived in the castle, the beach was her favorite place to go to to get away. The calm sound of the lapping waves was soothing enough to put one to sleep if they lay in the sun. It was an amazing place to forget your worries and just enjoy the beauty of the land. Lucy could not wait to run up and down the sand, kicking her feet in the shallow waves at the shore line. She leaned against the window, her back to Caspian. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and she sighed in contentment, leaning back into him.
"Thank you for coming back with me," He spoke into her ear. "I could not imaging returning without you." She smiled.
"Caspian, there really is no reason to thank me. It was barely an option for me. I knew what I wanted and what I needed to do. I love Narnia, and I love you. This is my home now."
XoXoXoXo
It was the first time Lucy went ashore without sailing on the small boats. The Dawn Treader carried them all the way to the shores of her favorite beach. She gripped the railing in excitement as she eyed the Narnians in front of her, not realizing that she was on board and that she was coming back. She felt her heart swell up in her chest as the ship came to a halt, and a walking board was set up against the part of the ship that was unguarded with a railing. She gripped Caspian's hand tightly, not able to contain her enthusiasm. He chuckled in her ear, dropping a kiss to her shoulder from behind her. They watched as the crew members darted down the board, sweeping their wives and children up into their arms. Lucy watched as Rynelf spun his son around in the air, she did not know he had a child. Rynelf was never one to complain while sailing, giving no indication that he was eager to get back to a family. She watched with pride. What a loyal Narnian he was. After what seemed like ages, only her and Caspian were left to make their way down. Lucy felt butterflies in her stomach as she followed Caspian down to the sand. He turned and gave her a reassuring look before turning forward to his people, bowing lowly to him.
"Rise, such actions are not required from my people. Narnians, I solemly thank you for your support and patience while my crew and I were on our voyage. Our quest was a success, and we found five of the seven Lords of Telmar that are still living. One of them, Lord Bern, remains on the Lone Islands, now living a happy life there. Another, Lord Rhoop, is with us today," Lord Rhoop raised a hand in welcome to the Narnians, recieving applause. As Caspian spoke, a few of the people of the crowd were pointing at Lucy, mouths agape and realization in their eyes. "As for the rest of them, Mavramorn, Revilian, and Argoz all remain living on Ramandu's Island happily. While on our voyage we learned of an evil presence, a green mist that exposes your fears and has the power to make you disappear to its origin, Dark Island. Victims of the slave trade on the Lone Islands, which has been demolished, were fed to this green mist when they were not able to be sold. After defeating the evil of the Dark Island, however, we recovered these citizens, who are the extra passengers you see now. They will be making their way to their own land, which is just a town away." Narnians shook hands with the rescue passengers, welcoming them. "And now, my most exciting news. Early in our voyage, the High King Edmund and High Queen Lucy of Old joined us, sent by Aslan from their own world. Edmund left after helping us defeat the evil of Dark Island. Queen Lucy, however, chose to stay in Narnia forever," With this, Caspian stepped to the side while pulling Lucy forward to face her people. Shouts of joy and gasps of suprise filled the air, and Lucy found herself looking to a crowd of people bowing lowly to her, turning to see that Caspian also followed suit. Lucy blushed, waving her hand in indication for them to rise.
"Thank you, people of Narnia. I cannot begin to describe my current feelings, being able to finally call Narnia my home. There is no place I would rather be," As she finished, roars of applause filled her ears. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Caspian looking at her proudly. He leaned forward, kissing her forehead and resting a hand on her back.
"Welcome home," He whispered in her ear, before placing a kiss just behind her earlobe. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy could see a few women around Caspian's age groan in disappointment. Her attentions were turned elsewhere, however, when she saw a small man emerging from the crowd. His light blonde beard hung almost to his waist, and he had a rather large bald area on his head before the hair started once more. He was looking at her with a look of disbelief.
"Trumpkin!" Lucy shouted, pulling away from Caspian and darting over the embrace her "dear little friend." The dwarf stood, stunned for a moment, before hugging her back.
"It is you!" He exclaimed, a smile dawning his face, which was a rare sight to see. "You're going to stay in Narnia?" Lucy nodded.
"Yes, I am going to live in Narnia for the rest of my life. Aslan gave Edmund and I a choice of whether or not we wanted to stay," As she finished, the dwarf looked around excitedly for a moment, before looking back at her with a questioning look.
"Then where is Edmund?" Her heart dropped. For once she hadn't been thinking about her family, but now all of the pain and sadness came rushing back. She tried to hold back her tears as she answered him.
"He chose to go back to England. He didn't think he belonged here. He didn't think he had a good enough reason to," Trumpkin eyed her suspiciously.
"And what is your good reason?" She blushed, averting her eyes to her hands. The dwarf looked to see that Caspian had his eyes resting on her, with a look of pure love in them. Even as he was immersed in conversation with his people, the Narnians did not have his full attention. Trumpkin smirked. Glenstorm, who had overheard the conversation, trotted his way over to the two friends.
"So it's true! I had to see it with my own eyes. Little-Lucy has returned," Glenstorm laughed as Lucy jumped up to hug him, ignoring the unfavorable nickname. "And she seems to have caught the eye of our King," Lucy brough a finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet. She had missed her friends dearly, but they were getting on her nerves.
"Shh! We haven't told anyone yet. The only Narnians that know are the ones that sailed with us," Trumpkin rolled his eyes.
"Well your secret isn't that safe if Caspian keeps sending you those kind of looks," Lucy turned around to see what he was talking about, and caught Caspian staring. She laughed as he tried to play it off, quickly pulling his eyes away with a blush. He is so handsome...
"Yeah well, hopefully it won't be a secret for too long." The dwarf shot her a concerned look.
"Did Caspian tell you of our guests?" She felt sickness to her stomach as she remembered the agony she would have to go through with the vile men of Archenland.
"Yes he told me. I know they're arriving tommorow and I know all about their courting rule. Please don't remind me," She felt sort of uncomfortable, though, as Trumpkin and Glenstorm exchanged worried looks.
"Be careful, Lucy. Not only do they think unmarried women are unclaimed until claimed entirely, but they don't think women have a choice about a lot of things." Glenstorm sounded as if he was choosing his words carefully.
"What does that mean?"
"Just, don't let them get you alone."
XoXoXoXo
CASPIAN'S POV
"This will be your room Lucy. Mine is just next door," Caspian watched as Lucy walked slowly around the grand bedroom, taking everything in. She ran a hand along the velvety purple comfortor that lie on the queen sized bed. Curtains hung around it so that she may have privacy if she so wished. Across the room from the bed was a vanity, trimmed in gold and already equipped with an delicately designed hairbrush and hand mirror. Near the vanity was a full sized mirror. A large wardrobe stood to the left of the bed, full of hand sewn gowns made of the finest material. Caspian scowled as he preferred Lucy in his clothes, so that less of her figure was visible to prying male eyes, but he knew she would look gorgeous in the dresses. He observed her as she scanned the room, a smile gracing her pretty lips. She turned to him, allowing him to take her in his arms.
"It's wonderful, thank you," He nodded, no thanks was neccesary. Only the best would be given to his Lucy. He smiled as she brushed her soft lips across his jaw, he held her tightly.
"Tommorow I'll show you around the grounds. Only a few changes have been made, one of them being a new set of stables. We can go riding," He chuckled as she nodded in agreement excitedly. He remembered Lucy as a little girl when he first met her, eager to climb onto the back of a creature four times her size. When things weren't too busy in Aslan's Howe, Caspian would take Lucy riding on Destrier if he was not training her with a sword. He would always be careful, having her ride in front just so that he could have a secure enough hold on her incase the horse started to buck. Lucy was never afraid though, always laughing the entire time. Lucy was not afraid of very much at all. That worried him. Sometimes Lucy's fearlessness led her into some dangerous situations, and he couldn't always be there to protect her.
"As long as you don't insist upon holding my hand the whole time. I won't be treated like a baby," She warned with a sly smile.
"I'll stop treating you like a baby, when you stop insisting upon acting like one," He joked, kissing her mouth when it dropped open in offense. She smacked his arm roughly, even though it did not hurt in the least. He apologized with a tender kiss, pulling her close with one arm and resting the other hand on her cheek, stroking the skin with the pad of his thumb. When he pulled away, he smirked at the dazed look in her eyes.
"Tonight, there is to be a celebration in your honor. I have to be off to get ready but I'll call for Annebelle to help you get ready, you two will get along," Lucy nodded, pulling herself up to kiss his cheek. He let out a sigh, hugging her tightly and burying his face in her neck. He placed several small kisses on her shoulder, feeling her warm breathing on his own. Eventually, he knew he must leave her to prepare, and he took himself away painfully, kissing her forehead. He gave her hand a squeeze before bidding her goodbye, rushing to find her lady's maid.
XoXoXoXo
LUCY'S POV
"So you're the Lucy Caspian is always going on about," A tall, slender girl spoke as she entered Lucy's room. Annebelle was very pretty, with shoulder length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She wore a simple white dress and apron as her work attire. Lucy was pleased to see that she looked reasonably happy, and did not seemed to be mistreated. The girl stuck out her hand to shake.
"I'm Annebelle. I'll be your lady's maid," Lucy shook her hand, smiling nervously.
"Thank you, but Caspian ought to know that I'm not really that high maintenence. I don't need much," She explained carefully, not wanting to offend the girl. Annebelle laughed.
"Yes well, I don't think anyone could convince him. I'm pretty sure he's going to have you waited on hand and foot. He told me to not disappoint you in any way." Lucy blushed.
"I can assure you I'm fine. So what did you mean by Caspian is always going on about me?" Annebelle smirked at her.
"Well before he left on the Dawn Treader, all he talked about was these Pevensie children that helped put him in his throne. He spoke highly of all of you, at first he would talk about mainly how pretty your sister was, but that stopped pretty quickly. Even when he did talk about her, he never shut up about you. He said you were the wisest little girl he knew, and the one person he found that he could tell anything to. He said you were his best friend, but after a while of talking everytime he did, he got sad and excused himself. I think he missed you a lot," Lucy felt a surge of sympathy for Caspian. Her and her siblings were his only true friends when he was first crowned King of Narnia, and he probably missed them terribly when they left. "He did always brag about how you would eventually come back to him, because Aslan said so. He didn't think you'd be staying though, he really is bouncing off the walls," The girls laughed as Annebelle made her way over to Lucy's wardrobe and opened it, poking through the dresses. She shot a look back at Lucy, as if observing her, before looking back to the gowns. "We have to make sure you look exquisite," She stated. Lucy cocked her head to the side, moving to stand beside Annebelle.
"Why is that?" Annebelle put a hand on her hip before raising an eyebrow to her, looking at her with disbelief.
"Well you two are in love, right?" Lucy stammered slightly, a blush creeping up on her cheeks as she bit her lip nervously.
"How did you-?"
"I always thought it was odd that Caspian barely even blinked when women would throw themselves at him. He has never once courted a girl while being King. I'm serious when I say women would go to extremes to get his attention. One girl, Emily, was practically in love with him and she snuck into his bed chamber one night dressed in barely anything." Lucy's breath caught up in her throat. All of the sudden she wanted to find this "Emily" and give her a piece of her mind. "He didn't even touch her. He just put a robe around her and had her escorted out back to her home. She was devestated, crying for days. I thought it rather funny, but still. Nothing ever phased him, he would just roll it off his shoulder. But now that you're here, he is acting like a little boy with his first crush. I saw the way you two looked at eachother when you got off the ship, and when he was talking to me about being your lady's maid, he wouldn't even look me in the eye! He was just staring back at your door as if he could see you right through it! I had to scream at him to even look at me!" Lucy laughed, relieved that she seemed to not have anything to worry about when it came to Caspian being faithful. Annebelle prodded her side, getting her attention. "Well you love him too, right?" She blushed, nodding slowly. "That's what I thought."
Soon enough, the two had picked out the prettiest gown they could find. It was a light pink, and exposed her shoulders because the straps fell on her upper arms. A lacey material bordered the chest of it with a pattern of flowers. It fitted her nicely throughout the chest and waist making her look very shapely. The bottom of the gown was flowy and ended in a pool of pink at her feet. She had put in on after a bath Annebelle drew for her. Lucy let her hair dry itself after Annebelle put curlers in it. Once it was dry, they took out the curlers, and Lucy's hair fell in gorgeous spirals, falling to her waist. She inspected herself in the mirror, smiling brightly. She had never seen herself looking so pretty.
"We may have a problem," Annebelle stated, crossing her arms as she stared at Lucy in the mirror.
"What?"
"I don't think the celebration will be very fun once the King faints on the ground," She joked. The two girl's laughter rang throughout the room.
Yay! They're in Cair Paravel! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!