Susan fled the area first. After what the Pevensies had been through with the White Witch, Adalina didn't blame her for being upset. It wasn't just Peter either, it was obvious what had happened, the gash on Caspian's hand told them everything.

Adalina was disappointed, yes, but she could understand, she knew Caspian didn't really know how to handle this pressure. She stayed, her eyes never leaving Caspian's.

"Peter, could you give us a second." With a small nod of his head he left them alone. Once Peter was out of sight Caspian moved forward to approach Adalina. Adalina raised her hand to stop him, "Stay here. I'll be back." Caspian looked confused, but let her go.

Adalina walked with haste to where the medical supplies were kept. Grabbing a small pail of water, adding just a drop of liquid (some Narnian root used for healing) and a few rags and bandages she headed back to where she left Caspian.

When she entered the Stone Table room once again she found Caspian sitting on the edge of the Stone Table, gazing up at the enormous carving of Aslan. Adalina stepped beside him cautiously. The dim light of the room warmed his features, his skin shone from layer of sweat that lay over his dark mocha skin. But his eyes were full of pain and disappointment. Adalina thought that he was possibly more disappointed in himself than anybody else.

Adalina reached for his wounded hand, dipping a rag in the cool liquid and ringing it out. Caspian turned to look at her, his mouth opened and he moved to speak looking unsure of his words, "I… I just-"but he was cut off by a silky smooth finger tip pressed to his lips.

"It's over, it doesn't matter why." Adalina spoke softly and comfortingly. She resumed her task, dabbing the wet rag on his bleeding hand. Once it was clean she grabbed a bandage from beside the pail and steadily wrapped it around his strong palm.

"Thank you." Caspian's words made Adalina slow her motions and look up into his devouring eyes.

"Well somebody has to take care of you." She said it with all seriousness. She knew how alone he could feel at times and it was important to her to let him know that she would always be there for him, even if they weren't on the best of terms.

Adalina tied the ends of the bandage over his hand and stood up, directly in front of Caspian. She had to take a deep breath to calm her fluttering nerves; even now she couldn't help but feel her senses heighten from the closeness. Steadying her hand, she reached out and began unbuckling Caspian's armor.

Caspian took her hand in his moving it away from his chest slowly. "Caspian-"Adalina tried to explain.

"Adalina…"

"No, Caspian…" Her words were a little irritated; she pulled her hand out of his grip, moving back to the buckles on his chest. "Unless you want me to rip off the entire sleeve of the only shirt you have with you, I suggest you let me finish."

At this Caspian glanced over at his wounded shoulder, noticing the long cut from his aunt's arrow. A little embarrassed, he let Adalina continue without protest.

As she undid the last buckle, she began pushing the heavy material off of Caspian's broad shoulders. In order to assist her, Caspian stood up, causing the little space between them to disappear. The armor fell to the ground with a thud, but neither of them noticed. They just looked at each other, breathing slowly, not moving. Without looking away, Caspian reached for the hem of his shirt, bringing it up over his head. Adalina gulped at the sight of his toned chest. Her eyes slowly wandered down his body, leaving his face to get a better look at the flesh he had recently uncovered, without noticing it herself she licked her lips. Her eyes slowly lifted to catch Caspian's face once more. Seeing the small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, Adalina felt a little embarrassed. In order to draw the attention away from her action, she laid a hand in the middle of his chest and pushed. Caspian landed his butt back on the Stone Table, a surprised look on his face. This time Adalina got the chance to smirk.

She resumed her task of bandaging his wounded arm. They sat in silence until she had finished, finally trying the bandage into place. Caspian broke the silence.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I feel I owe you an explanation about earlier."

Before he could continue Adalina spoke. "Caspian, I know how much pressure you're under. This war happened so fast and you were put into a strange position in all of it. On top of that you're fighting your own people, you have had to abandon your home and…" Adalina wavered, not wanting to say the next words because she herself didn't want to believe them, "you just found out that your uncle murdered your father." Adalina couldn't help it, at the sound of her own last words, she broke into tears.

Caspian hated to see her cry. He knew she had taken the new of Miraz's action hard, as did he. His father was as much her family as he was his and her reaction back at the castle proved that. So Caspian immediately pulled her into him, wrapping his strong arms around her shoulders pressing her face into his chest.

She allowed the gesture for a minute, but as if she had an epiphany, she pushed him away with a torn expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I wanted to comfort you, but I can't even control myself enough to do that." her voice was broken and tears still streamed down her face.

"Adalina, you do not need to apologize, I know it hurt you too. " He hesitantly moved to put his arms around her once more, but she swatted them away, standing up as if she needed to get farther away from him. Caspian's face showed his hurt and bewilderment.

"Why can't you let me comfort you?"

"Because I shouldn't need comforting!" the words shot out of her mouth like they had been held back for too long. Caspian was clearly surprised and confused. "He wasn't my father! We weren't even related by blood! Yet here I am falling apart at the mention of his death, and you, his son, are able to stay calm and clear headed. I just wish I had more control over my emotions!" Her arms flew every direction while she shouted out what was forming in her mind. Caspian just took it all in, not interrupting her. When she had finished, she sat down again with an exhausted demeanor.

"I don't" the words were a mere whisper, but Adalina heard them, turning to Caspian with a confused expression.

"I don't, and never will, wish you had more control over your emotions. They are what make you so unique among us Telmarines. You keep your heart on your sleeve, unprotected, unguarded. That is what makes you so vulnerable and what makes you so strong. I admire that quality in you."

Adalina could see it in his eyes that he was being completely serious and meant every word of it. Hearing that lifted her heart, she leaned over and embraced Caspian; for his kind and encouraging words, for his belief in her, and for comfort: his and hers.

Resting her body in his arms, Adalina felt a small part of their relationship mend. It wasn't big, it wouldn't fix everything, but every little bit mattered to her. She wanted nothing more than to the kind of relationship with Caspian as they once did.

They lay in each other's arms for want felt like an eternity, absorbing one another's emotions and tending to their internal wounds. Finally, Adalina slowly retreated. Pulling her body back to a safe distance, she fixed her eyes on Caspian for one last brief moment. Uttering a 'Thank you', she quietly escaped, moving through the tunnels traveling closer and closer toward the bustling movement of the Narnians.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you guys for reading my story and especially to those who review. Those of you who write your own stories know most of all how motivating the reviews are, even if they just say 'good job' or 'update soon', it's nice to hear from you all!

Sorry for the lack of updating this past week or so, I have been working a lot. Hopefully now that I am back in school I can get a good schedule going.