Disclaimer: I own nothing except Karina (The song used is by Bryan Adams)

Jealous Boys

Caspian had been watching her all day. His gaze unwavering from her beautiful cherubic face, her dark hair running straight down her back. He watched her now as she played some card game with Queen Lucy called "Go Fish". Karina was dainty but not overtly girly, Caspian noticed, and took great care of her hair. Her skin was the color of very creamy coffee and her almond shaped doe eyes were a deep chocolaty brown. Whenever she cast a look Caspian's way, which was blissfully not often, he instantly melted on the spot. He and Peter butted heads about the raid on the castle more than once and Caspian was glad to be away from the little git. Peter's plan to attack the Telmarine castle wasn't one of the greatest ideas but Caspian was obligated to obey the High King, no matter how stupid the idea was.

"Caspian?"



Caspian almost jumped out of his skin when he saw Karina standing in front of him. Queen Susan, being ever generous, had lent Karina one of her gowns. It was canary yellow with gold trimmings; she had kept on her sneakers.

"Yes, Lady Karina?" Caspian answered; glad she was actually talking to him. Karina's eyes lit up and Caspian could've sworn they were smiling at him. But it wasn't cruel laughing; he wasn't being laughed at, only teased.

"You don't have to call me 'Lady'. I'm only sixteen. Anyway, Lucy and I wanted to know if you could teach us some moves."

Caspian raised a dark eyebrow, "I don't follow?"

Karina sighed, her shoulders slightly slumping, "To fight, you know defend ourselves?"

A small, very boyish, part of him squealed with delight. But he kept his kingly composure, "Of course. What would you like to see?"

Lucy ran over to them smiling, "Hand to hand combat."

Caspian staggered back for a moment. Hand to hand? That meant…. Oh sweet Jesus, he had to… touch her. Karina smirked, "The truth is…"

"Karina said she could whip your butt in a fight." Lucy finished and Karina blushed. Caspian felt a little embarrassed, a girl beat him up? He'd never hear the end of it from King Edmund and King Peter. He puffed out his chest, "I do not wish to hurt you, my lady."

Karina smiled as she turned away, "Well if you're scared you'll get you're a-" she remembered Lucy was at her side and quickly changed her last word, "butt kicked, then I completely understand."

Well you think that you can take me on

You must be crazy

There ain't a single thing you've done



That's gonna phase me

Well Caspian wasn't about to take that. He quickly stood, "I accept your challenge."

Karina smiled, "Awesome. It begins in five minutes. I suggest you use that time to get your affairs in order." She said playfully turning and walking down one of the tunnels of the How, Lucy at her heels.

Right on time, Karina appeared at the entrance to the inner sanctum of the How. She had changed from her dress into her skinny jeans and tank top, not wanting to totally ruin Susan's dress. Caspian leaned against one of the pillars; he noticed Karina had invited all the Pevensie siblings to watch their little brawl. Susan looked completely uninterested but Edmund and Lucy looked quite primed to see their new friends fight. Peter was nowhere to be found and Caspian was rather happy about this, the brat was really beginning to crawl under his skin. Karina raised her fists in a sign of victory and Edmund and Lucy cheered,

"In this corner, from someplace called Detroit. Karina!!" Lucy yelled like a boxer announcer. Karina pretended to punch the wall and shuffled around a bit,

"Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" she said. Caspian wasn't sure if she coined this phrase but he rather liked it. Taking off his brigandine he stepped into the makeshift ring, which was a circle on the ground.

"And in this corner, the heir to the Telmarine throne, the one, the only, Prince Caspian!!" Edmund announced. Lucy and Edmund sat on the stone table as the two took their battle stances, "We will begin when the bell rings. I want a good clean fight." Edmund said.

"Ding!!" Lucy yelled, and so the fight began.

Oh, but if you want to have a go

I just want to let you know

Get off my back and into my game



Get out of my way and out of my brain

Karina sighed, this really wasn't fair. What she had neglected to tell the Telmarine Prince was that she took karate and boxing on a daily basis. She really didn't want to fight him after all.

Flashback

"Karina," Lucy asked as she and Karina played 'Go Fish', "I think Caspian likes you."

Karina smiled as she caught the Prince in her vision, "Really?"

She totally didn't want to sound giddy and stupid but somewhere in her heart she felt her blood boil. Back in Detroit she'd never had any boyfriends. Boys only liked her for her body, not her mind.

"I think you should ask him out." Lucy stated boldly. 'There's no way this girl is only twelve' Karina thought then said, "To go where? I mean we're in the middle of a tomb if you haven't noticed."

Lucy peeked out from her card hand, "Just talk to him."

Karina cringed, Caspian was watching her again. It made her feel uneasy, not the 'is he going to kill me?' uneasy but the 'am I going to fall for him?' kind. Karina sighed, her hand drooping, giving Lucy the perfect opportunity to see her hand.

"Okay, how about this?" Karina placed her cards face down on the stone table and whispered in Lucy's ear, "I'll fight him."

"WHAT!? I want you to kiss him, not kill him." Lucy protested loudly. Everyone in the How's inner sanctum turned to look at the pair. Karina laughed self-consciously, her face going beet red. "You'll have to keep your big mouth shut. I mean, if he manages to beat me I'll flirt a bit."

Lucy nodded, "Ohhhhhh, I get it."

Karina was excellent at bobbing and weaving. Caspian was almost caught off guard when she almost managed to punch him in the lip. He hung back around the outer rim of the circle, well he wasn't about to hit a girl. Especially when he had a crush on said girl. Pain irrupted in Caspian's shoulder, she'd hit him! Not hard of 

course but it still smarted. He rubbed his shoulder; there was no way he was going to lose to a girl. There was just. No. Way. He made a grab for her but Karina was much faster, she pulled him into a half-Nelson, noogieing his perfect dark locks.

This was becoming embarrassing.

Caspian, being male and much stronger than Karina, flipped her onto her back on the ground. She struggled playfully before lying still on the dirt floor of the How. Lucy smiled; oh Karina was most defiantly flirting.

Get outta my face or give it your best shot

I think it's time you better face the fact

Get off my back


You know it's all just a game that I'm playing

Don't think that you can't find a way in

"1…" Edmund yelled. Karina remained still, Caspian could win this round. She didn't want his pride so bruised he wouldn't at least speak with her.

"2…"

Caspian stared down at Karina, who had locked eyes with him. This beautiful goddess was… letting him win. She knew she could best him and yet she lay still as a lamb on the floor.

"3…"

"Caspian wins!!" Lucy squealed. Susan clapped politely as did Edmund, and Caspian helped Karina up off the floor. She brushed off her jeans,



"That was awesome." She said her voice genuinely happy. She and Caspian shook hands, both almost melting on contact. Karina felt Lucy tugging on her tank top and the two disappeared into one of the How's numerous tunnels.



Dinner at the How was a large problem for Karina. Mostly because she had never eaten bear meat (yuck!) and because she had never been this far away from home. Granted, her father was a complete asshole, she still missed Detroit. As all the Pevensie siblings and Caspian gathered around the fire Karina hung back in the shadows. She didn't really belong here anyway. She was just here by a weird twist of fate.

"What troubles you, milady?" she heard a voice ask. She felt her heart skip a few paces as King Peter emerged from the darkness. Karina brushed non-existent lit off of her dress.

"Nothing, Pete. I'm just thinking about home." She said honestly. Peter took another step towards her. He had been outside the How for quite some time, brooding about the castle raid. Susan and Edmund were on board, as were most of the Narnians, but Caspian was against it. Not that it mattered; Peter was used to doing things his way all the time. He had seldom spoken to Karina since she had come to the How and he figured he should at least be hospitable.

"I think about home a bit too." He said, trying to make conversation. Karina's lips twitched into a smile, "Do you have any ice?"

Can you say random?

"What?" Peter asked, confused by her question. Karina shrugged her shoulders, "Caspian was kinda rough and my bruises hurt a bit."

The innuendo hit Peter square in the gut, but he remained calm, not letting thoughts of strangling the Telmarine enter his head. Karina, sensing his distress, explained, "We were tussling."

Peter let a huge air pocket rush out of his chest, "Well we don't have ice but I can get Susan to check your wounds." Lame, lame, lame, Peter thought, he was so dull she wanted to have her wounds checked than talk to him.



"That sounds cool. See you later." She said with a wink. Her skin was the first to disappear into the darkness and Peter was left alone to his thoughts.



Karina lay on her back, focusing on a crack in the How's ceiling. She had been staring at the same spot for hours, hoping the boredom would render her comatose. Next to her was Lucy, who slept like the dead. Karina rolled over on her stomach, coming face to face with Peter. He looked so handsome when he wasn't planning battles or being obnoxious. The look on his sleeping face was that of youth, sweetness, weakness even. Karina stood up and quietly made her way out of the How into the moonlit field. She couldn't believe how clean the air was; for God's sake she had a moon shadow. She climbed up one of the rock faces and sat, looking out to the sky.

"Eenie, meenie, miney, mo…" she said absentmindedly.

"Mind if I join you?"

Karina almost fell off the ledge. These Narnian's had to learn how to approach people in the dark. She knew that weird accent anywhere, it was Caspian.

"Nope." Was her short reply.

Caspian plunked down next to her, not too gracefully. His leg clipped her shin, "Sorry." He said. Karina shrugged, "I'm not a glass unicorn. I don't break if you tap me."

Caspian was at a loss for words. He felt his hands get sweaty and his mind go foggy. He wasn't a poet by any means and had no idea what women wanted. The only experience he'd ever had with a woman was courting one, which almost never happened as all the women in the Telmarine court were as attractive as toads.

"Hey Charlie are you okay?" she asked, waving a hand near Caspian's face. He jolted from his seated position, "Umm, yes I was just admiring the stars." God, he was stupid! Why could he never be charming on command? Karina nodded, "Yeah, they're really pretty tonight. Well, I'm officially tired. I'm gonna head in."

Caspian cursed himself; he had sent her running for the How. A new record. Karina smiled and winked at Caspian,



"Goodnight."

Authors Note: Hello all. I've decided to pick up with this story. Many thanks to my reviewers: MaryMacdonald and LailaPFE. You make my life worth living reviewers, so review. BTW did you like the song I just incorperated into the chapter. It felt like a montage in my head, tell me if you like weird insert songfics. For now, I shall retire to the parlor and nap with my beagle puppy Jack... Toodles!