I apologize for my absence

Peter rubbed his eyes as he walked lazily to the kitchen. The sun's first rays were starting to poke through the windows. Peter and Susan had been up all night with Lucy, who was incredibly sick, and constantly getting sick all over everywhere. This was his sixth or seventh trip (for he had lost count) into the kitchen. Peter didn't really know what to do, so Susan had employed Peter to constantly fetch things for her. This time in particular Peter was going to the kitchen to make him, and Susan, some tea. Lucy had finally fallen asleep, and Susan right after, so Peter took this opportunity to do the most calming thing: make some tea. He walked into the kitchen only to see Caspian there sitting at the table reading a book and eating an apple.

Caspian looked up when he heard Peter enter the kitchen. "Good morning Peter" Caspian said putting down his book. Peter just nodded his head in acknowledgement. Caspian gave Peter a quizzical look. "Had a rough night's sleep?" Caspian asked noticing the bags under Peter's eyes.

Peter looked at Caspian and might have noticed that Caspian was normal for once but was far too tired to realize that. "You have no idea." Peter said putting a kettle over the fire. Peter then sank to the floor and put his head into his hands.

Caspian realized immediately that something was wrong. "Has something happened Peter?" Caspian asked in all seriousness.

At that moment Fawna walked into the room. "Your Majesty" she said bowing slightly.

Caspian nodded, "Is there something you need?" he asked her with no expression in his voice.

Fawna shifted uncomfortably, "Um, actually Sir I was looking for King Peter."

Caspian looked down, "Oh." He mumbled.

"I'm right here." Peter said standing up and facing her.

"Your sister is awake again." She informed him bowing her head. "I thought that you would like to know that."

Peter sighed and took the kettle off of the fire and set it on the counter. It looked like he wasn't going to have tea after all. "Thank you Fawna. Tell them I will be right up."

Fawna started to walk away when she quickly turned around, "Oh! I almost forgot. Queen Susan requested that you bring her a cool rag and a clean bucket.

Peter nodded towards her as she walked away her signature long skirt swishing against the ground.

Caspian looked at Peter, "Is everything alright?"

Peter went to the ice box and grabbed a wet rag that he put there earlier that night. Shaking his head he said, "Not really no. My sister is extremely ill."

Caspian looked at him with wide eyes "Susan is sick?"

"No. Lucy is; although Susan might just get sick if she keeps working as hard as she does."

Caspian started to follow Peter as he was leaving but Peter stopped him, "Unless you are skilled at healing then you don't have to come. Sorry, it's just… I don't think that Lucy wants to see anybody right now Sorry." And with that Peter left.

Caspian sat back down at the table feeling quite dejected. He tried to read his book again but it no longer held his interest. He was… worried. He looked up. He hadn't felt worry over something in a long time. He was genuinely worried for Lucy, and Peter, and Susan as well. They were the only kind of family that he had known, besides the professor, and here he had been taking them for granted. For years he had waited for their return, knowing that it may never happen, and yet here they were living in the same place that he was and he hadn't spoken more than a couple of sentences to them in the weeks that they had been here. He saw the unfinished tea that Peter had been preparing and decided to bring them all some much-needed tea.

Carefully opening walking down the hall Caspian noticed that the door to Lucy's room was slightly ajar so he pushed his way through the door with his back.

"We can't just leave her here all by herself" Susan whispered in hushed tones.

"Well you certainly can't go off on your own" Peter retorted in equally low volume.

"Well only I know what to ask for. And why can't I go out on my own? I've certainly done it before."

Peter sighed and was about to respond when they saw Caspian standing there holding a tray of tea. Caspian shifted. "Um, I brought you all tea?" He said.

"SHH!" Peter and Susan hushed him simultaneously.

Caspian looked at Lucy lying in her bed.

Lucy sat up and mumbled out, " 'S ok. You guys woke me up any way."

Susan gave Peter a look and went to go sit next to Lucy. "How are you feeling Lu?" she asked gently.

Lucy tried to smile, "I'm actually feeling better I think," which then she proceeding to throw up over the side of the bed. "Maybe not" she amended.

Susan gave her a light smile. "Don't worry Lu. I'm going to go and get somebody that might be able to help." She gave Peter a final look.

Peter thankfully took the tea from Caspian and addressed his stubborn sister. "Fine." He said, "But I am going with you."

Susan rolled her eyes and took the tea that Caspian had offered her. "I already told you Peter, we can't leave Lucy by herself."

Caspian looked at Susan. "I could watch Lucy as you two go out." He offered them. "From the looks of things you two seem like you could use a break."

Susan gave Caspian a polite smile. "Thank you," she started, "But I don't think we should just leave Lucy here with you. No offense."

"None taken."

"It's just that I'm sure she wants her family around. Which is why," Susan looked at Peter sharply, "Peter should stay here with Lu so that I can go out and try to help her."

Caspian watched the stare off between the two siblings. He cleared his throat. "Um well how about I go out with Susan and Peter can stay back with Lucy?"

Susan looked at Caspian, "That's not actually a horrible idea. What do you think Peter?"

Peter looked at Susan and then at Caspian. "I think that's a splendid idea. You could use a bit of the outdoors anyways Susan."

"Although," Susan started slyly, "Having the absent King escort me to a town filled with sick, and angry, people might not necessarily be the smartest move; if we're talking about my safety that is."

Peter waved his hand, "Aw I'm pretty sure they won't even recognize him at this point from what I've heard. Still," he said looking towards Caspian, "don't go getting Susan killed now."

Caspian's eyes were locked upon the ground. "Of course not." He mumbled almost inaudibly.

Caspian was almost jogging trying to keep up with Susan walking through the town. "So," he panted, "exactly where are we going?"

Susan looked back at him, "There's this one house that is trying to take care of all who are affected by this."

Caspian stopped. "All?"

Susan looked back at the stationary Caspian, stopped, and turned back and walked towards him. "Yes Caspian," she said (she could feel the anger start to rise up in her), "all. There are many affected. Some worse than Lucy is. You have a really serious problem in your country that you didn't even know about. You are too busy being… well I don't know what you've been doing exactly, but I do know that you've not been that much of a King!" Susan shook her head trying to reign in her anger and walked away leaving Caspian in a peculiar state.

Susan stopped a few steps ahead and inhaled deeply, "Sorry," she said turning back to Caspian, "That was out of line. I'm just a bit worried about Lucy right now," and then continued down the street.

The rest of the journey was walked in silence until Susan led Caspian into a building. He squinted as his eyes tried to adjust to the dim lighting, but when he could see, he almost wished that he couldn't. The first thing that hit him was the smell. Dozens of people getting sick in a tight environment was not doing wonders for the place. The building itself was just a regular house, hut really, and clearly not capable of holding the number of people that were actually there. Caspian looked around stunned by the amount of people in the building. The floor was covered with the bodies, and their fluids of the sick. He heard Susan muttering something about there being more people than last time. Walking around he saw that many people had the same symptoms; fevers, profuse vomiting, and many people were holding their stomach as if it were in pain.

Susan had left him standing there, frozen in his spot. He watched as she went up to a centaur roaming about tending to everyone. He was jolted out of his dazed state when he felt something run into him and his legs becoming wet. Looking down he saw a little girl, no older than 7, apologizing profusely and picked up the pitcher of water she dropped. Caspian knelt down to help her.

"I'm incredibly sorry mister" she apologized and started to cough.

Caspian looked at the girl and noticed that she was fevered, with beads of sweat lining her brow. "It's ok. Are you alright?" he asked her.

She looked up sheepishly at Caspian. "I'm fine," she said and lowered her eyes. "I just need to get some water to him." And started to walk away. His eyes followed her to a corner where lay a young centaur boy. She was trying to coax him to drink something, but the boy was unresponsive to her request.

"If we just had access to other medications, or even more people to help," Caspian looked away from the two young children to see Susan and a female centaur walking together through the building. He leaned against a pillar and listened to them as they started to walk by.

The centaur continued, "we just don't know what is happening. More and more people are getting infected daily. Houses like this one, some much larger, are cropping up all over Narnia."

Caspian then heard Susan's voice, "Do you know how this is spread?"

"No." The centaur said shaking her head. "It does not seem to spread person to person, but it does seem that households tend to get affected at the same time."

"And there's nothing you- we- can do for them?"

"The only thing that we can do to help is making sure they are not dehydrated. Those affected are losing much of the fluid, so you much replenish it."

Susan nodded as her voice dropped to an almost whisper, "Have many people... died?" Caspian could hear the quiver in her voice, and could feel her dread.

The centaur stopped walking and looked Susan straight on. "It doesn't seem to be deadly, but there has been cases of death, due to fluid loss."

Susan nodded again, but Caspian could still tell that she was worried about her sister. And he was too. He had become quite fond of Lucy, not in the same way he was once fond of Susan, but he viewed Lucy as a sister of his own.

Susan paused and looked at those lying around her. "Have you talked to the King about the gravity of the situation?" She asked timidly looking up at the centaur.

The centaur opened her mouth to respond when they heard a hacking sound from one of the older ladies lying on the floor. They all looked at her with wide eyes.

"King?" the lady laughed, coughing intensely, "King?" she said once more, "We have no king."

The centaur looked at the woman on the floor with sad eyes. Caspian looked at the centaur expecting to give her to contradict that statement, but when no counter was given Caspian stepped forward. Susan's head snapped up and her hands flew to her mouth as she realized that he had heard the entire conversation.

Caspian looked at the woman lying sickly on the ground, and knelt down to her. "Tell me, dear woman," Caspian asked quietly so that none could hear, "what happened to your king?"

The woman looked Caspian in the eyes and breathed in. "He went on a voyage." And then she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The journey back from the town was walked in silence. They stopped when they saw a crowd gathered in the center of the square. Susan recognized the man speaking in the middle immediately.

"Caspian come on let's go." She tried to lead him away, but it was useless. Caspian was mesmerized and walked towards it like a bug to a lantern.

Susan could hear the familiar words of the near-mutinous man when something that she hadn't seen since her return to Narnia drew her attention away from the man calling for revolution; singing and dancing. A little ways off she saw a child singing in the street. A small girl waving a ribbon around sang an old Narnian tune Susan recognized, but with lyrics she never heard before.

"A faraway place, a brand new face

The Queen from the Sea

Shining bright, birthed from Night

The Queen from the Sea"

"Susan what does this man -"

Susan whipped her head around and looked at Caspian who was now staring at the singing child.

"A new Queen as fair as she,

And fair indeed, was the Queen from the Sea.

With hair like foam, found when he roamed,

was the Queen from the Sea."

Susan looked at Caspian who looked more melancholic than ever, if at all possible.

"Caspian what's wrong?" Susan asked him as she laid a hand on him. Caspian was like a statue under her touch; and without saying a word Caspian stormed away from Susan back towards the castle.

Susan followed rapidly after him. Caspian flung the front doors to the castle open and started down the hallway that led to his room. Before she could follow him Peter came running from the opposite hallway that led to the guest rooms.

"Susan!" he called after her, "Good thing you're back, you need to come quickly."

Susan looked at her brother with worry overcoming her, "Lucy..." she breathed.

Peter shook his head.